Hi there! My name is Sarah Stephens. I am currently a photographer for The Black & Hue Project, MFA graduate student in Interior Design, TA at FSU, and intern at Johnson Peterson Architects. Whew. That's a lot. And to top it off I am a newly expecting mom-to-be. Our sweet baby girl is coming June 28!

If you didn't guess from my bio, I am busy-really busy. In fact, when I reminisce on this past year, as most people do about this time in January, I am amazed at the whirlwind of change that took place. Isn't there supposed to be some sort of yearly limit to life changes? I definitely threw that out the window. Last year I got engaged, graduated from my undergrad, got married, started grad school, started a new business endeavor, and got pregnant. That has to be some sort of record right?

With the winds of change constantly swirling around me it is easy to get lost in the "busy." This is where the whole contentment thing comes in. It is not such an easy thing to grasp when I am running 100 mph in a 100 different directions. The two industries I am involved in don't help matters either. Photography and interior design. These are some serious grass-is-greener professions to be a part of. I constantly find myself comparing my work to others, or when I see others doing well thinking "If only I had that $5000 lens then of course my pictures would look like that! Duh!" I am left feeling drained and unhappy.

Contentment is something, as Dean has been teaching me, completely different than happiness. It is
not defined by the emotion of the moment and it is not left up to our circumstances. Paul writes in
Philippians 4:11, "...for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content"-really Paul? Whatever
situation? This mindset is only possible when we redefine our contentment in Christ. If contentment is
left in the shadow of happiness or to the slightest whims of our emotions we will never experience it.
Contentment found in Christ is greater than any temporary feeling of happiness we can dream up.

In a grass-is-greener world of being the next best thing or being the greatest in your industry or field it is
easy to lose sight of the contentment that surpasses all circumstances. But the more we seek happiness
away from this Christ-centered contentment, the less fulfilled we will become. As an avid seeker of
greener grass for quite some time, I can attest to this. It's time to step away from the blog of your
competition. Put down the lens you only bought because they had it. And seek true contentment found
only in knowing our Savior.

"Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all
was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun." Ecclesiastes
2:11. I would challenge you to read more about Solomon if you are struggling with this-- you may find
you can relate to him.