Hall, who?

 I've learned of this place called Hallstatt from a fellow blogger, & I am in love. Nestled on the border of Austria & Germany, it just makes my heart skip a beat. See for yourself & don't be surprised if you find yourself dreaming about it tonight!

(P.C.: Google Images)

Have a pretty, pretty Sunday!

I was glad when they said to me, 
"Let us go to the house of the Lord!" Psalm 122:1

Only the Blood

More lyrics that have stirred my soul: (Old hymn + new chorus/bridge)

What can wash away my sins?
Only the blood of Jesus.
What can make me whole again?
Only the blood of Jesus.

Nothing can for sin atone.
Only the blood of Jesus.
Nothing good that I have done.
Only the blood of Jesus.

Oh, Great God, Blessed Redeemer, Merciful Savior, You are.
Oh, Great God, King of Creation, Hope of the nations, You are.

This is all my hope and peace
Only the blood of Jesus
This is all my righteousness.
Only the blood of Jesus.

Oh, Great God, Blessed Redeemer, Merciful Savior, You are.
Oh, Great God, King of Creation, Hope of the Nations, You are.

You are gracious in saving. You are perfect in loving.
You are one day returning, You are.
You are gracious in saving. You are perfect in loving.
You are one day returning, You are.

Find the audio here. 

You're Beautiful

My heart resounds in agreement.

I see Your face in every sunrise
The colors of the morning are inside Your eyes
The world awakens in the light of the day
I look up to the sky and say
You're beautiful

I see Your power in the moonlit night
Where planets are in motion and galaxies are bright
We are amazed in the light of the stars
It's all proclaiming who You are
You're beautiful

I see You there hanging on a tree
You bled and then You died and then You rose again for me
Now You are sitting on Your heavenly throne
Soon we will be coming home
You're beautiful

When we arrive at eternity's shore
Where death is just a memory and tears are no more
We'll enter in as the wedding bells ring
Your bride will come together and we'll sing
You're beautiful

I see Your face, I see Your face, I see Your face
You're beautiful, You're beautiful, You're beautiful

Happy List #5

I can't get over how absolutely cheeeeeesy the title "Happy List" is. But here's the fifth one!

1. No class on Friday.
2. Proverbs, so much wisdom.
3. Mailing a package to brother bear.
4. Dreaming.
5. The Script on Ellen today.
6. Anything from here.
7. Or here.
8. Learning.
9. Date with Sassy Mo tomorrow.
10. Being loved.

(P.C.: Emmadimes)

Kind of want to learn to knit...
Happy a pretty weekend!

One Year Ago

This is what I wrote one year ago. Nearly a week later my precious puppy died. I just miss him with my whole heart. Here's the little boo boo...Gah, he's adorable.

Love Sorrow
We're all familiar with loss. The wrenching hurt of shattered conceptions. The collapse of certain fidelity. The evaporation of love. The disappearance of a petty childhood toy. A loving friend reminded me, in my absence of mind, of Ecclesiastes 3.

There is a time for everything, &
a season for every activity under heaven:
A time to be born & a time to die...a time to weep
& a time to laugh...a time to mourn & a time to dance...

How precious is the permission to be full of sorrow! The license to be soulfully aching! I want to scream to the world that I am going to miss the friendship & companionship of my precious puppy. Yes, this is all about a dog. Fifteen years, Trigger has been a girl's best friend. Fifteen years, he has annoyed me to no end. For fifteen years, he has been the epitome of joy.

And cue tears.

Love sorrow. She is yours now & you must
take care of what has been
given. Brush her hair, help her
into her little coat, hold her hand,
especially when crossing the street. For, think,

what if you should lose her? Then you would be
sorrow yourself; her drawn face, her sleeplessness
would be yours. Take care, touch
her forehead that she feel herself not so

utterly alone. And smile, that she does not
altogether forget the world before the lesson.
Have patience in abundance. And do not
ever lie or ever leave her even for a moment

by herself, which is to say, possibly, again,
abandoned. She is strange, mute, difficult,
sometimes unmanageable but, remember, she is a child.
And amazing things can happen. And you may see,

as the two of you go
walking together in the morning light, how
little by little she relaxes, she looks about her;
she begins to grow.

--Love Sorrow from "Red Bird" by Mary Oliver

(P.C.: Weheartit)

And so I will run with my sorrow for a time. I will embrace her. I will acknowledge that this is her time, & I will walk hand in hand with her in the full security that God is the strength of my heart & my portion forever.

Bangkok & Seville

Two of my most precious friends, Chelsey & Brittany, are leaving the United States to travel to Bangkok, Thailand & Seville, Spain, respectively. Chelsey is going to share her love of jewelry & Jesus. Brittany is going to share her love of Spanish & Jesus. Both are being obedient to the Lord's prodding, & I cannot wait to see what He has in store for them.

Last night, a few of my friends & I got together to celebrate what God has done in & through Chelsey & Brittany & to eat some delicious food, laugh uncontrollably, pray over each other, & talk talk talk. Here they are, nine of the most beautiful women I know.

Have a happy 1/11/11!

Happy Happy Happy List #4

1. Brooke Fraser's album, Albertine.
2. Wintery mix in the forecast for tomorrow. (!)
3. Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis.
4. Any & every Origins product.
5. Anticipating date night!
6. Dad's servant heart. He washed & waxed my car.
7. Song of Solomon 2:3-7
8. Baking this apple tart. And eating it.
9. The Script's album, Science and Faith.
10. A made bed.












(P.C.: Smitten Kitchen)

Welcome, 2011

Quiet. All I can hear is the hum of my laptop, & amidst this quiet, not much is rustling through my mind, but I have been sporadically pondering what twenty-eleven will look like…I have yet to think of New Year’s “Resolutions,” because I never keep them, but I’ve resolved thus far to take this- this life- one day at a time. Even that is hard.

One day. A lot can change in one day. A lot of people die in one day. A lot of people are born in one day. And these are just two events amongst a bazillion that a single human being could experience in a day’s time. How about 365 days? How differently does your life look now than it did January 6, 2010? Mine looks much different. The Lord has given, & He has taken away. May He be praised.

I foresee much change this next year, & if I may be honest, it scares me. I don’t know what the Lord has in store for those around me, our relationships, our time together. I don’t know what He has in store for my life, my time, my future. I feel as if I can kind of guess, but even then, I remember that my God is not a time line I have written. My God is not myself. Although my heart would love to plot out each day’s agenda, plan all important events, & live according to a schedule, I can't do that. I cannot put my hope in life as it has been or how I want it to be. I can only be founded in the hope of Christ in me, the hope of glory & live a life that glorifies Him.

So, as this year continues, I am set on becoming a woman devoted to the expansion of the Gospel, selfless in my actions and thoughts, obsessed with communicating with the God Most High, intent on spending time with the Lover of my soul every single day. These are just a few thoughts I have conjured up this morning, but mostly, I have decided that each day I wake up, I must decide who or what I am going to put my hope in. Who will be my foundation this year? I want to be founded in Christ. I really do.

Change cannot make me uneasy in 2011 as Christ is the foundation of my times (Isaiah 33:6). In Him, I will put my hope. In Him, I will stand. I am sure of these things, & I can't wait to see what this year brings!

 

(P.C.: pennyweight. Love her blog!)

When the world has fallen out from under me,
I'll be found in you, still standing.
When the sky rolls up and mountains fall on their knees,
When time and space are through,
I'll be found in you.

I hope you have a pretty 2011!