"They Call Me Heartbreaker"

"Now listen to me baby,
before I love and leave you:
They call me Heartbreaker.
I don't wanna deceive you.

If you fall for me,
I'm not easy to please;
I might tear you apart.
Told you from the start, baby, from the start:

I'm only gonna break break your break break your heart."

"The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."
~Psalm 34:18

What's on Your Nightstand -- February

• The Bible

Recently I've been studying influential women of the Bible; this month I focused on Bathsheba. Instead of approaching her story with a condemning attitude of *ahhh! adulteress!*, I enjoyed seeing how God was merciful towards Bathsheba though the consequences of her sin remained, and also how God restored Bathsheba despite her sin and David's sin that had caused great destruction.

• Divine Moments: Everyday Inspiration from God's Word Edited by Michael Needham at Tyndale House Publishers

The devotions in this small book are short yet meaningful. Each day there's a focus word; these words range from "adoption" and "angels" to "wisdom" and "worship." Several verses are listed and a short written blurb to explain the connection between the word of the day and God's Word.

• Unspoken: Bathsheba by Francine Rivers

This book is fourth in the Lineage of Grace series. Biblical women who are featured in the other novellas of the series include Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Mary. A mini Bible study on Bathsheba is included at the end.

• Holler if you Hear Me: The Education of a Teacher and His Students by Greg Michie

I'm still in the process of reading this book. It's part of the Teaching for Social Justice Series and is a perfect read for me considering my interest in teaching in the urban school setting.

• Baby Proof by Emily Giffin
  
• Something Blue by Emily Giffin

These two novels were simply "read for pleasure" books. They comprise some of my FaVoRiTe chick-lit to date and had great lessons on self-discovery and love for the modern woman. I may publish a review of sorts at a later date for Baby Proof.

Two books that I hope to read in March:

• Ruth: Loss, Love, and Legacy by Kelly Minter (I couldn't find this at Barnes and Noble or Books-A-Million. Let me know if you have any ideas as to where I could find this!)
• Quiverfull: Inside the Christian Patriarchy Movement by Kathryn Joyce

Cruise on over to 5 Minutes for Books and participate in their monthly blog carnival at What's on Your Nightstand? and share the latest books that are gracing your bedside table this month. :-)

Tiny Talk Tuesday

Mary @ Not Before 7 hosts a blog carnival called Tiny Talk Tuesday every week so that parents can record and share the funny things their children say throughout the week. While I'm not a mother, I have lots of little people in my life, so when I came across her blog I decided it'd be fun to participate.

This is one quote that I recorded in a post a couple of weeks ago:

• One little two year-old at the daycare center were I substitute teach was sitting beside her friend, squishing up against her and causing the other little girl to scoot away. "Honey, I don't bite!" this little tiny toddler exclaimed to her friend. (FYI, this is the same tiny tot who tried to check ME for a poopy diaper.)
  

And a second quote, different day, same classroom of toddlers:

• Little A---- is a sassy two year-old. To get a sampling of this tiny diva's sense of fashion, click the bedazzled logo below. For no particular reason and to no one in particular, (and with HEAPS of attitude) A---- spouts off, "Ewwww das nassy!!" She then promptly flounces off in her 2T Apple Bottom Jeans with a flick of her little curly ponytail. For those of you who don't do toddler-speak, that was, "Ewwww that's nasty!"

Head over to Not Before 7 to read more Tiny Talk Tuesdays!

Teach Me

To learn about the meaning behind Truth-Light-Hammer-Fire posts, click over here. To see posts by the blogger who designed this theme, head over to Life on Sylvan Drive.

Wordless Wednesday

{Painting in The Church of the Advocate. North Philly, April 2009}

A Light Has Dawned

Blogging extraordinaire Davene at Life on Sylvan Drive creates and posts a photo and Biblical text combination every Sunday to celebrate and remember God's words. Truth, light, hammer, and fire are all words that God uses to describe God's words. Jump over here if you want a more in-depth description of the purpose for the Truth-Light-Hammer-Fire posts, and of course, go to Life on Sylvan Drive to read the posts of the blogger who actualized this theme.




I took this picture in Guatemala in August of 2008. I had hiked down this deep ravine/hole in the ground. Looking down from ground level, everything was pitch black except for a few candles that some of the local indigenous people had lit during their worship. As I hiked down further, I could smell the scent of burning incense. Nearing the bottom, I looked upward and was FLOORED by the beauty of the light streaming in rays from above. How fitting, I thought, that light can filter through the darkness and change it, but darkness can not be seen streaming into the light. The rays were truly so thick and radiant that they were just as distinct when I walked right through them on my way back up to the ground's surface.

This verse, which can also be found in Matthew 4:16, has been one of my recent favorites, and I thought this picture was a fitting representation of seeing a great Light after dwelling in the shadows.

Blizzard of February 2010

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the exciting weather we've been experiencing recently. While I love the appearance of snow, I do NOT love being housebound. Of course, safety is the hugest issue; for this reason, schools have been cancelled, including university classes. The second of the two major back-to-back snowstorms hit the north a bit harder, so my friends at Messiah and Temple are even more swamped at this point than we are in VA.


One very eventful blizzard for our family was the blizzard of 1993. This young lady made her debut into the world on that snowy Ides of March.



And she's been challenging the snow ever since ;-)

My mom had to ride part of the way to the hospital on a tractor. How's that for a hot ride in a luxury vehicle?

One thing that has struck me in particular this storm is how much the snow reminds me of sand! The winds have been especially treacherous, so the snow drifts and dunes much like sand. As the wind makes the snow blow across the roads, the white dusty powder has that wispy, swirling effect of blowing sand, and when the gusts are EsPeCiAlLy strong, I feel like I'm driving through a sandstorm. When I don't have the protection of my car, the blowing snow stings my face the same as the dry, loose sand does at the beach.

Aahhh...the beach. Reality is, this snow is snow. And all of this white stuff is piled SO HIGH in places that perhaps it won't disappear until the ice caps thaw.

Wordless Wednesday

Halloween 2006
No words needed.

Not Me Monday

MckMama at mycharmingkids.net began this little cathartic exercise in which bloggers can admit their imperfections and less proud moments under the pretense that, no, of course I did not do that. Hop on over to her blog to see even more Not Me Mondays. Most of her followers are mothers, but hey...as much time as I've spent with the 5-and-under population, I may as well be, right? Oh alright, perhaps not, but sometimes it feels that way.

In the past week I have certainly NOT replaced a well-balanced meal with a coffee smoothie of sorts just about...um...daily. No, certainly not me.

I have not consistently stayed up 'til the wee hours of the morning writing, reading, drawing, photo editing, etc. AND (horror of horrors), watching TV. IrreSPONsible!!!

I do NOT look forward to the daily paper so I can complete the crossword in the puzzle section. My love affair with language and mental challenges would NOT propel me that far into the geek category.

That's all I can think of for now, but if you'd like to play along, just hop on over to My Charming Kids and join the fun! ;-)

Little Mimics

I am a parrot. I will repeat everything you say.

I never cease to be amazed at the "copy cat" quality that preschool children possess. truly miniature adults. or attempting to be. The fact that children are like sponges and pick up little nuances from their environments as well as habits and mannerisms from the adults who are important in their lives is a bit....daunting...to say the least. I've observed some not-so-positive results of children emulating behaviors that are not desirable; however, today I was thinking of some instances in which this characteristic is quite amusing and endearing.

Last week one little two year-old at the daycare center was sitting beside her friend, squishing up against her and causing the other little girl to scoot away. "Honey, I don't bite!" this little tiny toddler exclaimed to her friend.

Another two year-old arranged her grapes on her napkin at snack time in the same way that they sit at group time: all the grapes were in a line (like the kids sit against the wall) with one grape in front of them (the teacher). She proceeded to sing, "The More We Get Together" just like we do at the beginning of group time.

One time my friend's four year-old niece told me I was pregnant and should lie down on the bed. After I laid down, she went to the foot of the bed and proceeded to pretend to "catch the baby"...from my feet.

While children's attempts in mimicking after learning by observation are not always completely accurate, I love observing them and being amazed at their memories, what experiences make an impact on them, and how they view the world that they live in.

Blog Title Explained

So...why Musings Aloud? and..grace notes? What's that supposed to mean?

So glad you asked ;-). Actually, some of you did inquire.

According to merriam-webster.com, musings are "meditations."

I'm a very contemplative person. Very rarely does anything come out of my mouth or manifest itself in an action without being thoroughly thought through (how's THAT for alliteration). Because I do thoughtfully consider my words and actions, I prefer to express myself in writing rather than impromptu speech, making sure everything sounds JUST the way I intend it to sound. Perfectionist? Perhaps. Sometimes my mental musings are so deep that I don't notice the silence around me due to the thoughts flowing in my mind at a conversational decibel.

This explains the musing part of my blog title, and the aloud portion simply refers to the recording of those thoughts. No longer do they just take up residence in my mind, but they're written and fleshed out in this virtual world known as the bLoGoSpHeRe.

On to the subtitle: grace notes. This ties in my musical background, as grace notes indicate a type of musical ornamentation. Also, grace refers to the undeserved favor, or mercy, that I need daily and is reflected in these "notes" that I write. Hopefully what I write can be a celebration of this chance of redemption given as an outpouring of God's love on humanity.

So, there you are my lovely (thought scant in number) readers! Blog title ExPlAiNeD.