My bubble

{pic credit}

Still in your bubble today?

But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.

Romans 2:8

Everyone else vacations... we Christians retreat

Just had to throw that in there, but this weekend was less of a retreat than a charge and less of getting a cool drink from a water fountain than getting a cold blast from a fire hose. The last few days my seven sisters and I were on a father/daughter retreat at a little place called Cherokee Cove with a bunch of the dads and gals from our church. It was a fun, refreshing and challenging time for me as we were called to reflect on our relationships not only as dads and daughters, but as sons and daughters of the Savior. Many messages, challenges and powerful testimonies were shared over the course of the weekend, but it was this passage I found in my personal reflection time that stood out to me the most and that I felt I should share with someone... since I couldn't get up the courage to stand up and share it with the group during the last discussion of the retreat. [call it what you will - stage fright, plain old being shy... can't do it.]

I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,

and I will be their God

and they shall be my people.
Therefore go out from their midst,

and be separate from them, says the Lord,
and touch no unclean thing;

then I will welcome you,

and I will be a father to you,

and you shall be sons and daughters to me,
says the Lord Almighty.

2 Corinthians 6:16b-18 

The God of all the universe, who with a word spoke the sun, moon, and stars into being, desires us for us to be his sons and daughters. The most eternal, holy being, the One who was, and is, and is to come, came to earth just to show how much he loves us and wants to call us his own. What a precious thing! But this perfect, awesome Being also calls us in our journeys as his sons and daughters to become more and more like him, to long to follow after his example and precepts, to strive to show his likeness in everything we do and say. And therein lies my greatest struggle. I am a very content person, which is a good thing when it comes to things like my singleness, my job, and just where God has me in life right now. But it's a huge stumbling block to me when it comes to my relationship with Christ ~ I get comfortable so easily, so quickly, and comfortable is never the place I should be when it should be my desire to be be "conformed to the image of his Son" (Romans 8:29). There's always something in there if I just beg God to show me where I have fallen short, and he "is faithful and just to forgive" (1 John 1:9) and bring me back into a place of safety and peace in his will. Lord, show me today where I can become more like you!

When I climb down the mountain//And get back to my life//I won't settle for ordinary things//Gonna follow you forever//For all of my days//I won't rest//'Til I see you again...

May this be my prayer ~ that as I come down off this physical and spiritual mountaintop I will continue to walk in the paths God has seen fit to show me, not willing to settle for comfortable and ordinary things but striving daily to show the world even a glimpse of the glory that he has shown me.

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?

Romans 10:14

Shine - Newsboys

Dull as dirt
You can't assert the kind of light
That might persuade
A strict dictator to retire
Fire the army
Teach the poor origami
The truth is in
The proof is when
You hear your heart start asking,
"What's my motivation?"

And try as you may, there isn't a way
To explain the kind of change
That would make an Eskimo renounce fur
That would make a vegetarian barbecue hamster
Unless you can trace this about-face
To a certain sign...

[Chorus]
Shine
Make 'em wonder what you've got
Make 'em wish that they were not
On the outside looking bored
Shine
Let it shine before all men
Let 'em see good works, and then
Let 'em glorify the Lord

Out of the shaker and onto the plate
It isn't Karma
It sure ain't fate
That would make a Deadhead sell his van
That would make a schizophrenic turn in his crayons
Oprah freaks
And science seeks a rationale
That shall excuse
This strange behavior

When you let it shine
You will inspire
The kind of entire turnaround
That would make a bouncer take ballet
(even bouncers who aren't happy)
But out of the glare
With nowhere to turn
You ain't gonna learn it on "What's My Line?"
[chorus]

Sorry, I couldn't find a decent version of this on Youtube. But you should go find it somewhere and listen to it. Why? 'Cause it's just as awesome as the lyrics are funny. And it's just awesome. Just sayin'.

Tomorrow will worry about itself

"The pursuit of happiness is a most ridiculous phrase; if you pursue happiness you'll never find it."
~ C.P. Snow

"What's the use of worrying? It never was worthwhile." ~ George Asaf

"We spend most of our time and energy in a kind of horizontal thinking. We move along the surface of things [but] there are times when we stop. We sit still. We lose ourselves in a pile of leaves or its memory. We listen and breezes from a whole other world begin to whisper."
~ James Carroll

"To sit in the shade on a fine day, and look upon verdure is the most perfect refreshment."
~ Jane Austen

"Stress is an ignorant state. It believes that everything is an emergency. Nothing is that important."
~ Natalie Goldberg

"Sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits." ~ Satchel Paige

"Slow down and enjoy life. It's not only the scenery you miss by going too fast - you also miss the sense of where you are going and why."  ~ Eddie Cantor  

"Take a rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop." ~ Ovid

"Nothing is permanent in this wicked world - not even our troubles." ~ Charlie Chaplin

A Summer Night - George William Russell {a poem}

HER mist of primroses within her breast
Twilight hath folded up, and o’er the west,
Seeking remoter valleys long hath gone,
Not yet hath come her sister of the dawn.
Silence and coolness now the earth enfold,
Jewels of glittering green, long mists of gold,
Hazes of nebulous silver veil the height,
And shake in tremors through the shadowy night.
Heard through the stillness, as in whispered words,
The wandering God-guided wings of birds
Ruffle the dark. The little lives that lie
Deep hid in grass join in a long-drawn sigh
More softly still; and unheard through the blue
The falling of innumerable dew,
Lifts with grey fingers all the leaves that lay
Burned in the heat of the consuming day.
The lawns and lakes lie in this night of love,
Admitted to the majesty above.
Earth with the starry company hath part;
The waters hold all heaven within their heart,
And glimmer o’er with wave-lips everywhere
Lifted to meet the angel lips of air.
The many homes of men shine near and far,
Peace-laden as the tender evening star,
The late home-coming folk anticipate
Their rest beyond the passing of the gate,
And tread with sleep-filled hearts and drowsy feet.
Oh, far away and wonderful and sweet
All this, all this. But far too many things
Obscuring, as a cloud of seraph wings
Blinding the seeker for the Lord behind,
I fall away in weariness of mind.
And think how far apart are I and you,
Beloved, from those spirit children who
Felt but one single Being long ago,
Whispering in gentleness and leaning low
Out of its majesty, as child to child.
I think upon it all with heart grown wild.
Hearing no voice, howe’er my spirit broods,
No whisper from the dense infinitudes,
This world of myriad things whose distance awes.
Ah me; how innocent our childhood was!

Rest

"And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest." 

Exodus 33:14

Party Time!

What's the point of a rhetorical writing blog if you know absolutely nothing about the rhetor? {and I'm in the mood for some fun and maybe some sweet prizes, too *wink*} SO, without further ado. . . . .

What are two songs that describe you? Michael W. Smith's "Missing Person" and Francesca Battistelli's "It's Your Life"

What do you most fear? that I'll never get my diabetes under control and have serious complications when I get older.

{picture  credit}

How do you normally do you hair? almost always a ponytail, except on Sundays when I get a little more creative. but I do little girl hair more than my own, and that's yielded some awesome hairdos :)

What color(s) dominate(s) your wardrobe? blue. and blue. and a touch of blue. and maybe a little green. . . . oh, and there's some blue in there too :D

 {photo credit}

Do you prefer milkshakes or smoothies? smoothies, hands down. I love fruity concoctions, and if I want ice cream, I'll go *eat* it, thank you very much.

Do you like the color pink? not the biggest fan, but apparently I look good in it so I'm willing to tolerate some of the more neutral shades.
What is your favorite flower? I have yet to meet a flower I didn't like, but I've always loved morning glories :)

{photo credit}

 

How many states have you been to? Hm. I've lived in three, and visited several others... I'd say about eight.
What is your favorite thing about June? it's the first full month of summer, with nothing but more summer to look forward to! sleeping in when I want to, reading books that I feel like reading, and finishing up all those projects I never got around to during the school months :)
Describe your "dream" wedding location. ohhh, right here. yes pleeeez :)))

{photo credit}

Yay! wasn't that fun? yes. you had fun. just admit it :D

And again! {this is fun}

{Taken when we visited the JC Raulston Arboretum - such a pretty place!}

{older photo - but still one of my faves. Sweet lil' Piper!}

And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.

Genesis 1:31a

I like doggies. Hence, you must suffer doggie commercials.

 

So what's rhetoric to do with these? They're funny, and doggone {pun intended} cute. As long as you remember the commercial, you'll remember what it's for, and that is exactly what the people who made them wanted to happen. Coincidence much? Not really.