Stars, Gardens, and Thunderstorms

These are some of the beautiful things in my life since my last post.
I took our dogs outside for a few minutes last night, and I looked up into a sky of beautiful, sparkling stars.  It had been a while since I had looked, really looked, at the stars and marveled at their beauty and arrangement.  It was a beautiful, warm summer night and a wonderful little surprise from God.
Today, after a great start to the morning with daily Mass, and some pleasure reading, and almost two hours of orientation for a job, I was able to go outside and help my mother and little sister with planting tomato plants, pepper plants, marigolds, and sunflowers.  It felt so good to get my hands dirty giving life to God's creation, especially after no having done something like that for so long. Breaking up the dirt, adding the soil, placing the plants in the holes and covering up the roots; the dirt that got in my sandals; talking with my mom; all of it was a wonderful little gift.
I also got to bake today!  Brownies! Mmm.
I worked on the puzzle more and listened to more of Ella Enchanted with my little sister.
And the rains came, along with some crashes of thunder: one of my favorite sounds of nature. I also love thunderstorms.  I was a bit distracted from this masterpiece because I was playing Wii volleyball with my little sister (which was also fun); but I have a fascination with them as for me they are fantastic displays of the power of God.  My love of the rain and storms also brings back to me many fond memories of last summer: I spent 10 weeks with 3 girls and we all loved the rain and the storms.  There was one night where one of our supervisors/big sisters in Christ came into the kitchen and said: "Looks like it's going to storm."  My friend Jenny and I responded with in unison with an enthusiastic: "YAY!!!" to the point where we startled her.
And now I am enjoying some good laughs with my family as I watch "Evan Almighty."

Good night to all, and take time to plant (and smell) the flowers.

"Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet, and the winds long to play with your hair."

What is music?

Today has been blessed: sunshine, working in the garden with my little brother and sister, visiting the library (which I have not been in for several months due to being away at school), walking dogs, and just having a peaceful day.
It was a great adventure to visit the library again.  It is preparing for its summer reading program, so the large window was being painted with a mural about "digging in to reading."  I was there with two of my sisters and my brother, and we spent some time browsing the shelves of movies and books.  I brought home some fun titles in the DVD realm (Stuart Little, Balto, and Flicka, which I have not seen yet, but thought looked good), and my little sister brought home a DVD of 3 Arthur episodes, which is still one of my favorite childhood TV shows.  We also looked through a number of titles among the books and books on tape.
We've broken out a jigsaw puzzle at home (1000 pieces, if anyone's curious), and my mom suggested that we listen to books on tape while we work on it; this way the younger ones can work on their summer reading sheets more, and it's enjoyable.  I was happy to find one of my favorite books on tape of all time there: Ella Enchanted (by Gail Carson Levine), as read by Eden Riegel.  This Cinderella re-telling is itself a wonderful story; but since my first experience of it was the book on tape, the recording has a special place in my heart. :)
Eden Riegel is the only one narrating the story, but makes a point to make the voice of each character distinct and believable.  This takes a lot of talent and imagination.  I like this about her as a narrator.  Some people try to do this, but are unable to do it well.  She has mastered the art.  Personally, I like narrated stories where each character has its own voice, even when they're done by a whole cast.  It makes the story more real to me, more interesting.
The story is about a young girl named Ella, who was given a "gift" by a fairy when she was very  young.  She was "blessed" with the gift of obedience: she would do whatever she was told no matter what she was told to do or who told her to do it.  This is more of a curse than a gift, as we soon see in the story and the struggles that Ella has to face.  Ella's father sends her away to boarding school with two unbearable girls, one of whom schemes to make Ella's life miserable beyond belief.  Ella makes her get-away and attempts to find the fairy who cursed her to ask her to free her from her gift.  In her journeys, she befriends the prince of her country: Charmont, or Char as he prefers.  (Char is one of my favorite book characters.)  I won't give away more than that, as I am one who hates spoilers.
Another thing I love about this book recording is that there is music with it.  The music is not constantly in the background; but it is a gorgeous addition to some of the best scenes in the story.  The melodies are enchanting (no pun intended).  They spark my imagination and stir my heart.  I could listen to that music again and again, its melodies are so beautiful and unique.  They really set the scene in your imagination and work magic in helping you picture and feel the moment.
This brings me to the subject of the title: what is music?  One of my favorite quotes about music is from Victor Hugo:  "Music expresses that which cannot be put into words, and cannot remain silent."  Anyone who has experienced the beauty of music knows what this means.  Have you ever listened to a song, a classical melody or soundtrack, and it stirred your heart in a way that you cannot describe?  It's as if it expresses something that we know and have felt, but that we've never been able to say.  I honestly believe that this is where the great composers (Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, and even artists today like Thomas Newman, Howard Shore, and Hans Zimmer) drew from in their compositions.  They can express the beautiful sounds of a rushing brook, or the love with which a heartfelt letter was written.  These things that we cannot say that cannot be silent: this is music.
One of my favorite movies begins with a quote that reads: "If there is any magic to be found on earth, it is contained in water."  While I believe that certainly could be true (I have always loved the sight, sound, and feel of water), I think another "magic", or in this case, gift of God's great beauty and wonder, that has touched this earth is music.

"Bach gave us God's word; Beethoven gave us God's fire; Mozart gave us God's laughter; God gave us music that we might praise Him without words."

This is a saying that I have seen on many posters.  As a Catholic, I love what the Church has to say about glorifying God through art.  Music is a gift of heaven, and I must say there are melodies that have touched my ears and raised my mind and heart to heaven, or taken me back in time to the quiet moments of the life of Christ, or inspired me to create stories and adventures in my imagination.  Music is not only "that which cannot be expressed with words, and cannot remain silent," is is God's gift to us by which He speaks to our souls and we can respond.

Salute to Our Heroes

This is my Grandpa.  In this photo, he was probably 18 or 19 years old, and had made the decision to enter the Air Force and fight for his country.  While he was never deployed and did not see action during the Korean War, he is still a hero.  Of course he is my hero as my grandpa and all that he taught and showed me in his lifetime, and I hope to have a post more focused on that in the future.  He is a hero for his love for his family: his wife of over 50 years, his children, and his grandchildren.  But he is also a hero because he was willing to fight for the country he loved in order to preserve the freedom of its people and protect these people and the values that our country stood for.
Today is Memorial Day.
Today we salute heroes like my Grandpa: men and women who put their lives at risk, many of whom died, to protect and preserve our country and the freedom of its people.  This took courage, certainly.  But more than that it took a degree of selflessness: a willingness to say: I love my country, and I believe in what it stands for and care about its people so much that I am willing to risk my safety, even my life, to protect it.
Every time I see men and women in uniform, there is a certain degree of awe and a great degree of respect in my heart for them.  I don't know where they're from or who they are, but the decision they have made is visible.
I cannot say that I am proud of my country in this present day and age.  Many things have happened in the U.S. government in the past several years that I am ashamed of and saddened by.  But this will never change the fact that I am proud of what my country is built upon.  When I hear the National Anthem at a sports event or a parade, while to many it may seem like "just something we do," I find myself moved with love and respect for what my country was built upon and the men and women who have served and died to defend that.  I am not proud of what my country (or should I say its government) is right now; but I am proud of what my country has been in the past and what I believe it can be again with the right people, virtues, and God-fearing citizens leading it.
I did not always have this deep respect in my heart for our soldiers, our country, our National Anthem.  This has been instilled in me through many things: what I've read in my history books, what I've seen in movies like "Sergeant York," "It's a Wonderful Life," "Captain America;" a trip to Washington D.C. where I saw so many memorials of the wars our country has fought in and the people involved therein. But something that really instilled in me a newly realized love for my country was an audio presentation I heard 7 years ago that a priest shared in his homily on the 4th of July: The Story Behind Our National Anthem.  I hope that you will take the time to listen to it, and that it will change how you listen to and participate in the singing of that National Anthem.
"Oh say can you see/ By the dawn's early light/ What so proudly we hailed/ At the twilight's last gleaming?"
God bless America!

Trust

Being home for the summer certainly has it's perks.  I get to enjoy the countryside, my home, my family, my pets, peace and quiet or loudness and laughter, etc.
Among those, though, finding a job isn't one of them.  Applying all over and hardly hearing a word from any of the places is most discouraging to be sure.  But I'm trying to remain optimistic, even though it is beginning to look like I might not get to visit some dear friends and a beloved place that is like a second-home to me.
Pulling through it all certainly is tough.
If anything is making it better, though, without a doubt it's the Lord.  I was privileged to go to Eucharistic Adoration last week because my sister had to go to the church to practice her organ pieces.  This has been a greatly-missed privilege for me.  Attending a Catholic university is a great blessing because the sacraments are so available and there are many places where you can stop and spend time in the Eucharistic Presence of Jesus.
Once I was alone in that room, I poured myself out to the Lord: what I was struggling with, why I was having such a hard time with it all, what I hoped for, what I feared.  If there is one thing I have found in Christ in my relationship with Him over the last several years, it's that He has the greatest listening ear of anyone I know.  I can tell God everything, and do.  I tell Him things that no one else ever hears about or knows that I'm dealing with.  It's so good to have a Friend like that.
But I think what's even better is that after I've told Him everything, when I stop to listen, He always has the best advice.  Albeit, it's not always advice that's easy to follow or swallow; but time and time again, God has told me what I most need to hear at the moment when I am struggling.  He is always very clear with me, but this clarity is ruled by gentleness.  God is never harsh or cruel-handed; He is always kind, always good, always gentle, always strong, always loving...always there.
It is no surprise that all His revelations to me in Scripture of late have been about giving witness and preaching the Gospel.  I am becoming more and more aware that this is going to be my mission this summer: the purpose for which God has brought me home.  But I can't say this is not intimidating after spending a summer working in an atmosphere that nurtured my faith and surrounded me with people who cared about me and loved God.  I think the biggest intimidation is that I really have no idea what I'm going to be surrounded by, or what I'll be faced with everyday.
Through all this, though, God's message is clear: trust.  Always trust.  "Fear not."  "Be still and know that I am God."  "I am the Light of the world."  "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life."
I continue to pray for confidence, for trust in God, for hope, for understanding.  For those of you who have been praying for me, thank you.  I can tell.  God bless you all.

"Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.  Where there is hatred, let me show love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.  Oh divine Master grant that I may not seek so much to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love.  For it is in giving that we truly receive.  It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life."
"Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, and courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."
-St. Francis of Assissi

Here we go!

Hello, everyone!

Welcome to my very first blog.  I hope to share some good stories and insights (when God so inspires me) on here.  The purpose, as outlined above by the movie quotes a little bit, is to look for the profound in the simple: to see those little sparkles that reflect something bigger that is waiting to get out and be discovered by someone.
I'm one of those people who takes joys in the little things.  I like campfires and s'mores on a summer evening with my family gathered in our yard.  I love looking up at the stars in the middle of a clearing, watching them sparkle more beautifully than any jewels ever could.  I like taking walks out in the woods, petting my dogs, watching my goats' shenanigans.  I take joy in the sound and sight of running water in rivers, lakes, streams, creeks, rainstorms, fountains...and in the sound and feel of the wind on my skin, in barefoot walks in the grass or the shore of the beach.  Beach glass, seashells, beautiful music, sunlight raining down through holes in the clouds or pouring through the glass of windows...I could go on, but I've probably said too much already.
I also like writing stories and taking pictures, so occasionally a post about an escapade in authorship or photography may slip in here.
But at the center of it all, as with everything I try to do, God is the hero of the story and, I pray, my main focus.  My hope is that he will shine through in the sparkles I see in life and that I will be able to share some of life's great messages and mysteries with you as He inspires me to do.

God bless! Good evening to all.

"Your life is an occasion.  Rise to it." -Mr. Edward Magorium