Daria

Simply a beautiful illustration.

More here.

June 15th 2011

This is a little late, but... better late than never.

The photo below was taken on June 15th 2011 while celebrating a special day. It was one year ago on that day (at thornehill broom beach) that I was baptized by my dear friend Camille!

I figured such a day called for celebration, so I put on a pretty dress and headed to that beach. The time spent there wasn't too long, but it sure was sweet. I walked around in reflection, remembering vividly the call I heard to die to myself and start a new life. I remembered the exhilarating new found freedom and love in Jesus I was experiencing. I remembered the hope, joy, and wonder in my heart as a pondered the incredible fact that I, at 20 years of age, was a brand new creation. I remembered the hard hard hard times both last summer and this last year that have been (and are still) molding me. I remembered the times of deep confusion this year, when I pushed Jesus away. I remembered times off arrogance, pain, and pride...as well as victory, growth, joy and tenderness.

This has been....quite a year.

With wonder I watched as each wave was a slightly different, but equally remarkable, swirly shade of blue-green. With troops of sand crabs underneath my toes, and a song of thankfulness in my heart... I couldn't help but smile knowing that everything was going to be okay. I picked up a black stone next to me and threw it into the ocean as a symbol of casting off the guilt and old life that I no longer belong to (but that often tries to attach itself to me). I offered up a simple prayer understanding that I cannot make it through this next year apart from literally being carried through it, and then went on my way to meet a friend for dinner at Panera (yummmmmy tomato soup!)

All in all, I could not possibly be happier with the decision I made a year ago. I pray that God gives me grace to know his love more deeply with each passing year, and that my identity is increasingly intertwined with His. So here I am at 21...still just beginning a lifetime journey. Here I am at 21... in Christ. Here I am, a new creation... constantly being made new.

Cheers to many more years with you Jesus. I love you.

Yowayowa

!!

There's a First Time for Everything...

...and today, for Hilary Rayome and I, that was kissing a ladybug! I think we scared it with our enormous lips though, because directly after it "pee-pooed" on Hils hand. (Pee-poo was her terminology... I thought it was funny.)

Omega Swan Nebula

"Silently one by one,

in the infinite meadows of heaven,

blossomed the lovely stars,

the forget-me-nots of the angles."

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

This is one picture of the Omega Swan Nebula. (Excuse the teeny size...blogger isn't letting me upload pictures right.) It might be my new obsession and I might love it more than the moon and more than the northern lights. Gods creation is INSAANNNEE. insane insane insanfndndn.ane.ane.ane. He is powerful and beautiful beyond comprehension. I was blessed to get away to the mountains this weekend. Between creation, an awesome book about the universe, and incredible spirit-lead conversation with some good friends... I am just plain awestruck.

P.s. Isn't that quote from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow dreamy and gorgeous? Infinite meadows of heaven?!?!?

P.p.s. I just had a dreamy thought. If you believe in God and have hope after this life, your wanderlust can be infinitly greater than someone who doesn't. This earth is just onnnneeeee baabbbbbyyy piece of a nutzo, unbelievable, gargantuan creation. Who knows what nooks and crannies of it we will get to trek someday!!

P.p.ppsp.sp.s. "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world."

Psalm 19:1-4

Rest

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." -Jesus

Matt 11:28-30 (The Message translation).

Sebastian

I get to meet my nephew Sebastian in just three weeks! My sister-in-law posted this on fb today and it made me excited!

Midnight Snack

"Why, it seems as if the hills have swallowed the moon!

...THE MOON...

MY MOON!!

My heart turns first with my head just behind,

both are startled and awestruck by a glorious sight,

a gleaming pearl in the palm of the night sky,

The moon is visible from my bedroom window tonight!

What wonder!

What joy!

It's time to celebrate,

let the festival commence!

Yellow moon music,

yellow moon dance.

Oh my soul rejoice!

Rather than blood, inspiration now pumps through my veins.

One glance seems enough to last an eternity.

It all seems too blissfully good to be true!

Elope to the heavens,

is that what I shall do?

Is this the moon, or a silver summer sun??

...But just like that... the glory was done.

So, a song half sung,

I let rest on my tongue,

while I raced outside as fast as my feet would run.

This can't be true...

It was there only a minute ago.

Do my eyes deceive me?

How does a moon vanish?

.... How does THE moon vanish?

... How does MY moon ... my yellow-pearl-summer-sun-moon .... vanish?

A ransom I have not, but a clue I found:

The hills have a glowing halo atop their crown.

It's as if against the crisp, black, starry sky they cast a cheeky grin.

WHY, YOU DIRTY MONSTERS!

HAVE YOU NO HEART?!

YOU'VE SWALLOWED MY MOON!

--

Yes, it does seem that the hills have swallowed the moon."

I decided to share my journal entry from tonight just for fun. All of that really took place tonight. Haha. If it is hard to follow, what happened is this: I was in my room listening to music and jotting a few things down and all of a sudden I turned around and was pleasantly surprised to see the moon hanging really low in the sky. It was sooo bright (not to mention HUGE and unusually yellow). I got really excited because I can't ever remember being able to see the moon from my bedroom window! "What a treat!" I thought. I was excited to go to sleep looking at it. I got distracted for a few minutes and when I turned back around to look at it again, it was completely gone! I went outside and it was no where to be found in the sky! I was like...what the heck?? Does the earth really rotate that fast? How does the moon just disappear? My only guess as to where it went was behind the hills in the distance because there was a faint glow above them. The sky was pitch black everywhere else. After that I just had the imagery in my mind of the hills swallowing the moon (rude). I came inside all inspired and wrote that. Haha. Silly, dreamy and fun. Thats that!

p.s. the moon was that shape too..all cut-off..y

Lazy Afternoon

Gluten Free Pasta with Spicy Peanut Sauce!!!

SUMMER! It is such a gift to have time to be creative, cook, sleep, wear pajamas, go on adventures, and just chilllll in general.

I love seasons of rest. I do not think God designed us to go 24/7 all year around. Times of rest like these are healing for the soul; and frankly and that is exactly what I am in need of. I need an attitude change, I need comfort, I need healing, and I definitely need some time to just digest this whole last year (seriously...what the heck happened this year?). This summer is off to a rough start, but I am hopeful. Lately hope has seemed just beyond my grasp, but today God graced me with layers inspiration and a general attitude change. My attitude is slowly changing from negative to positive, from fearful to trusting, from anxious to at peace, and from ungrateful to worshipful. I think this is going to be a process, but isn't everything?

All I know is if I keep focusing on myself and on my circumstances, hope will not be a close companion. So, in the same way that my absolutely beautiful friend Camille did today, I too choose hope and truth over my feelings and perceptions. I read this passage yesterday, but today God is opening my eyes to the truth in it:

"And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.

What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord."

(Romans 8:26-39)

DANG. Hope? why not?

Thank you God for the gifts of a lazy afternoon, truth, yummy food...and Ella Fitzgerald. I really love them.

Cute!

"To elope, most literally, merely means to run away, and to not come back to the point of origination. More specifically, elopement is often used to refer to a marriage conducted in sudden and secretive fashion, usually involving hurried flight away from one's place of residence together with one's beloved with the intention of getting married."

Wikipedia makes eloping sound dreamy and adventurous.

Book club.

Summer Groove Inspiration

rapa nui

Impromptu San Fran trip! yaaaahhhhnahahanana

"I know now, Lord, why you utter no answer. You are yourself the answer. Before your face questions die away. What other answer would suffice?"

-Till We Have Faces (C.S. Lewis)

This is exactly the answer God has been giving me to every big question I've been asking of Him. Its as comforting as it is frustrating. I want to be told what the right choice is to make... yet God just keeps repeating "I am the answer." I know this is only frustrating because I do not fully understand the truth that He really is the answer to every question. Even though I am struggling with this, I am very thankful and excited because I see this truth starting to tear down worthless idols in my heart. Once again God is setting my heart free.

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." 2 Corinthians 3:17