Norman Vincent Peale

You only lose energy
when life becomes
dull in your mind.
You don't have to
be tired and bored.
Get interested in
something. Get
absolutely enthralled
in something.
Throw yourself into
it with abandon.

Bad - U2

[this song was just on the radio]

If you twist and turn away.
If you tear yourself in two again.
If I could, yes I would
If I could, I would let it go.

Surrender, dislocate.
If I could throw this lifeless
Lifeline to the wind.
Leave this heart of clay,
See you walk, walk away,
Into the night.
And through the rain.
Into the half-light,
And through the flame.
If I could throw myself,
set your spirit free.
I'd lead your heart away,
See you break, break away
Into the light.
And to the day.

To let it go,
And so to fade away.
To let it go,

And so fade away.
I'm wide awake.
I'm wide awake.
I'm not sleeping.
Oh, no, no.

If you should ask then maybe
They tell you what I would say.
True colors fly in blue and black,
bruised silken skies and burning flag.
Colors crash, collide in blood shot eyes.

If I could, you know I would.
If I could, I would let it go.
This desparation.
Dislocation.
Separation.
Condemnation.
Revelation.
Temptation.
Isolation.
Desolation.

Let it go,
And so to fade away.
To let it go,
And so fade away.
Oh, no
I'm wide awake.
I'm wide awake.
I'm not sleeping.
Oh, no no

Unit Two

So I'm finally getting to Unit 2 of my at home photography class. It only took two years.... Anyway, I'm supposed to send in three shots for homework.

1] The subject must be upfront and large in the frame.

2] The subject must be framed to draw attention to it.

3] Draw attention to the subject by using converging lines.

I think I got number's one and two down. Now just to figure out that line thing...

ps- I won't be sending them in with the personal editing that I did to them here.

Feeling UNusable?

I have been many things....

Go Gideon Go!

"This year marks the 100th anniversary of Gideon Bible placement in hotels. Last year alone, Gideons distributed more than 1.1 million Bibles in the United States. . . and almost another 700,000 around the world. The vast majority of these Bibles went to hotels and motels, where Gideons personally placed them in each and every room."

Cleaning out the closet.

Puzzle fun.

From this....
To this....
And back to the box!

The beginning of a story

Once upon a time there was a handsome but troubled prince named Bastian. Very soon Bastian was to become Kind over all of Parellia and he had yet to find a bride. More importantly though, he had yet to understand what it really meant to be King.

One of Bastian's biggest troubles was his lack of humility. As the only son of a very proud King, his personal opinion of himself was rather bloated. As a boy he showed great strength and intelligence to the delight of his parents. "He will no doubt be as great a King as I," boasted King Norlu. Bastian's mother, Queen Clari, noticed early on how quickly Bastian became prideful and thought too much of himself. She tried her best to encourage him to think more of others, "for a great King is a great servant." He always listened to his mother, but her words never quite reached his heart.

King Norlu was so busy taking care of the Parellia that he didn't know of his son's great pride that was slowly setting him up for failure. He did, however, marry an extraordinarily wise woman. The Queen had come up with a plan before Bastian's eighteenth birthday. She explained to the King that if something wasn't done before Bastian became King, all that Norlu had worked for to establish an iron kingdom would be lost. He certainly didn't like the sound of that! The King was very disappointed that he had neglected to build the character of his own son. He knew that Queen Clari was the wisest lady in the kingdom and so he entrusted her with the task of changing the attitude of the future king.

Bastian had a natural talent for music. He could play any instrument beautifully after studying it for a month, and his voice was lovely to the ears. For his 18th birthday, the King & Queen presented him with the most glorious guitar he had ever seen. The was no ordinary guitar mind you. It had been specially hand crafted by the King's carpenter, who had served the King since before Bastian was born.

TO BE CONTINUED...

A Franciscan Benediction

A Franciscan Benediction

May God bless us with discomfort

At easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships

So that we may live from deep within our hearts.

May God bless us with anger.

At injustice, oppression, and exploitation of God's creations.

So that we may work for justice, freedom, and peace.

May God bless us with tears.

To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger, and war,

So that we may reach out our hands to comfort them and

To turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless us with just enough foolishness

To believe that we can make a difference in the world,

So that we can do what others claim cannot be done:

To bring justice and kindness to all our children and all our neighbors who are poor.

Amen.

Copied from MoreThanCake.

A lesson in contentment.

"You come of the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve," said Aslan. "And that is both honour enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor in earth. Be content."

-Aslan, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

What a great lesson in contentment. I just finished reading the second book in the Narnia series. I have read them before, but I'm re-reading them to find new truths that eluded me as a child. This quote stood out to me as I finished the book this evening. It's a strange thing to be both proud of your heritage and ashamed at the same time. To be so glad of who you are, and yet so remorseful of what you've done. That is the only way those two things can work in a person at the same time.

On the one hand, is a description of Who I am. On the other, What I've done. I am daughter of the King. That makes me a Princess. What a noble and honored position. It is wonderful! And what's more, I have been adopted into the King's family and loved completely by the King just because I AM.

And yet, how shamefully I have behaved as such a daughter. Mistake after mistake. Sin after sin. Ashamed of the ungratefulness I have shown. Of the self-righteousness that had at once created an ugly monster instead of a lovely Princess. I have done nothing worthy of being a daughter of the King, and yet I AM.

God is so unfathomable. I have not the words to express the glorious goodness of my King. His outstretched arms beckon for me to come, sit on his lap and love on him, cry on him, and enjoy him. He desires to give me all he has. He has given me all he has! And he has everything!

How can I not be content with that?

Lord, Lord! I desire to be content just where I am! Give me a swift kick in rear when I am not!

How do they do it?

Why is it that mothers can get so much more done in a day than those of us who are without the blessing of children?

How do they do it?

Some mothers I know, get more done in a day than I get done in a whole week!

I know it's not quite Mother's Day, but I gotta say...

HERE'S TO ALL THE MUMS!

Nice day for filling holes in the yard.

Out at the parade! We had to move back from the street after the pirates scared Maverick.

We even look a like too!

Do You Belong in The Office?

My Result: Jim Halpert

You're not the person running around the office with a lampshade on your head (yet), but you've still got a sense of humor (and it's not of the makes-us-cringe variety). Sure, sometimes you're too busy cracking jokes to take care of business, but is that a crime? And you can't deny it — nothing says "HR meeting" like hiding a coworker's notes!


But when you're up against the clock, you'll come through in a pinch, which is why upper management keeps you around. After all, getting serious is always a possibility for you, just not exactly the probability...

Glamor Shots are posted!

So, Angie did a FAN-STINKING-TASTIC job of imagery!

Just click the picture on the right for a full sample of her wonderful work! This was a total blast! I can't wait for the next scheme she cooks up!

Daffodil Principle

Daffodil Principle

--posted by freckleface.0807 on Apr 4, 2008

Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, 'Mother, you must come to see the daffodils before they are over.'

I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead 'I will come next Tuesday', I promised a little reluctantly on her third call.

Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and reluctantly I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn's house I was welcomed by the joyful sounds of happy children. I delightedly hugged and greeted my grandchildren.

'Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in these clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see badly enough to drive another inch!'

My daughter smiled calmly and said, 'We drive in this all the time, Mother.'

'Well, you won't get me back on the road until it clears, and then I'm heading for home!' I assured her.

'But first we're going to see the daffodils. It's just a few blocks,' Carolyn said. 'I'll drive. I'm used to this.'

'Carolyn,' I said sternly, 'Please turn around.'

'It's all right, Mother, I promise. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience.'

After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand lettered sign with an arrow that read, ' Daffodil Garden ' We got out of the car, each took a child's hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, as we turned a corner, I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most glorious sight.

It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it over the mountain and its surrounding slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns, great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, creamy white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, and saffron and butter yellow. Each different colored variety was planted in large groups so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. There were five acres of flowers.

'Who did this?' I asked Carolyn. 'Just one woman,' Carolyn answered. 'She lives on the property. That's her home.' Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house, small and modestly sitting in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house.

On the patio, we saw a poster. 'Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking', was the headline. The first answer was a simple one. '50,000 bulbs,' it read. The second answer was, 'One at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet, and one brain.' The third answer was, 'Began in 1958.'

For me, that moment was a life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than forty years before, had begun, one bulb at a time, to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountaintop. Planting one bulb at a time, year after year, this unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. One day at a time, she had created something of extraordinary magnificence, beauty, and inspiration. The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration.

That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time--often just one baby-step at time--and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time. When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world .

'It makes me sad in a way,' I admitted to Carolyn. 'What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five or forty years ago and had worked away at it 'one bulb at a time' through all those years? Just think what I might have been able to achieve!'

My daughter summed up the message of the day in her usual direct way. 'Start tomorrow,' she said.

She was right. It's so pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays. The way to make learning a lesson of celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, 'How can I put this to use today?'

Use the Daffodil Principle. Stop waiting.....

Until your car or home is paid off

Until you get a new car or home

Until your kids leave the house

Until you go back to school

Until you finish school

Until you clean the house

Until you organize the garage

Until you clean off your desk

Until you lose 10 lbs.

Until you gain 10 lbs.

Until you get married

Until you get a divorce

Until you have kids

Until the kids go to school

Until you retire

Until summer

Until spring

Until winter

Until fall

Until you die...

There is no better time than right now to be happy.
Happiness is a journey, not a destination.
Wishing you a beautiful, daffodil day!

A visit with Candice!

Glamor Shots!

So, after a totally wonderful morning sermon, Jami, Rach, and I went over to Angie and Jess's place for some totally awesome glamor shots! I don't have any to post previews, but I will link back to their blog when they are posted! I'm super excited! It was serious girly fun!

by Me

A little girl is crying
She can't tell you why
Inside she's dying
While the whole world is flying

Look at the lack of leg room!

Just landed in Denver!

Cool carpet!

Very early go time...