a little Monday morning encouragement...

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promises is faithful." (Hebrews 10:23)

"So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised." (Hebrews 10:35,36


I don't really have any commentary for now. I could tell you what those verses speak to me in my life at this moment, but I'll just let them speak to you instead. Have a great week!

the cobbler's son has no shoes...

The landscaper's yard is in shambles. The computer engineer has no working computers at home. And at our house, the photographer's family has no family portrait...except for the few awesome shots we have from our great friend Veronique. The only problem is that she lives in California. So we set out Sunday afternoon in search of a few good family shots...of course none would include all of us. I always seem to be able to capture great shots of other people's families, but always have the toughest time with my own. I guess the kids get sick of me sticking a camera in their faces or something. Anyway, below are a few of the shots we captured. It was a freezing cold day so we didn't brave the elements too long. We did manage to capture one shot of us all too which turned out pretty good. SPOILER ALERT!!!! If you're one of the lucky few on our Christmas card list, you might see these pictures again. Enjoy!

crazy shots...

I've been experimenting with some different lighting and flash techniques over the past few days and I thought I'd share a few from last night. They turned out pretty crazy and I promise that I didn't do anything to them after I took them!

what about the kids?

One of the biggest mountains to climb in regards to possibly moving to the Philippines is the thought of raising the kids in a developing country. For those of you who may not know, our youngest daughter Avery suffers incredibly from eczema. For some, that may not sound too bad, but let me just tell you it has been Hell at times dealing with this. There are times when about 60-70% of her body is covered in horribly irritated, dry skin and all she knows to do as a 2 year old is scratch and cry. She's allergic to a ton of things including milk, eggs, nuts, pine trees, grass, formaldehyde (found in carpet and a ton of other things), petrol chemicals (found in gasoline and just about every lotion), and we recently found out she is allergic to the two vaccines she was given (DTAP and HIBB I think). Ironically enough her eczema didn't start until after she had those two vaccines...hmmmmm...but that's a controversy for another day.

Through this decision process, I feel like I have just been waiting on a miracle with Avery. I've found myself saying that I would be able to make this decision a lot easier if we didn't have so much trouble with her condition. I've always viewed her as frail because for a long time she even had trouble gaining weight. She's moved on from that and is very healthy, but I still have it in my mind. She is improving so much as she gets older. This time last year, we were ready to fall apart at times because of the stress with her health. Now those days are a little fewer and we find ourselves being able to actually get to know our daughter for the first time. She's developing her own little personality and I'm realizing she's probably one of the most interesting people I know! We're also taking her to an acupuncturist who is doing an amazing acupressure technique that has been proven to eliminate allergies...and we feel like we're actually starting to see results...I'll post more about that later.

So what about the kids? Why would we move them overseas? Well, let me turn that around. Why would we not? When we think about our kids as adults, how do we want them to turn out? We desire for them to have a broad world-knowledge, to understand how the world works, not just their own little community, but the world as a whole. We want them to have compassion for those in need. We long for them not to be caught up in the consumerism and materialism that so easily engulfs us. We want our kids to tangibly see how God can provide in tough situations. We want our kids to know that life isn't always easy and life isn't always fair, but God always works things out for the good of those who love Him and are called to His purpose. We want our kids to be grateful for all they have been given.

Can those desires be fulfilled for our kids here in the Sates? Of course they can, but in my little mind it seems much easier to instill those values while walking in faith in a developing country. Sure they will be young while they are there and may not catch everything that happens, but I can't help but think that Sarah and I will be so radically transformed while we are there that it will have a lasting impact on how we live as a family forever.

I have a coworker who lived in Japan as a missionary for 19 years. I talked with her last year about our possible move and our concerns with the kids. She and her husband had their two boys while living overseas and they were teenagers when they moved back. Now, as adults, she says her sons continually talk about their days in Japan as some of the best times of their lives. She says she'd go back in a heartbeat if she could.

So in my mind, the kids shouldn't really be a reason not to go. Do I worry about their health and safety? I try not to, but sure I do. We love our kids more than anything and want nothing but the best for them. And that is honestly one of the main reasons why we want to go overseas. We can trust God for their safety and do all we can to show them a life of faith, love, adventure, and service. That seems like the best thing we can do for our kids.

One big thing that might have a big impact on our decision, though, is whether or not Avery will be able to get the vaccines she needs to go. We're looking into that and watching, waiting, and praying that she'll be healed of all these allergies. Keep praying for us and I'll do my best to keep you updated. Thanks!

continued thought process...

Nearly two weeks ago, I started writing about our decision about whether or not we should move to the Philippines. My plan was to keep up the inner-discussion regularly, but I got slammed with a ton of photography work. But it's a rainy Saturday morning and my photo shoot isn't happening. Avery woke me up early but went back to sleep so I'm up in a nice quiet house. So here goes...

I wrote earlier about Plan B which is basically moving back to the West Coast for a myriad of reasons (see the post if you're curious). I feel like Sarah and I had kind of reserved ourselves for that plan and I was beginning to feel quite comfortable with that plan. I mean, it sounds great to be back in Cali again for all the reasons I listed on that post. We were beginning to lean that way and I was getting rather excited about it. I mean, there was this little nagging inside me from time to time saying that God still wants us to move to the Philippines, but it was just a small voice and I could easily drown it out.

That is until our church started a new teaching series on Jonah. As soon as I heard that was to be the next series, I honestly thought, "Crap. I'm feeling alright about not going to the Philippines and it's about to get difficult again." If you don't know much about Jonah, here it is in a nutshell. God tells Jonah to go to Nineveh. Jonah says no and tries running the opposite direction to Tarshish. Jonah gets tossed overboard and swallowed by a large fish.

The first teaching two weeks ago was like a severe blow to the gut. There was no guilt or bullying. Just an honest plea to follow God even if it doesn't make sense, or even if you don't want to do it, or even if you have no clue how to do it. I can honestly say that in our decision about the Philippines, I've felt all three of those feelings. There are times when it doesn't make sense. There are times when I don't want to do it. There are times (and this is where I've spent most of the time) when I don't know how it will happen. But at the end of the day, I still feel that still, small voice urging us to go.

stay away,,,

I try not to pay attention to market reports and economic news...it's depressing and it's something I have no control over. I just need to keep on trying to make more than I spend right now. Thankfully, I don't have to worry about losing my job.

But one thing I read yesterday made me pretty upset. If you know me at all, you know I strongly dislike Walmart. There are many reasons - economic impact on local small businesses, poor pay and benefits for employees, extremely high distribution of goods made in sweatshops in oppressive areas...not to mention how crowded and crazy-huge all the stores are. I've only shopped there about 4 times in the past 5 years I think.

Anyway, I read an article yesterday saying that in these difficult times, Walmart is making more and more money. "It is our time. We are well prepared at Wal-Mart," Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott said. It's Walmart's time? That sounds scary. I understand that as money gets tighter, it sounds great to save money at a store with cheap prices. But in my economically-uneducated mind, doesn't it seem that more people shopping at Walmart will only put more small companies out of business which will lead to more unemployment which will lead to worse economic times which will lead to us all working at Walmart because they are the only ones hiring?

So here's why I care about this story. There is something I can control here, unlike most economic troubles. I can keep away from that store especially during this Christmas season where they make something like 50% of their annual sales. I can buy from small businesses in my area and online. I can look for toys for my kids that aren't made in China of cheap, led-painted plastic. I can be creative in what I give to others, maybe even making some of it myself. Sure, my kids may not have a plethora of gifts under the tree. We may pay more for fewer gifts. But at least I'll feel good about what I give.

nothing to fear, but....Barak Obama?

I love this clip from the Daily Show last night. He talks about two of my greatest dislikes: guns and Fox News. He also does a great job pointing out how crazy it is that some people are so afraid of Obama right now. It's great! Oh, and he also did a pretty hilarious interview with Bill O'Reilly later in the show if you want to go to his website and watch that too.

swamped...

I know I've kind of left you hanging after my previous posts about decision making and the future of the Davis family. I promise it's not on purpose! I've been completely swamped in photography! I'm certainly not complaining here because this is exactly what I've been wanting to happen for quite some time. Sarah and I shot two weddings last month and in the last week, I've had 5 portrait sessions and I've got 6 or 7 in the next week! I'm hoping that this keeps rolling, but it is quite tiring! It seems like every waking moment that I'm not teaching or taking care of the kids, I'm working on photos. Ok, I'll even admit I've worked on pictures even while I'm taking care of the kids...

Anyway, I'm sure it'll slow down sometime soon as we get closer to Christmas. I'll try to get some more writing done as I can, but in the meantime, check out my photography site to see what I've been up to! But seeing that I'm up to midnight yet another night, I should go to bed.

wow...

What a night. If you've read anything on my blog in the past few months, you know that I am a happy man tonight. Do I think all is suddenly right in the world? No. Are all of our problems solved? Absolutely not. But you cannot argue with these election returns! No recounts. No lawsuits. No questions about shady voting practices. No wondering "what if." This is a landslide by definition.

I think the pastor of our church, Todd Hahn, said it best on his blog tonight:

Whether you voted for President-elect Obama or Senator McCain, know this - the world has not ended on the one hand, and the new era of perfection has not begun on the other. God is still in charge of mankind and nations and He is working all things to his eternal purpose. Focus on what is eternal, not what is temporal.

I appreciated McCain's concession speech and I hope his supporters will be able to appreciate the historical significance of the night. I also hope that we'll be able to come back together.

should I stay or should I go now...an intro to a new beginning

I've spent a lot of time here on politics over the last few months...probably too much time. I started out trying to nail down my views and I've engaged in some good discussion along the way. Now, as the election is upon us, and as my endurance is running out, I'm off to other things. Sarah and I are in the midst of many huge decisions. And rather than work them out behind closed doors and hope for the best, we thought it might be good to bring some of them out and see what insight come out from others. So if you're interested...keep reading! I'll be posting more thoughts as we seek to figure things out.

When we were in college at Virginia Tech, our church began talking about some people moving to Los Angeles to plant a church. The big question on everyone's mind was, "should I stay or should I go?" I sat down and wrote a spoof song based on the Clash's famous song by that title. My friends Scott, Patrick, and I performed the song at our church's Christmas banquet (I felt like it was an encore performance to Patrick's and my hit "We 4 Kings of Orientar: It's Me, Vince!" from the previous year's banquet). Our fans were yearning for more, so we gave it to them!

Anyway, back to the point. There is a point, you say?

So as many of you know, about this time last year, Sarah and I began sensing a huge burden on our hearts to move to Davao City, Philippines so that Sarah could work in a Christian, charity-based maternity clinic serving the poor women from the city and surrounding villages. The desire grew so great that we could think of little else. We even went as far as beginning to raise support to possibly move this past summer. But after lots of prayer, thinking, reading, and talking to others, we decided to postpone moving.

Sarah had the chance to visit this summer for 2.5 weeks and fell in love with the program at New Life School of Midwifery and all of the wonderful people there. She noted the challenges and hardships of life there, but still felt a strong draw.

As we prayed and talked more and more, we began to feel that maybe this just isn't the right time for us as a family. We could think of a million reasons why not to go. But we could think of just as many reasons why we should go. In the end, we found ourselves settling on Plan B - which isn't a bad option, but we're still not settled with it. Next post: starting with Plan B

Starting with Plan B...

Some people blog to express their thoughts and opinions. I've certainly done that here, but now it's becoming, once again, a place to get my thoughts straight. A place to unwind of the mental knots tied in my head.

So here's Plan B for our future in a nutshell. I'll explain Plan A as we go along, but I feel B is easier to explain:

It should come as no surprise that teachers don't get paid very much...especially in Union County, NC. I took a $15,000 pay cut when we moved from LA and I had to start paying for health care - health care for the entire family provided by the district was something I took for granted! So needless to say, finances have been a nightmare since moving here. We've been trying to find ways to make more money. My photography business is starting to pick up. I tutor once or twice a week. Sarah became a childbirth educator and now she is a doula (labor assistant). We basically have about 3 small businesses in start-up mode which makes for little free time! And Sarah wants to become a midwife in the near future which would obviously be a huge help financially!

So basically, plan B would be for us to move to an area where 1) they pay teachers more, 2) there would be a good market for photography (Charlotte is pretty good, though I think), 3) there is a good market for childbirth classes and doulas (not the best in Charlotte), 4) Sarah could study midwifery (NC does not license midwives so NC is out), and 5) Avery's allergies would not so drastically affect our family (pretty much the entire Southeast is out there).

The clear choice for us that fits the majority of those criterion would be California. I don't think we'd want to move back to LA, but we've been looking at some places like San Luis Obispo, Carpinteria, and Ventura. Of course we wouldn't be able to afford a house there, but in all honesty, we can't really afford a house here either on $34,000 a year. Also, in CA, one of the midwives who helped deliver Avery is willing to help Sarah with her midwifery studies! There might be other places besides California that would fit a lot of our criteria, but we know we like Cali and we can see ourselves happy there.

Wherever we land if we stay in the States, however, we have decided that we will be a family devoted to missions. My dream is that we take advantage of my free summers as a teacher and take family mission trips every year. We could plan for the entire year where we would go and work to raise the money to get there. We could even go for a month at a time. Then the next year we could go somewhere else or go back to the same place. After several trips, and once Sarah has her midwifery license, we would maybe have a clearer sense of what God wants us to do.

So that's Plan B. Like I said, it's not too bad. And I'm honestly pretty excited about that option. But then came Jonah...more later.

3 more days...

I wrote this on Friday and debated about whether or not I should post it...but I decided I would. So here goes!

I still can't believe how many false rumors (lies if you will) about Obama are truly believed around here. We were talking to my neighbor last weekend who is about 20 years old and is in the marines. Sarah asked him what his impression of the election was from a military mindset - how were people in the military voting? He responded that he thought most people in the military were voting for McCain because Obama would be the first Black Muslim president and would probably get taken out which would not be good. I'm not sure who was more surprised. We were shocked that people were still buying into that lie. He was shocked the hear that Obama is actually a Christian.

Then yesterday our middle school held a school-wide mock election. I wasn't surprised when I heard all the kids voicing their support for McCain given the area where my school is located and I certainly didn't engage in any debates. I just held my tongue and when the kids asked, I told them I would tell them who I voted for after the mock election was over. As the day progressed, it got harder and harder to hold my tongue - not because I wanted to change minds, but because I couldn't believe the lies these kids had been fed. Had I heard the same about McCain, I would have gladly corrected it.

I made it through the day, but this morning I finally had to hit it head on. Obama is not a terrorist. Obama is not a Muslim. Obama is not related to Sadam Hussein. Obama was not connected with the 9/11 plot. Obama will not make kids go to school on Saturdays and Sundays (I thought that one was pretty funny, actually). And when I ask where the kids hear these things, what do they say? Well the one about weekend school came from a kid in band. But most of them said they got their information from their parents. I asked one kid what his parents watch on TV and he responded, "Fox News." Well, I guess it's a good thing they don't watch that evil "Mainstream Media!"