Puppy Love

Companion Hearts

(pretty pic by Paul)

Love is....

...him doing the dishes at 11 pm, just because he promised 27 hours ago.

...her knowing how to shut the water valve off, and not teasing him because he doesn't.

...when she asks for one donut at nine am, and gets twelve at three pm.

...sharing french fries after a long day, and knowing that the longevity of our relationship depends on getting two orders.

Weary hearts

It's been a day and a half, and it's barely ten pm! And on days like this...where the world feels a little heavy and tiresome, one needs a good glass of wine, and some soul food.

So, to feast my hungry little eyes...some of my faves....

A baby is born with a need to be loved - and never outgrows it.
Frank A. Clark

A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous.
Ingrid Bergman

The ultimate test of a relationship is to disagree but to hold hands.
Alexandria Penney

If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day, so I never have to live without you.
Winnie the Pooh

Love is a great beautifier.
Louisa May Alcott

Women are meant to be loved, not to be understood.
Women love men for their defects; if men have enough of them women will forgive them everything, even their gigantic intellects.
Oscar Wilde

Happy Hearts

The first time I saw Moulin Rouge also happened to coincide with the first time I was desperately in love. And not just mushy, tingly, all smiles, goofey love. Okay, yes, all those things. But also committed love.

"Love is a many splendor-ed thing! Love lifts us up where we belong! All we need is love!" And I was completely lost in that story. Not just because it's moving and beautiful, but because it tells it like it is. No, not every relationship ends in a ghastly death scene of the heroine, but most of us do face pain in our journey towards love, and yet fight to keep that love alive. It paints a picture of the glorious triumph of love. And it has since been one of my favorites.

So, as I finish waxing poetic here, it shouldn't surprise anyone that Valentine's is one of my favorite holidays. Even before I was dating, or married, or biased. Quite frankly, chocolate, red hearts, and focusing on loving people makes February's existence worth while. (Cause otherwise it would be about snow, and numb extremities, and frostbite.)

So, as I've committed to blogging more, and in honor of love and Valentine's....I'm going to find something to do, or watch, or take note of that celebrates love for the next 12 days. I'm going to attempt 12 posts (or at least 12 entries, even if a few happen on the same day!) to document my little adventure. And, as my husband is a busy busy man, I get to plan our Valentine's celebration this year! And that shall be my concluding event! So to get in the spirit, or to ward off the winter blues...Feel free to join me, and comment on how you find love in the next two weeks!

2011 Ideas

So I'm floating some new ideas this year. After the crazy rush of holiday joy, I got to sit for a blissful week in sunny So Cal, and breathe. Most years after the first, I rack my brain for all the things that will obviously make my life better. But this year...I didn't.

I think of some things though that every life should have, including mine. So, what do ya'll think?

My New Year's "Ta da's" (which sounds much better than to do's!):

~ work out yoga routine

~ make bohemian updates to wardrobe

~ decorate house

~ plant garden, can produce

~ learn to make homemade snacks that are worth eating

~ explore my new neighborhood

~ work out Scripture reading plan

~ find more time for art

Last year my quest for beauty led me to slowly document life here, on my blog. This year, I want to document this journey - beauty and all - and let my heart process here. Feel free to enjoy me, and enjoying the breathing.

New year limbo

It's a new year, a new page in life, a new adventure. And I'm ready for something new.....just what yet, I'm not sure. But I think it might involve yoga, a garden, and more scarves. Still thinking though....

Let Freedom Reign

“At the cross, on the mount,
Where the Savior died.
Grace declared, with a shout,
God is satisfied!
Shame is slain,
Hope is found, in His final breath.
Pain is crushed, what a sound,
Now my soul can finally rest…At the cross.”

This song continues… “let freedom reign in us.”

My friend, and kindred spirit, Melanie Bradley, passed away this weekend. I was soaking my mind in my pain, listening to these lyrics tonight when it struck me, this is exactly the message Mel modeled for me. We became friends rather unexpectedly. She snuck into my life, a friend of a friend, and her intentional pursuit of me, and my culinary skills, endeared her to me.

Mel was like that. She could see pain and potential in other people, and she wanted to be part of the process of both. As we got to know each other, we realized we had had very similar, painful growings up. And that common history gave us great understanding. I could say things to her, things about what I was thinking, how I was feeling, and I didn’t have to explain them – she just got it.

She was generally one step ahead of me…she got married first, had a baby first. But we did so much of our “Figuring out” together. We’d read the same book, and talk for hours on the phone about it. Trying to figure God, our husbands, and ourselves out. And just having a traveling companion to do that…whether in Art Apprec, or in her kitchen, or on the phone, was just a miraculous part of my becoming.

I’m not entirely sure who I’m gonna call when my roast chicken doesn’t turn out, or my husband does something entirely manish and abnormal, or when I find that absolutely perfect cup of coffee. I’ll probably make a mental note, because damn it, in heaven, we’re gonna have a lot of catching up to do.

And true to form, Mel beat me to glory. She's there, singing her heart out to the One who’s pursuit of love she emulated while she was here. And honestly, I had been thinking a lot about that lately… about our process of becoming, and what our life points to. And it seems fitting, with the new year coming, and as a tribute to her, to share some of that here.

Mel and I had been talking recently about feeling “solid” for the first time in our lives. Like we were realizing who God created us to be…letting go of the ties that held us back, of the memories and habits, and voices that determined our reality, and relying on His grace (a place I doubtful would have reached if not for the gift of her friendship). She had this concept of our freedom in Christ…a freedom that was greater than our shame, self or others inflicted, greater than our weakness or pain. A freedom that allowed us to accept ourselves, and love other people. A freedom that inspired ingenuity, and just didn’t accept no for an answer. From herself, or anyone. She knew where her soul could rest, and she pointed towards that place with her life.

It’s a journey that Mel has now completely perfected. She is encapsulated now in the immense glory and grace of our Savior, in complete rest. And as it was on my heart anyway, and seems even more fitting as a tribute to Melanie’s life, I want to make a concerted concentration (note: NOT effort) towards that end myself this year. I don’t think that this side of glory, we ever find complete rest, but I think there is true rest to be found.

My goal for this blog was to search for beauty. Coming out of a painful, dark time, I needed the light that beauty offered. And that idea still compels me. But there is more than just beauty to be sought. I think what my soul craves is REST…and there are so many, many ways that our Abba has provided His children with the opportunity for rest here. In beauty, and in so many other things. So this coming year, here’s my slightly pre-emptive resolution: I want to allow my soul to be aware of beauty and rest around me. I want that freedom that Christ offers, to define my life, and compel my relationships. I want to be the kind of friend that Mel was. Because I am going to miss her like crazy, but in remembering her, and continuing to learn from her example, her death has purpose, and that makes this all a little bit better.