For Mo & Clay

Sweet Jesus,
I want to lift up to you the Wooten family.
I cannot.imagine.how scary things must be for them.
But, I do know that Monique and Clay both have unwaveringly,
unfaltering, pursued you and your purposes for their lives.
Father, their lives have encouraged my walk with You.
And I know even now in the midst of incredible doubt and fear,
that their prayer is still for you to be glorified.
So, I am asking that You would be glorified in their lives in this season.
Father, bring healing to Clay.
Bring restoration.
Bring joy and hope when it's just scary.
Lord, let Hazel be a symbol of promise of LIFE in their world.
I know that you hold all things together, that by you all things have their substance.
I know that you hold them and sustain us.
So let this prayer be like incense before you, and may it rise to bring glory to YOUR name,
And healing for Clay.
Amen.

May my prayer like incense rise before You
The lifting of my hands as sacrifice
Oh Lord Jesus turn Your eyes upon me
For I know there is mercy in Your sight

Your statutes are my heritage forever
My heart is set on keeping Your decrees
Please still my anxious urge toward rebellion
Let Love keep my will upon its knees

[Chorus]
Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You

[Verse 2]
To all creation I can see a limit
But Your commands are boundless and have none
So Your Word is my joy and meditation
From the rising to the setting of the sun

All Your ways are loving and are faithful
The road is narrow but Your burden light
Because You gladly lean to lead the humble
I shall gladly kneel to leave my pride

[Chorus]

[Selah]
To all creation I can see a limit
But Your commands are boundless and have none
So Your Word is my joy and meditation
From the rising to the setting of the sun

[Chorus]

[Bridge]
I will seek You in the morning
I will learn to walk in Your ways
And step by step You'll lead me
And I will follow You all of my days

Bleach and the Day of Love

Valentine's Day.

Jordan came to pick me up after a few hours of being on my hands and knees cleaning toilets, baseboards, and sinks for the little house cleaning business I have. On my walk home, Jordan intercepts me with my car.

I open the door to him holding (in his bare hands) two chocolate-dipped strawberries in one hand, and a single flower in the seat.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" he exclaims. He's delighted.
I laugh and get in the car. The smell of bleach and PineSol and lots of other weird things fill the car immediately (I'm feeling very grubby....)

"I cleaned your car, and...." he points directly to the gas tank indicator on my dash (because he knows I'm not observant enough to take notice of the now-full tank).

Sigh.

He cleaned my car. Filled my gas tank. Brought me a flower and some chocolate-dipped strawberries.

Does the boy know me or WHAT? Ha. I mean, what else could a girl POSSIBLY want?

dear annie across the sea

dear annie goes away

across the sea, far from me
my heart is happy for her heart
but still i hate the parting part

she goes and goes on the tips of her toes
dashing over oceans and snows
so fast goodyes and hellos

come back, anne h,
we need you - if only to bake!?
and plus also to reason me from stupid mistakes

sigh. ok, all's well with me
i'll just be waiting under the BFF tree

lovely little things

came in the mail for me the other day.

lovely layne, a friend who became a friend through the weird fact that we are basically the same person except that she eats hamburgers and I don't.
Really. I mean, sometimes it's strange how much we think/act/are alike.

ANYWOO.

in true layne fashion, she sent me a lovely little celebratory package (ALL THE WAY FROM ACROSS AN OCEAN, I"LL ADD) for my recent engagement.

how thoughtful! how kind! how generous!
(see? I told you she was like meeeee)
Jk.

Lovely Layne. I'm glad to share so much with you.
you're cooler than I am, though. i mean, you're currently traveling ALL over the WORLD (literally) using this wonderful expression of art to glorify God and bring justice to the mistreated.
You.Are.Legit.
so.
that's why we're friends.
And i'm only a tid bit sad that you are much cooler than I am.
BUT
i will rejoice in that because YOU would rejoice in that if I were cooler than YOU.

so.

someday soon i shall marry my love and friend.


eek.

So.

I'm writing for a blog now called Liquid.

You know you want to read.

what i love about kh

what can I even say about miss katie h? i love her so dearly. 1. i think she has one of the most keen, witty sense of humor I've ever come across. It's like quick satire meets sassy understatement. 2. i think her heart is full of courage. i think she will go and do things that many people won't. 3. I think she is SO dang cute. i mean, seriously. 4. i think she has a healthy balance of independence with respect for others. basically, she's becoming a proverbs 31 woman even if she doesn't know it. 5. i know that when things are hard, she still pushes forward. i hesitate to use the word tough, but she's tough. yet, oh so tricky to use that word, b/c she's also delightedly feminine and soft. 6. i think there's a peace about her spirit even in the midst of the troubled waters. 7. i think God has purposed in her something sweet and special and will probably be realized in a brilliant creation of the shade of gray (not as in sad, just as in gray, the sweetest color out there right now....). It will have to come out in some delightfully artistic expression, because she practical oozes delightful artistic expression. 8. i respect her love for all things chocolate cookie. 9. i respect her for seeking God even when it doesn't feel like it. 10. "For The Lord's portion is His people, Jacob, His allotted heritage. He found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of the wilderness; He encircled him, He cared for him, He kept him as the apple [ee-shone] of His eye." Deuteronomy 32: 9 - 10.