Bloom where you are planted.

I can't even begin to explain all the delicious sights and smells that come to mind when I think of my teenage years and those spent with my Great Grandmother. Everything was covered in glitter or smelled of roses (and in most cases - both). A sense of warmth and belonging filled every room as you lost track of time and clocks chimed every 5 minutes.

Probably if I learned anything from my Great Grandmother besides wanting to be exactly like her, I learned about making my small part of life as pleasant as I could by choosing to be happy. She had a small framed picture of this hideous orange flower surrounded by the words "Bloom where you are planted." And that is exactly what she did everyday. Despite the pain she endured, despite the anger of the teenage girl that lived with her, despite her crazy daughters and their unhappy marriages - she woke up happy, put on her lipstick, talked to the birds outside her window and kept smiling the whole day long.

Everything could be fixed with either a cup of coffee and a chat or a coat of glitter.

Who am I to mope or fret? The key to happiness runs in my blood... And tomorrow I plan on putting on lip gloss and conquering the world.

All flesh is grass, fading away.
Only You last, only You remain
All flesh is grass, fading away.


Surely man is like the flower of the field,
And life is but a vapor, at best but a vapor.

I will waste my life I'll be tested and tried
With no regrets inside of me to find I'm at Your feet

I'll leave my father's house and I'll leave my mother
I'll leave all I have known and I'll have no other

I am in love with You There is no cost
I am in love with You There is no loss
I am in love with You I want to take Your name
I am in love with You I want to cling to You Jesus
Just let me cling to You Jesus

I'll say goodbye to my father my mother
I'll turn my back on every other love and
I'll press on yes I'll press on

Lil' Black Thang

Her name was simple... How could you put a handle on something so volatile, spirited, and spontaneous. Nothing owned her - she was her own and she did things her way. And in all reality I just couldn't name her. For the first time in my life - I choked on naming a pet because she just wasn't one. The cat remained nameless instead coming only to "Lil Black Thang". Should I have seen it as the start of a trend in my life?

Today, at work we looked over the meaning of several people's names. I have known mine to be "A Father's Joy" ever since I was little, and honestly never thought it was referring to my earthly father (though he does smile at my abigailisms).

All I want is to be His joy... And yet I have been so indecisive lately, I don't know how to go about that. I guess as long as I keep searching for Him, the indecisiveness will fade, and I will be able to "give the cat a name."

Jesus, here I am your favored one
What are you thinking? What are you feeling?
I have to know...

- Misty Edwards.

Holly Golightly: You know those days when you get the mean reds?
Paul Varjak: The mean reds, you mean like the blues?
Holly Golightly: No. The blues are because you're getting fat and maybe it's been raining too long, you're just sad that's all. The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly you're afraid and you don't know what you're afraid of. Do you ever get that feeling?
Paul Varjak: Sure.
Holly Golightly: Well, when I get it the only thing that does any good is to jump in a cab and go to Tiffany's. Calms me down right away. The quietness and the proud look of it; nothing very bad could happen to you there. If I could find a real-life place that'd make me feel like Tiffany's, then - then I'd buy some furniture and give the cat a name!