Michelle just moved from the windy city of Chicago to be with Brad down here in Lubbock. I have to say, when I first moved out to West Texas, I wasn’t too fond of the scenery. I was used to four seasons and not quite as much dirt. But the SUNSETS and SKIES here in Lubbock are to die for. You could photograph the sky here every day and every photo would be different each time. Being a former northerner myself, I knew I had to give Michelle a taste of a Texas sky to hopefully make the transition easier! What better way to do it during their engagement session with the man of her dreams! Can’t wait to show you both the rest.

She said she wanted bright colored walls…  then the lightbulb went on in my head.

I have a lot of catching up to do.

Brandon is our pastor at Fellowship Church Lubbock (PLEASE check it out!! It’s so incredible the work God has in store for this church!). To hear him speak of his son has brought tears to my eyes more than once. I cannot even express the love that these two parents pour into their child. It’s such an inspiration. For being a pastor’s son, Calvin has an influential road ahead of him. Even though it’s not necessarily fair, people will look to him to be a perfect child. But he will be human just as the rest of us. Christians are not perfect because all fall short of the glory of God. We will stumble, we will always fall…we will always fail at one time or another. But because God loves us so much, He cups His hands around our face and tells us in tones we can’t comprehend how much He loves and adores us…cherishes us and looks after us. We are His and we are precious to Him…every single one of us. Here in the past few weeks I have fallen so madly in love with Jesus more-so than I ever have because of some very hard trials I have been through myself (and I am still going through!). I finally realized I was taking on way too much by myself. And guess what. I failed miserably and really fell flat on my face. It’s been one brutal battle of “Why do you love me? Why on earth do you see me? How could you possibly forgive me for what I am and the things I’ve done and I have become?”….I am His child. He made me. And He loves me so much. He has made it very clear that He can restore my brokenness and rebuild who I am with a new foundation and new walls. The same goes for you. Just as Brandon and Annie love their baby, we cannot fathom the love that our Heavenly Father has for us. And with that, I pray that myself and Brandon and Annie and any other parent out there reading this will reflect the love Christ has for us toward their children by walking in His light. We have a job to do to raise our children in this big, big world. And you cannot go wrong by building your foundation on Jesus. If you haven’t done so yet…call out to Him. Pray to Him that you need Him. Because we are not capable of doing this alone.

I could have no greater joy than to hear that my children are following the truth. 3 John 1:4

I’m SO excited to introduce you to 7 photographers’ journey to giving back in times of need! We’ve all gotten together and made a plan to make it a little easier on a single parent this holiday season. Do you know of a single parent with children who would love to have portraits done, but may just not have the resources to do so? Now is your chance to enter them into our Holiday Contest! Just email flashes4hope@gmail.com to tell us their story and we will choose the winner November 12th! Contest ends November 10th, so get those entries in!

From left to right we have Danielle Patton, Dominique Harmon, myself, Lynette Reeves, Memoree Barrett, Ashley Rogers, and thanks to Amy-Rose for taking the shot! One of these days we are going to get her in a picture, I promise.

So I have been debating doing a Christmas special and then it popped into my head a great way to get you, the public, involved for a greater cause. The Hope Pantry of Lubbock is a non-profit organization that really reaches out to the homeless here locally. That includes children, everyone. Children who throughout the week are eating meals at school, but from Friday evening until Monday morning, they do not have any food in their bellies. I can’t go half a day without eating! Can you imagine?? My heart is heavy to participate in helping The Hope Pantry grow their ministry. Normally my session fee is $150, 30 cards are $75, and 5 4x6s value at $50. That’s a total of $275. For just $200, you receive all of these gift items and not only that, you will be providing $50 to help these kids and the homeless in need. IT DOESNT END THERE. On TOP of these offers, if you also provide 5 canned good items (or even boxed foods!) around the time that you book, you will also get a FREE 8×10! A grand total of $305! I hope that you’ll find it within you to help me raise money and food for this organization and I thank God for you to have that ability with me. Don’t wait too late! I am only taking Christmas sessions until November 15th, just one month from today. Happy donating! And I can’t wait to meet you and your family.

To book a session, please email me at: info@nataliemitchellphotography.com