From North To South

This is a blog post on a blog I created when I decided to move up to Portland Oregon to help start the church Colossae.  I literally haven't posted on this blog for almost three years now, but I figured it would be fitting to take a deeper look into our decision to move back down to San Diego here.

Here is a little recap of the last 6 years first:

• April 10th, 2008 I made the venture to move to Tigard, Oregon to help start Colossae church by leading worship.
• April 2009, Kristen, my friend at the time but now my wife moved to Tigard to also be a part of Colossae church.  (We were friends from college, at this point we weren't dating)
• May 8th, 2010 Kristen and I got married.  We had our wedding in San Diego since that is where both our families are from.
• June 2010, I started the business Greg Helton Photography and began photographing weddings.  I was also bartending and waiting tables at CPK at the time
• September 2011 I quit CPK and started only doing my photography business
• August 2013, Kristen and I found out that we were pregnant (more Kristen than me)
• January 14th, 2014 we officially decided to move back to San Diego

Obviously this is a very brief synopsis of the last 6 years, but it truly all has impact on this next stage of life.

Kristen and I have been very blessed while living in the great Northwest!  There is something so special about the area and our church body.   The tall pine trees, the sun staying out until almost 10pm in the summer time, the fresh air, the gorgeous landscape.  We absolutely love the area and people from up here.  That has not changed, nor do I think it will ever change. 

When we found out that we are going to have a baby, I think this was the biggest catalyst of change that we have seen in our marriage.  The ways that we think, plan, prepare are far different and we now have larger goals that are bigger than ourselves.  As we talked about the future, what would be in store for our family and how we would move forward as a family of three, we began thinking through many different life scenarios and began questioning what steps we need to take to provide for our family and honor God.  If we boiled down our four biggest life goals at this point, it came down to these.

1. Serve and honor God with our lives to the best of our ability
2. Care for and raise our daughter in a way that honors God 
3. Have Kristen be able to stay at home and raise our child rather than having to find child care
4. For me to continue to be able to do my business, which I am so passionate about

So as we really sat and thought about these goals we realized that San Diego was our best opportunity to achieve these all together.  What I had moved to Portland to do, lead the body of Colossae in worship has been completed.  Though I am still heavily involved in the church, I feel that God has laid on my heart that I can serve and honor Him at this time equally well in either Portland or San Diego.  We had an amazing housing opportunity come up in San Diego that would actually save us money (which sounds ridiculous, because who have you ever talked to that moved to San Diego to save money on living expenses?)  When it came to business, though I absolutely love Oregon, only having a 3 month wedding season up here due to the weather has really stifled my ability to grow my business.

Like the majority of my life up to this point, we are making a move based on faith.  Faith that God will provide for our family.  Faith that there are opportunities to serve and honor Him well down there.  Faith that this decision wasn't made hastily but was made while pursuing God's leading.

We have quite the adventure ahead of us and truly have no idea what is in store.  God may bless my business or I may have to give it up completely.  Kristen may get to stay at home or she may end up having to work some.  God may keep us in San Diego forever, or this could be another season of life before the next stop.  All that we know for sure is God is faithful and God is loving!  God will not fail us and this is a promise to us in the bible.

So we push forward onto the biggest adventure of our marriage so far.  Your prayers are much appreciated and we can't wait to see how God uses us and blesses our family.

We move February 18th, 2014

Our baby girl is due March 27th, 2014

Here is to another adventure!

Five Years In Oregon: AKA My Oregon Trail

The phrase "Time Flies" is so commonly used, but it is one that gains more meaning each and every passing year!  It actually baffles me to think that I have spent half of my adult life in Oregon now.  Probably one of the biggest life lessons I have learned since I turned 18 is this:

Setting firm expectations on your life will most often leave you frustrated or exhausted.  True joy and contentment in life comes through putting faith in Christ and trusting the direction of your life in God's hands.  Let's be honest, if God has 20/20 vision, we are blind!

I thought it would be fun to walk you through life since 18 and add some funny photos in the process.

2003 Freshman Year of College at Cal Poly SLO

First things first, in 2003 it was awesome to grow your hair out as a guy.  When you have curly hair, this means your hair just gets poofy...  At 18/19 years of age I started my degree in Materials Engineering where my goal was to graduate college, get an engineering job in the realm of photography making 60k + to start.

2006 Interstate Divide

A year before graduating college, I continued working on my engineering degree but I knew I gained much more joy in playing music than engineering.  This was the point when I was actually thinking hard about pursuing a career in music!  I prayed that if this wasn't the right direction that God would close the door.

2007 God Closed The Door

It didn't take long for the door to be shut!  Soon after that, my college roommates and I were homeless.  Ok, not really, I just needed a filler photo, so this is from the summer before college ended (I think).

2007 Making Hard Decisions

I was set to graduate in December of 2007 and I really had no clue what I wanted to do or really where I wanted to go.  Leading worship had become a big part of my life and I knew I wanted to continue doing that where ever I went.  A good friend and mentor of mine, Pastor James, challenged me with an idea that rocked my world.

"Instead of getting a job and finding a church to serve in, why don't you find a church to serve in and allow God to provide the job."   ~Pastor James

This lead to the crazy idea of helping start a little church in Tigard, Oregon to be called Colossae.

2008 Moving To Oregon

I moved to Oregon with no promise of a job, an engineering degree in a manilla envelope, helping lead worship for a tiny house church with no income and a little bit of savings.  In my mind, I would start doing the worship and that I would immediately find an engineering job.  Not the case...

2008 The Economy Tanks

What a great graduation gift.  "Congratulations on graduating, the economy is terrible, if you get an engineering job you will probably be laid off... Enjoy!"  After a few months of no work, it was time to pay my bills.  With no serving experience I found a new California Pizza Kitchen that was opening up about 40 minutes from where I lived.  I was hired and started serving tables in a job I hoped to keep for 4 months tops as an interim job until the engineering job came through.  It didn't....

2009 Started Dating Kristen

Something unexpected happened and a good friend of mine from college, Kristen Giesenschlag, decided to move to Portland and be a part of Colossae church.  We went from being friends to being engaged in about 8 months.

2010 Married

When I left California, I left everyone I knew behind.  I was blessed by a plan that could have only been God.  We got married in May of 2010 in San Diego with our family and friends, then came back to Portland to start our life together. 

2010 Starting A Business

Just a month after being married and after working still at the restaurant going into my third year, Kristen challenged me to pursue what I loved, which is photography.  June 2010 I started Greg Helton Photography LLC.

2011 Became My Own Boss

September of 2011 I officially quite working at the restaurant and took a leap of faith in focusing on my business.  This has been a big challenge and been both difficult and great.

2013 Five Years In

Here we are, five years later.  So much has changed in my life!  My career path, my marital status, even who I am.  If you had sat me down in 2003 and had me write out a description of my life in 2013, it would have been no where close to what it is today, but I love it!

The real question is, what do the next 5 years hold in store?  Will I still be in Oregon?  Will I still be a business owner?  Life is crazy and ever changing.  I am excited to see what happens next!

 
 
 
 

Sunset

From The Eyes Of A Child

Yesterday after finishing my softball game, I drove home to my apartment in Beaverton. I was alone since Kristen had to work until 9 that evening. As I walked the 150 yards from my conveniently placed garage to the front door of our apartment, i slowly gazed up into cloud ridden sky and noticed through the vast array a seemingly small airplane cruising the evening sky. All of the sudden I was overwhelmed with a sense of nostalgia and the essence of youthful emotion came over me. I remembered for a moment what the bewilderment of a child was like. I remember looking up into the sky as a child and be completely amazed by such a flying vessel and how it fearlessly commanded the vast blue sky. Then I remembered the first time that I was able to fly in an airplane, sitting by the window, eyes glued on the ever changing terrain. The clouds looked like a winter wonderland and the earth looked so small.

As I was bombarded with these nostalgic thoughts I was saddened by the realization of how little I stand in awe of my surroundings. Why do we let ourselves be completely caught up in the everyday commonalities and lose the joy and love of the amazing beauty around us? How do we learn in such a progressive society to not speed up but slow down for a moment and take a look at all that God has created? How do we pursue the majestic and not the mundane? I am convicted and am wondering how I can make myself once again realize the perfection in creation and the beauty in everyday life.


I know this is the first blog post I have done outside of my photography blog in over a year, but I just felt compelled to write this.

2 Years In Portland, 2 Weeks Until Marriage!

Ok, so as is common for me, i haven't updated my blog in forever, this time was about 3 months! All i can say is that a ridiculous amount has happened in the past 3 months. Shoot, my entire engagement process is just over 4 months so I have barely even posted anything about it. You know the story, how we met, how we got engaged, etc. But now we are almost a married couple! Before we go further into that, lets start with the 2 year mark in Portland.

So I believe it was april 1oth, 2008 that I officially made it up to Tigard, Oregon... my new home. I got up here with no idea of what life would be like, what the church would look like and how I would acclimate to the north west. Well now I am 2 years in, have seen 2 full changes of the seasons and am really getting an understanding of Portland. I have to say, I still love it up here! It honestly doesn't matter what the weather brings, there is a new outlook and a breath of fresh air every day. Today for instance was a gorgeous spring day, flowers blooming, 70 degrees out, sun shinning, enjoying wonderful friendships. I am so blessed with what the Lord has provided for me up here and can't believe all the dramatic change that has happened. I came up here and for the first year, struggled with some loneliness and just the desire to find my wife, which by moving up here was one of my ways of giving that desire up to the Lord and trusting in His provision and plan. For the first 3/4 part of the first year, I didn't even see relationship potential and just figured that marriage wasn't going to be something in my near future, but other things were in store. So we get to the beginning of the 3rd week of April last year and Kristen (my now fiance and very soon to be wife) moved up here to join my church body. By may 28th, 2009 we were officially dating. 7 months in, I proposed to here (which, i must admit felt crazy to me. I NEVER thought that I would get engaged so soon or be ready to get married like that. But seeing how she pursues the Lord and how we are going to be able to serve well together here in Oregon and/or wherever the Lord takes us, I knew it was the right decision.

Well there is probably so much i could tell you about the last few months. Spending many days wedding planning, on the phone most days with both of our mothers, or "wedding leazons" if you prefer such a title. There have been up times, there have been down times, stressful times. And as I sit here now, in "my" bedroom, which in 2 weeks will be Our bedroom, i begin to realize the weight and reality of where we are. I'm a few months away from 26 years old, about to be a married man and changing my life in so many ways. It is exciting and scary at the same time. To not only be unified with someone for life, but to give your heart completly, knowing that it will be hurt from time to time but trusting in restoration and our ability to persevere. I find myself trying to balance the load of realizing how HEAVY the actuality of marriage is but also just going into it not being worrisome but realizing the beauty in God's design of marriage. I wish I could say that I have everything figured out and that I know our marriage will be easy and always fun, but I feel I am preparing myself to serve and build up my wife even when things get rough. Engagement can show glimpses of our selfishness, but I think I need to prepare myself to see how selfish I really am and how I am going to daily need to humble myself before the Lord and my wife. I'm excited and i think the thing that scares me the most is the fact that everything is so surreal right now and the fact that I am going to be married in less than 2 weeks really hasn't set in. My buddy eric told me about this book he was reading a while back; i forget the title, but the gist of it was something like "What if marriage wasn't designed for happiness but for holiness". Taking a look at the idea that through marriage, we are able to see our failures so much more and are able to if pursuing the Lord and trying, draw nearer to Him through marriage. This, though not easy and potentially painful at times, will allow us to pursue God better and to commit ourselves more. 2 weeks away: I've still got lots to learn, I don't think I will ever be fully prepared but I am excited to see what God does in our commitment.

I hear the wedding bells ringing

So, I know it has been a while, AS ALWAYS, since i have updated my blog but as would be expected, I have been quite busy planning my wedding. Kristen and I are getting married in 93 days, so things are just flying by and planning takes quite a bit of work. Here is a list of just a few things we have planned/done for the wedding over the last month:

1. Bought a wedding dress
2. Decided on the wedding bands
3. Planned a honeymoon
4. Found the bridesmaids dresses
5. Bought suits for the groomsmen
6. Booked a location
7. Took our own engagement photos
8. Made and sent out save the dates

And there is probably a lot more, but we have kept quite busy with all that and still have much more to go. Here are a few of the engagement photos, hopefully you enjoy.

Life can be quite busy when you have all of this stuff, but it is good. I am very excited for the big day and just honored to be able to marry such a great woman.

Kristen And I Are Engaged!?!?! (This Post Is worth the 2 and a half month wait)

So this is quite surreal for me to be actually making a post about this, and I am actually the one getting engaged. For a while I thought that a movie was going to be made about me called 27 Tuxes for how much weddings I have been in. I constantly joke around about how many people post that they are engaged on facebook; literally sometimes it is daily! For a long time I kind of wondered "when will this be me?" Well I'm glad that I have been patient over the years because I have found an amazing woman, Kristen!

Where to really start in this story.... I feel like I have had so much going through my head over the last month or so, so I guess I will go back to about a month ago. Well, I had known for quite a while, even in college that Kristen was an amazing woman, but over the past several months I have really seen it in how she lives out her life. As we have been living life in community together and been dating, I have just seen how she is such a perfect fit for me and how well we work together. I had been thinking through many things throughout the relationship and just really trying to understand what it looks like to have a truly God revering relationship and when to know that I am ready to get married. After spending more time together and getting to know each others families, I just realized that this is a woman that I would love to marry, so then planning had to begin.

So there I was, finally I had decided that I was going for it... I was going to propose! I had always known that whenever i did propose, it was very important to me to make it a complete surprise and something special. So I had to do a lot of planning and precautions. First thing was first... I needed to find a ring. I knew that Kristen wanted me to pick out a ring without her knowing so I just had to go off of what I knew of her. So I went online and looked through many rings of different styles and narrowed it down to 2 rings. The first was a large center diamond with 2 pear shaped diamonds on the side in a very elegant white gold ring. The second, which is the one I chose had a center raised diamond with channel set alternating diamonds and sapphires in a white gold setting. I ended up deciding that because it was very clean and classic looking but also original that it was the perfect ring for Kristen. So then I needed to know the ring size. Kristen went to work one night, I snuck into her room, grabbed a ring that i was pretty sure fit and took it to a jeweler to get measured. I then placed it back and gave the info to my guy in California, Archie Henderson.

Quick Advertisement: Archie Henderson of Henderson Jewelry in Carlsbad, CA does amazing work, so if you need any jewelry you should definitely check him out!

So, the next part was asking Kristen's Father for her hand in marriage. Being 1000 miles apart, I knew the only way i could ask was over the phone for me to be able to do it without Kristen knowing. So I stealthily stole kristen's phone and got her parents phone numbers out of the phone. I called David (or mr. giesenschlag if you prefer) and asked him in a somewhat awkward but great conversation. I was so blessed to have them give me the go ahead and tell me they are excited about it.

I guess that is enough background: Here is the engagement story. I wanted to make a very special christmasy evening that seemed like a normal date night. So we went to Pick-up Stix for dinner down in san diego (we don't have that in portland, so we missed it). Then I took her to Garrison street in point loma, where the street is DECKED out for christmas, so i wanted her to see the splendor. Next, off to The Hotel Del Coronado. This was her first time down there, and christmas time is the perfect time to check it out. We walked through and saw all the beautiful decorations and then watched people falling on the outdoor ice skating rink. We left there to go to the final spot. As we were driving to the last spot we had the "Remember the Titans" Cd playing in the background and I think that it was the perfect pump up music for me. There is a little park on the edge of coronado overlooking the San Diego bay and with a beautiful view of the San Diego Skyline. We walked over to a bench where I handed Kristen a somewhat large wrapped box, which I told her was an early Christmas present. When she opened it up, she realized it was a Photo book that I had made for her that had "A Book Of Memories" written on the front with a picture of us together. The book has a bunch of photos of us and adventures we have gone on throughout the relationship, for the most part in cronological order. As she turns through it I await somewhat nervously, for I know what the last page had in store. As she turns to the last page, there was a picture of me down on one knee with ring box in hand in front of a christmas tree with the caption "The Memories have only just begun". As she turned to this page, i got down on one knee and proposed. She said yes and with a big smile on her face, gave me a huge hug. It was truly a special moment!

One last surprise was in store for Kristen. After we started driving home, we continued to talk about the night and my sneakiness, and when we arrived at my parents house, waiting there was my parents, my grandma, my sister, brother in law and nephew, my bud dustin and his wife courtney, Kristens parents, her sister and niece, and her friend amanda and husband aaron. We had a great little celebration and was truly the perfect end to an amazing night. I have been truly blessed to be dating Kristen and now I am lucky to be able to say she is my future wife! Below are some pictures from the day including the last picture of Kristen as a pre-engaged woman. Unfortunately, we have no pictures of the proposal itself, but we will remember it forever!