Better together. Silver Dust. Dream Big!
Posted By: Jennifer
Me Ra gave us permission to use the proverbial “magic” wand for this assignment. And Fay said to DARE to dream and STRETCH.
Although I feel a little selfish (or nervous?, sheepish? why is my stomach in knots?), consider the wand waving and the silver dust is falling all around. Dreams look better all silvery. And in italics. 
My husband just brought me coffee with cinnamon and a little bit of frothy half n half as he shut out the chilly, snowy December with the close of our studio door.
(All of the photos included were taken at an engagement shoot my husband and I did together! More on that in the blog! Thanks Robin and Mike!)
PAUSE
Me Ra said to think the impossible. Just to give you a notion of how big a dream this is…we’ve been known to wear shorts in south Texas winters and my husband is terribly sweet but he doesn’t drink coffee and therefore doesn’t know how to make it! But this sure is fun, yes?! Okay, silvery dust, silvery dust. Back to our studio…)
It’s not a traditional photography studio. More like a “creative” studio where we work together, behind our house.
It’s decorated with things we both love and has a coffee house kind of feel. There are great tunes playing and he’s editing photos from a wedding we just shot. In one corner is all of our photography equipment. In fact, because of the money we saved from Christmas bookings, seniors, and weddings in the fall, we have all of the equipment we need, without having to rent anymore!
In another corner, he has his music studio equipment where he’s gotten back into writing and recording. And in another area, I’ve been able to replace my sewing and craft equipment from what was burned a year ago. From this room, we take care of business but also plan new ideas… like going once a year to photograph people in another country to raise awareness for some cause, and like starting a ministry encouraging couples to reconnect through creativity as they work on some type of project together. Mostly, we are using the gifts God gave us, together, to make a living, and to serve other people.
There you have it. These are the dreams that I think are somewhat impossible by December but are the desires of my heart!… Fully stocked with gear, a beautiful creative space, and a career with my husband. (Okay and maybe a little snow in Texas for Christmas!) He and I are better together and, through a lot of hard work, are learning to bring out the absolute best in each other. We are hoping that “best” allows us take all that we’ve learned from SOAR! and turn it into a creative adventure we take together.
In my original SOAR! application video, I had music playing in the background. Somehow, that didn’t transfer when I uploaded the video. Either way, the song was called “Dream Big” and I wish you could hear it now…
“…And when you dream, dream big. As big as the ocean blue. And when you dream it might come true. When you dream, dream big…”
(Ryan Shupe and the Rubber Band)
Join us this week! We’d love to know where your heart is headed.
Dream big, y’all! Let’s do this,
jen
Beautiful dreams Jen – I hope they all come true for you both!
♥
Oh my dear sweet Jen. I absolutely adore you. I don’t cry for happy stuff that often, it often feels weird to me, but literally as I write this I have one bug tear running down my cheek. I want so badly for your dream to come true…it feels like my own. Your words and your way have touched me my dear. I can see your space, hear the sounds, smell the smells, and most importantly I can feel you joy and peace in that. Jen I pray from the bottom of my heart that you get all that you dream for and more. Darn you!! Good thing I didn’t put any makeup on…now I see what Me Ra is talking about!!
Oops!! Same picture twice! Will work on that!
And that was a big tear…not a bug tear!! Curse you auto correct!!!
Ohhh…the pictures are AMAZING!! You sure did rock it!!
Love it! You describe it so well, I can see it! I have no doubt that you will make it happen. If not by this December, NEXT!
Jen, this is just beautiful and so incredibly possible. I love that at the very heart of your dream is a desire to have more time with your husband. That alone echoes my own heart. It’s pretty amazing when you can’t seem to get enough time with the one you love. The more time you have, the more time you want together! I’ve seen God honor this over and over, and I do believe that He loves to give us the desires of our heart–especially when it’s more time with the one he gave us. This will happen Jen. The move, the job change, the retreat within, it’s all pivotal chess pieces being moved and shifted to create space for this dream to be built. I can’t wait to come visit this beautiful space with Brian!
Oh Jenn. This is going to be reality. I can just feel it. And maybe one day I’ll get out to TX and get to sit in the space with you, hear your husband’s music (which I’m dying to hear by the way
), sip some ice tea, and just enjoy real life time with my friend from the internet.
Beautiful Jen. Sometimes it is the simple things in life that bring us the most joy… you wanting to be closer to your husband and work side by side with the creativity that runs through you both… while helping others… I actually go a little choked up reading your dream. You’ll get there, you SO will!
Much love.