Indy Trip

(This is the view from my office window in South Bend - I will really miss some things about this place, especially watching fall creep up right behind my back :)

I had a good trip to Indy on Monday & Tuesday - all of my gen ed requirements are satisified except for 2 science classes :(~ and I had several interviews at employment agencies that went very well. The consensus is that I should have no trouble finding a job, even if I have to take 2 part-time jobs to work around classes...but what to do about insurance...

The biggest blessing was stopping by Redeemer Presbyterian, a church I was referred to by the local Intervarsity guy & have been checking out online. Long story short, the pastor introduced me to the director of the community art center they run and they practically adopted me on the spot - they are passing my resume around, offered me work-study (which I can't afford to take :( ) and are checking to see if anyone has an apartment to rent or needs a roommate. Joanna's (the director) comment was "there's no need to start from scratch when you have a community ready to support & help you." Isn't God good? He's good regardless, but isn't He GOOD?! :)

Camera Photos

Finally got my photos from this summer emailed from my camera phone to my computer! Here are some of my favorites:

Rodin's "Thinker", Meijer Gardens, Grand Rapids

White Tiger at Zoofari, Potawatomi Zoo, South Bend - I went with my friend Amanda to catch some great Irish music from Kennedy's Kitchen and got this beautiful girl as a bonus! This is the exact same pose my cat Oreo assumes when she's hot - here kitty, kitty, kitty! :)

Sibling Day at the Beach - my sister Dawn & I took our little brother Marshall to Tunnel Beach in Michigan, and he conned Dawn into burying him in the sand - this is his "dead" face :)

Girls' Night Out - one last hurrah for the girlfriends before Megan & Ryan left for Argentina - dinner at NoMA (fabulous!) and dessert at Indulgence. We look pretty hot, don't you think?

Notre Dame vs. Michigan St. - my 1st ND game but I hope not my last. Even though they lost, we had a blast, and it was so fun to go with my sister - we sat next to cute friendly guys & got to see the 1st, tho' thankfully not the last, offensive touchdown of the season :)

Ornamental Dandelions

I don't know if this phrase is new or just new to me, but it popped fully formed into my head one day when I saw a lovely little yard, nicely mowed (mown?), with a lone dandelion at the base of a wooden fencepost - tall and waving its sunshine head in the breeze, much as if it had been purposely planted there.

Normally one sees tulips or other such "proper" flowers arranged this way, and I wondered if it had been missed by the mower or if someone had seen beauty and asymmetry in the weed and left it as a paean to the overlooked wonder & grace of common objects that we take for granted.

Anyway, somethimes I feel like that dandelion - terribly common and not very exceptional - and I was reminded that I was created and am seen by a Father who knows my unique beauties and flaws, even in the midst of a sea of dandelions, and I am never overlooked, even when I feel mown down. (Genesis 16 tells the story of Hagar's banishment because of Sarah's jealousy, and as she has given up hope for her life and her son's, Jehovah comes to her with water and a promise. She declares that "Truly here I have seen him who looks after me" and calls that desert place Beer-lahai-roi, "The well of the Living One who sees me.")

My little corner of the world is full of blessings & beauty that remind me of the care of the Living One, if I have the eyes and mind to see them.