If someone were to ask me about myself, there are a lot of things that I could say. I could say that I am a Christian. I am a husband. I am a photographer. I am a graphic designer. I am a business owner. I could go on, but you get the point. The reason I mentioned that I am a Christian first is because I think that being a Christian has the biggest influence over everything that I do. Let me start off by saying that for me, being a Christian is not a religious thing, a list of do's and don'ts are something I do on Sundays. For me, being a Christian means having a relationship with Jesus. It means I live my life to honor him. Now, I will be the first to tell you that I am not perfect, and I'd never want anybody to think that I am. I mess up all the time. But that's the beauty about being a follower of Jesus - he already knew I was messed up, he forgives me for it and loves me through it all. 

In response to that unconditional love, I in turn want to love Him back. I want to live my life for Him. There's no way I could go through life and not want God's guidance and input on what I do - after all, He is infinitely more wise, knowledgeable and creative than I could ever hope to be. I want His input on how to be the best husband for my wife. God gave me the passion and talent for photography, so in turn, I want to pursue photography in a way that will honor Him. I want to do the best at whatever I do because it reflects back on Him. I believe that if I run my business God's way, it'll turn out to be the right way.

So, like it, love it, or hate it, that's who I am. I am a Christian. Photographer. Under the influence of God. Some of you reading this may not care one way or another, and may wonder why I would even mention it on the blog. I want to strive to always be open, honest and truthful here. I want to open a page in the book of my life on this blog. There's no way I could ever do that, without sharing about the biggest relationship in my life. I will strive to keep God first in my life. The relationship I have with my wife comes in a close second. Next comes family for me. Photography and business, as exciting and important they are to me, they come come next. I know right now I won't always perfectly live up to that standard, but I'll never stop striving to keep the priorities in my life aligned in this way. I think it'll all work out pretty good that way!

PS: I recently came across an ebook entitled Prosper: A 40 Day Prayer Journey To Seek God's Will For Your Photography Business, by photographer and blogger Scarlett Lillian. Today was just day one for me, but so far I love it and would highly recommend it if you too are a Christian striving to honor God with your talent as a photographer and with your business.