newport sundays

Sundays are slow days for me. They call for waking up to sunlight instead of an alarm, a mug of coffee and the newspaper or a good book. Recently, I've taken to driving down to Newport after my slow morning with a friend a few hours before church. Last Sunday, I had the delightful company of Erin who allowed me to do a portrait session with her. I'll be posting a full post with photos from the session, but here are a few photos from the day — reminders of a lovely slow Sunday.





happy slow sunday!

peace

In the midst of a tumultuous week, there have been moments of grace, allowance for tears and places for joy. This photo was an accident and I fell in love with it. It reminds me of peace. So I leave you with this for today.

Peace be with you as I seek peace alongside you.

beach party weekend: january

It was January. The sky had every right to be gray. But it chose to be blue. And I’d like to think it was just for us – the few hours we sat on the front porch of a beach house and sipped coffee and played volleyball on the beach. Then just when we went inside to make lunch, the sky turned gray and little teardrops started to fall from the sky. It had waited for us and I was thankful.

This past January, a group of us first year ISFers took to Newport in comfortable clothes and warmth at our friend Drew's family beach house. It was definitely a blessed weekend and for me, a great getaway from my Old Testament class.

it's a process

It was early. A saturday morning and slightly overcast. Kacey called and I hurriedly gathered the rest of my things to meet her at her car. We were going on retreat. My heart was a little flustered at what to feel. My mind knew this would be good. And my body so looked forward to sleep.

Late that evening after napping and walking briskly — without a need to — about town, I realized something. It had taken me the entire day to finally desire to begin processing life, my spiritual walk, and possibly the comfy bed I was lying in, with God. And I still couldn't.

My life often runs on a level equivalent to the high heat level of a hair dryer. I continue to live my life until it gets too hot, too heavy and I have to take a break, turn on the AC. Unfortunately, in life, that AC should be God, but it's often not. Through this realization, I also realized why I hadn't blogged often the past few months.

Writing is a process for me. It's a place to think about life, contemplate issues, take time to delight in the small things. And the last few months when I sat down to blog, it was as if my mind and soul said, "yay, it's time to process." And my body said, "now, I'm too tired to write and type." I didn't make space to process in between, hence my being overwhelmed every time I attempted to create space — in a too small of space.

As Kacey and I drove home two days later, I came home with a realization, not an entirely spiritual high experience, but a sense that God was revealing to me how much I really need to process with Him, to spend time with Him and to allow Him to work in my life whilst me processing. My mind was right — retreat was good and my heart eventually found a place to sit, the hard part is keeping it there.

Here are few photos from our time in Ocean Beach...

procrastination

it looks like this.

and by 'this' i mean texture, mind wandering and possibly taking random photos with my iPhone.

so happy to say that procrastination will not be needed for at least another week when my summer class starts. lovely...or not so lovely. but for now, lovely.

happy california day.

well, hello there

folks, i may be back. 

with a vengeance. 
and some beauty. 
in words and photos. 
and short sentences. 

short and sweet. love, j

with friends

Nights like tonight remind me why friends are so important. They refresh our souls, they love and carry joy with them and give without expectations. With no pressure to look a certain way or be a certain person, I was able to just be me tonight. And without fluid discussion, I simply sat with a few friends this evening and as we snacked, chatted and crafted with each other, I was able to soak up our friendship and felt washed with love by the time they left, refreshed.

One of my professors has been asking if we have a community who loves us, accepts us, forgives us and models Christ's love to us. Tonight, I was able to taste a bit of that community and why it is so important. It encourages us physically, emotionally and spiritually. And it is one of the most refreshing tastes you can experience.

the photo is a blurry snippet of our crafting tonight. more to come on that.