I heard the following quote this morning and was blown away:
"For all of you that have bought into the notion that 'one person can't change' the world....have you flown lately? All it took was ONE person to change how we live in the 21st century."
I thought this was a great new perspective on how every day we really can make a difference and go out and change the world. Remember, any huge success was just a bunch of small successes that you did not see along the way!
Also, a few weeks back I photographed my in-laws and their two girls. They are such a cute family with two around the house right now and a third due in December! Click through to see their photos and don't forget to check out our Christmas Card offer below as well!
I recently heard this song on the radio and wanted to see what the video was like. Casting Crowns did a great job with this song and video.
Isn't it true that changes usually don't happen suddenly, but gradually over time? Couples don't get married with the intention of divorcing, but almost 50% of marriages end in divorce. An employee gets a job to pay the bills, but somehow ends up racking up credit card debt. There are many things that seem to happen slowly over time. Take a look at the video and then continue reading about the death of common sense below
Common Sense lived a long life but died in the United States from heart failure on the brink of the new millennium. No one really knows how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.
He selflessly devoted his life to service in schools, hospitals, homes and factories, and helping folks get jobs done without fanfare and foolishness. For decades, petty rules, silly laws, and frivolous lawsuits held no power over Common Sense. He was credited with cultivating such valued lessons as to know when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm, and that life isn't always fair.
Common Sense lived by simple credos: sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn), reliable parenting strategies (the adults are in charge, not the kids), and winning isn't everything (it's okay to come in second).
A veteran of the Industrial Revolution, the Great Depression, and the Technological Revolution, Common Sense survived trends including body piercing, whole language, and "new math." But his health declined when he became infected with the "If-it-only-helps-one-person-it's-worth-it" virus. In recent decades his waning strength proved no match for the ravages of well intentioned but overbearing regulations. He watched in pain as good people became ruled by self-seeking lawyers. His health rapidly deteriorated when schools endlessly implemented zero-tolerance policies.
Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate, a teen suspended for taking a swig of mouthwash after lunch, and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student only worsened his condition. It declined even further when schools had to get parental consent to administer aspirin to a student but could not inform the parent when a female student was pregnant or wanted an abortion.
Finally, Common Sense lost his will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband, churches became businesses, criminals received better treatment than victims, and federal judges stuck their noses in everything from the Boy Scouts to professional sports. Finally, when a woman, too stupid to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot, was awarded a huge settlement, Common Sense threw in the towel.
As the end neared, Common Sense drifted in and out of logic but was kept informed of developments regarding questionable regulations such as those for low flow toilets, rocking chairs, and stepladders. Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by two stepbrothers and a stepsister: My Rights, Only Me and Ima Whiner.
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.
I sent out my monthly e-newsletter earlier today and in it I included information about an offer for Christmas and Greeting Cards for the 2008 Holiday Season. Take a look at a couple of the designs below and visit www.tiberiusimages.com/greeting-cards to view the details of the offer!
Be sure to get your orders in early as the demand last year was out of control!
I thought the video below was priceless. You have to watch the 60 second video before scrolling down, then I'll give you my thoughts on the video.
Here are my thoughts. I think WAY TOO MANY PEOPLE are doing exactly this with their lives right now. They are so focused on what we are TOLD to focus on by the media, like the stock market or politics, that we end up focusing on the things that are actually important to us on a day to day basis, like our families and friends. My best friends last night had their first child, a little boy and I don't think he was too concerned about the stock market and what happened in another state that he has no control over. I'm not saying that what's going on in our country isn't important, because it is and what we do in the next 12 months will ultimately determine the next 10 years for all of us. Somehow we forgot that we live in America, the MOST PROSPEROUS NATION IN HISTORY! Where 3 BILLION people around the world would love to come here and have the "declining house value" problems that we have.
I suggested to a friend this morning that we all play the "pass your problem game". How it works is you take the biggest problem you're facing in life today, write it down and put it into a hat with 20 to 30 of your closest friends. Then you pass the hat around and each pick out a piece of paper and now you have the problem that you pick out of the hat. I'd bet that everyone who agreed to that game would want their own problem back. How does the old saying go, "the man with no shoes stopped complaining when he met the man who had no feet". I think our country needs to have a collective gut check, remember who we are and be proud of it! We live in the freest, most prosperous country in the world where a "nobody" can start a business (just like I did) and have great success with hard work, determination and help from God.
Kevin and Lisa were referred to me from Frederik Meijer Gardens. Unfortunately, I had already booked a wedding for their big day (Sept 20), but I was able to connect them with Tiberius Images Associate Photographer Theresa Milanowski and from the photos and how Theresa spoke about their wedding day, it was a match made in heaven! Both Kevin and Lisa started the day off getting ready at the JW Marriott in downtown Grand Rapids and then had their ceremony and reception at Frederik Meijer Gardens. It was a beautiful day and I just had to post some of my (and Theresa's) favorites. Enjoy!
I always tell couples that I work with that all the weddings I photograph, I photograph for some reason. On Steve and Krista's wedding day, I figured out that when I was young (5 years old) I was babysat by a woman named Mary Cherry. Come to find out that is one of Steve's Aunts and Mary and her family were there on their wedding day! What's more, Steve and I knew each other when we were both 5 because we BOTH were babysat by Mary!
It was definately a crazy wedding day, but a beautiful celebration of Steve and Krista's new life together. The wedding was held at St. Sebastian Catholic Church in Byron Center which is a new church, built in 2007. What an amazing place! They actually have two churches and they rent out the "old church" for non-catholic weddings. We then visited Aquinas College where Steve and Krista met and the Pedestrian Bridge in downtown GR. The reception was on the 3rd Floor of the BOB and Gilmore, as always, did an amazing job!
Steve and Krista found me through friends of theirs, Pat and Lyndsay Lucas. I photographed their wedding in 2006. They had a beautiful day at the beach. Krista was at their wedding and Pat and Lyndsay were at the wedding this year as well. It was great seeing them!
Steve and Krista - Thanks so much for allowing me to be part of your amazing wedding day!
Regardless of your political leanings, one question I have is are you registered to vote? Check out the video below, let me know what you think. It's a little over the top for me, but it makes a dramatic point. In Michigan we only have 5 days left.
Do what you've always done, have what you've always had...
I read this quote earlier today and thought to myself that it's never been more true than today. With all the "financial crisis" news running around, it's amazing to watch people continue to do what ISN'T WORKING, yet expecting it to just "get better". Well in case no one has told you recently, hope is not a plan, it's just hope. So, with that in mind, here are a couple of events that will shape the Michigan economy in the future!
One thing that I was excited about recently was the West Michigan Regional Policy Conference. Put on by the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce and a coalition of other chambers from all over West Michigan, the business community got together, said we need to fix what's going on and put a plan in place to do exactly that. You can view details about the Policy Conference at the Grand Rapids Chamber's website at www.grandrapids.org.
