HebrewsTree Defined.

My first tattoo was when I was 18 on the inside of my right ankle.

 (Trees grow hair...right?)

Whenever someone asks me what it means, I always ask them before sharing if they 1) really care and 2) have a few minutes. The tattoo wasn't "named" until a friend and mentor of mine, David Figge, decided I should start blogging only a few months after I got ink'd. We were trying to think up an "online identity" as he called it when he looked down at my tattoo and simply said,

Hebrews Tree.

I have been known as HebrewsTree (I decided it was better as a one-worder) ever since.

In fact, you may have discovered my original blog, HebrewsTree at www.hebrewstree.blogspot.com.

So, if you 1) really care and 2) have a few minutes, continue reading...

Living in a world that is majority run by the media and the true meaning of things like beauty and worth is exampled by how much money or fame or headlines your name is in or how tan you are or the brand of make-up you wear and the purses you carry, it is hard to place yourself anywhere else outside that without being told you have failed.
Living in a world where the first person you are told to serve is yourself and greed are more priority focuses than emptying yourself of yourself and giving more than you're taking, it is no wonder we are a world that lacks love.
Living in this world claiming you are a follower of Jesus even has a bad connotation. For many when you hear someone say they are a "Christian" the first word you deem synonym is "hypocrite". To be a "Christian" nowadays is just as bad as saying you are of this world in some circumstances.

Ever heard this phrase? "Christians" are fake and their only attempt at befriending a sinner is to get them to go to church." 

They are seen as the stereotypical little old ladies club after the service who is talking all sorts of nasty about the 20-something who wore knee-high boots.

HebrewsTree is an attempt to help change this.
To help teach love because of existence and no other reason.
To help teach Jesus.

HebrewsTree defined is merely this:

LOVE.
LOVE is the beginning of all things. To LOVE Him, is to live life. To live life for Him, is to LOVE life.
To LOVE those who are hard to LOVE.
To LOVE what He gives us.
To LOVE what He takes away.
Without LOVE, there is no life. Without God, there is no LOVE.

"Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we cannot see." Hebrews 11:1



Have faith that God's LOVE will overcome anything of this world.
LOVE others because they exist and for every one of their imperfections.
Be reminded and remind others that our God is a God who gives 2nd and 3rd and 4th chances.

Be a tree of life, who's branches are full of hearts that pour out selfless love, who's rooted by the faith in Jesus Christ because then will people begin to know HIM. People will know HIM by your LOVE.

HebrewsTree Videography

Introducing...

I'm so excited to unleash something I've been saying I wanted to do for a year now!

Help me share the website, and tell your friends, especially those getting married to check it out at:

www.hebrewstree.com

Right now, there is a discount going on until June 20th to get 20% off a selected package. You can find all the details on the webpage.

You Were Created to Fly, My Friend.

[an excerpt from one of my favorite books, The Shack, and the inspiration for my bird tattoo]




Most birds were created to fly. Being grounded for them is a limitation within their ability to fly, not the other way around.
You, on the other hand, were created to be loved. So for you to live as if you were unloved is a limitation, not the other way around.
Living unloved is like clipping a birds wings and removing its ability to fly. Not something God wants for you.
Pain has a way of clipping our wings and keeping us from being able to fly.
And if left unresolved for very long, you can almost forget that you were ever created to fly in the first place.
When three spoke themselves into human existence as the Son of God, they be became fully human. They also chose to embrace all the limitations that this entailed. Even though they have always been present in this created universe, they now became flesh and blood. It would be like a bird, whose nature is to fly, choosing only to walk and remain grounded. He doesn't stop being a bird, but it does alter his experience of life significantly.
Although by nature he is fully God, Jesus is fully human and lives as such. While never loosing the innate ability to fly, he CHOOSES moment-by-moment God with us, or God with you, to be more precise.

This proves that Jesus is truly human.


God can fly, but humans cant. Jesus is fully human. Although he is also fully God, he has NEVER drawn upon his nature as God to do anything. He has only lived out of his relationship with God, living in the very same manner that God desire to be in relationship with every human being. He is just the first to do it the uttermost, the first to absolutely trust God's life within him, the first to believe in God's love and goodness without regard for appearance or consequence.
So when he healed the blind, He did so as a dependent, limited human being trusting in God's life and power to be at work within him and through him. Jesus, as a human being, had no power within himself to heal anyone.
So, when you look at Jesus and it appears the hes flying, he really is flying. But what you are actually seeing is God; God's life in him. That's how he lives and acts as a true human, how every human is designed to live out of God's life.


A birds not defined by being grounded but by his ability to fly.


Remember this, humans are not defined by their limitations, but by the intentions that God has for them; not by what they seem to be, but by everything it means to be created in God's image.



 [end excerpt]

I strive to be truly human.

Why Not do Everything?

A couple posts ago, I mentioned how I really want to do a lot of things and my passions seem to change each week. I started thinking about everything I wanted to do, and I thought to myself, "Why not do just do everything?" My mom used to always tell me that I can't be excellent at anything if I'm doing everything. I think there's truth in that, but I also think that a lot of my passions center around a theme:

Creating & Communication. 

And I think I can do that. pretty well. So...I've started a project that I plan on being the hub where I can do all the things I love, specifically videography. I've been talking about doing wedding videography for probably a year now, and I've decided, I just need to freakin do it.

Come back to see the release of my new project soon!

Sneak Peek: Paper Flowers

I have fully committed. Our flowers are going to be AMAZING! Now, all we need to do is lock down a location. I'm still rather frustrated with that, so I'm going to save it for a later post.

Here's a sneak peek of one of the types of paper flowers I'll be putting in the bouquets:

Paper Flowers

I have gotten an itch to ditch the traditional flowers for the wedding. I have been dreading spending the money on something that is literally going to die a week or less after the wedding and then I came across the idea of

p a p e r

f l o w e r s

Here's a sneak peak of my paper flower brainstorm:



Where has the Time Gone?

I realized today that yesterday my class at Concordia graduated. The class I was suppose to graduate with graduated yesterday. It's so surreal for me for a few reasons.

Reason 1: I did not graduate. I am probably another 6 semesters at full-time away. Which sounds horrible and intimidating. 

Reason 2: I can't believe it's already been 4 years after I graduated high school. I remember starting college and thinking how slow time was passing.

I'm SO anxious to get back to school. I hate having to take another semester off. Ben's 4 semesters away from finishing with his bachelors, and then we'll switch and I'll go back to school. It is a HUGE deal for me. As I've been thinking about going back to school, I've come to a conclusion: I want to be too many things. I have all these scattered ideas of what I can do for a living, and every other week I find myself pursuing one more than the other. I know I want to do ministry ultimately but there are so many hobbies or interests I like and would LOVE to become a professional at. For instance--make-up. LOVE doing make-up. I found myself browsing make-up artist schools yesterday because I get to do my dear friends make-up for her wedding. I've done proms and dances and LOVE it! Then there's videoagraphy, which I know I'll always do because I love it, but I know if I went to school for that I'd have such a better understanding than just figuring it all out on my own. I want to act, I want to be a model. I want to be a graphic designer, I want a cupcake shop, I'd like my own greeting card line. Then there's the longing to be able to go to seminary and study apologetic's and I want to be a speaker and writer, especially for women and relationships. A counselor and/or a mediator.


Needless to say, I'm a bit scattered.

Although I am confident to say my school plan has landed on a bachelors in argumentation and conflict studies with a minor in psychology as well as  bachelors in general ministry and then it's off for my masters in family counseling. This plan has been the longest standing plan yet.

On a wedding note, after the save the dates went out, we've really been at a stand still. I don't know if it's because of our busy schedules or how chill we're making it, but it's been so great. We're starting up this next week to lock down the location and details of the ceremony. We'll be taking our engagements in the middle of June, so look for a fun photo post then. We will be starting our marriage counseling with my former youth pastor, Josh Kirstine and his wife, Jenn, which I am SO excited about. They have been blessed with an amazing gift to do this and that is seen through all the happy couples they've counseled. Melisa, one of my maid of honors, has gone all out with hand-made invitations and a super cute theme "Create!" for my bridal shower which will be happening in a few weeks. Things are starting to come along and I'm feeling so blessed as our church family stops me in the lobby to let me know they want to help with anything I need and how much they love me and Ben. We landed on 3 apartment complexs in Draper that we'll call in mid July to see who will give us the best deal (Thanks, Dave Ramsey) and they're all so close to church, which will be nice since Ben and I are both working there now. All in all, engaged life is good, but I can't wait for it to end and married life to begin. :)

If you're planning on attending the wedding, please stop by the site, becomingtherobies.com and RSVP. Invitations will be going out at the end of June with all the juicy details. For now, all I can say is start shopping around for your 1940s summerdress!