August 2010
7 posts
“So, friends, let us not hesitate, but leap into the unknown…
Pack up...”
– from a girl that i lived with one summer.
journal entry from junior year of highschool.
“Teach me that I am finite. Carve it into my soul so I remember it—into my heart every time it breaks. Beat it into my feet every time they cramp up when I’m running beaches, into every vertebra of my spine so that i know it every time I stand on tiptoe and stretch up to hug a friend.
Why do people only pay respects to the dead? We, so full of life, so ready for adventure, our...
one year later.
I’m in a different place than I was 365 days ago. well, I am in the same place. but my heart has changed.
today was a beautiful day. it was filled with beautiful things.
this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbQBEHCEDfQ . It’s called “The Wedding Song” by Angus & Julia Stone.
Also: paper pinwheels. I have made a dozen of them in the past few days.
Also...
“We who try our best to live, why do we not live more?”
– Van Gogh
Just give me a minute.
“The little cracks, they escalated And before you know it, it’s too late For making circles and telling lies
You’re moving too fast for me And I can’t keep up with you Maybe if you’d slowed down for me I could see you’re only telling lies, lies, lies Breaking us down with your lies, lies, lies When will you learn?”
-The Swell Season
Mmhmm.
psalm 36:5
“Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.”
What is the measure of strength today?
I will spend this week, like this past weekend, in the hospital waiting room. It is a microcosm of the broken world we live in. Doctors struggle to understand what is happening to my grandmother’s broken body; we struggle on our knees and lean against one another’s shoulders; the staff struggles to be patient as all 10 of us Meyers & Forsythes filter in and out of Nana’s...
July 2010
20 posts
“‘you are hurting yourself,’ she said.
‘hurting myself? i do...”
– cry, the beloved country
"I wish that I had known in that first minute we...
these lyrics are from the antlers, from one of my favorite songs ever called “kettering.” i’m sure they’re talking about a girl. but they always make me think about the first time i met Christ on my knees, and how every time feels like the first time - because every time, i know him better than i did before. every time i meet with Christ, i think “did i even ONCE...
“i suppose there’s no chance,” she asked hopelessly, “that howl...”
– howl’s moving castle
“he said, “i think we ought to live happily ever after” and she...”
– howl’s moving castle
isaiah 49:25-26
i read isaiah 49 this morning. the whole chapter is a description of what it looks like to be Emmanuel, God With Us. He chooses us as servants and glorifies Himself in us, forms us from the womb to be His servants, honors us in His eyes and becomes our strength, redeems and answers and helps and keeps us and remembers us and gives us covenants, makes mountains into roads. how beautiful, His...
psalm 41:4.
God is not required to show us grace in general, much less show me grace during this summer. i am sinful + prone to discouragement, yet He wakes me up every morning to the glory of His grace. He loves to make me whole.
this summer i’ve tried to process each day by noting evidence of God’s grace. it beats worrying about the not-so-good parts of the day. for example, yesterday threw me...
job 42:2-6.
(it’s 1:46AM in chicago. hi. my name’s caroline + i’m an insomniac.)
first: why am i up past midnight reading job? after i swam, worked 13ish hours, talked to one of my mentors, i went running with one of my best friends from high school. we got to talking about some of the messier parts of our lives + hearts. i ended up sharing my testimony, admittedly through some [many]...
“love should cast out terror, but it should not cast out awe. true love includes...”
– peter kreeft
romans 13:11-12, 14
today: ravioli, homemade oatmeal bread, angus + julia singing from the speakers, letter-writing to ms. kittleson, + romans makes me appreciate my work day just a little bit more.
also today: why don’t US post offices offer frequent customer rewards? i mail so many things per week i’m convinced there should be a note on the bottom of my next receipt naming me the winner of a free...
romans 4:20-5:3
a thursday morning thunderstorm + bon iver + black coffee + romans. i am grateful for rainy thursday mornings and for these past few precious hours.
“no distrust made him [abraham] waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. that is why his faith was ‘counted to him as...
(“re: stacks” by bon iver)
this is...
romans 8:35-37
“who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? as it is written, ‘for your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’ no, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
i’m 98% certain that i’ve...
(“be my husband” by nina simone)
4th.
i stood on the highest point of my roof and watched the light show: 360 degrees of fireworks, sparklers, bottle rockets, fireflies, the orange glow of city lights to the north. no stars. but full of light. this weekend had soul. listening to ella fitzgerald last night making coffee and sitting on the grass around a little bonfire with roshini and jono and maria talking about why Christ is worth...
“trust is quicksand / claiming everything i have / all to give me life, all to...”
– sleeping at last
james 5:16.
“therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”
i like the neat equation that happens in this verse. prayer -> power. confession -> healing. the power of prayer is for those around us, but the confession of sin is for the healing of our own souls. this week i...
(“things behind the sun” by nick...
“you are praying for peace, but unwilling to be it. praying for mercy but...”
– jewel kilcher
“i hope i see you soon. because you’re fond of me and i am fond of you. i...”
– wakey!wakey!