transition.

....an in-action shot of the process that has consumed the majority of the past two years - getting in, phd style.

and it is as a result of this process that we now find ourselves in our current state of transition and gratitude.  letting go of our current state of being, of the dynamics that constitute friendships and relationships experienced in close proximity, even of the very things we sometimes confuse with the stuff of life.  such as, ahem, furniture, decorations, rollerblades that haven't seen a sidewalk in two years.  it's more than just a move, this transition. 

a small step in a direction in which we've felt led for some time.  an attempt at faithfully responding, steadily plodding, patiently waiting. 

the next 6 years, denton.

glow.

one afternoon, i came home to find this inexplicable glow spilling into our space. it lasted minutes, only changing so subtly that i could not perceive that it had indeed shifted until it was completely gone and dark.

so often this is how i see God move, instruct and direct in my life.  as a sunrise or sunset, He spills forth in such subtle increments, that i really cannot see a change until dark or light has suddenly arrived.  this may not be how He works, but simply my stunted perception.  and truthfully, i am grateful that He at least teaches me to see that.

sick days.

a cold keeps me indoors these days, yet the cold yields a delicate display of the ornate over our window sill. snow fell all day yesterday.  the intricacies of a scientific God, praising Him as each water molecule attaches to another to form an ever-changing, never-repeating pattern.  these are the tiny melodies sung in the dead of winter that are drowned out by the swelling of spring's symphony in later months.  what a joy to see such beauty in the passing of the day.

what will rise.

lately, i've been making a simple bread at home (recipe here). inspired by a friend who forages for wild mushrooms in the forest preserves and parks of chicago, and who one night, shared a loaf of bread made with onions, local wild mushrooms, and asiago cheese perfectly crusted on top, i've been making more and more bread of my own. bread-making, ancient as it is, never ceases to slow me down as i wait for what will rise.

video found here, at kinfolk.

vulnerability and what it means to be wholehearted.

one of the best ideas i've heard in a while - the concept and theory of wholeheartedness, shared by brene brown, phd, from the university of houston in texas. found via donald miller's blog with his notes here.

come autumn.

nothing inspires me more than creation, particularly when it is shifting between seasons, settling into yet another pattern, one that is familiar yet fresh and new each year.  invigorating as it is, change inherently involves the deadening of a thing and the subsequent coming forth of the living.


*images taken in and around starved rock park in illinois.

at home.