December 31, 2017

Books in 2017

Scarlet by S. Lawhead
Tuck by S. Lawhead
Legacy by James Mitchener
Accidental Tourist by Anne Tayler
The Little Prince by Antoine de St.Exupery
The Undistracted Widow by Carol Cornish
Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon
You Came Too by Robert Frost
Exploring Revelation by Philips
Martin Luther by Booth
Unfinished Tales by JRR Tolkien
The Last Thirteen by James Phelon
Children in the Light by Harold Myra
The Shining Face by Harold Myra
Intentional Walk by Rob Rains

April 25, 2017

Blue Highways

I finished reading Blue Highways. I found that I truly love travel books. They make me want to hit the road.
This particular book had me following the author (William Least Heat-Moon) around the US in an RV-like van. He went east from Missouri to the Atlantic Ocean, then south and through Texas all the way to the Pacific Ocean in Oregon/Washington and along the Northern states all the way to Maine and NY, NJ, etc and back West to Missouri.
My thoughts about his writing style focus on his extensive vocabulary and his extraordinary descriptions. Really good. I appreciated the lack of going after girls and the basic modesty he embraced. I noticed that the author himself rarely used profanity, even if the characters he came across in his travels did.
I also noticed the author and, mentioned in the afterword, his editor, considered themselves atheists, but only mentioned religion if it mattered to a character he met. My favorite was a monk he met in
Georgia. He had this to say:

"His answers were coming slowly. 'I try to take desires and memories of companionship--destructive ones--and let them run their course.  Wait it out.  Don't panic  That's when the emptiness is intense.' 'Is that it?'
'That's the beginning.  Then I turn the pain of absence into an offering to God.  Sometimes that's all I have to offer.'
'You mean what you've given up?'
'Does it seem like I'm giving nothing?' "

This quote, this person he met, really encouraged me.  Overall I enjoyed this book.

March 14, 2017

Be Yourself

So once in middle school some friends told me to "Be Yourself".
Apparently, I was a different person at school and away from school.  Ever since then, I always wonder why is that even a saying.  Sad, serious, silly, or studious are descriptions for different people right? They can also be descriptions of the same person.
My teen wondered out loud "How can I be myself?"  She's right.  How would a young person even know what that is--they are themselves.  They can be no other.  They are still trying to figure out who they are, what they like, what is good and what is not.
Sure, I will be myself whether I'm a sad at the moment or a typically sad person.  Label me "sad".
Normally I'm a silly person, but what about the days I am not in the mood--you know what I mean.  However, maybe I feel more comfortable acting silly when I'm nervous.  That is being myself, but it is not appropriate.
When I am myself, which is pretty much always, I can be described differently in different circumstances.  Like my personality or don't like it--I don't care.  Maybe that's where you are supposed to be for others to stop just saying "Be Yourself."


February 4, 2017

casualty

Were you a casualty of war?
Or a sure sign of victory?
Were you called home for His sake
Or were you called home for mine?

Will your absence be felt always?
Or will new growth fill the holes?
Should I attempt to rake up the pieces
Or let them lie until they become soil?

My plan was to keep walking
But being still is recommended.
Somehow in my mind I can both
Go to You while You come to me.


January 8, 2017

Mountain biking in the snow

I am so thrilled that I got to spend the afternoon on my mountain bike 🚲 riding Ender's Fault Trail North Loop. I have yet to get past the first uphill. Today I did the whole thing except for two tiny short cuts to catch up with my friends. Mountain biking is an activity I've been wishing to be involved in for some time. Greg at one time had bought us both hybrids which was good for him because he mostly enjoyed riding his bike as a means of transportation with the occasional off-road trip. When Emma needed a bike, I gave mine to her and set my heart on a mountain bike. I'm so glad I did. Today makes 3 official trails that I've completed (at least mostly).
1) Fern Hollow at White Oak Stae Park was my first.
2) Mt Nebo Bench Trail was 2nd
3) Ender's Fault at Woolly Hollow today

I'm so thankful I was able to go today. Thankful for my sweet girls who played with Isaiah while I was gone. Thankful for friends who invited me so I wouldn't have to go at alone. Thankful for another friend and her boy who waited up for me so I wouldn't feel so bad about not keeping up. Thankful I didn't get hurt. Thankful that it was so beautiful today in the snow.