Still falling by the wayside...

...It isn't that there's nothing left to give or that I don't care about the world. I continue to tithe and to throw out my little surprise kindnesses to the world in hopes of getting some back.

It is just that I go through phases where I have all this energy to blog after work...and those phases where I don't.

Here's hoping I'm on the upswing! LOL

By the Wayside....

Things have a way of falling by the wayside and suffering neglect.

It is time this blog got dusted off and pulled out of the weeds.

Welcome to my update.

Glad you stopped by.

Stay tuned.

And Live in the Light Again

I posted this on my "sister" blogs, but I will post it here, too:

And Live in the Light Again
It's bringing the dark down again
shutting me off, pulling me under
I don't mean to take things so hard
but the world spins and I begin to falter...

In the worst of it, I'm drowning
the surface lost and the blue surrounds
too weak to argue, I close my eyes
and I let it keep pullin' me down.

Then you notice me and close the distance
and I forget I'm lost
you make it all seem easy
and now, at last, the void is crossed.

the sun does shine, the wind does blow
see the mountains I can climb
we look down at the busy below
you and me in a world without time

You take my hand, you won't let go
you hold on for the fight
until finally I emerge,
mighty banged up but alright

You wipe my soul with solemn grace
you hold me close and then
you whisper softly, "Give me your hand...
come live in the light again."


c. 2008 Joanna S Kelley

Little Wonders

Ok, the favorite song of the moment is "Little Wonders" by Rob Thomas. I finally saw Meet the Robinsons, a very cute animation by the folks at Disney, and the song was in there.

Oh...another one that just grabs you and makes you hurt with the power of the lyrics!!!

So many of us hold on when we should be letting go. And sometimes the nasty suprises turn out to be the best ever things that could have happened. This song is about fighting and hanging on and getting through when you feel like that's the last thing you can do. But it is more about just going through the motions. It is about really honoring the journey. About NOTICING the small and the seemingly insignificant. Unleashing the power of delight in small things.

Sometimes I feel like a nut for trying to describe feelings...my connection to music is so personal, just like it is for everyone, that I despair of ever finding someone who can understand the way that music moves me...moves us all if we let it.

The Friday Shuffle

Oh, yeah. What is better (when you are working for a living!) than end of business on a Friday?!

Not a darn thing. Two glorious days stretched out before me (though I know they will be too short!) feels like heaven every time.

We won't focus right now on the fact that I let my chores slip and am now going to spend the better part of tomorrow on a whole different kind of work... But I will say that I will be on backyard safari with the weed eater and a machete for quite a bit of time, thanks to all the lovely rain AZ has had so far this year (thanks, California!)

Have a good weekend, all!

Spirit, take me up...

Oh, I have a new favorite song. They come and they go, but while they are the most beloved song in my collection, they surely do move me.

My current favorite is Switchfoot's "24". It is redemption. It is awe. It is longing. It is...imperfection begging for mercy.

I can completely identify. "Life is not what I thought it was...24 hours ago." It is change. Constant evolution and learning.

"I'm not copping out..." It is accountability. It is admission of fault. It is glorious awareness of our humanness.

Beautiful. One of those songs that just carries you away, makes your heart swell with a desire for something bigger than that which you can conceive.

And it is hope, too. When I close my eyes and listen, I see a man on a cliff, looking out at the ocean and considering his life...feeling small, feeling his imperfection. He's on a quest to find something to tell him who he is, what his place is. And whether those questions are answered or whether they are not, he's beseeching the Unseen. He wants to be drawn up, cleansed, made better than he is. And in that desire, he becomes perfect.

Turn to Me

When the darkness closes in
a dense fog of despair
your heart is heavy
and sorrow cuts you to the quick
Turn to me.

When you feel ten feet tall
you've got the world
you've got it all
dancing in the sunshine
Turn to me.

When there's a mountain you must climb
you're halfway there and tiring
you can see the top
you just can't get there
Turn to me.

I am yours at any hour
from any corner of the world
There is no place I cannot find you
You are forever in my care
So turn to me.