Redemption comes in strange places, small spaces, calling out the best of who we are. It comes in small inspirations. It comes in loving community. It comes in helping a soul find its worth. I want to add to the beauty, to tell a better story. I want to shine with the light that's burning up inside. This is grace, an invitation to be beautiful.

You can't understand light unless you understand darkness, because that's where life is most often lived - somewhere between the two. It's messy and it's beautiful all at the same time.
What we must do is to stop regarding unpleasant or unexpected things as interruptions of real life. The truth is that interruptions are real life, the real life that God sends us day by day. What we call our real life is but a phantom of our imagination.

i have what i need

Posted on 1/23/2012 at 3:53:02 AM

orangescarf_littleditties

fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. ~ isaiah 41:10 i am not ready for the spring semester to begin today, but i know that God has given me everything i ...

an anniversary & a birthday

Posted on 1/22/2012 at 7:24:46 AM

maryhat-s

Today is the 2nd anniversary of the start of Mary Richards & Me! Looking back, I realize that a lot has happened during its short lifetime, including several new beginnings and endings, each usually accompanied by a change of address. It has been an unexpected ride, to say the least, but I have definitely had fun ...

Wordless Wednesday: I heart Chi-town

Posted on 1/18/2012 at 10:36:00 AM

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Wordless Wednesday: Puppy Love

Posted on 1/11/2012 at 9:14:46 PM

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You tell me True things

Posted on 1/9/2012 at 11:45:36 AM

youareenough_bdwd

I’m not the clothes I’m wearing I’m not a photograph I’m not the car I drive I’m not the money I make I’m not the things I lack I’m not the songs that I write I am who I am I’m not the house I live in I’m not the man ...

{guest post} music recommendations for the new year by maria forsythe

Posted on 1/3/2012 at 11:35:39 AM

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It’s officially 2012!! Have you made your New Year’s resolutions? Are you excited for this upcoming year? It’s great to finally meet 2012, but, unfortunately, Christmas is over. Say goodbye to Christmas. It’s time to take your tree down and stop Christmas caroling. Honestly, I am okay that Christmas will not come again for 12 months, but ...

Happy New Year!

Posted on 1/1/2012 at 5:37:54 PM

gazing_bdwd

from this one place I can't see very far in this one moment I'm square in the dark these are the things I will trust in my heart you can see something else something else ~ Sara Groves, "From This One Place" I am already excited about 2012. Of course, I don't know exactly ...

Thirty.

Posted on 12/29/2011 at 8:26:44 PM

classickiss_bbb

Thirty years ago today, my parents got married. December 29, 1981. It was in between semesters of my dad's second year of law school in Indiana. My mom hadn't started her masters degree yet and was working at a bank in Illinois. Now, 30 years later, my dad is a lawyer (he works as Senior Counsel here), ...

so this is Christmas*…

Posted on 12/29/2011 at 12:32:44 AM

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...in the Forsythe household: Enjoy more pics from the past week, including the Christmas Eve service we attended at Parkview (1 of 7 over 3 days, each of which started with a rousing Trans-Siberian Orchestra-esque performance of favorite carols and ended with a beautiful candlelit rendition of Silent Night), Christmas Eve dinner at our house, and ...

{guest post}* a christmas reflection by lauren bobbitt

Posted on 12/26/2011 at 6:20:06 PM

snowflake_ib

*As an exciting addition to this blog in 2012, I intend to feature a variety of guest bloggers on any number of interesting topics, possibly including a special thematic series or two along the way (stay tuned!). Even though we're still a few days away from the new year, I'm starting the guest posts early ...