to be frank..

Butterfly

A dear friend of mine once told me something that has stuck with me ever since. She told me that the Lord reminds her he is present every time she sees a butterfly. Since then, I have noticed the gentle swirl of wings dancing around me on my morning runs. I have adopted this secret that she shared with the Lord. Butterflies are gentle and it seems like they appear out of no where, their source being hard to trace.

I heard that butterflies are the symbol of rebirth, regeneration, and finding happiness in times of change.

When the wind is stirring around you, be reminded that the Lord is near.

simplify

I just loaded my 7th bag of clothes/books/hats/random accumulated junk into my car. It feels like a sweet relief to drop it off at goodwill and know I will not have to store it in my rubbermade containers any longer. I mean really.. if you have it in storage do you really need it? no.

Simplify.

so this is the good part.

There is a bright yellow lantern light that hangs from my ceiling in my living room. Something about the paper-like fabric highlighting the tall off-white walls calls me to simply sit, and stay. It’s like a shiny rock in the river or something. From our kitchen, if that lantern is on, its rays sneak out of the room into the hallway and let me know the party is still going. and this time I’m invited. (you know the feeling of walking in the mall beside an abercrombie, my friend ryan says its like a party she wasn’t invited to. I’d have to agree.) This however, is a place of complete acceptance, the “come as you are” kind. My grandma Carolee had quite the record collection which I recently inherited. My record player sits in between two piles, on the right side are the “to be listened to” records and on the left are the “already listened to” records. I am absolutely in love with music again. I say again not because I ever stopped.. I think I just needed a reminder that in music’s simplicity an experience is made; moments happen that in their meekness can be overwhelming.. in their strongness can be captivating.

I want to spend my time making things that are lasting. For me this means, spending my time reading instead of reorganizing. Writing and completing, staying in the moment until the song is done, instead of getting up and leaving. To choose the good parts. Simply staying. Doing things that I will look back in a year and remember as a capsule of everything today was.

When I looked under my bed for an envelope clearly labeled “Band Contacts” to finally add to our band email list, I found something so much better. A special box  that contains memories from my travels to and from colorado. It made me miss the consistent sunshine in the morning and the impressive ratio of bike riders to car drivers. What I found was a completed word find book that Peter and I used as a time capsule. Every time we finished a page we wrote what we were doing that day or a funny memory. Just so you know peter is really fast right off the bat, and due to what we have concluded is his partial dyslexia, he finds all of the backwards words. Just when he has exhausted his bag of finding tricks, I step in. I usual find the longer diagonal words or the short ones in the corners. Things are simple with us. I like it.