Last weekend I went to a women’s retreat at the Calvary Bible College in Temecula, California. This was Kaleo’s first retreat in three years and long overdue. I arrived at 2pm on Friday to help setup and take pictures as women arrived to the retreat. I was so looking forward to going. I knew I’d be 35 weeks pregnant, but I knew if I didn’t take the opportunity to go, I’d regret it. I actually almost didn’t end up not going toward the end because of some unexpected financial issues that came into play, but Luke encouraged me to go and trust in God’s provision. Thank you God for giving my husband insight and the encouragement. God knew I needed the spiritual nourishment and this was the perfect opportunity to be filled.

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. 2 Corinthians 8:9

Susan Trout was our speaker for the retreat and I was extremely blessed by her ability to honestly and humbly share the Word of God as well as some of her life. It was refreshing to hear her speak so powerfully and yet so vulnerably at the same time. That is very rare to find. Through the weekend we discussed the book of Ruth. Ruth is a beautiful picture of Jesus redeeming us to himself even through much tragedy and unfortunate circumstances such as Ruth and Naomi. Jesus used Susan Trout to open our eyes to a deeper meaning to this story. We discussed the characters in the story and dove into the meanings of their names. We also had group time where we went over specific questions which allowed us to open up to each other. Overall this was an awesome weekend filled with fellowship, growth, spiritual nourishment, rest and relaxation as well as good food.

Thank you Jesus for the time away to focus on you!

A couple years ago I became interested in photography, but didn’t know exactly what to do about it. I received a catalog in the mail for adult school education and saw they offered quite a variety of classes. The one that caught my eye was a class that focused only on learning how to use a digital camera. If you haven’t looked into taking a class through adult school education, you should reconsider. They are inexpensive and focus on specific hobbies and interests such as Italian cooking, digital photography, art, sewing, yoga, etc. Plus, every county has them, so you can always find something close by.

I enrolled and attended a one evening a week, six week course at a local high school. The instructor, Rod Deutschmann, was awesome. I remember the first thing he told us to do was change our setting to the manual setting. We were no longer allowed to use preset settings. He then told us that for a good while many of us will have blurry photos. This made many people uneasy because they were so used to using the pre-programed settings (you know the ones on the top dial with the pretty pictures) and every shot coming out crystal clear. But, after some practice and demonstrations, most of us started feeling more comfortable and more in control of our cameras. Having the ability to play with the lighting and shutter speed was all new to many of us. We were so pre-programmed just like our camera settings to click a button and be satisfied with the outcome.

If digital photography is something you are interested in and are located in southern california, Ron and his wife Robin Deutschmann can teach you how to become a more confident photographer. They have specialized classes that can help you in whatever area you are interested or need improvement in(see the list below). There is a cost for each session, but they are well worth it because they are hands on and teach you specifically what you need to know. You can check out their website by going to: www.iflcsandiego.com.

MULTIPLE-SESSION COURSES

IN FOCUS I: MASTERING THE MECHANICS

IN FOCUS III: THE ELEMENTS OF DESIGN

(NEW) MACRO: UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL

LIGHTING IN A FLASH

ONE-DAY WORKSHOPS

PORTRAITS: A NEW VIEW

DESIGNING A PHOTO

THE AT HOME STUDIO: CHRISTMAS MEMORIES