Kelli Trontel

I say this every time, but I really do love this months desktop + wallpaper.

LISTEN & GO. Two small, but very powerful words that involve action.

DESKTOP DOWNLOAD // right click and “use as desktop picture”

I have had the honor and privilege of mentoring fellow creatives & business owners….and these two words often surface in our time together.

The million dollar question that I often get asked is “How did you end up in Montana from Nashville via Phoenix via Orange County?” and “What steps did you take in following your dreams?”

FOR A DREAM COMES WITH MUCH BUSINESS, AND A FOOLS VOICE IS KNOWN BY A MULTITUDE OF WORDS. -Ecclesiastes 5:3

If we are honest with ourselves, we would all admit to having dreams of accomplishing something with our life. Having a lack of purpose and initiative are never admirable traits on anyone. Noble goals keep us moving forward, giving us a prize to keep our eyes on. Whether these goals are to be an honorable and supportive wife, to be the best mom we can be to our children, to influence those who’ve been placed in our lives, to be trusted as a leader, to use our microphone and share our story and the goodness of God, to grow in our walk with the Lord…..these goals and ideas are worthy of occupying our thoughts.

To just think of our goals will not make our goals come to fruition. To just talk about our goals will not advance them into reality. Our words and our thoughts are powerful, but daydreaming does not make our dreams come true.

The Bible says, ‘For a dream comes with much business.’ I love that we have confirmation here that dreams aren’t a bad or selfish desire. They are a God thing! This verse also confirms that dreams come true by way of focus, effort and a whole lot of hard work. Faith always has a part to play in every aspect of our lives, but worthy goals almost always require blood, sweat and tears. Sometimes we must walk through a season of doing something that doesn’t make sense to us. We take on jobs that we don’t want, but somehow it all makes sense in the end. Our dreams rarely fall in our lap and go our way. We must always be intentional and look at everything as an opportunity. An opportunity to advance our dream….or help advance someones else’s dream. To have the kind of relationships we want, to see our lives being used as microphones and to see our little dreams blow up in only ways God can make happen….we must be willing to surrender, to listen and to go as He leads us.

I’ve lived a comfortable life and I’ve hung out in the comfort zone. To be completely honest with you…the comfortable life and comfort zones scare the heck out of me today. I look back and thank the Lord for giving me a second chance. For opening my eyes and helping me recognize a role that I can play in the city where I live, where I can have an impact on my community. For giving me a voice to magnify His goodness and speak life, light and truth to people who I get to be in contact with on a daily basis.

God really does have a plan for our lives. He’s the Creator of it all. He sees the beginning and the end. Moving from Tennessee to Montana was a process [a long process] for me. I had to LET GO. I had to lay my plans and ideas down at His feet and surrender to a far bigger [and so much better] dream than what my mind could ever wrap itself around.

There’s a lot of consuming these days. Its easy to sit on the sidelines and watch everyone else’s life move forward and transition into new seasons….all the while we sit and watch. I challenge you today to stop this cycle if you are guilty of this. We have one life to live….make it count!

Call me a risk taker. Call me brave. But….I call it a God thing, obedience, trust and keeping my eye on the prize. You can do the same. You were made for this.

Be encouraged, my friends!
xoxoxo,
KELLI

I’ll leave you with this quote that I love with all of my heart.
“When dreams are small, they can be crushed. It’s easy to kill something when it’s small and that is why we must protect it.” -Pastor Levi Lusko.

iPhone WALLPAPER

For this months collaboration, Ashley and I ventured out to Glacier National Park. This place is so inspiring to me and has become a visual reminder of how wondrous God is and amazing it is to have Him on our side….cheering us on.

Im excited to introduce you to the very first post in our brand new Photography Topic series over on the KELLI & VANESSA blog!

Photography is something that Vanessa and I are both passionate about. We love it so much that we have hosted numerous workshops together around the country covering topics such as photography, styling, social media platforms and the art of storytelling.

Our collaborative projects have been featured on A Beautiful Mess, Creature Comforts, Gifted Magazine by Creature Comforts, Clickin Moms & TML Focus. We have also partnered with companies such as Buick/GM, Aden + Anais, Boba, Bla Bla dolls, Artifact Uprising, Famous Footwear and more.

There’s nothing more exciting to us than having the opportunity to encourage and inspire people in their everyday lives, with the tools we have at hand. This love for photography has grown even more since becoming mothers. We truly enjoy documenting our children’s lives and as the saying goes….the best camera you have is the one that you have with you at all times.

So, go on over to the Kelli & Vanessa blog and read about our favorite iPhone photo editing apps!

xoxo!

I am super excited about this months FREE DOWNLOAD. This quote totally resonates with me….in this season. Actually, I feel like this has been my anthem for a few years now.

“Don’t dig up in doubt what you planted in Faith.” -Elisabeth Elliot

When Ashley and I dreamt up the idea to collaborate on this monthly series- and offer it for FREE- the heartbeat of our vision was to encourage YOU. Yes, YOU.

It’s been awesome to see our collaboration all over Pinterest and re-tweeted by authors themselves…and I’m totally name dropping here and talking about Christine Cain [she added an IG filter to it, but it’s still awesome]! Although we rarely get credit [we’d rather not watermark our desktops]….we still hold tight to our original vision of creating something beautiful that would be passed around the world wide web…..in hopes to touch peoples lives we’d normally not get the chance to.

VISION…..it’s so important to our heart and soul. It’s certainly what fuels everything I do in my life. Whether we are walking in a season of notice and spotlight or doing things behind the scenes and you think no one is noticing……hold tight to the things the Lord has placed before you today. As my pastor often says, “God may not be saying no, but not now.” I love this! So encouraging.

Another example of pressing through and clinging tight to VISION & FAITH is in our coffee shop, Red Caboose. It’s a lot of hard work, but more than that…..we’ve had offers from people to buy our building…..all so they can tear it down and build another bar. I know that the Lord brought us to Whitefish, Montana for a reason and one of those reasons is to have stake in our small community and create an inspiring and encouraging environment. For now….we press on….we continue to do our thing and not allow doubt, fear or the temptation of money steal from us……the glory and reward we have in walking out the assignments the Lord has custom made for us in this season.

What is it that you’ve planted in your heart? A dream? A goal? An intentional effort to be a better wife, mom or a friend? Don’t let the weeds of anger, insecurity, fear, doubt or the temptation of money and riches keep you from what you’ve purposed in your heart. God sees YOU. He loves you so much. Don’t give up….instead keep watering your soul with Gods Word and allow Him the room to work in your everyday.

XOXOXOXO!

DESKTOP DOWNLOAD // right click and “use as desktop picture”

iPhone WALLPAPER

As I’ve mentioned in previous blog and Instagram posts, I’ve been really intentional about carving out time to shoot personal ideas & concepts. This helps keeps my creative side flourishing. I believe every artists needs to create for themselves…..to learn, to take risks and to experiment in order to refine our craft.

These collaborations with Darci of Bear Grass Gardens have been so much fun. I love her passion for what she does…..so inspiring!