a cord of three strands.....

"Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." Ecclesiastes 4:12

















what beautiful symbolism to use at a wedding.... hanging in front of carol and andy were three strands, the middle one beautifully woven of gold, representing christ. the outer two strands represented both carol and andy's lives. during the ceremony the two of them braided the strands together as a symbol of their union. two strands cannot easily be braided together - you need the third to hold it all together. it was beautiful to watch carol and andy commit their new life together under the lordship of christ.

may god richly bless the two of you on this new journey! he is faithful!!

an imagination that has no limit....

tonight i delved into the wonderful mysterious world of little girls.... what gleeful, spontaneous, imaginative minds such little ones have.... in the deepest parts of my heart i longed to once again have such a creative, imaginative mind which would catapult me into worlds now unknown to me..... worlds of splendor and make believe, of rescuers and heros, of being able to bring fires and food and animals into existance out of nothing....

i spent the evening at some friend's home who had invited several other people over for a turkey dinner... yeah!! thanksgiving in august!!

five little girls under the age of 5 were running aroud in princess dresses, fingernail polish, and pretend adventures.... and it wasn't long before (to my delight!!) i was asked to play along.... while the adults kept there conversations going, i snuck away and was wisked off into a make believe land... i was given a new name - "sapphire," told i was the older sister, and suddendly was cupping my hands around unseen blueberries and herbs.... fighting fires and rescuing my darling little girls from the floodwaters... pretending to be on an airplane flying to japan... and nursing the pretend sick back to health.... what a sweet, sweet time of letting my mind go places that i haven't been to in 25 years....

for those of you who know me... i'm far from being girlie-girl. but oh.... my heart's longing was to be in a princess dress, to be able to truly see the blueberry pancakes and taste the make-believe maple syrup. where has that creativity and imagination gone? i know it's somewhere.... there's something so refreshing about re-visiting that part of your mind.... little girls are amazing... i watched two of the little girls hover next to a mother changing one of the baby's diapers... they were absorbing every move.... staying close, watching what was being done.... it was so precious.... and i could see how as little girls they were drawn to caretaking and nurturing..... there is something innate in us women even as little girls.... something that wants to mother.... to take care of ... to make beautiful..... it's in us.

and how often do i fight it? i try to be the tough girl who doesn't need to lean on someone else.... ms. independent. ms. do-it-myself. ms. tomboy.... oh, i cherish my tomboy childhood, but i also long to be that little girl who will make things beautiful.... dare i say, that i might reconsider the five boys i've always wanted... maybe it would be okay to have some little girls some day....

ah sigh.... alas, i think the book 'captivating' is catching up with me. i'm learning.... truly i'm trying to learn... learning what it means to allow my feminine side to come forth... not hide behind a toughness.... it's hard to explain .... but it's part of a personal journey i'm taking into the deeper side of me.... sounds kinda serious, eh? well, may the journey be filled with many more creative, imaginative moments that wisk me off to unknown places....

blah....

this heat is absolutely insane.... it makes me feel like i don't want to do a thing.... even driving down to the lake seems like too much of an effort to go through to cool off.... whahhhhh.....

it's monday. what do you think of that?

arghhhhh....

i have tv cord/cable agression.... you should see the mess of cables behind my tv/dvd/vcr.... it's a mass of spagetti cords.... and i dont' know what cable goes where..... though i should cuz everything is color coded... but it's not working... so i'm thinking that it's the RF Modulator that is not behaving.... ugh.... all i want to do is kick back and watch a movie....

okay... one more for the record....

alright.... are you ready for another story about the guys being in my house? bless them.... (as emma says!)

the second day that i was back in the house (mind you, they were yet to be around for another three weeks!) I came downstairs and saw that the kitchen sink was completely plugged up. at first i didn't think much of it, but after the guy came back downstairs with the plunger from the bathroom, i knew i was in trouble..... my question was answered with, "i just learned that you cannot stuff corn husks down a garbage disposal".... well, no duh!! i didn't know what to say, so i just walked out of the room. i'm sure it's like the moments that kids say the darndest things and parents don't know whether to laugh or shake the kid. i proceeded to witness this 22 year old man climb onto my kitchen counter, stand over the sink and forcefully plunge away with the toilet plunger in my kitchen sink. ahhhhhh.... sigh. i think there is a seinfeld episode on germs and kramer washing veggies in the shower.... my episode may beat that germ story.

the good news is: my kitchen sink and garbage disposal is husk free; and i hope the good man will think twice when he next uses the disposal..... :)

ahhhh.... pics from the 'otis funny farm'

... the joys of being a member of the otis funny farm(s)....

a. pancho's bad habits
b. i wonder how dad feels about Boa being on his platter?
c. caught in the act.... don't those two have something better to do??

my apologies!!

dear reader..... i've let you down!! i'm so sorry for disappearing from the blog world for so long.... i can't believe that almost 3 months have passed by since the last update! sick!!! i shall strive to do a bit better.... i hope you haven't given up on me!

okay, so a quick update! what's happened in the last 3 months?

may 2006 - finished my on-campus coursework for my MA program in Conflict Transformation & Peace Studies. SIT (the grad school) is huge on "reflecting & processing" - so in the spirit of that... i'd say....
*i've never been through a two week long "let's say goodbye every night" festival .... (i refuse to even think of those who kept finding reasons to go out every night to say 'goodbye' and then didn't leave...)
*it IS possible to resort to college days and hit Wendy's three to four times a week after midnight.... (though waking up the next morning, you feel a bit sluggish!)
*i was wrong about all the rain in October... it is possible for it to rain even more.... see weather casts in Brattleboro for May/June....
*too much reflecting is NOT good for the mind.... sorry about not turning in those final reflection papers....
*it's lonely when you are one of the last one's left standing.....

june 2006 - spent three extra weeks at SIT to work as a program/teaching assistant for CONTACT: Conflict Transformation Across Cultures program. a phenomenal experience of learning from and being with peacebuilders from around the world. thank you, friends!

june 19, 2006 - left brattleboro, vt and returned via canada back to michigan. a highlight? definitely stopping by the naus home (canada) and spending time with three wonderful, beautiful people. dave & susan, your hospitality is amazing and julia, you are too precious!! i'm borrowing your pics as memories ....

another june 20 highlight was picking up my brother, andrew, from the airport as he came in from 3 months of overseas work in the czech rep. & albania.... it was so nice not having to go through 'reverse culture shock' by myself..... andrew, you are a blessing and inspiration to me!!

july 2006 - oh, my goodness.... cleaning, cleaning, and more cleaning.... well, besides painting my laundry room a beautiful color of 'nacho cheese' (yes, that is the actual name on the can of paint - benjamin moore!) it's a tribute to my good friend amy, who talked me into the project.... ;) as for the cleaning.... i had rented out my home to six (yes, 6) college guys for the year.... cats, furniture, et. all.... and came back to find three guys still in the house. i've been in a constant state of cleaning.... and working around the three who seem to be having separation anxieties when it comes to my home..... two 'cute' stories: three days after finally saying they were moved out, i came back from church and found that one had come back to take a shower and do some watercoloring in the house.... and then yesterday another came to take a nap in his old bed.... hmmmmm..... like i said, separation anxieties.... in the meantime, they have until tomorrow to get the rest of their stuff out and to hand over the keys!!

oh, and the final update of otis happenings.... i'm back at the desk at hope college..... whew... where did the last 10 months go? i wonder how i have changed.... perhaps that is another blog entry.

which i promise to write ... sometime.... i promise.... really..... i'll keep this thing better updated! ;)

chapters in life....

sometimes it's hard to see another season in my life pass by..... more than anything i realize that it's also the beginning of something new.... but it's still hard..... standing on the verge of the final month of grad school, i'm catapulted to the last time i went through a major change like this.....

every day during these last two weeks i think about the rollercoaster emotions i felt when i left holsby four years ago.... wanting to cram in every minute with as many people as possible ... to get that last walk through the woods in.... to meander down the railroad tracks one last time.... to sit over a cup of tea and listen to someone's voice one last time... to want to make every minute count.... and then it's done.... people move in and out of your life.... and you try to make the memories last forever.

it's community.

and yeah, living on campus isn't always easy... but right now, i know that i'm going to miss having people around... i'm going to miss the company of sitting around and doing nothing.... of being among friends who are on the same schedule as i am.... of eating meals together.... and sitting around the cafeteria for long times just talking about what's next and what life is all about.... of just having people around - talking... not necessarily to me... but making noise so that i know there is someone around if i need to talk..... i'm going to miss this....

i'm sad that i was so anxious to get out of here 9 weeks ago.... i wish it was november right now.... and that i could be here for another 6 months with the people who have become an international family to me.

so, change. it comes, it goes.... as cliche as it sounds, it is the only constant thing. it hurts and yet it's the start of something new....

why should the fire die?

why should the fire die
my mom and dad kept theirs alive
its early yet don't say goodnight
i know you're tired you'll be alright

you're shining still behind the clouds
saying i won't figure you out
it might be true but let me try
and try and try for the rest of my life

i'm not scared of being alone

i'm just happier being confused
beside the fire as long as it's with you
why should that fire die
my mom and dad kept theirs alive

it's getting late she says goodnight
and falls asleep i'll be alright

~nickel creek

spring break 2006

the 'daring' yaser

cold enough for sweatshirts!

good study weather....

just got back from a week on the beach in north carolina..... good times, good people, good food!