| walking next to you...

i just finished a majority of my grading so i really wanted to take a few moments to post a few thoughts. yesterday was a really miserable day for me. i am not exaggerating, i truly was just not a happy camper the slightest bit. you see, i was supposed to see sufjan. ticket bought, day planned out, everything good to go. and i have waited years and years for this and the time had finally arrived. right, well, it didn't happen. i was shocked, mad, sad, irritated. you name it, i was feeling it. my car decided it was going to have issues and that they were going to be major enough that it would prohibit my travel to see sufjan. i was miserable, like i said. i cried, i napped, i cried some more. oh gosh, it was just a disaster. i know this may seem silly to some of you but the truth is, i don't care. please don't take offense, it is just that if you know me, you know how important this was to me, and you would not think it silly at all:)

i had some very wonderful individuals talking me through the process. they made the misery a little less but i don't know that i will ever really be ok about missing that show. last night i was able to spend some time with lena and it was exactly what the doctor ordered.....ehehehehehe:) we talked and laughed and shopped til we dropped and at the end of the night had some so yum vegetarian chili. thank the Lord for good chili:) seriously, that time was so good for my achy heart. they have christmas already. and dude the dog has antlers.

today was just a blessing. not in disguise, just outright in the open. i woke up and had a few a few very nice surprises:) among them were a very nice youtube video, a very nice email, and one very nice short story written about a photo i posted a few posts ago:) you are still invited to contribute. the one i got, i will post it soon! mosaic had their annual harvest festival and it was a really neat thing to be a part of. really. they set up outside in the open. stage, booths, food, everything. and gave thanks. it was a time to acknowledge how abundantly the Lord gives. how lovely is that?! there was music. we sang how great thou art and oh my goodness, i felt like my heart was going to explode when we began to sing the lines:

When Christ shall come,

With shouts of acclamation,

And take me home,

What joy shall fill my heart!

Then I shall bow

In humble adoration

And there proclaim,

"My God, how great Thou art!"

i looked up at the sky and the clouds were quickly passing by. it was so cold and breezy and perfect. and the Lord was in our midst. and i couldn't help it, i just wept. it was just so beautiful and the thought of the Lord returning to gather His people, it is just the most perfect thought. it was such a beautiful time listening to the singing all around out in nature. renaut gave a beautiful message. just beautiful. and after, he acknowledged orphan sunday which just moved me to the core. families from the church spoke about their adoption experiences. from local to international and the Lord's anointing was and is so obvious on them. beautiful children and beautiful individuals who so willing and sacrificially opened their homes to welcome these ever so precious little ones. such sweet moments listening to their stories. one family even said they were in the process of bring home another child from the ukraine. i love that. oh that we would just desire to somehow reach out to the orphans, the widows, those in need. it was just a nice service. afterwards, the festival began and the people were wearing big smiles:) it was so nice. and marlena and i took a photo togetha:)

wowee:)

caleb and marlena...quote unquote.

and mom, this one is for you:) don't mind the trucks in the background:)

it is a time of thanksgiving. remember to always be thankful. for so many things. i've got ccc tonight so back to grading!

ps...i just found out i am going to be part of an iron chef club...aura, be so jealous:) or just start your own, all the cool kids are doing it.

i know i'm a few day late with october, but october is probably one of my favorite poems year round. it belongs to robert frost. if you are not familiar, you should be:)

O hushed October morning mild,
Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;
To-morrow's wind, if it be wild,
Should waste them all.
The crows above the forest call;
To-morrow they may form and go.
O hushed October morning mild,
Begin the hours of this day slow,
Make the day seem to us less brief.
Hearts not averse to being beguiled,
Beguile us in the way you know;
Release one leaf at break of day;
At noon release another leaf;
One from our trees, one far away;
Retard the sun with gentle mist;
Enchant the land with amethyst.
Slow, slow!
For the grapes' sake, if they were all,
Whose leaves already are burnt with frost,
Whose clustered fruit must else be lost--
For the grapes' sake along the wall.
good day.