Friday, June 27, 2008

word.

“Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops" (Matthew 10:26-27).

St. Francis said, "Preach the gospel. If necessary, use words."

It's not easy, but if you say so, okay.

"I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love" (Mother Teresa).

God's love makes us strong. And "I'm strong. Just hurt" (thanks Darryl). But I know the hurt will go away too.

God's love is perfect for me. It surpasses every negative feeling you can think of. My love for him is nowhere near perfect. But the closer I come to that perfection, though I may never attain it on earth, the less hurt I am capable of feeling.

People might come along and ask, "Why bother going for something that you know you'll never get?"

"Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1).

If you ask God to bless you, he'll bless you. But it's almost never exactly as you would have it. Our eyes can only be sensitized to our blessings when we believe that God is working in our lives.

Friday, June 20, 2008

my Lola loved puzzles

maybe that's where i get it from. i don't know... papa too. he liked making stuff. so do i. remember puzz 3-d's?

okay so anyway, i was trying to put this puzzle together. i worked really hard on it trying to get every piece of the puzzle figured out and in its correct place. some people thought i was for real psycho, and started asking stuff like, "why is he trying to put this puzzle together anyway? what does it matter?" haha! i'm far from psycho.

yeah, it's a challenge. it probably isn't completely necessary, but you see, in the end - after the long and frustrating hours i've spent (and am still spending) trying to put it all together - i knew i would have a sort of masterpiece. i don't like putting it together - not one bit - because sometimes, it's overwhelmingly draining to work on it. but really, what i've got so far is actually turning out to be really nice. and i think i'll be really happy with the end product.

i already mentioned that piecing this puzzle together has been frustrating. but i will admit that at some point, i expressed my frustrations in a less-than-polite manner: i used expletives. (i remember papa would get hecka mad too when he couldn't figure something out.) i mean, none of those expletives were directed at any passers-by. they just came out while i talked about the puzzle to others or sometimes when i asked people for their help. some people around me thought, "hold on now, there's no need to be frustrated here!"

but you've got to understand that i've had every reason to be frustrated. it's a difficult puzzle! it's been really tough trying to figure out how the pieces are oriented and everything.

but hey, give me one chance to mess up. i've given others a big freebie mess-up. BIG. i've seen other people get frustrated putting puzzles together. and their puzzles weren't even as tough as mine! i mean, my puzzle isn't the absolute worst. mine's like ages 12+. i know people who have puzzles for ages 15+ and even older than that; really up there. but i should be allowed more frustration over mine because some people's were like 2+. mine's hecka harder! AND to top that all off, some people were taking my pieces and hiding them!

but i've been really, really patient trying to put mine together, even despite the people who hid my pieces. i mean, besides that one slip-up, i was really polite and respectful to anybody that tried to hide my pieces. i asked for them back, but they thought i was nuts!!! umm, hello?! you totally took my puzzle pieces! i need them back! and duh! i know it was you who took them!

but i never got them back. sad, but oh well. what can i do? BUT... i'm pretty close to being finished putting everything together. and if i have to paint and cut the missing pieces to fit myself, i guess that's the way it goes. it's kinda hard to do though. i'm not much of an artist, but i've gotten quite a bit of help, so hopefully i'll be able to fit those missing pieces in soon.

i really think it will be nice. i mean, i know it's going to be really nice. and it's not all that bad putting it together. i know that sometimes, it's gotta get really ugly, but before you know it, you'll have something really beautiful and worth every drop of sweat. this puzzle's definitely not the absolute funnest to piece together, but that's because it's going to be extra cool in the end.