something beyond ourself.

i love how eugene peterson says this:

“[Imagination] catapults us into mystery. Imagination seems to be the thing least valued in our present culture. There is a lot of attention given to fantasy, but the difference between fantasy and imagination is that in fantasy, the story has us at the center of it, indulging us. Imagination takes us beyond ourselves. There’s not enough of that happening today... Throughout civilization we have lived by stories. Stories draw us into worlds bigger than ourselves. They help us live. Wallace Stegner says that we live by forms and patterns, and if the patterns are wrong, we live badly. Good stories—good fiction, in particular—provide us with good patterns. Every time someone tells a story well, the Gospel is served. Stories invite us to participate, to identify with the characters, to get caught up in the emotion of them.”

it's time for planting.

so plans for the summer are underway. so exciting! we'll see what happens, but it is really is so cool to think about and plan and pray for where God wants me.

i'm excited for this semester and for everything that i can feel God is going to do. i need to get my head on straight and stop living like it's summer, which is so hard to do sometimes. i think it was a hard transition to go right from summer to school since i was in Columbia the whole time... i never came back, never left anywhere, never really got in a different "school" mindset. so that's what i'm trying to do. i'm so ready for princess academy starting up with granny's house. i've been praying lately that God gives me a clearer vision for what he wants me to do with some of the girls this semester. i feel like the relationships that have been formed can go to a whole new level. it's kind of overwhelming; God is making me so uncomfortable with some things which hopefully will be really great for me.

"i have great faith in a seed. convince me that you have a seed there, and i am prepared to expect wonders." -- thoreau.