change of topic

i havent blogged in quite a while, so i feel like i should. i think almost every blog that i've been writing about lately has been spiritual related, so im going to change the subject.

ive been thinking of what i want to do in the future a lot lately, and i still dont really know. i have a lot of options right now, and i wish i could just do all of them! i want to major in advertising and minor in something, or maybe even double major, depending on what i do. as of right now, my main focus is on advertising, but i want to minor in business...photography. almost the minute after i found out about the business minoring program at ut (which is called business foundations program), i replaced my anthropology class for macroeconomics. i hope it wasnt a spur of the moment kind of thing. minoring in photography excites me, but business..not so much. the practicality of a business minor could really help me out in the real world. on the other hand, minoring in photography can expand my creative side, which can be applied to advertising. it's still really open ended now, and im glad that i have these options available. i'll just have to go with the "flow" and see where God takes me.

since im sort of on the topic of photography, ill post what is on my photography wish list, which is soon to be fulfilled!!

lately i've been dabbing my feet into the waters of flash photography. using off camera speed lights gives you so many different creative options when shooting in different situations. just look at this fathers blog of his daughters and see for yourself!

1. i recently got a nikon sb-600 of my own..ive been borrowing one for the past couple months (thanks stan), but i need to get one more


2. Impact Digital Flash Umbrella Mount Kit- includes: 2 Impact Brand Umbrellas, Brackets, Light Stands


3. flash diffuser. this dumb thing is $50. i could prob make one myself, but im convinced that this expensive invention has some sort of innovative technology that cant be recreated by using a household appliance like a tupperware bowl.



4. next up are the wireless receiver/transmitters which are used to trigger the flash(es) when used off camera. with a wireless trigger, you have so much more flexibility when shooting with a speedlight than having it attached to the cameras hotshoe. im debating on whether i should go for cheap or for reliable...two words that dont go hand in hand when talking about wireless remotes.



those are cybersyncs, which are not as reliable and expensive as pocketwizards, but are said to be good and reliable. these should cost around $200 if i buy a transmitter and two receivers.

on the other hand is the cactus v2, which is dirt cheap:

these can be found for about $30 bucks online. talk about cheap! reliable or cheap? now that is the question..

sunday shoppers

i am on a blogging frenzy and i suddenly feel motivated to blog regularly! i don't know how it happened, but I've been feeling like blogging every thought that comes to mind.

I've been sitting at home in my pjs and just watching francis chan podcasts on my laptop. i managed to go pretty much the whole day without feeling lazy, its actually been really refreshing and relaxing.

one video podcast really stuck out to me and it was titled "living a life that matters". francis chan uses an analogy that seems to make things so clear to me (now that i think about the fellowships and churches Ive been involved with or visited). the issue arises when you compare customers to coworkers. if you've ever worked before, you'd understand the relationship you have with your coworkers versus the one you have with your customers. most likely your relationship with your coworkers is different because you see them more often or even every day. you discuss things about future plans, problems within the work, or even goals that need to be accomplished. you have a common bond with these coworkers because you share these things. now compare that to the shoppers. the shoppers at a clothing store, for example, come in and pick what they want, leaving when they don't find what they want or even buying what they do like. shoppers come and go as they please and do not share a common bond with anyone in the store.

that is exactly how churches are today. the church is filled with customers who are coming to buy something or find something that pleases them. i am definitely guilty of this, especially in the church hunting that i did early this semester. i went looking for how the church could please me rather than how i could help the church...i was trying to find something that i could buy, something convenient and cheap...something that looked pretty. at the same time, criticizing what this church didn't offer and what this or that church lacked. the sad thing is that we, as Christians, seem to be content with being a shopper, so content that we even blatantly label it as "church shopping". this attitude is why the modern church doesn't look like how it did in Acts. if you look at Paul's letter in Philippians, you can see how he had a common bond with his "coworkers".

3I thank my God every time I remember you. 4In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

7It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me. 8God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

Pauls bond with his church was more than that of a consumer. it was one where he could relate to them and give them advice. it was the kind of relationship where he shared a partnership and Gods grace together. that kind of relationship does not come from a shopper who picks and chooses what he wants, but from someone who shares the same goal and duty as worker in Gods big enterprise.

imagine what it would look like if people stopped shopping and began to form relationships in their fellowships, churches, or wherever they are and worked towards a common goal while serving one another instead of selfishly trying to find what appeals to them..

God-shaped vacuum

The human heart is a God-shaped vacuum—Pascal said that—and it's designed for God to fill. And if we have small views of God, and inadequate perceptions of his greatness and his glory and his love for us and his sufficiency for us, then there will be big cavernous places in our souls. And they will be churning out these desires that are just huge and controlling, whether it's a spouse or sexual things or money or praise of man or revenge.

-john piper

my heart is a God-sized vacuum and only God can fill it. i need to let that sink in and absorb. my heart is a God-sized vacuum and only God can fill it. my heart is a God sized vacuum and only God can fill it. cant you just picture how different your life would be if you truly believed this??

people change in college.

you know those times where we realize something completely life changing, only to realize that it happens to everyone. the kind where you realize that the cliche isnt cliche at all...but it actually means something to you. like when you lose something, say your cell phone, and you think to yourself "wow you really dont appreciate something until you lose it" and then at that point, the cliche begins to have a new meaning. its only been a semester, but im starting to see how people are beginning to change. its not a major issue...its more of an undeclared one (hahah...get it...), but i feel different all of a sudden when we are all together. its not the same, not at all. thing is, i dont even really know what is bothering me. what is bothering me is the fact that i cant grasp what is bothering me. its bothering me that people change in college for completely justified reasons..and that affects you in different ways. different according to the person of course, but its a change, nonetheless. and before you adjust to those changes, i guess its only natural to feel the way i do. im not saying that change is bad and that it should be avoided, but for the first time ive realized that people change in college. all the time, you hear how college changes people, but it doesnt mean anything until you experience it. i think we always think about the negative effects of change on peoples lives in college, neglecting how people can change for the better. but change for the better in other peoples lives may mean adjustment in your own life. im being so vague right now, and ill just leave it at that.

ok enough rambling, i keep trying to go to facebook anyway

hi this is my first post on blogger. i am not satisfied with tumblr and am no longer satisfied with xanga. i hope blogger satisfies me