Breakthrough.

The testimonies never end.

We were singing “I Cannot Hide My Love” and something just broke in the room – something was unleashed. Your Spirit just fell. You walked into the room. I felt like heaven opened over me. I felt not only your love and delight in me, but I felt it for You. I know that this is what I have been asking for. You are transforming me.

Only a few weeks ago, God completely surprised me. Up until our last staff prayer meeting of the semester (7 Dec 2011), I had been praying for three things:

1. Do what only You can do.
2. Deliver me.
3. Show me Your delight again.

At the beginning of the semester I allowed the Lord to search my heart, and what I discovered was that there was a depth of His love that I had forgotten. To condense a many-months-long story that is full of beauty for ashes… the Lord responded very directly to those three prayers. It was a process, but I can say with confidence that a wall was destroyed that morning! And it was all because of Him. I didn’t pray or worship any differently that morning than I normally did; His presence just came, and that was enough. This wasn’t years ago; this was only weeks ago. He is always at work. It is His nature to be faithful.

Something that used to grace the front of the UGA Wesley Foundation bulletin every week was this simple phrase: “We gather each week because we believe that Jesus is real, He loves you, and He will save, help and even heal all who call out to Him.” I desperately believe this. Why? Because all of it has happened to me. And most of it has happened to me here in Athens.

This is why we're here. Everyone we work with at Wesley is giving at least a year of their lives to see Him do what only He can do, living as the Church doing what only She can do - partnering with Him as He rains His love down on the city. I don't know any former staff member who has walked away believing it was a waste of time. If anything, it has been the most abundant two years of my life, and I don't plan on looking back.

Awakening.

Yesterday at dinner Bob said something that has been running through my head over and over and over.

"He is awakening our hearts to Him."

Our last day on staff (about a month ago), and then continuing this past week, something has been blooming in me, waking up, getting a glimpse of "Christ in me the hope of glory." It's like a woman who has been receiving letters from her love for years and then out of the corner of her eye sees his face in the window or hears his boots on the wood floor behind her or feels the weight of his shadow coming over her shoulder. That moment right before you turn around, screaming and whispering at the same time, "This is it. This is it. This is it."

This is it. It has always been it. Now has always been the time.

Now I believe it. I feel it. Now is the time to dream. To be fearless. Now is the time of favor and salvation. Our world waits.


Our Beloved waits.

Answers.

Psalm 30.


¹ I will extol You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up,
         And have not let my foes rejoice over me.
 ² O LORD my God, I cried out to You,
         And You healed me.
 ³ O LORD, You brought my soul up from the grave;
         You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
         
 ⁴ Sing praise to the LORD, you saints of His,
         And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.
 ⁵ For His anger is but for a moment,
         His favor is for life; 
         Weeping may endure for a night, 
         But joy comes in the morning. 
         
 ⁶ Now in my prosperity I said,
         “I shall never be moved.”
 ⁷ LORD, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong;
         You hid Your face, and I was troubled. 
         
 ⁸ I cried out to You, O LORD;
         And to the LORD I made supplication:
 ⁹ “What profit is there in my blood,
         When I go down to the pit? 
         Will the dust praise You? 
         Will it declare Your truth?
 ¹⁰ Hear, O LORD, and have mercy on me;
         LORD, be my helper!” 
         
 ¹¹ You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
         You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,
 ¹² To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent.
         O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.


Life update to come soon.

Worthy.

You are the pearl of great price.

You are our reward.

You are worthy of all praise, all renown, all attention.

You are not just beautiful - but all beauty flows from you. Your nature is beauty.

Your delight is worth all our labors, our time, our thoughts, and our intentions.

You are the only pure and holy and righteous and true.

You are humble and have given all of yourself.

You are the faithful one.

You are the one we have been looking for.

You are worthy of the hidden things.

Your goodness and nature are so vast that we will spend eternity searching you out - and You are worthy of that too.

You are the only one worthy of eternity.

You are trustworthy - and so submission is a gift to us.

The joy of knowing you and seeing Your kingdom come is worth all the pain of getting there.

Update & Wedding - Clair & Jeremy.

Hello friends. Once again, our bloggy blog has been neglected. I've been in the process of developing branding for my new photo website, so I don't feel too bad. I am hoping to launch said new blog by the end of the summer/early fall. Something to be very excited about! New horizons and adventures.

Last month I had the privilege of photographing Clair & Jeremy's wedding. They were so sweet and their wedding day was full of joy and peace... I left feeling so blessed. Their families were so kind and hospitable. Clair decided on an all-white wedding - they wanted their wedding to exude purity and holiness, and it did. All the white details were just gorgeous. I loved how laid-back and gentle this couple was. Another thing I loved about this wedding was the flower girl, Clair's cousin. She has Down's syndrome and was totally the life of the party (something I can relate to - my brother has Down's syndrome as well, and also a charmer).

So without further ado...

Yes ladies, her dress had pockets...

Cheers to love!

Love lavished,

Autumn

Natalie & Tyler.

Hey friends. It's been a while.

My head has been swimming back and forth between orchestrating projects, packing boxes, and dreaming with Jesus. This season is full of grace and I can feel it. I feel that this is a time of transformation, a time to rest in His completed work and be continually beautified by the One who is drenched in love.

The husband dearest and I have been on our toes for the past few weeks. We are now (TADA!) moved into a house! Homeowners. Wow. We are amazed at the fact that we could even make such an investment. We have lots of space and, not to mention, some really adorable neighbors--the neighborhood kids who ride around on their bikes and frolic in the streets (I'm already in love... seriously).

Nevertheless. I've been working on many projects. This past week I had the absolute delight of photographing two friends and fellow Wesley interns, Natalie and Tyler, for their engagement photos. They were probably the easiest people I've ever had to photograph--they love each other and are at ease in front of the camera. I didn't have to say much... they pretty much acted like I wasn't even there. Which is perfect. I was a fly on the wall. And let's not forget, they are BEAUTIFUL. Their personalities and pretty eyes shine through in each photograph.

Natalie and Tyler are some of the most passionate people I know--not to mention, the most creative. Natalie is crafting pretty much their whole wedding, and she is a machine when it comes to making things (i.e. the bow in her hair--check her out on Etsy). Tyler is an amazing artist with so much depth. They are pursuers of justice and compassion. And I love that about them.

Here are a few shots from our time together.

I know, right?

Love,

Autumn

Show me Your glory.

This is my top song pick right now. "I long to look on the face of the One that I love." Our hearts long for that. That is the place of ultimate satisfaction: looking on the face of the One we love. The One who loves.

Jesus is so kind. Not nice, but kind. Gentle. In other words: He is good. I mean it. He's good.

Today I had the choice to be offended by God. But something I now know is that, when we allow ourselves to be offended by Him, we are keeping ourselves from blessing. Because Jesus said, "Blessed is he who is not offended by Me." When His light conflicts with our darkness... it offends us. But it's because He loves us.

I just started going through Revelation with my girls, and in the first five chapters alone I have learned so much about the Lord. The truth of who He is is shaking me. When Jesus tells John what to write to the seven churches, it is one of the most beautiful things. Jesus is saying, "Tell my Bride this: That I see her perseverance, her faith, and her desire for truth. But tell her that I am jealous for her, that I hate her compromise and her immorality, her deadness and apathy. Tell her that if she overcomes, she will reign with Me for eternity. Tell her that if she overcomes, I will give her a new name; I will give her glowing white garments. Tell her that if she overcomes, I will spend eternity telling her story of love to the Father." He is essentially telling John to write zealous love letters to His Church. When you read Revelation and put yourself in the event of John's encounter, it's impossible not to feel the drama of His love as He speaks.

Jesus didn't care about pleasing everyone around Him, but He did care about loving them. Today the Lord spoke something to me that I almost chose to be offended by... but I decided to choose Him instead. Honestly, that's a big step for me. And I'm glad I trusted Him. If I'm learning anything, it's that He's trustworthy. We do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weakness--Jesus knows us, sees us, and is not offended by our mess.