I realize that it has been over a year since I last blogged on here. And that's a shame because a lot of things have happened in that time--great things, sad things, nothing things. Most significantly, I have moved to Fort Collins and am in my second semester of graduate school. Wow, talk about going back to school. Long story short, it's nothing like my undergraduate degree. I am thankful for that but realize that my approach to school must also be different. For one of my classes last year, I had to write a blog about my studies. I plan to keep this up throughout my program, so I can see how I progress as a student, scholar....and well, a person.

One of the most significant things that I am realizing is that aspects of my work for school are coinciding with my life and faith. And I LOVE this. It is encouraging to me when I can feel the Lord knocking on my heart, saying, "I AM in EVERYTHING you do." It's true, He is. I have also learned that I truly value my relationship with Him in all parts of my life. I need Him there and without Him my endeavors seem fruitless. I don't want to study for the sake of studying. I don't want a degree for the end sake of a degree. Selfishly and pridefully, I just want an M.A. For some reason, I anticipated that would satisfy me and give me a position of "independence" and "competence" and "confidence." (yes, those quotes mean "so-called") But--that is not want I am after now. I realize that God gave me the abilities and desire for learning , but in the end if it is not bringing glory to His name, I don't want it.

No matter where I am, I just want to be in His will. It's a scary confession, and I know some days that it will be easier to say than actually believe, but it's the truth. And I'm stickin' to it.

He chose white.

I woke up this morning to discover the day was not going to look as I had thought. The problem with preparing for the weather is more than just the weather its self. The real problem is that people talk about the weather way too much. It's a go-to subject. It's a no fail when you need something to talk with strangers about. It's a common discussion which means that it can be misinterpreted or miss communicated at any given time. I had heard the weekend was going to be beautiful. It was supposed to be in the 50s with sunny skies. I went to bed late last night and there was no sign of snow, but this morning the pine tree outside my window looked much different. White is the best descriptor, actually. The land Narnia had appeared once again in my neighborhood. I felt as if I should have been mentally prepared for this change. After all, the entire landscape morphs with a snowfall. It's truly spectacular. Snow has a particular consistency and certain properties that make it such a unique weather phenomenon. It is soft yet frozen. It clings, dusts, dumps, falls and melts. Perhaps I am in love with snow. There is a quietness in it. I am hesitant to disturb it, yet my timidity suffers quickly to it's power. The weight of snow can tear down tree branches, power lines and fences. It has a knack for disturbing traffic flow. It is ruthless on streets and walkways. I know I respect snow.



The other thing about snow that completely astounds me is its color. It is not devoid of color. If so, it would be black. Can you even fathom black snow? Depression would be even more rampant. I'm sure there is probably some scientific explanation for the whiteness of snow, but I am not a scientist so I am not concerned with that. What I believe is that our Creator specifically designed snow. I know that He made the properties and laws and conditions for snow. And some time during its creation, it was called to appear white. Pure and clean. Simple and refreshing.

I find beauty in snow. Like every other aspect of weather and the changes of season, there are complaints about it. It can seem like a nuisance. Perhaps it is feared. The drop in temperature and inability to travel easily in snow can be disconcerting. But it forces us to recognize. We must adapt and slow down. This also to me is beautiful.

Colorado has forced me to recognize nature even more. My entire life I have enjoyed the outdoors and exploring new places. Living in this new climate has been an adventure. The mountains and hills were an immediate daily change that I adapted to with great joy! Colorado has fantastic seasons. It is hot in the summer, cold and snowy in the winter, clean and fresh in the spring and absolutely dripping with autumnal color in the fall. The trees, flowers and grasses all transition. This is a blessing that I can count on each season. I pray a never fail to appreciate it. I pray the same for you.

cold and snowy, but most sincerely,
-s



p.s. Happy New Year!

stop poking!

I have this theory. I believe that people want to be taken more seriously. Humans are fascinating creatures. God created us to yearn for more than this earth can provide. He placed a desire in our hearts that cannot be satiated with what our eyes can see. Many of us will seek after what is satisfying us today. It is a human tendency and one that every person has fallen victim to. If you have not, I have to believe that you have suffocated your heart and denied it of it's God-given desire to desire. The object of our desire is where the fault is.

When I say that people want to be taken seriously, I mean that people want to be heard. And people need to be heard, cared for, and nurtured. While lighthearted quips may not hurt immediately, they eventually add up. It's like getting poked. Nobody likes to get poked. We don't mind poking other people, but it's annoying to be poked. After a while, the pokes turn into bruises and before you know it you are black and blue. A bruise is painful and it can be damaged further by someone else. I hate bruises. They are ugly and irritating and noticeable. Sometimes they take a long time to heal and are completely visible until the healing is complete. It's a long process from just a small poke.

Encouragement and affirmation build much stronger relationships that last longer. My closest friends are the best listeners. They are the ones who don't just hear, but listen to my heart. They ask me about my feelings, my emotions, and what my deepest desires are. They want to know me. Is this not a parallel to God's desire for us? Are we not chasing after his heart? The Bible shows us His character and nature. We see it throughout the history that is told in the Old and New Testaments. It's not an easy story. There's tragedy and struggle and violence. But the end is knowing our Creator. That is what we were created for.

[We live our lives before] the wild, dangerous, unfettered and free character of the living God. - Walter Bruggemann

My work is in people. My nemesis is numbers and words are my friends. But my job and my life revolves around relationships. If I'm not certified to be an expert in anything, I will at least be a professional in knowing people (qualified by my years of experience). I enjoy this, and honestly I feel I am in the best line of work.

Thank you for allowing me to share a piece of my heart. This blog is more personal than I intended, but I can find no other way to say it.

Cheers to autumn!

My favorite time of year has just arrived. The first day of fall was officially September 22. Maybe the season of fall came a couple weeks ago, but for me autumn has just graced us with her presence today. The last couple weeks I've watched the leaves begin to turn. Yellows and reds have slowly appeared around the city. The tree outside my bedroom window only has a few more green leaves on it. More leaves are on the ground around town, and the roads are beginning to accumulate piles. Soon homeowners will have to buy leaf bags and begin to rake their lawns. As a child, I never understood the reason for raking leaves. In fact, I never really thought there was any reason at all. I guess I figured that because our garage had rakes, we had to use them when we could. Apparently my childhood logic was a little weak.

For me as a child, autumn was a season of putting on coats and buying outdoor decorations. This is the first time of the year where I remember people putting things on their patios and doors. Hay bales and pumpkins and gourds appeared. Leaves were cleaned up and stuffed into big orange bags that looked like jack-o-lanterns and left on the lawn for Halloween. I remember the trees in my neighborhood would be bare and naked. That's when it first occurred to me that most of the trees in neighborhood really had gray bark, not brown. I realize that may be an odd (and pointless) conclusion, but to a child, it is groundbreaking.

The next thing that I associate with autumn is smell. Perhaps it is the cold weather that draws everyone into the kitchen to cook and bake more. Maybe it is the season of Thanksgiving that first boosts a baking spree. The end of a school year and saying good-bye for the holidays could also cause more people to cook farewell dinners. Either way, hot meals and warm cookies, cakes and pies are an integral part autumn- mostly the ones that come from my mother's oven. My mother cooks with the most motherly culinary talent ever. If a person ever knew how to please a child's taste buds, it was my mother. And she didn't feed us junk food. We never had store bought cookies, cakes or pies. She never allowed us to buy cereals with too much sugar and we hardly ever had soft drinks in the house. Perhaps she was starving our palate to preserve it for her own cooking. I guess it worked because she knew what she was doing. When my mother bakes, she never skips or substitutes sugar, butter or cream. My mom knows the key to a great recipe is the part that holds the most fat (sugar, butter, cream). She bakes miraculous apple and pumpkin pies with a homemade crust every time. And she knows how to handle chocolate: brownies, cakes, caramel cake cookie bars. Cookies!- I had no idea how good she was at this simple sweet until I started baking. You know it takes a real baker to know that the exact oven temperature, placement on the cookie sheet and position in the oven, as well as an accurate cooking time are enormously important factors in the taste of a cookie. She would cook coffee cakes or monkey bread in the mornings. The smell would come through a vent that fed into my bedroom. These days when I'm home, it's the smell of coffee that seeps through the vent and pulls my lazy body out of bed. My father was wise to marry a woman that could not only cook, but cook well. The smells of my autumn come from my mother's kitchen, through the vent to my bedroom and eventually onto the dinner table.

Autumn is my favorite season for many reasons (one being my birthday, of course). But one year, I missed autumn. Seriously, I never experienced the fall in 2005. At the time, I was very aware that I would be missing the season, but it was something I surrendered willingly, though it wasn't really a disputable part of the bargain. I flew to Sydney, Australia in July 2005. When I arrived, it was the middle of spring and a very rainy season. Summer came in October and by December, we were laying on the beach. I was sad that I missed fall, but there's nothing quite like laying on the beach in the middle of December on the other side of the world. I'm not sure if I could ever make up this lost season of 2005, but if I have the opportunity to double up on autumn, I'd take it!

It's cold outside tonight. It's been very windy and trees are shivering. Tomorrow, there will be even more leaves on the ground. And I'm quite sure people will soon be figuring out why there have been rakes in their garages all year long.

Here is where I worship:

Campsite church. I loved Bonham State park. Our family would go up for a weekend to camp out with our church. We had a pop-up tent trailer that we always brought. All of the kids brought bikes and we rode the trails around the lake every day until sunset. I knew it all so well, just like a child knows the taste of sugar, extremely well and always gratifying. I liked going with our church because it was nice to know our "neighbors" at a campground. We could go from site to site and visit our friends in different tents or trailers. On Sunday mornings, we'd gather around as a group and have a church service. After breakfast, everyone would grab their chairs from the around the fire pits and gather in one spot for a service. Sometimes we'd sing and then have a devotion. As a child, I felt like the service was too long, especially since I was ready to run around the park before we had to pack up camp and leave. I didn't know it at the time, but those weekends were important and quite pivotal in my view of church.

Campfire church. In middle school and high school, I attended several mission trips with the youth group. Sometimes we'd stay in Texas, other times we ventured outside the state to Colorado or Georgia. On the way to the city where we were doing mission work, we'd stop to camp out. Either our youth leaders were trying to save money or they wanted us to work as a team (setting up camp, cooking food, etc), but either way I am grateful these times we camped as a youth group. One of my favorite parts about stopping to camp was at night. I loved meeting as a group at night around the fire to worship. There was something serene yet powerful about meeting under the stars around a campfire. I felt connected to the group when we all met there. I've always loved nature, so being outside at night was spectacular. It was remote and distant from any hustle of a city.

Desert church. Mexico was even more memorable. For four years, I went with the youth group to build homes in Juarez. We'd work from eight in the morning until the sun went down. It was such a relief when the Mexican sun finally dropped below the horizon. You never know true heat until you work under the sun for eight hours. At night, we literally camped in the desert. We set up our tents the first night we got there and spent a week going back and forth from the work site in the city to the campground. We gather at night around the campfire. Everyone was sunburned, windburned, hungry, sweaty and sleepy from the day. Camp food never tasted so good and sitting never seemed like such a luxury. When the sun set in Juarez, everything was dark. I have never seen darkness as black as this, but it made the stars shine even brighter. My youth pastor would play the guitar around the fire and we'd all sing together. Sometimes we'd sing with other camps and sometimes the pastors of churches we worked with joined us. Tired voices, foreign voices, young and old voices came together. It is astounding and saddening to look at the city of Juarez in the news today. My church has not been able to go there to build homes since the violence began three years ago. It pains me to think about where the families are today whose homes we built years ago. Pray for Juarez. The people there will always have a place in my heart.

City church. One of my favorite venues for worship was in Sydney, Australia. Mostly it was because of the circumstances that led up to finding the worship center. I had arrived in Sydney less than 72 hours before walking into Hillsong Church. The great city of Sydney greeted me with a drizzling rain and dark skies. I had anticipated a hot and sunny city, but my flight that landed in July 2006 reflected none of this. I came to study for a semester in Sydney with a couple friends from Hardin-Simmons. My roommate Kmy had come to Australia to go to Hillsong Church. We were all studying at a university there through our home university in Abilene, but she had specifically chosen the location in Australia for Hillsong. At this time I did not know the extent of Hillsong's worldwide ministry and fame, but I was excited to find a church in my new residence. When she suggested that we visit the church right away and explore the city in the process, I was game. After (finally) connecting to the internet in our apartment, we mapped out the service location. The week we choose to go happened to have a service at an off-site location, a race horse track. It didn't matter to us since we were new to the city and anywhere was just as far as anywhere else. Sunday morning came and we dressed up, packed up and found our way to the bus stop. The city in a nutshell: vast and huge with an intricate bus system. We walked a lot. Thankfully we found nice bus drivers and helpful pedestrians. To this day, I cannot forget the overwhelming feeling that I had the minute Kmy and I walked through the doors of Hillsong in the City. The place was full of people. Daily churchgoers and Hillsong staff filled the hallways, seats and entire auditorium. Although it was all foreign to me, I felt I had arrived at home. The place was packed and it almost felt like a concert. When the music began, I felt even more familiarity. At a single point in the worship service, I vividly remember stopping to look around at everyone. People from every nation and of every age had gathered at this one place. I took in every minute of that day. My heart was so full: worship, joy, freedom.


Movie theater church. Eventually I plugged into a local extension service of Hillsong that was closer to our apartment. It was just a couple blocks from us and we walked there on Sunday mornings. The service was held at the Macquarie Center, a huge multilevel shopping mall. The service was in the movie theater. I had never been to a movie theater on a Sunday morning, but that semester it became my church home. We had service in one of the theaters, and there was a welcome lounge right outside the theater. Some of my first friends in Sydney came from the Hillsong Macquarie service.


Japanese church. Another venue of worship that I found in Sydney was at a country club in Chatswood. I attended this service for sole reason of bringing a friend to church. One of our good friends in the apartment complex wanted to come to church with us. He came with us to the Hillsong Macquarie service. When we discovered an extension service in Japanese, we asked Kez if he'd like to try it since he would probably feel more comfortable talking to people in his own language. He agreed and our adventure of getting to Chatswood began that Sunday. While we definitely got lost and walked in the rain for a good distance, we made it to the service. The Japanese service was so alive and active and friendly! It was enjoyable to meet everyone. I even learned a couple Hillsong songs in Japanese. I love worshiping in another language and it was powerful to hear a sermon in Japanese even if I don't speak the language. It was not just Hillsong or the Japanese service, but my friend became a Christian that year and to this day he serves at his church in Tokyo.

Gazebo church. Another precious moment of worship that I truly treasure was when I was in Spain. I studied for one month in Salamanca during college. On the weekends, I would take trips around the country. I immensely enjoy traveling, and on this particular weekend I traveled north to the border of France with a couple of friends. We stayed at the coastal town of San Sebastian. Since it was only us girls, we spent the weekend exploring the beaches and shopping. On Sunday, we had a train scheduled to take us back to Salamanca in the afternoon. That morning, we woke up and checked out of our hostel. We walked toward the bus station and stopped for breakfast at a street cafe. We filled our small table with perfect cappuccinos and buttery pastries. Yum. I remember the weather was perfect that morning, unlike every other cloudy day that weekend. After breakfast we walked over to a beautiful gazebo in the middle of the square. We sat in a circle under the stained glass top of the gazebo and that's where we worshiped. We opened our Bibles, shared the Word of God, encouraged each other and prayed.


Theater church. My brief trips to London have always given me the impression of a busy but stylish and hip city. I love being there and I always want to stay just a little longer. For some reason I get the impression that everyone is going somewhere important and everyone knows someone famous. I may be wrong, but for the sake of this post please join me in my assumption. Our return trip from Spain took us on a short three day lay over in London. We arrived on a Sunday afternoon, and I was more than determined to make it to Hillsong London. I dragged a couple my friends down to the tube station and through the crowded streets of London to make it to the Sunday night service. Although we missed most of the worship music, we arrived on a crowded street to find the church right in the middle of the busy city. Hillsong London was functioning out of a theater in the city. It was masterful. We sat in the balcony. If you have ever been in a theater in London, you know that they expand the seating vertically and therefore our seats were almost on top of the stage. I enjoyed this experience so much and it brought back wonderful memories of my time in Sydney. What I remember most about this service was the lights. It had theater lighting and everything glowed, even the audience.


Amusement park church. As I think back to all the places I've attended church and to the ones I've called home, I have a strong and personal connection to each. They have all played a role in my spiritual growth. By no means have I covered all the places I've ever worshiped, but I believe I've draw enough of a picture for you to see how vast worship venues and experiences can be. The commonality in each place is the presence of God's people. Part of my history is in each of these places. I know that God never changes and no matter how we come to worship or where we are He is the same, yet some how I get this feeling that I am knowing Him in a new and different way each time I gather with other believers. I remember my home church, my college church and my "after college" church. Now I have a new home church. Today I attend church in an amusement park. I walk past carnival rides and a mini train to reach the worship center. The building is rented from the amusement park, but the venue is not an issue to the churchgoers. Although it has moved twice since it's inception a couple years ago, attendance is rising. The heart of the church is huge, and they are rapidly expanding. I have only been attending for a couple months, but for now I call it home.



"All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. " Psalm 22:27

go team!

"So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men." Philippians 2:1-7

Paul's writings are inspiring and encouraging. Even when he was in pain and far away from the church, he was able to encourage the body. He clung to the cross and encouraged them to live as followers of Christ- as one. This is the benefit of being a believer in Christ. We are not alone. I have to realize this every week. As part of the body, I am called to encourage and uplift those around me. Are we not all in this fight together?


I grew up playing sports- volleyball, basketball and softball. I enjoyed working out and training my body. I enjoyed moving as a team. It was powerful to have people behind me, pressing me on and believing in me. I learned a lot about what it is to be apart of a team working toward one goal- winning. If you were to ask me if I was competitive, I'd say yes because I'd worked so hard and I was determined not to settle for second. But as far as individual competitiveness, I'm not so sure that I would have told you that I was competitive. (I'm not saying that competition is a bad thing, it just wasn't in my blood). I was concerned with perfecting my game and working hard and learning new things, but at the end of the day, I knew wasn't going to be recruited to play in college or offered any sort of scholarship, so for me it was about seeing the team succeed. Competition is everywhere in our culture and I believe that it can be healthy. More importantly though, during my years on the team I learned what it is to excel in my own talent. I was a slightly versatile player in softball and my coach sometimes moved me to different positions, but in volleyball my position was pretty clear. At 5'5", it was clear that they weren't calling me in to block at the net. I was a setter in junior high and by the time the game became more competitive, my skill was in a defensive back row position. Honestly, I was pretty good at it. I could get lower, move fast and cover my hitters. I focused on moving my feet and knowing the court and picking up the short tips off the front row. When my coach first moved me to the position, she taught me the things to focus on and encouraged me to work the position. I knew I could do it and so did she. My team knew I could do it. When I would come in for other players to take over their back row position, they had confidence in me. I had skill back there and it's where my talent was. I excelled. I stopped trying to jump higher or perfect my block. It's not that it didn't matter to the game, but it was not my role on the team. I was satisfied and the team succeeded.

This is not only true in sports. It can happen wherever natural talent is found and encouraged. When you know what you are good at, you can focus your time and energy. More importantly, when you know what someone else is good at you can encourage them. I would not have been as disciplined in my game, if I did not have teammates and my coach and my parents telling me I could do it. I thrive off encouragement. If you want to see me raise my game, tell me I can do it. True, selfless encouragement is powerful. For the sake of the body of Christ, encourage your friends! Find what they do well, whether it is smiling, sorting bottle caps or selling cars, and speak encouragement to them. Grow their talent, show them where they work well, tell them what they do best, and make an effort to let them know how you value their gifts.

Last week I finished a book that exemplified this idea. Though it was not Biblical, the principle applies. Our Creator has given us unique gifts that feed our spirit. I believe that through these we are able to know our God in a deeper, more personal way. The book I read was a biography of a young boy and his family living with his diagnosis of Tourette's syndrome. This changed his life and from that day forward, the family was searching for an explanation and cure for the disease that interfered with their son's mind and body. Cory Friedman began seeing doctors at age five. The different medications that he took further confused him and his family. One day a few years after his diagnosis, Cory runs out of the house in frustration and begins to climb a tree. It is dangerous because his tics cause uncontrollable body movements, but he climbs. He slips a couple times but when he reaches the top of the tree, he feels free. He feels enlightened. He engaged in an activity that not only stimulated and challenged his body, but it fed his soul. He felt alive and real. The description in the book says that years later this memory would prove to be a small part of what he used in overcoming his fight.

I believe that when we know our Creator, know what we were made for (God's glory) and know where we find our biggest victories, we are able to do the work of the kingdom. Be encouraged! We are one body of the same mind, having the same love and living life in full accord. Please find your friends and tell them what they do well. Show them the gifts God has given them and encourage them in it. I know that part of who I am today is because of the loving friends I have who know how to encourage my gifts, and sometimes discourage my non-gifts!

For the sake of the body, love each other well.

Everything's on Wads

The week was hot. Denver broke a record this week and hit 102 degrees. I really do enjoy summer. I cannot imagine what it would be like if we did not experience some excruciating heat for a couple months of the year. Seasons truly become seasons when we live in the weather for more than one day. As I make my way around town, I try to take note of where certain shops are so that when I have the need for something, I know where to find it. For instance, car repair shops, post offices, Target, my bank, different grocery stores, etc. I recently discovered that there is a Jimmy Johns not too far from my apartment (Yay!!). Inevitably, if I do not write it down I will forget where I saw a certain shop. The closest and longest thoroughfare to me is a wonderful street called Wadsworth. The street runs through the city as well as the surrounding suburbs so I can use it to get to different cities. And for the sake of not getting lost, I've found that everything is on Wadsworth. If in doubt, I go looking on Wads. North or south, I'm bound to find it.

This week was exciting because I was able to have dinner with my mother's sister and later, my dad's brother. I have never been within dinner distance of my relatives. I greatly enjoyed being able to dine with both of them- and in the same week! My aunt and uncle live in Denver and I was able to easily meet up with them at this wonderful restaurant called Racines. My cousin (daughter of my dad's brother) had a baby four months ago, and she and her husband came down from Wyoming to visit. I was the first one in my family to meet beautiful Megan. It was truly a gift to be able to see this perfect little baby. She is quite active and expressive. I was amazed how attentive she was at such a young age. I loved being able to hold her. She lives in Wyoming, but I volunteered to babysit so I just may be able to see her more often. And did I mention she has dark blue eyes, tiny toes and soft, soft baby skin? Absolutely precious!

Another new thing this week: I rode a bike. It's been about ten years since I've truly been on a bike ride, but I did it! I used to ride with my brother and sister all the time when we went camping. I'd love exploring the campground on a bike. You could go so fast down hills and ride almost anywhere faster than you could run. We'd go on trails that were way to dangerous for us, but if there was a trail or a lake to get to we'd do it. Sometimes my sister and I would ride on the same bike. One of us would stand up and pedal while the other would sit on the seat and swing their legs to create momentum. I had seen other people doing it, and therefore I must be able to do it so I grabbed my younger sister and told her to get on. After a couple of tries, we mastered it and were able to ride anywhere just as fast as before. I'm not sure what the advantage of one bike was...but we could do it! This week's bike ride was not through a quiet campground on dirt trails around a lake. This ride was through the streets of Denver to a park where an outdoor movie was showing-The Goonies! While most people that bike in Denver ride on the streets of the city, I had never done such a thing because in Dallas that is risky. Thankfully I was riding with my friend, an everyday cyclist who knew the area and traffic, but it was still a thrill. I tend to get quiet when I'm anxious about something. So most of the ride I was quietly but tightly gripping the handlebars. The 1.2 mile ride was very enjoyable, and I was trying to take in the neighborhood with all the older houses without getting hit by a car or anther biker, or clipped by someone opening their car door. It was just after 8:00 and the heat of the day had relented. There was even a cool breeze through the park as we were leaving. I was a little proud of myself I did not crash my first go at biking in the city.

Perhaps my favorite new thing this week was the used book store I discovered, West Side Books. The owner told be it had been there 10 years, and it definitely looks like it. The shelves are tall and literally stocked floor to ceiling with books. Handwritten signs direct shoppers to the different sections and the small displays marked the popular or 'new' items. There are sections for autographed books, first editions, local authors, and screenplays. They sell postcards, posters, and encyclopedias. My appreciation for authors, writers, literature and their readers grew a bit more when I found this shop.

The landscape I live in is spectacular. I am blessed to live in such green and vibrant state. Here's something I found from the shop:

"O Maker of sweet poets, dear delight
Of this fair world, and all its gentle livers;
Spangler of clouds, halo of crystal rivers,
Mingler with leaves, and dew and tumbling streams,
Closer of lovely eyes to lovely dreams,
Lover of loneliness, and wandering,
Of upcast eye, and tender pondering!
Thee must I praise above all other glories
That smile us on to tell delightful stories.
For what what made the sage or poet write
But the fair paradise of Nature's light?"

-excerpt from John Keats, "I stood tip-toe upon a little hill"


God Bless!
-s