Friday, April 22, 2016

Mountain living

Three years ago my sister, parents, and I moved to the canal.  Before living here, I didn't know much about the canal...well, I'm still no expert.  It is not hard to appreciate the scenery the canal provides, though. I enjoy the many shades of blue and grey and the way the water always had some personality according to the weather.
The canal is somewhat known for its octopi as well. The largest octopus to be  recorded was 600 pounds and 30 feet long.   Swim with care! ;)
I am thankful for a lovely place to live. Here is a peek into the scenery we get to regularly experience! God never ceases to be good.
Because standing in the middle of the highway is totally safe...
And hanging out the window is fine if the seat belt's on.
Canal!






In case you've forgotten to notice the weather, this is what it's been like.

In other news, my computer has officially shut down on me, so I will not be able to blog as frequently until I get a new one...which will hopefully be soon!! Blogging on a smartphone is a little complicated. 

Saturday, April 16, 2016

I'm it!

I've been tagged!  Thankfully it is more fun to be "it" in blogging than in real tag, which involves physical effort.  First, I must admit that I am going to break the rules.  Rebekah Eddy (who tagged me for this post) says the rules include tagging 11 more bloggers.  Well, I am pathetic.  I don't know many people who blog; therefore, I tag no one.  But here we are:

1. What inspires you most in your writing and/or blogging?
This is a good question!  Blogging is a fairly typical practice, and everyone must have a unique reason for doing so.  The thing that probably inspires me the most in blogging is photography.  In my pre-blog days, I wanted to do more photography, but I felt like there was no point.  I could go out and take a bunch of pictures, but then they would just sit in files, never to be seen.  So I needed something to motivate me in photography, most of all.  (Though lately I haven't taken the time to get out for new photos!  Aggghhh!)
Secondly, I want to use blogging to help me become a better writer.  With a blog to keep up, I am pressured to keep writing something rather regularly.  And I have hopes that this will help me become a more interesting writer one of these days!
Thirdly, writing in general (including blogging) helps me think.  By putting thoughts into words, I can better process what exactly I'm feeling and why.  Or why I think the way I do about something.  It helps me have reasons instead of just blank statements that I haven't really thought through.
Was that a waaaay too long answer?  Well, it was more involved than even I expected.

2. What's your biggest pet peeve?
Funny...I think I have way to many.  :)  But the biggest one that I simply cannot get over, no matter what, is a condition called "misophonia": mouth/eating/drinking sounds.  This bothers me to no end.  Sometimes I have to leave the room.  I have put much effort into overcoming this, but there seems to be no cure.  I am able to control myself from making outward expressions most of the time, but I do anxiously think of a way of escape.  It's like an allergy to sounds.

3. Who has the biggest impact on your life?
Noooo!  I hate questions like this.  There are so many inspiring people, whether from Biblical times, the past, or the present.  (well, I suppose Biblical characters fit into the past as well...)  There are so many people who have inspired me with a unique perspective.  But I will go with the three closest to me: my dad, my mom, and my brother, Jeremiah.
My dad showed me what it was like to sincerely desire God and to love Him with passion.  He always reminded me to keep running after God, even when life got really hard.  I also saw him live out 2 Corinthians 4:16.  While his outward man was perishing, his inward man was being renewed in the Lord.
My mom is constantly demonstrating to me how to love being in God's presence through prayer and how to love people by giving my own desires away.
Jeremiah taught me that God was serious about giving up everything....and that surrendering our whole lives to God and His plan would be completely worth it.  Yes, sometimes it hurts, but it will never stop being worth it.

4. What's the earliest memory you have?
My earliest memory is when my grandma Small died.  I was 3, and several family members had gathered at my grandparents' house.  My older sister, cousin, and I were sent to the basement to play while everyone else said their goodbyes.  I think they had a train table down there...

5. Unicorns or Pegasus?
I'd definitely go for a unicorn!  A horse with a built-in sword?  YES.  "You know what the issue is with this world?  Everyone wants some magical solution for their problems, and everyone refuses to believe in magic."  Rainbows, magic, unicorns.  Somehow they all fit together.

6. Hamburgers or hot dogs?
Hamburgers.  Mayonnaise.  Lettuce.  There are 3 wonderful things you can't really have on a hot dog.  Well, except the mayonnaise.

7. Do you think eagles, falcons or hawks are the coolest?
I'm going for the eagle.  There is something about an eagle that grabs attention, especially a bald eagle.  They are very awe-inspiring.

8. Scotland or Ireland?
Both?  Can that be an option?  I haven't been to either place, so I can't really know.  But I would love to visit either one.  As far as I know, they both have lovely scenery and green, rolling hills, which is a perfect recipe to calm satisfaction.  Yeah, I'm going for both.  Who's buying the ticket?  ;)

9. Dragons or griffins?
Dragons!  I'll give griffins credit in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe where they fly over the enemy dropping rocks.  (Those are griffins, right?)  Oh, and they are super cool when they turn into fire and separate the armies.  But I'm still sticking on the dragon's side.  Dragons can come in so many shapes, sizes, colors, and designs.  They are cool, though I can imagine encountering one would be frightening.

10. Sushi or oatmeal?
This is almost a hard choice!  Neither of them are worth eating.  But I'm going to say that oatmeal would definitely be easier to get down.  Sushi--raw seafood--just sounds unbearably awful.

11. Are you a morning bird or a night owl?
Although I experience early mornings more often than late nights (well, maybe they're pretty equal), I am definitely a night owl.  My motto is "staying up to finish something is always easier than waking up earlier to accomplish things."  In an early morning, all I think about is wanting to be sleeping again.  Late at night, I can handle the thought of continuing to stay up.

Thanks, Rebekah!  I enjoy your tags!  :)

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Living and loving God's Word

Help!  I haven't blogged in forever!  Besides being busy, my computer likes playing this game called something like "see how many times I can crash today."  So I get to experience the computer constantly crashing when I try to use it for almost anything.  Right now the record is 6 times in an hour.  I didn't get very much done that hour.  And, as you can probably guess, blogging is very difficult when the computer crashes over and over.  I eventually give up, usually with nothing accomplished.  But here I am with a few of my favorite quotes!

"God's Word will never fall into disrepair.  But here's what happens when we don't travel on it:
We fall into disrepair."   
-David Jeremiah

"Do not have your concert first, and then tune your instrument afterwards.
Begin the day with the Word of God and prayer, and get first of all into harmony with Him."
-Hudson Taylor

"Reading the Bible without meditating on it is like trying to eat without swallowing."

"We must allow the Word of God to confront us, to disturb our security, to undermine our complacency, and to overthrow our patterns of thought and behavior."
-John R.W. Stott

"You may as well quite reading and hearing the Word of God and give it to the devil, if you do not desire to live according to it."
-Martin Luther

"Here, then, is the real problem of our negligence.
We fail in our duty to study God's Word not so much because it is difficult to understand,
not so much because it is dull and boring,
but because it is work.
Our problem is not lack of intelligence or a lack of passion.
Our problem is that we are lazy."
-R.C. Sproul

"Men do not reject the Bible because it contradicts itself but because it contradicts them."
-E. Paul Hovey

Thursday, April 7, 2016

Mysterious cabin

Last summer I went on a walk with my sisters, Sarah and Tirzah, with the intent of picking huckleberries and getting exercise.  Our house is one of the last on our road, so the pavement turns into gravel just beyond us.  Whenever we get a chance, we go walking up the windy, dusty road, filled with deep potholes.  Well, this is where we walked on this particular August day as we talked about school and life...and berries.  

When we got a ways down this gravel road, we noticed a little trail off the road that was just big enough for a car.  We decided to take our chances and see where it led.  There were faint tire tracks in the dirt; but it was hard to believe that a car could drive this trail--it was full of roots bulging from the ground and deep ruts scooping into the dirt...

We soon came upon a fenced "garden" which seemed to only grow weeds.  Oh, but who am I to judge?  Our garden is equally as prosperous in such greenery.  It did not appear to be well kept, which gave us no clues as to the population of this area.  However, it was a sign that there had been life here at some recent point in history.  So we continued on, feeling like spies.

The only thing resembling food.  We didn't try it.  Probably a poison trap for trespassers.
The next sight was some cause for alarm.  There was a small, neatly kept chicken coop with a few live chickens inside.  We didn't check for eggs, nor did we tell the chickens that they may one day be the dinner of their owner.  Despite their clucking, they did not seem as surprised to see us as we were to see them.  This was our first certain sign that we were certainly on someone else's property.

From the chicken coop we could see a cute little cabin sitting on the top of a hill.  The trail (or road) up to the house was well kept, although narrow.  Stacks of wood were between several trees, and a ladder was resting near the house.  It definitely looked inhabited in the present tense.  
Feeling very brave and even more like spies, we continued on, ready to jump behind a tree at the sound of any unfamiliar voice.  (because we all know hiding behind trees is safe and protective.  I mean, Lucy Pevensie did it and ended up finding a friend.)  The little house was so tempting.  And, judging by the lack of vehicles, it appeared that no one was around at the moment.  I felt like a crime reporter as I snapped several pictures of the scene.

Hiding behind a tree between the house and the chicken coop sat an open outhouse.  We decided not to stick around too long.  

As we approached the house, we noticed the neatly placed shingles and a large swing hanging in the trees behind the house.  Everything looked so perfect that it was hard to blame Goldilocks now.  Well, we restrained ourselves, so we didn't actually go into the house.  No, we didn't even get on the porch.  But we could see paint brushes and jars in the window sill.  A large bike hung on the wall, too.  On the other side of the house was a little outdoor sink with the gutter running into it for a source of water.  Everything was rustic, yet still quite adorable.  By now, being on the other side of the house and some distance from the road, I resisted taking more pictures.  It felt very strange sneaking through the woods and looking in the windows of some stranger's house.  Taking pictures of everything would only make us more suspicious.  
The neat trail continued on past the house, descending from the peak of the hill.  It appeared to be going toward the river.  Wood piles were scattered through the woods.  For a moment we decided to keep following the trail to see where it led.  We were still in sight of the house when we began to think through the possible results of that decision.  What if mystery man was at the river/end of the trail?  We would be so far from anything familiar...our adventures had brought us far enough.  Thankfully we had encountered no one, and it would probably be better not to press our luck.  So we turned back and crept back out the way we had come, bidding the chickens farewell and stealing some huckleberries on the way.

Maybe someday I will write some mysterious story on this adventure of ours....but for now, this will have to do.  Thanks for being the brave leader and making a new memory with us, Sarah!

Sunday, April 3, 2016

Roses are red...and other colors.

Only one life to offer--Jesus, my Lord and King;
Only one tongue to praise Thee and of Thy mercy sing (forever);
Only one heart's devotion--Savior, O may it be
Consecrated alone to Thy matchless glory, yielded fully to Thee.

Only this hour is mine, Lord--may it be used for Thee;
May ev'ry passing moment count for eternity (my Savior);
Souls all about are dying, dying in sin and shame;
Help me bring them the message of Calvary's redemption in Thy glorious name.

Only one life to offer--take it, dear Lord, I pray;
Nothing from Thee withholding, Thy will I now obey (my Jesus);
Thou who hast freely given Thine all in all for me,
Claim this life for Thine own to be used, my Savior, ev'ry moment for Thee.

Take a minute to think about a rose. Maybe it's not your favorite flower, but it has a lot of petals and details.  A rose has one life that is very limited, however.  One day it is very small, surrounded by a green guard.  The next day it opens into a small, yet beautiful flower that grows and intensifies in beauty.  It keeps becoming more beautiful until it comes to the end of its life.  It is the recipient of many people's awe, although it is only a little flower with a life that will fade away quickly.
In a similar way our lives are limited and quickly passing.  But is it beautiful?  Do our lives make people see how beautiful GOD is?  Do we draw people's attention to God through our inner beauty?  You know, it's not all in how we look on the outside.  It has much more to do with living well.  How often we need to remember that we have only ONE life to offer.  It may be short.  It may be painful.  But is it full and a lovely thing to God?

(admire these roses with colors and petals each so perfect!  God is amazing, and even that can be seen in just a little rose.)