New Stick Pony/Sister Love

HOPE

"If you do not hope,

you will not find what is beyond your hopes."

--ST. CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA

*****

"Hopeful eyes perceive the light

where other eyes see only night."

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"Hope knows

on the other side of pain

is joy,

on the other side of injustice is peace."

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"Hope does not disappoint us,

because God's love has been poured

into our hearts." romans 5:5

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"Each new stage draws me like bee to flower.

There, hope prompts me to unfold the petals

and dine on the nectar of my future."

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(All quotes from "The Silver Book of HOPE", a compilation of quotes about hope)

7 Longings of the Heart

1. The longing to be fascinated

"We need to be able to experience wonder and awe in order to function emotionally. The power to be deeply moved is something we all long for."

I saw this picture of Lili posted on Facebook and thought of this longing. She is so fascinated by that rock! What a great reminder that we are all born with a longing to see beauty, mystery, and splendor. Each one of us is invited on a life-long treasure hunt to search for beauty that creates holy curiosity that knows no boredom. There is nothing more exhilarating than when God reveals God to the human spirit!

(I am so fascinated by this picture of Lili. Look at her cute little ears, her bright red lips, and her dark eyelashes that make her look like she is wearing mascara. Such a beautiful creature! Made in the image of God Himself!)

2. The longing to possess beauty and to feel beautiful

"God's beauty is transferable to us in the highest measure. This longing is satisfied by the revelation of the Divine beauty imparted to us, His children."

3. The longing to be great and successful

4. The longing for intimacy without shame

5. The longing for the assurance of being enjoyed

6. The longing to be wholehearted and passionate

7. The longing to make a deep and lasting impact

--from The Ravished Heart of God by Mike Bickle

"Breath of Life" by Anthony Crudup

Breathe on me Jesus,
let Your breath push aside
all of my worries and troubles,
all of my sadness and sorrow.
Make room in me for
Your spirit of love,
Your spirit of joy,
Your spirit of peace,
Your Holy Spirit.
Fill me to the brim
so there will be no room
for anything
but Your holiness.
Let Your breath warm me and inspire me.
Be my breath of life, Jesus.

Amen.

(A prayer by Anne Bender)
Anne's blog:

http://annebender.blogspot.com/

Imprisoned in My Bones: Releasing my Inner Jeremiah

How Can I Keep From Singing? --Enya

My life flows on in endless song;
Above earth’s lamentation
I hear the sweet though far off hymn
That hails a new creation:
Through all the tumult and the strife
I hear the music ringing;
It finds an echo in my soul—
How can I keep from singing?

What though my joys and comforts die?
The Lord my Savior liveth;
What though the darkness gather round!
Songs in the night He giveth:
No storm can shake my inmost calm
While to that refuge clinging;
Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth,
How can I keep from singing?

I lift mine eyes; the cloud grows thin;
I see the blue above it;
And day by day this pathway smoothes
Since first I learned to love it:
The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart,
A fountain ever springing:
All things are mine since I am His—
How can I keep from singing?

Babysitting for 3 under 3

Zoe's pictures of Miles

Michele's friend's pictures were so much better than mine, I stole some from Facebook! I don't think they are copyrighted, and I wanted you all to see them--Miles is SO precious!

Miles Matthew

Born: 09-09-09

Weighed: 9 pounds

19" long

Born at 5:59 pm

I'll wait to post a picture until Matt and Michele have posted the first one!

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.

-- Einstein (1879-1955)

Happy Birthday, Mason & Ben

Happy Birthday to Benjamin Moses--he turned 2 today!






Sweet little boy is 9 years old today!

Adorable little girls!

Trip to San Diego

KT & I went on a 2 hour cruise in the harbor. I took the picture at the top of my blog because I liked the statue of the sailor and the nurse in the foreground, but when I looked at the picture, I saw the apartment building in the background with the "house" on top of the building. It is such an unusual concept.
We stayed at the Manchester Hyatt--the 2 towers in the middle of the picture are the Hyatt--we stayed in the one on the right. They have a 40 floor limit on the buildings in San Diego.
KT and me at our lobster/crab/oyster dinner on the beach: (We look less than thrilled to be there. Maybe because we had just spent the first half hour with the couple who took the picture. He was already so drunk, he could hardly walk and the party had just started. We sat by them on the bus on the way back to the hotel after several people helped him in. He passed out immediately and then had to practically be carried to his room. Not a pretty picture.)
Our view from room 3117: (There are 6000 boats in the harbor in San Diego)
Looking down at the pool...

I wish I would have taken a picture of the hospital ship, Mercy. There are only 5 hospitals in the world that are bigger than that ship. 1000 hospital beds, 12 surgery suites, 80 intensive care units, 60 emergency rooms and staffed by 1800 doctors and nurses!

Driftwood

KT found this piece of driftwood in Colorado. Chloe was horrified the first time she came over after we put it in our flowerbed--she thought it was a dead dog!

(I am going to delete that previous post on the messy house--those photos radiate bad karma.)

Did you see this picture on Michele's blog?

"Isn't she lovely?

Isn't she wonderful?

Isn't she precious?"

Dress up time again

Chloe was playing the keyboard, & Lili didn't know she could move from that spot--it must have felt weird to have on a long dress

Julie & Julia

I finished the book yesterday and went to see the movie in the evening. They didn't include my favorite recipe in the movie:

(Puree de Pommes de Terre a l'Ail)

"It's time to extract the beef marrow..."

"The first obstacle in a bout with a marrowbone is simply arranging the match. Perhaps in 1961, when Julia Child published Mastering the Art of French Cooking, marrowbones hung off trees like greasy Christmas ornaments..."

bath time

Legoland

I forgot to post these pictures from San Francisco--the colors were so pretty in that store!

Pretty Little Princesses

Lili's new shoes...

Dress up fun with Lili

A few more pictures from camp...

Can you see the rainbow?
The lodge was high above the camp

My actual view from the hot tub...

I didn't know there would be a hot tub FAR away from the camp kids and that I would be able to have it all to myself!

According to the Frontier Ranch website

This is the view from the hot tub deck--a HOT SPRINGS fed pool/hot tub...

This is where you will find me for the next 8 days!

Hasta la vista!

Shanghai Girls by Lisa See

I just finished an amazing book--what a heartbreaking tale!  I can see why this book is on the top 10 list.  Here are 2 short excerpts--they remind me of Cody's toast at Joey and Rachel's wedding when he talked about Chloe...

"Joy doesn't smart-tongue him.  It's not because he tries to control her as a proper Chinese father should or that she's an obedient Chinese daughter.  Instead, she is like a pearl in his palm--forever precious; to Joy, he's the solid ground on which he walks--forever steady and reliable."  P. 274

and

"Do you want people to look at you and see porcelain with scars? You have to guard your body like a piece of jade." P. 260