I'm goin to the big D and I don't mean Dallas

DIVORCE!

Now don't worry. My Husband and I are very happy together and we will be for another several hundred years. Since I deal primarily in marriage, I thought it might be good to look into the opposite. Did you know that as of a 2009 study that 10.7 americans over the age of 15 are divorced. That's just if you are over the age of 15 not counting whether you have been married or not. And there is a good amount of those people who have probably been divorced more than once. It is safe to say that almost 40% and maybe even climbing up to 50% of marriages end in divorce. If that didn't get ya down, maybe this will. Studies also say that Americans second marriage has a 60% of ending the same way and 73% for third marriages. So why do so many people get divorced these days?

I have asked myself this question several times and I came up with this simple answer. When people enter into marriage they think of divorce as an option of getting out. Divorce cannot even be in your vocabulary when you get married.

I once heard this girl who was sitting behind me in a restaurant. She was talking about her wedding all the little details when I heard her say this, "Oh I don't want that for this wedding, I will save that for my second." She hadn't even said I do yet and she was already talking about divorce.

It's incredible how often people discard the seriousness of marriage.

I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.

Matthew 19:9

Adultery is number 7 of God's commandments. Is that serious enough for you? Maybe not..

Has not the LORD made them one? in flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth. "I hate divorce," says the LORD God of Israel, "and I hate a man's covering himself with violence as well as with his garment," says the LORD almighty. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith.

Malachi 2:15-16

God says He HATES divorce. Serious enough now?

I am 20 years old and I got married at the age of 19. I have had so many people say that I am too young to be married. Here are some statistics for you:

Divorce Rate in Ages

You can tell me statistics all day long but there is one huge difference between me and that 36.6%. The difference is I don't believe in divorce. Divorce has never been nor will ever be an option for me and my husband. So don't let all those statistics at the beginning discourage you from getting married. Getting married is one of the best things that has happened in my life. All I am saying is don't let divorce be an option in your marriage. Let's beat the statistic!

Determines my steps

Everyday on my way to work I listen to my favorite radio station. Now you may ask which station is that? And that's a valid question. It's probably not the station most of you listen to. It's a station called Klove. Right now they are doing a pledge drive to support their station. They don't have tons of advertising to bring in money. They operate on mainly these donations.

So all this week I have been listening to them encouraging people to donate so they can continue to make a "positive difference" in peoples lives. As they were doing this, one of the host said something that really struck me.

She said, "Whether you are a woman longing to get pregnant, maybe you are wishing that you are your mom had a better relationship, or you are in financial trouble, God has a way of fixing it. When you are in these situations you have a way of obsessing over it. But when you give it to God you realize that he has a much better plan."

Proverbs 16:9 says:

In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.

She then proceeded to say that she was now three month pregnant, her and her mom had reconnected their relationship, and he husband and her were no longer in financial trouble.

God is good!

I'm sorry that I keep bringing up this same topic. It's something that I have been struggling with. Letting God fully take over my life and leaving everything up to him. I know I'm not the only one who struggles with this, but it feels like it sometime. If you struggle with this too just know that you aren't alone.

David Bullard

So instead of writing a blog post myself I would like to repost the wise words of my younger brother.. yes i said younger. I am so very proud of how much he has grown in his spiritual walk. I love reading his blogs because he inspires me and I hope that you will be inspired too.

Acceptance, we are all looking for it.

Why do we want to be accepted? Is it because we need the attention or we have an obsession with people liking us? I guess Michael Scott said it best:

“Do I need to be liked? Absolutely not. I like to be liked. I enjoy being liked. I have to be liked. But it’s not like this compulsive need to be liked, like my need to be praised.”

Please read the rest of his post on Diary of a College Kid.

He is in me, with me, and a head of me to lead the way.

I was at work tonight working out in the garden center with another associate who was the door greater out there. We were talking when out of the blue she says to me "Can I ask you a personal question?" Of course I said yes. Strongly she asked me, "Do you believe in God?" It through me a little off guard because most of the people at my work try to prove to me that God is not real. But I quickly reply YES! A smile came a crossed her face as she said, "Me too."

We continued talking about scripture, but there was one thing that she said that stuck out to me. She said, "God is in me, with me, and a head of me to lead the way."

It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.

Psalm 18:32

Another issue we talked about is my biggest struggle. Worrying. She quoted me this verse:

Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall.

Psalms 55:22

It is one that I have heard before, but I definitely needed the reminder. When I got home I looked up some more scripture for things that I have been dealing with. Here are a couple I found:

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Matthew 6:34

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11

5 Days

And the count down begins. Well to be truthful it started a while ago. Only 5 days until we travel the 10 hours to Bentonville Arkansas to see family and friends and only 8 days until we go to HAWAII!! I am so excited to spend time with my wonderful husband and our great friends Jennifer and Daniel. I also get to see recently married Ben and Alissa. It is gong to be a great trip. I will be posting pictures and hopefully some video blogs with will be posted on my youtube page. Check back for posts of Hawaii!

Wedding Portfolio Movie

If you haven't yet seen my portfolio, here is your chance. I have been experimenting with putting movies together with my photos. In my portfolio class this last semester we learned about putting videos together using photos. I eventually want to get into doing video along with photography. This video is a compilation of my wedding photos for my wedding portfolio.

You can also view the video on YouTube for better quality. CLICK HERE!

Lori and Brian

A couple a weeks ago I had a wedding the I shot in Northwest Arkansas. It was in a beautiful location called Whitney Mountain Lodge overlooking Beaver Lake. I was really excited about this particular wedding because it was my first booked wedding through my website where I wasn't a second shooter or a friends wedding. Thank you Lori and Brian for being my first wedding. Hope you all enjoy the pictures.