Blog
New Name…New Website
Hey friends! The party’s moved over to my new site: jessperrymedia.com. Follow me over there for all the same shenanigans as before, just with a new last name! Blessings, Jess
read moreWhat I’m Reading Right Now
These are some interesting things I’m reading now (or have read in the last few days…) In case you were wondering… BIBLE: I Peter 3 Ephesians 4 Psalm 46 BOOKS: DisneyWar by James B. Stewart BLOGS/NEWS: Stronger Marriages RELEVANT Magazine (Entertainment, Worship, and What God Really Values) OC Register (Disney’s new parking structure) ABC NEWS (Adele brings Grammy-nominated singer onstage) RELEVANT Magazine (CA Senator Makes Changes to Anti-Discrimination Bill) Christianity Today (Interview with Jeannie Gaffigan)...
read moreRozema Family Reunion
I have this thing about big families. I LOVE them. I think it’s because I’m an only child. Even at its largest, my family was only like 12 people. Thankfully, I’ve married into a ginormous family, which I LOVE! I also get to hang out with some big families every once in a while. Like today. I had the privilege of hanging out with the extended Rozema family. The Rozemas are my “Aunt” Diana’s family, and they couldn’t be lovelier. The day, unfortunately, was BLAZINGLY hot (and my forgetful self...
read more90th Birthday Celebration
I wish everyone could have friends like I have. Friends who give selflessly of themselves. Friends who encourage. Friends who draw you closer to Jesus. Friends who know the yummiest Taco Guys* Friends like the Lins. Rick and Peggy and their two amazing kids, Luke and Bella, are some of the dearest people in the world to me. They are the most encouraging, funny, wonderful, loveliest people you will ever meet. So it was a distinct pleasure and honor to take photos at Peggy’s dad’s 90th birthday party. As you can see by this...
read moreMarci – Senior Portraits in Rancho Cucamonga, CA
I love Southern California, but it’s getting more and more difficult to find places to shoot portraits. Everybody and their mom wants to charge you for a photography permit, plus, everybody shoots at the same places over and over again. So…I’m trying to think outside the box. When Marci’s Senior portraits rolled around, I needed to find a place as unique as she is. She’s not your “train tracks and a barn” girl, and she’s certainly not “put up a backdrop and do some boring...
read moreThe Mirror Next Door
Even though it was nearly 12 years ago, I still remember my first Sunday as a Worship Pastor. It was July 4th, 2004. I was 21 years old, not yet graduated from college, and terrified. It took me almost a year and a half to feel comfortable in my own skin on that stage. My dad would remind me, over and over, that God had called me to ministry, and that I needed to remember that He was the One who had given me authority to lead, but that was often something I had a hard time getting through to my heart. You’d think now, at 33, after...
read moreYour Bulletin and You
This one’s for all my ministry homies: How many times has someone come up to you and complained that they weren’t aware of a particular event/class/meeting at church and asked why it wasn’t promoted more despite the numerous times it appeared in the bulletin/announcement loop/mentioned from the pulpit? If you’re like me, the answer is 1,692,352,345,324,465,856,952,350,829,217,949,628,259 times. So, here’s a little video I made to familiarize our congregation with their bulletins in an effort to increase...
read moreAdvent Peace
The celebration of Advent is not just about the coming of Jesus 2000 years ago. The celebration of Advent also looks forward to the day when Jesus will come again. Revelation 21 begins: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, ‘Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live...
read moreAdvent Joy
There’s nothing like the sight of a little one on Christmas morning. There’s nothing like that look of wonder and excitement, or the sheer volume of their excitement (that makes you really need a second cup of coffee), or that amazement that Santa has come, and all their hard work to make his “Nice” list has paid off. That kind of joy is infectious, isn’t it? Joy is defined as the emotion brought about by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires. At Advent, this last definition is made so clear...
read moreAdvent Love
The second candle of Advent is the Love candle. Admittedly, the love candle might seem a bit dim right now. We are still reeling from the evil that hit too close to home last week, and this morning we are heartbroken for 14 families who will wake up to a world without someone they love. While we may never understand on this side of Heaven why God allowed this to happen, we can take comfort in the fact that God is a father who intimately understands loss and suffering. Ephesians 2:4-5 tells us that “God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us...
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