Lune

Night time is really the best time to work. All the ideas are there to be yours because everyone else is asleep. ~Catherine O'Hara

Have you looked outside tonight?

If not, I beg you to stop reading this, take a step outside the door, and cast your eyes up toward the heavens.

Pray that the clouds part, and gaze upon the moon.

Because the moon is PERFECT tonight.

Ever since I was a little girl, I have been obsessed with the night, and the moon in particular.

There is something so silently beautiful about the night.

It whispers so loudly of elegance...of love...of a whimsical sort of peace that only the watching moon and the God who made it can truly understand.

It's a secret that God and the moon share together...a secret that no mortal could deign to fathom.

Maybe that's why I love the darkness of midnight.

I want to be as close to God as the moon is...if not closer.

I want to share His sky. Walk His roads and sing His songs.

...but then I realize

the moon is just a reminder

of how close I will one day be

to Him.

"But all night, Aslan and the Moon gazed upon each other with joyful and unblinking eyes." ~C.S. Lewis

Boutique

There is much to support the view that it is clothes that wear us and not we them; we may make them take the mould of arm or breast, but they would mould our hearts, our brains, our tongues to their liking. ~Virginia Woolf

I am not a fashionista.

Not by a long shot.

In fact, today was the first time I've been shopping for new clothing in quite a long time.

Anyone who knows me well knows that getting me to purchase new clothing of any sort is quite the trick.

When it comes to accessories, the jewelry-nista in me in is complete and utter heaven in a tiny vintage boutique or amid shelves of sparkling silver necklaces and earrings with odd designs.

But when it comes to clothes...

...I'm a bit of a lost cause.

But my incredibly fashionable younger sister came to my house this afternoon and dragged me into a local clothing shop and dressed me from head to toe.

And I feel different.

But in all honesty, shopping for new clothes is quite near the bottom on my list of favorite things.

Maybe it's because of my extremely low self-esteem in regards to my weight and physical appearance... making the endeavor of trying on clothes a bit of an emotional roller-coaster.

Maybe it's because I have a very basic wardrobe in tones of black and black, with hints of dark purple and brown for my own bit of "variety."

If I want to dress up, I spice up a casual top and jeans with some elegant earrings and a few simple necklaces...but normally, I find myself most comfortable in a tee and jeans with only my bare feet.

I get that this makes me unusual in the realm of femininity...

...but I would so much rather pass my time and my dollars into hours at a bookstore than to put my cash into a local couture shop.

I'm the kind of girl who wears unusual owl necklaces...long silver earrings that brush against my collarbone...the same pair of silver flip-flops every day of my life...jeans even in the summertime...

...and maybe that makes me weird.

But I like my style.

I like my new clothes, that's for sure.

But as I sit here ...

...in my brand-new white tee and favorite owl necklace...bare-footed and sipping a mug of perfectly pulpy lemonade...two pairs of earrings in my ears and my hair loose and un-styled around my shoulders...

...I've come to a decision.

I like this quirky-fashioned me.

And that'll never change,

no matter what I wear.

The King is enthralled by your beauty; honor Him, for He is your Lord. ~Psalm 45:11

Honeybee

Backyard of butterflies surrounded me

I fell in love with you like bees to honey

Let's up and leave the weeping to the willow tree

And pour our tears in the sea ~Owl City, Honey and the Bee

Today, I made my first complete album purchase in I don't know how long.

It was $11.99.

And it was the best $11.99 I've ever spent.

I will say this without a shred of regret: All Things Bright & Beautiful is the best thing I've purchased this entire year.

My mood is brightened.

My heart is lifted.

And it's currently on continual repeat on my iTunes.

Anyone who knows me well knows that music is intrinsic to my state of mind and heart.

I can be having a truly horrible day, or be completely uninspired...

...all it takes is some Owl City and a drive down the road in my car with the widows rolled down to bring my mood back up from the ground and make me fly again.

I think it's because Adam Young pours his heart, his soul, and his entire faith in Jesus Christ into every note he composes and every word-combination he invents.

It shows...

...because I can feel it with every caressing refrain.

And now...

...I feel like a honeybee in love.

I can't stop listening to this album.

I think I'm gushing. Maybe just a little.

I never do this on my blog. Not ever. I tend to keep it product-placement-free.

...yes, I'm definitely gushing.

Colour me obsessed.

Colour me delighted.

If the green left the grass on the other side
I would make like a tree and leave
But if I reached for your hand, would your eyes get wide
Who knew the other side could be so green ~Owl City, Honey and the Bee

Austen

"There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature." ~Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey

I find myself in Austen's pages.

Is this too bold a statement...to compare myself to not only to her characters, but also to the spirited and passionate authoress herself?

I find a mixture of Elizabeth Bennet and Marianne Dashwood blended within my soul, as these are the characters that have been rumored to bear the most resemblance to the one who birthed them in ink and page.

Perhaps it is because I find myself just as comfortable and at home alone with a pen and paper as I do in a crowd of laughing friends.

Or is it my passionate ability to love, and yet the finding of myself to be hurt more often than not when my sensibilities fall lower than my imagined dreams...

...my need to vent my frustrations, my romantic imaginings, and my own slightly foolish ramblings by emblazoning my thoughts in literature.

Or maybe it's just because I've caught myself watching two of my favorite screen actors -- the stunningly beautiful Anne Hathaway and the dashingly handsome James MacAvoy -- perform the historical dance that was the romance between Jane Austen and Tom LeFroy.

Whatever the reasons, I've always found an affinity toward Jane Austen and her various works -- on the page far more than at the movies, but my love for both is strong.

I want to make a mark on the world like she did. I want to brave some new world, to make some new-cut path for the future world to walk upon.

For it was Jane Austen who made my writings possible. She cut down the brambles and burned the thorns that blocked the path for a woman to take up a pen and make something of herself in the world of the written.

If I could chose a new place in which to live, it would be to return to the late 1700s...

...to put on a floor-length cotton dress, take a book in my hand, and make a great change to the world...

...if only to spend just one long afternoon

becoming Jane.

A novel must show how the world truly is, how characters genuinely think, how events actually occur. A novel should somehow reveal the true source of our actions. ~Jane Austen, Becoming Jane

Bookworm

To sit alone in the lamplight with a book spread out before you, and hold intimate converse with men of unseen generations - such is a pleasure beyond compare. ~Kenko Yoshida

I am a bookworm.

I am fully unashamed of my deep and passionate love for the written word, as is evidenced by the shelves-upon-shelves of books that have been lovingly referred to as a "book cave."

Any season provides the perfect excuse for reading a book...

...be it the icy fingers of winter that drive me to curl up in my bed under a fluffy duvet, bringing with me a cup of steaming tea and a new paperback...

...or the whispering laughter of a summer's breeze, calling to me to bring my Dr. Pepper and newest ink-made investment to nestle beneath a spreading tree and lose myself in the pages.

And thanks to the precious and beautiful Grace at Puddles of Memories and her delightful summertime blog-party, I have an excuse to come up with and list out my planned summer book adventure list.

There are many places I plan to visit, many worlds with which to reacquaint myself, and many friends with which to pass the hours.

1. Harry Potter, Volumes I-VII by J.K. Rowling (re-reading, in preparation for the new movie to be released in a matter of weeks)

2. The Chronicles of Narnia, Volumes I-VII by C.S. Lewis (re-reading)

3. The Red Queen by Phillipa Gregory

4. The Bride Collector by Ted Dekker (currently sitting on my bedside table, the first several pages barely touched)

5. Immanuel's Veins by Ted Dekker

6. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (re-reading as I do every summer)

7. The Lord of the Rings by J.R. Tolkien (re-reading

8. I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

9. Beastly by Alex Flinn (re-reading)

10. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (re-reading the first one, finally reading the other two for the first time)

11. The Twilight Saga by Stephanie Meier (re-reading in prep for the release of Breaking Dawn, Pt. 1 in November)

12. Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis (re-reading)

13. Quivering Daughters by Hillary McFarland

14. The Redwall Saga by Brian Jacques (mostly re-reading, but there are a few that I have not yet read)

That is a mere thirteen titles -- a sampling of my intended list...although, yes, I will admit, four of them are series of more than one book, which does bring my count up by several.

Many of them will be read for the twenty-millionth time. Some I will be embarking upon for the very first time.

My excitement levels remain the same.

My imagined homes are found within these pages...

...places I long to see, but may never actually reach beyond my dreams and the printed word in which they reside.

I am a bookworm.

And may I never change.

Books can be dangerous. The best ones should be labeled "This could change your life. ~Helen Exley

Fear

Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point. ~C.S. Lewis

Fear is one of those topics I really hate discussing, let alone writing a post on the subject.

...say nothing of actually searching for images that best describe "fear."

I don't recommend it...at all.

Fear is one of those things that honestly freaks me out, all on its own.

I have so many fears...it's almost a bit laughable.

Some of them are superficial and really worth nothing at all, if you think about them too long...

...silly things like my utter and complete terror of spiders, or the fact that if you shut me up in a tight place of any kind, I'll have a panic attack unlike anything you've ever seen.

Others are deeper -- far more intimate to my heart, and frightening to the point that they threaten to shred me into pieces whenever I dwell on them too much.

Emotionally destructive horrors like the death of those I love, or spending the rest of my life alone and abandoned...

...a life without love...

...being trapped in a cage while those I love fall around me, leaving me unable to help them in any way.

These are things I fear...

...though, if I am being honest, fear seems far too tame a word for the feelings I experience at the very thought of this heart-rending occurrences.

....but I have a King who is bigger than my fears.

His presence is mightier than any earthly fright.

He is already there, in the midst of my trembling.

His love is stronger than my terrors.

My strength is based upon what I know to be true...

...and He is true.

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline." ~2 Timothy 1:7

Lantern

All those days watching from the windows / All those years outside looking in / All that time never even knowing / Just how blind I've been / Now I'm here, blinking in the starlight / Now I'm here, suddenly I see / Standing here, it's all so clear / I'm where I'm meant to be...~Disney's Tangled

I think I'm on a bit of a Disney kick....although, perhaps a more accurate statement would be that I'm on a Tangled kick.

This makes two posts in two weeks, and I don't honestly think I'm done letting my mind run with this story yet.

I think I'm reverting to my childhood once again...

...that, or this whimsical little fairytale has more of a hold on me than I once understood.

Maybe it's that wandering gypsy in me that loves the idea of being free, weaving flowers in my hair and dancing without a care in the world.

Maybe it's the hopeless romantic in me that thrills at the notion of such devotion...finding a ruffian with the charm of a prince to sweep me off my feet...having someone love me enough to give up everything to care for me.

Maybe it's the Christian in me who feels a familiar rush of tears and joy at the realization that the King of Heaven gave up everything, including His precious life and blood, just to ensure that I would live a life of freedom and light.

Personally, I think it's a bit of all three.

...but maybe it's the lanterns that draw me in the most.

The idea of flickering lights floating in the sky, amid the already-sparkling stars.

A beacon of epic proportions, the dazzling beauty of sun and flowers floating against the blue-black of midnight...

...all to call me home again.

The cry of a Father, sending His lights out...

...whispering in the darkness of the night...

"My daughter, I know you're out there. Please come home...come back to Me."

"And at last I see the light / And it's like the fog has lifted / And at last I see the light / And it's like the sky is new / And it's warm and real and bright / And the world has somehow shifted / All at once everything looks different / Now that I see you..." ~Disney's Tangled