The cool kids: One of my favorites on the stage

I was never the cool kid.
It's ok, you don't have to feel bad for me.
I mean...I think that I pretty much thought I was cool in middle school.
I remember wearing my jean jumper with pride.
I remember picking out my stirrup pants, long sweater and 2 different pair of socks to layer over said stirrup pants the week before the Word of Life Super Bowl when I was in the 7th grade.
Yep. I thought I was cool.

High school wasn't much different than middle school as far as my level of coolness.
But really...I'm ok with it.

Moving on.

I wrote a post quite a while ago about an experience I had in Haiti.
I wrote about a woman I met, and the difference between her and I...the fact that we aren't really that different. It seems like this is a theme I am seeing in my life lately.

I feel like I am constantly reminded of the fact that there are people who are "cool" and there are people who are a little less than "cool"

When I write that, I am not saying that I actually feel this way, but I am saying that it is how our world is.
There are the famous people, the wealthy people, the well known people...and then there are the rest of us.

This feeling of people being on different levels is unfortunately played out just about everywhere.

I don't want to be a part of it.
I believe that God created everyone equal.
I believe that there is not one person that is above another person.
Because I have been in the lower level very often, and have even recently had that feeling of...wow. I thought you were my friend until your "cool" friend showed up...I feel like people should be praised more.

And so. Every once in a while, I want to take a little time out and talk about someone who I think deserves to be thought of as the cool kid.

This could be a series that goes on for...well...ever, because I know some pretty amazing people.
After the Pursuit 31 Conference I went to, I started reading all these photographers blogs about the speakers at the conference and how amazing they were.
Don't get me wrong.
I really and truly enjoyed the speakers.
I thought they were great.
But there were some other people there that I thought were equally as great!
I thought...man. Here are some amazing girls that are doing amazing things, and changing people's lives. But because they aren't standing on a stage, they don't get any recognition.

So. Here is my stage.
And today on my stage is this beautiful and amazing girl I know named Joni.
No. You didn't read that right. It's J-AW-NEE. As in...Joni Erickson Tada, the person she was named after.
Ok. I'm glad we got that cleared up.

Anyways. She is a photographer. A wife and mom of 2 kids.
She is a videographer, and an amazing one, at that.
She is the talented logo designer of my new and beautiful logo at the top of my blog.
And she is really funny, although she has not quite mastered how to effectively use the word hashtag in everyday conversation.

The reason I wanted to talk about her is because she is the kind of person everyone should be friends with. She is the kind of person who enters a room and the entire room lights up.
Really.
She laughs really loud, and it makes you have to laugh too.
She is not afraid to ask questions about her faith....like in a totally real and authentic kind of way.
I love that.
She lives in Maine. I know...the way life should be.
And she's a rock star.
She deserves to be on a stage not because of how many followers she has, not because of how many likes she has on her page, but because God is using her to bring glory to Himself.
She deserves to be on a stage not because she has started a foundation to save millions of orphans, or because she tours the world giving seminars, but because she is being used exactly where she is, and she realizes the important fact that everyone needs to realize:

The only person that matters at this moment is the one person you are talking to.

Do you get what I mean by that?

Numbers don't matter.
People matter.

And one thing I love about Joni is that she treats you like you are the most important person in the world.
And then she turns to the next person and treats them like they are the most important in the world.

And this is what matters, and this is how I try to live as well.

Just showing God's love to every single person I come in contact with...one person at a time.
So I may not have a real live stage.
And Joni might not either.

But our stage is one that God gave us.
And we are using it in our little tiny towns up in New England. A-yuh!
And she is no better than you.
And I am no better than her.

Let's spend way more time focusing on the people that maybe aren't in the lime light right now.
Because maybe...just maybe, they are the ones that need it.
Who are you going to put on your stage this week?
Maybe it means writing a letter, making a phone call, telling someone how important and valuable they are.
You have no idea how much they might need it!

And please. Take a second and watch this video.
And then hire this girl. Because she rocks the daylights out of videos.

Thank you my sweet, sweet friend for being such a huge part of my life.
You are wicked cool.
#startworkingonyourhashtags