Uphill idealist

By: T.L. Eastman 09' Hope Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune--without the words, And never stops at all, And sweetest in the gale is heard; And sore must be the storm That could abash the little bird That kept so many warm. I've heard it in the chillest land, And on the strangest sea; Yet, never, in extremity, It asked a crumb of me. Emily Dickenson

Whisper image found at Photobucket . My blogging friend Mary reminded me of the importance of paying attention to what voices we listen and take direction from. Sometimes, I too struggle with the voice of perfection in my own mind that never seems satisfied or content with any of my efforts. That voice is an impossible task-masker to work for. This voice says - that use of time was wasteful, that project would have been better if, that dream your dreaming is not practical, this life of yours would only be better if you would have... You get the idea. This voice of negativity is one that most often is only an occasional whisper, but there are times it still shouts to get my attention. Thankfully, I have some good earplugs. :) There are other voices that tell me different things, encouraging and hopeful things and I believe that these voices are the ones that God uses to help me press on in the journey of life. These voices of light are the ones that bring me back to the path my feet a...

Photo found at Christine P. Newma n. On the return to school in the fall, teachers will often ask students to write an essay on "What I did this summer." Students will have stories from vacations, summer camp, concert festivals and maybe a trip to Grandmas house. Even when I was in school, I used to look forward to this chance to tell my teacher and peers what I'd been up to over the summer. Taking a moment to look what we've been doing can help to indicate where we are headed in the future. This last weekend, I took some time to read Donald Miller's newest book, " A Million Miles in a Thousand Years." In this book, "Miller chronicles a rare opportunity to edit his life into a great story, to reinvent himself so nobody shrugs their shoulders when the credits roll."(Back dust cover,Million Miles by Donald Miller) While reading Donald's book filled with his own adventures of life editing, I began to ask myself this question, "If I were ...

Today is See you at the Pole Wednesday. It's a day were many young Christian students will gather at the flag pole of their schools to pray for their families, their friends and the world. As I woke early today to prepare to join the students at my local high school the prayer of St. Francis came to mind as an excellent way of entering into this time of prayer... Make me a channel of your peace, Where there is hatred let me bring your love, Where there is injury your pardon Lord, And where there's doubt true faith in you. Make me a channel of your peace, Where there's despair in life, let me bring hope, Where there is darkness, only light, And where there's sadness, ever joy. O Master grant that I may never seek, So much to be consoled as to console, To be understood as to understand, To be loved as to love with all my soul. Make me a channel of your peace, It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, In giving to ...

This song was on my ipod as I was jogging in the rain this morning. I love jogging in the rain, really. :) The song has been on my mind since then and I thought you might enjoy it too. Happy Tuesday!

Making Frankenstein model kits of course! I came home from work on Friday to find Ian gleefully working on a Frankenstein model kit, just like one his Dad had made for him when he was little. He seemed a little flustered, so I started to help him out some... And before you can say Frankenstein, I was painting too. This model is still in progress, I'll fill you in when it's complete. Hope you had a good weekend.

Image from Tattooed Mamma's House . I once wrote a message titled "Odd Socks". The basic premise of the message revolved around this basket of socks that had no mates anymore, and my Mom had given my sister and I free reign to do what we wanted with them. We made puppets, Barbie dresses and even tried making sock monkeys. We had a great time with those socks, and they were something that had seemed disposable. I like to think that G-d can take the odd socks of life and make something great out of them. G-d's got a great craft closet you know. Early one school morning last week, my son was looking for a matching set of socks. So I pulled out a basket that I'd laid some folded shirts upon and found the basket full of not-even-tried-to-match-but-plenty-of-matches-socks. I quickly matched a pair and he was on his way to a day full of seventh grade meandering. Lately I've been feeling like I have a full basket of creative and vocational socks just sitting somewhere...