Goodbye... sort of

I'm sick of maintaining this blog in its current state, and I felt the need to start over, so I did. This blog will be deleted soon. (It doesn't help that I have it under my Mom's gmail account)
But I have not given up on blogging, I am just trying to start afresh, with my new blog

Dianoetic and Digressive

If you liked this blog, please check out my new one. I plan to update it weekly, but we will see what happens...

Here is a link:

Dianoetic and Digressive

Enjoy!!!!

What's with the Weather?

This March Weather is fascinating. We still have a few days until spring, but it feels like it could be June!
Since many predict it won't last long, I took a few photos of "signs of spring" around our house to commemorate this fragment of summer we are currently experiencing.

Lissa is already searching for oases of shade. (Yeah, oases is the plural of oasis.)

Shorts, t-shirt...and flip-flops! :)

Amelanchier of some sort...

Turtles are out! This one was named Turketoi by Sibling.

Narcissus Spp.

Sedum Telephium

I'm Back!

Yes, it has been a while. I was discouraged for a while because I thought no one was reading, but I was mistaken! I brought the topic up at Bible Study, and received two...threats, I think they were, that I better start writing again. I did receive one request to give my blog some direction. Apparently, some of my older posts are meaningless. If that is true, then I sincerely apologize.
I've always been fascinated by nature in general. I take great joy in taking in the night sky, a sunrise, or a thunderstorm. I have had this fascination for as long as I can remember. I subscribed to any nature magazine I could get my hands on, and dreamed of being a marine biologist. Drawing from that background, I have also been fairly nature-conscious throughout my entire life. If I had had my own way, I would probably have embraced the environmental propaganda out there today. Now, I enjoy nature for the immense testimony it gives to the glory of God. Yet creation, as I will now call it, has always seemed to mean a little bit more to me.
I recently read The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Mr. Hawthorne wrote in the time leading up into the time of Romanticism, if I remember correctly. Nature, and "natural" played a big part in developing the Romanticist thought. In the book, where did the characters go when they were hopeless and depressed? The forest. The Forest, actually. In the book it was nearly deified! As they tried to do away with God and put man at the top, they needed something else. Man, in its fallen state is evil. They wanted something good to look upon. Where did they turn? To the only "perfect" thing out there. The untouched, untainted beauty of the natural world.
Needless to say, I disagree with that view. I would also contend that creation in its current state is imperfect. It is in a tainted, broken, state due to the fall. Yet the handiwork of God can still be seen through the layer of sin. In many areas in the Bible, creation is used as a tool to point to the majesty of God.
So, when I read the book, and when I considered that school of thought, I saw the absence of God. Funny, but that happens to be a characteristic of most philosophies. I can definitely see where they were coming from, with my fascination of creation. It is amazing. You don't need me to tell you that, just walk outside.
So, let's acknowledge the presence of God. Let's analyze the Romantics' thought with God involved. What does nature become with God? (Really, this question is irrelevant; it wouldn't be here without God! But remember, we're coming from a Romantic's point of view.) Read Psalm 148. Stop right here and do not read any more of this until you do. Thank you.
Doesn't that create a wonderful feeling, reading that Psalm? To me, the psalm-writer is taking the awe of nature characterized in Romantic philosophy and showing where that fascination comes from. Not only, are we a living, breathing part of the handiwork of God, but it is actively praising Him! The Psalm goes on to command us to join in.
How often do we walk through the woods, look up at the night sky, or even walk across the yard without realizing we are walking right through a symphony of creation praising God? I take that symphony for granted way too much.
A friend recently mentioned that she is thankful for the wind. Really? The wind? Why? Because when you look at this symphony of praise and take it in, how can you not be thankful for it? It is actively praising God. Also, I appreciate the huge encouragement that you get from knowing that you have a God that created all of this and that He is more powerful than it all.
Lastly, this isn't a sermon, but a thought. I just had to put this down because to me, when I think to connect my fascination of nature with Psalm 148, and when I do join in to the symphony of praise, I find more joy in nature than any of the Romantics ever will.
P.S.- If you happen to be a professor of philosophy or literature, please make allowances for my high school understanding of Romantic thought. :)
P.P.S.- Louie Giglio has an awesome, awesome talk on Psalm 148. It is about ten minutes long; look it up on youtube and watch it. It is really cool!

Back from Maine!

We are back from our be-awesome trip to New England. Our first stop was Toronto,where we visited Casa  Loma, a mansion built in the style of a medieval castle. It had beautiful gardens. We drove to Vermont from there. It was fun going through Québec. People would try to talk to us in English sometimes, and it was very funny! McDonald's menus look different in French. In Vermont, we hiked, climbed trees, roasted marshmallows and ate well. From there, we went through the White Mountains (gorgeous!) to Boothbay, Maine to visit our friends. After a dinner of lobster, we drove down to the beach. After we had spent the night there, we drove up to Rockport, Maine, where the Schooner Timberwind awaited. We boarded that night after dinner at a local deli. Four days of sailing, then we were on our way Boston. After some time there, we left for home, spending the night at Niagara Falls.  

Home at last! After a wonderful trip to Missouri, I am very tired. I did more horseback riding than I had ever done in my life. The first horse I rode, named Star, was nice, but the ride would have been more enjoyable if my legs hadn't been dragging on the ground. She also enjoyed my grunts of frustration when she went under a tree. Other than that, she was nice and fairly easy to control. I also rode a horse called Dandy. A beautiful horse, she was big enough she felt like more like a normal-sized horse. Unfortunately, I did not like her and she portrayed her same views about me quite often. She particularly enjoyed acting tired and sluggish, then bouncing into a lively trot whenever she felt like it. Then there was Charlie. Everybody warned me about his quirky moods and habit of looking for things to spook at. At 17 hands high, he really fit me and I felt like I fit him. I never had any trouble with him after we found out what the other wanted. He was my favorite horse by far.
What is it about the movie Megamind that makes me laugh even after we have watched it five times in the same trip? 'It boggles my mind! I am extremely boggled!' I just can't figure it out. What is it about the word 'cello' that makes you sigh? How do you explain that freeing feeling when you can let your fingers fly up and down the piano and bask inside the sound of an orchestra? Why does moldy applesauce that was left in the fridge over your trip make you shudder? Why do the words 'video games' and 'wasted time' go together so well?
My glasses fogged up when I walked outside today. It is humid and hot, but I can be thankful for air conditioning, T-shirts, swimming pools, couches and cameras. Shade, fans, iced tea, and lunch on a shaded patio or deck. Running water helps out too.

Raining and Pouring

It's raining, it's pouring...Just when it looked like the weather was getting better, I look outside, and, gasp! Could it really be? It is raining. What's that? As I write, I hear my siblings rejoicing, quickly donning rainboots and running out the door. It reminds me of this passage:

Behold, God is great, and we know him not;

the number of his years is unsearchable.

For he draws up the drops of water;

they distill his mist in rain,

which the skies pour down

and drops on mankind abundantly.

Can anyone understand the spreading of the clouds,

the thunderings of his pavilion? 

Behold, he scatters his lightning about him 

and covers the roots of the sea.

Job 36:26-30 

Hollyhocks

Driver's ed is going ok, but I'm alive, so it's not all bad. I'm still not allowed to practice with parents for who knows how long...I have to spend 6 hours of instruction in a car and 24 hours of instruction in a classroom. I have spent 18 hours in a classroom and 1 hour in a car. I also have to finish all of this by the end of July. Today is Mom's Birthday! Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Mom, happy birthday to you!!!! I asked her what she wanted for dinner & dessert, and she said: Creamy Chicken with Linguine with Chocolate Chip Cookies for dessert.  I have our chocolate chip recipe memorized!! Hee-hee. I have been having some fun on my clarinet lately. I don't have viola lessons thru the summer, so... more time to practice other instruments. I walked over to a bookstore while our tires were being changed... I LOVE BOOKS. I found so many things I needed, er, wanted. Cookbooks, CD's, an awesome book that taught you spanish by using lines from movies like Princess Bride, Finding Nemo, most of them were movies I have watched. It went on and on. If I ever stumble across $1,000, that is where I would go. I could spend that much within five minutes. The End for now.
PS- Answer to joke in last post.... "Hampede!!"