dear, blogging community.

to all those who read; to all those who care...

iMISSblogging.
ugh.
i cannot wait till the week is over, and then i can start back up again...i already have four great posts lined up. (unfortunately my ocd with photo-editing/copy editing prolongs this process.)
not one, not two, but three 'what's for dinners'...and one 'thrifty thursday' comin atcha.
get your party pants on.

my friends are talented.

(you can find the background on this post here and here.)
today's post is dedicated to my cousin ("and not to mention my best friend")...
- lauren ashley tredoux.

a photo i took of lauren, fall of 2011. (see more here.)

this girl.
she has creativity oozing out of her.
she is so-incredibly artistic.
from sketches, to paintings, to photography, to poetry.
she's got a gift.
i have told her so many countless times that she needs to publish her poetry one day...and that if she doesn't, i will for her.
cause she's just ridiculous.
the diction she uses is impeccable--like perfect. (according to my preferences.)
her ideas are so raw...not only can you feel her experiences with her, but it's like you are experiencing them yourself.
her expression is expressive in itself.
the essence of transparency.

here is one of my favorite poems of her's, preceding a few of my favorite photographs she's taken...

Sungod.
the sun it aches me
pulls me into sea
weed of flowers far beyond my
reach of recovering illusive hopes that led
to my disease.
pull me out
and see my bones cry out
I am no longer daughter
I am dried out.
Hear me Father, let my cup
runneth over.
Hold me tighter
bind my pieces of dust off the floor.
I am not above this.
Crippling cancer weaves itself into
my thorns, choking berries of life
that juice my core.
the sun it aches me to what was once
before (I hear it calling).
the sun it aches
my wounds into healing (I hear it calling).
Holy heat bursts me from my cold; holy heat
bursts every blood cell into worship
thawed.
I am on fire,
they cannot see my wounds burdered
with love.
Father be my breath that motivates these lungs.
Drink me water when I cannot drink myself.
Pour me over with wine that I may be restored.
Feed me your hands, your heart, your thorns
Your sun breaks through my aching parts,
“Don’t be afraid of light, my rays bring you life”

i just love her poems.
i can read them over & over & over again and get something new-and different-and inspiring-and enthralling from each one every single time.
i am immensely envious of her God-given talent.

to pour her very soul into words so descriptive and precisely placed that they can make me laugh-and cry-and cringe-and smile...that is no doubt a gift.

her tumblr has many more poetic gems; check it out.

(she also went to europe last fall, and pretty much all of her photos there were amazing...so instead of weeding through the hundreds of those, i stuck with these beauts.)

-and no, this is not an april fools joke. (hahaha.)

days 29 & 30.

Your grace abounds in deepest waters;
Your sovereign hand will be my guide...
where feet may fail and fear surrounds me.
You've never failed, and You won't start now.

so i will call upon Your name...
and keep my eyes above the waves.
when oceans rise, my soul will rest in Your embrace...
for i am Your's and You are mine.

Spirit, lead me where my trust is without borders...
let me walk upon the waters, wherever You would call me.
take me deeper than my feet could ever wander,
and my faith will be made stronger...
in the presence of my Savior.
- hillsong UNITED.

my bff-trisha posted this to her blog a couple weeks ago...

and it seriously is my favorite song right now.

(total random ps--but...eggs, grilled ham, grits with red-eye gravy, and orange juice; ribs, corn on the cob, sweet cornbread, and sweet tea...it was only like the best-most Southern day for food ever.)

day 21.

this song is my life right now.
i've come to learn that pretty much everything about me is a contradiction...besides my belief in the Lord.
but even my prayers--i will be asking the Lord for something that i am desperate about, and then end with telling Him that i know if my prayer isn't answered, it's because He has something better in mind.
(which does seem contradictory to me.)

over time, my prayers have become less about what i want/need/think should happen...but to trusting God that what He wants from me--and others is what is best anyway.
it is the result of life experiences...
learning that life is unfair.
life is hard.
life is painful.
but God is still good and faithful through it all.

that doesn't mean i don't cry out to God.
believe me, i do.
but there's a different sort of faith and trust involved now.
because i have been through some crap...that i couldn't understand why i was at the time (and for quite some time after), but with continuously seeking God...i had epiphanies and realizations. and that "crap" has consequently formed me into who i am today.
-and i am thankful to have moved past it all and significantly grown. because those experiences have shown me how undeniably God pulls through.

the gist of this song is sending a prayer up, and then concluding with the thought...
"but maybe not, not today...
maybe You'll provide in other ways,
and if that's the case...
we'll give thanks to You, with gratitude."

- nichole nordeman...from her woven & spun album.

lyrics: here.

"caring for each other."

my friend-lauren is a great-great girl, friend, daughter, role model, 

Christ-follower, human being. (i will save her full my-friends-are-talented story for another day--cause it's a long one, but...)

she shared this video of a family she's worked with for a couple years now, (who go to the church we grew up in,) by helping care for lindsay, spending time with her, going to camp with her, etc.

i have always loved all the stories and photos she has shared about lindsay...and it really warms my heart to have seen her grow through it all.

this video is SO touching and SO precious and will SO make you cry...

so get ready.

(i will just let it speak for itself...but what a Godly and incredibly special family.)

i hope it inspires you...

"can you hear it?"

make a joyful noise...

create the sound of hope.

ps-i adore the fox & the hounds.

here in the power of Christ, i stand.

"what heights of love, what depths of peace, when fears are stilled, when strivings cease; my Comforter, my All in All...
here in the love of Christ i stand.

and as He stand in victory, sin's curse has lost its grip on me.
for i am His, and He is mine.
bought with the precious blood of Christ.

no guilt in life, no fear in death; this is the power of Christ in me.
from life's first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny.

no power of hell, no scheme of man could ever pluck me from His hand.
till he returns or calls me home, here in the power of Christ i stand."
- in Christ alone.

(Christina Grimmie.)

through the eyes of a child...

let's put a little joy back in everybody's life 

after this election-fiasco.

(source.)

this video makes me cry-laugh.
(i stole this from my friend amanda. who is also hilarious.)

my friends are talented.

this might be my favorite segment.

it's just so true.

and warms my heart so much.

(you can find the background on it here.)

today's post is dedicated to my dear-dear friend, stefanie morgan.

stef and i grew up together at college church of the nazarene.

we've spent looootsss and looootsss of time together, from caravans to wigby, to His kids choir, to holiday parties, to retreats, to church camps, to mission trips...and not to mention nearly every sunday.

then come second semester, freshman year of high school, she went back to her roots and joined me at blue valley.

this was definitely a blessing. (for many reasons.) most everyone at church went to the same three schools...or at least had one other person. i had had no one for almost ten years, and i always yearned for that affirmation and accountability. just to be able to make eye-contact with a person, knowing you share a deeper bond and more-significant meaning for life than those many searching-high school kids. (not that we had it all figured out as adolescents, but you catch my drift, right??)

stef and i both did choir throughout high school, and were privileged to be in its traveling show choir, chambers. we went all over the kc metro area, LA, and NYC. (stef also got to go to orlando because she made it the year before me. but i'm getting ahead of myself; i'll show you how amazing she is in a minute here.) stef almost always got the solos in our kids' choir, she was on the praise & worship team in junior/senior high, she almost always got the lead in our high school musicals, she almost always got the solos in our choir/chambers numbers, and she always did ridiculously well at competitions...we always knew we could count on her to get a 1.

since the age of ten, stef had incessantly impressed me with her musical ability, (she's an amazing pianist, as well,) but i don't think it was until our spring show, senior year of high school had i heard her sing and play a song she had written. the song was "love won't."...which i'm pretty sure is still, to this day, my favorite. (i know you'll think that is funny, stef. but it's true!!)

she not only has the raw musical talent and ability, but she has the passion, and emotion, and ability to relate that song writers long for and need.

stef recently wrote this song and performed it at the uptown arts bar for "MBird's writer's showcase". (sadly, i could not attend this time around...but i have had the privilege of attending similar performances.)

source.

you can listen & watch her in these videos too!! (courtesy of: kathleen dunn.)

Black and White. (circa 2008.)

Rainy Days. (circa 2008.)

she also has her own etsy account: unlock the creativity. check it out!! (i tollld you...talented.)

God has blessed me with stef's friendship and her ability to inspire and brighten up any-and many-of my days.