7 Things About Adelaide

So when Cally Declan asked me to do a bloggy thingy with her and Adelaide Thompson in which we all get to gush about each other, my reaction was all like

Okay, it was way more excited than that but you know, it's hard to pass up the opportunity to use a Spike gif.

Because basically, I love these kids like so much it makes me want to jump off rooftops and do flips and awesome stuff. So I could probably do a post titled "700 Things About Addy and Cally" but that would be cheating, I think.

So instead, I am writing 7 things about my Addy T.

1. She's steadfast. She's got a heart of gold, guys, and even when I'm a total twerp, she sticks around and loves and loves and loves in such a sacrificial way, pushing me toward growth. She's the type of person that when you're in a rut, she'll hop down in there with you, cry with you for a time, and then fill you to bursting by turning you toward Christ.

2. She's hysterical. Guys, her blog is like all dramatic-like, but in person, she has me laughing so hard I'm crying and holding onto my kidneys for fear they will burst right out of me. Also, she laughs really hard at her own jokes which cracks me up (and, to be fair, she also laughs really hard at everyone else's jokes, even when they're corny).

 3. She's loud when she watches movies. We watched Newsies together and that part where the nasty guys are beating Davy up, when the one guy digs into his pocket, Addy screams, "HE HAS A PISTOL!!!!!!!!!!!" and I screamed, "NO IT'S BRASS KNUCKLES!!!!!!!!!!!!!" and we proceeded to scream unintelligible things while Addy flapped her arms (literally) and I almost fell off the couch laughing. She's also loud in the mornings. It's like, she wakes up and boom she's awake and I'm still like *whisper things* *drink chai tea*. Anyway, it cracks me up and gets me going in the morning better than caffeine ever could (though that's not quite fair to say because caffeine affects me by putting me to sleep. Random tidbit you really wanted to know).

4. She is one of the bravest people I know, yet she claims to be afraid of everything. And she is afraid of a lot of things, but even though she's afraid of them, she does them. Thus proving she is brave. She's not the type of person to run away when danger comes. She's kind of the type of person to scream once, then grab her sword out of her belt and hold it with both fists and shout for everyone to get behind her. She's fierce. A fighter. Because she allows her weaknesses to be but openings for Christ's strength to shine through. The quote that has always reminded me of her is when Aslan says to Lucy, "If you were any braver, you'd be a lioness."

5. She has taught me how to acknowledge failure and sin as such, but to move on. She's taught me that yes, we're full of mistakes and full of cracks and full of weakness, but that there is a God who is more than the completion of us, who is willing to fill us up, to shine through every broken part of us. She has taught me that, in everything, God is faithful, and God provides. And I don't mean that she has taught me through telling me. She has taught me through living in such a way that proclaims the truths of God. Because when I find her hurting, stumbling along the thorny path, and when I go to her and ask her what broke her, she smiles through tears and she points forward toward Christ and says, "It is good, my friend. It hurts, but it's good."

6. She can literally pick up a guitar and write a song that rhymes and sounds amazing. Without any planning. She can just jam out a song. SAME WITH POETRY. She just sits down at the computer, turns a magic switch and BOOM THERE'S A POEM. She has also written 10,000 words in her novel in a day. BASICALLY I THINK SHE'S NOT REAL. THERE'S NO WAY SHE'S REAL. And also, as you all know, she's an incredibleific writer, so it's not just like, "pigs and turnips" a bazillion times in a row. Her book makes me cry. A lot. And laugh. All books should be like that. But anyway, she's just seriously talented.

7. What is good enough to be the last one, here??? That she's the Queen of Foursquare? That I have one of her guitar picks in my pocket? That one time I almost killed her by "playing" the trumpet? That she has inspired me to continue in being a writer, especially on those days I just want to quit? That her favorite cereal used to be mini wheats but is now honey bunches of oats? That she can't whistle?

How 'bout this: I love her and she is my sister through and through, and this bond that God has placed between us is stronger than all of the arrows that hell can throw.

SO A SONG FOR YOU, ADDY GIRL.





Because you are Totally Awesome.

<3

NOW, everyone, go check out Cally's and Addy's blogs because, well, they're awesome, but they're also doing posts like these. :-D So it'll be fun. Just do it.

All pictures in this post are not taken by me. Creds to Cally Declan, Dally, my dad, and probably someone else but I forget.

The Gratitude Tag

Taken by Cally Declan, because skiwz guys. How she got this moment is beyond me. Skiwz, guys. It's me and Addy, if you wanted to know. 

So guys, I got tagged by the incredibly amazing and talented Abby over at Abby and the Pens (who I adore) for this Gratitude Tag, and seeing as it's Thanksgiving Week, I thought it would be a nice way to start out. :-)

So, without further ado, onto the questions.

1. What is your favorite quote or verse that reminds you to be grateful?

Well, that's actually harder than it seems.... because lately, man, the whole Bible reminds me to be grateful. Because seriously. It's a book full of promises that find their fulfillment in Christ. But the one that comes to mind is from my memory verse:

Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

1 Peter 1:3-5

That reminds me so deeply of God's love for us and the hope that we have--how can we not be grateful when we read about how we have been adopted into an inheritance with Christ through Christ and for Christ! It's amazing and humbling. Praise God! 

2. Who are you grateful for?

A lot of people. Like so many people that if I made an album the lyric booklet could be FULL of gratitude. :-) But first and foremost, I am grateful for Christ in my life. And I am so thankful for my family, and how they've always stuck by me in everything. They've seen me at my worst and they've still stuck around, so yeah. They're pretty stoic. But especially my big sis. No words. <3 And I'm thankful for my bestest friends in all the world. You know who you are. I miss you and love you guys. And so many others, seriously... 

3. What life events are you grateful for?

I agree with what Abby said about homeschooling. Homeschoolers unite! :-) So yeah, I'm grateful for homeschooling because it really provided a safe environment to learn. I'm also so grateful for going to camp. That was definitely a life event, and it changed my perspective on many things and pushed me to do things I never, ever would have done! (in a good way!) 

4. What is something you are grateful for but oftentimes don't think about?

Hm... I'm thankful for the trials that God has presented in my life recently. It's not easy to think about all of them with gratefulness, but they have really drawn me closer to Christ, which is AMAZING and so worth it. :-) 

5. What are you going to do to show people your gratitude for them?

I think part of it is accepting graciously that which they offer. You don't always have to "give back" in order to really be grateful (especially since most things people do you could never do for them!). But it's also nice to act selflessly toward them, and if that leads me to give something or do something for them, then I do. To truly act in gratefulness requires the Holy Spirit within us, guiding our actions and our words. So I guess it's a little different for everyone who you are thanking. So yeah. Really vague and rambly answer. XD 

Thank you for the tag, Abby! It was definitely a good way to start off the week in thinking of the things that I am thankful for! 

And I will tag a few people, if you guys are interested:

Becca at Sitting On Clouds

Raquel at It's Just Raquel

and Bella Rose at Through Music My Soul Began to Soar!

Only You

by Cally Declan

The soil of my heart is furrowed and plowed,

And I stand at the edge of the garden and wait.

Would that I could see this place in its fullness,

When the trees have grown tall and the roots have grown deep,

And the flowers, all in bloom, fill the air with their fragrance.

But for now, I wait.

Words tumble from my pen like a fountain,

And I try to catch them before they fall into the earth,

Try to formulate something sensible onto a page.

Yet the words in the earth sprout clumsily, each green shoot easy to trample on.

These will bear fruit. These I will keep,

For they will not return void.

And when the words cease, I scribble my pen across the page in a different way,

Trying to form faces among the lines.

To imitate the world as I see it—beautiful.

But my hand is shaky and my lines respond, and it is but a broken image of the garden I know.

In frustration, I crumple my pages of words and drawings,

And I turn once more.

My instruments lay in the corner, oft-forgotten,

And I mourn their silence, but I fear the tuneless notes,

The crooked melody.

Still, I try, and I ache for perfection,

To somehow portray this unfathomable weight of glory that cries out words of redemption even now.

So I pray for words, or art, or a song,

To somehow be birthed out of these unskilled hands.

Anything, Oh Lord, anything true,

Anything honorable, anything just,

Anything pure, lovely, commendable,

Of excellence, worthy of praise—

Oh Lord, only you.

May my heart cry out not for the work of my hands,

But for you and only you.

I have no good apart from you, and this I know, though I still seek it elsewhere.

Oh fickle heart! Turn and see thy God!

So I stand at the edge of the garden and wait,

Not for words, not for art, not for music,

Not even for the garden to be in full bloom,

But for you.

And I know that you are coming,

Yes, even that you are here. 

The Girl of Sunshine and Stars

Photo creds I think Addy.

~To Cally-Girl~

She grew up.

She was always growing,

Always growing.

Like a fiery field of dandelions she let her seed go to the wind,

And she knew that it would not return empty.

She knew the world was more than sorrow,

So she woke up early to catch the first of the morning dew,

And stayed up late for the expanse of the sky to pour crystals down.

It was her joy that tore at my chest and set me aching,

Her hands, so ready to work, that humbled me.

She was the sunrise, a golden glow that shone through my grey dawn.

Oh, she was the fiercest dying star that ever shot across the midnight sky.

She grew, but she never lost her childhood,

She planted it firmly in her heart where it became a mighty oak

To weather every chaotic bruising that the world would toss her way.

She grew, but she never lost her God.

She climbed the insurmountable heights of injury,

Swam the unsearchable depths of loneliness,

And bore the cost of every sharp word that ensnared her between stones.

She loved until it broke her heart to pieces on the ground,

And from her knees she cried out for a greater love that would not break,

Because she had the courage of a lioness.

She grew up, emblazoned by the heart of her God,

Radiant in the image of the Captain of her soul.

Never had I seen such passion of heart, such love,

Never had I seen such a story of endless grace.

It broke me.

Yet it built me up again with firmer stones.

Oh, girl of laughter and light,

Never forget where your home lies,

For your God is waiting on the shoreline.

Run to Him, my girl, run with all your might.