This time of year…with the rain coming in, nights getting darker, the air getting cooler, days getting quicker…I can’t help but get excited for Christmas. And with the fast approaching days of the Christmas season come the thoughts and dreams of family traditions. Stockings hung by the fireplace, decorating the tree, singing Christmas carols around the piano or jamming out to a Pentatonix Christmas album in the car. My heart sparkles at the thought of cheesy Christmas movies or books by the fire’s glow…warm cups of cocoa made just right…my favorite decorations we put out every year (like the Christmas villages with their sparkling lights!). I think about the foods that warm our bellies every Christmas morning, the soft pjs full of Christmas cheer that we don each Christmas eve…and most of all, I think of the beautiful candlelight Christmas Eve service which reminds us of our savior, His miraculous conception, and the beautiful and gracious gift of His birth. As I reflect on...
“We do not want merely to see beauty, though, God knows, even that is bounty enough. We want something else which can hardly be put into words — to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it.” - C.S. Lewis I came upon this C.S. Lewis quote last year and have been thinking about it recently. Our longing for beauty is not just a longing to witness something beautiful, but a desire to actually participate actively, fully, with it. Perhaps in doing so we become, ourselves, beautiful. What a wonderful image for what it means to behold beauty. To behold is to participate in, to grasp, to display, to mingle with. As we immerse ourselves in it's glory we unite with beauty itself. As a theatre artist and writer, I desire to craft beautiful work. To tell stories with quality artistic execution. Beginning with my childhood love of the ocean, ornate books, and wildflowers, I have always been drawn to beauty, especially...
As I approach graduation, I am often faced with the question, "Are you ready?" Well meaning friends and family, or my own mind, ask me this question repeatedly. Honestly, I struggle to know the answer. Am I ready? Will I get everything done before graduation? Will I ever feel ready to spread my wings and fly into the next season of adulthood? I am honestly not the most qualified judge of my own readiness. I struggle sometimes in the midst of challenge and change to believe in myself and my capabilties. But I have been blessed this semester to be encouraged and pushed by the tough love of my professors. I was consistently behind in assignments for journalism and trying to communicate with my professor in order to convince myself that I could complete everything, despite the looming lack of time. Despite my efforts, I don't know that I really believed I could do it all. "You'll get it done. I know you will," said Melanie, my journalism professor, with simpl...
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