snapshots

I want to remember two moments from today.

First, a moment from our Chambers service at Zion this morning.  In the song "I love the Lord", one line says, "Oh let my heart no more despair, while I have breath to pray," and when we sing it, I can feel the despair just as much as the overcoming.  At that moment, I looked up and saw a father swinging his three-year-old daughter by the hands out in the hall, back and forth.  And the look of delight on her face perfectly matched what I imagined the song to mean.

And second, the moment during our Chambers evening concert when Nels ducked in the back door of the sanctuary while we were singing a hymn.  It wasn't the way I thought we would welcome him home from Guatemala, but it still made this run-through of "We Sing to You, O God" the happiest ever.  :)

springtime glory

I stared a little too long at an almost impertinently violet tree today.  It stared back with flippant confidence, daring me to reach that same shade of shocking purple.

These days I am constantly amazed at the life that is bursting forth from the earth.  I was captivated by the trees by the outdoor track -- delicate light pink blossoms birthing deep red leaves, all over the tree, each one down the line the same.  Nature blows my mind.

The little things make me glad to be alive.  Like the music games I played with my violin student today (and the inside-joke Easter basket she gave me); like the promise of many church services and a bonfire this weekend; like lying on a couch late at night and laughing with my roommate.
It is good to be alive, it is good to be here.