Posted in video by Natalie Montgomery on 7/29/2009
Jen...my squadmate made this for amy my teammate. It's a fun video to recap the year! Amy is about to begin an Awakening tour and I will soon post a blog if anyone is interested in supporting her mission!
The
Photo Contest judges met yesterday at Chick-Fil-A headquarters
in Atlanta, where judge Greg Thompson is head of corporate
communications. What a talented panel we have - we were fortunate to
get judges of this caliber. Judges Donna Lachance and Grant Miller
drove in and
together they went through the 29 portfolios to select our finalists.
Rather than draw out the process any further, however, they went ahead
and selected the winners!
They have a number of comments to make when they announce them.
But, please be patient, they are going to take a few more days to make
sure they've got it right. Overall, they were extremely impressed with
the quality of the pictures. They understand that in many cases, the
portfolios were combined over a period of years. And they respect your
effort and craftsmanship.
In the mean time, if you didn't enter and would like to nominate your own favorite portfolio from these finalists, feel free to do so in the comment section below. Please also share what you liked about it. We'd like to hear from you.
The theme is: "Thy kingdom come."
Criteria: It should capture a soul, a moment, a place and a ministry.
Prize money
$3000 for first place
$1000 for second
$500 for third
$250 for 4th and 5th
The judges also selected Honorable Mentions
We'll be mailing out the prize money in about a week!
A Photo School/Mentoring
The judges are discussing how we might help those contestants who
are serious about their craft, and especially those who qualified for
the Portfolio Round to continue to improve as photographers. They are
considering in working with AIM to offer a low cost school of missions
photography that would scholarship those of you who have a demonstrated
talent and passionf for photography. If you're interested, please go to
Andi Wendel's blog and email her at this web page.
To see the portfolios that are in the running, go here.
CHECK
OUT my portfolio for the AIM photo competition (round two). I am number
129 but you can go to the main page and look at all of amazing shots
from 29 other photographers!
Posted in Uganda by Natalie Montgomery on 7/2/2009
Post World Race I flew back to Africa to see my love. I met Allan the Australian, in Jinja, Uganda this May when he was
training men in the community to drill wells. He has an amazing
ministry and travels all over the world empowering men and women to
help themselves and their communities. Not only is he a 'water man' but
he carries an anointing from the Lord that is contagious. Please
support his ministry!!! livingwaterdevelopement
Also, notify me if you are interested in supporting orphanages. Emily, in the video, runs Care 4 Kids with three other daytime care takers. She lives at the orphanage with 65 children.
God is The Phenomenon. His all encompassing love and omnipresent existence are things that we will never fully understand but we can choose to see them if we want.
I have been back in the States for two weeks and in a whirlwind of culture shock and emotion I sometimes ask God, "Where are you?". And He always says to me, "I am here... what are you choosing to see?"
Last nights experience reminded me that The Phenomenon, being God himself, lives in us. As I have waited, looking for God to show up and do something, He is living and working in people all around me and for some reason I am choosing not to see it. As I witnessed God's glory, in the forrest last night, I also noticed the phenomenon that happens in us. I watched Linda (boyfriend's mom), as she stared, for the second time, into space in awe of this happening. I thought about the last two years of her life and what she might have felt when her husband died and how she has had to learn to live in a new way . All I could see was her happiness and delight in what God was showing her now. I saw the phenomenon of His supernatural healing and comfort having come through her and her not just surviving but thriving.
I also looked at Maggie who's husband, a mere 100 yards away, lay in bed dying from cancer. I listened as she described how the spectacle was confirmation of God. She talked about it with such certainty and shared of another similar spectacle she recalled. Never did I hear a tone of resentment but only signs of a strongly rooted faith, gratitude, and a love for her savior. I knew that the phenomenon was and is taking place inside her.
I want to be like these women. I want to walk through the world everyday with the feeling and reassurance I get when I see fireflies dance in the dark.
Let God be the Phenomenon in your life. Choose to see him in yourself and the people around you. And let explanations that you are looking for in the things you can't explain just fall away so you can experience The Phenomenon that is God.
phenomenon |fəˈnäməˌnän; -nən| noun ( pl. -na |-nə|)
1 a fact or situation that is observed to exist or happen, esp. one whose cause or explanation is in question 2. a remarkable person, thing, or event. 3. Philosophy the object of a person's perception; what the senses or the mind notice.
Have you ever felt that if your feet weren't touching the ground you might be in heaven?Have you ever been overcome with God's love so fully in one instance that you didn't want that moment to end?
Words can't express the feeling of The Phenomenon. Yesterday, my boyfriend's mother, Linda told me that she wanted to take me to see The Phenomenon, (not an official name, just a term). When I first heard ‘phenomenon', I thought of something foreign and maybe a little scary but this was neither. Many phenomena are such because they are something that we can't fully explain and in a world of logical thinkers and concrete evidence it's hard to accept the unknown. It's almost like faith- believing in a God that is The Redeemer when we don't always see and feel that redemptive love reflected by the world. Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we cannot see. Hebrews 11:1
So we set off after dark with Linda's friend, Maggie. Far beyond my imagination, low in the forest, was a miracle of lights that almost completely summed up God's goodness. After walking for roughly 5 minutes, we came to a flat part of the trail and the girls turned out their flashlights. IT WAS AN EXPLOSION OF GRACE AND MERCY! IT WAS A DISPLAY OF ALL THE WAYS GOD FEELS ABOUT ME. IT WAS A WONDERLAND OF CREATION AND SPECTACLE OF HIS WILL AND DESIGN. IT WAS A REMARKABLE GIFT AND I FELT LIKE IT WAS JUST FOR US. Hundreds, maybe even thousands, of fireflies danced in the dark. They replicated what I can imagine a galaxy of twinkling stars might look like up close. Their bodies softly flickered as they drifted about the trees and I was completely lost in the show.
Suddenly, the world stopped and I knew that The Phenomenon was actually God himself. He is mystery. He is what we can't explain but what we see in situations and people everyday, as we were made in his image. His truth is what changes the hearts of men and works transformational and physical miracles in people all over the world. I can't begin to understand His full power, authority, and love but I know what it feels like to walk in it. It feels like a thousand fireflies in the dark.
Dear F Squad,
Take my hand we are going to go where we can shine. And for all that we struggle and for all we pretend you know, you know it don't come down to nothing except love in the end. And ours a road that is strewn with goodbyes. And as it unfold, as it all unwind remember your soul is the one thing you can't compromise. -David Gray
This year is about goodbyes. It is about stepping out from the shadow and releasing the past for what it is, the past. It is about saying goodbye to an old self...It's time to take the dead flesh from our backs and walk away. It is about goodbye to someone tainted by satan's ploys and empty promises... saying goodbye to His deception and the lies that He makes us believe about who we are.
The Lord has given me these truths that I pray over the squad. He has replaced what is broken with what is true. This is who we are, the F squad...
We live by faith and not by sight.-2 Cor. 5:7
We now know that we are children of God and we have overcome the works of the devil because the one who is in us is greater than the one who is in the world.
-1 john 4:4
We know that we are judged by our actions and not by faith alone. - James 2:24
We have received an anointing from Him that will remain in us. -1 John 2:27
Our struggle is not against the flesh and blood, but against the rulers, and the powers, and against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12
We did not receive a spirit of slavery that leads to fear, but we have received a spirit of adoption as sons and daughter of the Most High King. -Romans 8:15
We know God works for the good of those that love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.- Romans 8:28
We have been qualified, by the Father, to share in the inheritance of the saints in the Kingdom of Light. Colossians 1:12
His Divine Power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 2 Peter 1:3
The same power that conquered the grave...lives in us!!! ref.-Hosea 13:14
If I recalled every truth you wouldn't be able to finish the blog. I love you guys and I am thankful for all of you. God has used all of you to change my life and my heart this year. Hold tight to what you know is true and let the truth live in you and speak for itself. Nothing will ever be the same. Glory to our amazing God. Amen.
The
Photo Contest judges met yesterday at Chick-Fil-A headquarters
in Atlanta, where judge Greg Thompson is head of corporate
communications. What a talented panel we have - we were fortunate to
get judges of this caliber. Judges Donna Lachance and Grant Miller
drove in and
together they went through the 29 portfolios to select our finalists.
Rather than draw out the process any further, however, they went ahead
and selected the winners! 
In the mean time, if you didn't enter and would like to nominate your own favorite portfolio from 