We Were Never Promised Another Day

On Tuesday I got word that my aunt died. She wasn't really my aunt, but I called the girl friends of my uncle my aunts; there were only two since my childhood. I'm not really sure why he never married her. They had been together since I was a small child. She died because of severe complications with her liver. After going to the hospital from health issues (I'm not sure of the specifics) she was informed of her liver problem then and had to stay for a while. From what I was told, she returned to the lifestyle that gave her the liver problem in the first place and her liver couldn't take it.

This morning I got the call that last night the parents of a former youth of mine died in a car accident. I haven't known Katie long. When we met she was a senior in high school and last year they moved 45 minutes away. I can't imagine what she's going through right now and I know it's going to be hard to return to anything normal.

I'm finding it hard to hold back the tears this morning.

I'm thinking about what if I lost my parents. What if I lost Sarah. What if my life was taken.

"yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes." James 4:14

"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is." Ephesians 5:15-17

Our time is so brief. It's easy for us to get caught up in the every day, day in and day out, tasks. It's easy for us to get so wrapped up in ourselves, focusing on our needs instead of being in community with those around us. It's easy for us to take those who are most precious to us for granted.

Say what needs to be said now. Treat them as they should be treated now. Let them know you love them. Let them know how much you care.

Jackie's Wedding Dress

Jackie is a friend who got married this past summer. For one reason or another she was never able to get photos outside of the wedding ceremony and really wanted some of her in her dress, so she let me take a few shots with my camera to add to my portfolio. Here are a few of my favorites. More can be seen at my fan site on facebook.

Mary Kay

I am Vero Beach's newest Independent Beauty Consultant for Mary Kay! For those of you wondering, this was not a sudden decision. I met my wonderful director, Vivianne, back in Novemeber where she did a party that I attended. Right away she wanted to recruit me for Mary Kay. I told her no, that I wasn't interested. Well, I hosted a party, then attended two more parties hosted by some friends. Every time I saw Vivianne, she encouraged me to think about selling MK. And think about it I did. I absolutely love the products, and at first just thought about joining MK just for my own benefit. But after talking with Vivianne and joining I am ready to give selling MK a try. My starter package should arrive tomorrow, and I've already placed an order so that I will be able to start selling the products immediately. I am still working 40 hours a week at the bank, so MK will take second place to that.

I already have a few friends and co-workers who are going to be supporting me with purchases. Terry is very encouraging in this venture as well. I have lots of ideas of how to get some new clients, and I am also attending a MK conference in Orlando next month where I'm sure to get pumped up!

If you have never tried MK why not let me introduce you to the products? And if you have tried them before or are currently using MK you could show your support for me by letting me supply you with MK (that is, unless you already have a good MK consultant, I don't want to be a client thief!) For those of you who know me, you know that I could not sell something that I don't believe in. I will be honest and say that I have tried a few of the products and was not super impressed, but MOST of the products I have tried I absolutely love!

If you live in Vero Beach or the surrounding cities, email me! I would love to meet with you! smoore62577@marykay.com

If you are anywhere else in the country take a look at my website where you will find all of the MK products as well as a fun virtual makeover! You can either place an order directly from my website, or email me with questions. I can send you a catalog as well as some samples of either what you are interested in or what I would suggest for you.
www.marykay.com/smoore62577

I would really appreciate any type of support that you can give me, even if it is just verbal encouragement. Please visit my website and/or email me if you have any questions! Thank you!

Sarah Moore
Mary Kay Beauty Consultant
www.marykay.com/smoore62577
smoore62577@marykay.com

PS - Any orders I receive before next Sunday will include a free MK gift, just from me!

The Sartains

This was a fun shoot. Jackie (the girl in the photos) is a professional photographer. We went out and she took pictures of Sarah and I while I got some of her husband, Danny, and her. You want to hear the funny thing. . .towards the end of the day Sarah grabbed Jackie's camera and took a few shots while I was shooting and got the best picture of the day (you'll have to talk her into posting it).

Sarah's Not Blogging

So, Sarah and I talked about getting back into blogging and both said we should, but Sarah hasn't said anything yet. I think you all should let Sarah know how much you want to hear from her!!

Terry Moore Photography

Become a fan on FaceBook (click here)

A good number of pictures are posted in the fan page. Check them out and let me know your thoughts (feel free to be tough and give advice).

Even though it sounds like a business, I really want to use it to meet people in the community. I'm not as interested in making money as meeting new people, although I wouldn't mind being able to get more equipment.

It would be awesome if this connects me with people I don't normally connect with.

Stretching Myself, Continued

Some of you may be thinking. . .with all that work on photography and Spanish how do you have time for church work. Well believe it or not, I plan on using both in ministry. Plus, I've learned that stretching myself in one area often gives me new life in another.

But I'm also stretching myself in ministry areas through learning and living differently. Some of this is through reading. Some of this is a result of conversation with individuals who have been having an influence on me. Lately I've been trying to be in public areas (mall, bookstores, etc.) where it's normal to meet people and talk with total strangers; I'm naturally shy so getting into a conversation with a total stranger isn't easy for me. I mean, of course I could be "that guy" that talks to whoever and annoys people, but I'm not trying to be "that guy". I'm trying to naturally learn how to talk with people outside the church about everyday stuff.

Reading the right books seem to have this stretching impact as well. . ."Present Future" by Reggie McNeal, "Deadly Viper Character Assassins: A Kung Fu Survival Guide for Life and Leadership" by Mike Foster and Jud Wilhite have been awesome!! Next on my reading list is "Lost and Found: The Young Unchurched and the Churches That Will Reach Them" by Ed Stetzer.

Stretching Myself

Something I've learned about myself is that I'm at my best in life when I'm learning new things. So I've decided to press myself to learn two things I've been wanting to do for a long time.

The first is photography. Ever since I was asked to photograph the wedding of a friend, with the crappy camera I had at the time, I was struck with the bug to seriously study photography. I've even had a nice camera for nearly a year, but never really did much with it (other than take picture of church and youth events). Over the past month I've done a lot of research and study. I'm committed to no longer use point and shoot features on my camera, but to actually learn how to properly use aperture, exposure, positioning, lighting, depth, distance, ISO, shutter speed, etc. . .to be smart with my choices to create awesome photos. I've gotten a lot of really cool tips from Brian and Rachel Henderson and Nathan Lawrenson. I'm loving it!

The second is Spanish. In January I purchased Rosetta Stone's Spanish (Latin America). For about 3 weeks I've been plugging away at it. It's tough and I still feel like I'm pretty stupid, even though my lowest grade has been a 91. I just find learning a new language to be tough. Learning Spanish is something I've wanted for a long time as well. Right now I'm really bad at it so don't even bother trying to speak to me in Spanish. Wait a few months. Right now one of the most difficult things for me to do is the double "r" sound in Spanish. Sarah laughs every time she hears me try to roll my tongue; how bad I am at it does sound funny.

Both of these, I believe, will stretch me in a good way. Anyone who knows me knows that deep within me something cries out to always be creative. Also anyone who knows me know I love to learn new things, try new things, and do new things. Both of these bring me a lot of excitement in everyday life.

Valentine's Day

So I decided to not celebrate my love for Sarah over a day. Partially because I know Sundays have a tendency to be really busy for me. . .being a pastor and all.

So it started on Friday when Sarah received some flowers at work. . .


On Saturday, I gave Sarah some double dipped chocolate covered peanuts. She hadn't had them in a long time and I know she loves them. At night I surprised her with going to see the New Moon movie again (second movie in the Twilight Series), something she wanted to do badly (this was a big deal to her) but thought it wasn't in the theater anymore.

Then today I gave her some girly Mary Kay stuff. Stuff that smells good! That's about as much as I know about it, but I knew she would like it a lot.

So what did Sarah do for me?

For one, I got to enjoy going to the movie with her. Seeing her excitement and happiness is an awesome gift! Today she gave me 4 custom made mugs with pictures of us on them. They're really cool looking! And then for fun. . .she did some modeling for me. I've been getting serious about photography. Here's a few of my favorites.






I love you Sarah Moore! I still have so much fun with you!!!

Disney: Sarah's Birthday

This is coming late. This was a really big birthday gift to Sarah.

We stayed at Disney for 3 nights and 4 days. The first day was in the Magical Kingdom, the second was in the Animal Kingdom, the third was in Hollywood Studios, and the last day at Epcot.

The first day was her birthday and she wanted to go to the Magical Kingdom. She said the highlight of it was getting to have dinner in Cinderella's Castle. I didn't have my nice camera with me but I know we posted a few photos to FaceBook of that night. Another highlight was getting the best caricature we've gotten. It was GREAT! We enjoyed an awesome parade which led to an awesome fireworks display/show.

On the second day we got to see tons of animals at the Animal Kingdom. We got their early and brought the camera on this day (see pictures below). That night we went to dinner at the Rain Forest Cafe, which was as you exited the Animal Kingdom. Pretty cool place to eat.

For Sarah and I, Hollywood Studios was all about the rides. This was our third day at Disney. We went to every ride. I think our favorites were the Rock N Roll Coaster and the Tower of Terror.

Epcot, our last day, had some of the best food! But costly. In fact, everything cost quite a bit, but it was so fun. I can easily see how children would have a blast at Disney! By this day we were really tired and it was really cold. We didn't do everything and decided to leave a little early, stopping at the Cheesecake Factory as we left Orlando.

We didn't take a lot of pictures because there was an overcast pretty much every day, but here are a few, all from the animal kingdom.

Back To Blogging

So this morning Sarah and I were talking about how we haven't blogged in a long time and decided to get back to it. Both of us have things we want to share with friends and family that aren't nearby.

She told me she wants me to talk about our recent Disney trip. I told her she should because it was her "birthday", but she said she already put a lot up on facebook and she did! So I'll be blogging about disney soon with a few pictures.