fill_in_the_blanks

Source

to have some extra fun today before the weekend starts, i decided to 

participate with lauren in fill in the blank friday! here we go!

1.   One of life's most simple pleasures is   watching the sun set   .

2.    Sloooow drivers      makes me want to punch someone.

3.  I like   my boyfriend    because,   he cooks me yummy meals  .

4.   onomatopoeia    is a funny word. [it helps that we learned how to spell it in school to the tune of 'old macdonald.' i can't think of it without singing it in my head... or out loud.]

5.  If I had to choose one beauty product to use for the rest of eternity it would be   nail polish  .

6.  I'm happy that    my college roommate is coming to visit for the weekend. it's been a year since i saw her last!  .

7.  I would never    say never ;)    .

this week at work we brought in a new group of masters' students. a new school year has arrived! we worked some long days this week, so i am certainly looking forward to the weekend and having some adventures with my college roomie! i hope you have a lovely weekend, friends!

inspiration workshop [favorite color]

time for another inspiration workshop! this week's prompt was favorite color. as i've been decorating my home, i have used a combination of the same colors in different shades in each of my rooms. it actually was not a completely conscious idea; i think it just naturally defines me and what i like! i love greens, blues, yellows, and browns. and right now i'm totally digging olive green, turquoise, mustard yellow, and dark brown.

shutters on the dining room windows, my first yarn wreath, burlap bag from a yard sale, decorations on my built-ins

some of the material i scored FREE at a yard sale, more fun decor, pillows from the one and only target, lovely shutter

i love that God created colors. and i love the way He has mixed and combined them all over the earth and how beautiful and inspiring that is. blue in the ocean and the sky, green grass, the yellow sun and in flowers, brown trees... we live in a beautiful world.

sitting under fig trees

we had a half-day retreat at work yesterday, where i was introduced to this beautiful prayer:

Source

o God of timelessness and time,
we thank You for our time
and for those things that are yet possible and precious in it:
     daybreak and beginning again,
     midnight and the touch of angels,
     the taming of demons in the dance of dreams;
a word of forgiveness,
and sometimes a song,
for our breathing... our lives.

thank You for the honesty which marks friends and makes laughter;
for fierce gentleness which dares to speak the truth in love
and tugs us to join the long march toward peace;
for sudden gusts of grace which rise
unexpectedly in our wendings from dawn to dawn;
     for children unabashed,
          wind rippling a rain puddle,
                  a mockingbird in the darkness,
                     a colleague and a cup of coffee;
for all the mysteries of loving,
for our bodies next to others' bodies;
for music and silence,
for wrens and Orion,
for everything that moves us to tears,
to touching, to dreams, to prayers;
for our longings... our lives.

thank You for work which engages us in internal debates between right and reward
and stretches us toward responsibility to those who pay for our work,
and to those who cannot pay because they have no work.
     for justice which repairs the devastations of poverty;
         for liberty which extends to the captives of violence;
              for healing which binds up the broken bodied and broken hearted;
                   for broken bread for all the hungry of the earth;
                        for good news of love which is stronger than death;
and for peace for all to sit under fig trees and not be afraid;
for our callings... our lives.

thank You for the sharp senses of timeless stirring in our time,
and Your praise in our hearts;
for the undeniable awareness, quick as now,
that the need of You is the truth of us,
and Your presence with us is the truth of You,
which sets us free for others,
for joy,
and for You;
for Your grace... and our lives... forever.

[ted loder, guerrillas of grace: prayers for the battle]

my front porch

i dream of having a home with a front porch someday. a place to start my day and a place to end it. a place to sit with friends and share our hearts. a place to read. a place to snuggle with my stud.

my dream front porch would be a wrap around, overlooking the beach...

Source

with plenty of comfy seating...

Source

and coffee, iced or warm...

Source

with bright pops of color...

Source

and a hammock...

Source

and filled with the sounds of friends and family! (:

ah, i feel relaxed just thinking about it! have a lovely thursday, friends! and check out other fun front porches here: