{june photo a day :: photo 366 instagram challenge}

one thing i've continuously been reminded of this year is that there's no time like the present...  no time like the present to learn, to play, to work hard, to enjoy this fabulous life we've been blessed with.  there's no time like the present to be creative, stop just long enough to enjoy all the little blessings around you, and to use your camera to capture it all.

join me and erin for the month of june for our {Photo::366} challenge. 

 even if you haven't played all year, remember...

there's no time like the present!!

{happy.shooting}

aw

{EPIC west coaster :: through the lens of emily chidester}

 my fabulous partner in crime, miss emily chidester, from my EPIC west coaster earlier this month just posted a few pics from our time in oregon.  promise my post with lots of pics is coming SOON!  until then... enjoy em's fab post!

{OREGON} :: PERSONAL POST

{someday cottage}

 as i sit here on this may morning, nickle creek playing, i am day dreaming of a porch, the creak of the screen door as i walk outside.  the cool air caresses my face as the wind gently blows.  i dream of a rocking chair with a steaming cup of coffee.  back and forth.  back and forth.  here there are no cares in the world. the birds' song fills my ears with delight.  they sing to one another.  the crickets, the tree frogs, all that's alive in nature joins in with the cottage song.  as i sit alone with my thoughts, i relish in the peace of the moment. the smell of the earth blows by and i breathe it in full.  breathing in and out, allowing the air to completely fill my lungs, reminding me i'm alive... it's a little slice of heaven.

the sheets are white and crisp in this cottage and the beds are many. life lives here. family and friends are welcome and many come.  they're happily invited to enjoy and experience the wilderness that surrounds.  the lovely creation that captivates. 

love is found in this cottage.  

there's laughter, yet sometimes tears, as life is experienced, discussed, and lived.  there are children playing here. in the tall grass.  the unseen creek.  the girls giggle with laughter and the sound of their joy is intoxicating. the boys explore in search of all the wild animals and the many, many adventures they can find.  

the bright warm sun shines in the windows by day and the stars and moon by night. when day has gone there is a warm fire burning in the fireplace. smoke slowly rises from the chimney.  chatter fills the kitchen as a delicious dinner is prepared with love and care.  games are played, words are exchanged... love is found in this cottage.  

the floor boards are worn from the many feet that have walked across them and they creak as they go.  the character of this cottage is pure joy.  if the walls could talk, oh the stories they could tell of the life that's been shared here.  stories of family, of romance, of babies snuggled, of friendship.  stories that are so full of life they overflow and become part of this cottage.

love is found in this cottage.

this is the cottage i'm dreaming of...

 

 (this beautiful painting is by katie daisy which you can buy here.  she inspires me.)

{happy.day.dreaming}

aw

{life}

{via kadi fit}

{may photo a day :: instagram 366 challenge}

i'll have to admit... i've been slack on my photo taking as life's been a crazy whirlwind, in and out of the country this month, but let me tell you that i am PUMPED about may 2012!  i'll be changing up my scenery quite a bit this month and i'm a little bit ecstatic about what may is scheduled to bring... 

first up it's portland, oregon for donald miller's storyline conference with the lovely emily chidester.  watch out west coast.  we're ready to take you by storm!

california to FINALLY visit our beloved bringupburns.  yes that's right, my lovely co-creator of {Photo.366} and i will be joining forces for a few days...  watch out folks.  this means double trouble with my west coast twin is coming to the #mayphoto366 challenge!

finally a little later in may i'm headed to the outer banks of NC for my college roommates week long wedding extravaganza.  who knows what kinda IG insanity that will bring??...but i do know one thing... it's all gonna be a blast!!!

so without further ado... let me introduce you to may!

also... you have NO excuse not to join if you don't have an iphone because i know there's instagram for other phones now.  do it.  go get it... and get inspired by the beauty that surrounds you every. single. day!!

{happy.shooting}

aw

{love does :: a new book by bob goff :: whimsy included}

hellooooo lovely pages

 

the UPS lady arrived just before lunch today with a fantabulous surprise delivery.

{love does}

the first mention i heard of the author, bob goff, was while reading "a million miles in a thousand years" by donald miller. now don't get me wrong, the whole of miller's book was fabulous, but there was something that i couldn't get didn't want to get past in the words written about this man, bob goff, and his family.  

the spirit of life, depth of joy, and breadth of love was something that my heart and soul resonated with right away.  i wanted the whimsy.  i wanted the "cup overfloweth" of life that bob lived.  i didn't want to sit on the sidelines anymore waiting for life to happen. i wanted to count to 3 and jump off the dock fully clothed too! (you'll have to read to book to get that one)

i started following bob in the social media world and i've been so encouraged, challenged, and enlightened by his 140 characters.  his love for uganda and to find true justice there... his love does just that there and all around the world. his apparent love for others does. this all shines through in 140 characters and others words who's lives have been touched by bob. i believe 18923.8989% that God uses people in our lives to speak His truth and grow us... and i can't wait to see what words from bob that God uses in my life.  

i strive to be a person that does love and does it well... and i fail and always will, but Jesus makes that type of love possible still.  i dream of that crazy type of (sometimes silly and over the top) loving and want my life to be full of it.  i want to continue living OUT my faith. not just owning it, but doing it.  i want to love like Jesus REALLY loved.  the love to the least deserving that made most people call Him crazy.  i don't want to take "the church" in america at face value if it's not the ridiculous type of love that Jesus called us to.  i want to truly be salt and light to a world that always has, and always will, miss the mark.  our world is so desperately in need of that type of love.  we need it in our families, to our neighbors, and to the grumpy lady in line at the grocery.  yes even she needs that type of love.  i want to be a bright light of jesus' abundant love to a dark world.  even if it means it's unpopular, risky, or even hard.  Jesus didn't say this life would be easy following Him, but He did say He'd be with us every step of the way.  i want to walk in the Spirit and "walk in love."

as i sat today at lunch in the sunshine at our old picnic table behind our office, reading the forward and intro out loud to my sweet mama and soaking in the warm rays of spring in NC, my soul started stirring...

i'm excited to dive in and read these pages by bob.  i'll let you know how this adventure of a read goes... but one thing i'm certain, regardless of any words is that...

{love.does}

 simple. as. that.

{aw}

{blue like jazz :: the movie}

one of my all time favorite books, blue like jazz, 

has been made into a movie and it releases today.  

yes today.

not only is the book a wonderful story, the story of blue like jazz :: the movie and how it came to be is a fabulous one.  a hard one, but a goodie.  the short version is... they set out to make the movie, the recession hit, they "failed" as the money wasn't there.  two young guys from TN who had really been affected by donald miller's book, blue like jazz refused to let the "failing" happen so they set out to "save blue like jazz"...

insert kickstarter and add in all the rest of the people who did not want BLJ to "fail" 

we all gave (a whopping total of $345,992) and the movie happened.  

obvi.  it comes out today.

i say it's a must see.  

"why?" you ask...

my question is "why not?"

it might just change how you look at Jesus...

 see if it's playing in a theater near you this weekend and go see it.

click HERE to find local listings.

{happy.blue.like.jazzing}

aw

{i was made to live, i was made to love, i was made to know you}

these words are speaking so deeply to my soul this morning.  

the words of c.s lewis from mere christianity, put so beautifully to song by brooke fraser, and then they showed up on pinterest this morning on this beautiful piece of design by baylee heart.

my heart not only connect so deeply to these words, but when they come alive through music and beautiful design, my soul connects in a way that words cannot describe.  

the Lord meets me there.  

i have seen His face.  

the face of Love.  

the face of Hope.  

for THAT i am beyond grateful.

{C.S. Lewis Song}

if i find in myself desires nothing in this world can satisfy,
  i can only conclude that i was not made for here
if the flesh that i fight is at best only light and momentary,
then of course i'll feel nude when to where i'm destined i'm compared

{chorus}
speak to me in the light of the dawn
mercy comes with the morning
  i will sigh and with all creation groan as i wait for hope to come for me

am i lost or just less found? on the straight or on the roundabout of the wrong way?
is this a soul that stirs in me, is it breaking free, wanting to come alive?
cos my comfort would prefer for me to be numb
and avoid the impending birth of who i was born to become

{chorus}

speak to me in the light of the dawn
mercy comes with the morning
  i will sigh and with all creation groan as i wait for hope to come for me

{bridge}
for we, we are not long here
our time is but a breath, so we better breathe it
and i, i was made to live, i was made to love, i was made to know You
Hope is coming for me
Hope, He's coming...

{mission of hope :: haiti}

haiti.

it was amazing.

the vision of mission of hope is contagious.

i can not wait to go back.

for now... here are some of my favorite photos from last week that i hope give you a glimpse into mission of hope and the beautiful work happening there...

high school boys studying for the government exam at the mission school.  i was so impressed by them.  the week we were there was spring break and they were there studying so hard to pass the exams.

4wd in haiti = a must

  visiting leveque.  MOH has built 500 homes here for those in need.  some lost homes in the earthquake and a portion of the homes, the ones pictured here, are a part of a deaf community.  at least one member in each household has lost their sense of hearing. 

 

  

church of hope located at MOH :: what a beautiful time of worship we had here. 

3 cords :: what beautiful women & beautiful products they make!!

prosthetics of hope :: a part of the medical clinic at MOH

the new awesome warehouse at MOH that will house the supplies for the food program and medical supplies for MOH

 

 

jerry :: what a character this kid was.  loved him.  he loved my glasses AND my camera

 

and don't even get me started on Village of Hope, the orphanage at MOH.  

just look at that face!!

we also got to visit the village of source matelas "said like sus matla" located just outside of MOH :: a lot of homes in haiti still look like this after the earthquake.  one room may be livable and they live there, but most have only temporary housing surrounding their once homes as they don't have enough money to make the needed repairs...

village boys being silly for the camera :)

me and my fabulous team.  i was ever so grateful for them.  what fabulous people!!

didn't want to leave haiti.

can't WAIT to go back.

{aw}

{mission of hope :: haiti bound}

i am currently sitting in the charlotte airport waiting for my flight for miami.  our final destination tomorrow = haiti.  mission of hope to be exact.  to say i'm pumped to spend the week before easter, passion week, in haiti, would be a gross understatement. 

 this will be my first time in haiti, but i've been wanting to go for a long time, so when the opportunity arose a few weeks ago to tag along with my church for a vision trip to plan for a larger trip in the fall and for me to shoot some photos and video to help promote, i jumped at the chance as fast as i could.

... and i can't even begin to describe the peace and joy i have felt surrounding this trip.  the last month of my life has been full of ways that i have been floored for God's love.  i recently was bold enough to pray a prayer asking to see God's loving hand in the details of my life and the answer to that prayer has been anything BUT disappointing.  i have felt at times almost knocked down by the sheer volume of how i've been able to see God's love tangibly in my life.  i double dog DARE YOU to pray that prayer and believe it will be answered.  i have no doubt that God finds great joy in allowing us to see His love in the in's and out's, the everyday of our lives...

the opportunity of this trip to haiti is one of those blessings of seeing His love tangibly.  i've known of mission of hope since early last year when their "grow hope in haiti" tour rolled through charlotte in the beloved "tap tap"... aka bread truck turned touring van.  sort of. regardless it was beyond awesome.  i had the opportunity to sit down with some of the MOH guys at a dear family's house and hear about haiti and their hearts for the people there and the work that MOH is doing in restoring haiti.  restoring hope.  i was overwhelmed by what MOH is doing and loving the people of haiti so well.  i've been wanting to get down there ever since and here i am... headed there...  overwhelmed with gratitude.    

so for the next few days i will spend my time in port au prince.  seeing the city, seeing mission of hope, the orphanage, the school, the medical clinic, the food program, worship alongside the beautiful people of haiti, and casting vision for our team that will go later this year... AND i just happen to have brought my camera with me!  woop woop.  can't wait to show you some of haiti and share stories of my time there.

as i prepare for my time there, i can't help but think of what's coming this friday.  good friday now, but what a devastating friday in jesus' day when they didn't fully understand the depths of what was occuring.  a day i will forever live in gratitude of.  a day where my Savior bridged the gap between my desperate need and our Father's love for a fallen world.  as i travel to haiti i can't help, but feel the desperation of their need after their country has been destroyed by the earthquake.  a country that is experiencing restoration , experiencing the love of our Father, experiencing an amazing hope that one day all things will be right.  as i ponder these things during this passion week, i'm grateful that Sunday is coming...  He is risen.  He is risen indeed and one day ALL things will be right.

until that day... we love.

{happy.passion.week.friends}

aw

{april photo a day 2012 :: #aprilphoto366}

what the heck?!?  where is the year going?  i honestly can't believe it's almost april, but yet here we are... 2 days away from a new month.  i'm not sure about everyone else, but i have LOVED this early spring we've experienced here in NC.  it's been glorious and i can't wait for april awesomeness!!

this month's graphic is courtesy of the lovely erin burns... aka bringing up burns... aka one hot mama of 3!!  just ask her about her license plate.  it's "knaughty" haha! 

come join us as we embark on month 4 of the Photo 366 project and come like the {Photo 366} FB page and spread the word so your friends can join in on our craziness!

{HOLLA}

aw

{have i mentioned? ...}

pinterest has the ability to make my senses insanely happy?

cause it does.

come join the loveliness!!

happy.pinning

{aw}

{pure joy}

{let everything that has breath praise the Lord}

psalm 150:6

i'm not sure how to put the last 2 weeks of life into proper words. pure joy. unexpected new chapters.  hearing the tenderness of the holy spirit lead and being obedient. restored old chapters. blessings. travel plans out west for an epic trip of a lifetime. friendships deepening and flourishing. travel plans to haiti.  what a blessing of a season. God is knocking my socks off with the depths of His love in the best way possible.  i'm doing my best to relish in the gratitude of every small thing and very excited where this season of life is heading...

these images from pinterest put it the best way possible. 

good words. beautiful color. my heart and soul drawn out.

 

{let everything that has breath praise the Lord}

psalm 150:6 

aw

{inked :: walk in love :: eph 5:2}

 

(base image via pinterest :: graphic created by me via picnik (RIP picnik))

 this is my life verse.  what i strive daily to live my life by, to walk out my faith in jesus.  the reason i write this blog {live.a.life.of.love}.  daily it's a struggle. daily it's a blessing.  daily He makes me able.  daily God so lavishly spreads His grace over my life and allows me to live as His child.  His beloved.  i want love to be in every aspect of my life.  not love as our society necessarily sees it in , but love by the Author of Love's definition. 

{He is love.}

He made the ultimate sacrifice out of love for me and for you. this is what defines my life. why i was created.  to honor Him in all things... especially my love.  this is also a fabulous definition of what it means as a christian to walk out that love 

a new friend of mine recently sent me these sermons (click here) from pastor greg boyd to listen to on 1 corinthians 13.  there are 9 sermons in the whole series and i've already passed them on to multiple people, but it's the best way i've heard this christian life of love, that i choose to live, explained.  this is what the church should look like, even though we WILL fail.  we are still human in dire need of God's grace, we suffer from the fall of man, from our sinful human nature, but through Christ, we can strive daily to live in this manner... this type of passionate love to our world in need. 

so of course when i decided {finally} on what i wanted my first tattoo to be, much to my sweet mama's dismay, this was it.  i wanted a reminder for the rest of my life that this is what i want my life to be.  something to remind me, no matter where life takes me, this is the reason i live... to walk in love.

 {aw}

{love... mumford style}

a little music treasure for your ears and soul.  enjoy

{not certain the source of this image.  borrowed it from instagram}

{aw}

{i've found a new love...}

i've found a new love ::  watercolor. 

i started a painting a few weeks ago and love every aspect of it. first i started with acrylics and those are fabulous, but do take some time, which i don't have a ton of right now. 

 i love how the canvases came out that i painted, but then i met watercolor...

you mean i can mix words that i love so much with this loveliness??!?  and it doesn't take me hours?  don't get me wrong.  i still love to sit and paint for long periods of time with good music.  i just don't have lots of said time...

watercolor :: be still my heart.  i'm beyond excited about this new venture.  if you've never tried painting, you must! it's good for the soul.  i was able to pick up some small paper and paints at hobby lobby for under $15.  well worth it!

a very inspiring friend stated that this is such an act of worship for her and i 154.29% agree.  when i penned and painted the lyrics to watermark's "captivate us" it was a  beautiful time of worship for me.

{happy.painting}

aw

{march photo a day :: photo 366}

can you believe we've almost made it through our first month of the Photo 366 challenge?  i can't!  it's been so fun to see everyone's interpretations of the february prompts and we hope you're loving it as much as we are!  remember, if you are an "instagramer," at anytime you simply touch the #febphoto366 hashtag (or #marchphoto366 in the future) and you can see ALL the pictures that people have posted through instagram for our little photo challenge.

so without further ado... let me introduce you to MARCH! 

we would LOVE if you would blog, tweet (@photo_366) , facebook (facebook.com/photo366) and help us get the word out this month.  

we just posted a few of our favorites from february on our facebook page... are any of your pictures there?  feel free to check it out, "like us," and tag yourself in your photo.  kuddos to you little photographers...  you deserve it!  more favorites to come from the rest of the month!

i'm so proud of this little project and i love having all of you get passionate about your photography, even if it is just with your phone, and seeing the beauty in your every day!!

{happy.shooting}

aw

{happy.valentines.day}

{please excuse my lack of blogging...}

when the day comes that i'll be free from this office desk, i promise i'll blog more frequently!  i can not WAIT until that day!  i'm dreaming of being a wordsmith of more words than a random thought thrown together, being able to take pictures during the yummy daylight (darn you daylights savings time!!), and blogging galore!  i will do my best to keep blogging when i find time, but right now my crazy life as a single lady is keeping me BU-SY which is bad and good... thankfully it's mostly good because it keeps my days and nights full of friends, family, and fabulousness, but it has me ALL over the place! until my blogging is less sporadic you can find me here...

twitter.com/aprilmwalker  

pinterest.com/aprilmwalker

facebook.com/photo366

 instagram

much love to you all!!

{happy.pinterwebiphoning}

aw

{photo::366 :: february photo a day challenge}

i did it!  completed a WHOLE month of a photo challenge in january 

TODAY me and erin @ bringingupburns and all of our friends are starting our own challenge

{photo::366}

come join the fun!  i dare ya!

{happy.shooting}

aw

{can you spare $1? :: the elders' african adoption}

meet my beautiful friend wynne elder.

i had the pleasure of meeting wynne in dallas, tx in 2010 at the love affair photography workshop.  wynne is one of the most fun, loving beautiful souls i've met.  she's a photographer, Jesus lover, loves all things camp, and she has a heart for africa and orphans that is SO inspiring!!  i would be lying if i said i wasn't jealous of the fact that she went to africa 3 TIMES last year. i digress...  ;)

when i think of people that leak Jesus to all those around her, wynne is definitely on that list.  joy simply flows from her being.

wynne and her husband have decided to adopt their first child from africa, who they've already named camp elder after their love of camp, and we have a chance to help!  

let's face it...  the reality is that the cost of adoption is very expensive and not everyone is called to it, but why not help out the ones who do feel called and are willing to say "yes"???
 
give1save1 is an organization that's set up simply to help with the cost of adoption.  it's easy.  every week they're sponsoring a family and you give a $1 ... YES JUST ONE (OR 10:) ...to bless their socks off and help with their adoption.  how easy is that?  it's life giving folks!

take look at the elder's story and please take the time to give $1 this week

it's our way to do what james 1:27 calls pure religion

{religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: 

to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, 

and to keep oneself unstained from the world. james 1:27}

{GIVE TODAY BY CLICKING HERE}

{aw}