Ain't No Mountain High

I was in a most beautiful wedding this weekend. Gotta be honest. LOVE being the bridesmaid. It is so much fun to see God's faithfulness, from start to "finish", even though technically, the journey of Emily and Andy has only just begun.

Lately, it has been really blowing my mind the lengths God will go to in order to prove His Love. As if it's even necessary.

A month ago, my 84 year old grandma was living alone, fairly ill, and avoiding assisted living facilities at all costs. Within the last two weeks, a nurse has been hired to stay with her 12 hours a day. Apparently, she has been cooking for my grandma, keeping things tidy, and taking care of both her physical being and emotional wellness by keeping her company. My grandma also went to the doctor last week and got some news / medication that has "given her hope for the first time in 6 months" that she can begin to feel better. In two weeks, my cousin and his wife will move into the house next door to my grandma (which conveniently enough just happened to open up at this time of her great need) to be near her and care for her. I will be making a trip down within the next month to see if there is a need for me to live with her and help her and keep her company.

God LOVES my grandma. He wants her to be HAPPY. He wants her to be CARED FOR. He wants her to feel LOVE. He has opened doors for the house next door to her to be available so her FAVORITE grandchild can move in. (That would be my cousin, Drew. And God bless him, he LOVES that woman.) He has changed my heart and put within me such a desire to care for her and love her. He is working it out to where it looks like she won't have to leave her home, a move that we all think would essentially kill her. He LOVES her.

And I am blessed to be a witness to it.

So, with all that said and done, the weekend was a blessing to see God's faithfulness carry through to fruition the promises He has made to Emily. It was amazing to see such a faithful and honest heart be rewarded with a man who will live his life to bring her Honor. It has been wonderful to have a front row seat at watching God work out the details for my grandma. It is so very fun to live the life that I do.

I am one blessed girl.

Don't Think Twice, It's All Right

Primates.

Not meant for captivity.

Simon says sign it.

All the cool peole are.

For proof, check out number 0248.

Now, you won't have to ask me questions when you see me wearing this.

Walk With Me

When enjoying the beauty of life, looking forward with intent to change gets difficult. There is so much in the unknown that terrifies me. Never once has the unknown let me down. But you gotta figure the streak is going to end at some point.

The picture above is peaceful. I could sit by this stream forever, drinking from the life it offers, enjoying the surroundings and letting the world pass me by. This valley and I just fit. I see the mountain and I recognize its purpose, its majesty. I think about climbing it; I may even venture to do so, following in the footsteps of hikers past. But upon reaching the top, would I ever venture down the other side? The side considered "back country hiking" with no visible trail, meant only for the experienced, trained and passionate? A few friends tried that 3 summers ago when hiking CC and Y. 36 hours after leaving the trail head and 2 helicopter searches later, they were found 6 hours away by car. I myself almost walked right off a cliff once trying to do much of the same.

All this to say, I'm sure the other side of the mountain has a lovely valley as well. I'm sure it has a peaceful stream for me to sit beside and watch the world pass. I'm sure the hike will be well worth the view at the top.

The question is this: is this mountain mine for the conquering?

And if it is, will I be trusting enough to tempt the fate of the unknown yet again?

Leave the Pieces

This is my new favorite song. Chances are if you've hung out with me at all in the past month or so, you've probably heard it too. I have great visions of Katie and me learning to play the song together.... For no other reason than I think it would be great. This morning, it was actually on the radio when my alarm was going off and in my delusional stage of half asleep / half awake, I passionately belted it out with them, until I actually realized I was singing along and decided to stop so as to not wake my roommate. Anyway, it's by The Wreckers, which is Michelle Branch and Jessica Harp (KC represent!). If you haven't heard the song, visit their website. It starts playing when the page loads. Anyway, here's the lyrics. This goes out to ETrain, the little engine that HAS.

You're not sure that you love me
But you're not sure enough to let me go
Baby it ain't fair
You know you just keep me hanging 'round

You say you don't wanna hurt me
Don't wanna see my tears
So why are you still standing here
Just watching me drown

And it's alright, yeah, I'll be fine
Don't worry about this heart of mine
Just, take your love and hit the road
There's nothing you can do or say
You're gonna break my heart anyway
So just leave the pieces when you go

Now you can drag out the heartache
Baby you can make it quick
Really get it over with and just let me move on
Don't concern yourself with this mess you left for me
I can clean it up you see
Just as long as you're gone

And it's alright, yeah, I'll be fine
Don't worry about this heart of mine
Just, take your love and hit the road
There's nothing you can do or say
You're gonna break my heart anyway
So just leave the pieces when you go

You're not making up your mind
It's killin' me
You're wasting time
I need so much more than that

And it's alright, yeah, I'll be fine
Don't worry about this heart of mine
Just, take your love and hit the road
There's nothing you can do or say
You're gonna break my heart anyway
So just leave the pieces when you go

Leave the pieces when you go
Leave the pieces when you go

Other Side

This is a picture of my sister's old college roomie, Cara. Even though she is more my sister's friend than mine, she has always brought me much laughter and joy. She recently tied the knot with her knight in shining armor and has been chronicling the events of their first year of marriage online through her blog. Mostly hilarious and always insightful, hers is quite possibly the blog I frequent most often. (Sorry, Ty.) With her permission, it is her thoughts I post below. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. Thanks, Cara. It is a blessing to hear your heart.

"The other day, I was in the play room at the hospital when a Speech Therapist came in and asked if I could go spend some time with one of her patients. As far as I can tell, this little one was recently paralyzed from the neck down and has yet to regain his ability (or perhaps willingness) to speak. His grandmother had to leave him and he was having a hard time. I sat down and began to read him The Little Engine That Could. It seemed like the right story for a child with such a long road ahead of him.

Do you remember The Little Engine That Could? I thought I did too. But it is worth picking up every once and a while to refresh. There is a cargo truck whose engine broke down. And the deal is that she was filled with wonderful things to share with the children on the other side of the hill but didn't have all that it took to get where she needed to be. She had wonderful things to share, but just needed some help to be able to do so.

Sounds like every woman I know.

And so she did what only a woman would . . . she began to ask for help. For a partner. Someone to do their part so she could do hers.

Here come the men . . .

They all had the strength that she needed. But some did not like the looks of her. She wasn't fancy enough. Some were too self-focused to even look at her and they just assumed she was not good enough to give their strength to. Others had the strength but had lost hope and did not believe they could help. So they went back to the engine house to be alone.

And finally, here came a little blue engine. Not the biggest or the most experienced, but capable and willing. It was not an easy task for the little engine. I mean, that cargo car had A LOT of baggage to carry over the hill. But he was committed to making it work. He believed that the gifts the car had to share with the children were worth getting over the hill. He believed that he could do it. And really, that was all it took to help the cargo train filled with amazing gifts to get to the other side of the mountain."