Being Intentionally Still ~ A Reflective Post

This post has been in the works for while, meaning it has been in my head for a while.  A lot of my thoughts and reflections have been stirring in my heart for a while now and I hope to get a few down here to record them.

A while back I shared this image on my intagram feed:

alliston photographer, wasaga beach photographer, be still and know

This verse is our families going theme for the next while.  To give my readers a bit of a back story, our families life has been on the overdrive the last 10+ years.  Before my husband and I were married in July 2004, my husband overcame some great obstacles in his life and through this journey and God’s grace and faithfulness he felt called to ministry.  Like many other wives whose husbands felt a call to the ministry, I felt terrified.

We went and so began the busy season in our lives.  We (and I say we because even though my husband went to school; it truly was a family commitment!) completed 4 years of undergrad college, then we had our first daughter.  We moved to the US to complete 3 years of graduate studies, then we had our second child, our son.  We moved back to Canada to complete a 10 week internship; which turned into a half year, and then a year internship.  During this time Roelof was also completing his Master’s degree.  After that year, the church we were interning at decided to extend a call to Roelof to become their full-time pastor.  We were very thankful for the provision that God had given us in a home, a church family and a friendly town and so we joyfully accepted the call and were excited to dive right in.  We are coming up to 4 years now in Alliston, Ontario and for us this is the longest place we have ever lived in, in the almost 11 years we have been married.

Our last 11 years of life have been a whirlwind.  We have had some incredible things happen to us but have also faced a number of challenges.  We have let our unhealthy rhythms in life control us and have placed priorities in places they shouldn’t be.  This past year has been exceptionally hard.  It has been incredibly hard to watch the person you love, who normally loves what he does, not love what he does; to be so physically and mentally tired that even getting through the day required great effort.  It has been hard to communicate, to let others in and to be a people of community.  We are tired.  We are empty.  We need to be still.  In January, we begun the conversation with our church about where our minds and hearts were at.  I know our God is good all the time, and all the time He is good! We love where we are at, I don’t think it has ever been a question about that.  It’s just that our gifts were not being able to be used because we have not given ourselves time to be still or even to know who we are anymore.  In response to many conversations, our church has graciously given our family a time of sabbatical, a time of rest.

The past four week or so have healed us in so many ways.  We begin our time of rest to Kerith Pines in Manitoba.  What I have most appreciated about the time at Kerith is that it really focused on us as a couple.  What they don’t teach in seminary is how to do ministry as a couple or even how ministry impacts your marriage.  This is stuff you just figure out by trial and error while in ministry.  And this isn’t always a good thing.  Kerith Pines helped us discover our personalities– who we are and how that looks when we are together and how that looks in identifying our giftings.  Kerith gave us rest!  It helped us disconnect (literally!) from the outside world.  We learned that we need to make room for God in our life as a first fruit.  We learned that we were meant to do community– to love people and to love each other.  I learned that grace only sticks to my imperfections (Scary Close by Donald Miller– read it if you haven’t already!).  I also learned that I truly desire to be the same person on the outside as I am on the inside.  We came there and found our rest.  We have connected again as husband and wife.  We had many ah-ha moments and felt that were were able to have conversations that we should have had a long time ago!

But we’ve been back now for a few weeks.  The rubber has hit the road– we’ve had flu’s, regular schedules, packing for trips and regular every day things.  It’s hard to implement new things into old routines.  But we are finding out that we need to be intentional.  Not just a ah well when we get to it attitude.  It takes being intentional and purposeful.  With each other but also in relationships.  No more entitlement– just servitude with Jesus hearts.  I loved this quote from Scary Close by Donald Miller (read it!) –

Love is like farming – most of it is just getting up early and tilling the soil and then praying for rain.  But if we do the work we just might wake up one day to find an endless field of crops rolling into the horizon.

Hard work.  Being intentional.  Getting up early.  Tilling the soil.  These are all action phrases.  Do something!  I’m tired of letting expectations and entitlement control our lives.  And I think this is the theme we are going forward with into the next number of weeks of our sabbatical.  Being intentionally still.

- STAY IN TOUCH -

Lethbridge County, Alberta

- lethbridge, Calgary, Alberta -

Kristin Sarah Photography

Joyful and beautiful lifestyle family photography, wedding and branding photography for the individuals who are passionate about documenting their story.

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Trying new things can be daunting sometimes! I often get in my head and freeze rather than just doing something.

But here’s to trying new things and having fun doing it!

And if anyone has tips or tricks for BTS footage, let me know! I’m a great student!😂

#lethbridgeweddingphotographer #lethbridgephotographer #lethbridgealberta #lethbridge #calgaryweddingphotographer
Can I tell you a story?! 

When I bought my very first camera about 16 years ago, I never dreamed that decision would have impacted my life in so many ways.

From a simple decision to wanting to document my daughter growing up, morphed into preserving all my children in their early years and now being able to serve so many other families.

If you are new here, I’m Kristin 🤗 Time passes incredibly quickly and I believe photos help tell your story of what life is like right in the here and now.

Life can change in an instant. I’ve found that out through hard experiences and through joyful ones.

Photography has the power of telling stories years after the moment occurred. I’m so incredibly grateful I have thousands of those memories of my own family. 💗

Being able to serve others is something that brings me so much joy!🙏

Is it time for you to create those beautiful memories with your family? Don’t wait!!

Comment below if you want to say YES to telling your family story this season!💗
Can I share something with you?! Actually, I’ve shared it before but it’s worth sharing again. 😉

Growth after life altering events is possible! I can go on about how this applies in so many ways but I want to share how it was made possible in my photography business.

After moving half way across the country, I wasn’t sure if my business had a future. I had to find all new clients, I had to learn an entirely new landscape (hello wind and dry prairie grass!) and I had to build from the ground up.

I decided to do what I’ve always done, just share and to keep doing what I love- taking photos! ♥️

When I received my first wedding inquiry only weeks after living in Alberta- I was shocked (and incredibly humbled!) it gave me hope and joy to know that can make this work!

Fast forward two and a half years later, I’m so so incredibly grateful to the many of you who have allowed me to photograph some of the most important milestones of your lives! It is not lost on me how you all have helped me to continue to do what I love! 🙌

So here’s to all that is to come! If you are looking for a joy filled photographer who finds beauty in the everyday, that’s me!💗 

Follow along to see where the journey takes me!🌱🌸

@kristinsarahphotography