photo by Gary Barnes
"It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another,
all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics.

There are no ordinary people.

You have never talked to a mere mortal..."

- C.S. Lewis

Also: My dear Aunt Susan posted this on her blog last summer,
and goodness, it still makes my heart so happy. Susan is the
matriarch of such a sweet family. I know you will agree!

Trying to remember springtime...

When springtime began rolling around, I rejoiced in the green that blanketed the earth. As the weeks went on, I marveled at the growing crops, forgetting what the land looked like without walls of corn stalks. Fireflies appeared, and I experienced the magic of the South.

However, when temperatures are soaring to the 100's, causing both brow and bosom to be embarrassingly caked with sweat, sometimes you just need to kick back and remember the good old days.

Autumn, come soon.

"think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy"

-Anne Frank

***We Are Women Book Giveaway***

Remember how this blog got started? Remember how you submitted your photos and some lovely writers wrote about their experiences as women and Miss Allison put them into a book? Remember about ending Fistula?

Well... Stacey over at Love and Photographs is hosting a giveaway and the We Are Women book is the prize!

Go enter to win a copy!

Or buy your own here!

And thanks for reading!

a day trip to Paris!

Welcome to Paris, Tennessee!

(Not quite Paris, France. Not quite Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face, 
which is what I was aiming for in the picture,

but when you're in the South, you take what you can get!)

"Opportunities don't often come along.

So, when they do, you have to grab them."

~Audrey Hepburn

Image Source

moments that matter most

I feel like time is slipping away.

For weeks-- if not months-- my journal has been sparse. Most entries end with a sigh of exhaustion. I can't remember what has happened during the day, and by the time Monday rolls around, our designated e-mail-the-family day, I struggle to pull even one thought out of my head. 

The moment is gone, which makes me wonder,

Am I taking time to reflect on the joy I have felt here? 

Will I remember the twinkling of fireflies? 

Will I remember sitting on the porch at the end of a hard day, 

basking in the warmth of the humid air? 

Will I remember mowing front lawns, 

itching mosquito bites on my legs, 

and running down the street to escape a summer downpour? 

Will I remember the sadness I have felt as the tears of a friend stained my shoulder? 

Or the joy I have felt as someone finally recognizes divine purpose in their life?

Will I remember what matters most?

Our lives are a collection of stories, truths about who we are, what we believe, what we came from, how we struggle and how we are strong. When we can let go of what people think, and OWN our story, we gain access to our worthiness-the feeling that we are enough just was we are, and that we are worthy of love and belonging.

-Dr. Brene Brown: The Hustle for Worthiness DVD

Photo by Alicia Fish