dreams, spurts and drips

-A dream featuring a lot of the friends with whom I worked in Belfast. I woke up feeling like we'd just had a reunion. Dreams are fascinating.

-Working on sermons for Mo Ranch and having an idea hit me and translate into a sermon really quickly. I tend to work in spurts of inspiration.

-Water dancing off of a purple plant outside as the faucet dripped shining water onto it.

classy concoctions

-Delicious and lovely pink cosmopolitans. We were making a "test sample" so that when my Mom, sister and I go see the Sex & the City movie, we can celebrate in style. They were fantastic, and I was pretty proud of my lime rind curls.

-Glimpsing a rainbow in the neighbor's water sprinkler outside.

-Going antique hunting and finding a great retro bag. I really liked the black classy look of it, and then realized that it's reversible! I love the mod fabric even more.

open sesame

-A morning rain that cooled everything off and fogged up all the windows. The yard instantly looked brighter and greener.

-Making key lime pie with my Mom, and sharing deep-can't-breathe-laughter at my inability to use a can opener because I'm a lefty. Also, the smell of almonds in the homemade graham cracker crust and tangy key lime in the filling wasn't bad either.

-Working on four sermons at once (yikes!) and feeling inspired in my note-taking (especially by the patterns of light dancing from behind the trees into the window and onto my hands as I typed). It's a good start.

roots

-Delicious tacos (and taquitos and tortillas...) and pinto beans. Oh, how I've missed such great homemade Mexican food.

-My little clover that kept opening and closing made the trek to Texas, and has now developed quite an an intricate root structure. I think it will bring me luck (and the hope of a new opening every morning) for a long time.

-A lazy morning (Sundays haven't been lazy for me in years!) spent cooking breakfast in my pajamas and taking time to enjoy it. I'll be at church next Sunday I'm sure, but having one Sunday "off duty" was wonderful...and holy in its own way.

old and new

-Seeing Indiana Jones in the theater for the first time. I love the other movies, but had never seen them on the big screen. The new Indy flick was every bit as campy and adventurous as the old ones...I loved it.

-Enjoying coffee and great conversation curled up on the comfy couch.

-Finally finding a new blog design I love. Isn't it great?

the success of a good day.

-Road-tripping with my Mom to visit Grandparents, and having a really fun time. It's amazing how someone telling you "that was a fun day" can actually make it so.

-Successful chopstick eating again! Woohoo! I rejoice in the victory of big pieces of broccoli, thin slivers of carrot and fragile clumps of rice reaching my mouth successfully.

-Golden rays of sunlight peeking out in straight darts behind fluffy white clouds.

home base

(Playing catch-up...)
-One last stroll around campus, enjoying the trees, benches and gothic buildings one more time.

-A wonderful cartoon made for me by a member of the church to thank me for my service. He was a famous cartoonist for the New York Times and more recently taught art at universities. It was so kind.

-Reading all the cards that the youth gave me and realizing how much God did with my time there.

-An amazing road trip: we made it from Georgia to Texas in one day! I knew it could be done, but was thrilled to be home right as it got dark.

-Seeing Texas plains again, complete with a bright orange sun peeking out from behind rows and rows of oak trees.

-Getting a call on my first day back in Texas to help out at Mo Ranch as a worship leader. Mo's just about my favorite place ever.

-Organic farm-fresh eggs that come in all shades of brown and white.

-A blue jay giving me a jaunty little smile (can birds smile?) outside the window.

we move along

-Melissa giving me a backpack guitar case (aka "gig bag") that I can use to take my guitar to Ireland and hopefully busk around a bit. It was such a thoughtful and practical gift.

-I graduated from seminary today. Wow. Laura handing me my diploma with tears in her eyes and a whispered "I'm so glad I was here when you were here" was overwhelming...as were the supportive friends and family who shared it all with me.

-An afternoon with great friends and family laughing in the sunshine.

-Sitting on my floor with my family and Erin and eating handfuls of bread, smoked mozzarella and tomtatoes and wine. After I received incredibly thoughtful gifts, we summoned our last energy and moved most of my furniture (while singing the Chariots of Fire theme song and laughing histerically).

the end of an era

-Enjoying my last Sex & the City gathering. I've had friends come over for wine, cheese, laughter and tv every Tuesday for three years. Twelve came last night, and we stayed extra long, enjoying the last bit of time together. Over the year, we randomly watched episodes (on dvd) sometimes watching 2 a night and sometimes 3 (and even skipping season 3). On our last night we ended up having the last 2 episodes of the series left--a fitting ending.

-Maggie coming before everyone got here and catching me in a packing-cleaning fluster. She immediately pitched in and helped by washing my dishes. It was so selfless and thoughful.

-The detail and beauty of a sunflower. (You know how much I love photographing flowers!)

let's get a move on

-Dreaming of my niece laughing.

-Going for a late breakfast with Jessi at Crescent Moon and having the most delicious coffee ever (along with equally delicious cream cheese scrambled eggs and a bagel). I took a sip, savored it, and said aloud "wow, that's good."

-The smell of cardboard. There's something in it that just whispers "move." I'm in the arduous process of planning to move very soon, but somehow find joy in a task which produces such visible and immediate results (as opposed to ministry, for example).

play & rest

So sorry for not posting in a while! I've glimpsed lots of grace in the past few days, mostly completing my seminary work, helping the kids at church get confirmed and enjoying a lovely, relaxing weekend at the lakehouse with friends. -Playing on the church playground with the youth on my last Sunday night with them. It was such a carefree way to say goodbye, and their prayers for me at the end had me teary.

-Light dancing through the trees onto my wall.

-A well-earned night of relaxation (complete with a glass of wine, cheese, bread and Masterpiece Theatre) after a ten-hour work day.

nonsense and sensibility

-A very encouraging word coming to me from a professor I really respect.

-Candelight dancing on my books, casting shadows and designs, and filling the gold lettering with light. (A Nonsense Anthology is a book I came across at an antique store. It's from 1902, full of whimsy, and includes such amusing poetry as "A Love Song by a Lunatic" and "There Was a Monkey.")

-Lots of friend time.

landing on something

-One of the youth saying that "believing in God is important so that when you fall, really hard, you land on something." Wow. I never hear anything that profound in seminary.

-While driving back to campus with my windows down and the radio blaring, I decided I wasn't ready to stop driving. The song was really good, so I just kept driving, being guided by familiar paths, and ended up at my favorite coffee shop. I went in (because I seemed to be on some internal Auto-pilot) and ordered a coffee and then saw that there were about 10 musicians hanging out and having a jam session. I stayed with my coffee and sat as they sang about Georgia mornings, cats and love. I soaked it all in, and felt really alive. I felt a little like I did sitting in a trattoria in Italy, just being in the moment. I realized God led me to that moment so She could fill me up. It's amazing how God can use 30 minutes of an ordinary day to make life extraordinary.

-Playing guitar outside, singing old camp praise songs, and chatting to friends as they passed by.

memorable meanderings

-Playing guitar and singing The Summons song with the confirmation kids and their mentors. It was such a real moment.

-A fantastically fun afternoon with great friends all together to celebrate Sarah's upcoming wedding.

-Walking to get my takeout Thai food at the place that knows me by name (for perhaps the last time), and hearing live music, people's laughter and chatter. When you realize that the walk that is so familiar will be far away in a couple of weeks, it makes you cherish it.

(by the way: my clover's still opening every morning!) :)

sweet rewards

-World Christianity class was really different today. We listened to Latin American (or Aviayala) music to better understand the cultures and faith there, and it was both inspiring and humorous.

-After a fun lunch with friends, we all hibernated in the library for the afternoon. By dinnertime, I had most of my work done!

-Craving some ice cream, and finding a tiny tub of it in the grocery store. I don't really have a freezer, so I have to get as much as I can eat in one sitting. A tiny tub is perfect.