forty-three characters

The phone beeps.

A reminder.

Words, one hundred and sixty characters, max, waiting to be read.

Words from her.

Words I have waited for.

Words I have been afraid to read.

They arrive.

Unexpected, but anticipated all the more with each passing day.

The characters that arrive spell out love and relationship.

The words I read make my heart quicken and pour drops of peace into the anxiety that has filled this body.

The phone beeps, and I do not check the message.

The beeping, every fifteen minutes, reminds me that there is hope and love for this relationship, conveyed in only forty-three characters.

Including spaces.

I know what it says.

I read it when it arrived.

But I let the phone continue to beep.

Reminding me every fifteen minutes that, though there is space between us, there is love and there is hope.

fabulous friday video goodness—old hymns, new voices

I love a good hymn. As the congregation's collective voice fills the sanctuary, room, campsite, I am reminded of how we have gathered for centuries, millennia even, to raise our voices in songs of praise. While this song may not have been around for thousands of years, the concept of breaking bread together as believers has.

a pile of stones

I'm writing over at Deeper Story today on judgement, something that I am far to quick to pass. Here's a bit of what I've written...

A pile of stones at my feet. The accused are lined up before me.

I feel the pores of the rock against my palm. It is heavy in my hand. Weighty.

“Let him who is without sin among you be the first to cast a stone.”

I grip the rock tighter, running through a mental checklist of the sins of the accused.

“Let him who is without sin among you be the first to cast a stone.”

“They need to learn,” I think, words ripping through my brain as the sweat from my palms seeps into the crevices of the rock. “How else will they know they can never measure up?”

Read the rest of this post over at Deeper Story.

fabulous friday video goodness—harmony called me

Every time I watch this video, I think, "I HAVE to use this for my next Friday video post." And then I forget about it.

Not this time. NOT THIS TIME.

The videography is amazing. The song is so lovely, it makes me want to waltz and marry a man in uniform...or at least a man who sings to a half eaten apple which then becomes a microphone. You'll get it when you watch the video.

fabulous friday video goodness—waiting

Well received and much needed encouragement.

Perhaps, like many you've already seen this.
< br /> Or, perhaps, like me, this was brand new.

Either way, I hope you enjoy the beautiful way truth pours from this woman's mouth.

worth reading 09.09.11

It is that time, time to share the words that have hit me hard, drawn me close, and taught me much. As I cut and paste links into what will eventually become this post, each week I am baffled by and grateful for the amazing people I have come to know. Some in person, and some just through the honest sharing of their hearts through the words they type and send out into this thing we call the internet.

Here are some of those people, pouring their thoughts and hearts onto the world wide web.

• My ridiculously wise friend, Joy, most often shares relationship advice, and every once and awhile she shares something else. This post is one of the something elses, and it is beautiful, just like her heart that beats so passionately for our generation
• Ally has set off on an adventure, and as she's done so, she has been so wonderfully transparent. Upon leaving for Minneapolis, she posted some excellent dating related advice. It is simple. It is practical. It is worth reading and rereading because I know I needed the reminders, so maybe you do too.
• Joy, a different from the one earlier in the list, wrote about how being different from her husband is part of what makes their marriage so good. It was a new perspective for me, as I spend a decent amount of my thinking about my future husband time imagining all the ways we will be the same. It was a necessary reminder that different is good.
• What is your name? Not just the name people call you, but who are you? Upon wedding Max Dubinsky and changing her name, Lauren delved into the complicated subject of identity over at Deeper Story. As usual, her words are lovely and full of truth.
• I found myself wrestling with, well, myself, my seemingly inescapable humanness, this week. Just as I was putting the final touches on this list, Preston posted his Friday post. Rather than his usual week in review, he posted a beautiful poem entitled "Why is there this ache, O God?" It captured beautifully the ache I have felt this week, and the longing for my Christ.
• **LIST UPDATE** I'm adding one more because it is too beautiful not to share. The ever hilarious Julianne Gulu posted over at Make it MAD this week. In honor of her brother's recent wedding, she posted the toast she shared at their wedding. Get your kleenex kids, this is awesome.

fabulous friday video goodness—farewell flight

Um...I love this song. The video is cute enough that if you're not paying attention you'll miss how great the lyrics are. These guys are on the label Mono Vs Stereo, which is Relient K's record label.

Also this: tattoos, mustaches, striped shirts, and baseball tees.

Also this lesson: ladies, if cute bro with a mustache walks up all friendly and not creepy and wants to chat, be nice. It's gotta be hard to walk up to a smart, beautiful woman like you and say, "hey."

worth reading 09.02.11

I'll have a longer post next Friday, but today I want to recommend one post in particular. A dear friend of mine, Nish, wrote a powerful post over at Deeper Story yesterday. She wrote about words, and the way we use them, often times without considering the further reaching impacts those same words have in other areas of our lives. Nish's post has ignited deep thought and thoughtful conversation in my life in just the past twenty-four hours, and I know its impact has not yet run its full course. There is an incredible discussion going on in the comment section, which I encourage you to join after you read her post.