We Pray Too Much

Just a few moments ago in the middle a talk to God I realised something, I think I pray too much. Weird right? How does one pray too much? Aren’t we supposed to in fact go to Him without ceasing, day and night? I mean that’s what the Bible tells us to do. 

However, in the midst of my constant mind babbling God interjected and said you’ve got it all wrong. It’s not that you pray too much but that you either waste your time praying about all the wrong things, spending too much time on one thing or sometimes you even do both. You pray for such things like strength to continue your day or wisdom to go about certain situations but you do it so constantly. It is as if you’re reminding me like I’m going to forget. Either that or you yourself have forgotten that I have already given you all the things you need to go forth. I love the fact that you come to me and that you trust in me to deliver you need to trust more. Pray with honest faith in my abilities to be your God. Once you are standing in the midst of the situation you have prayed for, go and complete the task as if nothing can stop you because you know what, nothing can. Stop asking for my presence when I never left you (Deut. 31:8).  Stop seeking out   strength when I’ve already given it (Psalm 73:26). Instead ask for something that will always help you to remember all the things I have promised you with. Ask that you never forget who am and who I have made you to to be.

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In everything, I give it back to you and say thank you. Thank you God for the opportunities to love what I do and to do what I love. 

Sometimes when God blesses you it’s in such a way that it may be hard to notice at first but other times, when He wants to go all out you can’t help but stand in awe and say, “Why me?” 

Just a few days ago I finished my first term of grad school. Finals have been presented, papers have been handed in and I am done. I don’t know if God did this for me or maybe He didn’t but the fact that my last day fell on the exact year mark of me graduating college is something else. It makes me all the more thankful. It has forced me to put my life in perspective. I am so blessed. I can honestly look back and see more good in my life than bad. I see more purpose in my life than random actions strung together by nothing. I see that God has proved His love to me over and over again. Although He does not need to, He does not have to, He does! My past has brought me here and my future is going beyond what I thought possible.  I saw something yesterday that really resonated with me. It said, “Renew your strength by finding hope in God. You’ll find that what should happen naturally (exhaustion and weariness) will be replaced by what happens supernaturally (energy and vitality). To that, I also want to add more hope, excitement, determination, and positivity  -that’s what I have. He is the best thing to happen to me, to my life.

So now, you are probably wondering what does all that have to do with the pictures above. I took those photos earlier today in my first paid studio shoot. In the grand scale of things they represent my faith in Him, that He is doing something way greater than I could have planned for. A couple weeks ago I saw a “help wanted” sign asking for a photographer to shoot a few art pieces. Thinking nothing of it,  I passed by the sign but God told me to go back and contact them. My first reaction: “Ha that’s funny God. I couldn’t possibly do that. I’m not good enough.”

To which He then replied:

What about you says you are not good enough? Isn’t it I in you that makes you qualified for any position I place you in? For years you have sought me in prayer and asked me to give you the opportunities to do what you love. I set a path for you (He provided me with the money to get camera equipment and helped me get accepted into art school so I could hone my skills and interest for photography) and walked along it with you, but now that I have answered you, you call yourself unqualified. Who are you to lay such a heavy burden on yourself when I have already lifted it off? Who are you to doubt the creation I made, which is you.

In my most recent post I talked about my journey with God. In that same journey I am continually reminded that growth happens everyday and that no area in your life is free from it. I never realized that God could show me how to trust Him more by forcing me to not settle. He did it in my life and He can do it in yours if you let Him. 

Long story short, despite the fact that I thought I didn’t have the right equipment, didn’t think I was good enough, and had an immense fear for the new and unknown, God came through. Before and during the shoot He reminded me to stay calm and helped me to remember all the lessons on photography I have learned over the years.

At the end of it all, I learned that new, old, repeated or not, it is not us who brings the ability, it’s God.

*To see this series in its entirety, check out my portfolio.

[gallery]

In everything, I give it back to you and say thank you. Thank you God for the opportunities to love what I do and to do what I love. 

Sometimes when God blesses you it’s in such a way that it may be hard to notice at first but other times, when He wants to go all out you can’t help but stand in awe and say, “Why me?” 

Just a few days ago I finished my first term of grad school. Finals have been presented, papers have been handed in and I am done. I don’t know if God did this for me or maybe He didn’t but the fact that my last day fell on the exact year mark of me graduating college is something else. It makes me all the more thankful. It has forced me to put my life in perspective. I am so blessed. I can honestly look back and see more good in my life than bad. I see more purpose in my life than random actions strung together by nothing. I see that God has proved His love to me over and over again. Although He does not need to, He does not have to, He does! My past has brought me here and my future is going beyond what I thought possible.  I saw something yesterday that really resonated with me. It said, “Renew your strength by finding hope in God. You’ll find that what should happen naturally (exhaustion and weariness) will be replaced by what happens supernaturally (energy and vitality). To that, I also want to add more hope, excitement, determination, and positivity  -that’s what I have. He is the best thing to happen to me, to my life.

So now, you are probably wondering what does all that have to do with the pictures above. I took those photos earlier today in my first paid studio shoot. In the grand scale of things they represent my faith in Him, that He is doing something way greater than I could have planned for. A couple weeks ago I saw a “help wanted” sign asking for a photographer to shoot a few art pieces. Thinking nothing of it,  I passed by the sign but God told me to go back and contact them. My first reaction: “Ha that’s funny God. I couldn’t possibly do that. I’m not good enough.”

To which He then replied:

What about you says you are not good enough? Isn’t it I in you that makes you qualified for any position I place you in? For years you have sought me in prayer and asked me to give you the opportunities to do what you love. I set a path for you (He provided me with the money to get camera equipment and helped me get accepted into art school so I could hone my skills and interest for photography) and walked along it with you, but now that I have answered you, you call yourself unqualified. Who are you to lay such a heavy burden on yourself when I have already lifted it off? Who are you to doubt the creation I made, which is you.

In my most recent post I talked about my journey with God. In that same journey I am continually reminded that growth happens everyday and that no area in your life is free from it. I never realized that God could show me how to trust Him more by forcing me to not settle. He did it in my life and He can do it in yours if you let Him. 

Long story short, despite the fact that I thought I didn’t have the right equipment, didn’t think I was good enough, and had an immense fear for the new and unknown, God came through. Before and during the shoot He reminded me to stay calm and helped me to remember all the lessons on photography I have learned over the years.

At the end of it all, I learned that new, old, repeated or not, it is not us who brings the ability, it’s God.

*To see this series in its entirety, check out my portfolio.

[gallery]

In everything, I give it back to you and say thank you. Thank you God for the opportunities to love what I do and to do what I love. 

Sometimes when God blesses you it’s in such a way that it may be hard to notice at first but other times, when He wants to go all out you can’t help but stand in awe and say, “Why me?” 

Just a few days ago I finished my first term of grad school. Finals have been presented, papers have been handed in and I am done. I don’t know if God did this for me or maybe He didn’t but the fact that my last day fell on the exact year mark of me graduating college is something else. It makes me all the more thankful. It has forced me to put my life in perspective. I am so blessed. I can honestly look back and see more good in my life than bad. I see more purpose in my life than random actions strung together by nothing. I see that God has proved His love to me over and over again. Although He does not need to, He does not have to, He does! My past has brought me here and my future is going beyond what I thought possible.  I saw something yesterday that really resonated with me. It said, “Renew your strength by finding hope in God. You’ll find that what should happen naturally (exhaustion and weariness) will be replaced by what happens supernaturally (energy and vitality). To that, I also want to add more hope, excitement, determination, and positivity  -that’s what I have. He is the best thing to happen to me, to my life.

So now, you are probably wondering what does all that have to do with the pictures above. I took those photos earlier today in my first paid studio shoot. In the grand scale of things they represent my faith in Him, that He is doing something way greater than I could have planned for. A couple weeks ago I saw a “help wanted” sign asking for a photographer to shoot a few art pieces. Thinking nothing of it,  I passed by the sign but God told me to go back and contact them. My first reaction: “Ha that’s funny God. I couldn’t possibly do that. I’m not good enough.”

To which He then replied:

What about you says you are not good enough? Isn’t it I in you that makes you qualified for any position I place you in? For years you have sought me in prayer and asked me to give you the opportunities to do what you love. I set a path for you (He provided me with the money to get camera equipment and helped me get accepted into art school so I could hone my skills and interest for photography) and walked along it with you, but now that I have answered you, you call yourself unqualified. Who are you to lay such a heavy burden on yourself when I have already lifted it off? Who are you to doubt the creation I made, which is you.

In my most recent post I talked about my journey with God. In that same journey I am continually reminded that growth happens everyday and that no area in your life is free from it. I never realized that God could show me how to trust Him more by forcing me to not settle. He did it in my life and He can do it in yours if you let Him. 

Long story short, despite the fact that I thought I didn’t have the right equipment, didn’t think I was good enough, and had an immense fear for the new and unknown, God came through. Before and during the shoot He reminded me to stay calm and helped me to remember all the lessons on photography I have learned over the years.

At the end of it all, I learned that new, old, repeated or not, it is not us who brings the ability, it’s God.

*To see this series in its entirety, check out my portfolio.

[gallery]

In everything, I give it back to you and say thank you. Thank you God for the opportunities to love what I do and to do what I love. 

Sometimes when God blesses you it’s in such a way that it may be hard to notice at first but other times, when He wants to go all out you can’t help but stand in awe and say, “Why me?” 

Just a few days ago I finished my first term of grad school. Finals have been presented, papers have been handed in and I am done. I don’t know if God did this for me or maybe He didn’t but the fact that my last day fell on the exact year mark of me graduating college is something else. It makes me all the more thankful. It has forced me to put my life in perspective. I am so blessed. I can honestly look back and see more good in my life than bad. I see more purpose in my life than random actions strung together by nothing. I see that God has proved His love to me over and over again. Although He does not need to, He does not have to, He does! My past has brought me here and my future is going beyond what I thought possible.  I saw something yesterday that really resonated with me. It said, “Renew your strength by finding hope in God. You’ll find that what should happen naturally (exhaustion and weariness) will be replaced by what happens supernaturally (energy and vitality). To that, I also want to add more hope, excitement, determination, and positivity  -that’s what I have. He is the best thing to happen to me, to my life.

So now, you are probably wondering what does all that have to do with the pictures above. I took those photos earlier today in my first paid studio shoot. In the grand scale of things they represent my faith in Him, that He is doing something way greater than I could have planned for. A couple weeks ago I saw a “help wanted” sign asking for a photographer to shoot a few art pieces. Thinking nothing of it,  I passed by the sign but God told me to go back and contact them. My first reaction: “Ha that’s funny God. I couldn’t possibly do that. I’m not good enough.”

To which He then replied:

What about you says you are not good enough? Isn’t it I in you that makes you qualified for any position I place you in? For years you have sought me in prayer and asked me to give you the opportunities to do what you love. I set a path for you (He provided me with the money to get camera equipment and helped me get accepted into art school so I could hone my skills and interest for photography) and walked along it with you, but now that I have answered you, you call yourself unqualified. Who are you to lay such a heavy burden on yourself when I have already lifted it off? Who are you to doubt the creation I made, which is you.

In my most recent post I talked about my journey with God. In that same journey I am continually reminded that growth happens everyday and that no area in your life is free from it. I never realized that God could show me how to trust Him more by forcing me to not settle. He did it in my life and He can do it in yours if you let Him. 

Long story short, despite the fact that I thought I didn’t have the right equipment, didn’t think I was good enough, and had an immense fear for the new and unknown, God came through. Before and during the shoot He reminded me to stay calm and helped me to remember all the lessons on photography I have learned over the years.

At the end of it all, I learned that new, old, repeated or not, it is not us who brings the ability, it’s God.

*To see this series in its entirety, check out my portfolio.

I just got "home" from two months at home.

It’s safe to say that I one of the worst feelings in the world for me is missing a noun. I get attached to certain persons, places, or things quite easily. It’s been a day short of a week since I left Nigeria and man do I miss it something fierce. While my stay only last two -what seemed like extremely short- months, the experiences I gained through this trip will last me a lifetime.

Stupidly enough, I only brought one more-than-half-full journal with me even though I just bought a new one right before the trip. To conserve the little writing space I had left I tried to limit my entries but I found myself writing at least once a day. Mostly letters to God on how fortunate I felt to be on this journey of a lifetime but also my recordings on everything I went through.

I won’t bore you with all the daily written sentiments but I still want you all to experience a little of what I did. Here a few more photos I took during the remainder of my stay in Nigeria.

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I love GQ. I love Levi’s. Equally inspired by both, I decided to remake my own GQ/Levi’s shoot. Scroll on through to see how my photo shoot with one rugged cowboy turned out. For more of my pictures from the same photo set and more, visit my website.

Disclaimer: The top three images were not taken by me but by contracted photographers of GQ Magazine and the Levi Strauss Brand.