sisters

I have the greatest sisters ever. And that is a fact. I am so lucky that I get to live with them and hang out with them all the time. These pictures were taken the other night on a rare night when we were all home (!!) and eating cake. Mostly they just represent to me how much I love these girls and how much fun we have together. I could write sentimental and tearful paragraph after paragraph about what they mean to me, but I don't think that would be real great for my emotional health right now. :) So I'll say they are the greatest and that I love them and leave it at that.

my symphony

"When I’m not doing something that comes deeply from me, I get bored. When I get bored I get distracted and when I get distracted, I become depressed. It’s a natural resistance, and it insures your integrity."
— Maria Irene Fornes

Isn't that true though? Particularly of our spiritual lives. If we're not operating out of what God has placed deep within us, ultimately if we're not living a life that ACTUALLY requires us to take active steps of faith, we get bored and distracted and a bit disillusioned about our walk with Jesus. A relationship with Jesus is anything but boring, but only if we are actually relating to Him, and when He says "Get out of the boat now, sister", we get out.

(my delightful bestest pal in the world Jill compared faith to a tree... which was an illustration that just made a lot of sense to me... more on that later)

beds

i love beds. a place to rest. to renew. to dream. a healthy escape from the hurried pace of life. a place that can be just a little more magical than any other part of your home if you want, because it's just yours. twinkle lights and pillows and flowy fabrics and snuggly blankets.

impossible

"Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?"

James 2:14-17 (The Message)

“What we think, or what we know, or what we believe is, in the end, of little consequence. The only consequence is what we do.”

—John Ruskin

community

the other day i saw three people sitting at a table outside a restaurant engaged in conversation over dinner... two of them were leaned forward enjoying conversation, but the third woman's posture bothered me. she was turned away a bit, arms crossed and the tone of her voice as i walked by oozed with an air of "please notice how cool i look here", as if remaining aloof makes you cool. it bothered me because i recognized myself in that. we all do it sometimes. when we feel insecure or lazy... we just want to put people off a little, make them think we're more awesome than we really are in lieu of actually having to engage in meaningful relating.

and then i started to wonder, why do we do that? we live relatively short lives, with even shorter amounts of time to relate to each other... why do we waste the time we DO have? why do we let our insecurities get in the way of real relating the way God intended for us to relate?

I just finished reading "Becoming a True Spiritual Community" by Larry Crabb (which is a fantastic and worthwhile read) He gives a great illustration at the beginning of the book which one book reviewer summarized this way: "The relationships among believers often can be compared to a series of rocking chairs on a front porch lined up side by side. Though every seat may be filled and cordial dialogue exchanged, the real hunger in people’s hearts is to have the chairs placed in a circle facing each other. In the same way, we long for our souls to be turned toward each other." (margaret oines)

ultimately real community and relating on that heart level can only happen when we relate not out of our insecurities but out of our security in who we are in Christ. when my position in Him is secure, i no longer care what you think of me and i'm free to be honest and vulnerable and share my stuff. i have a few people who i relate to like this, but what if this was the standard? what if, as the church, we worked to related to each other from the Spirit all the time? how incredible and dynamic and world-changing would the church be if we could learn to do this better?

its hard, and risky... but so worth it.

watch your...

hydrangea

i absolutely love hydrangea

i mean, flowers in general...

but particularly hydrangea

if i live somewhere for a long period of time i will grow them.

monster cookies

rhododendron

lovely

garden

Blake and I started digging up the vegetable garden in the back yard. I'm so excited to grow vegetables. :) Also, my rhododendron is blooming and it's beautiful. I love spring.

i would like...

to have a pink sidewalk and live in a miniature castle

remember how i still wanted a polariod camera?

real men

I stumbled upon this blog today and found this post.... and all i have to say is 'amen brother'. (click on it and read it.) i'm so thankful for a dad that modeled this for me.

lunch date

Clamming it up for Easter

ta-da!

spring tattoos....

you'll have to click on the link to look at this picture... hopefully getting a new tattoo with my mom soon. :)