Some Random Tidbits That I Like...

Here are some random tidbits, namely blog posts, that touched a cord in my mind, or in my heart, or in my soul. Perhaps they will touch you, too. Enjoy!

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http://aj.mosaic.ws/carried-along/ 
Click here for one Young man's perspective on "Growing Up" or "Carried Along"...

Here is a sample: "Time will slip by like the burbling of creeks, and the current will come and will go. Some days the thunder will crash and our home will be cozy against thundering clouds,
Lit by a fire, with hot chocolate to sip and books to explore, a family to love.
Soon enough they’ll find that a treehouse is too small for men and for women:
My sons and my daughters will grow up like I did, and they’ll twist and strain
And I’ll launch my dear children on the creeks that brought me here, carried along."


http://in-which-i-talk.blogspot.it/2014/11/i-dont-want-to-grow-up-beyond-hoping.html 
Click here for a post on "I Don't Want To Grow Up Beyond Hoping".

Here is a sample: "I don't want to grow out of hoping-

Trusting, watching, believing that God has good things ahead-"

 

 

http://www.rabbitroom.com/2014/01/creativity-spiritual-battle-and-spiritual-discipline-part-one/

Click this post written to remind us of this: "In keeping with tradition, the arts are known collectively as the Disciplines—though I find it interesting that it wasn’t until the Renaissance that we got highfalutin enough to make a distinction between the “artistic” crafts, like painting and poetry, and the so-called “non-artistic” crafts, like bread-making and ironwork." 

 

 And this....

 

"By doing certain things again and again, things that can be tasted or touched or experienced, God’s people have faithfully practiced their faith in Him. They have literally acted out what they know to be true; they have trained themselves with things like prayer and fasting and worship and solitude to remember what is real, even when they cannot see it."

 

 

https://wovenglass.wordpress.com/2015/06/30/dust-to-dust/

Click here, because it moved me, and I think it might move you, too.

 

Here is a sample: "We shake our fists in the night, in the dust storms, because we cannot see with invisible eyes.  We see bone and flesh, not soul and mind, and try to capture motes spinning in a beam of sunlight as we cling to a similar-sized speck.  The big picture is being woven far above our heads, and sometimes we are too small to glimpse it."

 

 

 

SWOON!!!

 

 

See, I don't need to actually shake my own life to sift out stuff, not in general. It is more the nonsensical extras that might need to be sifted. In my life I have found that Life is a sifter in itself. The silt is separated out through challenge and difficulty; and it hurts a lot of the time. But it is essential to maturing and growth. It is important to be sifted out and the dross of days separated from what really matters- so we can see more clearly, make the most of moments and live more fully. If you are in a sifting time, wait it out and keep hoping. For in the end, you just might find it to be a blessing and not a curse. But, if it is weighing too heavy on you, I pray that you would be encouraged and strengthened by God to see things as HE sees them. He has a plan. He knows and cares. Trust in, cling to, rely on, believe in Him. He has you. Have a blessed week!

From C.C. 

Here is something I wrote today. Just some thoughts I jotted down. :-)

"I swoon for lovely architecture! I do! And, I swoon as I gaze into my children's faces. I swoon with the rise and fall of orchestra's storytellings, and I swoon for hopeful, beautiful written words, too. I swoon for nature's wonders that speak of more than the simple-mindedness we embrace, and I swoon due to blooming lilies brought as a hesistant surprise in husband's hand. I swoon for the awesome, simple things we take for granted, but which speak of the deeper soul-things, ...like love letters to woo us. I swoon for beauty, truth, hope, and TRUE LOVE from the Lover of our Souls. I am a dreamer? I am a fool? So be it! I swoon because I can still wonder at things, with a simple curiosity that does not take me to trouble, but to the brilliance found in God's glory and marvelous ways. I will ALWAYS choose "the better way" as Martha's Mary did, even if I fall and rise again, because Life is found there. The balm of my soul's constant grief and all I ever shall need is found in following His good paths, in His embrace, under His wings,"

Written by C.C.
 

Mark Hall's (Casting Crowns) post: My Bonsai Tree...

My Bonsai Tree. (click HERE for the actual post)
any kind of tree can be turned into a bonsai tree. Pinetree's, oak trees, maple trees. Anything. Want to know how?
First you pick a small pot. You have to convince the tree their pot is as deep as it's root system is ever going to get it. And soon the tree will begin to believe it.
Then you begin saying "no" to the tree. Every time it tries to grow you prune it. Every time it tries to stretch you stop it. You keep saying "no" to the tree until it is convinced that the pot is as big as it's world will ever be and this is as big as they will ever get. Soon the tree begins to believe it.
This is exactly what your enemy wants to do to you. He will use storms and hardships in your life to convince you that you can never be more than your last mistake and never be any deeper or stronger than you are right now.
But it's a lie. What is true about you is what God says about you. 2 Corinthians 12 says that God's strength is made perfect in our weakness.
Psalm 139 says that he created us in the womb and that we are all here with a purpose.
You are not a defeated little bonsai tree. You are a tree planted by streams of water that you will yield fruit in its season. Psalm 1
Stop listening to the wrong voices.
#castingcrowns #dreamforyou #thrivephotogroup

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When I read this post, I felt like I was given a "Get out of Jail" card (you know, from Monopoly?). Expectations, trials, and all kinds of weight from life- well- compound, crumple, and crush. With time, they can sure feel like part of a person; so much so that it feels like they have GROWN on a person and taken over personality, reasoning, coping, life. But this example, somehow, just clicked with me. This is what I have been feeling, but couldn't put into the perfect words. This is what I know to be true. And, I am blessed. And honored. And excited. Because the more I go about my house and life shouting (literally. I have done this over the last few days) "I am NOT a Bonsai Tree!!!", I feel my soul reaching out in hope and joy and relief.

I am NOT a Bonsai Tree. Where some may feel to say "Plot Twist!" (On some days this, too, applies for me.), in this season, in these days, "I am NOT a Bonsai Tree!!!" is the perfect affirmation that has encouraged and edified my soul.

Perhaps you, too, need this reminder. Seek God, and GROW!!! Seek God, and THRIVE!!! Do a search of scripture. See how often the words "expand", "grow", "multiply", "overflow", etc... are used. NEVER are we told to stay "small", "contained", "stuck". NEVER!!! Yes, we are told, often, to WAIT, but... whatever the Lord allows in waiting, stopping, or going, is meant for growth, not for crippling, debilitating, or damaging. I am marvelling over this even now, these days after reading Mark Hall's post. Marvelling STILL. I praise God, because He knew that my heart was desperate for a bit of encouragement. And, He provided in this simple, and remarkable, way.

Thank you, Mark Hall and Casting Crowns, for using your talents for Jesus, and sharing them to edify and encourage souls. It means so much.  Thank You, Jesus, for working "all things for good for those who are in Christ", and for ministering your joy, hope, and peace to me. You are so faithful and good.
 

One Wearying Wacky Wednesday...

There are days that stumble along, when nothing really goes right.
There are days that fly ahead of the one living the life.
There are days when minds, hearts, and souls become so overwhelmed.
There are days when one more weight might put a heart over the edge.

In all the times that we might have:  short or long,
good or bad, healthy or sick, weak or strong,
Consolation, encouragement, and hope can be found,
For the Bible says that ALL of our times are safely in God's hand.


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 Today was a wearying sort of "Wacky Wednesday". I find comfort in knowing that I am not alone, and that the burdens that comes my way are never too big for God. He is "mighty to save".

"But as for me, I trust in you, O Lord;
I say, 'You are my God.'
My times are in Your hand..."
Psalm 31: 14, 15

Shattered Slivers of Light...

"You shatter me into silence
Expectations poking out from you like porcupine quills
Like spears used to keep a prisoner submissive and contained.
Words slither from your mouth like a python's creeping
Reaching to suffocate its prey and drown out breath
And, yet, for all your efforts to destroy me
By the breaking, the mean crushing,
I am strong like an oak tree
Weathered and beaten, but solid.

I may be silent for a time
But when I am able
My cry will sweep through  to quench the hatred and pride,
That which you use to slash through the weakness, the vulnerability, of others.
There will come a day when you will taste the sting and crushing
Of your own envy and bitterness
And I will pity you with tears
For  you heeded not the warnings
You cared not for the oppressed or weary

For that, you are mine to worry about no more
You belong to Redeemer
Your history will dry up and be remembered no more
Eternity will be void of the grief you caused
I will be free of you soon
Until then, you may shatter me like glass
But every piece will shine in glittering light
My slivers will be rays of righteousness
To pierce you to your hardened, malicious soul."

(My Personal Creative Writing: CC)

General Questions Prompt Long Pauses...

Imagine two lines of people. Two lines glaring each other down. Like the good guys standing confident and ready as the evil guys stand across from them with eyes shooting daggers and pounding pipes into their palms. Well, that is similar to how I imagine my book, film, and character preferences. There is one question that is asked in "Get to Know You" questionaires that just pokes at me like a mosquito trying to dig its stinger into my skin to draw blood. Erg! "What is your favorite genre to read or watch?" Um.... And, that is where my imagination inserts this vision of favorite books or book characters or movie characters lined up glaring at each other in a face-off.

I mean on the one side, let us say to the right, we have Sherlock Holmes, Captain Jack Sparrow, Katniss, and other not so calm, peaceful, or meek characters; opposite them would be Elizabeth Bennet (Jack, no, that is not Miss Swan... hahahah), Ever After, Anne of Green Gables, and others. That is only a small peek into my literary or filmatic friends. Then, imagine characters like Bambi, Sully and Mike Wasowski, the Minions just traipsing through the middle of those two lines, clueless to the danger they are marching into. Oh, boy...

I am a fan of a little bit of everything. I don't even like to answer the "Who is your favorite author?" or "What is your favorite music to listen to?" question, because I am not guaranteed to LOVE everything any musician, actor, or author creates. I take it one book, one character, one movie at a time.

It reminds me of life. Is one day really better than another, if I try to make every day count? I take one day at a time, and try to acknowledge the lovely, beautiful, funny, enjoyable, laughable things in each given day. Because if I only wait for the days that I KNOW should possibly be great, like my birthday or Christmas, well, that just leaves a lot of days for me to be pretty down, discouraged, and not enjoying days. There is a song that reminds us to Choose Joy.

"Count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your blessings, see what God has done. Count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your many blessings, see what God has done." That daily habit can encourage myself daily. And, it helps to be encouraged, so I can encourage others daily. So, let's make the most of this day, filling it with wisely chosen friends (real or literary or on screen), activities, and habits that will inspire us to keep going, doing, being better and full of joy.

Psalm 118:24 says, "This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it."

Do you generally have favorites?

Below are some favorite articles that I came across. Things that make me think a little harder, observe a little stronger, evaluate a little more. So... here you go.

Here is a link called Jesus Stories are Not Just Allegories. I hadn't thought about this point before. It is worth a gander.

 Here  is a link to an article called The Image of Man. I got the book that was mentioned, shortly after I read about it, because the description given sounded like something that might amuse me. Interesting thoughts...

Here is a great article regarding Allegory and the Gospel. I loved reading this one. It encouraged, inspired and poked at me.

Here is a fabulous article called Art and Evangelism. Another perspective that was inspiring and prompting to me as a creative person who likes art, writing, music, and other artistic demonstrations.

Two specific comments made in that last article which really stood out to me were:

"...art, instead, should 'bear witness to truth.' "

“Art that reflects a biblical worldview does not necessarily have to focus explicitly on the person and life of Christ or specific Scripture passages. Everyday occurrences of life and work . . . may also be . . . a natural metaphor for spiritual truth”.

Miscellaneous: Armadillos, Archery, and Other Things...

                                                          (Marjolein Bastin image)
Hi, all of you who may, by chance, stop by to browse. I hope you are having a rewarding week. I, for one, have had a mixture of goings-on, some enjoyable and others not so much, and it sure has kept me on my toes. I thought I would share a few things that I found particularly interesting.

This article (click HERE) by Grammar Girl, Mignon Fogarty, for example, brought up something for which I personally had NO idea was an issue. Grammar Girl asked, "What's the rule for paragraph length?". Sounds like a dumb question, right? Well, apparently not. 

Recently, I saw a comment on Facebook about professors who are teaching college students to make all their paragraphs the same length. The woman wrote, "There are professors at my school who deduct points, sometimes even letter grades, if paragraphs aren't the same exact length throughout a paper. Because writing should be 'balanced' and it can only achieve 'balance' if all paragraphs are equal in length."

As a fellow "grammar girl", I was especially pleased with this particular thought, " Paragraphs represent ideas, and ideas come in many sizes." So, have you heard about this weird "same size paragraph" trend? And, do you think that it should be the "norm"? I am curious if I am a minority or majority, here. :-)

So, on a creative note, have you seen this mini time-lapse video done by Watch Parts Motorcycles? (Click HERE) Very cool! Some of my kids are very hands-on, and I think this would be a good and unusual project for them.

How do you feel about serial stories? Well, I have come across one by Lisa Godfrees that is a fantasy for kids. She has begun the story and is taking suggestions for how the story should continue on. It is turning out to be a rather interesting adventure. You may want to take a gander over HERE where you will find Part two of the Flash Flood: In Search of Dragons serial series. A link for Part 1 is also provided.

I know quite a few children dealing with Dyslexia. Being in another country, and, dealing with very different ideas on this learning challenge, has proven to be quite an interesting and, oftentimes, frustrating experience for parents and children involved. I found this especially exciting. Click HERE to read the article on "This Man Invented a Font to Help People With Dyslexia Read". There are so many things that would benefit from evaluting something so simple as the formation of certain letters. This man is an inspiration. According to the article, at this moment, he is offering the home-use download for FREE.

Now THIS is such a brilliant, ingenious, entertaining, educational video! I love when someone takes a research project and makes it above-and-beyond amazing. This is it! At least for me. Check it out!
Lars Andersen: a new level of archery https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEG-ly9tQGk

Here is a Quote that I loved:

"We can care for others by using words that gleam with love, that sparkle with authenticity, and that shimmer long after the conversation is over." - Excerpt from Kaleidoscope, written by Patsy Clairmont

And, now I will end off with a few videos that just made me smile and gush and giggle. :-) Have a GREAT week!

Normal Day At the Office- Youtube video

Rollie, a southern three-banded armadillo, playing- Youtube

Horse first time in water- Youtube

Sketchy Ice Creams from Birdbox Studio- Youtube