HELLO HEART PARTNERS! As April is coming to a close, I hope each of you are ready to move into MAY, and enjoy the beauty that our April showers have created for us! I recently celebrated my birthday, and was gifted with several special gifts that help me remember WHO I AM in HIM, and HIS love through precious people who share with me! One of my gifts might seem funny to others, but it has inspired me to write about the “Power of Pictures,” to help us not only take more photos, but to internalize how INTENTIONAL and spontaneous photos can help us HOLD our memories deep in our hearts! Before I share my story and thoughts on VISUAL place holders…take a look at YAHUAH’s thoughts of the importance of VISUALS… GENESIS 9:12-17 TLV “Then God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I am making between ME and you, and every living creature that is with you for all future generations. My rainbow do I place in the cloud, and it will be a sign of the covenant between ME and the land. Whenever I bring clouds over the land and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember MY covenant that is between ME and you, and every living creature of all flesh. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the rainbow is in the cloud, I will look at it, to remember the perpetual covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on land. Then God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have confirmed between Me and all flesh that is on land.” Do you think NOAH would ever forget?

Check out the double RAINBOW… TRULY, YAHUAH speaking HIS promise to us while enjoying lunch! Whenever I see a rainbow, or even a partial one, I pause and take a photo, and ask our FATHER for HIS reminders specifically to me! HE is faithful when we stop, acknowledge HIS promises, and seek Him for wisdom! HE loves YOU that much!

Many of you know that I share with parents and trusted adults the POWER of taking PHOTOS with children to help them HOLD their joy after the event or activity is finished! Well, PHOTOS don’t just help children…they can speak life and help us hold JOY at any age, or life stage! PHOTOS can transcend time, language, and can transport us to recall and hold deeply in our hearts some of our most cherished places, people, and animals. When we activate these memories in our emotional systems, something magical happens… JOY, PROMISES, CONNECTIONS, and HAPPINESS pours over us and helps us to keep growing, moving forward, and loving deeply in every part of our lives even if it was painful in the moment! I have witnessed the miraculous when a child clutches a photo of a loved one as he/she navigates a new environment, or when leaving a favorite theme park/favorite place, and a tantrum is in full swing, but when handed the camera to scroll through- the child calms. We can see in these moments that the visual-memory of fun, greatness, excitement, and joy is re-activated through the photos that were taken! Quite often photos help children who struggle with communication, open up and share their feelings and experiences! Just like YAHUAH’S RAINBOW…we recall HIS promises…His covenant, and we too can calm!

Well, for my birthday my loved ones created framed photos of people, places, and animals that I love…there were so many I sat and gazed at them loving each of them…but wondering their thought process…but then they shared that these photos were for my garage wall where I spend a lot of time each day on my indoor cycle! WOW!!! Could their hearts really care about my emotional well-being that much to create a photo wall? YES!! Now, I ride with a soaring heart looking at people, animals, and places I LOVE..knowing I will have more adventures and see more of YAHUAH’S creation, and will enjoy again and again!

A HUMONGOUS THANK YOU to my tribe, for connecting my heart to yet another reason I ride daily…to be able to go and enjoy NEW ADVENTURES!

I hope each of you will be INSPIRED to take more photos in all you do, and frame some that will MOTIVATE change, goodness, or NEW IDEAS to encourage YOU to be all YAHUAH has created you to be…it truly is a way to be KIND to ourselves, and keep us GROWING in HIS WAYS! Every day when I ride, I feel a sense of a BIG HUG wrapped in love and care, and onward I go!

If you are newer to being “photo crazed,” I encourage you to just snap away, and look at them later…I BELEIVE you will be SURPRISED at some of the shots that you captured! YOU might see something extraordinary in your child, a friend, family member, or in yourself! REMEMBER…PSALM 139:14 CEPHER “I will praise you; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are your works; that my soul knows right well.” Take photos at all ages and stages…you will never regret, as they will be left as wonderful memories…part of your legacy! I love the old pics of “hairstyle” choices…those can create hilarious laughter! You might not know today…but I can assure you that taking photos is one thing you will never regret! (There’s always the delete button!)

Sending each of you so much love and hope for GREAT days ahead!

SHALOM,

DanaKae