no barriers.

img via: papertissue.tumblr.com

radical face.

i called my mumsie to say happy mother's day but quickly realized that she was in a somber mood. my radical mum spent her mother's day driving around alabama to see the wreckage that the tornado left behind. i sat on the phone with her while she prayed for the dozens that are still missing and those that are grieving the 300 others who've left this earth. what a crazy way to spend your mother's day. there are lessons waiting for me everyday in that dear lady. God assigned me a truly radical teacher.

calling down walls.

"for He Himself is our peace, Who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing walls of hostility, by abolishing in His flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which He put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. for through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit." -ephesians 2:14-18.

spring visit to the shire.

...go, said the bird, for the leaves were full of children,

hidden excitedly, containing laughter.

go, go, go, said the bird: human kind

cannot bear very much reality.

time past and time future

what might have been and what has been

point to one end, which is always present.

-t.s. eliot.

the light.

"We must build our faith not on fading lights but on the Light that never fails. When important individuals go away we are sad, until we see that they are meant to go, so that only one thing is left for us to do— to look into the face of God for ourselves." -Oswald Chambers.

trees, oh trees. do you remember me? from before?

photo taken in kelvingrove park.

I am Oak - On Trees and Birds and Fire by bsever

...

pouvez-vous entendre mon coeur?

photo via: papertissue.tumblr.com

dearest chief,

i cannot get enough of you.

swoon.

peter pan soup.

i'm sitting in the cozy pub downstairs from my flat right now. it's called the bon accord which translated means good fellowship...i know. it couldn't be more charming. but i'm here to work on my papers and soon as i walked in, i realized that there's a semi-cup game between the celtics (local glasgow football team) and aberdeen. this is serious business. i was a little worried that it'd be too loud to work on my paper but literally you can hear my computer keys typing in here...i'm realizing that getting rowdy and yelling at the screen is something that us amateurs in america do. in scotland, among the older scots, you can hear a pin drop when they watch football...because they mean business.

in other scottish adventure news...i asked the lovely lady at the bar what the soup of the day is and i thought she said "peter pan soup." i then proceeded to ask her if the peter pan soup is vegetarian and she responded...."no. PEA & HAM soup."

oh.

this is a dear man we came across in our adventures in stirling. dapper, no?

love is a mix tape vol. 13

::::I used to live in a heartbeat city,

I swear I'd fall in love every minute on the street.

You might be walking around the corner

and our eyes might meet.

Where you been darling darling? Where you been darling darling?

Where you been darling darling, we've been holding this moment for you::::

-yAcht::psychic city.

photo taken in berlin.

a home away from home.

today was such a good day. i've felt kind of weird about celebrating my birthday away from home. birthdays always make me feel kind of funny. the idea of celebrating yourself seems silly but back home it's always justified to myself as a celebration of the amazing people i've found myself blessed to be surrounded with, which is definitely worthy of a celebration. so the thought of celebrating it far far away from them took the charm out of it for me. so i planned a trip to iceland for myself as a time to be with God and to focus on all the amazing things to be thankful for. but i realized that it might not be the best time for me to go to iceland so i had to cancel my trip, which was a really difficult decision. but then these people happened. all of a sudden i find myself surrounded by these people whose lives and stories i want to know everything about. within a couple of short months they've grown quite deeply into my life. i already think about how i want to be sure that i'm keeping in touch with them in five years. already we have 1,273,652 inside jokes together. and already i am tremendously thankful for the people that they are and that they're playing a part in who i'm becoming. we headed out to stirling for a day trip today and packed a picnic! we peeked around in the lovely little town and eventually settled in the grassy knoll in front of the castle for a couple hours of picnicking and hilarious banter. all i kept thinking was how this was the best birthday present ever...these people...my home away from home.

c'est comme ça.

photo taken in berlin.

FOLLICULAPHILIA.

photo via: here.

WALLPAPER

is something that the british do right. it's used so much more here (probably to cover up rotting walls of ancient tenement buildings). but it's pretty. i.like. it makes having to stay in and calligraphy all day not.so.bad. :)

...although our particular pattern makes me think of an old man's hawaiian shirt...? i'm searching high and low for a matching shirt to recreate this magic...

crafternoon...

with the ladies on fridays is seriously becoming my favorite new thing.

these days.

i forgot how much this song makes me think of good times. about long drives, quiet moments, great adventures, sweet discoveries, subtle but important thoughts, tremendous encouragements, radical hopefulness, questions, really happy laughs and deeply grateful longing. it's actually quite a sad song...but i guess the longing wouldn't be there, had the great moments not.

i hadn't listened to it in quite a while, and i'm thankful for the memories it brings because those memories are so alive even in these days...i find them everywhere. under trees, around the corner, in familiar songs blaring in the pub and brilliantly kind new friends. those memories are everywhere today...

love is a mix tape vol. 12

burn slow, burning up the back wall
long roads, where the city meets the sky
most days, most days stay the sole same
please stay, for this fear it will not die

if i had a boat, i would sail to you
hold u in my arms, ask you to be true
once i had a dream, it died long before
now i’m pointed north, hoping for the shore

down low, down amongst the thorn rows
weeds grow, through the lillies and the vine
birds play, try to find their own way
soft clay, on your feet and under mine

breaking at the seams
heaving at the brace
sheets all billowing
the breaking of the day
sea is not my friend
seasons they conspire
still i choose to swim
slip beneath the tide

once i had a dream
once i had a hope
that was yesterday
not so long ago
this is not the end
this is just the world
such a foolish thing
such an honest girl

-james vincent mcmorrow

photo via: papertissue.tumblr.com

because of this one thing i'm sure...

He who promised, is ever faithful.

foolishness in your eyes, but the only hope in mine.