Have A Glorious Weekend

Well friends,
I'm off to Deutschland, so I won't be blogging for a few days.  Just in case you miss me, here are some beautiful photos by Jeff Luker. Auf Wiedersehen for now.

Ode to the Standard Vehicle

I'm not really a poet (I just pretended to be an English major), but my experience learning to drive a standard vehicle has caused me to turn to lyric verse.  So here is my rather sorry "Ode to the Standard Vehicle".


Oh, stick shift. How your terrify me,
With your various gears and pedals and noises.
"It's easy!" they say.
"Just practice." they say.
"Ha!" I laugh.
They overestimate my coordination
And underestimate my trepidation.
Every test drive is a work out.
My muscles tense, my hands clench, my stomach twists, my head spins.
Afterwards, I stretch to relieve the cramps.
Clutch, break, clutch, shift, gas. Repeat.
Jerk. Stall. Rumble. Screech.
I forgot to remove the hand brake.
Oh, standard car, you fill my dreams.
I toss and turn with visions of
Braking on a mountain
Stalling on the autobahn
Driving large white vans.
But one day, tiny white Mazda,
I will add you to my list of greatest accomplishments.
And there you will join the others:
Crossing the monkey-bars.
Tying my shoes.
Riding a bike.


Ladies and Gentlemen, the ferocious beast:

Have A Glorious Weekend

Strawberries, rhubarb, and a hike up a mountain. I'm in.

Happyolks | Camp Cobbler from Happyolks on Vimeo.

Surrounded by Beauty

Some days I am just overwhelmed with how God fills my life with beauty.

Like a beautiful sister who married a delightful man in a thoughtful, Christ-centered ceremony (followed by a happenin' party).

Or lovely friends who faithful pray for me and bless me with their encouragement and unwavering hope in Christ. 

Or the fresh produce that August continues to bring us.  The farmer's market this time of year is almost too good to be true and I have to be careful not to buy everything in sight. 

Or the majestic Niagara Falls that sits in my back yard.

Or a phone call from an old friend.  Or goofy lunch date with a favorite brother.  Or a garden full of flowers 

after a rain storm. 

Or the body of Christ as it has rallied around this ordinary girl who is incredibly humbled by their gifts, prayers, and encouragement.  Thank you, dear friends, for being the hands and feet of Jesus in my life.  

You are so beautiful. 

Practicing Joy

This past semester one of my favorite professors and one pretty cool RD gave a talk about the virtue of courage.  To end their discussion they read this poem by Wendell Berry.  (I've italicized my favorite line)

Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front

by Wendell Berry

Love the quick profit, the annual raise, the vacation with pay.

Want more of everything ready-made.

Be afraid to know your neighbors and to die.

And you will have a window in your head.

Not even your future will be a mystery any more.

Your mind will be punched in a card and shut away in a little drawer.

When they want you to buy something they will call you.

When they want you to die for profit they will let you know.

So, friends, every day do something that won't compute.

Love the Lord. Love the world. Work for nothing.

Take all that you have and be poor.

Love someone who does not deserve it.

Denounce the government and embrace the flag.

Hope to live in that free republic for which it stands. 

Give your approval to all you cannot understand.

Praise ignorance, for what man

has not encountered he has not destroyed.

Ask the questions that have no answers.

Invest in the millennium.

Plant sequoias.

Say that your main crop is the forest you did not plant,

that you will not harvest.

Say that the leaves are harvested when they have rotted into mold.

Call that profit. Prophesy such returns.

Put your faith in the two inches of humus that will build under the trees

every thousand years.

Listen to carrion--put your ear close,

and hear the faint chattering of the songs that are to come.

Expect the end of the world.

Laugh. Laughter is immeasurable. 

Be joyful though you have considered all the facts. 

So long as women doe not go cheap

for power, please women more than men.

Ask yourself: Will this satisfy a woman satisfied to bear a child?

Will this disturb the sleep of a woman near to giving birth?

Go with your love to the fields.

Lie easy in the shade. Rest your head in her lap.

Swear allegiance to what is nighest your thoughts.

As soon as the generals and the politicos can predict the motions 

of your mind. Lose it.

Leave it as a sign to mark a false trail, the way you didn't go.

Be like a fox who makes more tracks than is necessary,

some in the wrong directions.

Practice resurrection.

Be joyful though you have considered all the facts. I'll be honest, it's been hard to be joyful when I consider the fact that I will not be leaving for Germany on my time.  However, despite what Merriam-Webster might say, joy is not just an emotion, it's a lifestyle.  It is a deep satisfaction in the Lord and like any of the other fruits of the Spirit, it needs to be practiced--it doesn't just happen.  If nothing else, this time of fundraising has pushed me to rely on Christ more than I ever have, and as David says, there is joy in the presence of God.

You make known to me the path of life;

in your presence there is fullness of joy;

at your right hand are your pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 16:11