...whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ... And the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4: 8 -9
What is my only comfort in life and in death? That I am not my own, but belong—body and soul, in life and in death—to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.
~Heidelberg Catechism
Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.
~Mary Oliver
I must consume the abundance of moments now. Days I am overwhelmed, wanting to write the music of my life in a slower tempo … yet this is the glorious dance of now.
So I shall dance in bare feet. For I am on holy ground.
~Ann Voskamp "A Holy Experience"
To do the useful thing, to say the courageous thing, to contemplate the beautiful thing: that is enough for one man's life.
~ T.S. Eliot
A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.
~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
To live is so startling, it leaves little room for other occupations.
~Emily Dickinson
I believe in God as I believe that the Sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.
~ C. S. Lewis
Remember this. When people choose to withdraw far from a fire, the fire continues to give warmth, but they grow cold. When people choose to withdraw far from light, the light continues to be bright in itself but they are in darkness. This is also the case when people withdraw from God.
~ Augustine
Hello, sun in my face. Hello you who made the morning and spread it over the fields...Watch, now, how I start the day in happiness, in kindness.
~ Mary Oliver
The seed is in the ground. Now may we rest in hope while darkness does its work.
~ Wendell Berry
Nothing will sustain you more potently than the power to recognize in your humdrum routine the true poetry of life.~ Sir William Osler
But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts, and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.
~George Eliot's final sentence in Middlemarch
If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy. If it were merely challenging, that would be no problem. But I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.
~ E.B. White
Geese appear high over us, pass, and the sky closes. Abandon, as in love or sleep, holds them to their way, clear, in the ancient faith: what we need is here. And we pray, not for new earth or heaven, but to be quiet in heart, and in eye clear. What we need is here.~~ "The Wild Geese" Wendell Berry
Let it come, as it will, and don’t be afraid. God does not leave us comfortless, so let evening come.
~ Jane Kenyon from "Let Evening Come"
You can only come to the morning through the shadows.~ J.R.R. Tolkien
If you want to identify me, ask me not where I live, or what I like to eat, or how I comb my hair, but ask me what I am living for, in detail, ask me what I think is keeping me from living fully for the thing I want to live for. ~ Thomas Merton
This life therefore is not righteousness,
but growth in righteousness,
not health but healing,
not being but becoming,
not rest but exercise.
We are not yet
what we shall be,
but we are growing toward it.
The process is not finished
but it is going on.
This is not the end
but it is the road.
~Martin Luther
Ten times a day something happens to me like this - some strengthening throb of amazement - some good sweet empathic ping and swell. This is the first, the wildest and the wisest thing I know: that the soul exists and is built entirely out of attentiveness.
~ Mary Oliver
Love isn’t a function of communication so much as Love is a function of communion.
~ Ann Voskamp
It is not your love that sustains the marriage —
but from now on, the marriage that sustains your love.
~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer
She has done what she could...
~Mark 14:8
What do you mean? Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good on this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?~ J. R. R. Tolkien from The Hobbit
Ah, Emily, your writing is so wonderfully crafted that I usually read it for content, forgetting that what drew our little group together was mutual support within that craft. No, don’t expect me to point out a weakness; I detect none, but for the writers who may be priviledged to follow me in reading this, I want to point out how you “violated” a rule that too many consider holy.
I had never seen the word “anencephalic” in my life, which I’m sure doesn’t surprise you. Ordinary writers and ordinary writing teachers would say never use a generally-unknown word without immediately explaining it. But you courageously used it and, within the flow of your narrative, explained the condition the adjective describes with gentle candor. This is a powerful piece; had you pandered to the average reader and taken time to define the word, much of that power would have dissipated. So I commend you for excellent writing and for sharing a heart-rending experience.
Quite often in writing workshops, especially on songwriting, somebody will preach “stay away from words outside the fifth or seventh or whatever grade level vocabulary. I counter such strictness with the brilliant use of the word “Jambalaya” in a Hank Williams song, indeed, in the TITLE. MAYBE one percent of the American population outside of Louisiana, South Mississippi, and East Texas had ever heard that word before they heard Hank’s song, yet he used it in the context of the story in such a way that, even if you didn’t know EXACTLY what Cajun dish it was, you got the idea. Aren’t we glad Hank hadn’t had an opportunities to learn all the rules!!!
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Both disturbing and profoundly kind
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My first baby had anencephaly and died during birth. We held her and loved her. We still do, always will.
Thank you so much for this piece.
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Reblogged this on Barnstorming and commented:
A reminder this weekend of the value of all life, no matter how small, how seemingly insignificant, and how brief…
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Emily, what a wonderful piece that I missed the first time around. You captured, perfectly, the sanctity of life. Thank you.
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Oh the tragic consequences of the fall.
Oh the glorious expectations of grace.
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What an amazing experience. My sister in law did this critical neonatal care, also. So strong is the will to live.
YOU are amazing…
…
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Emily
I am so enjoying your blog–filled with incredible poetry and sights into the heart and the world we live in. So beautiful. I look forward each time I see Barnstorming appear on my email. This piece is so very heart opening. Kathy
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God truly lives in your heart. God must have wept in sorrow but also wept for joy that one of His beloved children came home. AMEN
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Thank you for sharing this holy, privileged experience. Beautiful.
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Your mind, heart and soul have touched me, and I grieve and give thanks for you, and what you share, with joy in your revelation of love.
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