A Life Post

I almost feel the need to apologize for a post like this. People are all like, "Pfffft you think your life is so important you dork." Well, two disclaimers. 1) It is my blog and you're the one who's here reading it, so if you don't want to read it you really don't have to, and 2) I don't actually think my life is important, but sometimes you just gotta...like say stuff that is sort of meaningless but also sort of important to you. Maybe. XD

Enough disclaimers. If you're still here, hey-o!

I'm gonna do a Currently.... type post. I think I've seen them on blogs but you never know, I might have made it up. ;-) This might be recurring or might not. *shrugs* It's alright.

So, currently....

Reading...

The Molehill Vol. 3 published by Rabbit Room Press. It's amazing, guys. It's so good. It's a collection of short stories, poetry, essays, art, and recipes by a collaboration of excellent authors/artists/chefs. It's been, like, EXACTLY what I've needed to read lately, especially all the thoughts on writing.

From "Something New" by Jen Rose Yokel and illustrated by Jonny Jimison

Listening to...

Other than customers ordering ice cream?

I kid, I kid. I'm currently quite obsessed (and I shall accredit this obsession to Jordy, since she was the one who introduced them to me) with Sleeping At Last's album, Atlas: Year One. The whole album (or collection of EPs as it happens) is simply excellent.

If you're still not convinced...

Maybe your light is the seed

And the darkness the dirt

In spite of the uneven odds

Beauty lifts from the earth

 

You're much to young now

So I write these words down

'Darkness exists to make light truly count.'

-From "Uneven Odds"

 

Writing...

 

Not as much as I should be. I'm trying to plug away at my Camp NaNo Steampunk book (though I'm failing miserably at meeting my word count goal), and it's actually going well. It doesn't look like it, because stats are stats. My word count is not high right now, but the story is really unfolding and the characters are amazing and I'm actually loving my MC, who I thought I would hate. So, exciting, but a lot of work. *grins weakly*

 

You got that right.




 

Studying....

 

Welp, my Bible Study at church just finished going through the life of Moses, which was intriguing, even if I came near the end of the study (I've only been going for a few weeks). It's so amazing to get together with a group of passionate young people and discuss the Bible, especially 'cause they're all so much smarter than I am and have such epic things to say. One thing that's been sticking to my mind is the unchangingness (I realize it's not a word) of God. He is the same God in the Old Testament as He is in the New. And He is good and just and loving and agh it just blows my mind, always.

 

One of my favorite verses that we were recently looking into is Deuteronomy 33:29:

 

Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you,

a people saved by the Lord,

the shield of your help,

and the sword of your triumph!

Your enemies shall come fawning to you,

and you shall tread upon their backs.

 

Praise God that He is not only our shield but our sword. Wow, that's just so incredible.

 

Feeling....

 

Hungry.

 

What are your "Currentlys"?

 

Adios for now. 

Miles in the Rain: a Poem

I didn't have the chance to get my own picture before the rain stopped (and it wouldn't have been nearly as lovely), so this one is from Pinterest)

I could walk for miles in rain like this

The constant sprinkle that paints the world green

It’s cold, but it’s a good sort

The kind of icy depth in which you know there is growth.

And I, like a poet, cannot help but rhyme the world

Place it in cadence with the presence of God

I cannot splash in puddles

For my shoes must be dry today

But perhaps on the way home, that will change,

And I shall jump in so deep that the ankles of my jeans

Will be wet with this funny sort of redemption.

I glance down now and see my image,

Distorted in the murky depths of gathered raindrops,

And I wonder—

Could I walk for miles in spiritual rain like this?

The constant aching that puts a dark cloud over me?

Do I have the courage to say that this chill of disappointment

Has an outpouring of grace and growth

That, though hard to see is also hard won?

How can I see God in the mist that hangs low over the hills,

Yet I am blind to Him in the veil that I grapple with

Whilst in the heart of my journey Home?

Why so afraid to slog through the soul-mud that weighs me down,

Yet so willing to dig hands down into this wet, black earth after the storm?

For there is a storm in my spirit, where flashes of pain are followed by

The thunderous silence of God, when I feel I need Him most.

And every disappointment is a gust of wind,

With me too weak to stand up against it.

It pushes me in all the wrong places, and it beats at my soul,

And when I look in puddles I see only everything I don’t want to be.

Yet—

Could it be?

Could I walk for miles in rain like this?

The word on my lips is the negative, yet—

I have. And I look back over the space traveled—

Hard to see, but not invisible through the fog,

Miles.

So I can walk for miles more.

And I shall dig my hands down into the mud,

And when I draw them up they shall hold joy.

 

P.S. See my awesome blog design? It was done by the lovely Emily over at Twenty-One Designs! I'm so grateful for her talents, and she did it for me all for free! So if you're needing that sort of thing, I definitely recommend! She's amazing. 

PFYTF: Deer

Introducing....Penny For Your Thoughts Friday!

And of course you haven't met before because this is a brand new blog. ;-)

ANYWAY! Every Friday I plan (look at me, I already have the starts of a blog schedule. Applaud me) to have a sometimes-quick, sometimes-longwinded THOUGHT that I have either been thinking about all week or just popped into my head.

My brain is a dangerous place, but don't be too scared.

At least you don't have to live with it.

Anyway. These will actually be really random and unexpected (there will probably be some sentimental ones and some crazy ones and some funny ones, for example) but they will give me a chance to spill my crazy whacko ideas with you and give you the chance to....uh, ya know, I don't know what you'll do. So whatever it is, it will surprise me.

I've rambled enough about this idea and I haven't even given credit. It was originally Jess who had the idea. So you can applaud her. *applauds her*

Without further ado, Penny For Your Thoughts Friday, April 24th Edition.

(And as soon as I say that, all interesting thoughts fly from my head and I am stuck staring at the drawing [in permanent marker no less] on the table here that depicts a headless boy with a tie and wiggly legs. My sister is weird.)

Alright, I got it.

Earlier I was watching the deer outside my window. We have like a bazillion deer that just wander around the streets, begging to be hit by cars and eating my mom's flowers. Anyway, this one deer was walking by leisurely, and I noticed that it just looked...painful.

Have you ever seen a deer walk? And just focused on its back hip joint?

It looks like it pops every time they step, which makes them look like they have a constant limp. The deer itself does not seem to mind, and it looked, indeed, quite contented.

And I know it wasn't just this one deer, because I made a point to watch the next deer that walked by like two seconds later (because we literally have a whole herd of deer around here. I say we need more mountain lions to eat some of the population away), and it did the SAME THING.

And if you don't believe me, watch a deer walking next time you see one. 

I walked back to my life in a bit of a daze.

Hullo, Hullo

Hey-o!

*awkward silence*

Ah, thanks, Gwaine.

 

Welcome to Miles in the Rain, which as you probably noticed is the title of my blog. I could tell you something sentimental and deep about the title of my blog, something like life is like walking through miles of rain and mud and mess, but in reality, I got the idea from the lyrics of a song. The song is "Caught Me By Surprise" by Colony House (look at me! A gif and a hyperlink all in my very first post!) which is my all-time favorite band. Check 'em out.

 

*takes deep breath* Sorry. You'll find that I ramble. Anyway, I'm an eighteen year old, recently graduated homeschooler with a love for God, writing, and many other things.

 

Anyway, I hope to get to know you.

 

These intro posts are harder than you'd think, really.

 

So bye for now! Hope to see you very soon. :-)

 

~Hannah Joy~