Victory

photo credit- ms. pat @usmga

What is victory?

The winning goal, the last jump cleared

the touchdown scored, the audience cheered

the prize is won, the trophy claimed

the crown received, the win attained.

But...

When you return home, after dark, to the light

when you hear the first cry and the baby’s alright

when you make your friend giggle, when your sister’s cheered up

when you make your first project, or cook your first sup.

And...

When Jesus is pleased, when your faith’s growing strong

when God gets the glory, when you know that you’re wrong

when you’ve served the LORD and you’ve seen that it’s fun

when you first hear God say “I am pleased with my son.”

Victory.

Of rejection, dejection, and everything in between

First know, fair readers, that this should have been posted a week and a half ago. But so should a lot of things have been.

On Friday, March 15, I auditioned for Kentucky's Governor's School for the Arts in Music Theatre and Drama.

On Sunday, April 14, I opened my rejection letter from the KYGSA administrators.

Did it sting? Yes.

Did I cry? No.

Did I avoid telling my sisters? Yes.

Did I immediately throw the letter away and then pull it out of the trash ten minutes later? Maybe. :)

Thing is, rejection hurts. It always has, and it always will. It was the first punishment of Adam and Eve- rejection from God's presence and God's garden and God's plan for them.

It was the punishment of the Israelites in the desert- rejection from the Promised Land.

It was Jesus' greatest injury on the cross- rejection by His beloved Father.

It's the reason girls are so worried about their weight, their clothes, their speech, their cover photo, their image. The fear of rejection.

It's the reason guys act so macho until you get to know them. Fear of rejection.

Here's the deal: rejection is actually a big part of most of our lives.

Here's the truth: It doesn't matter one bit!

Leviticus 26:11

I will place My residence among you, and I will not reject you.

Romans 12:2

Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

God loves us no matter what the world thinks of us. And He does not want us to give up!

So even though I did not get into the program I have dreamed about since seventh grade, I can't give up now. Look at how much I've poured into my acting career. Look at how much God has poured into us. He didn't just forgive us, He adopted us! That's a big deal!

As I was walking out to give the horse hay seconds after reading my rejection letter, I was thinking all sorts of thoughts about how I wasn't good enough for them, and how I must not be as good as I think I am (which really is not saying much; I have been known to be a bit vain in the secret courts of my heart) when all of a sudden a thought popped into my head. I'm not kidding- something completely new,fully formed, and practically spoken to me.

I thought, "I can reject myself and give up, or I can hone my skills and prepare for next year." Because, I thought next, I am my own worst enemy, and I am more critical of myself than I should be.

Please don't take this as vanity that I am such a great actor, or that I have so much self confidence, or even that I always hear when God talks to me, because it isn't that at all. I just wanted to share something that has been on my mind and that I my self really need to remember. In the words of Pastor Greg:

"What society puts out, God puts in. What the world writes off, God picks up."

Blogger Alphabet: C is for...

...Creation.

Romans 8:19

For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.

Colossians 1:15

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

Psalm 19:1-4

The heavens declare the glory of God; 

   the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech;

    night after night they reveal knowledge.
³ They have no speech, they use no words;
    no sound is heard from them.
⁴ Yet their voice^[b] goes out into all the earth,
    their words to the ends of the world.

Clara. This is for you.

This is not really a post...but this picture is so Clara I had to upload it :) Hope you had a great spring break and have a great week!

My Gramma's House

At my gramma's house, things are peaceful. At my gramma's house, there is plenty of space, but it's still cosy.

There is always something new to read. And somewhere nice to read it. At my gramma's house, there is always something new to look at. There is always work to be done on the farm, at my gramma's house.

My gramma's house is in the hills. It's really pretty to look at, my gramma's house. There are lots of good places to take pictures there. And nice siblings and cousins to take them with.

My gramma's house has lace curtains, and prisms and vases that make rainbows and shadows in the windows. It's always just a little dusty in the corners- so it's fine to be messy. It's light and airy and calm.

New ponds to splash in, new frogs and snails to chase, new cats to sit with,new trees to climb.

That's how it is at my gramma's house.

Oh no, it's quite normal...

...for my siblings to be screaming bloody murder and swinging stuffed animals over their heads in the middle of the kitchen.

(i rest my case.)

...for me to pack up at nine thirty in the morning on a schoolday and hightail it to the barn for a few Phys. Ed. credit hours...plus some serious fun.

(this is Puzzle. she is awesome. i do not understand her one bit.)

...for my room to be entirely clean except for the eight or nine open textbooks and notebooks carpeting the floor.

...for various people to find booby trapped doors, missing shoelaces, lumpy pillows and ketchup filled sandwiches on April Fool's day.

...for me to spend my Easter afternoon with four guys I hadn't really met before, though they were seriously cute, and I even kissed one once or twice...

(I'm pretty sure this is my hot date's mother and grandmother. this picture is, of course, from 2005 or thereabouts. my mom's phone ran out of batteries and I was too lazy to find an actual picture of that hors...and he has three pasture mates who look exactly like him so I have no clue who he is anyway :)

...for my suitcase to be heavier than anyone else's come vacation...of course I need my Ancient History book, Mister!

...for several members of my family to wear their pajamas until noon bedtime.

...to see fistfights in the backseat of our twelve-passenger van.

...for one or more siblings to be grabbed by the collar for a photo shoot at any moment.

...for one or more members of the family to be reading, etc. in the unfinished basement storage room or the unenclosed hay shed for lack of some peace and quiet.

erhhm.

...for pumpkin muffins to be eaten for breakfast, lunch, second breakfast, elevensies, dinner, bedtime snack...etc.

...to see someone cooking their siblings for breakfast...OK, no.

...for one to hear random Broadway songs, Barney songs, VeggieTales songs, Star Wars spoof songs, TobyMac songs, made-up songs, and shouts of "For Narnia!" every several seconds.

...for one to hear, in the intervals between the above, Best Christmas Pageant Ever quotes, Ranger's Apprentice quotes, Narnia quotes, Hobbit quotes, Barbie, Lord of the Rings, and Star Wars quotes. At top volume. And completely in character.

...for one to see siblings supporting each other at ball games, birthday parties and performances.

...hugging  in public (even brother to sister!) :)

...praying and Bible verses for every occasion.