Tomorrow morning I’ll get up and instead of heading to my corner of the office, I’m heading to a corner of Paris. Yes, thats Paris, France.

I’m backpacking with a friend of a friend, that I’m looking forward to being actual friends with! Our itinerary is one that I’ve only dreamed of up to this point and I’m beyond excited to experience each of these places. Paris -> Bern -> Interlaken -> Cinque Terra -> Venice -> Florence -> Rome

And I just have to be honest here, two weeks away from the rat race I willingly subject myself to couldn’t have come at a better time. You may be wondering “Why is that? Has life been hard?”

Oh, no. That’s not it at all.

It is in fact, the opposite reality is true. Its that there is so much that’s good in a life following Christ. There is so much about Him and the life He’s called me to to be enjoyed, but I SO run the risk of missing it all and squandering time on things God hasn’t called me to.

So, the part I’m looking forward to most about this trip? Ditching media and it being just me, the backpack and the Bible. (I can hear the doubters doubting, but its true, leaving my computer home.) As a friend prayed for me tonight – “May it not be Europe that is the highlight of her trip, but may the highlight be the presence of God.”

To that I say a big “Amen!!” and I’ll see you on the other side, internet!

Actually, I’ve chosen one mode of communication to share this corner of the world with everyone back home. Follow me on twitter @lizajhartman or the hashtag #backpackeurope2012

Last week we were in the colorful city of New Orleans. Which of these are true of the city?

• The food is second to none.
• It is NOT on the Gulf.
• Part of the city is below sea level.
• It is home to the largest enclosed arena in the United States.
• All of the above.

You guessed it… all of the above and things that I was unaware of. What a city. So varied and interesting. Home to live music, a southern pace, Cafe du Monde and the best beignets and chickory coffee ever and yes, all sorts of voodoo and sad little scenes.

A little photo tour…

French Quarter

This photo compliments of Sarah and her iPhone.

Random celebrity I found… oh wait no! That’s Sarah.

Happened to be Navy Week while we were there, which brought ships and sailors to town.

You know how it goes, you carefully give your SLR camera to a stranger to take a photo and say, “Can’t go wrong, just push the button.” As it turns out, you can go wrong. Classic!

Then, also in classic fashion, you wait until he leaves and try the next competent looking tourist. Ah! Better.

Sarah asked me to post as many of these of her as possible. Ha, hardly! Love this girl…  And so fun to explore New Orleans together!

This is THE Cafe du Monde. Oh man, I could have camped here for days. That would have been a possibility actually, since its open 24 hours and they keep on bringing those hot beignets and coffee from the kitchen, but they would have had to roll me home. So delicious! and such a french cafe feel.

We (Sarah and I) came down on a business trip with the fun and fabulous Cathie and Superior Graphics. Their parent company, Consolidated Graphics, put on an A-Class print conference. A great week!

I know Emily well through our Big Sister/Little Sister gatherings where we would sit around in our pjs at slumber parties and eat junk food and talk about the (far-off) time when God brought Mr. Right along.

As it turn out, far-off is not so far off and Emily’s Knight in Shining Armor has appeared on the scene and completely whisked her away. Can’t believe how fast time goes! And I’m looking forward to seeing God’s plan unfold in these lives.

The wedding was on a rainy-turned-perfectly-sunny Saturday and the location was a photographer’s dream. In keeping with the way of Southern belles and hospitality, Emily’s hair was beautifully big and the wedding party and families involved were so gracious!

Doesn’t Emily look like a China doll?

Little squeals and gasps of delight could be heard by her two little sisters that morning. Love the shining eyes… They would agree that Emily looked striking on her wedding day!

And… pretty sure Marc trumped all reactions with the tear in his eye as his bride walked down the aisle into her new position as his wife.

The inside of Duncan Memorial chapel is quite a romantic atmosphere, and for a little history here – Emily’s mom and dad got married at this very place years ago. UPDATE: While I have embarrassingly taken the credit, this photo was taken by my fantastic assistant, Angela Wisely.

The fine looking wedding party…

The gentlemen…  another portrait by my awesome assistant, Angela.

Gorgeous!

So sweet!

Something about this one gets me. This would be my favorite of the day!

Angela’s point of view…

Thanks to Marc and Emily for the privilege of being part of the big day!

Bucket List Item #327 – Use the word “juxtaposition” in a blog post.

Check.

jux·ta·po·si·tion [juhk-stuh-puh-zish-uhn]
noun
1. an act or instance of placing close together or side by side, especially for comparison or contrast.
2. the state of being close together or side by side.

Remington Letter-Riter: Circa 1956
Macbook Pro: Circa 2010

I love the typewriter because of its simplicity. There is one font choice, one font size, one line height, no kerning or leading or print output settings. What you see is what you get. You basically get one shot at it, so you better weigh your words and your keystrokes carefully. What comes out of a typewriter is on purpose.

I love the Mac because it has endless font choices, a thousand ways to lead and kern, more design combinations than one person could imagine and the ability to communicate in ways the Letter-Riter never dreamed of communicating.

Sometimes I think that we (in America) live more like the latter, in a jungle of mass production, endless possibilities, a paralyzing amount of ways to spend our time and quantity regardless of quality.

Let’s live on purpose. Where the years of our lives are measured in meaningful words and relationships and choices, rather than a frantic machine producing the latest shiny thing.

That’s juxtaposition.

Needed a little perspective shift. I found a few reminders of how incredible God is.

Gracious. Slow to anger. Gives freedom to prisoners. Hiding Place. HOPE. LIFE. NEAR. Deliverer. Helper. Merciful. STRENGTH. My Defense. Our shield. RULER. Refuge in the day of my trouble. GLORY. Powerful. Beauty of Holiness. Full of Majesty. Sits Enthroned. Forever. Giver of peace. Punishes evil. Wonderful. Covenant Keeper. FAITHFUL. Incomparable. Greatly to be feared. To be held in reverence. MIGHTY. Holy One of Isreal. EXALTED. Creator of north and south. Owner of heaven and earth. Founder of the world. TRUTH. LIGHT. My Father. My God. My Friend. Justice. The Rock of My Salvation. Loving kindness. Beauty. Satisfier. Wisdom. Opener of eyes and hearts. Great Treasure. PEARL OF GREAT PRICE. Reviver. Healer. Our Maker. Takes pleasure in those who fear Him. Giver of understanding. Worth Redeemer. DELIGHT! King. Turns the way of the wicked upside down. Relieves the fatherless and the widows. Opens the eyes of the blind. Watches over the stranger. Heals the broken-hearted. Counts the stars. Unsearchable greatness. Majestic. Blessed be the Lord forevermore. Amen and Amen. (Psalms 29, 59, 89, 119, 149)

I met Heather (and Mark) during my internship at Life Action. I sensed genuineness and a preoccupation with serving others right away and that has only proved more true the more I get to know her and now her and Mark as a couple. They both have a reputation for having a servants heart, which I think is awesome, and will shine even more in their marriage.

I haven’t shot a wedding in awhile and I was freshly reminded this time of how unique and special it is to have a photographers inside view of a wedding day.

A sweet, somewhat favorite part of wedding day is when the bride first hears from the groom and she smiles and the bridesmaids squeal and want to know – “Aww. What did he say??” This truly is the first day of the rest of their lives and its real and it here. This is it!

And so, without further ado, this is Mark and Heather’s day.

The bling. Apparently the keeper of the rings got a little nervous with how long I had the rings that morning … See, Mark, I was taking pictures, not selling them on e-bay.

They say you can tell a wedding by the shoes and it seems to hold true – even when they aren’t wearing any. This is totally Heather, laid-back, unassuming…

Oh, and did I mention gorgeous? Taking pictures of Mark and Heather was a blast because they were so natural and had such a good time together.

And Mark makes Heather so happy. Love it!

Favorite of the day!

Let me just interject here that it was a bitterly cold day and the wind was not being kind. They were such troopers. Thanks guys!!

A sweet and lighthearted ceremony… thanks to Tim Ritter (and Janelle!) for being an awesome assistant and getting the bottom shot of them listening to Heather’s dad give some last minute advice.

They had Heather’s sunday school class walk down the aisle with lanterns to “Jesus Loves Me”. I love the shining look on their face as they look at the bride.

Thank you Heather and Mark for having cake pops that photographer’s can eat on the go. Thoroughly appreciated.

The sparkly send-off!

Mark and Heather, it was truly a pleasure and I look forward watching your life as a couple unfold. Thank you for your Godly example!

These days, Life Action Ministries is hopping – in just 15 days (February 24th) OneCry launches. Its incredibly exciting to be a part of this initiative and I will share more about the vision for OneCry soon (and how you can be part of it).

To quickly sum my current feelings, I’ll just say that I rarely have felt so inadequate in all my life. And while this is obviously uncomfortable, I don’t want to forget this place.

I don’t want to forget, because here’s the deal – I am bent toward self-sufficiency and independence. And while my initial reaction to new challenges that I face is to amp up the production, there comes a point when “having no strength of my own” is a reality rather than a cliche. And I realize that no amount of to-do lists or overtime or education from the University of Google are going to be enough. This is a beautiful place. And as crazy as it is, I know that I will miss this place.

In two weeks, OneCry launches and this final push is over, and I expect life to regain a bit of normalcy. But I don’t want to forget meetings that end with gathering my girlfriends (aka fellow soldiers, coworkers) and offering tearful pleas to God for strength and a God who answers one day at a time. I don’t want to forget these mornings that I’m tempted to run off without praying, but now understand in a deeper way that my strength comes from time on my knees. I don’t want to trade the strength and power from God for what I can muster up on my own.

Lord, help me not live a small life because I am afraid of stepping out into where only You can hold me up. Help me see outside of myself. And may you receive the glory that a redeemed life is meant to display.

Read this today and it reminded me how blessed I am in the place God has called me to.

I don’t even remember what I was working on at the time, but I had slipped away to a quiet place to knock out a few things on my growing to do list. Mind you, this in a place where I hear “Revival changes everything” as often as I hear “Good morning”. Both are true, both take little effort to say, and you can say either of them without believing it.

In the sometimes-intense scramble of doing what I am called to do to point people back to radical God-centeredness, the thought literally stopped me – “Wait. Revival changes everything. ” As in, everything changes. As in, when I get on my knees and ask God to renew my eternal perspective, He does it. My selfishness, laziness, clinging to comfort and people’s acceptance are challenged by Jesus who says, “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

And for a few moments I wonder if I really want my own heart to be revived, or if I’d rather the rest of the church be broken and radically obedient while I am satisfied with life as I know it.

“Forgive me for being so ordinary when claiming to know so extraordinary a God.” – Jim Elliot

I continue to be amazed at how easily I am influenced by what I can see, feel and understand with my mind. But God, who is infinitely gracious, continues to draw my heart and remind me that when Liza loses her life for my sake, is when she actually finds it. And that clinging to worthless pebbles when the storehouses of God’s salvation (in every area of life) are offered, is robbing Him of the glory that He would choose to express through me and robbing me of life the way it was meant to be lived.

And so, with all my heart – “Let it begin in me.”

Earlier this week, when it was 50 degrees, I was feeling sorry for the organizers of the 2012 Niles Hunter Ice Festival. Not. to. worry. A lake effect storm yesterday left us with a foot of snow and freezing coldness. So this morning started with the Frigid 5K. We slipped and slid and huffed and puffed in 18 degree chill. Good times! Browsing through the Ice Festival, I have to say, I was impressed with the ice carving skills (could be attributed to southerness and optimism) and thoroughly enjoyed ice cream and free hot chocolate.