You See?

It travels too fast to be able to catch,

Yet it stands still.

Its vibrancy can no man match;

An entire chasm it may fill.

At times it may bring pain and exhaustion,

But it may also bring happiness and relief.

Think this could be a notion?

Or some silly belief?

I assure you it is real.

You are enveloped by it now,

Whether or not it is something you currently feel.

One may wonder to himself, how?

But more importantly, what?

How can something be so contradicting?

It may be something to be wanted or something not.

Light, you see, is quite a funny thing.

Trust in Jesus

Despondent or discouraged though I may feel,

Overcome with thoughts of anger, confusion, or sadness I may be,

But to His Word I must go, and before Him I should kneel.

Though I do this, it does not mean He will let me see

The plan he has — the process and result.

Sometimes He wants His children to simply trust in Him.

God must always be the first to consult,

Even when things appear to be only dim.

How can one not trust the One who has given His all?

He not only gave His all to us, but for us.

Although it may not be what we want, we must listen to His call.

True, He is not fair — better yet, He is wholly just.

Who is a Father?

Deeds so great, words so wise, love so beyond reason,

A book must be written to attempt to record all these fantasies…

The prayers fervently given without my knowledge;

The patience in teaching despite the challenge;

The toilsome work and sleepless nights many a time unappreciated;

The scoldings given too great an amount even to be estimated.

The laughs participated in — endless.

The lessons learned — timeless.

The love so lavished, treasured forever.

Not always valued as it should, but unnoticed? Never

A few notions of who a father is…

But these are only an introduction to this book of yours.

God so beautifully designed the cover,

And you have continued to gracefully write it with the help of another.

Time

A dimension, a concept, whatever it may be,

How does it matter to me?

It is a way to measure,

Not something to flippantly use at my leisure.

Something which is indispensable,

Because it is irreplaceable

Stop it you may try,

But I must implore you to heed her cry.

Savor what she may administer

A moment, a minute, or forever.

Although we have not all been given the same amount,

One day we must each give an account.

Beautiful Chaos

Chaos — it seemed to follow me like a dirty matted stray in need of a home. I tell it that it is not wanted — it is not welcome in mine. But, no matter how I try to ward it off— it always finds its way back on my doorstep. Why? I don’t have time for this — I don’t want this and I surely did not ask for it. This is in my way and I need to be rid of it. Chaos continued to sleep at my doorstep and follow me to and from my home every day. Finally, I gave in. Fine, I’ll take the chaos into my life since it won’t leave me alone! A funny thing happened… for when I tangled the mats out of its hair and cleaned it up — it was beautiful — not a mess anymore. Not until I had placed in my life did it turn into something beautiful.

Truth

Truth comes dressed in different forms.

At times, it is plain and clear — unmistakable,

But despite the irony, deceitfulness it oft adorns.

For some may only tell you part of the truth, not the whole.

Truth comes dressed in different colors.

Some news brightens even the darkest of nights,

While other news — the soul it withers.

But may truth bring you more happiness than plights,

For truth, although not always pleasant, is much needed.

Grace Unmasked

Every morning when I wake up I apply two masks —

One to cover the scars on my face

And another to cover the scars on my heart

No one else can see the uncomely flaws

The reality of them I do not have to embrace

These scars are a piece of me which I wish was no part

But at the end of the day, these monstrosities come to light

For I no longer can afford to hide

The scars that are suffocating to break free

And continue to ignore them I might

But these foolish thoughts I must chide

For that is not how my Savior ought it to be

So every morning I shall adorn myself in grace

I shall open my eyes to those around

And see that my hardships are really quite small

Then when I reach the day’s end… I shall still find myself immersed in grace

Favorite Coffee Spots (DC area)

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Once upon a time, there was a girl from the realm of Pennsylvania that was missing out on so much in life, and she didn’t even know it. She traveled all the way to the land of California to discover this magical potion. The beautiful brown liquid substance helped her survive some of her darkest days — college.

Really though, I didn’t like coffee until I started working at a coffee shop in college. Now, I am trying not to drink too much of it! I want to share some of my absolute favorite coffee shops in the Fredericksburg/DC area with my favorite drinks and even snacks. As you will notice, dirty vanilla chai is my go-to drink. 🙂

Downtown Fredericksburg:

Agora — Dirty Vanilla Chai (iced and hot)

Hyperion Espresso — Dirty Vanilla Chai (iced and hot)

Curitiba Art Cafe — Coconut Macchiato (iced)

DC area:

Wydown — Dirty Vanilla Chai & Blueberry Scone

Vigilante — Dirty Vanilla Chai (iced) & Dragon Fruit Acai Bowl

 

Thought you never plagiarized before? Think again

Have you ever plagiarized before? I am sure you are familiar with the term, but I wanted to provide the dictionary definition, “an act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thoughts of another author without authorization and the representation of that author’s work as one’s own, as by not crediting the original author”.

Maybe for some of you, it was an accident, you forgot to give the author credit in your paper or ignorantly re-wrote it too similar to the original. Others of you might have made a stupid mistake and decided to do it to save time on your paper. And that leaves the rest blameless in the area of plagiarizing… or does it?

A thought occurred to me the other day that I plagiarize God. I accomplish something or am praised and I pridefully believe that it is my doing and forget who gave that gift to me. I cheat the author of my life of His work and take the praise for it.

What story am I allowing to be written of me? Am I attributing my accomplishments to the One that gave them to me? May I never forget to whom the credit is due.