We've been keeping a secret......It's a......

Sorry I've been so absent. There's been a bunch going on haha!

Hopefully more to come soon.....

2014 In Pictures. (& some words)

Just like I did for last year, and even the year before...I thought it would be fun to look through several pictures of 2014 and share some of the memories. Its great to look back on these in the future and see in a glance everything that happened that year.  Even though it was a hard year for us, which can be seen in a lot of pondering and a lot less writing than usual, there were also great lessons learned and a lot of grace given by the Lord. 

It's a great way to look back with thankfulness, being able to see the Lord at work even in the mundane and hard moments. 

You may want to grab a cup of coffee/tea or hot cocoa, if you're like me and are trying to cut back on caffeine, because a lot of these links are worth the read. 

January

We started the year celebrating Christmas with Andrew's extended family & my sister and her hubby came with us. So we took a picture of the four of us, which doesn't happen very often. We also went skiing again last January, one of our few trips we take each year. I'm so thankful for this man and his great skiing/snowboarding skills, he taught me how to ski a few years ago now and we have such fun together. 
I also wrote about a daily choice, something I pondered last January about the expression follow your heart and how we could in fact be hindering each other by using the phrase.  


February

February saw a fun Stitch Fix date again, something Andrew and I have had a ton of fun enjoying especially in the Winter. Its a great way to spend time together, plus he has really good taste at putting together outfits and taking pictures. He's pretty talented! I also went to one of the sweetest baby showers for a dear friend. 
My favorite post from that month is on ways Love is not blind. As well as sharing ways we need to live by what we know is true and starting my battle with caring so much about what people think or say about me. 


March

March is a harder month here in the Midwest, the weather starts to really get to you with all the constant snow here. But we got to go on yet another ski trip which had the most incredible sunrises from the hotel balcony and then I spent a long weekend in Texas. That was definitely a great relief from the weather up here. I also rebranded this space. 
Texas was where I definitely met 'my girls' this year. I'm so thankful for this incredible group of women that the Lord brought into my life, there aren't words to describe the timing except that it was a god-thing. 

(Amy//Ruthie//Katie//Heather//Teressa//Amanda)

I can't wait to see them again this upcoming March! 
That group further confirmed my decision about going to Hope Spoken instead of any other conference. I was also so excited to see sweet Casey again and meet little Apple who I had prayed over during Casey's pregnancy. I will also never forget crying all over Danielle in the middle of a hotel ballroom, she taught me so much about grace and forgiveness this year. 


April

I gained boldness this month in sharing my story wanting to bring glory to Him through it and also encourage others who face similar situations and struggles in the process. Andrew and I also joined a small group at our church that worked through subtle sins in our lives, looking at the everyday idols facing the church today. It was quite a challenge to say the least.  
The community of ladies at our church also had another baby shower for a friend, its been crazy to see how the Lord really gave us community this year. 


May

This amazing man helped me celebrate my birthday with a bunch of friends this year. It was great to be able to spend another birthday with him as it's been a challenge to be together in May-time in the past. We played lasertag with about a dozen friends and then went to have dinner at Chilis. It was SO much fun! Who says a 20-something party can't be as awesome as when you're in high school. 
I also continued to battle one of my insecurities, I re-shared my testimony, made DIY moon dough with the girls I nanny for & finally posted pictures of our home the week we moved out of it haha! 


June

My family came to visit in the middle of the summer, so I didn't write very much here in this space. We were busy spending time with them, making day trips to various places and enjoying the little time we get to all be together. I wish I had more pictures from their time here this year, I didn't do a very good job at taking my camera with me this summer. Most of my photography has been on other people while trying to launch a business, so my personal pictures have taken a backseat unfortunately. I did share our new home a little, although it looks different in several ways already. As well as write about a family that inspired me to really trust the Lord and live with a whole lot more of faith than I currently do.


July

We went to the wedding of two friends we both knew in high school, it was fun knowing both the bride and groom for many years. So strange as we knew them both and then after college they reconnected and got married. Such a cute story! 
I also thought more about being a good listener. 

We also celebrated four years of being married. Can't believe its been that long already and yet it seems like I can't remember a time before I did life by his side. 

August

We got to see our nieces and nephews in the summer. We only see them about once a year, which is crazy when they are this little and grow so much in between visits. I also did another Stitch Fix date with my hubby.  

September

This space underwent a name change and I shared some thoughts behind it, as well as some thoughts about timing on our relationship,  timing about so many other things in life. 
One of the biggest things this year was that we decided to go to Kenya, this month was when I shared that we were going to start fundraising and following Him to where He was calling us. 


October

October was a very busy month so not much happened here, I started out with a trip to North Carolina to help a friend out with her two sweet babes. I got to see Charlotte and loved being in the south. Then business wise I had a bunch of portrait sessions from which I loved the above shots. Then on Halloween we boarded a plane to head to Kenya, a 48hr journey across the world which fried my poor nerves with about 18 hrs of flying time. 

November

November spoiled my camera and it hasn't been the same every since. Too many amazing pictures from the incredible beauty that we saw many thousands of miles from home. I started sharing just how amazing it was here and here. But still have yet to write about everything. 


December

The last month of this year was probably the hardest month of the year for me, for many reasons. We went through a lot but I definitely learned how to lean into God more and more about trusting Him with things that are totally not within my control. Trusting Him with dreams, timing, frustrations and help with cleaning up messes. 
I also shared about my understanding of home. 


This year lived up to the word I picked for it. Hope. It couldn't have been more appropriate for reminding me throughout all the ups and downs, the journey was always full of hope. Because He has never left us or forsaken us. My life verse (which I chose at 16) became such truth in the last few months. 

 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosperyou and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

[Jeremiah 29:11]

I can't wait to pray & think more about a new word for the year ahead. I'm taking my time and hoping He gives me a word to hold onto as we start this fresh new year. 

What they told us about Timing.

Disclaimer: no we are not expecting twins, we have been married four years, hence the number in the pictures :) 

It's kind of funny really, just how openly some pretty private things are discussed really. The timing for starting a family when you are a young married couple being a major one I've noticed since we got married.
When we were first married, everyone just commented on how fun it would be when we were at the stage for children, how we should enjoy the precious honeymoon stage together before they came along. How its a great time to get to know each other. How there was plenty of time in the future for rearing children, after all we were married pretty young.


Then after a year went by, several people close to us started to ask questions, they would ask about our timing for children, if we had any thoughts. Where we were in terms of our thinking about them.


After two years, even people who didn't know us as well felt comfortable asking a little more. After replying with the length of time, they would usually comment about how we must be thinking about children soon. After all we had been married for a few years and the timing was great to start really considering children.


Another year went by and people who barely knew us at all would meet us and ask how long we were married, then comment about how time had passed and we were we seriously considering having children now. How it was perfect timing and if we wanted a larger family, we should start already.


Now its been four years of marriage and people have actually started asking if we just don't want children. How time is really getting on and if we want them at all, we should get going. I find this so funny, as we have never previously mentioned that we don't want children. Or even what our thoughts have been. It just seems to be a topic that people are free to ask without pausing to think about other possibilities.

My friend, Wynne wrote a beautiful post about infertility. About her struggle with it for many years, and I have several other friends for who this is a real struggle. Now I'm not saying that is why we haven't had children so far, please don't hear me writing that. But what I am saying is that I think in general so many of us are unaware or don't think about the possibility that couples may be struggling with infertility and we may not know. So our pointed questions of when they plan on having children could be like pouring salt into a wound, a very deep real wound. Infertility and struggling to conceive is not something that is freely talked about in churches and I so wish it was, so we could love on those facing this struggle. So we could be a little more sensitive in our questions and not put our feet in our mouths so frequently without meaning to.


I personally am trying to be so careful about even just lightly teasing our married friends about timing for children, never knowing whether infertility is something they struggle with or if there are other very real issues preventing them from trying to start a family. We all have such deep hidden issues that aren't known to everyone in our lives, and sometimes I think we should remember that we never know was is going on behind the cheery smiles & light answers to deep questions like these.


I am thankful for the sweet ladies that have written about this issue & remind us of the very real struggle going on behind closed doors. Reminding us that it isn't as simple as just deciding to have children and then conceiving. How ultimately the Lord is in control of our families, size & everything.
And His timing is perfect, even when it doesn't fit with what we would pick for ourselves. 

Different paths, same purpose.

I've had a blast reminiscing over our early years lately. The challenges which we faced, the communication mistakes & the joy over holding hands for the first time. I believe it was actually right after Andrew picked me up from the airport when I flew across the world to come visit him. He was driving us back to meet his family and held my hand at the same time. Definitely strange and unfamiliar at the time, but it still gave me butterflies. 
Relationships are just beautiful at every stage. While I look back on those days with fondness, I certainly wouldn't trade where we are now in order to relive those days.


Even though a hug or an accidental brush of the hand would leave me with tingles & sometimes short of breath back then, I can honestly say there is beauty in the now. In the familiar, in the coming home to each other, the waking up next to each other & falling asleep reading together. That never gets old and certainly wasn't something we did before we got married. 


I am sure people thought we were insane for getting married as young as we were. There were mentions of why we didn't wait to establish careers or live our lives a little before settling down. Even though I didn't think we were that young, since we did wait until after we both graduated college and I have definitely watched others get married before we did. Looking back now, I totally see that we were young, we definitely could have made better decisions and have grown immensely through making plenty of mistakes and learning to dispense grace to each other daily (sometimes several times a day). 


But everyone's stories are different, that's the beauty of being created by God for a specific purpose. We will all walk a different path, marry at different stages, walk through trials and difficulties sometimes never understanding why they were necessary. Some of us walk the path of marrying young and learning how to grow together as we make huge mistakes and experience pain, others are called to other paths. But each and every path can be used to bring glory to Him. 


I'm so thankful for where He has me, even though it is definitely not perfect and often looks very different than I thought it would. I am thankful that my heavenly father loves me enough to not leave me just comfortable, but instead longs to see me grow in my likeness of Him and ability to understand grace. Thankful for all that we have experienced, the good and the bad. Thankful for all that lies ahead. 


What's been on your heart lately? Linkup and share :) 

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A Name Change.

I wrote this post back in March, but felt like it wasn't ready to share. Enjoy!

I've had a lot of thoughts for a while now, about so many different things. About purity, about marriage, about life in general, about direction for sharing things I'm learning here. Trying to be vulnerable, despite being so scared about criticism and what people will say. Did I mention I'm a little bit of a recovering people-pleaser? 


Well I jumped at some of these new plans this past week (back in March anyway), as you may have noticed the new customized URL. I'm excited. I wanted a domain that wouldn't change even if different life stages occur and the name of the space here changes. It's been a long process choosing to say goodbye to the All Glorious Within identity, and I feel like I learned so much while having the name. But I am also not the same girl who started that name, and nor do I want to be. Its been a busy season of growth and clinging to Jesus as best I know how. I haven't yet shared all the new changes as I am still working on finalizing the new design. 


So here we are...new fresh look & I'm super excited to be clinging to some truth which the Lord spoke into my heart back in college, back when I handed Him 'the pen' for writing a love story into my life if He saw fit. It was such a time of surrender, of clinging to Him & trusting Him with the outcome, knowing He is good whatever the circumstances. So while I don't want to be the girl I was years ago in maturity and wisdom, I do want to remember His faithfulness as I seek to continue this journey of life and sharing things I learn along the way. So this change is an act of faith for me in a way. A choosing to change and move forward but still choosing Him and His faithfulness and His promises. Remembering where my identity and value lie, as He truly sees me as a 'lily among thorns' just as He sees you that way friend. We are so precious to Him, so worth it to Him. 


So now that this project here has finally switched over, I am due to start another project in the works with several dear friends. They have been so faithful in chasing another dream with me (and so patient as I've been so busy) and I can't wait to see what the Lord does with us working together & joining one another in this adventure. I'm hoping this year is going to continue to be full of some great changes, which strengthen and challenge as well as encourage all of you along the way. I am so thankful for all your comments and emails, I treasure every single one of them. I never knew when I started writing here that there was such a dear community to be a part of. 


Since writing these words back in March, I have decided to streamline to just Love Lisa Elle. Which you may have noticed in the last week. This is exciting for me, I feel it allows me to just be myself as I share what I learn, and hopefully will encourage you along the way friend! Whatever that looks like in the journey ahead. 

Much Love!

Very Belated Birthday Update.

Summer has once again been super busy for us. Family time and other community commitments tends to eat up most of our waking hours. Hopefully this Fall I will be able to claim some hours back for the purpose of writing again, as I do so deeply miss pondering and thinking through things enough to share with you all.  It has proven time and time again good for my own thinking as much research into scripture and prayer goes into the deeper posts. 

But till then, I thought I would catch you up through something I love.

Photography. 

These are back from my birthday in May, but hopefully they show the joy our community here has brought us and how thankful I was to be able to celebrate with them. 

Life is definitely not where I thought it would be by the age I am. But there are so many things I am extremely thankful for. 

All in His timing.

'And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.'

Romans 8:28

The Art of Being a Good Listener.

I sat down last week ready to just sit on the couch and relax. I turned on our tv, well Netflix to be exact since that is our tv. I browsed the shows and decided to try watching one I had heard a lot about but never actually seen. Yes, I finally watched 'Say Yes to the Dress' and I actually ended up reflecting on it. It was like way back in the beginning of the show, yes I just started with season one....and I ended up drawn to this one bridal consultant who just wasn't doing a great job mainly because of her attitude towards the brides. She kept missing asking important questions about what they were looking for, or hearing what they were asking for as she wanted to dress them in something she thought would look good. 

She wasn't very good at listening. And it really struck me, because this is so something I really want to be better at, and something which I think is so important.


It's awesome that we all have space in which to share our thoughts whether its a blog, our Facebook page, twitter, instagram...there is a form of sharing our thoughts for everyone whether its words or pictures, quirky quick little one liners or a mix of all the above. I think its a great way to share our testimonies and the way the Lord is at work in our lives when we use them all wisely. When we have encouraging, edifying things to say. 

But how much do we actually listen? 

How many of us were actually taught the art of being a great listener when we were younger? Of how to make something feel important, how to show that we are being 'active' in our listening. To show love through our silent participation instead of just through our words. How many relationships would be completely changed if we were to focus on this aspect of ourselves? How much more would others feel our love? 

I am trying to sensitize myself in conversations with others to how much I am actually listening. Am I really hearing what they are saying? Or am I just trying to think of the next thing I want to tell them about? Am I really caring for them if I am dominating a conversation? How can I love them with this conversation? What words will encourage them and build them up? What do they need from this brief interaction?

'Did you know that, on average, each of us speaks about twenty-five thousand words daily?' 

~ C.J. Mahaney, Humility

I really think we can miss something in all the posts and tweets, we fail to listen sometimes. We fail to truly love others because we are so focused in what we are wanting to say, in wanting others to like what we say or agree with us and share it. There's a part of us that enjoys that recognition, in being something that is being heard. 

It just got me asking questions of myself about my own heart, about how much I am really loving others. Am I being a good listener as well or am I just focused on trying to be heard? 

I wrote a series a while back on the power of our words and I reread through those letters I wrote to myself this evening. Really wondering how much further ahead I am in two years on those desires? Wondering how much more encouraging I am in my exchanges with people or if I have lost focus. 

'Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear..'

{Ephesians 4:29}  

Those words still get me! What a challenge we have been given, sisters! 

Since having deep conversations is so close to my heart, I am sure I will continue to ponder this issue for years to come. I am still developing thoughts of being a good listener, perhaps I will be able to make them more concise later in the week and write again. 

What are your thoughts? How do you balance listening to love others and sharing encouraging thoughts?