things to learn

http://www.catalystspace.com/catablog/full/5_key_things_i_learned_in_my_20s/


i especially like number 5:

5. Figure out who you want to be, not what you want to do. Who you are is more important that what you do or where you live. Spiritually, financially, family, emotionally, relationally. Find two or three older, wise “sages” that you can learn from and count on as help.

poems from my past

i found my old baby books, and within them i found these two little gems that made me feel so beautiful tonight:

A GIFT OF LOVE (by Aunt "Tante" Cheri)

One year ago, this glorious day,

an early April morn,

with hopeful hearts that helped us pray,

a tiny babe would soon be born

This little one from heaven above

would bring our family joy,

this tiny bundle came with Love,

was it to be a girl or boy?

Amanda Lynn, this babe was you

who, the twenty-second came,

with golden curls and eyes of blue,

setting hearts aglow with flame.

I've been Aunt Cher these past twelve years

to birthday niece, dear Heather,

with your request, my second Dear,

I'm your "godmom" blessed forever!

How blessed I am to see the world

through your precious eyes.

With each new day, my precious girl

brings Love and wonder and surprise

The sound of music can be heard

when tiny fingers play

o'ne piano keys, and not a word

need express joy of the day.

Amanda Loves so many things,

so dear to my own heart.

Books, and dolls; butterfly wings,

all of these you're now a part.

You've introduced me to new friends

so very dear to you,

these friends you share will never end,

magnets and Ernie, Winnie-the-Pooh!

A small discoverer, you'll soon become

of flowers, birds and bugs,

but I will cherish getting some

of Amanda's Love and special hugs!

You are my Precious Moment,

my cuddly Little Lamb,

my bonnie lass in her sun bonnet,

you've made me glad of who I am.

And so today, you're one year old

you give my heart a lift,

and through the years, you'll recall I've told

how you have been my special gift.

As you walk the path of life,

tho' sometimes rough it seems,

don't forget amid the strife,

to stop and play with life's sunbeams.

Please Dear Lord, may I remember,

this year that gave a start,

of memories to warm me in December,

of Love forever in my heart.

May Jesus always hold you in

His gentle arms of Love,

and bless and keep Amanda Lynn,

my gift that came from Heav'n above.

(my gift of Love to my Godchild and Niece, Amanda Lynn Barnett, Aprill 22 1990)

.

.

.

OH TO AMANDA (by cousin Heather VanDyke (Fleming))

I have a cousin that's really neat!

She's that age where she can't eat meat.

She drinks that milk and not that mush!

And soon on that swing, she'll need a push.

Amanda's cute and small,

and soon mommy can take her to the mall.

Daddy's there waiting for her

and he'll play cat and make a purr!

Grandpa's there to make Amanda laugh

Grandma's there to give her a bath!

Now the Aunts are there to give her a hug

and Amanda will give her Uncles a mug.

Now Amanda will think cousins are important too

We don't tell her what to do!

Love, Heather (June 18 1989)

love your body

i got a perfect body
but sometimes i forget
i got a perfect body

-regina spektor

we just all need to remember this sometimes

oh you bring

You opened my eyes to see

all the wonder and awe

of Christ in me

groovin' in the grove (an outdoor worship service at hope college the night before classes begin) was the other night. BEAUTIFUL. absolutely beautiful.

this year is going to be good. no, GREAT.

every song that was sung was beautiful and filled my heart with joy and i couldn't keep the smile off my face. God is SO GOOD and he always finds a way to bring peace to my soul. even if it's just through the simple words of a song.

to you

by kenneth koch

i love you as a sheriff searches for a walnut

that will solve a murder case unsolved for years

because the murderer left it in the snow beside a window

through which he saw her head, connecting with

her shoulders by a neck, and laid a red

roof in her heart. for this we live a thousand years;

for this we love, and we live because we love, we are not

inside a bottle, thank goodness! i love you as a

kid searches for a goat; i am crazier than shirttails

in the wind, when you're near, a wind blows from

the big blue sea, so shiny so deep and so unlike us;

i think i am bicycling across an africa of green and white

fields

always, to be near you, even in my heart

when i'm awake, which swims, and also i believe that you

are trustworthy as the sidewalk which leads me to

the place where i again think of you, a new

harmony of thoughts! i love you as the sunlight leads the

prow

of a ship which sails

from hartford to miami, and i love you

best at dawn, when even before i am awake the sun

receives me in the questions which you always pose.

finding joy in the simple things

during my final week of camp, one of my six-year-old campers had a loose tooth.

(her very first loose tooth, i might add!)

it was extra wiggly one day, and she kept playing with it, so i took her inside to pull it out.

she grabbed it and tugged. when she saw it sitting in her hand she just started giggling!

she then proceeded to skip around the church singing "i lost my too-ooth! i lost my too-ooth!"

i was filled with joy watching this little girl laugh and sing and be so happy about something so simple as losing her first tooth.

words

i had an english professor tell me once:
"you are an english major, so there should never be a time in your life when you say, 'there are no words to describe this.'"

i have realized this summer that this statement is ridiculous.
i have seen beauty in the ordinary and the extraordinary and i have felt feelings of sadness and joy so strong that i just cry and/or smile because i have no other way of expressing how i feel.

although words are wonderful and can usually express how i feel in the most perfect way, it is such a beautiful thing to know that God gave us other ways of expressing ourselves and that He placed people in our lives that we can share these feelings with and they just know how we feel without actually having to say anything.