Tuesday, December 12, 2006

It's official!

Our new photography website is up!

check it out at www.capturetheexperience.com

I'm so excited! :-)

Friday, December 08, 2006

Are you rich?

Upper class? Middle Class? Lower Class?
Where do you fall?
Click here to find out.

globalrichlist.com

You may be surprised...

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Your favorite song...

thanks for the comments on the website people :-) Looks like we've made a decision--for those who have emailed, im'd, or called me, you probably know which way we're headed... the rest of you will just have to wait and see. :-)

Now I'm wondering what your favorite songs are...? We have an UNLIMITED music gallery on the new site (yay!), and so I'm starting to put together the list of songs that I will consider for ambiance.

Some already on the possible list include
The Way You Look Tonight -- Frank Sinatra
Unforgetable -- Nat King Cole
Best Part of Me -- Dave Burkum
Instramental -- Dave Burkum
Isn't it Love -- Andrew Peterson
Somewhere Over the Rainbow -- Various artists
Love Song -- Third Day

Etc...
So what are your favorites??

I need your oppinion!

Ok, so we're getting ready to purchase a new website from for our photography business.

So, I thought I had it figured out--until today, when they released a new template (at a special sale cost I might add), So--if you have time, visit the templates at


template 28 (our original choice)

template 29 (the new template)

And let me know which one you like better--and why?!
Also, they are going to be releasing a "B" version of the 29th template sometime today... it should have a cleaner and more professional look to it... so you can watch for that if you like.

Thanks for your help!
Christina

Monday, December 04, 2006

And now... the Teichroew News

In one of my previous posts, I eluded to some big changes that had come down the line for Jonathan and I. Here's a bit more on the explanation--and an opportunity to thank God for his amazing provision.

So about three weeks ago, as we were gearing up for our church's missions festival, Jonathan came home from work to let me know that he had some important news. Turns out due to industry slow-downs, the Minnesota district had been ordered to cut everyone in his position at all the stores in the district. The cut was immediate, he was told on Friday night, and his last day was to be the next Monday.

I was a little shocked. We knew things in the market were not looking good, but had not anticipated that this action would come so soon--and even when we thought about it, we had always assumed that they would create another position for him (in fact they had already expressed desire to transfer him into a trainer position--but right after that talk, corporate had initiated a hiring freeze on the whole district, so we had been waiting for that to be lifted so he could transfer out of his position).

That Friday evening, we had to leave home almost immediately to set up for our missions festival with the rest of the team. I was mainly just walking around in a daze, trying to process what had happened... by the end of that night though we were starting to come to grips with it, and had a chance to talk things through a bit.
As we talked, we both realized that we had been praying about his work situation for months... as J gets ready to start school in January, his previous position would have been a very difficult situation. It was almost an hour commute from our home (each way), and even farther from school. The hours they were demanding would have made it very difficult to get to classes (It was not uncommon for J to leave at 6am, and get home at 6pm--and those were the short days!), and adding school and homework to that mix would have certainly cut out almost any time we had for each other.

As we had a chance to step back, we realized that if we had been praying for God to work in J's work situation, how could we do anything but trust Him if things started happening. By Sunday afternoon, we were wondering if God wanted us to finish J's schooling in China

If you know me, you probably know that I like things to be laid out and planned... yeah sure, I've been known for spontaneity--but you have to understand--it's a carefully thought out spontaneity... Yes we can go to Canada in the middle of the night, yes there's a car to sleep in, yes I have enough money in my bank account to take care of emergencies... My craziness has usually been strategically applied. So for us to suddenly be out of work, with a mortgage and bills to pay--My natural reaction would have been to freak out--try to figure it out--make a gameplan--and get on top of things again.

Instead, we both just felt this great peace about it. As we consciously worked to trust God--that he was doing something in this--I let go of my desire to 'figure it out' and we both prayed and really tried to wait on God, to see what he was going to do. This doesn't mean that Jonathan didn't start looking online for jobs and such, but there was just none of that desperation that we felt it was really up to us.

On Monday morning (J's last day at that job), he began saying his goodbyes at work to the people he has met over the last two years. By Monday afternoon, there was rumor of things happening in the upper levels of the company. See, last October (05), Jonathan had been chosen to lead a relief team to Gulfport MS, to help with Hurricane Katrina disaster relief. We had both gone (I was the trip photographer), and in that process, had gotten to know some of the leaders within the company. Turns out, Jonathan's lay-off had been a middle management decision, and these people not only didn't know about it, they were upset that they were losing him.
By Monday night they had apologized for the confusion and expressed a desire to keep him, by Thursday, he had an interview with a sister company in the district, and on Friday, a week after losing his job, Jonathan was offered a position with this other company.

Now the even cooler part. This job is only a 15 minute commute (as opposed to an hour), and his work schedule will be flexible with his school schedule. Those are just a few of the cool things that have worked out so far. Oh yeah, and now the alarm usually goes off closer to 7am, pretty sweet. :-)
We are very grateful, as we really feel that God was working on our behalf to arrange this in a way that we never could have done alone.

So that's the big news. Sorry for the long post, but I hope that this story encourages you to trust God in your situations--even when they initially are shocking or look bad.

"The eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout all the earth, looking to show himself strong to those whose hearts are wholly his."

vote

So my brother just sent me a link to jpeg magazine, where photographers can upload photos and people vote one which ones they want to go into print. Looks like fun. You can see my first submission on your right under the search box, click if you'd like to vote for it... let me know if you join the fun and I might vote for you too :-)

Friday, December 01, 2006

Commented by me on another blogger's page. Reposted here, cause I want to expound further... but must do it another time. It's bedtime and we both work tomorrow. :P



Understanding and repenting for sin is biblical and healthy... but getting stuck there is not. I am so into the topic of grace right now, I've seen so many Christians that live their lives deep in a sense of guilt. They become mired in it and it makes them fake to themselves and those around them. We just saw a Ravi Zacharias video that had many testimonies of people feeling alienated from the church and God, because of a guilt--either self-inflicted, or externally imposed. So they search for other community... what should be a place of healing, becomes a place of greater pain.

a few verses that help me a ton.

First, in 1 Peter 3
21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also--not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God.* It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand--with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.

1 Timothy 1
3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer 4 nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. These promote controversies rather than God's work--which is by faith.

5 The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (conscience again? what?) 6 Some have wandered away from these and turned to *meaningless talk.* 7 They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm. 8 We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. 9 We also know that law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 10 for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers--and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine 11 that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.


and lastly, Hebrews 9
6 When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. 7 But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.

8 The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still standing. 9 This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. 10 They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings--external regulations applying until the time of the new order. 11 When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. 12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. 13 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
15 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance--now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.


More to come later...