Mid-Week Encouragement!

Does anybody else feel in need of some mid-week encouragement? I certainly do. In this week alone, I have:

• Walked approximately 20 miles
• Consumed more junk food than I had in the past six months ... and still lost weight
• Attended what feels like 547 callouts
• Learned about the action potential of a neuron and the sliding theory of muscle movement

And,

• Accidentally smashed my beautiful brand-new computer.

Yeah. I need some encouragement.

Here you go. Stay strong, keep climbing, go, conquer, and above all, DREAM, because life is so much more than the things we see or touch (or break)!

***

Disney Heroes Tribute
This song/tribute reminds me to dream bigger, run farther, climb higher, stand stronger, and look up to the sky - and it's written from a secular perspective, not even a Christian one. Stop and think for a minute about all that we can do and be when we're filled with the Holy Spirit! If unbelievers can dream this big, why are our dreams often so small?
(This does have a couple of the scenes from The Little Mermaid that I don't like, FYI, but all in all it is tearjerking and powerful.)




"More To This Life" by Steven Curtis Chapman
This song is a reminder that our lives as Christians are to be bigger than just the day-to-day pressures of this world - we're part of the Lord's great plan, and we need to live with HIS great big vision, not the world's narrow little survival methods!




This is a video I found a while back, a brief section of a documentary on Helen Keller; and I was absolutely amazed to hear her speak - I knew that she could, of course, but it was thrilling to watch her and hear her actual voice. Think of all she overcame, and still had such a beautiful spirit and encouraging life! Surely my tiredness and glum moods are nothing compared to being blind and deaf!!




"The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends" Intro
Remember how beautiful the world is, and don't forget to take time to slow down and look at the flowers, the sky, the trees, the animals, and the people around you. God created the world to be so beautiful - we need to take a little time each day and enjoy it!




Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World Trailer
But also, don't forget that this world needs men and women who are courageous ... bold ... willing to dream dreams bigger than the world around them; willing to go to the end of the world and try to do the impossible. Remember how much there is to explore and learn and conquer - in the physical world, in the spiritual world; in science, in language, in theology, in medicine, in nutrition - whatever makes your heart beat faster, there is still a wealth of knowledge out there that we need to discover and many obstacles for us to overcome. Let's take courage and do hard things for God!
(the trailer has one bad word, but is still AWESOME)




"Whispers of Paradise" by Michael McGlynn
Don't forget to be peaceful and still ...




"I Don't Drink Beer" by Tim Hawkins
... But laugh a little, too.  :-)




"Sanctus" by Libera
Above all, rejoice in beauty and praise the Lord!!


***

I hope this boosts your mood today and puts a smile on your face! Happy Wednesday, everybody!

Lots of love,
Vicki

My childhood ... remixed

Here is my contribution to weekend happiness! These are videos of famous TV show hosts, but the PBS studio people took recordings of their voices and computer-enhanced them to turn them into autotuned songs. I know - who even comes up with an idea like that?

Let me tell you, I tried so hard to dislike these videos, but I just couldn't. Somehow, I actually like these crazy things ... probably because they include two of my favorite TV shows ever, Mister Rogers Neighborhood and Bob Ross's painting show. And because the Julia Child one is so funny that I literally fell down on the floor from laughing so hard the first time I heard it. Yes, for some reason, I like these.

What do you think? Take a couple of weekend minutes and tell me what you think!

***

Mister Rogers ... I still can't decide if this is brilliant or criminal ...



Bob Ross ... this brought a tear to my eye, it really did, despite its slight surrealness. I can't tell you how many times I watched this show as a little girl - every day with my mom in the afternoons, while my little siblings were asleep. Bob Ross' show and Wind in the Willows will forever be my most precious childhood memories.



Julia Child ... I haven't watched her very much, but I know that she was a master chef and her creations amaze me. And I love how this video turns the phrase "bring on the roasted potatoes" into a kind of odd refrain ...


***

Dying laughing ... I really shouldn't write posts at 12:30 in the morning ...

Lots of love, Vicki

Ocean

Source: 25.media.tumblr.com via Cassandra on Pinterest

I'm wishing for far horizons and bigger things today ... the lovely days of walking alone through an ocean of strange faces (also known as college) have begun again, and today I wish I were far away on a rocky coast, standing alone with God and His creation ... feeling the salt spray on my face and the sea wind in my hair, the coolness of the slick wet rocks under my feet; smelling the tang of the water and the warmth of the land; hearing the cries of the gulls pouring out into a vast turbulent sky ...

***

Behold the Sea, 

The opaline, the plentiful and strong, 

Yet beautiful as is the rose in June, 

Fresh as the trickling rainbow of July; 

Sea full of food, the nourisher of kinds, 

Purger of earth, and medicine of men; 

 Creating a sweet climate by thy breath, 

Washing out harms and griefs from memory, 

And, in thy mathematic ebb and flow, 

Giving a hint of that which changes not.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

***

Roll on, thou deep and dark blue Ocean - roll! 

Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain; 

Man marks the earth with ruin - his control 

Stops with the shore.

~ Lord Byron

***

Alone I walked on the ocean strand, 

 A pearly shell was in my hand; 

I stooped, and wrote upon the sand 

My name, the year, the day. 

As onward from the sport I passed, 

 One lingering look behind I cast, 

A wave came rolling high and fast, 

And washed my lines away. 

~ Hannah Flagg Gould

***

The cure for anything is salt water -

sweat,

tears,

or the sea.

~ Isak Dinesen

***

Rather melancholily yours,

Vicki

I ♥ Thursday {No. 5}

Happy Friday, everybody!! I was busy all day yesterday dodging those storms that I posted pics of last night while I bought my textbooks and picked up forms and helped John and Heather with their books and forms ... classes start on Monday, and I can't wait! I'm so excited to start my speech pathology classes and learn how to help people speak - it's going to be wonderful!!  :-D

Today I'm helping Mom and Heather give the house a thorough clean-down, because we'll be having some folks over this weekend; and I'm also speed-knitting a Shaker knit scarf to go with the mitts that I finished this week, and trying to get my rusty fingers to stumble through some Mozart before I'm thrust into another semester of boorish band music.  ;-)  It's an absolutely gorgeous day and I'm in a fabulous mood!

Here is what I'm loving this week:

***

Source: thesartorialist.blogspot.com via Elise on Pinterest

Denim skirts! They're so comfortable and versatile!

Source: knocksknocks.blogspot.com via Suezette on Pinterest

The prayers of children. There is something so pure and beautiful about the way children pray - it's so simple. So trusting and uncomplicated. So inspiring!



Updos!!! Especially updos at the nape of the neck - that's my favorite place for a twist, knot, flower, bow ...
   

 Sense and Sensibility (1995)
 

Ornate cathedrals    

Source: ailerastone.com via Rita on Pinterest

Tasteful blue eyeshadow    
This music video ... the song is beautiful (it's on my Mixpod), but the music video is so painfully sad. It makes me cry every time I watch it - but I don't mind, because I think it's important to remember the side of war that includes human suffering and grief, not just the national glory and courage.    

Source: justnerdgirlproblems.tumblr.com via Breanna on Pinterest

Affirmative, this is a real problem. I desperately want to be a Star Fleet nurse.   

Source: thinkgeek.com via Breanna on Pinterest

 Oooh my ...... they make bedrooms like this???    

 

Source: etsy.com via Adria on Pinterest

  Garlands of Grace     ***     And of course, here is our weekly Pinspiration:

Source: coeur-blonde.blogspot.com via Pella on Pinterest

Source: cookingwiths.blogspot.com via Debbie on Pinterest

***

Happy Friday, everybody!

Love, Vicki

It was a dark and stormy day ...

... But no tornadoes and we got hours of lightning, thunder and good, soaking rain!! Praise the Lord!

Love,

Vicki

My Jesus

I want to talk today about Someone Who is very special to me - Someone Who fills my every waking moment with the peace and contentment of knowing that I am His, the one He loves more than life itself. Perhaps you know His name. His name is Jesus - the Lord Jesus Christ.

My Lord is the fulfillment of every wish and every longing I could ever have. He is everything beautiful, elegant, delightful, and glorious. Every craving I have for beauty, He satisfies; because He is the Beautiful One Who created the vast riches of beauty in our world, as a faint shadow of the glories we will witness in Heaven. The brightest colors here will be washed out and dull in comparison to the blinding brilliance of His royal robes and jewel-studded halls - the purest and deepest music that brings us to tears here on earth will sound like a common vulgar ballad in comparison with the sweeping lines of melody and harmony that fill us with rapture there.

But my Lord is not only refined and beautiful; He is powerful and heroic - He is the Rescuer in my very own princess story. Once, I was a prisoner of a horrifying master, the devil himself, a hideous fiend who twisted my mind and forced me to perform his will. I was wretched and filthy, a crawling ugly thing who cared only about where her next fleeting sensual pleasure would come from. I didn't know that I could be royalty - I didn't care. I only cared about satisfying my own desires.

But then He came - the Great Rescuer of my soul! With one ringing cry He shattered the chains around my heart and swept me up into His arms, tenderly bathing my filthy soul in blood wrung from His own heart - He stood in the place where the righteous punishment of the King was to fall on my neck, letting the blow stain and wound Him instead!

It is because of Him, my Hero, that I am alive and free today - never again do I have to obey the temptations of the devil or of my own flesh. I am no longer a dirty, deformed thing in chains; I am a beautiful princess, tall and strong and brave, because His Name is written on my heart and I will never again belong to this world. I will never die - He has conquered death and won me from its hand. He walks by my side every day, not ashamed to claim me as His own, never wearying of my questions or stumbling, never letting me out of His sight, never denying me the guidance and help that I seek every hour of every day, never hesitating to give me every good thing that I need and desire. He loves me more than all the beauty and glory that He left; and I love Him with all of the power in my feeble heart.

But I never could have deserved to be loved like this! When He sought me, I hid from Him and rejected Him! Even since He rescued me, I have fought Him, ignored Him, denied Him, disobeyed Him, and disbelieved Him! I will never understand His love for me - I never could. But I love and worship Him because of it!

Do you know Him, the One Whom my soul loves? Have you seen how beautiful He is? Has He rescued you from the nightmarish chains of the world and the devil - and yourself? Have you felt the glow of His smile on your face, the warmth of His presence at your side, the power of His hand underneath yours as you fight your daily battles? Do you know my Jesus?

Drench Yourself in Words Unspoken (or summer showers ...)

The gorgeous, cool, crisp afternoon that I got to bound out of work and experience this evening!

 

Feel the rain on your skin

No one else can feel it for you

Only you can let it in

No one else, no one else can speak the words on your lips

Drench yourself in words unspoken

Live your life with arms wide open

Today is where your book begins:

The rest is still unwritten

 ~ "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield

***

Hello everybody! We've had RAIN - so much beautiful, glorious, cold, drenching rain!!  I can't even describe to you how wonderful it was to watch those hard pelting drops soaking into the thirsty gray dirt and parched brown grass - rain so heavy that you couldn't see through it, just a bright gray misty curtain of showers. It was so wonderful!!

And today I feel like the whole world is just bursting with energy. The humidity was way down today, and it only got up to 75 degrees; so everything was bright cerulean and green and yellow and white, and the north wind was streaming right over my face like cold water. It was just a fabulous day! Praise the Lord for the RAIN!!

Anyhow ... hello.  :-)  And how has your week been? Mine has been very busy - last weekend, we went on a lovely day trip from which I keep meaning to put up pictures; but mostly, I've been scrambling around trying to figure out what all I need to do to get ready for school in just over a week - do I need new clothes? Do I need a new computer? Should I just wait and see? What about transportation, study breaks, textbooks, student organizations? 

I didn't think about any of those things last year because I didn't really know what to expect, and this year I feel like I'm overthinking everything. I also have a lot of work to do in helping my younger siblings get ready for their very first semesters at the four-year college. How much fun will it be to have my brother and sister on campus with me?  :-D

I'm also knitting some lovely mitts for myself for winter, deciding whether I want a new hairstyle to go back to school, working hard at my two jobs, and trying to stay out of my sister's way as she renovates our room.  :-)

I'd better head for bed before all my energy burns out and leaves me completely uncreative tomorrow ... I'll try to get our day-trip pictures up this weekend, because I think you'll like them!!

Happy Friday, my friends!

Love,

Vicki

***

P.S. Here's a little inspiration for you!  :-)

I ♥ Thursday Linkup {No. 5}

Yippee Thursday! Today was my errand-running day, so I am trying to regain my energy from all the miles I walked ... and my allergies are terrible and I'm itching and sneezing like nobody's business ... but that doesn't stop me from loving a lot of awesome things today!

***

I ♥ Thursday Linkup {No. 4}

Get Smart. I have no idea why I love this show - it's stupid and a waste of time. But I love it - I love Max, I love 99, I love the Chief and Agent 13. My current theory is that something about it appeals to my Jewish sense of humor.

Lovin' my favorite shampoo. I use "Body Envy"; Heather uses "Hydralicious." Both of them are fabulous.

Source: aspottedpony.com via Rayanddeb on Pinterest

This hair, this hair, this hair ... the color, the curls ... the T-shirt that goes with it ... amazing!!

Source: la-belle-vie.tumblr.com via Tina on Pinterest

Rain. Because we haven't had any in so long. It's been many months since we've had a good, soaking rain - just little showers every 2-3 weeks or so. And we're supposed to be in a terrible drought for months and months yet. If you catch me complaining about winter rain showers in November, you make sure and let me have it!!  

"The Rocky Road to Dublin Set" by the Chieftains. This is the stuff that dreams are made of.      

Source: flickr.com via Ian Frei on Pinterest

Peaceful places, alone with nature      

"I have imagination, ingenuity, and intelligence ... *CRASH* ... and a headache like you wouldn't believe"      

Source: soulofawomanwascreatedbelow.tumblr.com via Christelle on Pinterest

    Whimsy ... Narnia?    

 Here's a little challenge for you - I'll bet you can't tell me who this young Irish tenor turned out to be. On the other hand, if you watched as much TV as I did when I was a child, maybe you can ... let me know!  
  And here is my Pinterest inspiration for the day:  

Fabulous advice for every single day!!

***   What are you loving on this fine Thursday evening?  :-)