Think.

So I'm twenty-three and I've never had my ears pierced. I know, I know....girls in my children's church group stand with mouth gaping when I show them my bare ears, but its true. And now that I'm entering what feels like official adult life I've been contemplating the idea of getting my ears pierced. But I really couldn't think of what would force me to make the decision so I decided I would start looking for earrings that are so great they would force me to pierce my ears. Here's some that I came up with......

Aren't those simply marvelous? I still haven't made up my mind yet, so for now I'm sticking with drooling over beautiful necklaces but eventually.....who knows? 

Why did the chicken cross the road?

To get to Adam and Malinda's house.

No, this is not another blog about how my niece and nephew love jokes....although I did just skype Peyton on his first day of school and the whole thing turned into another giant knock-knock joke and not a whole lot about what happened at school.

But back to the chicken. Adam and I are driving back to our house, we pull into our driveway and to our surprise there is a chicken in our yard! I don't know why he was trying to get to our house, maybe he knew I was a vegetarian and was trying to thank me. Or maybe he wanted to bask in the sunlight hitting our house? Regardless, the closer we got to our garage the more confused the poor guy got and then he started running full speed the opposite direction. Have you ever seen a single chicken run full speed? Its hilarious. It's like a combination pterodactyl and determined tri-athlete. Adam and I were dying laughing. I hope he stops by again sometime.


Did I mention I live in the country?

Please tell me this picture is real life. 

Real life, for real

All of my grad school books are here. 

That means something, I think. 

It means that life and routine are about to change once more. It means a lot less lazy day leisure reading and morning bike rides with nothing to think about. But it also means learning and changing and growing and progressing and being a real life adult with lots of things to do. I think I'm ready. I have grown-up clothes, a bag that doesn't have handmade things sewn to it, and books full of new adventure. I'm ready. 

Who's There?

The last time I saw my nephew and niece I taught them the fine art of knock-knock jokes. They loved it. They acted like they had never heard a joke in their life, it was adorable! Well, I saw them today when I had lunch with my lovely sister and they are still hard at work perfecting their own knock-knock jokes. Michelle and I were just dying listening to the jokes they came up with. Like, "light who? Light bulb." and "teeth who? Teeth that you can chew with." They obviously do not quite get the point of a pun or how to cleverly use 'who' to your advantage. I loved it though. After they finished eating they said knock-knock jokes back and forth the entire time. I had a chance to put in a few of my own like the classics, "orange you glad I didn't say banana?" and "lettuce have a  party!" They didn't get the point of them but they were cracking up anyway. Their favorite is still the "boo-who/don't cry about it" joke. That one never gets old. I had such a great time with them today. I think since I've been gone I can just see in their eyes how much they adore spending time with me. Its a marvelous feeling, and of course its mutual. I loved everything about their laughs and facial expressions, their wit and talking about everything from school to football and Hello Kitty. They are extraordinary kids that are going to grow up to be extraordinary people. I just know it.

Existence

I just finished one of the most beautiful books. It wasn't adventurous or suspenseful. It had no chapters and no plan. It was the most extraordinary meandering book I've ever laid my eyes on. It's title is Gilead. It's simply about an elderly pastor who had a very young son, whom he loved so dearly. That's what the whole book is about. The immense and unimaginable love and gratitude this father has for his son's life being intertwined with his own life. That's what just gets me about this book. The way its structured seems to say that the only important part about reading this book is getting a glimpse of how humans should love the humans around them. So deeply. So full. It has the most magnificent words and thoughts and tidbits of theology. This book is pure poetry. I just have to share some of its words because its just too beautiful not to. Here's some of my favorites...

“Your hair is straight and dark, and your skin is very fair. I suppose you're not prettier   than most children. You're just a nice-looking boy, a bit slight, well scrubbed and well mannered. All that is fine, but its your existence I love you for, mainly. Existence seems to me now the most remarkable thing that could ever be imagined.” 

“I'm writing this in part to tell you that if you ever wonder what you've done in your life- and everyone does wonder sooner or later - you have been God's grace to me, a miracle, something more than a miracle...if only I had words to tell you.”

“That is just a way of saying I could never thank God sufficiently for the splendor He has hidden from the world and revealed to me in your sweetly ordinary face.”

“ I was struck by the way the light felt that afternoon. I have paid a good deal of attention to light, but no one could do it justice. There was a feeling of a weight of light-pressing the damp out of the grass and pressing the smell of sour old sap out of the boards on the porch floor and burdening even the trees a little as a late snow would do. It was the kind of light that rests on your shoulders the way a cat lies on your lap. So familiar.”

“The moon looks wonderful in this warm evening light, just as a candle flame looks beautiful in the light of morning. Light within light. It seems like a metaphor for something. So much does. It seems to me to be a metaphor for the human soul, the singular light within the great general light of existence. Or it seems like poetry within language. Perhaps wisdom within experience. Or marriage within friendship and love.”

“My point here is that the great kindness and providence of the Lord has given most of us someone to honor-the child his parent, the parent his child. I have great respect for the uprightness of character and the goodness of your heart, and your mother could not love you more or take greater pride in you. She loves you as God does, to the marrow of your bones. You see how godlike it is to love the being of someone. Your existence is a delight to us.”