Matt and I are busy beings. We have work, school, coaching, bible studies and more. When it comes to “our” time typically we are so tired all we want to do is watch TV and relax. Relaxing at home isn’t a bad thing, we really enjoy it some days, but also it can become numbing. Sometimes we even find ourselves on our phones watching a show or getting other things done in separate rooms. I don’t want this for us. I want to live memorably. Those are the things you REALLY remember. The things you tell stories about around the campfire.

Donald Miller writes “We have to force ourselves to create these scenes. We have to get up off the couch and turn the television off, we have to blow up the inner tubes and head to the river…”

This is why I Matt and I have founds Lara’s Power Sheets so effective. They are tools to help us live memorably. Filling out the weekend tending lists (btw tending lists are what my dear friend created to tend to REAL rest on the weekends instead of just spending more time in front of a screen) are sometimes hard for us because we have forgotten the simplicity having fun, when our weeks are full of get-it-done or hurry-hurry. But sure enough we come up with some creative and goofy ideas and then we try them. Last month we got up to watch the sunrise, we took a walk around the lake, and we even flew a kite!!

I want to live memorable scenes. I want to have stories to tell grandchildren about how goofy their grandpa and grandma were before they had their parent. Life is busy, we will inevitably get caught up in the rat race from time to time. Yet, lets try to fight it and plan some good ole’ fashioned fun.

What can you do this weekend to live a memorable moment?

First, I encourage you to take a social media free weekend. Delete the apps of your phone till Monday. (PS that is the only way I can do it) Second, do something simple but wacky.

Some of simple and goofy tasks that are on Matt and I’s list for May:

-Carve our initials into a tree.

-Jump in a lake. (which I might be terrified/pumped to do, posting the gif below for my own motivation #iammoreofajumpinpoolgal)

-Drive through difference.

It doesn’t have to cost money. It doesn’t need to take a ton of time. Dance in the kitchen. Sing your favorite song loud in the car. Embarrass yourself a little and show up to your little ones game as their super hero.

Let’s really LIVE life friends. Create more of this.

PS. Don’t forget to enter the fun giveaways!! You have till the 23rd to enter!

Yet, I can’t help but be authentic and mention this. There are times in my life where I look at others websites, new brands and new announcements and feel incredibly discouraged. I feel not good enough. Not together enough. Not (fill in the blank) enough.

I don’t want ANY OF YOU to believe that lie. That perception. Especially in my case. A new website doesn’t equal happiness, awesomeness, or perfection. While I am utterly grateful and excited that I have this amazing new space to write and to share my images with you, today I still had one of the hardest days I have ever had on so many levels. Too many struggles and emotions that made getting out of bed hard today. That made opening up to the Lord hard today. This day was filled with situations that made me just want to curl up in a ball and put up my white flag of surrender.

I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I AM IMPERFECT.

I want to be reminded of that daily. Reminded that I don’t have it all together and won’t until I get to heaven.  Because otherwise I will spend my life chasing pride, perfection, and my worth in worldly things.  Like I have in my past, trying to make more and more money, to have more followers, to have more stuff. I have learned I don’t need any of that. I just need more Jesus. Even though sometimes my heart falls back in to old ways, I want a website to be a website. That is why I purposely left some goofy imperfect pages  and made crappy iPhone videos to have a place on this site, because I want to remind myself again that imperfect is ok. It’s who I am and ONLY by His grace I am made whole.

So please. If any of you had one ounce of sadness enter your heart viewing this site or thoughts thinking you are not enough. YOU ARE ENOUGH.

It is one of my biggest goals to keep it real here on this blog, for you to see the good and the bad. I want to connect with you. I want to get rid of all the fluff.  I want to love and serve and encourage you here.

So here I am, BRAND NEW WEBSITE, SAME OLD GINA.

So, welcome y’all! I am so glad you are here. Take a peek around and make sure to enter for one of the amazing giveaways!

Because I want to share the excitement and love these are the fun gifts I will be giving away! I hand picked some of my FAVORITE THINGS!

1. The amazing Lara Casey Powersheets! 2. A beautiful gold comb; perfect for beachy waves or a mermaid made by Carlee Sizemore. 3. The Power of Starting Something Stupid by Richie Norton. 4. $100 gift card to JCrew (um I want to win my own giveaway?) 5. Emily Ley’s Great Day Notes and a NEW surprise print from her shop. 6. $50 Etsy Gift Card. 7. $50 Amazon Gift Card 8. 2 $20 Starbucks Gift Cards

To enter, leave a comment (*required) and then do one (or all) of the following tasks. Every task counts as an entry (6 possible chances to win!)

-Like my facebook page and “share” the giveaway photo to your personal or business page. 

-Spread the word about the #gzlaunch on social media and link back to my site or this post

-Blog about the new site/shop
-Instagram. Screenshot the new blog and announce it to your instagram followers! (include @ginazeidler)
-Pin this post or anything on this site!
-Leave a comment here with your favorite part of my new brand and make sure to mention about any other links or tasks you finished

The winners will be announced on Friday, May24th!

Again you can enter as many times as you like. Just be sure to leave comments here with your entries! Note: All prizes will be drawn separately, it’s not a package deal, so there are 9 items to win!! YEA!

I was that girl. The girl that thought; we are young, we are healthy, we will get pregnant the second we start. Right? I was that girl that was so excited and petrified at the same time. Ready. Then the first month passed I wasn’t too sad, then the second and I felt a bit uneasy so I started researching and with encouragement from a friend I started temping & tracking my information. I was excited to learn and time it perfectly then the third month, fourth, fifth etc. I did everything right. I saw the signs, we timed it right and nothing. Emotionally I started to break. Watching what feels like everyone under the sun get pregnant around us. While trying everything from eating pineapple, standing on my head, fill-in-the-blank and fertility treatments.  There have been many tears and sad days. We are here over a year + later still hoping and wishing for that plus sign. For that first heart beat. For that first sign of hope. **

Yet this post isn’t about being sad or mad (even though those are two real emotions that come and go). It’s about perspective.

The funny thing is tonight I just sit in awe of how the story of our child’s life is being written right now. This wait. The tears. The yearning. This is all part of the story. Part of preparing our hearts for that someone. However they might come and (as scary as it is to say it) wherever and whenever they come. THIS is the story. We are living in it. Every step and emotion.

How much of our lives do we live in the next best thing? In grade school we want to be big enough to go to sleepovers, then go on dates, then be in college, then married…..you get the drift. We want so badly for the next part of our story to start, with quite possibly ignoring the one we are in. The moments that we are never going to get back. Why does it so often take tragedy or hardship to get us back to the things that matter? Why do we go along our days acting like there will be a million of them ahead? James 4:15  reminds us that we are not the main event in this thing called life. That each moment and breathe is a gift. A GIFT. It’s hard to say those words to anyone including myself at the pit of hurt and suffering but it’s truth.

Can you imagine that each of our breaths left on this earth are numbered? That exact number only the Lord knows. Doesn’t that make you want to get rid of the fluffy stuff in your life and focus your effort on what matters? Doesn’t it lite a fire to create a story/memories that really mean something?

I know we so often say flippantly to “live in the moment” or to “slow down and soak up the now”, but do our efforts tell that story? Do they tell a story of someone who despite their circumstances is making the best of their story? Through the pain, unanswered prayers and so many other things? Do we cherish and capture the moments that are here and now?

I am in the middle of these. three. books. right now and all of them are coming together in my heart saying.

My today’s are gifts that are a part of a bigger story. Infertility is a gift that is part of a bigger story. These moments are a gift that are a part of a bigger story. HIS story. 

I want to put all my effort into focusing on my part of HIS story.  To make the most of what I have right now. To document it, to remember it, to create it, and to walk with hope and confidence that my story will fulfill it’s purpose.

So here we are waiting for you baby, praising God for his goodness in everything and telling this moment of your story.

** We have received so much love and support from our friends and family and we are feeling so incredibly grateful. We feel confident in the direction God has lead us and would appreciate prayers, but not suggestions on alternative methods at this time. Sometimes those suggestions can be very painful and unintentionally hurtful. Thank you again for lifting us up in prayer and walking through this with us.

Photos by Natalie Norton

I don’t feel like I have it all together. I have a beast of a website to finalize, I am healing a broken foot, I need to plan to hire two assistants on, this list is never ending. I want to be more focused, more organized. While I understand this is all in the making, I want it tied up into pretty bows. Especially when tomorrow I walk into a meeting full of people that might expect that I have it all together.

I should right? I have been to 100 million MTH’s. I lead it with these two amazing women, for goodness sake, I should have this down pat. Right? 

Even though these feelings are crazy real beneath all of the uncomfortable fear, I have a major sense of HOPE. HOPE that God has me right where HE wants me. Peace that my heart will be challenged, push, and opened tomorrow. Even if I am a bit busted up and broken (pardon the pun) at the moment. My heart is tender……AND THAT IS OK.

That it’s ok to be scared. Even if you are a leader. It’s ok to be imperfect. Even if others look up to you. It’s OK.

The key isn’t putting on a fake smile, answering questions “the right way” and acting like you have it completely together every minute of everyday.

Life is a beautiful mess. The only way to stay connected to the beauty in your mess is to connect with it. It’s the KEY. 

To sit and feel right where you are. NOT where you want to be. BE where you are. Even if it’s uncomfortable.

“The most important actions are never comfortable” says Tim Feriss, so bring on tomorrow with it’s big fears and butterflies. I am choosing to hope in the good that is going to come from sharing my authentic, NON perfect self. Excited to meet other hearts there.

In that beautiful, heart wrenching, make me want to jump up and down good.

Images by Last Forty Percent

Do you ever feel like you run out of things to say to during a session? Or there are those awkward moments where you feel uncomfortable? Do you feel like your images are too posy? Do you want more real, BIG emotion in your images? Then this webinar is for you!

So excited to share this content on how to make your clients feel comfortable in front of the camera! I will walk you though my sessions step by step, with lots of tips and tricks to get those big laughs, real smiles and have CRAZY fun while producing awesome images during your sessions. We will rock through this content for about the first hour then head into some Q&A for you all to ask your qusetions! This webinar is open to any creative that wants to learn and to make 2013 the best year yet!

Date: Feb 27th, 2013 |  12:00-1:45 p.m. CST | There is also a video replay included, to be viewed at a later time if you cannot make it during the live webinar time.

Location: Your computer.  Platform details to follow once you are registered.

Prepare: Write out those questions about your sessions or clients and have them ready to go, your computer open and something to take notes with.

Dance parties & a warm cup of tea/coffee/cup-of-nummy- choice prior to webinar are optional, but ALWAYS encouraged!

VERY LIMITED SPACE AVAILABLE.  Get your seat TODAY! 

*Dates and times are subject to change.  Seats are non-refundable and non-transferable.  Space is very limited.

HAVE QUESTIONS?  Email gina@ginazeidler.com with the title CCZ. 

*****I am giving away a seat to the webinar this week over at the amazing blog —–>>> Let The Kids. So get over there, check out the beauty of the site and grab the special discount code available this week ONLY as well as an opportunity to WIN a SEAT to The Client Comfort Zone Webinar! *****

Hey y’all. I am reposting my post from the official MTH blog. Cause these words are exactly where my heart is. PS. I am SO pumped about these speakers, it’s going to be such a beautiful addition for you to hear the stories first hand on how Making Things Happen has shaped their hearts and businesses!

I have been asked these questions numerous times about MTH2013 :: What is Making Things Happen all about? Is it right for me? Do we focus on business? Is it going to help my business?

My answer ALWAYS is the Making Things Happen Conference is all about getting to your core of what matters and motivates you.  Why you do what you do. Which I think is the base of everyone’s business.

It’s where it all starts.

In my book, this is the pivotal point to grow your business from. Start from the heart, your core, your REAL life. Then build from here.

The problem is everyday we are distracted by the busy of life. Running a business, being a parent, email after email, deadlines, etc. RARELY do we give ourselves a day with no distractions. A day with others just like you and Lara,Emily and I calling your heart to the table. Your real fear to the table.

Give yourself this gift and attend the Making Things Happen Conference.

With this new format, you get double the goods! Day one will be cutting through the cobwebs of why you do what you do. Refreshing your heart and setting your mind on what matters. Day two is chock full of awesomeness and steps to learn about your brand and business.

So it’s up to you. None of us can (nor want) to convince you to come. Don’t get me wrong, we want you there. I want you there. I want you to give yourself this gift more than anything. But now It’s your turn. The ball is in your court. Are you worth it? Is the base of where your life springs from worth it? Do you NEED this?

If your answer is yes. Get over here and register while the Early Bird Rate is still available (only until 2/14).

If your answer is no, maybe, or I don’t know. At least get over to Lara’s blog and comment to get a chance at the scholarship. Write your heart out there. It will be good for you. You only have till MONDAY the 11th for a chance to win. Why not? What do you have to lose.

As always, you can ask me more questions by sending me an email. But most of my MTH story is here.  Happy Weekend y’all.

Gina Zeidler

Oh my dear blog. Oh how you have been neglected.

Where have I been? What have I been doing since December? Well, if you were to peek into my instagram, you would see a whole lot of working, praying, trying to heal a bum shoulder and really trying to rest while getting things done.

See this blog and brand is in a BIG overhaul on the backend. It’s almost there, and I can’t wait to share it. I am hoping for it to launch late February or early March. It has been fully dependent on healing my shoulder first (which is pretty much done) and my client work this winter. So it’s coming y’all. It’s coming.

I am so excited to be showing you a whole new look for Gina Zeidler. The new brand feels like my favorite pair of jeans and rainbow sandals. Here is a sneak peek at some images that I have been drafting up for my new site! I am bursting with posts and content that I will be sharing frequently on the new blog. (hopefully posting at least 3 times a week) Content that I have been saving since February of 2012, A whole year!! It’s been killing me, but will be so worth it!

Also, exciting news! I am hosting a webinar on client interaction called The Client Comfort Zone on Feb 27th, 2013. I will be posting on this soon, but I just wanted to let you all know as well! It’s going to be so great as I walk through my sessions and share tips and tricks on how to make your clients feel comfortable. Register Here!

Lastly, I am so elated to share with you the details on the new Making Things Happen Conference March 13th & 14th, 2013.  Our goal with this new two day format is to give creative entrepreneurs the tools they need to take big leaps in life and business. I could talk all day and night about MTH2013 and how it has changed my life, but just go and read this. Also, there are some pretty amazing scholarship opportunities! So get on over there you have until MONDAY the 11th of February for the scholarships. What do you have to lose? As one of my favorite lyrics say…

This is your life, are you who you want to be? -Switchfoot

So, I hope y’all haven’t gone off too far. I miss you friends!

Contax 645 Fuji 400H