Dream House

This adorable little cabin is on a small river that runs through Concord, Massachusetts.
Directly across the river from this delightful cabin is a huge field and rolling hill that is the site where the first shots were fired against British troops on the fateful 19th of April 1775.

I love the idyllic setting for this scene. The quiet water, the purple flowers growing, the dock down to the waters edge. Almost makes me want to put down roots!

As I stood on the bridge that overlooks both the field and the river I was reminded that there is a figurative river for me to cross too. And home is on the other side. I have always felt like a displaced person here and I am coming to realize that that is a truth for all of mankind. I am not meant to be here, so far from God, away from right and good. I am not made to be apart from my Creator.

And He is prepping a place for me to live on His side of the river. And I can hardly wait to go home.

No more

This is the number one reason why there shall be no more blueberry picking for me in capris.

Stinging nettles and poison ivy.

Message from a bottle

On the lake shore, this small brown bottle was discovered. Empty.
By all appearances useless, except as trash. If you uncapped it, there was a strong smell of a dangerous substance lingering in a glassy tomb.
For all intents and purposes it seemed to be yelling to be filled.
Filled with sand, or water and light or air, but filled.

What is the point of a vessel if not to carry something?

And this bottle now rests on my shelf. A stark reminder that I must be filled too (or rinsed and aired out) to rid myself of the dangerous stench of a deadly substance. Sin reaches my insides and I must have it all cleaned out so that I don't reek. (Does anyone else get the mental pictures of washing out the stalls at the zoo here?)

And wonder of wonders is that I can be filled. And not with just anything like sand or air, but by the most fragrant and amazing scent in existence.
The form of Christ Himself.

What is the point of me if not to carry Christ?

"He who descended is also the One who ascended far above the heavens, so that He might fill all things' - Ephesians 4:10
(emphasis mine)

Beauty is a beast

It is not often I wear make-up. Nor is it often that many of my friends do so either. But when Karen called and said 'Make-up Party!' we all went racing over like 7 year old girls on a I'm-a-princess journey and had a blast.

We primped and polished and groomed and laughed at our silliness. We knew, however, that we were on a VERY serious mission. Defunk and pretty up. We took very serious 'Before' shots as you can see. (This getting serious thing is really a foreign concept!)

And by the end of the evening we were spiffed up (with no place to go, might I add disappointedly). We all were happy to be around friends, to be pampered and then head out to new adventures. (I think we all went home to bed in reality, but getting make-up off is an adventure...)

I am reminded after having spent a night with the girls that beauty is not just about the makeup, but about how you are made up. It does not matter what you wear on the outside, but what you carry on the inside. Beauty comes to many people today with a heavy price tag. And yet it is the beauty of the heart and soul that allows us love our friends. So, here are some of my most beautiful friends. Those who carry themselves with grace and poise, with compassion and love. And also with a stunning outer beauty that floors me daily.

Flying is such sweet sorrow. (You have to land eventually...)

A friend of mine now has his private pilots license. Do you know how awesome it is when someone you know can fling a pieced together hunk of metal and fabric skyward and hurdle you through the sky???

And I have now had the joy of zipping through the sky in a plane with him at the helm. We drove to Indiana to pick up a friend and fly back after stopping off at a summer camp to see some other friends.

This is the airport in Podunk, IN. No...that isn't it's real name, but I can't remember back that far... and yes, that is the moon in the top left corner. It was out bright that night.
This shot is right before we loaded into the plane to fly back to MI, Jesse, Brianna, Brooks and Matt pow wowed before take-off. It was fun to stand on a runway about 10 PM and know that soon, you would be racing through the sky overhead unseen and yet heard.