Relational Vacations

Good morning from St. Lucia!  Yup, for those of you who didn't know...I'm on vacation....again.  But before you start turning a little bit green, hear me out:

I do go on more vacations than most, I get that.  I am blessed, and I get that too.  But as I sit here at 7:41am, the early riser of the bunch, I look out and wonder why we can't feel this "vacation calm" feeling at home.  Why we have to go thousands of miles away and spend a decent amount of cash to get to a place where we turn off our cell phones, only check facebook once or twice a day, grab a book, sit with friends, bask in the sun, laugh, snort, and build relationships and memories with one another.

For me it's all about the relationships formed through new experiences...but that doesn't mean I have to go to a tropical island to do that.  The weather is just as nice in Buffalo, NY as it is here in St. Lucia.  There are more people to relate with in Buffalo than St. Lucia.  There is much safer driving in Buffalo than St. Lucia.  I'm here because specific people are with me here.

I'd be just as happy at a local lake, or chilling pool side, or camping, or just sitting outside marveling at the wonders of God through a rain storm, then a rainbow with any one of you reading this.

It's not always about where I am, but who I'm with.  To build those relationships, to share my life and experiences with others.  To do something that makes me just a little bit vulnerable and stretches my faith, to let others see that I'm far from perfect and that I am human.

Granted, I don't have a lot of responsibilities right now: no husband, no kids, no one to support but myself...it's not a choice of mine, it's God's plan for me RIGHT NOW.  You bet I'm going to take it for what it's worth, take advantages of the opportunities that arise whether that keeps me in the country or takes me out of it.

So here's my challenge to you...make your own "vacation".  Stop and smell the roses, marvel at a rainbow, or sit by a lake for awhile.  Turn off the busyness of your life and just take it in, and share it with someone today.

Am I full?

Spending time in the Word has always been difficult for me. Rarely has it been something that I want to do, and more often than not, I find I'm reading and studying more out of an act of obedience. But it's when I really open my heart and am willing to read and study the Bible that I see things I haven't seen before, or learn things about myself and my faith that I tucked away deep inside.

Last October I was kind of forced into going to a Women's Retreat with The Chapel at Crosspoint's women's ministries. I only knew a handful of people, and even those women I didn't know that well: enter me out of my comfort zone. I'm glad I went, as is pretty much always the case when God gets me out of my comfort zone...I got to spend some great time and further friendships and also got to hear Lysa TurKeurst, the president of Proverbs 31 Ministries speak. Ever since then I've been reading her books and following her blog.

Lysa is taking her blog readers through Philippians, starting in Chapter 1 and teaching how to pick up on words and phrases that speak to them in that moment. I'm a day off in reading, as I just started digging into Ch 1 today, and had to stop at verse 11 because I found so much truth in those first 11 verses that it's all my brain can process for the day.

When reading some of Lysa's blog comments, it's amazing how 30 verses can speak differently to so many people, each verse revealing something different to every person. The Bible truly is the living word, showing everyone something different depending on their circumstance, struggle, and what they need to hear most in that specific moment...and yet it all being 100% truth.

While reading a few verses stuck out to me: vs. 3-4; 6; 9-10; & 11 ...can you see why I had to stop after verse 11? SO MUCH TRUTH...CANNOT PROCESS IT ALL!

I wanted to focus on verse 11: "May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God." (emphasis mine)

When I am full, I don't want anything else to eat...my body has taken all it needs and I don't require any more, and at times where I'm really full, nothing else even sounds good. The thought of filling myself with anything else is even painful. When we are told to "always be filled with the fruit of your salvation", we need to look at it the same way. To be full with salvation means that we shouldn't want anything else, if we are truly full.

So are we? Am I? Am I really full with my salvation? If I am then I should want nothing else. I shouldn't look to anything else to satisfy me: not success, not money, not relationships. Jesus owes me NOTHING.

He gave his life for me...and that should be enough to fill me until my last day on earth.

The Road to Reward

From James MacDonald weekly email, it definitely caught my attention, because it's exactly how I'm feeling and so I thought i'd share it with you:

"The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." - Revelation 3:5-6

If you are a mom or dad, you say some things to your kids over and over. I'm sure there are warnings you give them every day, right? We are all stubborn sheep (Isaiah 53:6), so we don't learn quickly. Important stuff has to be repeated. The letters Jesus wrote to the churches in Revelation were specific, but each church saw all the letters. The repetitions show us His crucial themes.

Revelation 2:7 says, "To the one who conquers." Conquers means"overcomes, doesn’t give up, endures to the end." Similar phrases show up in Revelation 2:10-11, 17, 26 and 3:5.

You and I have got to conquer. Jesus said, "The one who endures to the end will be saved" (Mark 13:13). People who aren't really saved give up and quit. The truth is, we will all experience tough seasons in our lives. We will experience hard weeks or even a rough month or year. But we get moving again. Endurance doesn't save us, but it does prove our salvation. We have to finish strong. We have to pick up the pace as we get older. A real Christian says, "I love Him more and more. 'I press on' (Philippians 3:14) to be sanctified day after day, growing in Christ." That's the life of a believer - one who conquers. Conquerors get the rewards. Rewards will not go to the quitter. They will not go to the "I-tried-it-and-couldn't-do-it" type of people, nor to the "faith-was-just-a-phase-I-went-through" kind of people. All those people? Not conquerors.

"The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life." The book of life is the volume containing the names of all the people alive on the face of the earth. If they die outside of the Gospel, without receiving the gift of eternal life that is found in Christ - their names are blotted out of the book. They're not going to live forever.

Jesus said about the conqueror, "I will never blot his name out of the book of life." That promise is awesome. Your name's going to be forever in that book, and you will live in eternity with Christ, if you just endure.

"I will confess his name before my Father." Imagine Jesus saying, "She's one of Ours. Yeah, he's with Us for sure." Conquering means an eternal reward with Christ.

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I am a conquerer. I am persevering. I can't give up. That's all I can say right now. I know that a life with Christ is better than a life without Christ, although that's not what I feel most times. I can't rely on my feelings, I have to rely on truth and the promise in God's Word.

Following Christ is something I will not quit. I wake up and devote that day to the Lord, but most days find myself stumbling and failing daily. But I wake up the next morning and try again. Some days Jesus may seem farther away than others, but I will not give up, I will persevere...I have to.

And I hope you will to.

2009 in review

My expectations for this year were pretty big, after all it was the year of 09-09-09, a day that I was supposed to get married, yes it was a Wednesday and at the start of the year I wasn’t even dating anyone, but a lot could have happened in 9 months right? Well it didn’t, no man, no wedding…but I’m ok with that. Looking back 2009 wasn’t so bad at all. Here’s my 2009 in review:

January:

Just trying to ease in to 2009, nothing exciting happened!

February:

Went to the dentist for the first time in 5 years…only 5 cavities , whoops!

Katie moved back from Virginia to work in Rochester

Took mom to see Mamma Mia at Shea’s, what a great performance! We had a blast

Moved from Lancaster to Cheektowaga at the end of the month. Leah (my old roommate) was getting married in April and her new husband was moving in so I got the shaft! Moved in with Jen and am loving every minute of it…

March:

Went on our annual family week-long vacation to Freeport, Bahamas. Man was it amazing, one of the best vacations yet! We swam with the dolphins, took a Jeep tour around the island, and con-ed the guys at the front desk into giving us an ocean view room because it was our parent’s “25^th wedding anniversary”! 3 pools, beaches and water for as far as your eye can see.

Started a new friendship with Laura, an awesome woman of God who has pushed me to lighten my baggage…I can’t believe we’ve only been friends for 9 months, it seems like a lifetime.

Took a fly/road trip to Wisconsin with Erin to follow the Bona’s women’s Basketball team in their playoff dreams!

Decided to start growing my hair out for one of my BFF’s (Liz T.) wedding in September.

April:

Bought my new Macbook. L-O-V-E it! I can’t believe I waited that long, it truly is amazing and so much better than any PC I have ever had.

Officially moved Katie from Virginia to Rochester, we rented a white PT Cruizer for a one way trip from Buffalo to VA, found out that the horn stuck for a good 20 seconds every time you honked it! Rented a Uhaul to drive from VA to Rochester…we packed that thing FULL and still had to leave some stuff.

May:

Went back down to VA to get the rest of Katie’s things, one of the most eventful trips to VA because we saw a dead black bear on the side of the road!

Went to Pittsburgh to be a 2^nd shooter for a wedding with Rachel…LOVE those times where I get to spend some un-interrupted time with my BFF’s!

Started playing summer soccer in a women’s league in Rochester, Katie came to every game, and I’d like to think I got better throughout the summer! It was nice to reconnect with some teammates from Naz!

June:

Spent the first few days of the month in Saratoga Springs for work

Participated in the local Ellicottville Relay for Life where we raised over $30,000 for cancer research (I even sang the National Anthem for it)…

Took a roadtrip to Turtle Bay, Kentucky for a family reunion, we stayed for about 2.5 days although it took us 4 days to get there! We had a great time with all of the “Zender’s”..my mom & her 2 sisters and all of their families. It was a couple days filled with golf, swimming, games, food, bonfires, golf-cart racing, and golf-cart jumping! Overall it was a really good time because we were all together.

July:

Mom had elbow surgery on the 1^st of the month, so the next couple days were spent home in Allegany playing nurse!

PJ, Bri and some of her family came in for the 4^th of July and we had a great time. We played can-jam and homerun derby where my brother and I tied at 7 homeruns through 3 rounds. I’m waiting til this year to beat him!

My 10 year High School reunion took place at the end of the month, and it was a really good time…and that’s when I realized that I look pretty dang good! I got to reconnect with some old friends that I have lost touch with over the years…I can’t believe it’s been that long. “We’re the sparkle, we’re the shine…We’re the class of ’99!”

August:

Went to KingdomBound all 3 days and had a blast! Got to hang out with my great friends Amber, Holly and Shannon and rock out to some great Christian artists.

Shot the Bonaquist-Willet wedding and had a great time…such a great group. I was able to get pretty creative with some shots too!

Got a raise at work!

Celebrated Katie’s Birthday with some Moon Shoes!

Went to my first ever Bachelorette party for Liz’s wedding…oh man!

September:

Celebrated 09-09-09 with great friends, Jen F., Tami P., Laura L., and Rachel! Went to go see the movie 9 in honor of the day!

Celebrated Liz & JP’s wedding, what a day that was…

Took a family trip out to Andover, MA to visit PJ & Bri and to help with some renovations on their new house, that was a busy 4 days…I was on team A, B & C!

Celebrated my 28^th birthday…holy crap, I’m 28!

October:

Impromptu surprise visit to VA…

Went to a Women’s weekend retreat in Ellicottville and listened to some great speakers…and found one of my new favorites: Lysa TerKeurst from Proverbs 31 ministries

PJ got engaged!

November:

Headed out to Andover, MA again to help PJ with the house. Dad came out too and we worked hard! Then we all drove to Allegany to spend the week together for Thanksgiving.

The weekend after Thanksgiving Becca and I drove to Pittsburgh to shoot a wedding that Rachel was in. What a fantastic weekend of sharing, laughing, and learning!

December:

Went to Albany with some co-workers and helped watch 4-month-old Brendan, had a great time chilling out, eating out and shopping!

Watched A LOT of Christmas movies and did A LOT of Christmas shopping

Celebrated Christmas with almost everyone…

So overall it’s been a great year, and I haven’t even begun to describe all the changes and growth that I have gone through as a person! I’ll save that for another blog.

But I have learned one main thing: I shouldn’t set big goals that are out of my control…I’ll just sit back and see what God has in store for me in 2010.

So hope you’re able to look back on 2009 like I have…that I’ve done A LOT. I’ll try and make 2010 just as interesting but less about me at times.

10 year High School Reunion...

This weekend I will celebrate being graduated from High School 10 years. Technically it's been 10 years, 1 month and 4 days...but who's counting!

So much has changed (especially my eyebrows!), yet so much has stayed the same...and I find myself reflecting on the past 10 years and beyond. I've been told that your personality is shaped in the first 5 years of life, but I have found that a lot that happened my final 5 years of high school impacted my life in a way I'll never forget!

When looking back to my high school years, it's a time that i'd give anything to go back to. I know it's not healthy to dwell on the past, and i'm not...but it was a much simpler time back then: Always being in shape, able to eat whatever you wanted, no job, no responsibility, free food and housing, getting to see your best friends every day, and doing semi-illegal things but never getting caught!

We were all trying to discover who we were, and what our place in this huge world was....how much was acting to be popular, and how much was genuinely ourselves. We had great adults trying to make us wiser, better people...some who'd challenge us, some who'd support us, and some who'd act more like your friend than teacher.

Don't get me wrong, high school was not all fun & games for me....I spent many nights trying to figure out why I was popular in one realm but unpopular in another, thinking i was fat instead of athletic (when looking back i was super skinny!), and wondering how to enjoy myself at a prom where i was the only one without a date...(sob, sob).

But I'd like to think I had a lot of friends...i tried my hand at a lot of different groupings: soccer, basketball (2 weeks there to be exact), softball, theater, senior steering, art, math, AP chemistry...I was all over the place..hanging out with a lot of different people....we'll see what everyone remembers this weekend!

But the one major thing that happened in high school which I am most thankful for is playing soccer and eventually meeting (and liking) my two best friends to this day: Rachel & Rebecca Freer (married last names: Shipman & Johnson respectively and pictured above). It was Mr. Mac, my amazing soccer coach of 5 years that kept both on the soccer team for more than their soccer skill. He kept them on the team for their faith and their skill. And for that I am eternally grateful.

You see it is Becca and Rachel who befriended me at one of the lowest points of my life, and through our friendship and a trip to a winter weekend camp, introduced me to Jesus. Finally, something to live for! What's more amazing than living to bring God to glory and praise. A God who made us perfectly, in His image, who created the world and everything in it....to love others more than I love myself, to show others the amazing transformation that can happen when the truth enters your heart. (Picture from 2008...lookin' pretty good!)

So this weekend, I hope my classmates see the changes that have happened over the past 10 years. From an intimidating, untouchable, unlovable, tomboy athlete to a loving, caring, approachable, feminine Christian.

God really does orchestrate every part of our lives, even if we don't know Him yet. So tell me...how has God worked in your life over the past 10 years?

And here's just one more picture for good measure...um yeah...i was 13!

Why #9?

So if you know me at all, you know that I have a thing for the #9.   For those who don't know me, they may say that i'm obsessed, and since i'm a little bored sitting here in my hotel room, and haven't blogged in quite some time, i've felt the need to explain myself.

I could say that it all started on the day I was born...9-27-81.  9: September  2+7=9   8+1=9.  The time i was born was 9:27pm again do the math, and both of my parents were 27 at the time.  But it all came to fruition on a late August day in 1993.  I was 12 and had completed the Allegany Girls Varsity team pre-season.  We were all picking out uniforms, and since i was the youngest newby on the team i got last pick.  There was a perfectly packaged uniform in a gallon ziplock bag...I remember it like it was yesterday.  It was a uniform worn by a senior the previous year, and wouldn't you know what number it was...yup you guessed it: #9!

I believe that's where my story really starts for me.  Not at the point where the #9 chose me, but the point where I was given that uniform, given a chance to show the world who Jaime Snyder really was, well who the Jaime Snyder at 12 years old really was.  It started me on the journey of people knowing who I was, of my development as a leader, and ultimately soccer played a role in my salvation and beginning my relationship with Jesus.

Even as a unidentified opponent to other teams, they didn't know my name where I came from but they knew my number.  They knew to look out for #9, or be afraid, or pay special attention to #9...and that was me.  I wore #9 for soccer for Varsity, Olympic Development, a select team down in Jekyll Island, Varsity softball...

So really sports is where i have found myself, my strengths, my leadership, my college, my dedication, my friendships,  and ultimately pretty much every job i had ever gotten.  So the #9 just is related to all of it...and in the process is how people identify me, associate with me, and ultimately remember me.  

And for that last reason may be the main reason why I keep my "obsession" going.  I keep reminding them of me & the #9...so then when i'm not around, when I haven't talked or seen people for awhile, I like to think that when they see that 9 they think of me. 

So...past, present and future, the #9 is here to stay.  After awhile it just seems to get funny, after all i can't give it up now when i'm planning a kick butt party for 09-09-09!

New Photography Blog!

Hey everyone...

Just wanted to let you know i've made a new blog for my photography to be a little more professional per Rachel's request!

So here's the new link: http://9designsandphotography.blogspot.com 

I'll try to do better to blog about my life on this one, and leave the big important pictures to the other blog...

THANKS!

Jenna & Andy Palka

Jenna and Andy are a great couple that were married on a cruise in Key West in March (which they didn't apparently need me as a photographer...how rude!) :)  But they came back to Buffalo (although I'm not sure why) and had an amazing reception with friends and family on April 4th.

I was able to hang out with some great friends and get a few shots in the mean time!

I've never shot a wedding/reception where the groom helps the bride into the dress!

I knew we had to get a few shots at the piano!

ummmmm i hope i caught them just kidding around!

They didn't have their champagne glasses...so why not clink fists!
Big family...great shot!  Thanks to my cousin Jennifer for the idea!

Thanks again Andy & Jenna for letting me share in your special...err...second most special day!

Engagement Portraits

No, no, no...not MY engagement portraits, ones that I shot for my bff Liz and her fiance JP.  We finally were able to get together to shoot these portraits, and they came out wonderfully! 

While I was waiting for Liz & JP to get to Delaware Park, I saw at least 6 or 7 wedding parties come and wait for their turn to take pictures at the big mansion or whatever big building there was...

In this photo you can see 4 different wedding parties waiting for their turn!

We started off with some simple shots...

Then went for a walk...
Stopped to check out all the minnows:
Took a quick break to steal a kiss...

Time for another walk and maybe a joke or two:

Then a little hide and seek in the weeping willow:

Another break:

So we wanted to simulate all the brides who were getting their pictures taken by the pillars:
And lastly...the swings!  We only had to throw one kid off!
And one last serious shot...I think this one will make the papers!

The END!  Hope you enjoyed!

Cuca and Mike's Wedding

So today one of my good friends got married.  Jessica (aka Cuca) and I met in 7th grade when our two schools merged, and have been friends ever since.  She's one of those friends who you may not talk to much, maybe once a year...someone who you stalk via myspace or facebook to see what is happening or see recent pictures, but no matter when you see one another it was like you never were apart.  I was so honored to be invited to this simple yet amazing wedding.

Although I wasn't the actual photographer...when it's in your blood, it's in your blood and you can't NOT take pictures!  Plus it's so much easier than trying to talk to people!

Here is Cuca with her father and daughter, Abby, walking her down the isle...

Mike couldn't contain himself...so cute!
It was a very quick ceremony, with a very long kiss at the end!
She's really a ham...

Cuca's twin brother Jesse was so emotional today...loving his sister!
Here's Abby, such a great, cute, and curious little baby
The first dance...with a little photoshop action!

Told you Jesse had a tough day!
And of course...table #9 (I actually sat at #4)
Me and Cuca...lookin HOT!
And since I looked so hot, I decided to do a photo shoot...this for all you blog stalkers who don't see me cleaned up too often!


The End!