American Gold Finch [Fujifilm X-E3, 55-200mm, ISO 8000, ƒ/10, 1/280 – Flashpoint Zoom Li-on R2 TTL & Flashpoint R2 TTL transmitter]

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

– Matthew 6:26

The past few weeks have been bitterly cold for our community in Roswell, Georgia. While we didn’t have a lot of snow, it stayed on the ground longer than usual due to the freezing weather.

While we always have birds at our bird feeders during this cold snap, they have been eating a lot more. I think this is because the ground is so hard to kill many insects and keep many in the background.

We stayed inside more than usual due to the icy streets for many days.

Since I couldn’t sit still, I decided to take photos of the birds at our bird feeder with a new Fujifilm X-E3 camera and a new flash system made by Flashpoint for the Fuji cameras.

This morning I pondered how they survived and was reminded of the scripture that says God takes care of the birds. I was fascinated by the scripture that birds do not “sow nor reap nor gather into barns” as humans do, yet God takes care of them.

No matter how well I know the scriptures about how God will take care of us–I worry.

We all indeed worry to some extent but do it too much, and it can color your whole life, leaving you strung out, unhappy, and constantly anxious. It’s not unusual either. Around 1 in 20 of us experiences excessive worrying – called Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) – at some time in our lives.

If you are struggling, get some help through a licensed counselor like a social worker, psychologist, or psychiatrist.

One thing I noticed from being locked up inside due to the cold is getting cabin fever. It can be depressing as well.

Keep physically active. Develop a routine, so you’re physically active most days of the week. Exercise is a powerful stress reducer. It may improve your mood and help you stay healthy. Start slowly and gradually increase the amount and intensity of your activities.

Make sleep a priority. Do what you can to get enough sleep to feel rested. If you aren’t sleeping well, see your doctor.

Eat healthily. Healthy eating — such as focusing on vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and fish — may help reduce anxiety.

As a freelancer looking for work to pay your bills, focus on the jobs, people need now. Portraits/headshots are usually needed quickly compared to someone booking a wedding photographer.

People don’t book headshots six months to a year out, but that is how they book photographers for their weddings.

Get together with other photographers and talk. They will not solve your problems by telling you their clients’ names, but you will pick up tricks and how they talk to their clients.

Maybe you can just practice a cold call with another photographer. Maybe you can practice doing an estimate with them.

Don’t let life ruffle your feathers.

Focus on one thing at a time. For me–and most people–multi-tasking typically leads to chaos. I try to choose one task, see it through, and head on to the next task that needs to be done.

Learn to be flexible. Things will come up, or someone will ask you to help with something, so learn to go with the flow a little bit. Just take a moment to think about what is happening and regroup. Change your plans accordingly.

Learn to prioritize. Let’s face it; some things will not impact your goals if you don’t get to them. However, there are some action items, if you put them off, can wreak havoc.

You can use your energy to focus on all that could go wrong or, even better, just focus that energy on doing something. The energy amount is about the same, but one moves you forward and leaves you standing still.

Remember, birds go where the food is, which is called migration. This is where we get the word about migrant workers. They go where the work is for them. They go where they can help their families survive.

Today is a day for action. The question for you is, what steps will you take? While the birds don’t “sow nor reap nor gather into barns,” they are out looking for food. How about you?