In the photo below… you will discover Kelsey–my fat old pup– looking most discontented with the snow… this picture makes me giggle. 

It’s a cold cozy day, perfect for tea drinking and book reading! I’m sniffly and a bit sick… but somehow I don’t mind! If one’s going to be sick, it should be on a day when one can make the worse of it after all! And so I have been dramatically sniffing and drinking far too much tea. I have had to use a great deal of self discipline to get anything productive done… but somehow it seems like a  good day not to get anything done.

I think the most lovely thing about today is just getting to slow down, and to have time to notice. And to think. I spent the morning listening to beautiful music, and watching the snow flakes dance in the air. Everything seems charmed this morning, as though a fairy snuck into my world. Making all the shadows play games on the walls, making the outside world particularly lovely, making my brother seem more lovable than ever. Tea tastes better, buttered toast is just heavenly… and the whole world is a poem! 

But perhaps… it was a poem all along! And I just didn’t notice until now. I think that’s often how it is. Life has a million beautiful little things sitting around, trying to be noticed. But in my rush and hurry to get homework done, apply for colleges and honors programs, pack, practice speeches and all that… I just glaze right over them. I’m grateful for life in a broad way! Glad to breath, glad to love people. But it’s on days like today that I notice the beautiful detail that God has put in every day. And it makes me peacefully glad. 

It’s like God throws a party for us (life), and of course we are grateful for the grand scheme of things… but did we notice the little details? The special cake? The candles? The “just right” punch? The flowers? When we glaze through life not noticing things… we miss the intimate little details that make God so interesting. He doesn’t just plop us on the earth and hope we turn out all right… He puts beautiful things, suited just for us, every single day. Whether is be dancing snow, vibrant music, fuzzy puppies… these little dear things are what speak of God’s care for us. 

Today I am resolute not to just notice the grand scheme, but the little touches. I think I feel like I know God better when I do that. I hope you notice God’s perfect little details today! 

Much love, many blessings, and DRINK SOME TEA FOR GOODNESS SAKES!

Joyness

In the last week I’ve dreamed about; murder mysteries, pro football players (those two were in the same dream), Wearing bathing suits in the snow, theater criticism, and… Marmots.

For your entertainment, I include my latest dream.

It was a sunny summer day and my sister and I decided it would be a great day to hunt Marmots (it made sense in my dream…). So we went to friendly looking bridge and started our hunt. Did you know that in my dreamworld, marmots live in the water? Well, they do. Unfortunately, all we could find were weasels. This was very disappointing to us, so we decided to give up hunting marmot, and fish instead. So someone gave us this big black stick and we started spearing fish. We were pretty good at it too. We speared one, which a very nice gentleman went and retrieved for us. It was apparently a “princess fish”, which was the very nicest kind of fish we could ever find in this pond. We were very pleased. But in all our confusion and excitement, we knocked a man over with our fish-spearing-stick. Silly us.

The dream then took a turn for the literary, and I was living out “To Kill a Mockingbird”, I was scout, and … get this… Gus from “Psych” was Tom Robinson. It was royally depressing, and Shawn (whom I think was Atticus… isn’t that just un-holy?) couldn’t think of a way to get Gus out. So he died. I was most upset.

So. That’s what I dreamed last night. I can’t decided if it’s awesome to have such vivid dreams, or awful. But, eh. It is what it is.

So tell me.. Do you have strange dreams?

Love and all that,

Joyness the dreamer.

You could see around 50 miles from where we were. Really. I’m not exaggerating. I could see all the way from Monument to Peublo. The landscape stretched out beneath us like a patchwork quilt, and through it ran the highway. It was strangely lovely. The ever flowing river of cars and trucks. And then I noticed something…The sound of the highway. I almost didn’t notice it before, my ears were so used to the constant song of the freeway, but all of the sudden I became keenly aware of it. And it hit me like a car-pun intended-My ears are so accustomed to the sound of the freeway, that I wouldn’t know what the world would sound like without it. That I didn’t really know what silence sounded like. I don’t really know what silence sounds like.

It made me think of this story….

The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. ¹² After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. ¹³ When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Elijah goes to the mountain to find God, with questions for Him. He waits and waits. All these LOUD things happen. But God wasn’t in any of those. God was in the gentle whisper. 

Sometimes I feel like Elijah. I wait for God, to talk to Him. I listen and listen, but I can’t hear him in all the loud things, whether it be the freeway, or conflicting ideas, or people and their problems, or my own hurts and struggles and worries… God is not loud. He is almost frustratingly quiet. Yet the world around us is loud. Just think about the freeway. There’s nowhere I can go to be silent. There’s always noise. Sometimes it feels like God is the quietest thing in all the world.

I thought about that as I sat on Pulpit Rock, with the hum of the freeway in my ears. I wondered if I could really hear God if I could ever be in a place that was silent. It seems sometimes like the hum of the world is to loud to hear the gentle whisper. But then I thought of the strangest thing… I’m glad that God is sometimes silent. It can be comforting. When all the world rages with noise and calamity, God is the quiet voice. When everyone screams oppinions and ideas, God is constant and still. When I can barely move in my cacophony of confusion, God is hushed.

Sometimes, God is even silent.

But I find comfort in that silence, because I know that God didn’t come in the wind, God didn’t come in the earthquake, God didn’t come in the fire… But He comes in the still small voice.

So there you have it. There are my thoughts. I want to encourage you, oh ever vast world of bloggers, that if you ever feel like God is silent, rest in that silence. God will come, but it may be after the wind and earthquake and fire. Make places in your life to listen to the silence, apart from the deafening roar of the world. Sometimes, God speaks to us through silence.

I’ll leave you with this song…

Love and all that,

Joyness

In years past, my new years have been quite strange. From blizzards, to the stomach flu, to injuries… My new years never cease to ring in with some strangeness.

All this considered, I still love New Years. There is something so refreshing about leaving behind the old year, and ringing in the new. Remembering the good, waving goodbye to the bad, welcoming the new. It never ceases to remind me of the newness Christ brings into my life as he draws me closer to him, and makes me his new creation. It makes me think of verses like:

Isaiha 43:19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.

Ezekiel 36:26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

Isaiah 43:18 “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Newness! Redemption! Grace!

It’s exciting to think that today marks the beginning of new adventure with the Lord. I trust it will be exciting, and from the big things to the little, and I am simply itching with eagerness to jump into 2012! So, I’ve made a little list of my top 10 things I am excited for. Let me share!

1-My Owl Mug

It’s the little things in life, my friends. My mother got me my charming little owl mug for Christmas, and it makes me smile to think of getting up every morning to have my quiet time with God, with my owl mug in hand.

2-Speech (and maaaayyyybeee debate)

I just joined a speech and debate club in December, and since then have been scrambling to write speeches, do research and generally prepare. It’s a lot of work… but I can’t express how excited I am to compete! Not to mention that the people involved in it are awesome. Altogether… I’m pretty darned excited!

3-My One Year Bible

This afternoon I read my first reading of my “One Year Bible”. It was very satisfying. Like VERY. I can’t wait to adventure into the word this year!

4- PEOPLE!

I like people… a LOT. And I have a feeling that this year I will meet a lot of new people, which I can’t wait for. YAY PEOPLE! (Can you tell I’m an extravert?)

5-College

People… I’m going to College this year. Isn’t that just MAD? But, oh my glory! I am excited. Learning, thinking, meeting people, new places, adventures…. gee wilikers! My skin crawls to think of it!

6- Traveling

Traveling is on the agenda this year, and a plenty. I can’t wait. I love new places, and I’ve been around here too long. Someone take me on an adventure!

7- Books

This evening I sat down for a good while with “Peace Like a River”. I love it. I love books in general! And I can’t wait to devour piles of them!

8-Unexpected Things

This year has been full of unexpected, unplanned for surprises. I am in awe of God’s incredible handiness at pulling surprises out of His sleeves. This year… I can’t wait to see what else he has up his sleeves.

9-Music!

I plan on making an EP this year of my music. That excites me. I do love music! It’s an expression of my soul.

10- ADVENTURES!

What I am most excited for is not anything in my control… it is the grand adventure I know God has planned. I love going into the unknown of 2012. I can’t wait till New Years Eve of 2013; I can’t wait to reminisce about all of the adventures, glorious moments, smiles and memories that happened this year. Come at me 2012!

Well… It’s getting late, and I’m really not thinking very straight. I apologize for my hairbrainedness. Love me anyway? I thought so.

Well, be blessed World! God loves you! Good luck with the new year!

Love,

Joyness

PS-If the Mayans are right… this is our last year…soo LIVE IT UP!

heh… Just kidding. ;P

Tuesday marked the end of my fall semester. Finals are out of the way, homework is done and Chrismtasing can BEGIN! In case you can’t tell I’m rather excited.

This morning, I remained in my pajamas for an excessively long time, drank tea and read books… As illustrated in the picture below…

It’s been absolutely charming. Ahh… I have missed reading so!

Now off to do more.

You should read and drink tea too!

You’ve no idea how fun it is!

Pip and Cheerio!

I’m off!

Happy Christmas!

Joyness

Bible reading is an education in itself.” –Lord Tennyson

As a kid I used to stand in awe of my sister’s voracious reading habits. She could devour a book in a matter of hours; I, on the otherhand, would take my darn good time… which could be weeks… okay, let’s be real here, folks… months.  It wasn’t that I was a bad reader, I just had a different style of reading, and it didn’t seem to delight me as much as it did Sarah. That,… and she’s 11 years older than me. Anyhow… As I’ve gotten older, I have grown to love reading. I love learning new ideas, imagining, and thinking. There’s something beautiful and edifying about sitting down with a good book and being drawn into the writers thoughts. I think as humans we are made for stories, partially because we want to know how our own will turn out. Also, we are made for ideas, because ideas form our stories (how we live our lives, what we think of the world around us… ect.) As I have begun to love reading more, I have begun to love the Bible. At an earlier point in my life, the Bible seemed dry, old, and (to be honest) a little irrelevant to my life as a young wipper-snapper in the 21st century. I mean, let’s be real here folks, who of us have not been bored by genealogies, shocked by Levitical law, or be bewildered as to where to begin reading. The Bible can be daunting, boring, and shocking. But since then I have had a change of heart. While at one of the Summit summer conferences, Dr. Noebel gave a series of talks on why we should read the Bible. His talk inspired me to go back home and really dive into the Bible. Since then, I have developed my own convictions on why we should read the Bible, which I would like to share with you. The first reason applies to anyone; whether you be A crazy Jesus lover or Agnostic, I believe there are good reasons to read the Bible. The second reason is specifically for Christians (though I still encourage all of you to read it ). I don’t care if you’re christian, atheist, buddhist or cosmic humanist…. You should read the Bible. Here’s why.

1- It’s a good book! (really!)

Often the Bible is viewed as a Christian handbook… only for the Holy Rollers, like myself and Billy Graham. It’s thought of as an inspirational book, or a book of stories. Here’s the reality… YES! It’s a great holy roller book! It IS inspirational and has many beautiful stories (historical… not myths)… BUT, it is also an incredible piece of literature. In the lecture I mentioned, Noebel stated that “Reading the Bible is a sign of a well educated man.” Note that this is not necessarily in reference to Christians. Study of the Bible is a sign of a well educated man. Period.

The Bible has influenced history and our current culture more than any other book. It presents earth shattering ideas that have been the basis for many philosophies, political ideas, and institutions. It’s sold more copies than any other book. It’s well written (yes, it really is). It has beautiful examples of poetry, profound philosophies and  excellently crafted arguments. Countless books have quoted, analyzed, and studied the Bible. It’s an incredible Historical document, unparalleled in accuracy and detail. No matter how you swing it, the Bible is an important, superb, relevant piece of literature. You don’t have to agree with it, but just as I would be blind for me to say that Neitzche (who I actually really like…) was not worth reading because he was an atheist, so it would be blind for people to cast away the Bible as a “Christian-eze” book of nice sayings. To say this would be ignorant. The Bible is a powerful book that has formed a great deal of culture as we know it. If you are interested in philosophy, culture, religions, morality, history, ect., the Bible is a logical book to read.

2-God will speak to you through it.

I can’t count the times I have heard people say things like “God just doesn’t speak to me” or “I hear about all these other peope talking about God speaking to them… But I just don’t hear Him”. These are legitimate concerns, but, there is an easy fix to “not hearing” God. The Bible is the Holy Word. Who’s Holy Word? God’s. 2 Timothy 3:16 says “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,”. Scripture is God breathed, that means he inspired it, told the writers what to say, and in turn, He speaks to US through it. God’s word is exactly what it sounds like… God speaking to us! It surprises me sometimes how hesitant people are to read the Bible when they want so desperately to hear God. I believe the Bible is one of God’s primary ways of speaking to us. As Christians we also have the Holy Spirit (mentioned in John 16:7), but aside from that, the Bible is there always available, God’s true words. It’s as though He left us, His beloved children, a letter, pouring His heart and soul and truth into it, and we refuse to read it because we’d rather have a phone call. God does speak to our hearts in other ways, but it simply makes sense that  we should take full advantage of the immediate insight he gives us to His heart through His word. In my own life, I find so often that when I take the time to read the Bible, that I leave my reading time inspired and uplifted, full of wisdom that is not my own. God truly speaks to me through the Bible. He teaches me things I wasn’t even asking to be taught. So, if you want to hear from God… don’t complain that you can’t hear a booming voice from the sky… God has put his heart down on the pages of the Bible. Read it.

So, there’s my little sermon for the week.

Now I shall go to bed so that I can wake up bright and early meet God in my time in His word.

Much love,

Joyness

With each breath I breathe, His trueness becomes more alive to me.

With each breath I leave behind, my heart lets go a sigh of relief, knowing I am one step closer to my heavenly home.

With each rising sun, I see His faithfulness; with each flaming sky, I see His glory (1 Corinthians 15:41, Psalms 89:37).

The gentle silver moon reminds me of His mystery; I revel in the beauty of His stars. (Psalms 8:3, Job 31:26)

In the warmth of loving companionship, I am reminded of His divine friendship with me.

With each pain I suffer, I feel the indescribable of my high priest that sympathizes (Hebrews 4:15-16).

Each time I am knocked down in this barren land of a world, I rise again with faith for the greater country, In hope, because He has promised it to me. (Hebrews 11:11, 13-16)

In my mind I know each truth and argument for the verification of God’s existence; but my heart knows a truth that speaks better than my logic.  For He has loved me with an everlasting love. He has drawn me in with His lovingkindness (Jeremiah 31:3). He has set His name as a seal upon my heart, a seal I can never remove (Song of Solomon 8:6).

His love speaks His reality to me. Greater than any speaker, or perfect argument. He is the truest thing I know.

And so…

I love God with every thread in the fabric of my being. I love Him because He first loved me.

It’s not very good…

It was composed in my English class…

Enjoy it’s silliness

Life is so entirely mad!

You wouldn’t believe the times that I’ve had.

In a day my adventures spread broad and spread far,

From meeting with hobos, to killing my car.

Each morning when mother awakes me from snoring,

I pray that my day shall please not be boring,

But when I find myself plopped in class all a-panting,

I recall my dumb prayer, and proceed to some ranting.

“Dear Lord, please forget what what I prayed for this morning!

I’ll be perfectly fine, indeed happy, with boring.”

Have a lovely Monday.

We walked down pathways carpeted with the golden leaves of aspens. It was so beautiful we could almost imagine we were walking on the very streets of the new Jerusalem. The wind rushed through in a glorious song, making the brown grass dance to the beauty of it all. Cold crept into our faces and made our noses red. We trudged up and up through bright pathways until we reached the summit.

The valley lay before us, a symphony of colors, singing it’s song for the whole world to hear… But no one was there to see it but us. The mountain stood mighty and tall. I like to think of the many years it’s stood there. Through storms, and wars, and lifetimes. But still it stands. It reminds me of the constance of God. My soul is comforted.

Just like it says in Isaiah, the trees clapped there hands. Every single golden one of them.

Oh…. It was beautiful. And it is beautiful!

My momma took me up to see this aspens today because she had seen them a couple of days ago, and said I simply couldn’t miss them.

“God wrote a song, Joy! And I wanted you to hear it too!”, she told me, while chomping on apples and potato chips on a rock at the summit. And as we hiked through the mountains, I knew what she meant. I simply couldn’t take in all the beauty. It was like God had painted this masterpeice, composed this symphony… And at the top of the mountain, my mom and I got to hear it. It seems sometimes like we just simply don’t notice. We drive around in our little cars, listen to our music, think our thoughts… and we never notice that there is a tangible real holy God who created the starts in the heavens, the mighty mountains, the falling leaves…

If I could encourage you in anything today.. I would say this… LISTEN! God’s speaking!

If you ever doubt God’s existence, go out into His wild and wait. There, in the quiet and stillness and wildness you will know He is real. As it says in Romans 1:20…

“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

Creation cries out that he is real and true.

I pray that today, you may know his true beauty. That in his magnificent creation… you will feel His divine breath against you. To truly know His reality. His Glory.

This is my… ahem…. windblown look

My and my cutest of all mommas…. all bundled up.

Blessings.

love.

Joyness

Hello, World!

It has been far too long since I posted on this blog of mine! But, I’ve decided it’s time to make use of it. I hope you enjoy my ramblings. And if no one reads this.. I enjoyed the process of rambling.

Here’s my thought for the day…

Today has been a Jonah day. The car battery died.

I was 3o minutes late for class, and found myself flusteradly flipping through notes trying to remember where I was and which paper it was I was supposed to give my teacher.

I forgot to put on makeup.

I forgot to bring lunch, which was deeply upsetting because I love food.

The ability to speak seemed to avade me today. I would try to say “Hey there! It’s so good to see you!”, and it kept coming out “awhiey,issogudtosiyou”. I must have been (perhaps I still am) tired. I got a lower grade than I would like to on my math test, due to my own silliness. The misery dragged on and on…

By the end of my first college class I plopped on a harder-than-it-should-be chair with a furrow in my brow and a sigh in my heart.

Then I thought of this…

^“5 Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. ⁶ Then the LORD God provided a leafy plant^[a] and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. ⁷ But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. ⁸ When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.”

Jonah 3:5-8

Here is Jonah. Ever provided for by the Lord. He has one bad day and he looks up at the sky and says “I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU WILTED MY TREE, GOD! I’m SOOOOO ticked, God. I’m so mad I want to DIE!”

God has chosen Jonah, drawn Jonah, loved Jonah, spoken through Jonah. Just because the tree that was shading him began to wilt, he wants to die? Real mature, Jonah. Real mature.

This was the moment when I had my revelation. My life is beautiful! I have friends, a home, memories. I am saved and loved.  Just like Jonah, I am loved, chosen, drawn by God. My life has purpose and direction. Sure, my proverbial tree had wilted this morning, but life is so much bigger and better than feeling a little bit of sunstroke. It may be a Jonah day, but I will be no Jonah.

Jonah days are awful. But in the end, they’re just days.

SO….

With that in mind, I decided to smile. Since I didn’t bring lunch, I got to go have an adventure at a side-of-the-road tikki with my friend Rachel. We got shrimp, frenchfries and a discount. It was lovely. I never did regain my proper speaking abilities… but that’s okay. It made everything funnier. My math test score is irrevocably irritating… but there will be other tests! And, in the words of… someone… “The sun will go on rising and setting…” I reveled in the fun of my math class buddies. Played my music as loud as possible, and sang along. I had a lovely time talking with one of my funnest, dearest friends in the world, and we laughed copious amounts. My Jonah day turned out to be lovely. God has blessed me, and I am grateful!

In closing I would like to share this little prayer/song. It sort of my life prayer. And it helps with Jonah Days.

Teach me to love in a world full of sorrow

Teach me to live like my lifetime is borrowed.

Help me to stand in my faith in your plan, and to see through the storm

Teach me to love, the helpless the strange

Teach me the way that you changed the unchanged

Help me stand on this cold fallow ground and to see it turn into spring

My trust is in You, all my dreams I have given.

My joy is in You, and my hope is in heaven.

Alleluia! Amen! Aufweidersein and remember the Alamo.

Love,

Joyness