This site contains both my work as a photographer and writings regarding my personal journey as a believer in Jesus Christ. I started blogging long before I started taking pictures, professionally. When I started my photography business, it was natural for me to blog about my sessions, posting pictures and specials and giving everyone updates about what was going on in my creative world. I kept my personal and professional blogs separate for a long time, for fear of mixing my personal life with my business life. As I have continued in my journey as a photographer, however, it has became more and more evident that these two aspects of my life are intimately connected and should not be separated. And so, I have made the decision to open up my personal life to those whom I am blessed to work with in the professional world. Here you will find everything from current portrait specials to my adventures in the kitchen to articles on prayer and consecration to God.* In everything I do, I seek to keep Jesus at the forefront of my life and pray that God will touch you in some way, as you spend time here, reading about the personal and professional life of a wife and mother of six.
Rina
Email: Rina (at) RinaMarie (dot) com
PS. Because I started with two separate blogs, many of the links to other articles you see here will take you back to the original blog, Into Still Waters.
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*While I certainly hope that the articles on this site are beneficial to others, this site deals with MY walk with Jesus Christ. It is neither my intent nor my desire to convict others regarding the way they live their lives. While there is a place for “iron sharpening iron,” it is ultimately the Holy Spirit who is responsible for molding us into the people He wants us to become. While I certainly hope that the Holy Spirit will use my writing to touch the lives of others, we must be careful not to adopt the convictions of others as our own without the prompting of the Holy Spirit (1).
If an article on this site motivates you to change something about your life, please pay careful attention to whether or not the Holy Spirit is behind that motivation. If so, then I’m thrilled and honored to have been a part of your growth in Christ. If you start to feel a burden of guilt regarding something said here, however, please recognize that this guilt is not from the Holy Spirit. Convictions are not equal to Commandments, and what is necessary for some may not be necessary for others. Even if a spiritual principle is true, trying to live by it before we are ready will only bring frustration (1 Corinthians 3:2). The Holy Spirit deals with each of us in His perfect timing. “He who has begun a good work in you will bring it to completion!”
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1.) The most important difference between works based righteousness and Holy Spirit conviction is that while self-works will create a perpetual cycle of trying and failing, the Holy Spirit will always give us the ability to do what He asks us to do.
Rina, Thanks for visiting my blog! I love your site and look forward to stopping by often. Have a lovely day full of God’s rich blessings.
It really means a lot to me that you stopped by! I’m new to the blogging thing, still trying to find my “voice,” so-to-speak, and determine what direction to take all this in. I think your site is wonderful and I’ve gotten a lot of inspiration from it. I’m honored that you would visit.
How refreshing to see a blogger who knows the difference between conviction of the Holy Spirit and condemnation and who even warns readers about adopting said blogger’s views if it’s not really the Holy Spirit. Totally Awesome!
Rebecca, the fact is that I’ve often struggled with feelings of condemnation from those whose convictions I don’t share and I never want anyone to feel that from me. I firmly believe that the Holy Spirit will guide us in ALL truth, in His timing, and when we’re ready. I feel that even if something I write here is a truth from God, it does absolutely no good for someone to adopt it as practice before the Holy Spirit is working in their lives for it. If someone had told me seven years ago that I would be where I am today, I never would have believed it. But it was a process that God Himself had to take me on… when I tried to do it on my own I only ended up frustrated and hurt. I want to be able to share my convictions here, but never force them (or attempt to force them) onto someone else. Thanks for your encouragement in this regard.
Wow, Rina. This is a really great “disclaimer” to have. I used to read a site where I always came away with feelings of condemnation for not serving the way the blog writer did. Eventually after feeling that way multiple times, I stopped reading.
I loved this part about the prompting of the Holy Spirit. So true!
“we must be careful not to adopt the convictions of others as our own without the prompting of the Holy Spirit.”
Rachel, I have often felt the same way… and still do, sometimes! God is constantly having to remind me that He made me to be ME, which means I’m going to have different strengths and weaknesses, convictions and passions than others. Thanks for commenting, and I hope you’ll let me know if I ever cross the line between encouragement and condemnation.