A walk to the office

It is inevitable in a small town like Dromore that you walk down the street and see someone you know or are acquainted with. And every morning, as I close my front door behind me on my dander to the office, I ready myself for this.

First it's the two moms on the Circular Road. They walk one in front of the other since the footpath doesn't allow enough room for them to walk side by side whilst also pushing their prams (aka strollers). They are walking back home after dropping their older kids off at school, and I am walking into the square to the office. I walk past these two ladies each and every morning, rain or shine, and each and every morning I chuckle at the fact that, as we walk towards one another, none of us know where to look. It's like we cannot catch eyes until the last possible second or the day would be thrown out of proportion. And then once our strides are pretty much parallel, we finally offer a friendly "Hiya" or "Alright?".

After the moms I'll probably come across Cathy or Sheena, both of whom go to my church and walk their kids to school each morning. Cathy & Sheena are cool and it's always nice to wave hi to them. Never awkward, like the Circular Road moms.

Turn right onto Bridge Street and lately I've been crossing paths with the Thymes Square girl. I don't know her name, but she usually makes my salad box for me whenever I go there for lunch. Again, another instance of "where should I look before I say hi??"

Go through the square and I've made it to the office, where poor Bob is waiting outside in the cold, always. Jackie might be outside of his shop unloading a delivery, and if so then there's a bonus "ALRIIIGHT?!!" to my morning.

Happy day =]

The morning papers make the most out of nothing at all

(Skip to the last paragraph if you don't feel like reading but want something to think about)

I suppose the lack of blogs is due to the fact that I've had nothing to say lately. Or, that I've been doing so much that I haven't had time to ponder it all in a carefully worded blog. As I've been in Northern Ireland, I've gotten more in touch with my creative side. And upon embracing the right side of my brain more frequently, I've become a lot less organized. I realize that writing is an art form, but for me it's a way to organize my thoughts as well. Therefore, the lack of writing stemming from my lack of organization. Maybe? I'm thinking of printing out my blogs & stapling them into my journal, which is looking bare itself.

This blistery Sunday afternoon started out with good intentions to take a walk & say goodbye to a couple more of those leftover Christmas cookies. But then Lorraine sparked the fire in the fireplace, & the living room was so cozy, &, ahh, I kind of just sat & didn't get up. Sitting in a good way though; I'd like to take a picture of the living room at the moment because it is an array of colored markers, a couple notebooks, my violin, my mac (opened to garage band for music-making), and two books (my Bible & The Shack, to be specific). So despite being temporarily glued to the floor, it was still a colorful, musical, and wholeheartedly whimsical & productive afternoon!

I shared this whimsical productive experience with Sufjan Stevens. He's been playing from my computer all afternoon. My thoughts of Mr Stevens are only good ones; his uncoventional music makes me feel exuberantly frolicsome (...thank you, Thesaurus), and while it may seem idiosyncratic (mmm yes Thesaurus strikes again) to those who are less offbeat than myself, I'd recommend that everybody give him a listen. Not only are the titles of his songs outstanding by themselves, the lyrics inside each song envelop the soul. I never realized how spiritual some of his lyrics are until I heard his version of "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" (a common hymn) and began listening to his lyrics more closely. Here's some of my favs:

"& I'm joining every thought to you, & I'm preparing every part for you" ["All the Trees of the Forest Will Clap Their Hands"]
I relate this line completely to my relationship with God, as I strive to make every one of my thoughts & every aspect of my life of & for Him. I won't ever accomplish the plan He has for my life without doing just that.

"Dear Mr. Supercomputer" --- What a song!
"Springfield with its freak and banter strike the cantor 'God is dead, God is dead'"
I'd say that line summarizes our world. The American ideal, "In God We Trust" remains just that, an ideal. As our world turns to horoscopes and underground magazines to find the meaning of life, the Bible is left in the dust. To try to gain wisdom, we have thrown true Wisdom away.

"I rejoice in what I carry in my heart. It overwhelms what a man, Great Emancipation plans."
And yes. The reason for the title of my blog. The freedom that God offers through his Son, Jesus... it is indeed overwhelming. It's what makes me so passionate. When Jesus was nailed to that cross, all of our burdens, worries, fears, sorrows, were nailed there with Him. They died with Him, &, unlike Jesus, they weren't resurrected. And so we are FREE from them! We are more free than we allow ourselves to be most of the time (Read Colossians 2:13-15 in case I'm wrong).

Check out these songs as well: "Carlyle Lake", "Woman at the Well", & "Chicago"

Love.