A grace-filled wink

Dear Readers,

I believe airplanes are one of the greatest places for getting to know people. My philosophy is that if you have to sit next to them for hours on end, you might as well love them and show them you care about their lives. (my uncle would say that's called being nosy, but whatever.) Sometimes you can do this without words even passing. I remember one time this happened in particular.

 My family and I sat in our seats, passing books and snacks and getting situated as other passengers with mobility issues boarded. I looked up as one woman walked onto the plane. On her way to her seat she lost her balance and nearly fell. She must have caught the concern in my eyes, for when she steadied herself she looked my way and winked. With a smile she found her seat.

Such a tiny moment. A millisecond, really. But I have remembered her wink for years. She could have taken offense that I was watching her and scowled. She could have ignored me in the face of her own struggle. But instead she took that moment to reassure me that she was okay.

Is that as profound to you as it is to me?

We spent some time with dear friends last week, and one of our discussions has been running through my mind...along with this memory of the dear woman on the airplane.

Our friends were talking about how during surgeries, hospitalizations, or whatever trying event we're going through, we need to remember that just because that is the most important/difficult thing in our lives at that moment doesn't mean it is the most important thing in someone else's life...or that we're the only ones going through a difficult time. You can't say, "Yeah, sorry about that, but my brother/aunt/cousin/friend is in the hospital, so I'm really focused on that right now." You have to continue to invest in other people's lives and realize that they are going through "stuff", too.

To me, that's exactly what that woman on the plane did. She was struggling, and she looked past her own pain to comfort someone else. Every time I remember her I'm amazed. What grace. I hope I can live a life that extends such grace to everyone, and that looks past my own struggle to help someone in theirs.

Your Blogger,
 Claire

A story for your Monday

Dear Readers,

I'm taking a moment from studying Marine Biology to write. No matter how fascinating it is (and Marine Biology really is my favorite science!), writing is always my preference. Always.

So here's a little story to satisfy my need to write and your desire for a story: (because I'm assuming if you are here you want to read something, right?)

***

The little girl stood still in the middle of the room. All of the other kids in the classroom were dancing around in a wild game of freeze dance, but she just stood watching.

As I looked around the class of little thespians, my heart went out to her. I knelt next to her and asked if she liked to dance. She shook her head no. I whispered to her, "You know what? I don't either."

I was confessing one of my biggest insecurities to a four year old. She just smiled at me.

I know how she felt. I'm most awkward when dance music is playing. What feels to me like really putting myself out there is almost always just me awkwardly tapping my foot and bobbing my head to the music. Haha...yeah. Pretty awkward.

I sucked it up, though, since the purpose of this game is to pull you out of your shell. And I was teaching it, after all. ;)

So I grabbed her hands and we danced. When I twirled her around, she didn't even smile. We stayed in the exact same place for several rounds. We kept it up, though, and with each round both of us were getting more comfortable. By the end of the game, she was asking to be twirled, spinning me around, and completely enjoying herself. I have to say I was, too. :)

Pretty sweet, huh? I love that God used that little one to encourage me to stop being so stinkin' insecure. I love that she overcame her fear and had fun.

Because, really--life is so much easier when you toss all of your insecurities to the wind. And it's a lot more fun if you just go ahead and dance.

I hope you do something that makes you smile this week--even if it requires conquering fear to do it.

Your Blogger,
 Claire

Fa-la-la-la-la FALL!

Keep calm and enjoy FALL!

Dear Readers,

   As you can most likely tell from the picture...and my new blog background...I am so excited that fall is practically here! It is still very hot in our home state, but I have been wearing fall-colored shirts for the past three days. :) It is my absolute favorite time of year. 

    I love everything about fall. The colors, perfect weather, all things pumpkin, our annual trip to the pumpkin patch, Mississippi State football, soup, the anticipation of Christmas...plainly put, fall puts me in a good mood. :) 

    I haven't written a blogpost just about what's going on in our little corner of the world for a while, so I'll fill you in with a few of the happenings for us this fall. 

    School started this Monday. My favorite part, you ask? Most definitely Spanish. Me encanta español! My least favorite part: a tie between pre-calculus and American Government. We're taking Government and Economics this year. I am fascinated by Economics...but before we can take that, we have to do a semester  of Government. Bleh. We are starting to look at colleges. In fact, our first college visit is in September to a local Christian University. 

    

     

     My hair became nine inches shorter. I'm still getting used to it, but so so excited for those nine inches to be given to a much deserving woman or girl!  (note: see the fall colored shirt? ha!)

      

     I never posted about this one, either! We went to D-land for a couple of days before school started. Here we are after our tradition of riding River Rapids at night; returning to our room shivering! So fun.  

      Being that we are heading into a time of transition with college coming up, I'm finding that I'm just really content with where I am right now. Yes, I would love love love to be done with pre-calculus...but I'm really thankful to be here right now. A junior in high school. Homeschooled. It's a good place to be. I don't know where God will take me in the next few years, but I think for now I am going to cherish every minute here. 

I hope you all have a wonderful fall, and that you are content with where you are; because we're right where God needs us to be.

Your Blogger,

   Claire

     

     

  

   

Five things that are making me smile right now!

Dear Readers,
 
     I recently read a sweet blogpost by my friend Sarah over at Journeying with Him, and it inspired me to write one of my own. Her blogpost featured five things that she has been loving lately. Not only did I love hearing these, but the post caused me to think about how important it is to write down the things we are thankful for...and to thank Him who gave them to us! So I changed the title a bit so it wasn't a complete copycat post, ;), and settled down to think about my five.  Here they are:

1.)

We had a tea party at a little tea room with our dear friends last week. It was so lovely--beautiful china with little flowers dotting the edges, vintage decorations, and sweet cream, jam, and scones. My favorite part, though, was our hats. The day before the tea party we went to Target and picked out hats, and then to JoAnn's for ribbon and decorations. As you can see from the picture, Cate had a flower, feathers, and a little puff ball not dissimilar from the clover in Seussical. :) Mom and I got the same hat, which I loved because it reminded me of Anne's hat in Anne of Green Gables. Such a sweet time! 

2.) I was surprised with the opportunity to play the Fiddler in Moezart's Fiddler on the Roof! I had wanted to play in the orchestra but wasn't able to be at rehearsals, so it was the sweetest surprise to find out that not only would I play my violin in the show, but I would be the Fiddler! At first it was absolutely terrifying to sit on that roof (aka slanted board) and play, but now I love it. I love this show for so many reasons...it takes place in Russia, the title character plays my favorite instrument, it's about Jewish culture...and it has wonderful music! It has been a fun two weeks. 

3.) 

As I was getting ready to leave for my second Fiddler on the Roof rehearsal last week, I was having some serious butterflies thinking about getting back on that roof. As in, my hands shook thinking about it! And so I opened up my devotional and decided to read it before leaving for the night. And this was the verse that I read: "Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.

 In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths." ~Proverbs 3:5-6 AMP 

What a gift that verse was! While I was on the roof that night (and every night since) I repeated that verse in my heart, reminding myself that I was safe up there, leaning on the Lord. And I prayed that He would give me strength to trust and be confident in Him...instead of relying on my own understanding that I was a little too high for comfort. :) 

4.) 

Have you ever read the Mark of the Lion trilogy by Francine Rivers? You should. I've only read the first two, but these two are so amazing. Absolutely amazing. The first two books are about a young woman named Hadassah. Her story begins in Jerusalem, but ends in Rome. These books really spoke to my heart about forgiveness. Hadassah forgives those who have done such horrible crimes against her with an attitude of "I have forgiven you, therefore the wrong act has completely left my mind for all eternity". As with Redeeming Love and A Lineage of Grace, I found that this book challenged me and encouraged me in my own faith. I can not recommend them enough times to you! Read them. 

5.) 

Because its summer, we have had time to watch goofy TV shows merely for the sake of watching goofy TV shows. This has been my favorite. This show is about a guy who pays so much attention to the things going on around him that he keeps calling the cops letting them know who the criminal is in the case they're investigating. Finally they are going to arrest him because they think he has to be an accomplice, and in order to save himself from prison, he tells them that he is psychic. And thus begins his new career--he and his friend open up a psychic detective business, and each episode shows a case he has to solve. Laugh out loud hilariousness, folks. 

So there you have it! Five things that have made me smile over these past couple of weeks of summer. What things have made you smile lately??

Thank you, Sarah, for the great idea!! 

Your Blogger, 

 Claire

The little things

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.  We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;  persecuted,but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed." ~2 Corinthians 4:7-9 

I love this passage. Lately I've been struggling with, as Roger Arnett would say, the "great burden of grief that rests upon this world".  Coming right out of Benjamin's recovery and my mission trip to Argentina, I've had this 'great burden' on the forefront of my mind and heart. 

This world is a broken, bleeding mess. It's painful to be here, and everyone who resides on planet earth feels that pain at some point or other in their lives. 

I wish that weren't true, but it is. And so what can we do? There's no solution to the problem of pain. No matter how hard we work someone will always be crying, somewhere in the world. 

There is something we can do, though. 

We can love each other through the struggles. We can walk with one another through the hard times. There's nothing better to do, in my opinion. 

This surgery and recovery season there have been many dear ones who have supported us. Sent messages of encouragement during the six months of stress and fear prior to Benjamin's surgery...ate our dozens of cookies that spelled out 'joy' in our effort to keep our joy...brought meals...and called. Called. I have to say, out of everything people did this season, the one that made the biggest impact to me was the calls. Those friends who called during Benjamin's recovery and hospitalization were such gifts. One friend in particular called the day he came home from the hospital. This is one of the hardest days for me, personally, because although I'm over the moon thrilled that we are all together again, it's usually one of the most painful days for Benjamin/Mason. And that's hard. Really hard. 

So my friend called. And she got it. She knows what surgeries and recoveries are like, and so we were able to just talk about things I wouldn't be able to talk to any other friend about, and we laughed. And I walked in from that call feeling so refreshed. After just a phone call. It was a blessing. So thank you to those friends who called. 

(So if ever you have a friend who has surgery, or whose sibling has surgery, remember to reach out and make a phone call! )

But I'm kind of getting off track here...I was thinking about how we don't always support one another when we should. I wanted to tell that story to show you an example of someone trying to make the burden (going back to the great burden of grief here! ;)) lighter to carry. I think it is truly a beautiful thing when we consider the trials others could be going through, and so decide to lift them up instead of tearing them down. I think that is part of what makes the difference between us being perplexed, but not in despair... persecuted but not abandoned...struck down but not destroyed. 

It takes effort to do that, though. You have to make an effort to be conscientious to the people around you. I went on my mission trip to Argentina pretty raw, I know. Most of the trip was wonderful and refreshing, truly it was. But there were moments that were tough. I knew going into it that leaving the country with a group of high schoolers right after Benjamin's surgery might make for some difficult moments because, well, I'm  really really really sensitive after surgeries. And so some sarcastic quips had me in tears. Seriously. Jokes, teasing remarks that were funny to everyone else, made me cry. I know no one meant to be malicious. They couldn't have known that I was emotionally exhausted from six months of worry. But it did hurt. I'm sure that I, too, have been guilty of not paying attention to the emotions of others before. I think we all need to start making a big effort to do so. It would change the world. 

What else makes a difference, gives us hope to keep going despite the trials? 

^" Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." ~2 Corinthians 4:16-18

That's what gives us hope. What we see here--the pain, tears, sadness--this is temporary. So let's not lose heart. And let's try to encourage others to not lose heart, as well. 

Your Blogger,

 Claire

Finding joy

Dear Readers,

  Ever since December, when Benjamin had hand surgery and we found out about the surgery this summer, the theme of our house has been "joy". We made cookies that spelled out the word, and every time we found ourselves feeling upset and not in a celebratory mood, we made more cookies. Haha okay, so we didn't bake EVERY time we felt upset. Just a lot of the time. :) 

But actually, for as long as I can remember, anytime I've felt upset, Mom has reminded me that joy is a choice. It's impossible to always feel joy. You have to make a conscious effort to do so. And although by nature I'm kind of a glass-half-full kind of person, it doesn't take much to steal my joy. Surgeries snatch it away in an instant. 

So this season we have all made an effort to find joy...

I've found that where thankfulness is, joy is, also. And so about once a month I've been writing down a list of things I'm thankful for in my journal, in an effort to find, and keep, that joy. This month I thought I'd share a few on here. :) 

The small things are really my favorite things. I'm fairly certain going to the grocery store with Mom and Cate has been on my list before, haha. But today my first thing is going to be...

1.) Having a birthday party. I didn't really want to have one, but my brothers did, and so we had one...and I am thankful that we did! I really enjoyed it and still laugh to think of it. It was a lot of  fun to dress up and see dear friends. 

2.) Seeing Berkeley listed on the 'My Family Found Me' page on Reece's Rainbow...she is one of my favorite little angels listed and seeing she had a family made my heart smile! 

3.) Going on a field trip to the Japanese friendship gardens on our actual birthday...it was actually a  very funny experience. We wanted to be at the hospital in time to have lunch with Dad, but on the way to the gardens we were talking on Mom's phone. Henceforth, we had no directions. Sooo I told Mom to turn when I saw a building that looked kind of like it could be the Japanese friendship gardens, and got us lost. Haha! We ended up getting to spend a good 45 minutes there before getting to the hospital, though, so that was good. :) I actually really loved getting to drive around trying to find it, hehe (I told you I loved the small things, remember? :)) And lunch with Dad was wonderful, too. 

4.) (this will be my last one since it is the fourth month of the year, after all...)

Getting to spend time with my sweet friend yesterday. One of the main reasons I dislike parties is because I feel as if I only get about five minutes with everyone. So although I loved getting to see her last Saturday at our party, it was even more of  a treat to get to spend the day catching up yesterday! Sweet friends make life so much more joyful, and yesterday was such a gift. 

What are four things that you are thankful for this month? 

"Those who sow in tears
    shall reap with shouts of joy!
 He who goes out weeping,
    bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
    bringing his sheaves with him." ~Psalm 126:5-6

I hope you have a joy-filled May. Your blogger,

 Claire

Happy summer, y'all.

At Bearizona...

Dear Readers,

Summer is always one of my favorite times of the year. Whether we are home while Mason recovers from surgery, or out and about traveling, my parents always seem to find a way to make each summer one to remember. This summer we were blessed with the opportunity to spend two weeks on a mission trip in Argentina...and then to celebrate Uncle Len's graduation by taking him on the long-awaited L.E.G.G. (Len's extravagant graduation gift, haha!)

After all of our wonderful travels, it was nice to come home and just be.

This past Monday my parents made yet another amazing memory for our summer. We spontaneously went to Flagstaff for the day! While we were at a birthday party, my dad went home and packed. Then- surprise!- we drove up and spent the night in a hotel. I was so surprised and glad to be there with my Dad (he has a clinic and is up there every month) that it didn't matter that the clothes he packed for me was a white t-shirt, haha.

Mom took us out to Bearizona, which is incredible. Bears, bison, wolves, bighorn sheep, and burros came right up to our car!

Picture courtesy of Carol Shrader :)

  

A summary of our amazingly spontaneous day in Flagstaff!

Then we hung out the rest of the day....going to Starbucks and Barnes & Noble, reading in the park, searching for (and finding!) our dear friend, Kate...and finally picking Dad up again and driving down the mountain.  Flagstaff will forever feel like "summer" to me!!

I just realized that I never posted pictures of our L.E.G.G. trip!! Part of the reason for this would be that my camera was having technical-difficulties during the trip, and another reason would be because 99 % of these pictures are silly ones of my family and I. Aren't those the best? :)

The hotel we stayed at was whimsical and relaxing....

Here's Cate with her favorite, Marie! This girl LOVES Paris. Ooh-la-la!

What would a trip be without a TON of funny self portraits??

I liked this one...

haha!

take two...

My all-time favorite show!!

more portraits...love these people!

:)

My two favorite princesses!

On Castaway Cay...ahh, the beach!

A bit overcast, but still beautiful!

haha! Whenever we waited for the show to begin, we would take silly pictures

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So. There you have it--our summer in a nutshell. It's been crazy, busy, fun, life-changing, and relaxing all rolled into one. I hope your summer has been the same!
Now, onto the homeschool convention, and a new school year!
Much love,
Your Blogger Claire