chrismaddoxblog

Wedding | Taylor & Nathan

chris — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 21:50:26 +0000

After a season that included a flurry of work, moving, and my own wedding, I am now finally settling in and getting caught up on some blogging. This wedding was a great one, and you can tell from the pictures. I had the pleasure of knowing both Taylor and Nathan prior to shooting their big day. They are not your normal college students. Each is ambitious, passionate, and caring. And both love the Lord with all their hearts. For that and many other reasons. It was an honor to shoot their wedding!

Below are a few of my favorite pictures from the wedding as well as a sneak peak from their album- enjoy!

And hear is a little peak of there album layout…

Congratulations you two! May your marriage be one that is blessed, lifting up both of you and all that you touch along the way!

Think Hard, Stay Humble: The Life of the Mind and the Peril of Pride | Francis Chan

chris — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 23:44:36 +0000

Humbling.

Wedding | Collin & Macon

chris — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 07:00:23 +0000

November in Arizona has to be one of the best times to get married! Want proof, check out the beautiful day that Macon and Collin had for their wedding at Highlands Church in Scottsdale, AZ. Now, you can probably tell from the pictures but the wedding was pretty amazing. It was a fun filled celebration. A tight community coming together with an outpouring of the joy that accompanies these two amazing people getting married! Collin and Macon deserved nothing less, two people who do so much for those around them, who love other people so well. Shooting weddings for people like Collin and Macon are such a privilege to be a part of!

A special thanks to Briana Santiago who did a great job second shooting with me. And to Collin and Macon, I wish you both an amazing future together as husband and wife. I hope these pictures bring with them the joyous memories of this day for years to come!

To see more photos or book me for your wedding visit www.ChristopherMaddoxPhotography.com

Mexico | November 2010

chris — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 21:37:36 +0000

As many of you already know, I lead a ministry called Love Walks which among other things serves in Mexico on a monthly basis. Almost every month I bring my camera down. And I struggle. I struggle to live within two tensions. Being 100% there with Love Walks and being 100% in the photographs I take. It is extremely difficult.

I don’t know that I’ll ever get this balanced. Perhaps that shouldn’t be the goal. Either way I’ll continue to try and capture the spirit of the people, the purpose and the place. Enjoy these images from our last trip! (see more at www.facebook.com/lovewalks)

Ashley | Senior Portrait

chris — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 07:18:48 +0000

A couple years back I did an internship with Food for the Hungry. While there I had the privilege of getting to know Pat, an extremely gifted leader and passionate man of God. In the years since I’ve been blessed to get to know his family too. So, when they contacted me to take senior portraits for Ashley, I was excited to do it!

For the shoot, we worked our way through Old Town Scottsdale, enjoying the beautiful weather as we went. I have to give a special shout out to Ashley’s mom who doubled as my lighting assistant for the day, doing a great job (she may have uncovered a hidden talent)! Ashley is extremely photogenic and was a blast to shoot. Ashley congratulations on this big step in life, and what it represents that is now just over the horizon. Best of luck in wherever you next steps take you!

Nathan & Taylor | Engagement

chris — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 20:52:59 +0000

You never know how the people you meet will end up crossing your path later in life. This can be something you avoid…or…it can be a pleasant surprise. This story happens to be one of those pleasant surprises! In 2009 during my two months in Rwanda I helped host a team of folks from a church in Scottsdale that is doing a development project in western Rwanda. One of the members on this team was Nathan. I was surprised with Nathan’s demeanor when I met him. At that point he was in his final year of high school, a gifted athelete and extremely well rounded guy. But more than that he was humble, and he cared about people. Impressive traits at that point in life! I saw Nathan periodically since Rwanda, but recently reconnected with him and his now fiance, Taylor.

Nathan recently proposed to Taylor and they are set to get married early next year. I’m so excited to reconnect with Nathan and get to know his equally amazing bride to be. We had a blast taking engagement pictures in downtown Phoenix, you can tell from the images that they do just fine in front of a camera! I also want to give a special thanks to April, who accompanied us on the shoot, helping me at many points along the way!

Nate and Taylor, I had a blast with the both of you, I’m so excited for the path you’ve chosen together and can’t wait to shoot your wedding!

Knowing God | Fear

chris — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 02:27:52 +0000

When I was in Rwanda last year one of my favorite parts of the experience was the amount of time I had in solitude. With no electricity everything settled down around 7 o’clock every evening. And so I read, and I read some more. For the first time ever I read strait through the gospels- Matthew, Mark, Luke and then John. I tried to spend time on the nuances and details of each writer as they gave account to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Simultaneously I began reading through the first five books of the Old Testament. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and then Deuteronomy, looking for revelation on God’s character and connections from the Old Testament to the gospels.

During that time one of the things that began to stand out to me was the power of God and the fear that he commanded. When I became a Christian in high school I could not comprehend the idea of fearing God. It made absolutely no sense to me. Love, that made sense. I hadn’t yet learned the important correlation between the two- Fear and Love. But as I was reading I was forced to revisit this idea of fearing the Lord. I remember in all of the gospels, whenever an angel would come it would be met with a strong reaction of fear. Every time. I began to think, if the sight of an angel commanded this much fear, what must it mean for the presence of God to strike fear in us.

I am continuing to learn how intimately fear and love and interconnected. In doing so God is allowing me to see more and more of who he is. The negative aspects that I first associated with God being deserving of fear have begun to dissipate. As I learn about his other characteristics, His justice, mercy and grace, that too helps me understand what a righteous fear of God is meant to look like.

Recently I have begun to think about this again. It started a few weeks ago. A short film series called NOOMA, previously working with Rob Bell, is now working on a new series with pastor/speaker Francis Chan. The first film of this series is entitled, “Fear God.” For a buck and fifteen minutes of your time you can watch it here: http://store.flannel.org/fear-god.html

A passage that Chan quotes from Psalm 111:10 stood out to me.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!”

Hmmm.

Today I was reading through Acts. I was again struck by this idea of fear, but this time not just on an individual level but on a community level. In Acts 9, after Saul is confronted by Jesus on the road to Damascus and then subsequently baptized and sent out, he goes to Jerusalem. While in Jerusalem he connects with the disciples and then goes out into the city “preaching boldly in the name of Jesus.” Then, in Acts 9:31 it says:

“So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.”

So I wonder, have we lost an understanding of what it looks like to fear God? Are our churches built and growing upon a healthy fear of God? Not a hellfire and brimstone version, scaring people toward the cross. Rather a grounded in scripture, full view of God, humbling fear.

Probably a good question for us to ask.

Love Walks | Quick and Easy Ways to Support Love Walks!

chris — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 22:12:01 +0000

I wanted to give everyone a digestible list of quick and easy ways that you can support Love Walks. Your support allows us to continue our work in Mexico and here in the valley as we strive to “provide trainings, opportunities, and experiences to young adults in Phoenix, leading them toward becoming lifelong Lovers of God and People.”

Sign up for the $1 a week program.

Our community (donors, volunteers and ministry partners) is a family. We see it as a coming of the body of Christ around a specific mission. The first step you can take in engaging Love Walks and supporting our organization as a part of that family is through participating in the $1 a week program. This small but consistent donation provides both encouragement and resources for us. But more importantly it allows us to earn a relationship with you and show you that we will steward your gifts well! Take 60 seconds to sign up here: https://lovewalks.org/1aweek/

Get Connected!

Get connected to what is happening with Love Walks. There are a number of ways to do this. Our communication goal is not to flood people with information, or to annoy them with information not relevant. Rather we have strived to set up multiple channels of communication that allow YOU to choose how you want to stay connected! From our blog to facebook, our newsletter to twitter, pick whats best for you!

Facebook Twitter Blog Subscribe