Be a Blessing

When I first began Memories & Blessings Photography I knew I wanted it to be more than a business. I wanted it to be a ministry. A ministry that served others and a ministry that I could use to be a blessing to others. I pray that over the past two and half years I have been able to be a blessing to at least one person.

As I was reading posts in a local photography group's forum this morning, I was deeply touched. A local church is giving a couple a dream wedding - just giving it to them! The couple is part of the church and simply can't have the wedding they've dreamed of and this church is showing their love to the them by giving and preparing the wedding - and it's even going to be a surprise! What an awesome way to show God's love to someone. After all, God gives us things that we simply can't give ourselves. Does salvation ring a bell? Entry to Heaven was something we could not do on our own and in God's loving way he sent His Son to make a way for us to have the ultimate wedding in Heaven one day.

I began to think what can I do? What can I do to be a blessing to others? I also wanted to be able to share this experience with you. Here's what I came up with ...

You will have the opportunity to nominate a family, a couple,a person, whoever, to have a FREE photo session. There will be absolutely no cost to you or them. The deserving recipient will receive an hour long session, a Photo CD and a print release. You can nominate anyone you would like. All you have to do to nominate someone is send their name and why you believe they deserve the session to memoriesblessings@yahoo.com. All entries must be sent in by Wednesday, June 27th. Pretty simple right? On Thursday, June 26th I will have someone read all the entries and pray about who should receive the session. The winner will be announced on Saturday, June 30th, once I get home from the Summer Mini-Sessions. I promise you will receive a blessing by trying to be a blessing to someone else.

I also want to do something for everyone who participates. All entries will receive a $20 gift certificate and all those who send in entries will receive a $10 gift certificate. Again, the winner will receive a FREE session from Memories & Blessings Photography. The person who nominates the winner will receive 50% off a session.

I'm sure you immediately thought of someone to nominate. If not, pray about it! God will lay someone on your heart. Don't forget to send all your entries to memoriesblessings@yahoo.com by Wednesday, June 27th. Don't miss out on a chance to be a blessing!

The Greatest Woman on the Earth

Every child, on this particular day, says they have the greatest Mom on the Earth. Well, today I am exclaiming that I have the greatest woman on the Earth as my Mom. Growing up I heard so many people say "I hope I don't turn into my Mom when I grow up." I was always so sad for them. There is no one I'd rather be more like than my Mom.

My Mom was diagnosed when I was 9 years old with kidney failure. The kidney failure came from my brother's early birth. Although she spent most of my childhood in doctor's offices or in a dialysis clinic, my Mother never onced missed a ballgame, school play or any other activity I was involved in. In fact, she was usually on the front row and was without a doubt my biggest fan. You see, my Mom is Superwoman :) I know there had to be days that she didn't feel well, but I never remember one. She was always so encouraging and supportive of me. She never let her illness get in the way of being a wonderful Mother to me and my brother.

If I can be half of the mother to my two babies as she is to me and Cody - I will be forever thankful. So today, I want to thank God for placing me with my Mother. I want to thank my Mom for always being there for me. Thank-you for all that you did for me through the years growing up and all you continue to do for me now. You are an amazing woman, a wonderful mother and a fantastic Nana! I love you!

Just Remember, He is Faithful!

As most of you in the area know ... tonight is the funeral service for Aaron Brady Walls. A 17 year old young man who went home to be with the Lord on Monday morning. I have had the opportunity to watch first handed the two communities that loved him most, come together and support each other. It's so wonderful to see two rivalry schools come together. However, the support and the comfort of each other alone is not what everyone needs at this moment. The comfort the communities needs is the Lord's. Yes, God places people in our lives to help comfort us but ultimately our strength needs to come from the Lord.

When I was a senior in high school, we too lost a classmate. I remember all too well sitting in the classes I had with him and just being in shock and missing him. I and the OSHS class of 2004 lived what these kids are living. A tragic end to a young person's life is never easy. However, knowing that our Lord is faithful to comfort us makes dealing with tragedy easier.

To all the students at OSHS and CHS, please remember - our Lord is faithful. He will help you. He will comfort you. He will help ease your pain. He has never left your side. He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us. He wants to be there for you - you just have to let Him. Lean on the promise, that if you have accepted Jesus as your personal savior just as Brady had, you will see him again and you will be able to spend all eternity with him and our Savior.

Please go download this beautiful song off of iTunes. I accidently downloaded it the other day, we all know there are no accidents, and God has used it to remind me of His faithfullness and His goodness. I hope it will be a blessing to you as it was to me.

You Are Faithful

By: Raymond Gregory

When my heart is troubled

And I can hardly breathe  

I will rest on Your promises  

You won’t abandon me

In the valley of the shadow of death

If I’m with You I will not be afraid  

You are hope for the hurting heart

You are rest to the weary soul

When I am broken, You are not shaken

Through trial, pain, and fears

You keep count of all my tears

When I am broken, You are not shaken

Lord You are faithful, God You are faithful

On the path of abundance  

I look back and I see

When the road was rough, I stumbled hard,

I was beaten down

It was then that you carried me

Through tragedy, In prosperity

You are faithful, You are faithful

In every season Lord, You are with me

You are faithful God

You are hope for the hurting heart

You are rest to the weary soul

When I am broken, You are not shaken

Through trial, pain, and fears

You keep count of all my tears

When I am broken, You are not shaken

Lord You are faithful, God You are faithful

My favorite part are the lines - "When I am broken, You are not shaken, Through trial, pain, and fears

You keep count of all my tears". How amazing! Our God keeps count of all our tears! So as you shed tears and mourn the death of your sweet friend tonight, please remember God is right there with you. He knows exactly what you are going through. He's already been through the valley of shadow of death. He knows. He cares. He loves you and will never leave you!

I am praying for each person who has been affected by this tragedy. I pray that God will comfort you and give you strength to face the coming days without Brady. My heart hurts for each of you. But, the Lord is faithful, He will provide strength and He will make this tragedy beautiful in His time!

Life is so Short!

This week I will attend a funeral of a young man I was suppose to take photos of this weekend. As soon as I heard the news of the accident early this morning my heart was so heavy for this young man and his family and all who were involved. Later in the morning I saw his Mother's post on Facebook that told us all that her sweet son had went home to be with the Lord.

I can not imagine the grief and devestation this Mom, and the rest of the family, must be feeling. I can not imagine watching my son take his last breath here on Earth. Thankfully though, when this young man took his last breath in that hospital room this morning his next breath was in the pressence of Jesus! The family has stated that their son was a Christian and what joy and hope it must give them to know they will see him again and they will be able to spend all eterenity with him and our Savior.

Life is so short and can change in the blink of an eye. This weekend his Mom was suppose to have a mini-session with her precious children. Instead, she will be placing one of those precious children into a grave. Please pray for the Brady Walls family as they go through what is probably the most difficult and trying times of their lives. Help me pray that God will comfort them, He will hide them under His precious wings and that He will give them the strength they need to face this life without Brady.

Take a moment to hug your kids a little tighter today. We are never promised tomorrow or even the next minute. Then take time to evaluate your life and heart. If you were to die today do you know that you would spend eternity in Heaven with the one who so willingly died on the cross for your sins? The answer is simple - yes or no. There is no gray area. If you do not know where you'll spend eternity please get that settled today before it's eternally too late. You can mesage or email me at anytime. Or if you'd like to talk with a pastor or preacher you can always call 865.435.7782 (Mt. Pisgah BaptistChurch) and ask to speak to someone who can show you how to spend eternity in Heaven. Life is too short not to know without a shadow of a doubt where you will spend eternity.

Please remember to pray for Eric and Juanita Walls, Brady's siblings, his family, his classmates, his friends and for all who knew him.

Can You Just Stay This Little, Forever?

On April 24, 2011, Easter morning, my husband and I welcomed our sweet, precious baby girl into the world. Brianna Robyn Burnham was born at 8:20am and has been the light of our lives ever since. She makes every day more beautiful with her sweet little smile.

As I sit her at the computer this afternoon on April 24, 2012 a little tear comes to my eyes because I can't a year has already gone by. I don't think you ever realize the meaning of the phrase "time goes by too fast" until you have children. Seems just like yesterday I was telling Scott I was pregnant, via a pic message of my pregnancy test, and now here we are celebrating Brianna's first birthday.

As we were tucking in our kids the other night, Scott asked Brianna - "Can you just stay this little forever?" Of course, she just smiled and reached to give Daddy a big kiss. We want them to stay little so we can cherish each little moment. We want them to still needs us, still love us the way they do right now. We love the hugs, the kisses, and the theory that Mommy and Daddy knows everything and that we'll never let anything bad happen to them. But growing up is what kids do. Soon the hugs and kisses will be minimum, and only if their friends aren't close by, and they will now know everything and heartbreaks and other scars will occur. How do we know this? Because it's what we did to our own parents. We didn't stay little forever - we grew up!

Brianna is learning so many new things each day and I can't wait to see what she is going to accomplish with her life. Because I know God has big things planned for our little lady. So in closing, Happy Birthday to my sweet baby girl Brianna Robyn. I love you more and more each day! I love you in the morning and in the afternoon - I love you in the evening and underneath the moon!

April 24, 2011

April 2011 ~ Newborn Photos

July 2011 ~ 3 Months Old

October 2011 ~ 6 Months Old

January 2012 ~ 9 Months Old

April 2012 ~ 1 Year Old

God is So Good!

Thursday afternoon I received a phone call from my Daddy telling me that he and my Mom were on their way to Children's Hospital with my little brother. Earlier that day, Cody had two small seizures at school. After much debate, they decided to go ahead and take him to the ER just to get him checked out. You see, Cody has Cerebral Palsy and having small seizures every now and then is not uncommon for him. However, he just hadn't been acted like his normal self which made my parents go ahead and let someone check him out.

Thankfully, my good friend Kendra was available to watch my sweet babies so I could go be with my brother and parents at the hospital. I arrived at the ER to see my baby brother on oxygen and very groggy. On oxygen, his levels were only staying around 93. Which is way too low! The Doctor discovered via an x-ray that Cody had a small pocket of pneumonia. However, it was not enough to be causing all the symptoms he had been experiencing. They decided to keep him over night and over the weekend. The plan was to have a few test ran on Monday and if his oxygen level came up and held it's own - he's be home by Tuesday.

Well, earlier today Cody began throwing up things that he shouldn't have been throwing up. They did a x-ray and what they saw was what they thought were his intestines blocked. They immediately said he needs to go into surgery, today! I was pulling into the parking garage at Children's when I received the crying phone call from my Mom. I then called Scott and told him he needed to be there. I immediately began to think the worst. I honestly didn't know if Cody would pull through the surgery or not. I was worried because of how his oxygen level had been so low and didn't know if he could handle the anesthesia. I prayed all the way up to room 342 for God to give me strength to hold it together for my parents. Praying for wisdom for the Doctors who were about to do surgery on my precious baby brother. Praying that God would give grace and strength to my parents. The doctors talked about things urgently and with authority. They weren't really sure of what they were getting into. I could not imagine hearing the news my parents had just heard about my own children. Scott called our Associate Pastor, Nathan, and he sent out a phone call to our church body to ask for prayers for Cody. Prayers is what he needed!

Prayer is a funny thing. You may not hear everyone's prayer for you but you can always feel it. With the family all gathered at Cody's bedside we had a moment of family prayer. Tears were shed. Souls were put at peace. We even shared a few laughs afterwards when little man looked up and smiled at us all. He knew he was going to be just fine! One of the greatest things about prayer is that no words have to be spoken because my God knows our hearts! He knows are wants, our fears, our desires. I am so thankful for an all-knowing and an all-powerful Savior.

Many prayers were asked for my baby brother and they were definitely felt. As we gathered in the surgery waiting room there was a sense of peace in the room. We were able to share some laughs and have some peace. The surgeons told us that Cody's surgery would last anywhere between 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Well, Cody was out in about an hour. Because of so many prayers - Cody's intestines were fine. In fact, all of his organs looked great. The only problem was that his pancreas was a little firm and there was some fluid inside his tummy that they were able to suck out. They sent that fluid off to see if it was an infection. Cody came out of surgery fine and immediately woke up from his anesthesia. We didn't get any answers to what was causing him to throw up - but, praise the Lord the surgery is over and for right now all is well.

We are still awaiting some tests results and some more tests will be done in the next few days. But, tonight my baby brother is resting comfortably in 342 (not in ICU like anticipated) and my God is great! He is good and I am so thankful He answers prayers.

I love how God works things out and even prepares us for certain things. Candice had just said this morning in Sunday School isn't it great that we can lean on God when things get hard. That when we are desperate He knows our hearts and knows what we need. Well, today the Gaylors were desperate and our Lord heard our cry. He knew what we needed and He took care of my precious Cody. I could not imagine not having the Lord to lean on in times of trouble.

God is good! I am so thankful He has given me some great friends to help me with my children during these crazy days. I am so thankful for all of you that offered to watch them and who offered your prayers to us. Please continue to pray for Cody. He has a long road ahead of him. Please pray for my parents. They need strength and comfort. My mom, who is a dialysis patient, is doing exceptionally well with everything considered. Mom suffers from extreme panic attacks but remarkably hasn't had too much problem with it during Cody's stay in the hospital. Kendra said it best this evening, "That is what prayer does. Gives us strength we never knew we had!"

I just wanted to take some time to catch everyone up and brag on my Jesus for a bit. So, glad He's all we need!

Special thanks to our family for waiting with us during surgery, Rachel & Jeff for watching my babies this afternoon, Kendra & Andrew for watching my kids this evening, Ben & Nathan for visiting us at the hospital, the nurses and doctors of Children's Hospital, and all of our friends for praying for Cody today!

PS - If you had photos made in the past few days, please be patient with me to get them edited. I'll be going to the hospital often this week but will get your photos finished as soon as I can! Thank-you so much for understanding.

Scripture Sunday

John 3:16

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

The most quoted verse in the Bible is John 3:16. It's also one of the first verses you probably  memorized as a child. It seems so elementary, yet so powerful!

Now that I am a mother, and have a son of my own, this verse is that much more amazing. God loved this world, full of sinners, so much that he willingly gave his Son to die for us so we could be in Heaven with Him one day. His only son! I don't know that I could willingly allow Eli to die for a bunch of sinners. Could you give your son up?

God knew we were sinners and could not enter a perfect and sinless Heaven the way we were. So He gave the ultimate sacrifice so we could have the opportunity to be with Him throughout all eternity.

This verse also states that all we have to do as sinners is believe on Him and we will receive everlasting life. That's it - just believe. No works are involved! God gave us the simplest yet most wonderful gift - we just have to believe and accept it.

If you have any questions on how you can accept this great gift, please feel free to contact me. I'd love to share the wonderful love of God with you!

Happy Birthday Memories & Blessings!

Two years ago this month God so graciously allowed me the opportunity to begin Memories & Blessings Photography. The time has just seemed to fly by. Throughout the past two years I have had the opportunity to meet so many new people that I would've never had the honor of meeting if it weren't for Memories & Blessings Photography. I am so thankful for each client I have had and am thankful for the ones I will have in the coming years.

Photography has always been a love of mine. When I was in high school I had the opportunity to be the Photo Editor of my yearbook and even had the chance to be on the sidelines for sporting events and take photos. It was a great learning experience for me. Through my college years I dabbled in photography some more but it wasn't until my parents bought me a Nikon D50 that my love of photos grew into something more. I began taking photos for families in my church and was able to make a little extra money.

While I finished up college the photography thing kind of went on the backburner. I had a broken lense and couldn't afford to fix it or buy a new one - so I just concentrated on school and my new love, my now husband. Once I graduated, I began teaching at a local Christian school, which I thank God for constantly. Teaching has always been my passion and I am so grateful I was given the opportunity to live out a dream of mine by being in the classroom.

After teaching for a year, my son Eli was born. I knew that teaching would now have to be given up for the time being and I needed and wanted to be home with my baby. As always, God provided financially and took care of our family, while we were living on my husband's income alone. My parents once again provided me the opportunity to pick up photography again, when Christmas rolled around. It was Eli's first Christmas and I didn't have a camera to capture it with. They purchased the lense for my D50 that I had been missing. One of the best Christmas presents ever! I was so happy to be able to photograph my precious baby boy's first Christmas - with an awesome lense ;)

The new year came around, 2010, and after people began seeing photos of Eli on Facebook I received some inquiries about taking photos. I sat down one evening in February of 2010 and made a business Facebook page. I thought long and hard about a name for my photography and Memories & Blessings came to my mind. That's what I wanted my business to be about - capturing people's memories and their blessings. Plus, my initials are MB so it just seemed to fit :) I remember smiling when I left the computer screen and headed to bed. I poked my hubby and said "I think I just started a business." I didn't know how much God was going to bless me or my business but I knew I wanted to take a leap of faith and try it out. Much to my surprise within the first week of Memories & Blessings Photography being on Facebook I had about five inquiries.

Since that night in February of 2010, I have photographed around 250 sessions and 7 weddings. I am so honored and humbled that people choose me, out of all the photographers in our area, to capture their memories. I love watching people's kids grow up! I love witnessing two people make sacred vowes in front of their family and God, vowes that say they will love each other forever no matter the circumstances. I love seeing a family with the newest member of their family. I love seeing the joy on the parent's faces during a maternity session. I love being a part of my client's lives, even if it's just for that hour. I count it a huge honor and responsibility that you allow me to photograph your sweet families.

In honor of Memories & Blessings Photography's birthday - each comment on the blog or on the link to the blog on our Facebook page will receive a small token of my appreciation. At the end of the night, I will give each comment a number and then use random.org to pick a number to win a Spring mini-session on March 24th at the Knoxville Botanical Gardens and then I'll pick another number to win a half-priced mini-session on the same date.

Thank-you again for allowing me the opportunity to "Capture God's Blessings in Your Life!"

Truly Blessed,

Megan

The Changing of the Year, Means a Year of Changes!

I know that we are half way through January but it's never too late to make some changes! 2011 was a fantastic year for Memories & Blessings Photography and I am so eager to see what God has in store for Memories & Blessings in 2012. After reading other photographer's blogs, I have decided to sit down and make a list of goals to reach for this year. Here is my simple list of twelve things I hope to accomplish in 2012, the items are listed in no particular order.

1.   To photograph a session in Cades Cove.

2.   To photograph in two new locations.

3.   To start a blog.

4.   To give away a discounted session, at least once a month.

5.   To receive 2000 likes on Facebook.

6.   To photograph a session in a big city - Nashville, Chattanooga, Atlanta, etc.

7.   To photograph at least 125 sessions.

8.   To redesign the website, business cards, labels and forms.

9.   To do a "Trash-the-Dress" session.

10. To photograph at least 20 new clients.

11. To photograph at least 75% of my past clients.

12. To photograph a session of my children at least every other month.

I have already been able to mark a few of those items off my list! For example, you are reading my new blog - so there goes #3. I have been working on #8 - to redesign the website, business cards, labels and forms - and now get to cross it off my list as well! Take a look at all things new at Memories & Blessings Photography. (Please excuse the pictures, they aren't that great, I took them with my regular point and shoot off of my computer screen).

The new business cards!

The new Photo CDs!

The new website! This has been a work in progress! I posted a design last week and just wasn't in love with it - here's the new and improve site, which I happen to love! Check it out, www.memoriesblessings.com.

The new Client Access page!

The next photo is of something I have been wanting to do for some time now. It's a brand new "Loyal Client Reward Card". I have so many great clients who return to me every time they need new photos. Why not be a blessing to you just like you are to me? At your first session in 2012, you will receive a "LCR Card", with one stamp, in your envelope along with your Photo CD, copyright and DVD slideshow. Collect four stamps on your card and receive $25 off your next session. You will get a stamp with both mini-sessions and full sessions. Please keep in mind, it is your responsibility to bring your "LCR Card" to each of your sessions.

The brand new Loyal Client Reward Card!

Can you help me mark any of my goals off of my list? Just email me or message me on Facebook to schedule a session.

But, before you leave the blog today I want you to help in completing one more of my goals. #4 - To give away a discounted session at least once a month. Facebook rules have changed (once again) and page owners can no longer have contests on their pages. If they get caught doing this Facebook will delete the page and not allow you to make a new one under that name. But no fear, I have found another site that will allow me to do contests and connect them to my Facebook page so you will still have access to them. There will be a link to the other site on my Facebook page whenever I do a contest. However, that's not the type of give away I'm doing today. 

Everyone knows that February is a month for love. February 11th I will be doing a day of "Sweetheart Mini-Sessions" at the UT Gardens on the UT Campus. These sessions will be for couples only, no kids allowed! If you need to bring your children there will be a babysitter on site that you may leave them with for $5 a child. Here's your chance to win a half-priced mini-session (can not be combined with any other offer) on that day. Simply visit www.memoriesblessings.com and take a look around. Once you click on the Website photo, leave your name, email address and you and your Sweetie's anniversary date (when you got married or when you began dating) in the comment box on the left. I will give each email a number according to how I receive them.  You can also enter by leaving the same information as a comment on this blog post (not on the link on Facebook, but the actually post). I will give those comments a number as well. I will then use the "True Random Number Generator" on random.org to choose a winner. You have until Monday, January 16th at 8pm to enter.

Thank-you for taking the time to read this extremely long blog post! I look forward to seeing all of your anniversary dates and seeing who wins the half-priced "Sweetheart Mini-Session" (can not be combined with any other offer). If you don't win, you should still take the opportunity to get photos made with your Valentine. I still have a few spots available. Message me today to make sure you get a time slot!

Truly Blessed,

Megan

To Be Like Tebow?

(Photo courtesy of google.com)

How many times over the past few months have we seen this young man in this position? Tim Tebow has received recognition over the past few months for his courageous stand for his belief. What he is doing is certainly admirable and can teach many of us other Christians a lesson. He is not afraid of the criticism he receives from the world - he continues to share his faith in every way he can. What a platform God has given him! The NFL. All the announcers and fans call his story the Cinderella story of NFL, I call it God blessing one of his people.

To be like Tim Tebow? No, I want to be like Jesus. But, I can definitely take some pointers from Mr. Tebow. I don't want to be afraid to share my beliefs and I want others to know I love my Savior and have a desire to worship and live for Him.

God has given me a platform. Definitely not as big as the NFL, but in my own corner of the world I do have a platform. I believe God gave me Memories & Blessings Photography to be a blessing to others. Yes, it is a business, but I want my clients to know what a blessing they are to me and that God is good all the time! I will not push my faith on others, but I want to be a loving example of my God's love and mercy.

Thank-you for the opportunity to share a little piece of my heart. God has been so good to me and I want to make sure I tell everyone I possibly can!

Truly Blessed,

Megan