Because I'm Happy

Hi everyone! Beautiful Becca (who is beautiful) tagged me to do this happiness tag. Which makes me, well, happy, because I just resolved last night to endeavor to be more thankful. Grumbling is a big part of our culture here in the US ... which is dumb, because we're so crazy well off. I mean, we don't have to worry (too much) about getting cholera when we drink water, or about where our next meal is coming from! God has given me so much, and I don't thank Him nearly enough for all the ways He has blessed me. So I'm glad to stop for a minute and write out some things that make me happy.

books: The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham. It follows the adventures of Mole, Mr. Badger, Mr. Toad, and the Water Rat, four very-well drawn, distinct, and lovable characters. It's an adoring story about loyalty to friends and being close to nature. Other books: I always enjoy the Anne of Green Gables series, The Chronicles of Narnia, Winnie the Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner (you need to read the Winnie the Pooh books again, regardless of how old you are. They're best when read aloud O.O).

words: Captain, sweethearts, lighthouse, music. Aria. Foliage. Peppermint. Newfoundland. Pleated.

movies and tv: The old animated Disney movies Robin Hood, Peter Pan, 101 Dalmations, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Pocahontas. Yes, I'm a Disney nut (Disneyland was FUN guys, and I was 20 when I went!). Also, Mary Poppins, Sense and Sensibility, The Sound of Music, and Chariots of Fire. -- Oh, and TV? Sherlock and Star Trek TNG.

scents: HA it's funny cause I can't smell. Or at any rate my sense of smell is severely impaired. Still, I like the smell of meat, potatoes, that tree in our backyard when it blooms (one of the few things in nature I CAN smell), summer, dirt, Sophie (my dog), the Whitlock's homestead in general and their cow barn in particular, my Grandma's house, roses, and vanilla ice cream.

songs: "Somewhere Beyond the Sea," this one still and always, "Stay Alive" from the film The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, and "Alaska" from Owl City's Sky Sailing.

miscellany: rain, sunny days, bike rides, watching my sisters do their dance routine to "Rollin' on the River," dresses, high-heels, and chocolate cubes.

Right. I tag Sarabi, Lady Gargoyle who won't do it, Embers because she's awesome and I haven't heard for a while, and anyone else who wants to do this. Cheers!

The Beginning

I crossed off a day on my calendar and thought, "That's one day closer to Christ's return." Imagine that day circled in red on the calendar of God, a fixed day in the future, not receding before us but growing steadily nearer. Each day in this life is a page: with every rotation of the Earth, a page turns, and the wedge of pages left in the book grows slimmer. One day, there will be no pages left in the book, no days left on the calendar. We will reach those two words a certain number of lines down from the top of the final page, The End. The best part is, it won't be the end, but the Beginning.