My family and I never imagined ourselves being family photographers or opening Jennifer Hall Photography, LLC, but God had different plans for us…
“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the LORD. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope’” (Jeremiah 29:11 New Living Translation).
As we’ve ventured through this business journey, with all its twists and turns, we’ve learned that stepping out on faith and trusting in the LORD is never easy, but He makes everything possible and truly life-giving! We are so thankful for Him! He has blessed us with all the strength, guidance, and resources we’ve needed! We could have never done it without Him, and He alone deserves all the glory!
Thank you to all our family, friends, and neighbors for their love and support! We appreciate them and all they have done! This business wouldn’t have been possible without them!
Our Hearts & Story behind JHP
Our hearts broke when my dear father passed away. It seems impossible to even get out of bed in moments like those, let alone find the passion for starting a business. But the Lord planted this business in my family’s heart during that difficult season. He had a purpose even in the pain, so through stepping out on faith and trusting in the Lord,
came to be.
Before my father’s passing, we had stopped by to visit him. He was a selfless man, pouring out himself to fill up others and provide for his loved ones. He’d never been fond of having his picture taken, but this day was different- he let us take his picture!
Little did we know the impact it would have on us, marking the last time we’d see his smiling face. As we gathered and cherished our precious memories of Dad, the Lord would use that photo to remind us of His blessings and our family’s love and connection, uniting our family in love and teaching us the power of a photograph!
Our Purpose
“‘This is my [Jesus’] commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you’” (John 15:12 NLT).
To us, it’s about so much more than taking “pretty pictures;” it’s about loving and serving you and your family as Jesus has done for each of us! Like He used that photo to mend our broken hearts years ago, we pray He’ll use each image we take to touch yours. As you cherish your precious moments together, we pray He’ll remind you of His special blessings and your family’s love and connection, uniting you all in love and building your family stronger one memory at a time!
Reminders of Why We Do What We Do
We pray this business will always remain deeply rooted in the Lord. So, we have put the following reminders in place to help us remember why we do what we do and never forget our roots of Building Stronger Families One Memory at a Time!
Our JHP Logo
Our logo isn’t the most beautiful, but it reminds us of who we are and why we do what we do. It represents the crown of thorns placed on Jesus’ head before He sacrificially poured out Himself for us and everyone for generations, showering us all with His ultimate love and grace (Matthew 27:27-31 NLT)! (If you would like to learn more about Jesus’ ultimate love, see Matthew 26-28, John 17-21, Acts 1, and Romans 10!) We never want to forget how Jesus has poured out His great love for us all! Therefore, the crown of thorns in our logo reminds us that we can only love others because Jesus first loved us. The aperture inside reminds us to focus on Him, working to obey His commandment while following His example for loving and serving others.
Our JHP Slogan
We believe family is one of God’s greatest blessings, so we’re passionate about helping families capture their precious moments together to cherish for a lifetime! We know raising a family can keep you on your toes, but let us lean in and tell you it’s worth it! As you look back at your photos one day, we pray you’ll reminisce about your precious moments together and remember your deep love and connection even when life happens, cherishing your blessings!
“Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13 NLT). Each loving memory leaves a greater impact than you’ll ever know! By documenting your family’s meaningful moments, you’re not just capturing “pretty pictures,” you’re helping build your family stronger one memory at a time!
Like how God united us in love and built our family stronger as we cherished our precious memories of Grandpa, with each image we take and each word we write, we pray God will use us to unite your family in love and Build Your Family Stronger One Memory at a Time! Hence, this is our slogan!
“Matthew” (Our White 1951 Ford Truck)
Our story wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t mention “Matthew” (our white 1951 Ford truck)! We named it “Matthew” because it reminds us of one of Jesus’ disciples.
“As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth. ‘Follow me and be my disciple,’ Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him” (Matthew 9:9 NLT).
In his commentary on Matthew 9:9 and Mark 3:18 in The Swindoll Study Bible: Large Print, Pastor Charles Swindoll explains that Jesus called Matthew while he was still in a sinful state; he had betrayed his people (the Jews) by working for Rome as a tax collector.1 In his Mark 3:18 commentary, Pastor Swindoll discusses that while many rejected Matthew and cast him out, Jesus loved and cherished him so much that He looked beyond Matthew’s brokenness and saw his heart, seeing who he would become through His great plans for him.2 In The Chosen: Book One devotional, Amanda Jenkins, Kristen Hendricks, and Dallas Jenkins describe that many had despised Matthew, but now Jesus had hand-picked him to be His disciple and pen the first Gospel, proclaiming His majesty as the Messiah and the Good News He had brought to the nations!3 The same is true for each of us.
You don’t have to be perfect for God to use you! Like how Pastor Swindoll describes with Matthew, Jesus sees our hearts; He loves and cherishes us so much that He looks beyond our brokenness and instead sees what we will become through His great plans for us!4 Remember Jeremiah 29:11, the LORD’s plans won’t be easy, but they will be possible, purposeful, and truly life-giving with Him! He can use any of us to impact the world for His glory and ours and others’ good! As Pastor Swindoll, Hendricks, and the Jenkins discuss, since we all have a “before” like Matthew (the disciple) and “Matthew” (our truck), we named our truck “Matthew” to remind us that Jesus sees our hearts, looking beyond our “befores” and calling us all into hopeful and vibrant “afters.”5
Matthew before:
Matthew after God, Love, a Little YouTube, & Greg’s Hands and Feet:
One Final Note
Sweet Friend, you are deeply loved and cherished! Whether we one day have the privilege of serving you through our experience or we never get to meet, we just pray God will unite your family in love and build your family stronger one memory at a time, even when life happens!
We’re excited to see what God has planned for the next step on this journey; feel free to check out our home page to learn more about our business! We can’t say it’ll be easy, but if we keep Jesus in the center, it will be purposeful and truly life-giving! We pray JHP will always be deeply rooted in Christ and never lose its focus!
Some content taken from The Swindoll Study Bible: Large Print by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © (“Searching the Scriptures” feature: 2016, the Holy Bible, New Living Translation: 1996, 2004, 2015). Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Notes
- Charles R. Swindoll, Notes on Matthew, The Swindoll Study Bible: Large Print (edition of the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, NLT, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., “Searching the Scriptures” feature: 2016, the Holy Bible, New Living Translation: 1996, 2004, 2015), 1151 and 1194.
↩︎ - Swindoll, Notes on Matthew, The Swindoll Study Bible: Large Print, 1194.
↩︎ - Amanda Jenkins, Kristen Hendricks, and Dallas Jenkins, The Chosen: Book One (BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC, 2019), 15.
↩︎ - Swindoll, Notes on Matthew, The Swindoll Study Bible: Large Print, 1194.
↩︎ - Swindoll, Notes on Matthew, The Swindoll Study Bible: Large Print, 1194; Jenkins, Hendricks, and Jenkins, The Chosen: Book One, 13-15.
↩︎
Bibliography
Jenkins, Amanda, Hendricks, Kristen, and Jenkins, Dallas. The Chosen: Book One. Broadsheet Publishing Group, LLC, 2019.
Swindoll, Charles R. Notes on Matthew. The Swindoll Study Bible: Large Print. Edition of the Holy Bible, New Living Translation. NLT. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., “Searching the Scriptures” feature: 2016, the Holy Bible, New Living Translation: 1996, 2004, 2015.
