photo site launch

i've gotten a lot of positive comments lately on the photo jobs i've been doing, and i decided it was probably time to upgrade my site. the original site was done on shutterpixie, a free website service that offered a few options, but had very poor navigation. everytime you clicked on a thumbnail, it seemed like it sent you back to the beginning of the album! so i was looking for something a little more user-friendly that was specifically designed for photographers.

smug mug gave me that option, and i'd used their website before with my wedding and bridal portrait proofs. they have a great "pro" option as well, that if i ever do need to upgrade to that service, i can--and now clients can order photos straight from the website, i can do private galleries for families, and there are slideshows and other super cool options that weren't available before.

so if you haven't checked it out yet, please do!

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for the past few days, i've been working my way through "the shack," a book that was loaned to me by my co-worker katie. when giving it to me, she said, "i just want to hear your impressions on this after you're done reading it."

i'm now ready to purchase my own copy, as well as a few others to give to friends and family to read. there need to be more books like this out there. i want to re-read it with highlighter and sticky notes on hand, and i'm even contemplating a book club for any of the kids in youth group who might be interested in reading it over the summer.

i don't want to give away the plot, but i will say this--it is extraordinarily creative, thought-provoking and touching. it is a religious book, but not theological. there is no doctrine being preached--only a relationship, forgiveness and an overarching theme of love.

a couple of my favorite quotes--some of the "meat" of the text--

Jesus spoke again, "I don't want to be the first among a list of values; I want to be at the center of everything. When i lieve in you, the together we can live through everything that happens to you. Rather than a pyramid, I want to be the center of a mobile, where everything in your life--your friends, family, occupation, thoughts, activities--is connected to me bu moves with the wind, in and out and back and forth, in an incredible dance of being,"

"The Bible doesn't teach you to follow rules. It is a picture of Jesus. While words may tell you what God is like and even hat he may want from you, you cannot do any of it on your own. Life and living is in him and in no other...it is true that relationships are a whole lot messier than rles, but rules will never give you answers to the deep questions of the heart and they will never love you. "

there are so many awesome concepts and ideas that the author uses to get across the point--it's not about the religion and the semantics of it--it's about a relationship with Jesus and worshipping God, thanking HIM for every blessing, even when it's initially presented as a challenge or a tragedy. there are so many people i know who have gone through such difficult times, and i know it's hard not to question why God would allow this to happen to such amazing people? i think this book does a great job of presenting one author's message, and i hope this book continues to reach out to people who need it, who are going through their own times of trial.

it's a couple of years old, but it's still got a #1 spot on the NY Times bestseller list. and it has nearly 3,000 reviews on amazon.com. and though there's a great amount of controversy also surrounding it (it is a fiction novel dealing with some very heavy duty concepts that could be--but aren't--supplemented by scripture) i think it is a way of reaching a previously unreached group.

have you read "the shack"? any thoughts? or are you interested in reading it now?