drumbeat :: magnify

{via pinterest}

a precious breather occurred this weekend. i was going to apologize for not blogging in two days, but i'm refraining.

i'm honestly not sorry. 

i love this place i'm in right now. it's a breathing place, a place where Light overwhelms and rest is finally accepted.

it's a dancing place, a place of scarves and bells and so much leaping to the music of glory as this soul magnifies again and again.

this year is barely twenty-two days old. and it's already the best year of my life. perhaps a cliche, a redundancy that everyone speaks in moments of joy. but this is more than this heart can bear.

:: i'm pregnant ::

these are words i still struggle to speak because of their newness and the awe that accompany their presence against my tongue. as the weeks are ticking by and my exhaustion is deepening and my appetite for every food in sight grows, i also start to smile broader. as this little one gets bigger within me, i cannot help but magnify.

:: i'm going to Europe ::

i'm boarding a plane to Germany and Prague with my little sister in April. i still am in utter awe to the point of falling to my knees with elation and wonder. in a matter of hours it went from maybe to impossible to official, and this trip is now in the middling stages of planning. and again, i magnify.

my soul doth magnify the Lord

and my spirit rejoices in God, my Saviour. 

{via pinterest

there are times when i feel that my level of blessings overflow above and beyond anything i could have ever anticipated.

and then in the moments of darkness when hope seems barely fingertips from reach, i remember this.

these dancing moments where glory brushes the earth and i find myself streaking cheeks with earth in lines of warrior paint and the drums of pounding hearts set the beat for my soul to leap.

oh, i am brave, soul doors thrown open to let the sun warm the broken corners.

oh praise Him.

:: EDIT :: Europe has fallen through. and though my heart broke all afternoon and tears flowed like water, i am still rejoicing. because there is something here for me, something to which i should cling. and home is where i should be now, i see. and i am still magnifying. 

Collapse

I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being. ~Oscar Wilde

This will be an incredibly short post, and I do promise a much longer one tomorrow.

I am exhausted to the core.

But the words "overjoyed relief" do not fully capture the euphoria I am feeling at this very moment. There is truly nothing in comparison to this feeling, except perhaps Opening Night.

Twelve hours...

...almost 40 auditioners....

...47 jawbreakers...

...more caffeine than any one human should consume in their lifetime...

...an amazing team of seven passionate theatrical individuals....

...and my production of "OZ!" has been completely cast.

God is so beautiful.

Theater is tragically wonderful...flawlessly frustrating...and epic in all its never-ending facets.

As of today, I don my "Director" baseball cap.

Tonight, I start my trip down the Yellow Brick Road and dust off my ruby slippers.

I have been waiting for this moment for my entire theatrical career.

OZ! has officially begun.

Here goes nothing.

Soli Deo Gloria. 

Présent (The First Giveaway)

Item No. 1

Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can. ~Danny Kaye

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. 
To enter the August giveaway, go here.

The day has arrived.

The day to begin the first Inspired Monthly Giveaway.

Yes, technically, the plan was to wait until July1st to begin. However, as of yesterday morning, I hit 100 followers, and I simply got far too excited to wait another moment.

And so...here goes.

Our first fabulous giveaway is courtesy of the lovely Holly at Five Little Gems. 


Holly has generously donated three of her AMAZING pieces to this giveaway, and I could not be more delighted with her work. Her entire shop is flooded with stunningly beautiful necklaces, earrings, hair combs, wire work, and more. 


I can honestly say that I have the faintest twinges of envy for those who will be receiving her beautiful artistry through this giveaway...if only I could win... 

Item No. 2

The items to be won are shown in order throughout the post, and here they are: 

Item No. 1: Burgundy pearl bar necklace with antiqued gold

Item No. 2. Denim blue jade faded nugget bar necklace

Item No. 3: Pink crystal and grey pearl earrings

Here is how to enter in this giveaway (each entry number counts as +1, and each one must be left in a separate comment)!

Entry No. 1 (required entry): Comment on this post with your favorite lovely "simple" things that you enjoy in the spring and summer months. What little joys make you smile, the things that would normally be overlooked in daily life?

Entry No. 2 (required entry): Follow/be already following the blog, and post my BLOG button (not my 100 posts button!) somewhere on your blog.

Entry No. 3: Tweet/blog/both about the giveaway, and either leave the link to the post or your Twitter username in your comment.

Item No. 3 

Entry No. 4: Go to Holly's shop and pick a favorite item from her listings. Be sure to tell me what it is about that item that draws you in. Also, follow Holly on Twitter (hollynichols1) and add Five Little Gems  to your favorite shops, if you have an Etsy.  

There are three items to be won, and as such, three winners will be randomly chosen (using www. random.org) on July 31st. Winners will have 48 hours to contact me, or a new winner for each "abandoned" item will be chosen. 

I am incredibly excited, overwhelmed, overjoyed, and blessed by this entire process...I really hope that you are, too!

It's the simple things, the little things that illuminate my heart with joy. 

I cannot wait to see

that same joy

in you.

To live remains an art which everyone must learn, and which no one can teach.  ~Havelock Ellis