Contentedness

Two men looked out of prison bars.
One saw mud, the other, stars.

-Author unknown

Prayer Requests

Hello all,

I just have a quick couple of prayer requests to mention for those who still stop by. We recently found out that my grandfather has cancer. It looks like something the doctors will be able to tackle, but please pray that all goes as well/better than hoped.

One of my mother’s best friends was also diagnosed with cancer a few months ago and due to its rapid spread, has now been given a week or so left. Please pray for her as well. She is a wonderful woman of God and very dear to our family.

Thank you so much!
May inexplicable peace and joy of our Savior abound in your home this Christmas.

Lady Carmen Quixote

Hello Lord

Hello Lord, it’s me your child
I have a few things on my mind
Right now I’m faced with big decisions
And I’m wondering if you have a minute, cause
Right now I don’t hear so well
And I was wondering if you could speak up
I know that you tore the veil
So I could sit with you in person
And hear what you’re saying but
Right now, I just can’t hear you.
I don’t doubt your sovereignty
I doubt my own ability to
Hear what you’re saying
And to do the right thing
And I desperately want to do the right thing
But right now I don’t hear so well
And I was wondering if you could speak up
I know that you tore the veil
So I could sit with you in person
And hear what you’re saying but
Right now, I just can’t hear you.
And somewhere in the back of my mind
I think you are telling me to wait
And though patience has never been mine
Lord, I will wait to hear from you
Oh Lord, I’m waiting on you
Right now I don’t hear so well
And I was wondering if you could speak up
I know that you tore the veil
So I could sit with you in person
And hear what you’re saying but
Right now, I think you’re whispering

-by Sara Groves

Beauty

I love this picture. I think this is what a mallorn tree would look like if they existed.

T-Day Survival

Have a good one!

Caution, Rain is Wet

It’s not my picture, but I did see a “Caution-Wet Floor” sign on one of our rain-drenched sidewalks this morning. Funny Friday.

Growing Up

After a recent trip to the grocery store, I have determined that I am at a very unusual stage of life.

As we walked back from the grocery store we were momentarily detained at the playground by an inviting set of swings. I set my bag of oatmeal and soup cans on the rocks nearby. While swinging, I accidentally kicked the bag open, sending the boxes and cans rolling and bouncing across the ground. I was just sort of tickled by the scenario… Who faces such a problem? I’m old enough to purchase my own groceries, but swings are not yet past me. I hope they never will be.

Here’s another momentous occasion: My first carton of eggs. Organic nonetheless.

…and these are just some happy pictures of September-nothing to do with growing up.

Aspen, We Share a Secret

written with music

Aspen, I know your secrets
and I saw you on that day
when they asked me
if this could be my home
where the wild grasses sway

I think… that you love the wind
when it’s raging through your leaves
and I know that
you adore the tempest
more than all the other trees

Rain drops… may as well not fall
if they drip a soothing rain
but a sprinkle
Lest they’re pounding hard
and they’re pouring down the panes

You love… the imbrifero
At its overpow’ring best
It incites you
and you invite the storm
as it thunders in your chest

Aspen, when the clouds have passed
I could never even tell
but your branches
as they quiver softly
say you love the calm as well

You May Use Any Online Source… Other Than Wikipedia

“Waterborne diseases are caused by stupid things like pathogenic microorganisms which are directly transmitted when contaminated fresh water is consumed.” -Wikipedia

I jest not. That was the first line of the article on waterborne diseases this afternoon. On an unrelated note, did you know that Polish is the fourth largest Wikipedia edition?

Silence

Excerpt from a journal entry I recently wrote for class

In this week’s selection of reading, the author describes the human need to escape from the chaos and mindless noise of everyday life and simply be silent. Without this, he says, he become “fretful, uncertain beings immersed in a cacophony of noise that destroys sanity and equilibrium.” The picture he painted of the human propensity towards incessant “busy-ness” was sad and striking. I, for one, have found that I cannot function as efficiently if I do not set aside some time during my day to simply pause and enjoy the quiet. As often as I can, I like to spend this time outside. I walk, jog, or sometimes just sit in a serene, woodsy spot and soak in the music of birds and trees. I don’t understand why many people find this to be such a challenge. The radio goes on the moment they hop in the car, and televisions provide a steady hum of white noise as they carry out daily activities around the house. The iPod has practically become a bodily appendage and the term “awkward silence” is applied to any 20 second interval of break in conversation. What has caused our society’s unusual discomfort with a mere moment of quiescence? Everybody knows how to pray–to utter a few words of thankfulness and praise or pour forth a long list of supplications. But do we ever calm our restless souls and vagrant minds enough to hear Him speak?

…and I wonder why I don’t always understand what God is asking of me. Take some time to listen to Him today.
P.S. The picture below is roughly what today looked like. Roughly.