my journey's a constant dream

Oh my soul is free
it wandered away from me
my heart is so cold for the warmth from long ago
has wandered away from me

Oh my soul can fly
its journeys are far and wide
but my heart is a weight for the burdens are great
and the journeys too far for me

But oh my soul it came home
with tales of a way that I'll escape
but my heart it was weak and I could not speak
of how much I longed to be

With my soul I am free
my journeys a constant dream
the ends in the ocean but starts in the stream
my soul it so longs to be

Oh my heart had resigned
to forfeit the rest of my life
but my soul had a plan to walk hand in hand
so back it came to me

'Cause oh my heart was alone
forgetting all that I've dreamed
but now all that I see is life breaking free
so long captivity for me

It came to me that a love this true
would always be in my mind
and on its return I could
Only be overcome by the joy inside

Oh heavens upon me
I must have died
oh adventures before me
let's start this adventure tonight

singleness and hash browns

In all my blogging days, there has been one subject that I have been loath to talk about - singleness. I've always skirted around the edges and dodged the issue as much as possible. But I've determined to be real and honest here, in this, my third incarnation of blogspace.  And honestly, I shall try to be. I'm not going to write a long essay about it. No one wants to read it. Believe me, it'll be the usual Christian rehash. (That makes me think of hash browns - yum.) In my endeavorer to be more authentic, I'm going to attempt this topic with a slice of Jo-Ann - mostly being unprescribed and outside the square which is really saying that it's very much in the square. But I like it that way. Again, mental note: no rules, Jo, no rules.

Being in the (mostly) contented state of singleness that I am and open to the idea of taking steps toward marriage and living in faith that God's plan for me does involve marriage, I live in hope and preparation for the change of season that will entail being someone's wife. So, I'm going to share and be a little more open about the journey that presently holds the title 'Singleness'. But this is only the prequel.  Right now, I'm wondering how I managed to include the subject of singleness and hash browns in the same post... ♥

These days

These days are filled with silliness and shivers from the cold and windy outdoors. They bring beautiful sunscapes both morning and evening and even the occasional rainbow ushered in by downpours and sun showers. They are filled with busyness and talking and laughing and joking and the intricate weaving of newly formed friendships. They rejoice at the sweetness of old and very much worn-in friendships and the blessing of past friendships rekindling. These days are filled to the brim with God's goodness and faithfulness. These are good days.

Stars in their bucks

Dear friend,

Have I ever mentioned that I love Starbucks? It may not look like it, but it is! If we ever meet for coffee, let's get iced caramel frappes on a sunny day ok? And I promise not to look this ridiculous.

P.S.  Love the expression on the face of the lady in the background! Why I feel the need to write about Starbucks and include a terrible picture is a profound mystery,even to me - especially to me!

P.P.S. On a slightly different tangent, the most exciting thing about this post is that it will publish while I am still at work and counting down the minuets till home-time. In spite of loving Thursdays, I still count down the last hour before leaving. Don't you?

A new home

I've past the one month mark since my move from home. It's still a bit surreal at times to think that this is not just a short term arrangement, but a permanent move. Away from my home, family, friends...basically everything that is familiar. But I'm making new things familiar. New roads that will soon become well-driven, shops that will be regularly frequented, flatmates that I'm sure will be friends rather than strangers. In the midst of new, God doesn't and hasn't changed. He is my solid rock, in whom I can put my confidence and trust. He hasn't failed me but has kept me and shown me His goodness and faithfulness in ways that have taken me by surprise. And it shouldn't, because He is the God of generosity.  Yet it still does.  Maybe because we come to expect of God what we expect of people.  And that's not surprising seeing the way we tend to let each other down.

His peace has gone before me and has been my rear guard. I've had to put faith in action, give over the control completely and He has delivered over and above on the things I have asked for. Including where I would put my head down to sleep at night. My nature would usually dictate intense worry over the details of where I would live, but again, He saw to all the details and I am blown away by how meticulous the details are in the fulfillment of the asking. So, friends, I live with three other Christian girls, at a reasonable price, close to where I have family friends and relatives and a 25min drive to work in the mornings. Seriously, I think God had all the details sorted when he gave me this place. It's perfect.  Oh yes, and I live at number twenty-four.  Is that significant? No, not really, but it's a nice number and it says so on my gate, just in case you missed it.

Magical

Her little hands reach upward and I pick her up. She tightens her arms around my neck and I squeeze back. She pulls herself away and gives a quiet but confident, "I luf you". It's the loveliest hug ever. I love her too. Childhood is magical and she exuberates everything that is beautiful about being completely child-like. She bestows her gift of love so genuinely and freely and I feel unbelievably privileged...

Imagine how God must feel when we love him with abandon. With such simple, pure, captivating love. I love my job. ♥ 

nothing

So... (awkward pause)... I've been busy. No excuses. Excuses are not necessary when one has no rules for one's own blog. Something I promised myself when I moved here. So I'm sure you'll forgive me for my silence. Better to talk about something than nothing at all. I've had nothing to blog about for the last little while. Correction: I've had nothing of interest to blog about and I've had very little time in which to do it. In remedy to that, I've set up a twitter account. That's controversial isn't it?! Just so that I don't need to write a full blog post when "nothing" is happening or I don't have time. Until the next bout of nothing hits me...  ♥