Browning and Blackberries

“Earth's crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God; But only he who sees, takes off his shoes . . . "

- Elizabeth Barrett Browning








In case you were desperately dying to know about the " . . . " in the above quotation, the quote ends with a riveting statement.

"The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.”

Hmm . . .

Today

191. Fall stickers - - it's the little things in life. smile.

192. Mom and Dad made it home safely from Hawaii.

193. Seashells

194. Crayola markers

195. Warm cherry pie

196. Dining with Aunt and Uncle.

197. That God sees us as we will be.

198. Prison ministry.

199. Candlelight dinner

200. Child-comment . . . makes me grin.

201. Banana bread - - - funny how you can get good out of old, mellow bananas. :)

202. Running in the rain in a jean skirt. It can be done. :)

203. Warm heater in car

204. Focus on the Family broadcasts

205. Easy school days. :)

Happy Monday! Today is the day . . .

Spinning Laundry

So I'm sitting here, listening to the laundry whirl about in the dryer, hoping it will soon dry so I can go to bed. Oh boy. Why did I get myself into this again? Oh, . . . it just beeped. Got to go check it . . . I'll be right back. . .

Okay, so it's not done yet. Rats. I wonder if wet towels will be okay, waiting for their turn in the ol' dryer 'til morning. Hmm. Anyway! Happy Wednesday! :)

So I had a break-through moment today. Well, kinda. I was pretty resistant to it, but I suppose it got the best of me. Now before I went to school this morning, I flipped the pages of my Bible to Lamentations 3:19-33. Amidst those verses is the commonly quote phrase, ". . . His compassions never fail. They are new every morning . . ." Isn't that great? Anyway (break-through moment still to come in case you were wondering . . . ), so after I closed my Bible and got around, my sis and I headed off to Spanish 3, our zero period class. Now, to be honest, I was not looking forward to this class.
Point A) I was tired.
Point B) The teacher had not shown up and left us stranded on Monday; I think we deserved to sleep in.
Point C) I was extremely exhausted.

Okay, so to sum it up, I was very tired and quite honestly, a little bitter. So, we arrived at school on time and in one piece, and our teacher showed up. So disgusted at this whole early-morning-Spanish thing, Sister and I and another student headed towards our classroom. Now, I know this is completely irrational (but that dumb human nature has a way of wrecking my life and like a fore mentioned, I was tired), but I was pretty aggravated with my teacher. Why in this whole little earth did he not call us Monday morning so we could have slept an extra hour instead of wait in our little cars and arriving at school out-landishly early for a class that didn't even happen because he was sick and had known about it the previous Friday? Feel my pain? But you know what hit me like a day old banana peal? "His compassions never fail" "New . . . EVERY morning." I have been so smothered in grace. It is beyond anything I could ever hope to deserve. I can count on the compassions of God, EVERY single morning, however early I have to wake up. If God has granted me something I completely don't deserve, why am I holding it back from another? [Ouch.] I needed to hear that. I'm so glad God uses His Spirit to teach me, even though I will willingly admit, His way is NOT the easy way. It's run-ten-laps-in-the-pouring-rain-then-20-crunches-followed-by-jogging-3.9-miles hard. Okay, maybe not, but you follow me? It's kinda exciting though, and in the end, it kinda feels a lot better. I am so stinking selfish. God has so much work to do with this pitiful creature, but I'm glad He hasn't given up on me yet. Oh boy am I glad.

Well, the dryer just beeped again. Hmm . . . I sure hope the load is done by now. If not, we might get wet towels in the morning. Smile. :) Happy day!

Grace

171. Spotting an owl in neighbors' backyard

172. Bouquets of fall leaves in vase

173. Traveling mercies

174. Carpeted, wooden pews

175. E-mail from Lexington Pastor

176. Being taken out to dinner by church couple

178. Orange chicken . . . mmm.

179. Mini pumpkins

180. Car laughter between the sister and me . . . the birds were almost toast. Smile.

181. Grandma's comment . . . everyone makes mistakes, wouldn't want to be around you if you didn't.

182. Grandma Z.'s facebook messages. :)

183. No Spanish 3 this morning. :)

184. Wind currents brushing through my hair.

185. Message in church . . . we are God's house, His dwelling place.

186. Sister's photography (that's her picture of the owl . . . hopefully more will be coming from her portfolio. :)

187. Church people knowing and caring

188. "Wonderful Merciful Savior" sung yesterday. Mmm.

189. Poetry

190. My first college application. Finished. Yay!

Trust and gratefulness are my focuses right now. It's incredible how God lifts you up when you trust Him and thank Him. I'm not so good at it, but I'm learning. Step. By. Step. :)

Lemon Yellow

Fall has to be my favorite. The colors of the leaves make my pupils dilate. The rich, deep reds, the lemon yellows and bright, lime greens. I like the way the rain infuses small stems of grass and tiny particles of dirt during the fall. I also am entranced by the autumn sunlight, spraying color on a worn world. I am so glad to be living in a place with seasons. Seriously. :) It is beautiful.

Canadian Thanksgiving

It's been a brand new Monday. I limped into it wondering how I would make it. But I did. He never left. Ever. I shouldn't have been worried. Anyway, here's to another Monday and to the many gifts from a loving Father.

156. Fall-orange pumpkins

157. SAT finished . . . Jesus is my peace.

158. Parents' 25th anniversary! Yay!

159. School kits sent to needy kids.

160. Annual MCC Festival - - Fall tradition.

161. Walk during school in fresh fall air.

162. Caring, protecting words from teacher.

163. A new box of puzzle pieces to try soon maybe?

164. Senior pics finished? :)

165. Friends from church, a precious thing.

166. Driving through a sunrise.

167. The way the fog clings to earthen fields

168. Crisp fuji apple

169. The way that thankfulness ends up blessing me. Funny how that works.

170. Green cotton scarves.

PS The calendar says that it's Thanksgiving in Canada. Who knew, right? :) I hope you have a lovely Canadian Thanksgiving today, eh?!

Yours truly,
just Simply Danae

A Dios

I successfully took a step closer to a possible college career. And. It. Was. EXHAUSTING. Three letters say it all . . . SAT. And no, I'm not talking about a couch and potato chips, thank you. :) I'm talking about the Standard Achievement Tests or whatever they're called. However, it was another reminder:

God Comes Through. Always. For His glory.

I wanted to give Him some space today in this lil' blog o' mine. I want to send up a thank You and a blessing. He is good all the time, and it truly was His peace that sustained me. :)

Yours truly,
just Simply Danae