Classic.

Much like I respect men who wear well made shoes, I admire women who always wear real jewelry. It speaks to her womanhood in more ways than I can sufficiently put into words.

things to do when you are sad

don't listen to Bob Dylan
read a funny book
watch videos of babies laughing
wear a big sweater
drink tea
organize a room
go on a walk
paint something yellow
make paper cranes
find recipes (to use when you're happy)
paint your nails
read the newspaper
call the funniest person you know
play the piano
hang fairy lights around your house
bake an apple pie with a friend
crochet something new
think about how beautiful outer space is
paint your sadness
re-decorate
go shopping at thrift stores
go to a cafe
sleep on a pile of blankets
listen to Christmas music
ask someone to hold you
cry
be okay at some point
write a song
visit the library
throw out old clothes
pick flowers
read Psalm 23
sit with someone
remember there are always cupcakes.

Smitten Song

Learning this! 

A Thrill of Hope

The Weary World Rejoices.

I sometimes forget just how much i love Christmas, but then it hits November and Christmas is all I can think about.
Snow and toques and mittens and scarves and lights and singing and smiles. It's so good.

I love how people are just happier around Christmas time, I know not everyone is... it's often the hardest time of year for a lot of people. But generally Christmas gets people's sprits up, and it's a beautiful thing to be a part of!
Yes, all of the consumption at Christmas time is horrible. Did you know, the average spent on Christmas in North America is $40 billion, and the estimated cost of getting clean water  to the entire world is $20 billion... that makes me sick. We need to do something big about it, and a lot of people are! Check out Advent Conspiracy. It's an amazing organization working toward an amazing goal! There is so much about North America Christmas that is wrong...

But it's still Christmas!

It's still about families coming together to celebrate.
It's still about seeing the beauty in things.
It's still about lighting candles and singing together.
It's still about giving.
It's still about little kids being enchanted by it all.
It's still about being happy.
It's still about decorating the tree together.
It's still about Jesus. 
It's still the most wonderful time of the year.

It's still a thrill of hope that makes this weary world rejoice.

Tired.

I've been going non-stop since June. There has not been a single day that I haven't had to think about Young Life, and there have been very few days that I haven't had to do something with Young Life. To make it even better, on those days that I haven't been thinking or doing Young Life, I've been thinking and doing school. 

I'm tired. 

Sometimes I just want someone to not try and encourage me through the tiredness, but to just sit with me and accept that I'm sad, that I'm not having fun anymore, that I sometimes feel pointless... to just sit with me and empathize. 

I do a lot of listening, I take a lot of people out for coffee and listen to everything they have to say, and I love it. I love love love listening to people and just being there when they need me. 

I love it so much that I wish someone would do that for me. 

I want some quiet time alone with someone who really cares for me, all of me, not just most of the pieces. I want some quiet time alone where I don't think about Young Life or school once, and I don't feel guilty about that. I want some quiet time with God, who I know really cares for me, all of me.

And I want quiet time alone where I can just play the piano for hours and hours and have no regrets for "wasting" that time. 

I don't want to be the one who has to have it all together anymore, I don't want to be the one who has to know the answer to everything. 

I'd like people to realize that I have no idea what I'm doing, and that I'm terrified because of it. I'm 18 years old, how am I supposed to shoulder the responsibility of a 30 something year old and not be completely crushed by that weight? 

I'm faking it and hoping that no one finds out... but at the same time, I really want everyone to find out. 

Chances are we are the same

Against the odds, against the grain
We lean, like gardens toward light.
We reach with all of our might
For such a noble aim
as love. 


Think about that for a minute... What a noble aim love really is. 
And this noble aim is what we are all constantly reaching for with all of our might. Our need for love is unquenchable. 
A thirst only deserts know best. 
A hurt so at home in our chests.
Call it stubbornness or bravery.
We were all created with this desire to love and be loved, and although the idea of what "love" is gets twisted into something ugly by our society real love is an incredibly beautiful thing. 
The love that God loved us with first is an incredibly beautiful thing.
And we are reaching for that kind of love, that kind that makes you glow from the inside out. Even if we don't recognize it, that is what we are all reaching for. And when you do recognize it, that all you need is a love that quenches that thirst that only deserts know best. What a beautiful thing to devote your life to. 


What a noble aim


is love. 

34 Verses of so much Wisdom.

Confession: When people post big long Bible passages as their status or in their notes I don't generally read the whole thing. I might even like the post, but not read the whole thing. Why would I do this? How long does it take to read a chapter? Or a verse, for that matter? And if someone is taking the time to post it, that means that they read it and got something huge out of it... so I quite possibly could as well, right? Reading scripture should be the most enjoyable part of my day, not something that I just skim over. 
It's kind of sad actually that I can read through some random dumb story of someone's life, or a status about nothing much, but when it's Bible I'll happily skip over it. 


If you read this then... I'm proud of you ;) And I hope you get as much or more from it as I have.  I go back to this chapter so often, and could go back to it even more. There is just SO MUCH there. 
This is The Message, which is my favourite version to read this particular passage in, the wording is just so good. 

Matthew 6

The World is not a Stage

 ¹ "Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don't make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won't be applauding. ^2-4"When you do something for someone else, don't call attention to yourself. You've seen them in action, I'm sure—'playactors' I call them— treating prayer meeting and street corner alike as a stage, acting compassionate as long as someone is watching, playing to the crowds. They get applause, true, but that's all they get. When you help someone out, don't think about how it looks. Just do it—quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out.

Pray with Simplicity

 ⁵"And when you come before God, don't turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat? ⁶"Here's what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.
 ^7-13"The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They're full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don't fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:

   Our Father in heaven,
   Reveal who you are.
   Set the world right;
   Do what's best— as above, so below.
   Keep us alive with three square meals.
   Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
   Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
   You're in charge!
   You can do anything you want!
   You're ablaze in beauty!
      Yes. Yes. Yes.
 ^14-15"In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can't get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God's part.
 ^16-18"When you practice some appetite-denying discipline to better concentrate on God, don't make a production out of it. It might turn you into a small-time celebrity but it won't make you a saint. If you 'go into training' inwardly, act normal outwardly. Shampoo and comb your hair, brush your teeth, wash your face. God doesn't require attention-getting devices. He won't overlook what you are doing; he'll reward you well.

A Life of God-Worship

 ^19-21"Don't hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it's safe from moth and rust and burglars. It's obvious, isn't it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being. ^22-23"Your eyes are windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar. If you pull the blinds on your windows, what a dark life you will have!
 ²⁴"You can't worship two gods at once. Loving one god, you'll end up hating the other. Adoration of one feeds contempt for the other. You can't worship God and Money both.
 ^25-26"If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don't fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.
 ^27-29"Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.
 ^30-33"If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.
 ³⁴"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.