How strange it is...

to be here again, facing the whisperings of Autumn as she slowly approaches. The year has come around again, finding me so different, yet so very much the same. Coldness begins to infuse the sun's grasping rays, colors erupt upon leaves making them alive and joyous to my imagination. As the seasons change, I myself feel a change. The freshly frigid air awakens a need for femininity and meaning. So much beauty surrounds this time of year, so many lovely memories of times past, such hope and inspiration. I am flooded with delight at the prospects of this newly sprung season.

Forgotten beauty and things of utter joy.

~The beauty of raggedly aged books; their parchment worn and frail, their binding delicate yet invitingly accessible.
~The sway of young trees against a fervent wild.
~The quite darkness of an autumn twilight, swathed in luscious silence and the light of a newly sprung moon.
~Rugged patchwork quilts, handpicked varieties of sun-ripened fruits and vegetables, softly sparkling pink lemonade, reading aloud as the sun bathes the world in life giving warmth: all equaling a perfect summers picnic.
~The laughter of children, sweet and pure, unapologetic and wonderfully certain.
~The brooding thoughtfulness of a blazing campfire, it's flames dancing alluringly upon the faces of it's audience, it's unmistakable heavy aroma engulfing the senses in dreamy delight.
~The precious feeling of unabashed love permeating the adventures of dear friends.

♥

Summertime includes, but is not limited to: Strong feelings of strange and rather unexplainable excitement, unexpected periods of spontaneous outbursts of joy and affection, the overwhelming need to be always barefoot, urges to live in the wild in makeshift tents, and the odd ability to be fully energized even when completely sleep deprived...
Summer is a glorious time in which reading five or more novels at a time is quite necessary and being always on the go is not even remotely stressful. The sun shines high above our heads with golden majesty, while we bask like kitties in her glowing warmth. Smooth icy tea is sipped, cool watering holes are swarmed with an abundance of little humans, and spontaneity is revered above all else. Summer reminds us of the sweetness and purity of youth and the grandness of true friends and unforgettable adventures. In this time of sunny smiles and exceptional tan lines, we are able to truly cherish the loveliness of freedom and the of inner-warmth of fond memories.

Have you ever come to the complete, and unabashed realization that you are indeed, utterly sentimental? Well, I certainly have...

There is something in me which likes to pop out occasionally, something that begs with a fiery passion to be shown a world of beauty and innocence. There are moments when I will stand quite still, looking around me in wonderment and contemplate the strange sights which greet my eyes; In these times I see such coarseness, such hardhearted rebellion in the many faces of my scattered society. The world is truly an ugly spectacle; lust is universally disguised as love. And true, unselfish love? It is bashed and mocked until it has become something quite unrecognizable. Beauty is not cherished, but rather it is sought after with greedy, licentious, crazed hunger. We do not love things for what they are, but instead for what they can do for us. Through all of this foolishness society has lost the meaning in life, the beauty of natural beauty, the knowledge of what love should be like, and above all the mightiness of our awesome God.

This is my prayer in the desert
When all that's within me feels dry
This is my prayer in my hunger and need
My God is the God who provides

This is my prayer in the fire
In weakness or trial or pain
There is a faith proved
Of more worth than gold
So refine me Lord through the fire

I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is here

All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship

Shall we make it official than?

Spring has sprung.
Luscious grass has enveloped all space where once upon a time brown deadness was found. Winged little pollens float about in fluffy white masses, bearing sneezing and itches to all they happen to greet. And wildflowers, those dear little things, have just begun to shyly peak up their vibrant heads in welcome to this new season of color and warmth.
Spring seems to give me a strange sensation of change, or rather a strange need for change. I feel as though transformation is bound to take place. Spring cleaning of life perhaps...

Little imaginings & pretty pictures

You might think me strangely unconventional as apposed to the norm of my modern generation, but oddly or not, I have always enjoyed dreaming of my future home. I love to clean things, tidy rooms, and make everything around me organized and as pretty as it can possibly be. I do not dread housework, in fact, I rather enjoy it. I love the crisp sparkles of a freshly washed window pain, the perfect shine of a newly dusted tabletop, and a carpet's spotlessness following a good vacuum job. I enjoy thinking of my future, of the things which I hope to accomplish and the dreams I pray will one day come to be...

My future is of course not at all truly mine. It is in the hands of Jesus. My daydreams will or will not become reality, but I shall know always that His plans for my little life are unquestionably superior to my own. I dearly wish that I would grasp this truth with mature acceptance and child-like assurance. Sadly, this is hardly the case. I kick and scream as I tightly clench my own imaginary confidence and selfish desires. Then finally, I must fall to the ground as the pain I have inflicted upon myself shows it's repulsive face. Only than can I see what was before unseen to me. Only then do I realize I can truly do nothing without God. My willfulness shatters and the soft light of truth shines through.

All of this to say, I have yet a very long way to travel in my walk with Jesus. My faith is weak, and undeniably self-absorbed. However there is hope, though I am yet only a child, I shall remain a child of God. I am His, and He has given me the greatest gifts of all; His undying everlasting love, and the breath of life in my lungs. I am without doubt, amazingly blessed. I have the hope of future growth in Him, slow as it may be...

Well, I seem to have gotten off course in the general direction of this post. Anyway, I certainly still love imagining the dreams of my childhood coming fully to life in my mind. They are hopeful and joyously splendid...
These photographs bring my imagination to life, the quaint beauty of a cozy little life, simplistic in it's own way, and dearly creative. (:

I have a rather odd fetish with collecting old colored glass bottles...