Words of Encouragement... Leviticus 19:18

You shall not take vengeance nor bear any grudge against the children of your people but you shall love your neighbor as your self.  I am the Lord.
                                                                                                  Leviticus 19:18

This verse as harshly as it sounds like it is written, is a boundary for our safety and our good.  So many people think that the bible is just a book of things that we can't do.  A way to ruin our fun. Especially in the Old Testament  people see the lives of Christians as stuffy and boring, but that is not true at all.  Jesus rephrased this "rule" in Matthew 22:34 - 40 when he told the people to love God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself.  He said that this was the greatest of the commandments.  The thing that caught me on this verse was the part about not taking vengeance or bearing any grudge against the children of your people.  I think far too often we hold on to things when we have been hurt by people and situations   In essence we are saying that God is not big enough to handle this problem for us and it makes us feel good to stay mad about it.  Sometimes we even pull other people into our anger and frustration.  I have done this more times than i care to admit, and relationships with an innocent bystander of an argument or disagreement were hurt just because they were somehow related to the other person.  The real truth in this verse and in Jesus's teaching of the same concept in Matthew is that if we can get this one, the rest of the "rules" will come with ease.  This one is about our heart and our selfishness.  We think of ourselves higher than we really are which causes us not to love others, but if we love others and we love God, we have lowered ourselves to the correct place in our priorities and our attitude will be more like that of Christ.

Is there someone in your life that you need to make amends with.  It may not always be able to be fixed but you need to do everything on your end to try to fix it and then all you can do is pray.  The Lord is in control and is able to heal broken relationships. Sometimes its just not on our time table.

"Getting to Know you... Getting to know All about You"

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? 
I was .... I was named after 3 kids my mom taught in her 1st grade class when she was expecting me.  

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? 
The Last time I probably really cried was when my grandfather passed away last november.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? 
Yes.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
I don't really like lunch meat. but i guess if had to choose i would say Turkey

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? 
Not yet, but I have 2 amazing neices

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? 
Absolutely!

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? 
Yes, its probobly one of my worst traits

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? 
Yes.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
Possibly... Depending on who was there with me 

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? 
Frosted Flakes and Captian Crunch

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? 
No Way!!! I very rarely wear shoes with laces for this very point haha.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? 
not really

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? 
Blue Belle- Butter Crunch

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? 
Face/smile.

15. RED OR PINK? 
PINK!!!!!

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? 
That I am very self critical 

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? 
My Grandpa

18. What color is your car? 
Tan

19. WHAT COLOR SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
None... Bare feet is the way to go :) 

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
A Hot dog and Sourc ream and Onion Chips

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? 
Only the World - Mandisa

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? 
Pink!

23. FAVORITE SMELLS?
Apple Pie, Vanilla

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? 
My Grandma 

25. MOUNTAIN HIDEAWAY OR BEACH HOUSE?
Beach house!

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? 
Football, Baseball, and Hockey

27. HAIR COLOR? 
Brownish Black

28. EYE COLOR? 
green

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? 
No  Thank Goodness I have a fear of anything touching my eyes... lol.. even eyedrops (yes I know this is weird haha)

30. FAVORITE FOOD? 
Grilled Cheese and french fries

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? 
I love Action Movies... so an in between. 

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? 
All about Steve

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? 
Purple !!! Go Cats!!

34. SUMMER OR WINTER? 
Summer

35. HUGS OR KISSES? 
Hugs. No, kisses. No... I can't decide.

36. FAVORITE DESSERT? 
Brownies

37. STRENGTH TRAINING OR CARDIO?
both.

38. COMPUTER OR TELEVISION?
Computer... 

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? 
One Tuesday Morning- Karen Kingsbury's book about September 11th

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? 
Polka dots

42. FAVORITE SOUND? 
Rain Falling

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? 
Beatles.

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
Maryland - DC area

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? 
I can sing :) 

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? 
Hendersonville NC 

47. WHERE ARE YOU LIVING NOW?
Hendersonville NC

48. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR HOUSE?
Yellow

49.  What is your greatest weakness?
Anything Vintage

50. Where do you hope to be in 10 years?
Rocking babies :)

Words of Encouragement John 1:17

For the Law was given through Moses but Grace and truth come through Jesus Christ.
                                                                                                        John 1:17

Just as the Lord is completely loving, he completely hates sin.  The Law and Grace are two aspects of his nature that he uses in dealing with us and the sin in our lives..   God can not tolerate sin, that was the reason that he made Adam and Eve leave the Garden of Eden. Before the coming of Jesus the people in the Old Testament had to live by the law that the Lord Gave to Moses.  Not only did the law govern what they should and shouldn't do, it also gave  them specifications for the sacrifices and attachments that would take the place of the blood of Jesus until He came.  The People of the Old Testament had heard of their redeemer and they were saved with faith that Christ would come just as we are saved by our Faith that Christ did come and die on the Cross for our Sin.  The Lord giving Moses the law showed us his attributes of Gods Law and Justice and Righteousness  while when Jesus came, he came to show that the Lord's love, forgiveness, and mercy.  People don't like to think of God as a judge or someone who hates sin, but Jesus was sent so the Lord could show his Love and Grace and Mercy to the people in the most absolute way.  Jesus came to fulfill the law to its ultimate completeness. (Matthew 5:17).  The Law is a guideline to live by, but with our sinful nature we will never be able to live up to the Lords standard, so he offers the blood of Jesus as an atonement and a plan for the redemption of his people.

Rather than coming through Cold Stone Tablets, Gods truth now comes through a person's life.  As we get to know Christ better and become more  Christlike our understanding of the Lord will increase

It's Here! The New Meredith Staton Photography Website is live!!!

YOU GUYS!!! It’s here! We so so excited to announce the launch of the new Meredith Staton Photography website!! It’s been a true labor of love. We have been working all year to really personalize our client experience, and tailor our business towards the clients that we love working with most. After all of our work, our images & brand have a new home! I am pretty much in love with this site!

First of all, we wanted to make things super easy for our potential clients. While our old site was *okay*, it was a little busy …and hard to navigate ...  we felt like there were so many extra elements that didn’t really serve a purpose. With our new site, we wanted to give the important information about our services, photographs, and packages along with the info we thought clients would want to know about us.

The meet me  page is one of my favorites! It’s a snapshot me :) and you may even find a few awkward photos ... No blackmail please :) . 

I love the videos and slideshows on our website It gives our visitors a fun way quick way to look through some of the images I have personally selected as my favorites.

Be sure to check out the new site … we are so very excited about this launch! Also, if you like our work, would you be a doll & follow the Meredith Staton photography page over on Facebook? We’ll be announcing a really exciting giveaway there later this week!! 

Session Spotlight....

One  of my goals this year is to shoot more vintage flair and stylized sessions.  I love all the little details and putting the sessions together.  I had a chance to shoot a session with two precious kiddos and we got a few vintage shots in before the end of the session. One of the things I love about the vintage backdrops are they are all created with real vintage pieces   Barnwood from my grandparents barn, old doors that had at one point hung on their home, and true vintage clothing and accessories.  I love re-purposing these things and giving new life to something that would have otherwise been tossed out.  These two kids were so cute and especially when i asked the little boy to "look bored" he told me he could do that really well.   I really enjoyed having these two beautiful children in my studio this week, and look to shooting more vintage flair studio sessions in the coming months.

Words of Encouragement - Hebrews 13:8

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.
                                                       Hebrews 13:8

Jesus has so many attributes that make him worthy of our worship, but one of them that has such meaning to us as humans is the fact that he does not change.  No matter what our circumstances  No matter how much the world around us shifts, no matter how many people in our lives that we can not depend on Jesus is always there.  He never changes.  He never leaves us.  Jesus is the standard, and the standard is constant and true. :) Find Hope in the fact that when everything else is falling apart, Jesus will be there and he will be exactly what he has always been... Faithful!

Words of Encouragement 2 Corinthians 4:7

"We have this treasure from God, but we are like clay jars that hold the treasure.  This shows that the great power is from God, not from us."  2 Corrinthians 4:7

- Paul is talking about the Gospel here but i think it can be applied to our talents and abilities as well.. God has granted us each unique talents and abilities.  We cant do them on our own. We must strengthen and grow in these talents and learn and grow to become better, and we must use these talents for his glory and not our own :)  We also must keep in daily contact with the Lord so that He can work through us and the abilities he has given us to bless others.