who her?
my lovely assistant jessica.
well, she isn’t my assistant anymore- but she is lovely & God is growing her into an all the more lovely lady as i type. i can feel it. she is going to make a mark in this world. i’ve known it for some time.
she has stepped into the deep. the waters will rise against her. and as she sets her eyes on Jesus, believing in his promises- she will walk. she will run with endurance, the race set before her.
she will race around the world. she will see both the Son and the sun shine in the darkest corners, she will will carry the light within her into the depths, and will chase the light before with reckless abandon.
i could tell through out the fall that she was wrestling. but you see, jessica and i have a funny relationship- it was really odd to people when they would see us working. we would have a brief exchange in the morning, set the tasks for the day out before us, assign them and tackle them. i would decide what the music for the day was and make sure it fit her mood- we learned a lot about different types of music (didn’t we jessica!) she expanded my horizons to say the least. then we would work, barely speaking a word. i would occasionaly ask about the progress of specific tasks and then the music would go back up. and i mean up. we would both work and sing. come to think of it, that’s pretty funny. but it worked, it fit. i enjoyed and fully appreciated not having to entertain her. when we talked, we spoke deeply about the things of heaven, our purpose on earth, relationships, hurts, love, living, practicing creativity, opening our hearts and minds, and prayer. we experienced real hurts of real people that would walk through the doors of this office. we laughed and cried with real people all through out the course of a work day. i tried over and over again to share with her the importance of loving people and giving your life away- gifts, talents, time, money, all of it. she already shared those desires when she arrived… she just got to live them out here.
so, when she came back from Christmas break, i knew something was eating at her big time. i gave her space and trusted she would share when she needed to. i tried to have monthly goal checks and progress to make sure that she was growing and learning and not wanting to chew foil everyday. she had been praying about something before Christmas that she shared right before she left- (she is quite disciplined and kept the secret from me and brandon… not that it’s hard frome me, because i don’t pester… but brandon can’t stand secrets!! he wants to know every detail) so, she shared when she got back she was going to move home in june.
june.
it was january. (there is a lot of stuff to be done in 6 months around here i selfishly think to myself)
a little unknown fact about jessica.
sister likes to finish what she starts.
i ask her to do something in photoshop, she opens it, completes the task and shuts down the program.
my photoshop will be open for a week until it just dies.
she has systems, is thoughtful and calculated about most things.
“why june?” is ask.
“because i will have worked for you for a whole year.”
(told you, sister likes to finish it.)
“this is your life, your 22, you don’t anyone a dime, you have all of these gifts, and you are going to give up 6 months of it so you can finish out a year?”
i think i caught her off gaurd. i know i caught myself off gaurd, as i was talking i was thinking- wait, hold up- i want her to stay 12 more months, forget 6- i want her to train the next person to be crazy cool, laid back, listen to great music, and know when to just chill. what am i saying?
the long short of the story goes like this:
jessica realizes that God has been speaking to her heart for a very long time, through a series of events she realized a little more of the plan, a few more pieces of the puzzle started to come together and she decided to go for it.
why lose 6 months of precious time on this earth?
what would you do? your single/22/debt free/all of your stuff fits in your car/you have tons of gifts and could work anywhere/you love children/want to serve the poor/want to share the hope of Christ with people who won’t get to hear it if someone doesn’t go to them with that purpose/your family is incredible and supportive/you want to see the world/you want to be pushed beyond yourself?
she applied for the world race.
that’s jessica.
not a couple of weeks in a far away land, not a month on the congo, not 6 weeks in the slums, how about ELEVEN COUNTRIES IN ELEVEN MONTHS. not to mention the training time.
she is going to race around the world with a team of people she doesn’t even know yet. they are going to give, serve, love, help, protect, intercede, join, unite, share, encourage, pursue, chase, relinquish, honor, worship, obey, heal, hold, harvest, explain, teach, nurse, entertain, shelter, harbor, retreat, and believe.
she leaves in june.
we get to go with her.
she is bringing her camera and one lens (did i mention she is efficient) and is going to document her travels.
i can’t imagine the images that she will capture.
i can’t imagine how those images will be imprinted on her heart for eternity.
she started a new blog.
(how cool is that name!) when she first started working with me she told me that was the line that she thought of when she thought about photography.
i was struck.
i love it.
chase the light.
words can mean a thousand things.
Jesus knew then that we would chase the light with her around the world.
there is so much for you can do besides read her great blog- you can SEND her. if you would love to participate in the world race but can’t go, then SEND JESSICA.
if you would like to donate to Jessica’s mission fund, click here.
there are other really cool ways to support jessica too- she is selling art prints and tshirts too! pre-order those now! head on over to her blog and read about what she is doing, what the world race is, and what is going on with her as she is preparing, she would love your support. pray, give, and love her with me, will you?
AND, if you are in the dallas area (and i know some of you are) then you need to sign up for her GIVE BACK SESSIONS! you can an on location session and your images for $100- the money goes straight to her world race fund!
she is the real deal. lovely and set apart. join her, join me as i chase the light with jessica! and because it just wouldn’t be right for me not to share some of my favorite images of jess during our time together, i went to the vault and pulled some of my favs…
these are from when jessica modeled for me for a CRASHcourse in ‘08 – actually she modeled for two different classes because girl is good!
this is jess in action actually taking a CRASHcourse or two:
and on a creative break… jessica i would like to say that this is the day you taught me what muse meant. thanks for sharing your english degree with me over and over
and there are from a session that jessica dreamed up… it was incredible!
her first wedding shooting… so official.
and last but not least… jessica- i would like to publicly apologize for making you look so bad in the knitting CRASHcourse. i know you really wanted to be a great knitter, but don’t worry- yarn isn’t for everyone
i should have just given you the loom to start with so you didn’t have to throw your needles and have a fit in the floor. i set you up, and i’m so sorry for the frustrating day. next time i’ll let you cook.
(for the record, jessica straight up hustled all of the beginning knitters in the class. she was a straight up knitting shark. she played like she was “learning” and then basically knitted an afgan for each of us by the time we had a crooked row finished. i think she could be kin to laura Ingalls wilder… for sure.
jess… we will chase the light with you. you know how much you are loved. thank you for all of your hard work. thank you for following jesus. thank you for all that you have added to my business and this creative family. you have richly blessed my heart, our home, and our lives. brandon and i love you!!
this is my prayer for your steps, your life, your hands that will heal… i will pray this again and again.
“Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces; now he will heal us. He has injured us; now he will bandage our wounds. In just a short time he will restore us, so that we may live in his presence. Oh, that we might know the LORD! Let us press on to know him. He will repond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains of early spring.” Hosea 6:1-3
chase the light sweet friend. He is chasing you.
all grace, mercy, and peace be yours sister.
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