Meaning in this Wilderness | 2020 at Cassidy Elaine Photography

It is a dreary day in our world; month after month, our hearts are struck with uncertainty. What will the future hold? Will things return to normal? Deep within, our souls cry out for a place of true refuge--a ground that won't be taken out from under us. We see the world tremble with changes and aches we cannot control and search about for the ray of light that will break through the fog.

In truth, though, our hearts can never be satisfied simply with ease and predictability--though both of those things sound wonderfully ideal through the waves of surprise in our current moment of history. Rather if we face the grandest trial, or sweetest joy, the essence of who we are cries out for the God who made us. Regardless of how lovely or carefree our days are, the depths of us will not stop longing for something more. That is because the events of this world cannot give me lasting hope--my circumstances are incapable of inhaling true meaning into my existence, for I was not created for mere events or the unfolding of life happenings--rather if they are positive or negative to my perception. My soul cries out from the depths for the God who made me. 

"For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah" (Psalm 62:5-8).

As we near the start of a brand new year that we all hope will be better than the last, let our hearts remember that no amount of life going according to the plan can satisfy us for good. We may bank our hope upon the Savior who does not change, thereby lifting our perception to something truly freeing. Lilias Trotter speaks to this well: "Take the very hardest thing in your life – the place of difficulty, outward or inward, and expect God to triumph gloriously in that very spot. Just there He can bring your soul into blossom.”

It is our Savior who is capable of bringing redemption through the wilderness. Let us look to Him for meaning, perspective and hope through whatever unfolds in the coming months. We may have peace in knowing that He is already there. 

Here are a few images and words we recently shared on instagram. 

1. Family Time + Spurgeon // for the little ones

"Gather the little ones around your knee and listen to their words, suggesting to them their needs, and reminding them of God’s gracious promise." Charles Spurgeon

2. Miles + A.W. Tozer // the Savior living within us

“The pain of sacrificing our old selves is nothing compared to the joy of Christ living in us in our transformed lives.” A.W. Tozer

3. Wilterink Fam + Psalms // the fruit of a Christian home

"Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways! You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table. Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord." Psalm 128:1-4

4. Lily + Mama // a mother's heart

"I watched the older ones [grow up and leave home]. And each time it broke my heart; I prayed to God for them. He had given them over to me to love and to bring up. And I prayed and longed that they should go out to be the testimony and the witness which I longed to be in the place where they were going.” Gladys Aylward

5. Camille + Petoskey // truly meaningful living

"I seek not a long life, but a full one like you, Lord Jesus." Jim Elliot, martyr

6. Together in the shade of a pine tree // the depths of God's love for us

"Oh my Father, teach me to realize how deep, and strong, and pitiful is the love of Thine heart to me, since it led Thee to give Thine only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ Himself,—to redeem me, and bring me home to Thee, my God!" Susannah Spurgeon

7. Kaylee + Carson // the forming of a child's heart

"The process of shaping the child, shapes also the mother herself. Reverence for her sacred burden calls her to all that is pure and good, that she may teach primarily by her own humble, daily example." Elisabeth Elliot

8. Brittany amongst the wildflowers // the cost of true Christianity 

“If you are going to walk with Jesus Christ, you are going to be opposed...In our day, to be a true Christian is really to become a scandal.” George Whitefield

9. Pro-Life Activist Training // dedication to defend

"Most people who say they oppose abortion do just enough to salve the conscience but not enough to stop the killing." Scott Kleusendorf

10. Reuben exploring Grand Rapids // my strength, my help, my song

"The Lord is my strength and my shield; in Him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to Him." Psalm 28:7

11. Albin family + fall beauty // nothing lost 

“They lose nothing who gain Christ." Samuel Rutherford

12. Clara's explorations // creation proclaims His truth

“God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on trees and flowers and clouds and stars.” Martin Luther

Jesus: Our Beloved {March 2018 at Cassidy Elaine Photography}

The month of March wasn't a typical one for us! Did you know that just this week, Michigan winter has finally showed signs of going away for the season? That's right, chilly weather has been dominating the temperatures for nearly SIX MONTHS! But alas, sunshine is breaking through, and in a similar way, I have seen Jesus prove His amazing faithfulness again and again to my soul.

 March included a lovely wedding in Big Rapids, MI that I had the privileged of shooting. There's something so precious about love; its sacred nature, intentional expression, and beautiful declaration that causes my job--to capture and "pause" the moment--to be one of great joy and celebration.


In the past year, I have been encouraged reading Song of Solomon in light of Christ and church.

- Jesus is mine and I am His ("My Beloved is mine, and I am His..." 2:16).
- His banner over me is Love ("He brought me to the banqueting house, and His banner over me was love" 2:4).
- I am complete in Christ ("Thou are all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee" 4:7).
- Jesus calls me His sister, His love, His dove, and His undefiled ("I slept, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my Beloved that knocketh, saying, 'Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night" 5:2).
- Jesus is the Fairest Among Ten Thousand ("My Beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand" 5:10).

That's our Jesus, and how He beautifully woos and pursues His bride. Earthly love is merely a reflection of a far more grand romance between Jesus and the church; doesn't it just leave you in awe to think that each of us have spat in His face, and yet He loved us entirely and awakened us to Himself? We're not in Christ because we went off and found God somewhere, but, as John Newton so eloquently put it, "It's more like He found me!" "Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life" (Psalm 143:8).  

Photographing love stories reminds me that I am in a covenant relationship with the Most High. He is high and lifted up, and yet He would reach down into the miry clay and rescue one such as me; what a mystery. His love is so great! "For your Creator will be your husband; the Lord of Heaven's Armies is his name! He is your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the God of all the earth" (Isaiah 54:5).

"My beloved speaks and says to me: 'Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away, for behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land" (Song of Solomon 2:10-12).

Here are some photos we shared in the month of March!

1. CHRIS + SKYLAR // beloved

"My beloved is mine, and I am his...." (Song of Solomon 2:16).

2. EMILY + MEGAN & KIMBERLY + SARAH // Our Dearest Friend

"The dearest friend on earth is a mere shadow compared to Jesus Christ" (Oswald Chambers).

3. REBEKAH + Lilias Trotter // trained faith

 “Trained faith is a triumphant gladness in having nothing but God – not rest, no foothold – nothing but Himself. A triumphant gladness in swinging out into the abyss, rejoicing in every fresh emergency that is going to prove Him true. ‘The Lord alone’ – that is trained faith” (Lilias Trotter, her journal, September 9th, 1902).

4. JOSIAH + MELISSA // safe in Christ

“Calmly we look behind us, on joys and sorrows past, we know that all is mercy now, and shall be well at last; calmly we look before us,—we fear no future ill, enough for safety and peace, if Thou art with us still" (Jane Bortheick, as quoted in Keep a Quiet Heart by Elisabeth Elliot).

5. ESTHER + TRAVIS // we dare to trust our God

“Too long have we been waiting for one another to begin! The time of waiting is past! The hour of God has struck! War is declared! In God’s Holy Name let us arise and build! ‘The God of Heaven, He will fight for us’, as we for Him. We will not build on the sand, but on the bedrock of the sayings of Christ, and the gates and minions of hell shall not prevail against us. Should such men as we fear? Before the world, yes, before the sleepy, lukewarm, faithless, namby-pamby Christian world, we will dare to trust our God, we will venture our all for Him, we will live and we will die for Him, and we will do it with His joy unspeakable singing aloud in our hearts. We will a thousand times sooner die trusting only our God, than live trusting in man. And when we come to this position the battle is already won, and the end of the glorious campaign in sight. We will have the real Holiness of God, not the sickly stuff of talk and dainty words and pretty thoughts; we will have a Masculine Holiness, one of daring faith and works for Jesus Christ” (C.T. Studd, as shared by deeperchristianquotes.com).

6. MALLORY // feminism: Biblical or problematic?

"Over the past months, I have seen a growing trend of Christian women associating themselves with feminism. They often allude to wanting to support the good things the feminist movement stands for, while at the same time saying that those feminists who embrace non-biblical practices aren’t genuine representatives of true feminism.

In all of the thinking, researching, praying and processing I’ve done on my own and with others, I continue to come back to this: aren’t all evils and/or abuses which feminism claims to fight already addressed under the Banner of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Is it necessary or appropriate for Christian women to to associate and identify themselves with a movement which embraces an ethos and worldview we as followers of Christ could never fully stand for? Isn’t it enough to simply call ourselves followers of Jesus as we combat sin?

I can stand for right treatment of women, not because of feminism, but because of the Gospel of Jesus. (John 4:7-30, 1 John 3:23, Colossians 3:7-17).

I can encourage strong femininity, not because of feminism, but because of the Gospel of Jesus (Proverbs 31:17).

I can stand for women and men being equally valuable in the eyes of God, not because of feminism, but because of the Gospel of Jesus (Genesis 1:27).

I can stand against wrong treatment of those of different races, not because of feminism, but because of the Gospel of Jesus (Galatians 3:28).

I can stand for the poor and the needy and those without a voice simply because of the Gospel of Jesus (James 2:15).

In all this, what I am standing for is JESUS. We can and should champion anything which Scripture says Believers should stand for, but the attention and focus must be drawn back every time to Jesus Christ and Him crucified, and it is impossible to fully do this under the label of feminism or any other worldly movement. It IS enough to be a follower of Jesus. He is the ultimate answer and solution, and He is what this world needs (1 Corinthians 2:2).

I wish my voice could be heard and my face seen in these words. My only motive is, in love, to encourage Christian women to look to Jesus and find our identity fully in Him" (Heather Cofer, as shared here).

My Song In the Night // October at Cassidy Elaine Photography

It's hard to describe all the happenings of such an eventful month. It was packed with many things: intense spiritual warfare, learning to sidewalk counsel, graduating from Ellerslie, shooting two banquets, two family sessions, and a blog assignment. To be fully honest, I have never been one to enjoy fall weather, but this year has been different. The incredible fall colors, light October air, and cozy evenings with a cup of tea made it quite perfect. In the midst of many difficult things happening, the coolness of fall seemed to be a haven of rest. Through the wrestling and issues that arose during October, I was reminded again and again of His perfect, unending faithfulness. He is not finished yet.

By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life. // Psalm 42:8

He is my song in the sorrow, my strength for the battle, my peace in the tempest. What a suitable season for a lesson in His perfection:

"And God is able."
--my journal, October 7th 

"It is not about me and my lack of ability, my personality, my tendencies, or my anything. HE is able. That's what it's about. 'And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work' (2 Corinthians 9:8). 'Always having sufficiency...' Not occasionally or most of the time having enough--ALWAYS. Yesterday. Today. Tomorrow. I have everything I need--in all things--because He is able and He has provided, to now abound unto every good work."  Ponderings of such were on my mind quite often.

When I choose quotes to fit the photos I market on social media, so often they are drawn out of my personal reading, as it has been this month, in several cases.

1. KATHERINE + ANNIE WESCHE // every hurt laid down

"Allow every hurt and offense to melt at the foot of His Cross, and turn and walk down the hill of Calvary into this world with His Life beating within your surrendered vessel and His light of love shining in your eyes." Annie Wesche, Crucified Living

2. ARTPRIZE + C.S. LEWIS // for His glory

"Don't shine so others can see you! Shine so that through you others can see Him." C.S. Lewis

3. JALYN + AMY CARMICHAEL // where true victory starts

"Sometimes we read the words of those who have been more than conquerors, we feel almost despondent. 'I shall never be like that', we feel. But they won through step by step; by little acts of the will, little denials of self, little inward victories, by faithfulness in very little things, they became what they are. No one sees these little hidden steps, they only see the accomplishment; but even so, those small steps were taken. There is no sudden triumph, no spiritual maturity that is the work of a moment. So let us take courage; not one of us is too weak to be made more than a conqueror." Amy Carmichael, Edges of His Ways

4. KIERA + ELISABETH ELLIOT // the Gardner loves His Vine

"The Gardner loves the vine, remember that! The pruning is going to lead to fruit bearing, and fruit bearing is going to lead to joy." Elisabeth Elliot

5. TOWNSEND PARK BUDS + CORRIE TEN BOOM // a heavenly perspective on problems

"God wants to take our problems and use them as building material for His miracles." Corrie ten Boom, Tramp For the Lord

6. MR. + MRS. FELKER + UGO BASSI // where suffering and giving meet

"Love's strength standeth in love's sacrifice, and who so suffers most, has most to give." Ugo Bassi, as quoted by Elisabeth Elliot

7. REBEKAH + A VERSE FROM ISAIAH // stayed on Him

"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in You." Isaiah 26:3

8. KELSEY + NANCY DEMOSS WOLGEMUTH // thanksgiving & worship in the journey

“Perhaps it’s hard to find much to be thankful for today. Perhaps all you can see is what’s wrong, what hurts, and what others are doing to you. But look above your circumstances, beyond your fears, and ask God to show you what He’s doing in the midst of them… The choice is before us: do we only give glory to God for the part of our lives that’s going the way we want? Or do we worship Him, trust Him, and give Him thanks, just because He is God--regardless of the painful, incomprehensible places we encounter in our journey?” Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth

9. THE BIRMINGHAM FAMILY + GETTY MUSIC // our only Solid Rock

"I am safe on this Solid Rock: the Lord is my salvation!" Keith & Kristyn Getty

Deeper Still // March at Cassidy Elaine Photography

What a difficult yet delightful month March was, here at CEP! For the first time in quite a while, it was a quiet business month. Only one session took place through all of March, which worked so well with the schedule I had then - school can be very demanding at times! :) But I am expectant and excited to see what Jesus will have in store for the rest of this lovely spring season. So far a wedding and two family sessions are on the calendar!

March is often rainy, and how I enjoy every minute of it! There's something about the little drops of rain (or big monsoons) that just thrills my soul. March was rainy in other ways as well; Jesus knows. But the sun shines through after the storm, doesn't it?! Jesus worked it out so well that since CEP was so calm for the month, I finally had time to finish my Ellerslie application. Three days after submitting it, I was accepted. Oh what joy unspeakable there is in walking out each day with Him! And I couldn't be more excited to see what He will have in store for this summer in Colorado.

QUOTES OF MARCH \\
Since the beginning of our Instagram presence, I deeply desired for each photo to not only hopefully look nice, well edited, beautiful, etc., but also to lift the eyes of the reader to the Author of beauty. I know it's more trendy in photography to post an artsy quote with each photo, or even to completely leave the caption blank. But quotes like the ones listed below have stirred my soul and reminded me that there's further to go in knowing Jesus. He desires for me to have an even deeper and more passionate relationship with Him than I have thus far experienced, and it's my great hope that each word posted to social media encourages others on to that end.

1. “God does not lose battles. It’s that simple… We lose battles when we fight them in our own strength, in our own manner. But when we learn to fight (pray) as God does, there will never be a lost battle again. There will be times of seeming defeat, moments of great suffering, occasions of terrible loss, but there will never be defeat. Why? Because God doesn’t lose battles. He always wins… There is a reason that a lion doesn’t cower before a rabbit. Because the lion knows it’s position, knows it’s strength, knows that a rabbit is not a valid threat. And there is a reason God doesn’t cower before the powers of darkness. Because, like that lion staring at a little rabbit, God knows His position, His power, and His utter and complete sway over everything and anything.” Eric Ludy

2. "My determined purpose is to be my utmost for His highest - my best for His glory... If a crisis has come to you on any front, surrender your will to Jesus absolutely and irrevocably." Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

3. "To be much like Christ, be much with Christ." Charles Spurgeon

4. "If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world." C.S. Lewis

5. "This job has been given to me to do. Therefore, it is a gift. Therefore, it is a privilege. Therefore, it is an offering I may make to God. Therefore, it is to be done gladly, if it is done for Him. Here, not somewhere else, I may learn God’s way. In this job, not in some other, God looks for faithfulness." Elisabeth Elliot  [view full post]

6. "If I take offence easily, if I am content to continue in cold unfriendliness, though friendship be possible, then I know nothing of Calvary love." Amy Carmichael

7. "If you feel controlled by volatile emotions, pray specifically for God to overtake your emotions and bring them under His jurisdiction. Next time you are in a situation where you feel your emotions flying off the handle, make a decision to slow down, walk in the other room if needed, take a deep breath, and pray for His love, His attitude, and His response to flow through your being. If you silence the voice of your screaming emotions and tune in to the still, small voice of His spirit, gentle answers will begin to replace angry ones...Soon people will stop and take notice of the unusual grace, beauty and nobility that emanates from your life. A woman who is free from the tyranny of her own emotion is truly a sight to behold." Leslie Ludy, The Lost Art of True Beauty 

8. “It is not far to go, For Thou art near; It is not far to go, For Thou art here; And not by traveling, Lord, men come to Thee, But by the way of love; And we love Thee.” Amy Carmichael [view full post]

9. //Amazing grace, how sweet the sound

10. "We should battle through our moods, feelings, and emotions into absolute devotion to the Lord Jesus. We must break out of our own little world of experience into abandoned devotion to Him." Oswald Chambers

11. "Christ is most magnified in us when we are most satisfied in him." John Piper

* All photos are copyrighted and by law may not be used without expressed written permission of Cassidy Elaine Photography