song thoughts1

We will never know the awesome power
Of the grace of god
Until we let ourselves get swept away
Into this holy flood.

It's true.

I wish I would dive in - sink or swim. Win or lose. Live or die. And yet my stupid self is constantly holding me down. I'm afraid I haven't an inkling of what it must be like to get swept into that holy flood, so I am simply content with barely dipping my toes over the edge. But at the same time, I am not content with being content!

I’m diving in, I’m going deep in over my head,
I want to be
Caught in the rush,
lost in the flow, in over my head,
I want to go

Dive, Steven Curtis Chapman

God please sweep me into your holy flood, because I'm afraid I won't dive in on my own.

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3/16-19

stuffy and cliche...

Posting a picture of rainbow with some stuffy quote seems cliche. I hate cliche, but here I am, making just such a post. It rained on Tuesday. A mammoth sheet of deep blue sailed across the sky from the south, bringing with it fresh drops of rain. And then, as suddenly as it had come, it disappeared, leaving fresh clean air and a double rainbow - the kind where you can start at the bottom and go up & all the way around without ever losing one color. It was full and real all the way up and over the arch.

God is beautiful.

My Favorite Cookies

White Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies

1 cup butter

3/4 cup white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 - 6 oz. package sweetened dried cranberries

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

3 cups rolled oats

1 - 12 oz. package white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugars together; add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Mix in flour, soda, salt and cinnamon and mix well. Slowly add in oatmeal - mixture will be very thick and somewhat hard to stir. Mix in chips and cranberries. Place by spoonfuls onto baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 9-11 minutes, remove from baking sheet and cool on wire rack.

Tippy & Her Calf

A calf already over three weeks old is in desperate need of a name. Any suggestions?

1 million children

So excited to be part of this! Thank you Compassion!

Two Blissful Hours...

Faith and I went on a five-mile junket this afternoon. 1.5 miles east, 1 mile south, .5 mile east, .5 mile north, 1.5 miles back west. I feel contented when I'm sitting in a saddle - you know, it just feels right. My legs aren't tired, my back doesn't hurt, my butt isn't sore. I'm comfortable...until we start fighting. And then my arms tire, my hands get raw, and my temper rises. I think the same goes with Faith. Her mouth gets sore, and her temper rises. I cannot say I always win these conflicts - we're pretty evenly matched. Today, however, I was the victor.

I took this picture with my phone, so I'm afraid the quality is poor. Hopefully you'll get the gist.

See? We are riding along the left hand side. Grassy, wide, picturesque. Now please look at the right hand side. It's hard to see, but the ground slopes steeply down, there is water at the bottom, and then the ground shoots back up again. My idea was to shimmy down, jump the water, and woosh back up. Sounds fun. To me. Not to Faith. Thus beginneth our battle. She did not decend the slope in the exact location I had asked for, but I did - after much time and a bit of frustration - get her down there, about fifty yards north. Which I call winning the battle. Next time it will faster and less frustrating. And the time after that, even easier. Soon I will have an all-star trail horse!

Farther on, I saw the larget patch of vicky-thoendels I have ever seen. Even farther on, I won another battle. I successfully navigated Faith through a ditch with water in the bottom. This is victory because Faith does not like to walk through water. When I pulled the saddle off, there was sweat in abundance. Sweaty horse (most often) = good ride.

May 01

Happy Birthday to a wonderful mama.
We had a lovely luncheon with wonderful friends.

new summer shoes

Chacos.com

Taylor Swift: a CD review

She's got talent. Undeniable, outstanding talent. Not only did Taylor Swift write or co-write every song on her debut album, but her voice is real; nothing like the high-pitched falsetto sound that comes from many female singers. At age 16 she burst on the scene with her hit single, Tim McGraw. Sweet song, like most (but not all!) on her first album. Well written, catchy, enjoyable...but relatable? Not for me. All but three of the fourteen tracks on Taylor Swift are about boys. This leaves me in a quandry. I am fond of Taylor's voice, and I enjoy country pop. But in order to really love a song, I think you have to connect. Feel it. Empathize with it. Being a girl who isn't currently into dating, I honestly don't understand the song I'm Only Me when I'm With You. When Our Song or Picture to Burn comes on the radio, I can sing along, but I can no more relate to getting a dozen roses (or planning revenge against a guy!) than I can to walking on the moon.

On the other hand, Taylor's song A Place in This World is fantastic. Why? Because I can associate with it.

Got the radio on, my old blue jeans/And I'm wearing my heart on my sleeve/Feeling lucky today, got the sunshine/Could you tell me what more do I need/And tomorrow's just a mystery, oh yeah/But that's ok

I'm alone, on my own, and that's all I know/I'll be strong, I'll be wrong, oh but life goes on/I'm just a girl, trying to find a place in this world

In conclusion? Taylor Swift is a fenomenal singer and songwriter. If you can relate to her music, you should definitely add both Taylor Swift and Fearless (her newest album) to your CD collection. And if you can't, sing along when she comes on the radio, but save your money.

Super Sister