Selah Reflections

Inviting You To Find Stillness in the Midst of Life.

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3 Ways to NOT Leave Photos On Your Camera Phone

You may have noticed, I’m a bit of a photography nut. I love taking photos. It’s fun to look for treasures or special moments to capture and share. It’s a hobby that helps me be present and completely in the moment. It helps me slow down and pay closer attention to what is going on around me.

When is the last time you printed pictures from your phone? 3 Ways to NOT Leave Photos on Your Camera Phone | SelahReflections.com

While my main focus (sorry… put sort of intended…) is nature photography, I find that when I am at a family gathering, a party or special event, having my camera on hand helps me be more observant. It helps me see small, precious moments I might have otherwise missed.

It’s later on that I run into a problem. I look at all the photos taken and wonder, what am I going to do with all of them? I mean on my phone alone there are over 2600 pictures! There is no way I’m going to print them all!

We Are Losing A Legacy of Sharing

I love my camera phone, I take it with me everywhere. And as the saying goes, “the best camera is the camera you have with you”, so my iPhone gets pulled out a lot! Using it has not only changed my photography style but it has pushed me creatively as well.

Digital photography in general, has changed the way we take photos, store them and use them. But sadly, beyond sharing them occasionally on social media, sending them via text or attaching a few to an email, most of our photos remain unseen.

By leaving our pictures sitting on a phone (or computer or memory card), we are losing a legacy of sharing the story of our lives.

Many of us grew up with those “lovely” peel n’ stick or magnetic style photo albums. Each filled with pictures of family vacations, baby pictures, birthday parties and even those terrible grade school pictures. We could look through those albums and see the story of our family. It’s a legacy our children and  younger generations are losing out on.

Sharing Our Story

It’s important to capture and preserve not only the story of our families, but our own personal story as well. Photography is just one way to do that. I think it is time to get the photos off our phones and into a physical printed format.

So let’s look at a few ways to do just that.

3 Ways to Get Your Pictures Off Your Phone

Photo Notecards:

I may be a bit biased on this one because it’s one of my favorite ways to use photos. It’s fun to create my own photo notecards to give as gifts. For example for a birthday I will create a simple photo collage of different images I have taken of someone through the years, here is one example.

Photo notecards are just one way to get the photos off your camera phone. | SelahReflections.com

To make these:

  1. I use Photoshop, but you could easily do the same thing in Photoshop Elements, or online with services like Canva or PicMonkey. Both have templates you can use and add your photos to.
  2. Next, print these photos on your printer or order at your local 1-hour photo.
  3. Then glue or tape these to a blank notecard, which you can find at a craft store, Target, Walmart or on Amazon.

Yearly Calendar:

This is one of my favorite gifts to receive each year. I look forward calendars full of family photos showing the growth of the kiddos and seeing family adventures from throughout the year. Looking at them makes me smile, so I keep one at my desk and one in my bedroom. After the year is up, I still have them as a collection of photos which I can add to a photo album.

To make these:

  1. You will need to set-up an account with a photo printing service like Costco*, Shutterfly or Walmart.
  2. Next, upload a selection of photos to use.
  3. Choose a  calendar template and add in the images you want to use for each month.

*Costco’s photo center is one of my favorite places to order family style calendars. They are usually just under $10 and if you have it shipped, you do not need a Costco card to take advantage of their great service.

Photo Albums:

One of the many advantages of digital photography is that it has brought along a wide range of digital products and service providers. The options are amazing! Photo albums can be created printed with a hard or soft cover. They are available as small as 4×6 and all the way up to 12×12, you are left to your imagination and budget.

To make these:

  1. Just like the yearly calendar you can simply upload your images to photo printing service like Costco, Shutterfly and Walmart.
  2. Then, select the template and add in the images you want to use on each page.

Make It Easy

I have a love/hate relationship with the scrapbooking industry. On the one hand the creative, beautiful layouts found in magazines or on Pinterest get my creative juices flowing. But, it’s also more than a little intimidating. It has kept me from creating even simple albums.

Thankfully, I’m getting over that, for the most part. 🙂

Just remember, keep it simple and doable.

This is a quick overview but I hope it gives you a few ideas to try. I’ll be revisiting this idea in future with more ideas (and examples) of getting your images off your camera (or computer or memory card) and into your hands.

So… when was the last time you printed any photos off of your camera phone?

Liked this post? You might also like:

  1. Starting A Photo Journal (& A Challenge!)
  2. The Story Behind the Photo – A Study of Fire
  3. Feeling Uninspired? Here Are 5 Ways To Find Inspiration
  4. The Story Behind the Photo – Sunrise Morning

By Marta Goertzen

Being Purposeful & Finding Stillness In The Midst of Life

Drum roll please… my focus word for the year is PURPOSEFUL. Which means:

  1. Having or showing determination or resolve
  2. Having a useful purpose
  3. Intentional

BeingPurposeful & Finding Stillness in the Midst of Life | SelahReflections.com

The Purposeful, Purpose Driven Year Ahead

As I thought, prayed and journaled about what I would like to see happen this year, it didn’t take long to see that I was feeling ambitious. There was a lot that I wanted to accomplish in my personal life, writing endeavors and entrepreneurial pursuits. It was going to take a plan, perseverance and focus to get it all done.

Based on the comments and emails I have received from you over the past few months, I received confirmation that I was headed in the right direction. Your feedback has encouraged me and fueled a desire to have a greater positive impact and a more purposeful direction.

(That word purposeful, it kept showing up, I couldn’t ignore it.)

The desire to have a positive impact comes in part from a desire to encourage those who are stressed out, struggling, or overwhelmed. Which I attempt to do here on the blog via written word and in sharing the beauty of God’s creation through photography.

In the midst of all these thoughts a plan was starting to take shape and ideas started to form. This plan even inspired a new tagline for Selah Reflections:

“Finding Stillness in the Midst of Life”

These words spoke volumes to me. It gave me a clearer focus and a stronger purpose for this site. It will influence what I write about, the subject of the books and journals I plan on publishing and the products I plan to create this year. It also is a message I can share with those who are stressed out, struggling, or overwhelmed.

My word showed up again as I realized that in order to find that stillness we have to be purposeful in how we:

  • Manage our energy
  • Work and rest
  • Eat
  • Exercise
  • Simplify our calendar
  • Declutter our home
  • Care for others
  • Care for ourselves
  • Spend our money
  • Grow spiritually, emotionally, and mentally

It Takes Purposeful Actions to Find Stillness

We live rushed lives. We live lives of fully booked calendars. We live lives with brains about to explode with to-do lists, information and ideas.

Finding stillness in the midst of life is difficult, and on some days seemingly impossible, but oh so important.

Psalm 46:10 says “Be still and know that I am God”.

In the book of Isaiah, God says through the prophet, “…in repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength”.

During his ministry here on earth, Jesus purposefully stepped away from the crowds to find quiet places to pray and fellowship with his disciples.

In Psalm 23 it says “He leads me beside still waters”.

Stillness is there, peace beyond our understanding is available, but we tend to get so busy, running here and there, that we do not hear the words, “Be still”.

Life is busy, there is no way around that. Life is hard. But, there is also beauty in the midst of it all if we are purposeful about slowing down long enough to see it. There is stillness to be found in the midst of life when we are purposeful in seeking it out.

I’m by no means good at this! So much of what I write about here on the blog are things I need to learn. I think that is one of the reasons this word purposeful and the new tagline were given to me.

Find Your Word – Find Your Purpose?

I do think that by picking a word to focus each year, we get clues about our purpose and about what God is trying to teach us.

Find your purpose. It sounds so simple doesn’t it? It’s not. It takes work, it takes trying something new, it takes prayer and it means taking the next step, in faith.

Today’s Challenge:

Take a purposeful action to find stillness in the midst of today.

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  2. Finding Stillness by Giving Thanks
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  4. Finding Stillness, Finding Your Happy Place

By Marta Goertzen

Trying Something New, Even When It Scares You

Have you ever had an idea that excites you? An idea that brightens your eyes and lifts your spirits? You work on it, get it ready but when it comes time to share it and make it public you hesitate and ask, “should I”?

Trying Something New Even When It Scares You

Last week I had to ask myself this question when I was ready to launch a Virtual Craft Show. When it came time to hit publish and start sharing on social media, I froze.

  • What if I don’t sell anything?
  • The photos of some of my products didn’t turn out the way I had envisioned…
  • What if what I’ve made isn’t good enough?
  • What if…

I could go on and on, the little, or maybe not so little, inner critic inside my head was working overtime. I was afraid of the risk and the possibility of failure. But eventually I did hit publish and make it “Facebook Official” to start sharing and marketing the site.

The Resistance

In his book, The War of Art, Steven Pressfield calls it Resistance, while Seth Godin calls it the Lizard Brain.

No matter what you call it… the voices in your head do not want you to step out of your comfort zone. They do not want you to venture into the unknown and risk stumbling in front of the crowd.

We all have it, we all experience it and succumb to it from time to time.

Resisting the Resistance

This is the hard part. I love ideas, research, creating and exploring. That is the easy part.

What I usually dread is the going public part. I’m both shy and introverted so putting my work, my art, my expertise out on display is hard. It can feel like taking yet another risk each and every time.

Last week was no different. Over a weekend I decided to move forward on an idea of opening up a virtual craft show. It was fun and a challenge to put it all together in a short period of time.

Then, when it was time to make the craft show public, the resistance, the lizard brain, the self-doubt kicked into high gear. I had a post ready to go on Facebook but it sat there awhile before I hit publish. Yikes! That was hard.

But I resisted the resistance and published anyway.

Why? Because growth, inspiration, creativity, learning valuable lessons, and more only happens when we push forward. Sitting still and being stagnant may be more comfortable but there is no reward, there is no joy or satisfaction that comes from overcoming an obstacle.

I’ve learned over the years that if I’m not at least slightly nervous about trying something new, the idea is probably not worth pursuing or is not BIG enough.

Being scared to step out of our comfort zone is normal and not something to squash instantly. It is a tool that can be used.

We have to ask why we are scared? Is it just because it is new? Unknown? Is it a step forward in faith or is it a nudging in our spirit saying, now is not the time. Only you can answer that question for yourself.

But if it really and truly is being scared because it is new, unknown and a leap of faith, then most likely we need to move forward and go for it.

There is risk of course. It could fail, it could not work out. But maybe, just maybe it will work out brilliantly! What if you stop just short of success? You won’t know until you try.

Keep Trying Something New

What if it does fail? So what? What did you learn? What can you do differently? As Thomas Edison said,

I have not failed. I’ve just found 10000 ways that won’t work.

I don’t like to fail. It is hard on the ego, it is discouraging and frustrating. It can make you feel like nothing is going right and you are doing something completely wrong. And in the moment it is hard to see past those feelings.

But, that should not stop us.

We learn, we evaluate, we grow and try again. If we don’t, that is when we fail.

What if it works? That is an amazing feeling. But again, you won’t know until you try it, even in the midst of being scared.

So I pushed past the fear and the resistance and hit that publish button. Is it working? No, not really. And yes it is discouraging. I’m going to let myself have a pity party, acknowledge that I’m frustrated and then move on.

Then, I will evaluate, grow from what I have learned and try again.

What can you try this week even though it scares you?

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By Marta Goertzen

Too Busy To Take A Break? Try One of these 4 Ideas

Ever had one of those days where you wake up and just know you will be moving from the time you push the covers back to the moment you pull them back up at night.

Then you think, “Take a break? Self care? You must be joking! I don’t have time for that.”

Too Busy To Take A Break? Try one of these 4 ideas | SelahReflections.com

Does the feeling of not have time for a self-care routine sound familiar? It does to me. I’ve written about it here and here but still there are days it is quite hard to find the time or the “excuse” to take care of me.

But I’m here to tell you from experience that even on the craziest of days, you will have time to fit in at least one 5-10 minute break.

Today we are going to look at ways to add to your Take-A-Break Kit for the days it feels way too busy and you don’t think you can stop.

4 Take-A-Break Ideas

1)Tea Break:

Not just throwing a tea bag into a mug and calling it good. I mean taking a couple of minutes to steep some loose leaf tea, it feels like a mini luxury.

This summer my sister introduced me to the joy of loose leaf tea. When she came to Oregon to help take care of our Mother she brought a dizzying array of lovely smelling and tasting loose leaf tea. What fun it was to have such an amazing collection to select from.

The ritual of making tea and slowing down for a few minutes is deeply ingrained into many cultures. The British have High Tea and the Japanese have entire ceremonies around brewing and drinking tea. (Kind of fascinating… you can read more here.) I think it is time we incorporate a ritual like this into our daily routines too.

For loose leaf tea I highly recommend Steeped Tea. I’m a fruity tea fan and Strawberry Surprise is one of my favorites.

2) Journaling:

What is there not to love about a journal with great paper, your favorite pen and a time to sit and write for hours.

Well sure the idea is lovely but not many of us have the opportunity to sit for hours and just write. I don’t think I would even be able to sit still that long! You might be surprised however at how much you can write in just 5 minutes.

Just remember, keep it simple! Start a gratitude journal. This is a place where you jot down 3-5 things that you are grateful for that day. It is a habit and a ritual that can change your life.

Focusing on gratitude for a few minutes can change your day around and encourage you to keep going. It can also help you feel not so overwhelmed on the crazy busy days.

3) Coloring:

If you look at the Amazon best seller list there are consistently 3-5 coloring books near the top. Why? Because coloring is a creative, calming and stress busting activity. It’s not just for kids anymore.

Bright colored markers, crayons and colored pencils, I know you have at least one of these on hand. Select a few of your favorite and put them with a coloring book so you can pull it out for a quick break. Then take note of how your mind slows down, focuses in on this creative activity.

Click here to download a couple of coloring and gratitude journal pages to get you started.

4) Stretching and Exercising:

Find a sequence of stretches that you can do in 5 minutes. It could be Pilates or a form of Yoga or just a series of arm stretches and neck rolls to work out the kinks of the day. It only takes a few minutes to do and can make a huge difference in how you feel.

How about a fast five-minute workout? Something to really get the blood moving and keep you energized and motivated.

Whether it is stretching or a short exercise routine it can help wake you up, clear your head and get your focus back.

For a great resource on short stretching and exercise routines I highly recommend the Fitness Blender exercise videos.

I can just about guarantee you that you can find 5-10 minutes a day for a short break. The trick is having things ready for you. So plan ahead and start creating or adding more ideas to your Take-A-Break Kit. If it isn’t handy you probably won’t do it and you will use all of your 5-10 minutes finding the supplies you are looking for.

Once you have supplies gathered you can then plan a simple 5-10 minute break and do it!

Do you have any quick Take-A-Break Kit ideas?

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  2. The Benefits of Journaling… By Hand
  3. Creating Your Own Take-A-Break Kit
  4. It’s Easier To Consume Ideas Than to Produce Art

By Marta Goertzen

Starting A Photo Journal (& A Challenge!)

As you probably have guessed by now, I LOVE taking and sharing photos.

Do you know the saying “A picture is worth a thousand words”? Well I think that it goes beyond words, pictures also evoke a wide range of emotions too.

Start A Photo Journal | SelahReflections.com

  • A wedding photo can make you smile
  • A baptism can bring tears to your eyes
  • A beautiful sunrise creates a sense of awe
  • A tragic event evokes sadness
  • A smiling baby makes us laugh

We take pictures of our families to preserve memories. We take pictures of important events in order to document them, share them and to revisit them in the future.

Sadly, in the last 5-10 years, with the advent of digital cameras, we don’t print our photos much any more. We post them online, download them to our computers or leave them on our digital devices.

We lose something by not printing and creating a tangible “thing” that we can pull out and looked at.

The scrapbooking world hasn’t helped either. We see simply printing a photo as not enough. We feel like we are not doing it correctly if we haven’t created an elaborate spread of photos with stickers, fancy fonts and washi tape.

That is sad. I would much rather sit down with a plain ole photo album than have nothing at all.

Over the past few years I have gotten braver in sharing my photography in various social media outlets. It was hard at first but now I enjoy it and try not to miss a day during the week. Sharing is fun and the feedback I get back on what people like is rewarding.

Plus I have found that it is a way I can encourage and uplift someones day. That through my photography I can create a moment of beauty, a moment of seeing the wonder of God’s creation. That is a blessing for me too!

While sharing on social media is great. There is something special about sharing a printed photo…

A few years ago I started creating handmade books of nature photography paired with a friends favorite scripture verses. She loved it! It next became a Kindle picture book and this year grew into a printed version of the book with a companion journal.

I mention this to share with you the power of the pictures you take. But taking the picture is only the beginning and sadly is where most of us stop.

It’s Time To Start A Photo Journal

A small journal where you chronicle your own journey and create something just for you. Maybe something you can pass on to the next generation.

I would recommend checking out the website Gadanke.com where Katie Clemmons shares her belief that you have a story worth preserving. (And she is right!) She has a great Ted Talk on the importance of “Storycatching”. (Check out her GREAT journals and journaling tutorials as well.)

Your journal does not have to be elaborate. It can be a simple album with pockets for 4×6 prints. Put a picture on the left and an index card with notes about the picture on the right.

It can be a journal where you add a picture to the page and simply hand write a story about your day or about a memory you don’t want to forget.

It can be as fancy as you want it to be. But, I do find that the fancier you try to be the less likely it will get done.

Keep. It. Simple.

Keep it easy to access and add to.

But, do document your life in photos. Write down experiences and become a memory keeper.

Pictures Of You

Most of us prefer to be behind the camera instead of in front of it. If you are the photographer in your family, the one everyone grumbles about at family events and the camera comes out… I bet that when you look through your collection of photos, you are not in many of them.

We all need to be better about including ourselves in photos. Of preserving our stories and not just the stories of others. We need to learn to be more comfortable in front of the camera.

A November Photo Journal Challenge

So here is my challenge to both you and me. During the month of November, start a photo journal. Commit to taking AND PRINTING one photo per week and write about what you are thankful for.

Take a picture of your journal page and post it on our Facebook Page, share it on Twitter, or Instagram with the hashtag #MyPhotoJournal.

JUST ONE RULE… you, yes you, need to be in at least 1 of those weekly photo journal pages. Okay?!

Liked this post? You might also like:

  1. 3 Ways to NOT Leave Photos On Your Camera Phone
  2. Finding & Sharing Your Be Still Moments
  3. The Story Behind the Photo – A Study of Fire
  4. The Story Behind the Photo – Sunrise Morning

By Marta Goertzen

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