What I've Been Working On...

It's a Friday Art day!
I finally got around to taking some pictures today.  I wish I did this more easily.  I really have to fight to get things photographed now.

I found these fabulous butterfly filigree pieces at Michael's (yes, sometimes I find some fun & unique components there!), and I've had so much fun working with them.  I've still got a green one left, and I hope to finish it off tomorrow.

I played around with some buttons I've been admiring & saving. This green and brown one is my favorite.



And last but not least, I have been twisting wire into little hearts... 

I saw some heart pendants in a chain store, not sure whether it was Walmart or Fred Meyer, and I thought "What a cute idea!  I bet I could make something like that, but unique and prettier."  I am delighted with the way they turned out.  The large one was my first try, and I had fun with it.  However, it was a trifle big for me.  So I endeavored to make the rest of them smaller... 

The brown and blue one is my current project, and lacks a chain still.  I finished a cute copper and turquoise one on Saturday, but it was sold before I even got it out on display!  A young woman walked into our tent, looked at the little silver one, turned and saw the copper one, and said 'That's the one!'  So it is already gone.  I'll try to do one similar soon..  Not exact, but similar.

Where it all began

Lori of Pretty Things suggested that all the participants in the Bead Soup Blog Party share what led to their passion for beads.  Where did it begin for us?  I liked reading a couple of the posts people have written about their inspiration, and I wanted to share, too.

I didn't discover beads early like my sister, Beth.  She told her story of falling for beads while she was in 6th grade HERE.  In high school I was into choir, band and reading books.  I was in musicals and concerts, and not into making things. 

Beth was, and she was excellent at it.  What's fun about that is the fact that she has got a great singing voice and enjoyed music and drama, but her passions were beads, paintings and sculptures.  She started out college as an art major and then took her visual artist's eye to Costume Design.  Now she's focused on Jewelry Design.  Yup, she's amazing.

Here are a couple of her paintings:

However, all the time Beth was making beautiful things, I was studying and pouring my energy into the more ephemeral arts- music, drama and performance.  After I graduated with a college degree in Theatre and Music, I went on to get a Master's in Communication Art with the understanding that I would teach and perform.  And I did. I got married along the way, but I was still doing music, teaching drama, and performing.

Until I got pregnant.  And was put on bed-rest for three months.

Yes, I love to read.  And I did read.  A lot.  I would make Jake drive me to the library, he'd walk in and get one of those little stools for me, and I'd push myself along choosing out books- at least 15 at a pop.

I re-read the Chronicles of Narnia, Lemony Snicket's "A Series of Unfortunate Events" books, Harry Potter, the Wizard of Oz, the Anne of Green Gables...  I discovered new authors, re-read old ones... 

But that was just the first month!

And I was still in bed.  Beth came down from Fairbanks to Seattle to visit me and hang out while we waited for the baby, and she brought her beads....

And I discovered I liked beading.  I'd make her put the clasps on, and then I'd try to figure it out.  I finally got to the point where I could actually do my own end parts and earrings...  Back then, I avoided seed beads like they were the plague.  They were so tiny!

I was scared to death of seed beads, and I hate needles.  So I figured out I could use bigger beads. and I wasn't as scared of them.  In fact, I discovered I LOVE crystals- so shiny.

And now my oldest daughter is 9 years old!  I've been beading for nine years.

That's crazy.  I certainly never expected beads to dominate my life as much as it does now.  I never expected to own a bin of seed beads.  Or to be selling my own designs.  And if you told me ten years ago what I'd be doing today I would have laughed at you.

Isn't life funny?  Things that are just supposed to be for a little bit end up taking up so much of our lives...  I'm thankful I discovered beads, and their ability to enthrall me.  I'm thankful for the improved relationship with my sister that beads engendered.  I'm thankful for the money I make selling my jewelry.  (not that I'm making a ton)  I'm thankful for the beading friends I've made.

What started out as a bad thing (getting stuck on bed rest), became the inspiration and beginning place for me of a life-long love of beads, and the desire to learn more about jewelry-making: metal-smithing, polymer clay, wire work.

Saturday Smiles

On Saturdays I post about something that has made me smile this past week.
*****

This week I have been thinking about the fabulous Lori Anderson of Pretty Things.  She hosts a mega-awesome event called the Bead Soup Blog Party.  This is the fourth time I have had the pleasure of participating in her party, and I love it!!!

She pairs you up with another beader, and you trade bead soup!  Oh, the fear and trepidation!  I've had fabulous soup partners, and one so-so soup partner.  But it is always fun.  The challenge is to create something wonderful with what you receive.  Every time I've done this it has been a big challenge.  I end up with materials I never would have imagined using, and then have to figure out how to use them...  I don't have to use all the beads my partner sends, but I do have to use the focal and the clasp.

So far, I have been lucky/blessed to receive beautiful beads, just nothing I would have chosen for myself.  Last time, I made this necklace after receiving amazing art beads from Sharon Driscoll at Right Turn Art Werks:

The time before that I was paired up with Pamela Petry who sent me the cutest birdie pendant.  And I made this necklace:

This time there are 400 beaders involved in Lori's party!  Isn't that crazy???  There are so many that Lori divided our reveal dates up so that everyone who wanted to could participate.  I am in the very last group, so my reveal date isn't until August 25th.  I am so excited!

As soon as I receive my beads from my newest partner, I will let you all in on the surprise...  It's so hard to wait....

My New Best Friend

(My foot on the night we went to Urgent Care)

So...  About 5 weeks ago, I was limping around on my left foot.  It hurt, and I couldn't figure out what I'd done.  My husband drove me to the Urgent Care downtown (since I refused the ER), and a doctor looked at it, took x-rays and pronounced me fit with a mild bruise.


But the stupid thing kept HURTING.  And making life very difficult.  I went to my doctor, who sent me to a podiatrist last week.  And I've got a stress fracture up high on the smallest toe.  Right where the number 5 is in this diagram of the foot from Web MD:

  And now I've got one of these, my new best friend:

And I hate it.  It's heavy, and it hurts, and it makes the toes on my left foot go numb after I've worn it for an hour.  But I think the bone is healing.  It's supposed to keep me from putting pressure on the bone while I'm walking.

The ridiculous thing is that it's summer.  In Alaska.  The ONLY months I like to do stuff outside up here (like garden, go hiking, take walks, ride my bike, go camping...), and I'm stuck in this stupid boot waiting for my toe to heal.  I'll probably be stuck in the boot right up until the snow starts falling in October.  Ha!  Okay.  I'm not really that pessimistic about it, but it is frustrating that I didn't wait to do whatever I did when I want to stay inside and sit on my tuckus all day.

And I'm still not sure what I did to my poor foot.  That was the week I was teaching VBS and running around like a headless chicken with little 4 & 5 year olds trailing behind me like ducklings...  I was climbing up some ladders, and moving tables around.  And I took my shoes off, which I know better than to do...  So that's probably what did it.  Either that or I'm just getting old!

Lori's Give-Away at Pretty Things

Lori Anderson is having the most awesome give-away ever on her blog Pretty Things.  I want to win!  But if I don't win, I think you should.
How come I never win anything??  Just curious... 
I take it back.  Once, when I lived in Fort Worth I won something on the radio.  A check for a little bit of money.  Pretty cool.
But I've never won anything since then.  And that was about 14 years ago.

M.A.D.D. Camp

I just got back from camp!  I loved it, and am very happy I got to be part of something so cool and exciting. 
I haven't gotten to teach drama in a while, and I got to teach at Camp Bingle in the Harding Lake area last week.  What an honor and a privilege.
This week was called M.A.D.D. camp, for Music, Art, Drama, Dance; and the kids got to choose from 8 different electives.  I had the pleasure of teaching both of the drama classes. 

I saw a moose up close and personal, slept for a wee bit each night, and got to love on about 20 teens. 
I hate how shy I am!  You'd think I'd be over it by now. I'm 40!  But stick me in a casual hang-out social setting and I'm pathetic.  I can click into confident mode when I teach, but have a very difficult time getting over my shyness during meal time or hang out time.  I'd like to not have this issue, but that's just the way I function.  I'm better than I used to be... 

The most difficult part of the camp was the work-out.  The camp is built on the hills surrounding Harding Lake, and everywhere you go is either up or down.  You go to the shower house up-hill, then go back to your cabin down-hill.  Then go to breakfast down-hill, then back up to your cabin.  Then the class I taught first was further up-hill...  I think you get the idea.
My calves are pretty impressive after one week.  I'm curious to know what an entire summer would have done to my legs...  =)

Saturday Smiles

On Saturday I write about a couple of things that have made me smile over the last week.
****

I get to go to Camp this week!!  I am so excited!
I was asked to teach drama at Bingle Camp's first ever Music Art Drama Dance Camp (or M.A.D.D. Camp).  I'm thrilled and nervous. 
It's been a while since I've taught drama...  I was a Drama/English teacher in Seattle and LOVED it.  I miss it.  Since then I have directed 6 or so musicals up here in Fairbanks, helped with a couple of youth group performances, and participated in an attempt to get a drama group going at our last church (with a lot of opposition).
I've got some plans in mind, but am aware that my plans need to correspond to the specific group of kids that I end up working with at the camp.  I might have really experienced kids, and I might have beginners.
So...  I have no idea of what I'm heading into, and I'm seriously hoping that it's not as scary as it feels right now. =)

Saturday Smiles

On Saturdays I blog about a couple of things that have made me smile over the last week.
*****

1. VBS with Pre-schoolers
I have spent the majority of this last week at church doing Vacation Bible School with thirty 4 & 5 year olds.  They are so cute!  I love talking to them about Jesus & how much He loves them.  They are so energetic and curious and crazy.  I had fun, but ended up exhausted every day.  Teaching Pre-schoolers is a little like herding cats.  You get them all going mostly the right way, and then one of them needs to go 'potty', and another one has a story about a bumble-bee they saw that morning, another one wants to be an airplane...  But they sure are sweet.  They made me smile and laugh...

2. Lightning

We had a lightning storm tonight!  I love lightning, and I miss the great storms I saw in Texas.  We rarely get all out crazy lightning & thunder storms here in Fairbanks.  Even when we do the lightning isn't very big, and we only get a couple of lines.  But I got to see some tonight.

3.  I recreated a necklace today!
I've had this gold necklace with a flower pendant for two years. I like the piece, but it has yet to find a home.  I took the pendant and added a bunch of wire-work to it, and I have fallen in love with it again.  I'll have to see if I can share the finished project tomorrow while I'm at Farmer's Market tomorrow.

Some Farmer's Market Photos

Saturday Smiles

On Saturday I post about a couple of things that have made me smile this week.
*****

1. Deborah's Birthday

My Deborah turned 9!  How can she be so old??? 
I remember her as this little baby who never wanted me to put her down- she wanted me to hold her all the time, and frankly, for the first couple of months I was okay with that.  We were both so sick- I almost died, and she had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck.  We made it but we just wanted to be close together for a long time.
Now she's a prickly 9 year old who wants me to hold her while letting her go.  Still sweet, but oh-so-stubborn.  I love her so much!

2. First Friday

May First Friday at Risse's Greenhouse

We were invited to take our jewelry out to Risse's Greenhouse in May and in June for a First Friday event.  We had a great time, and were glad to share our jewelry with a new crowd.  Zydeco/steel drum band music, snacks, a broad variety of art, and lovely flowers.  What could go wrong?   We had two complaints only, and they were piddly little ones.  First, in May it was so hot and bright in the greenhouses that we wished for sunglasses and shorts.  Second, last night it was rainy, and we were simply SWARMED with mosquitoes.

3. Alaskan Butterflies

We don't have many, but the kinds we do have are lovely.  I've been enjoying them for the last few weeks, and am very glad for their diversity and beauty.  I haven't gotten any good photos of them because I haven't had my camera on any of the days I've seen them. I'm going to keep trying, but in the meantime I found this photo HERE.
 

A Baking Fiend

Deborah's 9th birthday is this Friday, and I have promised her a party.  I've been baking like a crazy mad woman, and I really have no clue how many kids/parents will be there.  I will just have to hope I've made enough...

We wanted to include both of Deborah's worlds- church friends and school friends- and the easiest way to do that was to have the party at our church's weekly playdate.  All year round the church hosts a moms and kids Thursday morning play-date.  During the school year, my girls are busy. 

But during the summer!  Hang on to your hats, 'cuz we're coming to play.  The play-dates take place at several different parks in the area, which means we are excited to get to participate.  And my Abigail never stops when she's at a play-ground.
 
Anyway, having the party at the play-date seemed the easiest way to merge Deborah's divergent friendships.  So I'm baking.  And hoping my imagination is big enough to cover the reality of Thursday...

Heartbeat by The Fray

I've had this song stuck in my head for about a week...  It'll go for a bit and then come back.  It's almost become a prayer.
I've been trying to make some decisions about next year...  Should I continue tutoring?  Should I try full time teaching again?  Should I take this jewelry gig and make it bigger?  I don't know.
I've been praying for God to share His heart-beat with me.  What is His good plan for me?  What makes His heart beat faster?  What gets God excited?  What does He delight in?  What does He know about next year that I don't know??

*****
Heartbeat
by The Fray
from the album Scars and Stories


I'm tryin' to put it all back together
I've got a story and I'm tryin' to tell it right
I've got the kerosene and the desire
I'm trying to start a flame in the heart of the night

I'm feeling feel your heartbeat
You're comin' around, comin' around, comin' around
If you can love somebody, you love em all the same
You gotta love somebody, love em all the same
I'm Singing, I'm feeling your heartbeat

The rest of the song is HERE, but this is the part I keep hearing in my head.

Saturday Smiles

On Saturdays I post about a couple of things that have made me smile during the last week.
*****

1) School is OUT!

Yay!  This means we don't have an early morning schedule and I don't have a daily job.  I still sell my jewelry at Farmer's Market and in a cabin at Pioneer Park. 

We have all enjoyed the final days of school and are looking forward to adventure days with Jake, swimming lessons, VBS, camp, reading books, playing outside and trips to Farmer's Market.


2) Farmer's Market opened last weekend!
That's why I missed my Saturday Smiles last week.  I was too tired and stressed out to even imagine posting.  The night before I was still packing stuff, and afterwards I fell asleep on the couch.
However, we are excited to begin another season.  Beth & I sold jewelry last week, talked to old friends, and made some new ones.

3) We stopped at Creamer's field tonight.

We watched cranes and ducks for a while, and Abigail ran around to avoid the mosquitoes.  The girls were goof-balls, and absolutely entranced with the birds we could see.  (By the way, that photo was taken at 8 p.m.  It's twilight outside right now at midnight.  I love Alaskan summers!) 

Saturday Smiles

On Saturday, I post about a couple of things that have made me smile during the last week.
*****

1) My Fitness Pal

I have been very unhappy with my weight lately...  With my health so crazy over the last four years I've gained way more weight than I had any business doing.  I weighed as much as I did when I was pregnant with Abigail!  That's ridiculous.
So, I've started using My Fitness Pal. It's easy, because it keeps track of what I'm eating and doing.  I just type in what I've eaten and it keeps track of the calories I eat and the calories I work off with exercise.  Honestly, I probably sound like a commercial!  But I've discovered something that has really works with me and for me.
So far, I've lost 6 pounds and I've only been tracking my activity for about 10 days.  I'm looking forward to seeing how it keeps going!  I'm enjoying using my body again, and I'm surprised at the amount of calories I was eating.  Blech.  Not hard to pass on something when I know how much fat I'll have to burn off!

2) This week is over!

I worked extra time this week because this was the week of reading tests.  We do something called the AIMSweb test in our school district, and it involves listening to every child in our school read for three minutes.  We use it to pin-point the kids that need extra attention and tutoring. 
The test is administered three times a school year- once in the fall, once in January, and finally in the Spring.  Repeating the test allows us to track the students who need help, and determine if they are getting the assistance they need.  Sometimes we'll switch the kind of tutoring they are getting if it is not helping, or sometimes we'll see that the student has improved so much they don't need extra reading assistance.
I got a lot of extra hours this week, but came home wasted every night.  However, I LOVE seeing my students improve over the course of the school year, and we saw a lot of good stuff this time around.

3)  First Presbyterian Church of Fairbanks

We are publicly joining our church tomorrow.  Joining is a huge step and we are both very sure God is pleased with our decision.  It has taken a long time for us to be sure of what we were doing and where God wanted us. 
We had attended Friends Church (a non-denominational church) here in Fairbanks for the last couple of years, mostly to hide & heal after the debacle at our prior church.  When we had healed sufficiently enough to want to get involved we discovered there really wasn't any place for us to get involved. 
Plus, our girls really hated church there- the children's program is very chaotic with little consistency.  There were new teachers every Sunday and the girls would spend half their Kid's Church time coloring pictures.  Honestly, they'd cry & beg every Sunday to not go.  Jake & I decided it was too important for them to at least LIKE church for us to stay there.
So we prayed about it, and our visiting missionary friend, Donna S. suggested we try 1st. Pres., which is pretty funny 'cuz Jake & I grew up Southern Baptists.  We'd heard that Presbyterians were soft on truth & the Bible & obeying Jesus, and long on allowing all sorts of non-Biblical ridiculous stuff.  Guess what?  Not true.
1st Pres is actively involved in sharing the truth and love of Jesus with the world.  They are involved with the homeless in downtown Fairbanks, and I'm delighted to be known as someone who attends this church.  They preach the gospel message- how Jesus died for love of us and took the sins of humanity upon Himself so that we could have eternity with Him in heaven. 
The Children's Ministry is dynamic and alive, and we are delighted to entrust our children & their love of Jesus & the truth with them.  We have a dedicated Children's Minister who is involved in the kid's lives and knows them.  They enjoy going, and happily participate in anything when their church family is going to be there.
Jake & I are involved with the worship ministry and a Life-Group.  I foresee other ministry opportunities opening up for us in the future.

Wicked- My thoughts on Maguire's book

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

by Gregory Maguire

From HERE:

When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious Witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? And what is the true nature of evil?
Gregory Maguire creates a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again. Wicked is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first-class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class stability, and the Tin Man becomes a victim of domestic violence. And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to become the infamous Wicked Witch of the West, a smart, prickly, and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil.

*****

I finally did it. I read all the way through Wicked. I wanted to read it, because I felt like I should. The critics loved it, and I have friends who like it. I wanted to enjoy it. In fact, I wanted to LOVE it, for multiple reasons. I love re-tellings of fairy-tales, I love fantasy, I love new takes on old stories, I love Baum's Wizard of Oz books. I've read most of them, and enjoy the wacky, zany world he has created. I thought this would be fantastic, a re-telling of the Oz story from the witch's point of view. How could it not be good?

(WARNING: I am not talking about the musical loosely based on this novel. I haven't seen it, I have no idea how it fits in with the story, so if you are a fan of the musical, please excuse my ramblings about the book. I understand that they have similarities, but are very different.)

Taking all that into consideration, can you imagine my disappointment when I did not like Gregory Maguire's take on Oz. I'm not sure I can explain what I didn't like, but I'm going to try. Honestly, his lengthy & rambling, ponderous, elephant-carcass of a book seemed the exact opposite of Baum's light-hearted, fresh and rollicking tales of Oz.

First, he made it both political & religious. Blech. He added vast power struggles between different kinds of people, even between the talking Animals. And he seemed to delight in creating weird in-fightings & bitter resentments. He restructured the entire political land-scape, and added biases & prejudices & strangely sexual imagery. The 'wizard' becomes a vengeful and fearful despot inciting truly evil actions. In fact, he seemed to command evil, much as Hitler directed, encouraged and inspired the evil done to all those not of the Aryan race post-WWI.

Next, Maguire made it very dark. I don't mean like a post-apocalyptic Stephen King-esque world. No, I mean darker- there were strange sexual implications and darkly mysterious yearnings going on everywhere. Depraved and deprived people taking their anger and frustrations out on others. Sexual addictions, drug addictions, murders...

Finally, while Maguire apparently intended this as a commentary on good and evil, it seemed to me that his point was that evil just happens. Not much of a commentary... There is no cure, no saving grace, not even really the desire to escape evil. Elphaba, the accidental 'wicked witch of the west' is one of the very few likable characters in the book, yet she passively allows most of the action in the book to take place without intervention. Elphaba is trapped in her situation and does not try to get out. Even her death is an accident in this re-telling.

My favorite thing about Baum's Oz is the innocence and joy in his yarns. The brand new and delightful world of Oz. Yes, bad things happen, but the characters keep trying. They deal with the horrible situations and move on. They don't dwell in the bad things- they mourn them, struggle with what to do, and then figure out a way to deal with them.

The entire time I was reading Maguire's interpretation I was in a horrible mood. It took me a couple of days to figure out it was a direct result of reading the book. I probably should have put it down then, but I wanted to know how it works out! And it doesn't work out. Not really.

I admit it, I was very disappointed with this book... I expected more. I expected something worthy of all the critical hoopla over this book, and it just didn't happen.

Saturday Smiles

On Saturday I blog about a couple of things that have made me smile over the last week.

*****

1.) Apple Pie

A kind friend gave us an apple pie this week, and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

2.) No Jackets!

The temperatures have hovered around 50 this week! Which means I've been going to work without a jacket, and the girls have been going to school without their coats. I love it!

3.) My Collage Necklaces

I have completed quite a few of these collage style necklaces over the last month. I'm trying to get ready for Farmer's Market in between the other busy moments of life.

I enjoy creating these collage necklaces. I delight in picking through my bead stash to find fun beads that go together, and they are just as fun to put together. I generally choose a theme- a color or a style- and then go treasure hunting.

Here's a couple I particularly like:

Captured

I love this song! I've got it stuck in my head and I want to share it.
Go and listen to it here.
****

by Chris Tomlin

I heard your echo in the canyon
Up on the timberline
You said these mountains were Your invention
And so was this heart of mine

I heard You whisper on the water
There on the mighty sea
You spoke of love deep as the ocean
When You spoke of Your love for me

And I am loved by the Father
And I am loved by the Son
And it is love that has captured
The heart of this wayward one

I heard Your laughter in the sunrise
Amidst the morning birds
A song of freedom for all creation
And you sang me every word

And I am loved by the Father
And I am loved by the Son
And it is love that has captured
The heart of this wayward one

I heard You singing in the silence
A simple melody
Words of love, oh I can hear it
My Father is very fond of me

And I am loved by the Father
And I am loved by the Son
And it is love that has captured
The heart of this wayward one

And I am loved by the Father
And I am loved by the Son, yeah
And it is love that has captured
The heart of this grateful one
The heart of this grateful one

Saturday Smiles

On Saturdays I post a couple of things that have made me smile over the last week.

*****

1.) My Tread-Mill

I bought a fabulous spiffy Bowflex tread-mill from a friend who is moving out of state this summer. At first I used it regularly, but over Spring break I got out of the habit because I was watching the girls and because I got really sick.

I'm back in the habit again! I'm walking every day!

I feel so much better when I'm walking/moving every day. I hate it when I get out of the habit!

2.) Red Beans & Rice

I have finally mastered this dish!

Church friends were bringing us food after my surgery in December, and I was how much I like this simple dish. I tried a couple of times to get it right, but just couldn't make it happen. I finally broke the code! Everybody likes it, even Deborah (and she's a tough one to please)!

3.) Home-made Cinnamon Streusel Muffins

Yup. I made them. They were delicious, and now they are gone.

4.) Reading Anne of Green Gables with my girls

Deborah and Abigail chose to check-out the movie from the library, and then I caught Deborah struggling to read it. She's 8 and a very precocious reader; however, Anne's love of big words was making it a challenge. I didn't want her to give up!. I wanted to share my love for Anne with them, and I'm delighted to report that Deborah LOVES it, and Abigail is enjoying it. (She has to be too still while I read to adore it, but she is having fun.)

Saturday Smiles

On Saturday I write about a couple of things that have made me smile this week.
*****

1.) Spring Break-Up!
Our driveway is a mess and I love it! The snow is melting during the day as the temperatures approach 48 & 50 F. And then re-freezing at night as the temps dip down below 33 F.
All the snow is dirty as it melts and reveals all the nastiness hidden by the crisp white snow.
And I LOVE it! The dirtier it looks, the happier I am. I like summer better, but Spring Break-Up is my next favorite Alaskan season.


2.) Farmer's Market is about a month away!
I am busy getting stuff ready, working on some collage style necklaces every night. Our Spring meeting is next week, and I'm looking forward to seeing my FM friends again.


3.) Law & Order: Criminal Intent
That's what I've been watching in the evening as I'm beading. And I like it. It didn't just smack me in the forehead like some other shows I adore (Firefly, Supernatural,etc.), but it has grown on me. I'm interested in the two main characters, and I find the stories compelling. Some of them are old-fashioned who-dunn-it style, even Holmes-ian style mysteries, but most of them are more about figuring out how to catch the guy who did it. I'm enjoying them.

He's All You'll Ever Need

by Matt Tullos


I’ve seen him among the children and anyone who loves kids like He does, can be trusted.
He is merciful to those who need mercy and He is always just.
He was willing to sacrifice everything for us and He never sleeps.
He is a doctor who can diagnose an illness before the symptoms appear.
He is a baker and when you go to his house there is always the wonderful smell of fresh bread.
He is available to you any time day or night.
He fights for the helpless
He makes time for the lonely
He is ready to step between you and your enemies.
When you are befuddled confused and indecisive he has a plan
When the walls are closing in his doors will open wide.
He listens when no one else is around to hear you.
He consoles you when there are no arms to embrace you.
He weeps with you when all others curse at you
He is redeemer of your yesterdays and foreseer of you tomorrows.
He been to hell and back and he is still standing strong.
When others doubt you, He says you can do it.
When no one knows you, He calls you by name
When few are truthful he will tell it to you straight.
He has set you apart and pulled you together
He lifts you up and He settles you down.
He’s not insecure, detached or ruthless.
All his plans are above board.
He’s written them all down in a book for you.
And nothing catches him by surprise.
Many have tried to imitate Him
The religious have desired to placate Him,
And even more have tried to eliminate Him
But no one can intimidate Him
He is independent and self-sustaining and yet He longs for your love.
He could turn the world on its end and yet he has loved you from the beginning.
He knows you and He's everything you'll ever need.



Matt Tullos' writing/sermons/scripts/videos can be found on his blog. It's worth checking out.