from the pages: Anne’s House of Dreams

It was a shore that knew magic and mystery of storm and star. There is a great solitude about such a shore.  The woods are never solitary—they are full of whispering, beckoning, friendly life. But the sea is a mighty foul, forever moaning of some great unshareable sorrow, which shuts it up into itself for all eternity.  We can never pierce its infinite mystery—we may only wander, awed and spellbound, on the outer fringe of it.  The woods call to us with a hundred voices, but the sea has one only—a mighty voice that drowns our souls in its majestic music.  The woods are human, but the sea is of the company of archangels.
-Anne’s House of Dreams, L.M. Montgomery

From the pages || Art for all

{stunning print from lindsayart}

Art is not something done for another or to another.  Art is everybody participating, that is when ritual is real, when whole community participates.  No one can pray vicariously.  No one can sing or chant or dance in our place.  We are all meant to participate because each of us must find the “center,” the eye of God, wherein the true peace flows.  We are all meant to tap into the creative energy of the Holy One, the Artist of all Artists and the Source without a Source.

-Excerpt from Creativity, Matthew Fox.

An evening with Anne and a cup of peppermint tea.

I took a few weeks off from reading after I consumed the last words of Jane Eyre and then let breath enter my body again.  It was a game changer, that book.  I feel like I need to apologize to those Bronte sisters for ignoring them for so many years.  They don’t get the recognition they deserve, maybe that’s why they were so dark and twisty.
Although, I don’t think I’d be friends with Jane Eyre, she’s so serious and ruled by reason.  I’d roll my eyes at her a lot.  But, Anne Shirley, now we could be the most darling friends, of this I’m sure. 
And this is why.
“I’d like to add some beauty to life,” said Anne dreamily. I don’t exactly want to make  people KNOW more… though I know that IS the noblest ambition… but I’d love to make them have a pleasanter time because of me… to have some little joy or happy thought that would never have existed if I hadn’t been born.”  “I think you’re fulfilling that ambition every day,” said Gilbert admiringly.
Me too, Anne.  Thanks for getting me. 
And that is when I put my Kindle down and took a sip of tea.  I might have to put that on a giant canvas.

from the pages: Anne Shirley on prayer

|photo credits|

“Why must people kneel down to pray?” If I really wanted to pray I’ll tell you what I’d do.  I’d go out into a great big field all alone or into the deep, deep woods, and I’d look up into the sky- up- up- up- into that lovely blue sky that looks as if there was no end to its blueness. And then I’d just feel a prayer.”

makes sense, huh?

from the pages: the fullness of life

 

Life at its fullest is this sensitive, detonating sphere, and the it can be carried only in the hands of the unhurried and reverential- a bubble held in awe.

 

It takes a full twenty minutes for your brain to register satiation. How long does it take your soul to realize that your life is full?

From, One Thousand Gifts, by Ann Voskamp

from the pages: beauty hunter

 

I am a hunter of beauty and I love slow and I keep the eyes wide, every fiber of every muscle sensing all the wonder and this is the thrill of the hunt and I could be an expert on the life full, the beauty meat that lurks I every moment.  I hunger to taste life. God.

-Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts

{See more from the pages posts here. Find more quotes that I love here.}

from the pages…

 

I know there is poor and hideous suffering and I’ve seen the hungry and the guns that go to war.  I have lived pain, and my life can tell: I only deepen the wound of the world when I neglect to give thanks for early light dappled through the leaves and the heavy perfume of wild roses in early July and the song of crickets on humid nights and the rivers that run and the stars that rise and the rain that falls and all the good things that a good God gives.  Why would the world need more anger, more outrage?  How does it save the world to reject unabashed joy when it is joy that saves us?  Rejecting joy to stand in solidarity with the suffering doesn’t rescue the suffering.  The converse does.  The brave who focus on all the good things and all things beautiful and all things true, even in the small, who give thanks for it and discover joy even in the here and now, they are the change agents who bring fullest light to all the world.  When we lay the soil of our hard lives open to the rain of grace and let joy penetrate our cracked and dry places, let joy soak into our broken skin and deep crevices, life grows.

- Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts

 

Drink this in, but ever so slowly.  It’s deep and rich and strong.

Beauty is everywhere. Are you looking?

one of my favorite thoughts on God + motherhood + babies + life

“And when my friends Paul and Danielle had their second daughter, I went to the hospital and held her in my arms.  She was tiny and warm like a hairless cat, and she was dependent.  When I looked over at her mother, Danielle’s eyes told me life was about more than sunsets and romance.  It was as though having a baby made all the fairy tales come true for her, as though she were a painter who discovered a color all new to the world.

I can imagine what kind of conversation God and Danielle will have, how she’ll sit and tell God the favorite parts of the story he gave her.  You get a feeling when you look back on life that that’s all God really wants from us, to live inside a body he made and enjoy the story and bond with us through the experience.”

-A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, Donald Miller

p.s.  read this book.  you’ll be happy you did.

from the pages…

“Do you live near the river? I hope so, because people who live near running water are much nicer than those who don’t.  I’d be mean as a scorpion if I lived inland.”

- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

I just finished reading this month’s book club suggestion and I must say, I loved it so much more than The English Patient, which I didn’t love at all (AT ALL).  I’ve been wanting to read this one for ages and I was not disappointed.

It’s written completely in letters, which I just adore and it’s full of charming characters and captivating stories.

I highly recommend you light a fire, make a cup of cocoa and start reading it right away.

What great books have you been reading?

{Liv

from the pages…

A majestic storm is rolling through the air with brilliant flashes and thunderous roars.  My fingers hit the keys to the sporadic rhythm of my thoughts.  The greatness that is Coldplay’s Parachutes album is the perfect accompanist to this moment.

As far as moments go, this one is pretty great.

Life is comprised of all of the moments, good, bad, and perfect.

Tomorrow brings a whole set of new ones.

I’m recording this moment, right now, because it will soon be over.  The coolness of the storm will pass; the heat and humidity will once again eat away my patience,  civility, and sanity. 

I won’t look back on this moment as one of those major defining events in my life.  It will never rank with a great road trip, falling in love, getting married, having a baby, or finally stepping foot on European soil (one day), but it is one of those tiny bits of simple goodness that I want to remember.   Just because.

---

"The saddest thing about life is you don’t remember half of it.  You don’t even remember half of half of it.  Not even a tiny percentage, if you want to know the truth.  I have this friend Bob who writes down everything that he remembers.  If he remembers dropping an ice cream cone on his lap when he is seven, he’ll write it down.  The last time I talked to Bob, he had written more than five hundred pages of memories.  He’s the only guy I know who remembers his life. He said he captures memories, because if he forgets them, it’s as though they didn’t happen; it’s as though he hadn’t lived the parts he doesn’t remember.”

-Donald Miller, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years

---

Do you remember? Or have you forgotten a lifetime of memories?  I write and paint to remember, how about you?

-Olivia

reawaken the dreams

I have these thoughts stirring inside of me, thoughts full of life, excitement, and possibilities.   I feel a shift throughout my head and most certainly, my heart.

Recently, I’ve had some amazing conversations with dear friends who are realizing and pursuing their dreams.  When it seems that life isn’t shelling out options or giving easy, multiple choice answers, they are taking steps to make their dreams reality.  Reality meaning, something that is only possible through great amounts of hard work, time, and passion. 

I wouldn’t say that I’ve stopped dreaming, in fact, I’m living some of my favorite ones.  Yet, I am realizing that others have been neglected,  just left to sit on the shelf, looking pretty.  It’s time to reawaken my dreams. 

Reawaken the dreams.

This is the phrase that I keep hearing and feeling.  Can one actually “feel” a phrase? Why not, anything is possible.  If you get that, then you are definitely in the right place.

As I begin to discover what exactly this means… I invite you to reflect on your own life and remember those dreams that make your heart leap and your mind reel with wonder.

Reawaken the dreams, what does that mean for you?  What are some dreams that you’ve let become trinkets on your shelf, rather than active participants in your life?

Here is a few things that I plan on doing during this process.

1. Pray and seek the one who gives us dreams.

2. Read plenty of books that challenge and inspire.

3. Write.  Often.

4. Prepare to be amazed.

“There’s no time for dreaming in this world,” answered the young lady with her back to him.

“I have been thinking lately,” said Inglewood in a low voice, “ that there’s no more time for waking up.”

-Man Alive, G.K.  Chesteron

reawaken the dream,

-Olivia

from the pages…

I started a new book last night.  I’ve read it before.  I absolutely adore it. It’s witty, silly, deep, beautiful, poetic, tragic, inspiring, genuine, and a bit unruly…  the perfect combination, if you ask me.  After reading this portion, then reading it aloud to my husband, who has read this book more than I have, I wanted to read it to someone else too, so this is pretty much the same.

“I read the first chapter of A Brief History of Time when Dad was still alive and I got incredibly heavy boots thinking about how relatively insignificant life is, and how, compared to the universe and compared to time, it didn’t even matter if I existed at all.  When Dad was tucking me in that night and we were talking about the book, I asked if he could think of a solution to that problem.  “Which problem?”  “The problem of how relatively insignificant we are.”  He said, “Well, what would happen if a plane dropped you in the middle of the Sahara Desert and you up a single grain of sand with tweezers and moved it one millimeter?”  I said, “I’d probably die of dehydration.”  He said, I just mean, right then, when you moved that single grain of sand.  What would that mean?”  I said, “I dunno, what?”  He said, “Think about it.”  I thought about it.  I guess I would have moved a grain of sand.”  “Which would mean?”  “Which would mean, I moved a grain of sand?”  “Which would mean you changed the Sahara.”  “So?”  “So? the Sahara is a vast desert.  And it has existed for millions of years.  And you changed it!”  “That’s true!” I said, sitting up.  “I changed the Sahara!”  “Which means?” he said.  “What tell me.”  “Well, I’m not talking about painting the Mona Lisa or curing cancer.  I’m just talking about moving one grain of sand one millimeter.”  “Yeah?”  “If you hadn’t done it, human history would have been one way…” “Uh-huh?”  “But you did do it, so…?”  I stood on the bed, pointed my fingers at the fake stars, and screamed: “I changed the course of human history!”

-excerpt from Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,

Jonathan Safran Foer

{Find the book here and more on JSF here}

So, did you get it?  I know that it’s a silly example, but that is not the point.  Do you go throughout your day weighed down by feelings of insignificance or do you dare believe that what you are doing matters?

… no matter how trivial it seems

… no matter if anyone ever realizes all the hard work that you’ve done.

… no matter if you’re going to do the same things tomorrow.

 

It matters.  You  matter.  Now go and have a wonderful life.

-Olivia

from the pages

life- a series of small seemingly ordinary marvels.

Is there anything better than getting a brand new book?  or perhaps a brand new old book?  The answer is obviously a resounding, no.  Well, my new book came today.  I already love it.  I teared up by page six.  I'm wondering when I became so easily moved by truth, beauty, and perfect sentiment that I can tear up by page six of anything.  I've found lately that I've become so passionate about living life, about finding meaning and purpose, and seeing the beauty in the world that God created that the tiniest thing that inspires me can cause my eyes to well up to the brim and at least a tear or two inevitably escapes down my cheek.

My new book.  A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, Donald Miller.

Hands down, he's one of my favorites, he makes you feel like you're sitting across the table from him drinking a coffee and your conversation is full of genuine, truth, sarcasm, and silliness. I like all those things.

Here's the thing, I have an insatiable desire to see people living their lives as if they were doing so intentionally.    It's kind of a big deal to me.  Sure, life is full of certain things that are boring like working, paying bills, and folding laundry, but what if you didn't have a job, so you couldn't pay the bills and then you didn't have any clothes to wear and fold...  I feel like we'd rather have option A.  I think the problem lies within us, and our expectations for life.  Like, all of a sudden we're supposed to have these amazing adventures, travel the world, and change the lives of everyone and everything that crosses our path.  That's when life begins. False. In order for life to ever reach that peak of excitement and wonder, today has to be an adventure, today has to be filled with small, seemingly ordinary marvels.  It has to start with you, right now, where you are sitting in this exact moment.

For example:  last week, my little family of three went to the park, bought a pumpkin spice latte, and brought our camera, park blanket, and our desire to just have as much fun as possible.  We attempted to play tether ball, took a bit of a walk and spend the majority of our time laying on the blanket under the trees, feeling the cool fall breeze and the warm sunshine.  It was perfection.  I loved our afternoon, I loved it so much.  Nothing could have been better than that moment, not even strolling through the streets of Paris or eating pasta in Italy.{I, obviously, wouldn't mind doing either of those things, forever.}

I read recently that we must live our lives to the fullest because that enables other people to do the same.  Have you ever considered that?  Perhaps we should.  No matter who you are or what you're good at, by fully living your life you are making the world better.  Now that is something that we can all do.

I want to give you a small taste of the book.  I hope it strikes you as it did me, in a simple but overwhelming way.  I hope it makes you think about your life, the only life you've been given.  It's yours to do as much or as little as you choose.

Author's Note from A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, Donald Miller.

"If you watched a movie about a guy who wanted a Volvo and worked for years to get it, you wouldn't cry at the end when he drove off the lot, testing the windshield wipers.  You wouldn't tell your friends you saw a beautiful movie or go home and put a record on to think about the story you'd seen.  The truth is, you wouldn't remember that movie a week later, except you'd feel robbed and want your money back.  Nobody cries at the end of a movie about a guy who wants a Volvo.  But we spend years actually living those stories, and expect our lives to feel meaningful.  The truth is, if what we choose to do with our lives won't make a story meaningful, it won't make a life meaningful either. "

It's not about me.

These are not my own words, but words for me today. Maybe it's for you too.

From John Maxwell's on Leadership blog.

Put Others First in Your Thinking

When you meet people, is your first thought about what they’ll think of you or how you can make them feel more comfortable? At work, do you try to make your coworkers or employees look good, or are you more concerned about making sure that you receive your share of the credit? When you interact with family members, whose best interests do you have in mind? Your answers show where your heart is. To add value to others, you need to start putting others ahead of yourself in your mind and heart. If you can do it there, you will be able to put them first in your actions.

But how can anyone add value to others if he doesn’t know what they care about? Listen to people. Ask them what matters to them. And observe them. If you can discover how people spend their time and money, you’ll know what they value.

Once you know what matters to them, do your best to meet their needs with excellence and generosity. Offer your best with no thought toward what you might receive in return. President Calvin Coolidge believed that “no enterprise can exist for itself alone. It ministers to some great need, it performs some great service, not for itself, but for others; or failing therein it ceases to be profitable and ceases to exist.”

(from Failing Forward)

Put others ahead of you in your mind and heart today.

from the pages

...in words #1

Changing the world is good for those who want their names in books, but being happy, that is for those who write their names in the lives of others, and hold the hearts of others as the treasure most dear.

- Orson Scott Card, 

Children of the Mind

Donald Miller Strike Back

It took a few days, but on this late Sunday morning, as I'm home with the baby who isn't feeling well, and myself feeling the same, the rain is falling and the peaceful nature of my home allows me to share my thoughts.

As promised, I wanted to share an excerpt that I desperately needed to hear, myself.  It was one of those perfect moments when the world stopped around me and the words jumped off the page and burrowed deeply in my soul.  

As an artist, writer, and dreamer, I bleed inspiration, I bleed belief in the seemingly impossible, yet there has always been this underlying thought of disbelief.  Can I really be successful?  Can I really write books, that seems so huge, impossible?  I constantly envy those who tell me, "I'm writing a book," with confidence, because I know I want to, but I have never said to myself, I am writing a book.  The very concept of starting such project launches me into this state of feeling incapable of doing so, again and again.  Then, I'll find a speck of possibility and think, "I will write books."  Yet, that remains only long enough for me to feel overwhelmed and then returns the impossibility.  This cycle has happened more than I can count.  

Part of my hopes in journeying through The Artist Way is that I will attain the discipline to start that daunting project.  I don't know what I want to write, but I know I need to write.  I just get caught up in realizing the completed product, rather than just the actually writing page after page.  So, on Friday, I read a quote that will never leave me.

As I mentioned previously, it's from Donald Miller's newest book, which will be available in the fall of 09, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years.  I hope Donald isn't upset that I'm sharing this, but it was published in the back of a newly released edition of Blue Like Jazz, so I'm thinking it's OK.  Plus, if after reading this, you don't want to pre-order a copy, then there is something wrong with you.  Oh, and if he changes this part of the book in his editing, I'm gonna have to have words with him.

Here goes,

"But the truth about writing and the truth about life is we don't actually know how it is going to go.  If we take action, it come back to haunt us, for sure.  What's worse is that we might not be up for the job, but no good story was ever told without the character taking a dramatic risk."

Yes?  Does that affect you as it does me?  Even now, after thinking about it all weekend, I am amazed at how it answers that question I have asked so many times.  It reminds me of a line from Coldplay's, Fix You... "If you never try, you'll never know, just what you're worth."

As of today, I haven't started that book, but I am starting to believe that if I do take that risk, my story will be better for it.  So thank you Donald, thank you.  I'm glad you decided to take that dramatic risk for yourself.