I grow older.
The year changes old to new.
Months fly by in seconds, minutes, hours and days.
Time marches forward, leaving memories of moments in the past.
Sometimes I wish I had more.
Or sometimes that it would end.
Most times it creeps by unnoticed,
Until one day, without warning, time is spent.
arousing curiosity or interest; holding or catching the attention
One of the most overused words in my vocabulary is the word interesting. I know this because I use it many times a day to describe things that might (or might not) be interesting to me. So I’ve decided, time to shake my vocabulary up a little, here are some other words that I promise to use in the place of interesting.
And if I find something that isn’t interesting, or only mildly so, here are some words to use for that.
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On repeat: Baby Boy by for King and Country
I thought about skipping today, after all, I got forgot to schedule a post for this morning, then I came home late and then I was busy doing other things and now it’s 11:38pm and I thought to myself, “self, why are you doing this?” but, I’ve given myself this challenge so it must be seen through!
So, here, without further ado, another thing I love. One of my most recent poem finds…
Love’s Philosophy by Percy Shelley
The fountains mingle with the river,
And the rivers with the ocean;
The winds of heaven mix forever
With a sweet emotion;
Nothing in the world is single;
All things by a law divine
In another’s being mingle–
Why not I with thine?
See, the mountains kiss high heaven,
And the waves clasp one another;
No sister flower could be forgiven
If it disdained its brother;
And the sunlight clasps the earth,
And the moonbeams kiss the sea;–
What are all these kissings worth,
If thou kiss not me?
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On repeat: When Love Came Down by Point of Grace
It’s very hard to visit another city and not compare it to the one I know. I try to, but when I look at the stats I feel admiration towards the city I spend my life in and appreciate what I have here. Baltimore is three times the size of Manhattan but has 1/10th of the population. The city is sprawling with tons of space and large sidewalks. It’s extremely well kept and from the little I’ve seen this past weekend, very family friendly.
I did quite a bit of sightseeing while I was there. Museums had dollar days that weekend and they were packed with families looking for something to do with their children. I visited the Maryland Science Center which had a lot of cool facts for kids – and where I learned to identify male and female blue crabs. Then took a walk to the Walters Art Museum, which is free all year around.
Walters Art Museum was one of my favourites, and I really appreciated the Walters family for donating their extensive collection for the world to see. I also visited the American Visionary Art Museum – and left a message there – which was very strange, but also fascinating. Some of the pieces there were magnificent.
I love a city with access to good museums, whether science, history, art, I love the curation of information displayed visually, and I love that I can always find something new or learn something different even if I’m visiting the same museum multiple times.
The main purpose of the trip was to see the Newsies, the show was excellent – though I thought the Broadway run had better singing, this isn’t to say that the singing wasn’t great.
It was a fun weekend and a great destination, I will definitely be visiting again.
“Hoping does not mean doing nothing. It is the opposite of desperate and panicky manipulations, of scurrying and worrying. And hoping is not dreaming. It is not spinning an illusion or fantasy to protect us from our boredom or our pain. It means a confident, alert expectation that God will do what He said He will do. It is imagination put in the harness of faith. It is willingness to let God do it His way and in His time.” – Eugene Peterson; A Long Obedience in the Same Direction
A long time ago I had a conversation with a friend about faith and hope that lead to a verse in Romans 8 “Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” I can’t remember the entirety of the conversation but I remember that verse sticking with me, following me around. It came back to me on Monday, when I read the above quote from Eugene Peterson in a Daily Office written for Advent by Rich Villodas.
Sometimes I think words lose their impact because of overuse. I’m often guilty of using words the wrong way, or overusing words like “awesome” to describe something that is just slightly out of the ordinary as opposed to something that really inspires awe in me. And I think sometimes I do that with hope.
So, this week I have been thinking of the word hope and wrapping my mind around the meaning of the word, the feelings that it draws from me when I truly mean it. There is expectation, but not anxiety, longing but not obsession and confidence that God will do what he said he would do; and in this season it is a reminder that I believe that Jesus is the son of God and that one day he will return to earth. It is my hope and that hope is illustrated through my faith in Him.
May I live my life never losing sight of this, never losing hope.
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On repeat: Hallelujah (Light Has Come) by BarlowGirl
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