Bless the Lord O My Soul [Laura Story]

"Tip-toe o'er the floor..."

"...what are you waiting for?"
Agnes Obel - Just So

Black turns beat me bright, turning on the light
Today is gonna be the day, you hear some body say
We need you right away

Tiptoe over the floor
What are you waiting for?
So so and no more
That's all to be, so before.

Today is gonna be the day, you hear somebody say,
We need you right away
You hear the moments kick and play.
The order of the day is already in your way

The widow shade, the nurse and maid,
To let it all just work away,
From head to toe, where shadow grows,
Since forever and a day

Quiet moments home
Where some do you roam?
Today is gonna be the day
You hear some body say
We need you right away.
No time for tea or lemonade.
Some moments of the day
Were only half awake.

Drink a toast to the sun
To the things that never go,
To the break of the day
That is all that I say

What Love Really Means

by Christian artist JJ Heller, with her husband David.

This video and song moved me so much when I listened to it several times today. Is it not amazing that God does indeed love us? ...and not just that, He loves us for us, as we are! How can that be?
Yet, it is true.....and that's incredible.

What I Have Learned From Julie's Life

Julie Andrews is one of my favorite actresses (right up there with Audrey Hepburn and Emma Thompson!) I'm not sure exactly what it is about her, or her acting that draws me in, but it does. I always felt like I could identify with many of the characters she played in her various movies. Her role as Maria Von Trapp, in Sound of Music, is of course of special note. :)

However, there definitely always is much more to a person than just what they do for a living, right? The same is true for Julie; she was more than just her acting and singing careers.  I knew that she played great roles and was a wonderful singer, but I knew next to nothing about her own life, and the 'real' Julie Andrews!

    That's why I ordered this book (only $4!) off of Barnes & Nobles to read. Home, is Julie's memoirs of her early years from her birth to age 28. What first struck me as reading was that she did not come from a 'perfect home'! I guess I just always assumed that Julie Andrews ...I don't know, came from this perfect, happy-family dream world! Something like the Trapp family! Well, that was not the case at all; her parents, Barbara Ward Wells and 'Ted' Wells, both came from very poor, abusive backgrounds and met while working in the vaudeville/nightclub business.
     Once married they had two kids, Julie and her brother Johnny, before her mother left her father for another man (Ted Andrews) less than a decade after marriage. Eventually, when Julie was around 12 years old, her parents divorced and her parents went their separate ways. The resulting years were spent between the two families: her Mum and large, load, rough 'Pop', and her Dad and new timid, but kind wife. 

   Two things happened as Julie neared her teen years: Her Mum and Pop decide to change her name, from her christened name Julia Elizabeth Wells, to Julie Andrews. Julie was apparently very upset and averse to the change at first, but it stuck anyway. Secondly, her 'Pop' began giving her singing lessons and then later sponsored her to attend lesson by Madam Lilian Stiles-Allen. Turns out.... Julie had an amazing voice!

And the rest, is history basically. :)

     I thought it was particularly neat to see the pictures of her as just a young, slight girl meeting young Queen Elizabeth. Julie Andrews was & is such a special lady. A common theme I find in her life story is forgiveness, humbleness, and perseverance. Whenever people hurt her, or whenever she got praised, or whenever things got particularly rough, she responded in the same way, every time: by pressing on with a smile and hope in her heart. Now maybe that sounds like 'sentimental fluff', but I think it's a valid claim.

The optimists are the ones who keep us all from getting too bogged down with life and forgetting to LIVE.

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. (Hebrews 12:1-3)

Resources:
Favorite movies of Julie Andrews - Sound of Music, The Thoroughly Modern Millie, Mary Poppins.
Websites: http://www.julieandrewsonline.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julie_Andrews

"A Lost Chord"

From June 7,2010- My Cali Trip Photos

by Adelaide Procter

SEATED one day at the Organ,
     I was weary and ill at ease,
And my fingers wandered idly
     Over the noisy keys.

I do not know what I was playing,
     Or what I was dreaming then ;
But I struck one chord of music,
     Like the sound of a great Amen.

It flooded the crimson twilight,
     Like the close of an Angel's Psalm,
And it lay on my fevered spirit
     With a touch of infinite calm.

It quieted pain and sorrow,
     Like love overcoming strife ;
It seemed the harmonious echo
     From our discordant life.

It linked all perplexéd meanings
     Into one perfect peace,
And trembled away into silence
     As if it were loth to cease.

I have sought, but I seek it vainly,
     That one lost chord divine,
Which came from the soul of the Organ,
     And entered into mine.

It may be that Death's bright angel
     Will speak in that chord again,
It may be that only in Heaven
     I shall hear that grand Amen.


P.S.~ Poem brought to my attention by Trotwood.

Andie (Re)Introduces Me to Levi

"Levi"

I was exploring photography websites of friends, and those of friends of friends. I came across Andie, from Portland, Oregon. Man, do I love her photography! This girl is really good behind her camera and the results are fine, crystal-bright high quality photos. Plus, she is making a living doing what she loves to do and that's my personal goal!

*officially inspired*

Austin and Gideon

Also, on a side note: There was this one post of hers of band photos for these two guys named Austin and Gideon. Turns out this was the band I had been looking for, Levi (previously called Feng Shui) ever since I met Austin Kearney, one of the singers, at his home church while visiting friends in Oregon this year. He may be remembered from the small film his acted in, Come What May. Now, I know what their music is like and I find it to be awesome. What a great sound! Go friend them on Facebook and MySpace.

To Ohio & Back, Part II

The continuing story....

Thursday- Arrivals & Bowling
Ah, yes! The rest of Thursday I can't remember much about, except a lot of "Hi, Hello, What's your name?"s and lots of laughing & talking & settling in. Several other people showed up in the afternoon that day as well I think(?) Hattie, Amanda, Lisa and Mac, was it? :) Anyway, the more there were, the merrier! :D I could tell that it was going to be a wild, fun 4 days.



Breakfast at Grandma's again. :)

 9pm~ Bowling! That night, after pizza at a local, yummy pizza parlor, we all went over to a bowling alley for games! Only $1 per person per game, $5 for the shoes. I was on a team with Leah, JD, Steven, and Emily. I think we did really well! The guys were in contest and I was just trying to stay OUT of the gutters. :) My final game score was a personal best: 121! But even for those who didn't score high (like me, the first two games :P ) we all still had a lot of fun. :D My favorite try was throwing my pink bowling ball under my legs with Marissa and getting a strike! Leah also bought me fries which I restrained from organizing. ;) *cough*cough* Barely.

Bowling!

11pm~ We also had a late night Walmart run, whilst Leah and I found *cue music* DIET, CHERRY, VANILLA Dr. Pepper! And Skittles & Sour Patch Kids, of course.

Friday- Work Day & Movie Night.


Car ride over to the church for the work day!


10am~ Everyone up and dressed & fed, ready to head over to the Sanders' church. They were in need of some cleaning, painting and repairs. So...what better way to get it done really fast than call in a couple dozen young, able bodies? :D JD gave us a pep-talk, Leah and I made sure that we had plenty of 'fuel' for our day, and we signed up for the various teams.
The Moving/Lifters
The Cleaning Ladies
The Painters (They had the most fun, it sounded like!)
...and then there was Brit, flitting around with the camera. ;)

I was one of the cleaning ladies, as I ADORE cleaning. :) We did a complete scrub-down and organizational tornado in the nursery! Lots of windows to clean, chairs to scrub (with magic sponges) and toys to wash. Those magic sponges really worked, but they wear themselves out doing it. *boohoo* lol. I also discovered lots of dead spiders and grime in the kitchen windows.  The painters had a blast singing while painting... Brit recording it all on film. :P :)
1pm-ish~ Lunchtime! Merry and Rebekah (I think?) worked on making a sumptuous chili for all of us! It was delicious. :) Everyone chowed down, while I discovered that there is a strange chemical reaction that happens when you put soda + Skittles together. (They turn rock hard and the soda loses its sweetness! Strange....) After lunch, people started finishing up and doing whatever.

2-4pm-ish~ Me and a couple others headed back to the house to take showers that couldn't be gotten in any other time while Merry and Beks hid the balloons for the BIG scavenger hunt that was to happen later that evening. :) Balloons allllll over the yard! It looked hilarious. Then, back to the church.
Turns out, the rest had a great jam session/hymn sing while we were gone! :( Sad to miss that, but it was nice to get cleaned up.


Brit & I! <3

6-9pm~ Cleaning up the church areas, moving the furniture back in, rearranging stuff. I finished the toy-cleaning and paint roller washing with Mac. We all watched The Emperor's New Groove (which I never saw before, but is a hilarious movie!!)

10-12pm~ Back to the house for that scavenger hunt! We divided into five teams and went out. it turned out to be a lot trickier than we thought, because several of the balloons popped and it just wasn't that easy seeing the balloons! The winning team had garnered around 500+ points from the balloons they found, which included a black one (100 points.) :) Way to go people!
1am~ Crash time! I was T-I-R-E-D. Made a call home and then went right to bed. :)

To be continued...