Captured Photography by Jenny

Judy - Simply gorgeous!

veronica - is this your first cover? congrats!! :)

Jen Schartner - Hey Veronica :) It's our second... but we are still pretty pumped.

Jupiter jenny | Innovbois - [...] Captured in Jupiter Magazine » Captured Photography by JennyJan 27, 2012 … The February issue of Jupiter Magazine just hit shelves. There are tons of wedding tips in this month’s issue. One is an article we wrote. [...]

Jayme Bennett - Well said. There is nothing that can change and fulfill your life like a relationship with God! Bear with me I am crying as I write this, but just about 5 years ago my life was a mess. I thought having money, getting drunk and partying was the way to go. But it only made me feel more empty and alone. I made so many choices I am not proud of, but now those are just a thing of the past. My sins have been washed away. When I finally turned to Him, I met an amazing man- my husband, I couldn't have picked a better person for me or a better daddy for my children. Which is another miracle God has done in my life. I have two precious boys. I wasnt even supposed to be able to have children, at least not without great difficulty. Well God doesn't follow those rules. A few weeks after we were married I got pregnant with my first and when he was 5 months old my second! Not to say life is easier with Christ, because you still have struggles but it is WAY better. I never thought I could have this life I have and undoubtedly it's thanks to the amazing relationship I have with God! Wow he is so good!

katie - thanks so much for your words, sweet jenny, and for your testimony. you are such a light and it's impossible to be around you and not notice that "something different". bottom line about God for me is this: He loves us ALL the same way, no matter what. He sees us ALL as who we could/will be, and not for what we are or who've we've been in the past. He came down to this piece of ugly dirt and became man simply so that He could physically prove His Love for us. it is mind-blowing to me to understand that our only job is to accept and acknowledge His Love and that that simple decision can change our lives dramatically.

laurie - my sweet jenny, you are an admirable woman and so encouraging. what a challenge you have been to me and your love for Jesus has been a great example to so many. the older i get and the more i experience, nothing else makes sense to me but Jesus. it is something that is SO hard to explain because you have to experience His love, grace, forgiveness, mercy, and relentless fight for us, his children. i love that He LOVES me the same when i am a hot mess and when i have it all together, when i devote time to Him and when i put Him last. you are a beautiful image of God's love. thank you for your heart and i trust that this will be blessed. your clients are among the luckiest in the industry to work with you :) love you, girl!

Christy - Jen, thanks for putting this up. I'm proud to be your sister in more ways than one. I thought I would share a little of my story in hopes it might encourage someone else... Having grown up in a Christian home, I was always around the story of Jesus. When I was just four years old, my mother explained to me that all people do bad things (it wasn't hard for her to include me in that by sharing a few examples of things I had done that week haha) and that when we do bad things, there is a punishment for these things. A "Spanking", if you will. She basically explained to me that everyone was supposed to get a really bad "spanking" to pay for all the bad things they'd done. Her way of explaining Jesus to me was that he, God's son, took my spanking, even though he didn't deserve it. At four years old I knew no one else had ever done something so loving and selfless for me. I was so thankful for his willingness to take my punishment, and I prayed with my mom. As I continued to grow older, my faith was challenged in a lot of ways, many of them internally. Somehow the faith in God's love that so covered me when I was four years old faded. I struggled to really understand just how much I was loved by God and that I couldn't screw it up. I struggled with depression, cutting and an eating disorder, among other insecurities. I believed so many horrible things about myself. I felt so convicted for all of these things and especially for my sadness because the Bible said that Christians were supposed to have joy. So where was mine? My conclusion was basically that while on this earth, I would always battle with these areas in my heart, and I would just have to wait until heaven to experience lasting joy and peace. (I am SO THANKFUL for Jesus' relentless pursuit to prove to me that my conclusion was wrong.) I carried on for years with these burdens, trying to "live for Jesus" and do the right thing, but I couldn't talk about his love sincerely. It got to the point that even the mention of his love or his name or if I heard someone talking lovingly about Jesus, I felt something inside me recoil, like when a heartbroken teenage girl can't bear to hear a love song or watch a chic-flick. Somehow my belief in his unfailing love for me got ransacked. About 15 months ago, God used some amazing people (one of them my mom) through my church, Grace Fellowship, to help me realize that the thoughts in my mind and the overwhelming defeat I felt were not from the Lord (duh.) But having come from a background where anti-depressants or anti-anxiety medicine was handed to me through counseling, I was floored to consider that my thoughts were not necessarily from me either. That maybe I wasn't crazy. For the first time, the whole Christian teaching about how "there is an enemy of God, and that enemy is Satan" was real to me. God loves us so richly. He WANTS us to be with him, forgiven and whole and filled with his light. Satan HATES God and he hates that God has given mankind a chance to be redeemed. The Bible says that Satan "prowls like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour." (1 Peter 5:8) Believe me, I have heard the roars of Satan and have felt so ravaged by his lies. But. Jesus sought me out, like the Bible teaches, I was that one lost lamb he brought back to the rest of his flock. He single-handedly ripped out every lie that had grown so deeply rooted into the core of my being. Jesus came to give us life abundantly! It is there for us! I have spent the past year getting to truly KNOW my Jesus. I can call him my beloved and refer to myself as his bride without wanting to throw up :) I DO have peace, and joy, and love. Life can still be tough and walking with Jesus is often a path that is miles out of my comfort zone. But the promise that he will never leave me or forsake me is all the security I could ever ask for.. When I think about where I've been, I'm ashamed that I am not quicker to share this hope I've found. There is hope. Always hope. If you are still breathing, there. is. hope. Thanks Jenny, again. I love you.

Lois - Tears were, and still are, rolling down my face as I read this. I needed to be reminded that God has a plan and that I need to trust in him. Too often I find myself looking forward to the future and planning my life, instead of loving the present and accepting that God has it all figured out for me. The past few weeks have been challenging for us, I started a new job, Chris is frantically trying to find a new job, and we found out some exciting news (sharing in a few weeks!). I have been so stressed about figuring everything out and planning ahead. After reading your post, it made me realize that I need to stop, breathe, and take a step back and smile. God has blessed me more than I could ever say, no matter how often I thank Him, it will never be enough. And instead of enjoying my life, being thankful of everything I have, and praising him, I have been focusing on what isn't right. So thank you, you have made a difference. :)

Lindsey - Hi Jenny! Thank you for being so bold about the truth! We all need to be more like u & care more about people than what they might think of us. Even though I have been a Christian for a while, I have recently experienced freedom in Christ like I never have before & want to share in case it might help others that read your blog. Ever since I can remember I was a perfectionist & people pleaser. Put those 2 together & I was trying to be perfect to all people so they would be happy with me. I thought this was something I was going to struggle with the rest of my life, but God had a different plan. It took the birth of my 3rd child to put me over the edge...it was no longer possible for me to even try to be perfect. (not that I ever was!) When reading my Bible one day, I read in Gal. 3:3. It said, "Why are you trying to be perfect by your own human effort?" Those words hit me & I was immediately convicted of trying to be perfect. Later I read that when we try to be perfect, we cut ourselves off from Christ & his power. During this time God showed me how much he loves & cares for me & I no longer care what others think of me! My life is forever changed & I will forever live my life for Him. If anyone is tired of trying to be perfect. STOP & put your trust in Jesus!

Jen Schartner - Thanks everyone for sharing your own personal experiences :) So awesome to read!

Tabitha - This is so awesome! Congrats!

katie - i have talented friends!! SO EXCITING!! (my friend Samira is one of the calligraphers mentioned in the paragraph below your image.)