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Rachael my wife amazes me!
This post goes out to all the moms! Especially my wife! I just got done with two days with my two kids while Rachael was out with the flu. What blows me away is that after watching the kids non-stop on the weekends, she gets home from working a full time job, she still comes home early because she misses her kids! Seriously, mothers have a gift! It's the gift of patience, unconditional love, and dying to themselves every day. Rachael use to be an 7 hour a night sleeper minimum! She now sleeps between 4 and 5 hours a night and doesn't even complain. There are days when she doesn't even get to shower or get dressed because Sam throws off her schedule by waking up early or spitting up all over himself right after she changes him. She left me with the kids on Friday night to go to lay down because she wasn't feeling well and told me everything I needed to know and I forgot like half of the things I was supposed to do. Today she wrote down everything for me :) Anyway... just wanted to say that if you're a mom, you have rewards in heaven! You have the hardest and most important job in the world and you have my deepest respect!
Engagement AlbumPeople are starting to tell me more and more that my name is bigger than I think it is. All I know is that God is much bigger than we all think and He has the power to take us places in order to bring the gospel to as many unbelievers as possible. I am not important, nor is my brand or career, other than to bring glory to God.I use to think that this business was really just a training ground for some future ministry that God had planned for me. All of the experience I've been getting with starting and running a business, public speaking, business management, taking care of clients, and learning to trust Him when I'm out of my comfort zone has turned into more than just training. It's turned into a platform that I think God is starting to use. It's so amazing to see what He's doing!
Well... It's tuesday evening and the day has finally wound down. The kids are in bed and my wife has had yet another exhausting day at work. I don't think life would be much fun without her.
So far this week I've booked several portraits, engagements and three booked weddings for 2008. So space is fillling up fast. I have an engagement session this weekend in Chattanoooga and I will get them posted A.S.A.P. Weather permitting...
Enjoy your week
Andrew Millar
It's 4:05pm and I'm here in front of my laptop doing my very best to stay focused on the "important" things I'm supposed to get done before I go to church tonight. One of which is an email questions like....."How would you describe your particular style in shooting weddings? What makes you stand out from the rest of the wedding photographers? It's always hard for me to answer questions. Maybe because I know that hundreds of people will be reading my answers or more likely it's because I sometimes forget what sets me apart from other photographers out there. I mean... all of us are just making it up as we go right? We somehow have a vision in our heads of who we want to be and where we want to go and we just move forward with one eye open hoping we don't trip or run into a wall along the way. An ex-employer asked me a question once when I was getting ready to leave his studio to start my own business. His question went something like this, "Andy, what makes you think you're any different from the hundreds of photographers out there trying to make a living? What are you going to do that isn't being done already? How are you going to succeed? Have you ever stopped to think about that? "I don't exactly know why, but I've always had a quiet (maybe false) sense of confidence. I like to think I've found favor in the eyes of God but I don't know that for sure... it's just a result of so many things going right in my life that I can't really take credit for. My mom told me once that I have "the touch" and everything I touch turns to gold. I'm sure she told that to my brother and sister too! Well, I couldn't answer my soon-to-be ex-boss's question without sounding like an idiot so I just kept my mouth shut and shrugged my shoulders. If I didn't care what he thought of me, I would have said what was so obvious to me at the young, know-it-all age of 29, "It's me. I'm different. There's only one of me so that makes me one of a kind. Isn't that enough to be successful?"I remember how confident I was. There was nothing that was going to hold me back from pursuing and realizing my dream of owning my own photography business and making a decent living doing what I loved so much.Looking back, my expections weren't exactly in the clouds. All I wanted was to be able to do something fun as a career, afford to drive a new (or at least newer) vehicle instead of my 10 year old small buick, and eventually be able to move out on my own so I could really provide for my family. I never actually thought that I could take this so far. I didn't put a cap on my dreams but I never expected to find the kind of success I've found. God really must have a plan for my life because I can honestly say that I don't know what I am doing here or how I got here. It reminds me that I don't want to be 80 years old and thinking about how I never made a difference. I want to be used by God in whatever way. It may just be to take care of my family and point my kids towards heaven or I might end up in on the other side of the world preaching the Gospel to fifty thousand heads. I guess God knows right?Ok, now back to the "important" stuff. It was fun rambling. Thanks for reading :Oh, the moral to what I originally started this post for was something along the lines of - You have no competition because there is only ONE of you on this earth. Embrace that fact and let it carry you in your art, your business, and your confidence!
Love and God Bless
Andrew Millar
Tess Ball Album
