About Harvest Life
Harvest Life encompasses all of my passions and pursuits: writing, photography, real estate. Everything I do has is rooted in spiritual and personal growth, social justice and the beauty of everyday life. I produce books, art prints, greeting cards and t-shirts as well as operate a seasonal bed and breakfast (via Air BnB).
Everything I do feeds me, informs me, teaches me, and grows me. Harvest Life is an intentional shift to embrace everything I am and all I do. It’s part of my process of manifesting a magnificent harvest and engaging more fully with life every day.
I also speak and conduct workshops nationally on self-image, self-esteem, and identity in Christ.
About the Blog
Harvest Life Blog is seeded from several versions of my writing history and identity. It is comprised of my online writings from 2009 to the present. More recent blogs have been folded into this one. My writing and sharing of other people’s work joins together all the disparate parts of my thoughts, interests and life.
This blog is intended to offer everyday encouragement for real life struggles. It is a space for me to share the things that make an impression on me. I have a lot of life to share and I appreciate that many people aren’t ready to jump into the deep end with me – or even stay in the deep end with me – so I’ve provided a toe-tipping pool of sorts for folks to wade in and take nuggets from.
Enjoy and feel free to share your thoughts, insights or random comments. I’m listening.
About Harvest Photography
My first camera was a Vivitar 110, a gift from my mom when I was ten. For most of my life, I have had a camera in people’s faces.
My first international trip was in 1993 to the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico. I didn’t know it then, but it was the beginning of a love for photographing my travel. That first trip produced some great images of Chichen-Itza, an ancient Mayan Pyramid site.
In 2014, I marched for the first time and photographed my first protest. My resistance work is heavily sign based and focuses on the diversity within the crowds.
In 2018, I began hiring my out my services. I am available for head shots, portraits, real estate listings and events nationally. Please contact me (Shawnda@Harvest-Life.org).
During the 2020 #Coronavirus #quarantine, I expanded to offering video tours of residential real estate listings. Learning to edit my own video footage has been a wonderful way to upskill for more opportunities.
About Harvest House
One of my idyllic dreams about moving to the desert centered around building a bed and breakfast and retreat for Women to relax and revive themselves. The first step was to begin hosting travelers via Air BnB. I built a cabin in my backyard as prototype. In the first few months, I’ve learned that I’m fine hosting guests in the backyard, but not so much in my personal home. A great lesson to learn on a smaller scale. As I move towards the larger dream, I can adjust my plans based on feedback from my guests at my seasonal home BnB.
About LaShawnda Jones
I’ve been journaling since 1981 and capturing life in images since 1986. At my core, I am an observer and all my work represents that. Overall my writing and photography focuses on women, spiritual growth, social justice and the beauty of every day life. My choice mediums for sharing my work are books, calendars, art prints, greeting cards and t-shirts.
Since 2004, I’ve published calendars, poetry and several books on the challenges and joys of a faith-filled life. I’ve financed all my projects and continue to do so. During this time, I participated in many conferences and events as a guest speaker and workshop facilitator speaking on self-image, self-esteem, and identity in Jesus Christ.
On a more regular basis – in between publications – I blog. My first post was on Myspace in 2007. The Harvest Life Blog is comprised of my online writings from 2009 to the present. It is made up of images, quotes, music, random thoughts and deep searching.
In 2018, I became a part-time photographer and am available for bookings for head shots, portraits, real estate listings and events. On the personal side, I’ve been doing travel photography since high school. In 2014, I marched for the first time in protest of police brutality and state sanctioned murder. That march was the first I documented with my camera.
- Publications by LaShawnda Jones
- VoLux Full-Figured Calendar (Jazzy Media, LLC, 2005, 2007)
- Fantasies: A Metamorphosis of Sexual Attraction (Jazzy Media, 2005)
- My God and Me: Listening, Learning and Growing on My Journey (Jazzy Media, 2009)
- The Process of Asking for, Receiving and Giving Love & Forgiveness (Jazzy Media, 2011)
- Desert of Solitude: Refreshed by Grace (Spirit Harvest, 2018)
- Contributing author
- Go, Tell Michelle: African American Women Write to the New First Lady (Excelsior Editions, 2009)
- Upcoming Releases
- I AM WOMAN: Experiences of Black Womanhood in America (2020)
- How long will you mourn? Loss, Grief & New Beginnings
- The HELPER: A Woman of God
- The WORKER: A Man of God
- Singing to a Barren Womb
Former Operating Names
In the past, I have conducted business and published under the names of Spirit Harvest, Spirit Harvest Publishing and Jazzy Media LLC which was formed in 2004 for my first publications – a fashion calendar and book of poetry. As a photographer, I continue to operate under SH Images.
As I own all my content and media, everything I’ve produced is available under my Harvest Life banner.
Sharing the fruit of life!
