Hey friends! It's been awhile! Happy New Year! How are you? Hope your start to 2014 has been a happy, healthy, fun one! I took this photograph just the other day - right after the snow storm "Hercules" hit us. I was all comfy and cozy in my little house; Christmas tree all lit up and a gingerbread scented candle burning in the background when I decided, "I have got to get myself outside to snap some photos!" So I got my winter gear on (coupled with my fur trimmed snow boots which I never miss an opportunity to wear when there is snow on the ground.) Once I was outside, it felt AWESOME! So much fun! Writing messages in the snow; frolicking through the 3 foot snow drifts; finding the best & biggest icicles; snapping pictures, etc. (My inner child came out almost instantaneously!)
As I uploaded this image to my blog I realized that I needed a "name" for it ... a "title" like I do with all my other photography posts. The first thing that came to my mind (in keeping with the New Year spirit) was the above phrase, "Take Down Your Fences - Build Up Your Defenses." I said to myself, "Yeahhhh, that's a cool name! Alright Jenna!" But as I thought more on it, I realized how much truth there is to it and how meaningful that really is to me. Now, I'm not one for "New Year's resolutions" but I have committed, in my mind, a couple things I need to work on personally that have to do with my attitude and out-look on life.
1) "Light". I chose ONE WORD to focus on this year in particular. And that word is "light". I want to be a light to those that are around me; a light in a dark world. After all, isn't that what Jesus calls us to be? I need to work on my "shine factor"! ☼
2) "Take Down Your Fences - Build Up Your Defenses". In this life, we are constantly putting up walls (or fences, in this case) to set up barriers for ourselves between things or people that we just want to be separated from. Or sometimes we put up these walls to hide behind them so that we don't have to deal with them. I feel like it's time for me to take down my fences and stop hiding behind them. I think that by doing this you free yourself of a lot of burdens that you really have no control of anyways. I can take down my fences while still allowing my defenses to be up. You can still be careful with your defenses up but there is no reason to build up walls. This is life. We learn to deal with reality and fears that hold you back. Thankfully my hope is found in God, my Provider, Protector, Healer, Father & Friend. There is no need for me to fear what is on the other side of those fences ... not with my Savior holding my hand and going before me. So I choose to take down those fences that I've put up and allow God to be my Defender.
Walls - separate us from things that we fear or just don't want to deal with
Defenses - guarding yourself in awareness of your surroundings
