The "trip of a lifetime" gets even better

The journey of a lifetime, 

begins with a single step. 

While sometimes in life we may think we are going one direction, 

God may say, "Turn here," and you find yourself on a different road 

driving to a new goal. 

All the while you are reaching the big dream God gave you,

but the journey you take to get there may be

 an entirely different one than you had planned for yourself. 

(Photo taken on the salt flats of Utah)

As many of you know I had planned a 12,000-mile, cross-country road trip for the next six-plus months of this year. However, God had a different plan for me. ;-) I'm so excited to share with you the 6,291 miles of adventure I was able to experience while driving to San Jose, California for a 15,000-attendee conference! The journey out there and back was so extraordinary that I am going to focus on sharing each story in it's own post over these next couple of days and weeks. It will be fun to go back and allow you the opportunity to drive through pieces of this road trip with me. 

Be sure to watch for new photos at: www.denaeamberphotography.smugmug.com,
as I'll be uploading more of my work onto my official website as well!

While I may not have driven the 12,000 miles I thought I would, or gone to places I had hoped to go to, yet... What did happen was my relationship with God grew stronger in those two and a half plus weeks, I found special little treasures along the way, saw several old and new friends and even family along my journey, and took thousands of photographs!! But the best part of all was watching God work in my heart as he built a special relationship with a very wonderful man. (I didn't mean to tell some of you about this story in this way, but for me, sometimes the best way to share my heart is through my writings.) 

From the beginning, this road trip wasn't just about me. Three and a half weeks before I set out on the biggest adventure of my life, God brought into my life a very special person. I was confused and overwhelmed, at first, by God's goodness to me.. Then as the journey continued I understood what God was doing more and more. I realize I'm not being very specific... but just wait and I'll tell you more. 

In conclusion, I just have to note that since the beginning of January 2015 until today, April 22, 2015, I have driven a total of: 9930 miles
This silly little dream of mine to drive 12,000-miles this year, isn't quite what I thought it would be. Yet, I believe God is still allowing my dreams to come true, and it's only going to be better!!

I am so excited to share that I received my new camera yesterday!!!

It's a wonderful privilege to be holding such an outstanding device and know that I can continue to expand my photography skills even further as well as capture even better photos throughout my cross-country adventure! 

A beautiful world awaits to be seen and experienced! I look forward to sharing my work with all of you as I experience it firsthand.

Pieces of my world

Happy International Day of Happiness!!

Happy First Day of Spring! 

I know so many people are probably complaining about all the beautiful snow outside and I am not one of them! I love snow. I love snow falling, specifically. And it's great to have one last snowfall before it all melts away into spring. (At least for those of us in southeastern PA)

In no time at all I'll probably stop posting photos of cows and cats and chickens and begin posting photos of places around the country. I am still packing and working like crazy to get ready because March 31st is my last big day at my current job and that means I'm only a few days out from this great adventure. (See more at: www.denaeamberphotography.smugmug.com/Cross-Country-Road-Trip)

But for now, here's some recent photos I am happy to share with you.

Barn cat named, Dandy

Morning light sparkles

Baby chick on alert

Sunset at Sight & Sound Theatres

Looking back and looking ahead but always forward motion

I took this photo in April of 2008, during my first trip to D.C.

I was browsing through older photos today and just thought I'd share this. 

I had the pleasure of returning to Washington D.C. in December of 2014. 

I got lost seven times in and out of that city that day, until I finally took a snapshot 

of the Washington Monument with my cellphone and said, Now that's the 

LAST time I am going to see that today! As much as I enjoyed seeing it 

from EVERY ANGLE, I was ready to head home. 

I didn't see it again that night. And I actually made it the whole way home 

without getting lost again. 

My first 10-hour day of driving in 2015. I went somewhere and came home, 

and not once did I get lost. 

Now, I've definitely had plenty of other times since then having trouble 

finding new places, but it hasn't been half as bad. 

I count this as a blessing and seeing growth in my life. It's also a very good

thing as I'll be visiting A LOT of new places very soon, and for the rest of 

the year! 

BRING IT ON! 

Crashing waves are but a moment...

     I've got a lot that's happened in the past couple of months. Some small, some massive. But all just stepping stones to where I am going to be next month, and the next, and the next.
    Things still look pretty bleak at times, but I keep pressing onward and upward. To be more specific, the transmission needed replaced in my 2008 Escape last month. [That was a hard blow. It probably doesn't help I've put quite a lot of miles on it (just 3,000 since Dec, which is a lot considering it's 3 miles to work in the morning for me) and we've had some pretty hard winters on this side of the country the past two years.] I'm grateful for my family and friend's support to get me through that ditch in the road and that I can still head out on my road trip soon.
    Another thing that I have been considering for, oh, about two months, was when and where I should begin my journey. I originally was going to leave for my trip in May, and head south. Than plans changed and I was going northwest, mid-April. Then I joined an amazing company in late December (Nerium International see: www.denaeamber.nerium.com) and realized I COULD NOT miss going to the life-changing conference in California in April. So once more I've changed my plans around to meet my current agenda.
     My last day at the dairy (where I've worked for the past 9 1/2 years, minus two) is March 31st. So crazy to be heading out and so excited for what's ahead. I'm capturing as many moments of my darling bovine friends to treasure while I'm away... ;-)
     So, prayer request: that my car will quickly and easily pass its inspection on April 1st, so that I can depart as soon as possible and get on the road! (Thank you in advance for all the prayers!)

     That's all for now. Although there's so much more I could share, I thought I'd keep this post short because there will be plenty more coming in the VERY NEAR FUTURE!! YAY!!!!

     For more current photos, go to: www.denaeamberphotography.smugmug.com

Foggy roads

Sometimes in life, the fog gets thick, the road gets narrow, and we don't know what will be around the next bend. 

Know what I do? 

"Trust in the Lord with all [my] heart and lean not on [my] own understanding." Proverbs 3:5 (My understanding is, what I think I know, what I think I believe, what experiences, good or bad, have taught me this far... He still knows more! I must trust my all-knowing Friend!)

He knows it all. He sees what's ahead. It's my responsibility to keep on keeping on. To fight the good fight. To not quit on what is important! To show others how to do that too. 

The journey has already begun!

I have already driven over 2,000 since January 1st, 2015!! 

Amazing! 

I love it! 

I'm already on my way to a 12,000-mile summer of driving and it's only February!

Backing up a moment to catch y'all up here, I was looking at a lot of ways in the end of 2014 to "make money on the road" this summer. Because you can't drive around the country for 6 months and not go into debt unless you've got a steady income coming through somewhere. 

I found an incredible opportunity from a friend in the company, Nerium International. Nerium Intl. is a biotech company in the skin care industry. With over 30 years of clincial studies to back up their products and the massive global expansion about to take place in 2015 I knew this was my ship and it wasn't leaving port without me! 

The past two months have been primarily working my regular job while applying myself the rest of my waking hours into my Nerium business. I love being about to sharing about these three incredible products and of course I must share a little bit here on my blog too! 

Left to right: 

NeriumAD night cream, NeriumFirm, and NeriumAD day cream

(Note: Night cream and NeriumFirm can each be bought individually. 

But day cream can only be bought as a night/day combo pack.)

Learn more at: www.denaeamber.theneriumlook.com

See how NeriumAD night cream reduced this lady's crow's feet around her eyes!

NeriumAD cream works on reducing the appearance of 

fine lines, wrinkles, discoloration, and pore size. 

NeriumFirm helps reduce love handles, cellulite, bat wings (flab under your arm)

and is a fantastic body contouring cream unlike any other. No really, it is! 

Learn more about the Nerium opportunity at: 

www.denaeamber.arealbreakthrough.com 

That's all I'll overload you with for now. ;-) 

But I will post more as time goes on because I simply can't help myself! 

On another note, 

Happy Valentine's Day!!