"Leave to See" Video

Brandon and I have been busy this week stealing the few daylight minutes between the end of work and the beginning of night. Did I mention its been raining for eight days straight here too? But we managed to pull off a video for the Trent Dabbs Music Video Contest. Who doesn't want to win a free iPad 2? Great incentive to get our creativity going! Part of the contest is based on YouTube views... so feel free view this baby ten times a day!

Don't you think Brandon did a great job- as always? So much fun being creative together! Oh, and the little girl is our niece Anna from the Czech Republic.

a thought.

The minute I heard my first love story

I started looking for you, not knowing

how blind that was.

Lovers don't finally meet somewhere.

They're in each other all along.

-Rumi

The more I know him, the more time I spend with him, the more fights I have with him, the more we laugh together, the more I wake up next to him... the more I know this to be true. I love you, husband.

Give me Something... from England!

I am not the one who typically promotes music on my blog. I reserve that for my husband. He does such a great job of it, why should I interfere? But today is a different sort of day! Last night, he and I attended a free concert put on by The Bridge, our local radio station. The lovely band was none other than Scars on 45. I am convinced we were the only ones to show up for this band in particular. Fortunately, it was held at Wild Wings Cafe, so there were a large number of guests [insert guys looking for girls, girls trying to look like they don't want the attention]. Don't let our sole attendance put you off. Charlestonians just let me down last night. [We did invite everyone we know in Charleston to this show as well. Lame friends! :)]

After a great set, sadly riddled with sound issues (by the way, even crackly, Aimee sounds INCREDIBLE!), someone called for an encore. The band kindly said "we don't know any more songs." Brandon and I were going to have none of this. We KNEW they had other songs. So we shouted out "What about Tired Eyes?" Three members turned around with genuine shock on their faces. I guess they have not had many requests on this American Tour. I even heard Aimee say under her breath "That's a first!" They did not play our song because they don't remember how to play it. After they packed up, Brandon and I chatted with them. Aimee is the nicest person in the world. She was just so amazed that we knew and requested one of their old songs, that she made the band sign a CD for us and gave it to us for FREE. (We only had $2 with us, which we offered and she flat out refused, saying our requesting "Tired Eyes" was payment enough.)

They are incredible live, and my humble, unlearned opinion is that if you have a chance to see them live: do so now! Go buy their EP and give them some support. I cannot say enough how genuine, kind, and joyful this band was. Oh, and very entertaining too!

Oh, I nearly forgot. Part of the reason we may have been the only fans present was a miscommunication. Their website said they were playing at 7pm at Wild Wings Downtown. We showed up to no band- but our awesome waiter hunted down the information for us. Perhaps others showed up to Market Street and just gave up after being told "the show was cancelled." I am so thankful we pursued the correct information!

No Coward Soul is Mine

  No coward soul is mine,   No trembler in the worlds storm-troubled sphere:   I see Heavens glories shine,   And faith shines equal, arming me from fear.    O God within my breast.   Almighty, ever-present Deity!   Life -- that in me has rest,   As I -- Undying Life -- have power in Thee!    Vain are the thousand creeds   That move mens hearts: unutterably vain;   Worthless as withered weeds,   Or idlest froth amid the boundless main,    To waken doubt in one   Holding so fast by Thine infinity;   So surely anchored on   The steadfast Rock of immortality.    With wide-embracing love   Thy Spirit animates eternal years,   Pervades and broods above,   Changes, sustains, dissolves, creates, and rears.    Though earth and man were gone,   And suns and universes ceased to be,   And Thou wert left alone,   Every existence would exist in Thee.    There is not room for Death,   Nor atom that his might could render void:   Thou -- Thou art Being and Breath,   And what Thou art may never be destroyed. 

-- Emily Bronte

The Path of Peace: A Reflection

You don't know when you're taking

the first step through a door

until you're already inside.

Ann Voskamp

A new beginning. A trepidatious return. Both parties anxious and excited. Both willing to turn to God and each other for their strength. February 18, 2009, a day marking parents first meet and the love of this couple. Too much weight for one day to hold. A bright, sunny day, I climb into a car- his car- filled with boxes, frames and plants. So many plants, it looks like a garden center on wheels. He locks the gate on our rental truck, securing all of our belongings. I watch him, excited for the future, nervous for the long, lonely drive, and sad for the friends and memories left behind. I send a quick joking text to a dear to brighten my mood. And to keep the tears at bay. This should be a happy day.

A scattered and frantic unload before dark: family in a jolly mood. Most to storage, a drizzle to Harborview. We find ourselves that night in a 100 square foot living space. I cry. The space is temporary. The space is free of charge. This space is a gift of love. Although my mind knows these things, my heart aches for room, for home, for community.

We take up life here. Surprised by the places God calls us to. Surprised by the old friendships, refusing to rekindle. Surprised by a love of this city. Dcf'ers come to visit on long weekends through Spring and keep our hearts light. You need distant friends to stick by you when you move somewhere new. We struggle through jobs, bills, friendless days and dryness. We live for the weekend and the promise of grilled vegetables and chicken on a barbecue, the sand and shells between our toes, the refreshing waves lapping, lapping, lapping. We live for a promise of tomorrow, waiting for God to show His way.

Surely the story comes. God reveals Himself in mid-October. He, put through the ringer, has been promoted with pay raises three times this year. And I, tired of meaningless jobs, am given a dream job utilizing passion for the written word and excitement for the treasure hunt historical research so often is. A new business is started, uniting mother and daughter, healing old wounds. A new church is planted in August; we attend from the beginning, finding community, friends, passion, and worship. We gift each other a new car, Liam, for Christmas. I cry, at the mercy and faithfulness of our Father. We move from a lovely wood-view apartment to family land. With walls we can paint guacamole, winter's day, fog blue, and nutmeg brown, we embrace this space and call it home.

With the loving mercy of our God, a new day from heaven

will dawn upon us. It will shine on those who live in darkness,

in the shadow of death. It will guide us into the path of peace.

Luke 1: 78, 79

Aversions, Affections, and Adorations

I have seen this idea around bloggerworld and thought I might join in for a short Saturday morning post. I enjoy specific lists and categories like this. Hope you do too:

Aversions: cream in tea, iced coffee, cold showers, humidity, people who are always late, improper pronunciation of "anyway," hearts, dry skin, non-creative ruts, headaches, eggs, painted-shut windows, dirty screens

Affections: coffee, jeans, boots, earrings, books, hammocks, tidal creeks, the smell of pluff mud, this land I live on, number 7, history-specifically post-colonial Africa, photography, Nikolai my camera, freshly painted walls, champagne

Adorations: my Jesus, His Daddy, and the Spirit; worship of the aforementioned; my quirky, intelligent, humorous family; my loving, encouraging family-in-law; good friends whose conversation makes time stop; the husband who makes my heart jump

What are your aversions, affections, and adorations?

The Artist Life: RIE

The creative is the place where no one else has ever been.

You have to leave the city of your comfort

and go into the wilderness of your intuition.

What you’ll discover will be wonderful.

What you’ll discover is yourself.

-Alan Alda

Check it out on Quixotic RIE's blog every Friday for March and April. You will love it and meet amazing people too!