and the violin played on...

and the violin played on...
Originally uploaded by krisde.

the kegs chased them away...

the kegs chased them away...
Originally uploaded by krisde.

joy!

joy!
Originally uploaded by krisde.

Walking down the beach (a.k.a. the aisle)

Walking down the beach (a.k.a. the aisle)
Originally uploaded by krisde.

foreground: Johanna and Jim Thrall
background, left to right: Genevieve, me, Elizabeth, Lisa, Jenny, Justin, Mr Wooley, Sir Robert, Lord Thomas, Chris, Adam, Matt, Dwight

Annunciation

Annunciation

Salvation to all that will is nigh;
That All, which always is all everywhere,
Which cannot sin, and yet all sins must bear,
Which cannot die, yet cannot choose but die,
Lo, faithful virgin, yields Himself to lie
In prison, in thy womb; and though He there
Can take no sin, nor thou give, yet He will wear,
Taken from thence, flesh, which death's force may try.
Ere by the spheres time was created, thou
Wast in His mind, who is thy Son and Brother;
Whom thou conceivst, conceived; yea thou art now
Thy Maker's maker, and thy Father's mother;
Thou hast light in dark, and shutst in little room,
Immensity cloistered in thy dear womb.

-John Donne

We read this poem at bible study monday night, along with a few others [poems] that were awesome as well. i love the wording, the playfulness and interchangeable words and meanings, the twists in perspective it throws at you. then Freya and Jarred came into town en route to Santa Fe. We read this poem over side by side milkshakes at steak n shake at 11 o'clock at night. It was a blast to see them. i am getting used to (delightedly so!) having people wander in and out, dropping in for a visit of several hours or several days. i always wish they or i could stay and be longer, but it is always well all the same. and i have increasing hope and joy at the prospect - the very likely prospects! - of seeing them again soon.
which brings to mind the last weekend, the Spirit-filled celebration with Johanna and Sir Robert as they were married amid family, friends, pelicans, ocean waves, strips of sandy beach, wild horses, white daisys, pink roses, a green dolphin and a lady by the name of drake and the seventh heaven. the festivities were ushered in with cigars and rum and hottubs and funeral games out of the Iliad and bad chick flicks and country karaoke, and ushered out with bubbles and pink glitter glue and 2 kegs chasing them away.

i loved it. i danced, i laughed, but i didn't cry.

stay tuned: photos may soon appear.

new job, good job?

Hello fellow bloggers and friends and family.
so, i have news!
i have officially turned in my resignation from Tower Hill Insurance Group. (yes, i know some of you are cheering already!) I feel pretty good about it. I am going to work at Ashland, Inc. It's an oil company (Valvoline). Well, this is almost irrelevant. I mean, I don't care per se that I am working for an oil company. I think it is a move up from insurance, but... I'm not thrilled either. However, I think the job will be an improvement on all fronts: salary, benefits, job responsibilities, opportunities, practical experience. As for co-workers, my new boss goes to my church, which is an advantage- I know him and know he is a great person. However, I will feel pretty young and inexperienced- everyone I will work with has been with the company for at least 7-10 years. I will be a young newcomer. Furthermore, this place is an office metropolis. That also scares me. Office Space is becoming my world... yikes. This has never been my dream. (if only i knew what it is i dream of!)
As for the job itself, the actual title is "Secretary D" - basically, I will be analyzing financial data/budgeting reports; drafting Excel spreadsheets, charts, and graphs; creating Power Point presentations for the executives; doing internet research about the oil market and the competition; managing the schedules of 4-6 people in my department; and assisting other secretaries with misc stuff. AND there is minimal phone requirements- maybe I'll take messages from my boss' wife, so not a big deal. That is probably the best part... people won't be rude and mean and emotional over the phone with me every hour.

kudos to:
lex friend jennifer for recommending i apply for this job and telling me about it; sjc friend joseph for buying a plane ticket to come see me the weekend of my birthday; lex friend kelly for having me over for margaritas on cinco de mayo, good times; God for the nice weather and answered prayer for a new job!

antithesis

"During a British conference on comparative religions, experts from around the world debated what, if any, belief was unique to the Christian faith. They began eliminating possibilities. Incarnation? Other religions had different versions of gods appearing in human form. Resurrection? Again, other religions had accounts of return from death. The debate went on for some time until C. S. Lewis wandered into the room. "What's the rumpus about?" he asked, and heard in reply that his colleagues were discussing Christianity's unique contribution among world religions. Lewis responded, "Oh, that's easy. It's grace."

After some discussion, the conferees had to agree. The notion of God's love coming to us free of charge, no strings attached, seems to go against every instinct of humanity. The Buddhist eight-fold path, the Hindu doctrine of karma, the Jewish covenant, and Muslim code of law - each of these offers a way to earn approval. Only Christianity dares to make God's love unconditional. "

-interested? www.christiancounterculture.com
-what do you think? let's chat.

no, i didn't write this, but i can at least pray it

Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee;
Take my moments and my days, let them flow in ceaseless praise.

Take my hands, and let them move at the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet, and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee.

Take my voice, and let me sing always, only, for my King.
Take my lips, and let them be filled with messages from Thee.

Take my silver and my gold; not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect, and use every power as Thou shalt choose.

Take my will, and make it Thine; it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own; it shall be Thy royal throne.

Take my love, my Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure store;
Take myself, and I will be ever, only, all for Thee.

-"Take My Life and Let It Be" by Frances R. Havergal

ICHTHUS

well the festival is over. it was an interesting year - there was sun, dust, rain, mud, lightning, and snow. Yes,... SNOW. What is wrong with Kentucky? It's 1 week from MAY... why the heck is it 35 degrees and SNOWING?! Needless to say, that was the only moment that it was sort of miserable. Jo and I decided to leave early on Saturday, around 8:45pm. We didn't really care to see Michael W. Smith anyway... lol. The sad thing was that Audio Adrenaline got cancelled Friday night due to the hour long+ storm that swept through. Other than that, weekend was loads of fun. Great music, great messages, great fellowship. Bands Jo and/or I made a point to check out included:
/Sanctus Real /Mali /Skillet /Newsboys /Charlie Hall /Relient K /Tait /By the Tree /Todd Agnew /Watermark /Selah /Chasing Victory /Hawk Nelson /Insyderz /Roper / The Elms /

so not too shabby.

and to share some good lyrics from a group I got to listen to, Roper (for all you FIF fans...), check it out below. (www.roperisdumb.com)

"Quicksilver"
On Friday night I came awake like an alarm clock
Some shaking junkie's begging out on the sidewalk
And I could not allow my eyes
to meet his deep fear that my soul may still betray me
As if my will had always kept me steady
as if I hadn't caved in already

[Chorus:]
Quicksilver, quicksilver
Shadows dodge and fade
something less than why we're made

This vacant emptiness,
this hollow is eating
stabs through my side like thorns, so defeating
The glint of gold, sparks of silver, shining
the slightest breath of why we're pining
We take the crumbs like our hearts are at peace
We are far too easily pleased

I need this burning inside me
this brilliant aura, this electricity
I'm being haunted by spectres of what might be
of imperfections, of nearness to beauty
As life butchers, so sweet yet so sickening
we have betrayed, for each tiny flickering

countdown.

a swingin experience

i had an interesting experience saturday night.

once upon a time, i learned how to dance, thanks to some very great partners (my debt to brett, anton, and joseph primarily for that!) So after missing those monthly waltzes at st john's, i went in search of swing dance venues in lexington (albeit without any learned partners). i came across a swing group at the university of ky and decided to recruit unassuming and innocent friends to tag along... (what were they thinking!) the venue was supposed to be a combined effort of two college campuses: both uk and transylvania, a college also in downtown lexington. so we showed up.

first bad sign: it was being held in a gymnasium no larger than the one at st. john's.
second bad sign: upon entering about 15 people were spotted, comprised of 2 kids that looked like they were in middle school and everyone else was over the age of 55.
oh my.

we stuck around for lessons from mike and mary (or was it mork and mindy?), and it was amusing (and simple for me) to say the least. Here I was, dancing with old men and high school students. There was this one fella who was quite a good dancer. Upon asking him, "do you go to UK?" his response was "no, I go to lexington christian [high school]" -- ahh, the truth comes out. In fact, the entire night, i failed to find ONE student from EITHER the university of ky or transylvania. i felt a bit deceived, after all, wasn't this sponsored by college campuses?? well, it's not like my friends or I were students either, but... we're not high schoolers and we're not senior citizens.

conversations on the dance floor went like this:
"have you and your wife been dancing long?"
"where do you plan on going to college?"
"do you speak english?"

and their responses or conversation starters were like:
"I was a dancer back in the day, but that was a long time ago."
"There's a nice young fella I'd like to hook you up with"
"I don't know what I'm doing"
"heh heh heh"

yea, it was a riot. I did "dance the night away" - until 10:30pm, bedtime for middle schoolers and elderly alike. My feet were tired, and my one relief was having 2 girls and 1 guy my age, people I recruited to come from my church, to dance with and teach a few moves to. The guy from church learned to dance in Texas, so he had no idea how to do the 6 beat steps, but he knew how to spin. and he was wearing a cowboy hat and boots, and was the heartthrob of a hispanic 6th grader. oh, it was a riot indeed.

so was it worth it? absolutely. it was fun, but even more, it was funny. kudos to my five friends for being such great sports about it, and not minding dancing with 60 year old men and 16 year old boys. and, i must confess, i did learn something new- the foxtrot. yipee!
Plus, who wouldn't pay the $5 just to watch 4-ft tall elderly hispanic couples with no rhythm dancing together?

peek-a-boo

peek-a-boo
Originally uploaded by krisde.

even alyosha likes sunroofs

It was depressing.

isn't it interesting

isn't it interesting how no one knows if i exist- that is, am present- or not

i posted the lyrics to 'life and love and why' because they have struck me recently. particularly of late it has been 'this monstrosity... cause my futile thinking's/not gonna solve/nothing tonight'
i find myself getting in a pattern of futile thinking. i wander in my wondering about the who's and the what's (and the when's) of my future (props to Derek Webb) and neglect to abide in Him. the largest plague that has blackened my thoughts is where do i go from here? why, i wonder, do i feel no direction or passion or interest above and beyond the normal interests of hobbies and novelties and typical pursuits of a college grad, or a Johnnie? besides reading and photography and writing and conversing and traveling... i have nothing. it's a waiting game i don't like, because i call it a game when it's not, it's the life that i am leading. i'm not a set of dice, rolling on chance, perhaps snake eyes, odds or evens, because this is not reality. but it feels like reality most days when i wake up. somedays, the unpredictability is thrilling, otherdays only frustrating. sight and knowledge 'through a glass darkly' is that way i guess.

but then there is the bliss... life can be new... and, perhaps, the wander in wondering should cease, and transform to fixated wonder on the Wonderful.
(perhaps i find that logical conclusion, but i can't always live out my logic)

I also posted those lyrics because Switchfoot rocks my world on a regular basis, and here is proof.

Life and Love and Why

Life and love and why
Child, adult, then die
All of your hoping and
All of your searching
For what
Ask me for what am I
Living or what gives
Me strength
That I'm willing to die for

Take away from me
This monstrosity
Cause my futile thinking's
Not gonna solve
Nothing tonight
Ask me for what am I
Living or what gives
Me strength
That I'm willing to die for
Could it be this
Could this be bliss
Could it be all that I
Ever had missed
Could it be true
Can life be new
And can I be used
Can I be used

Give me a reason for life
And for death
And a reason for
Drowning while I hold
My breath
Something to laugh at a
Reason to cry
With everyone hopeless
And hoping for something
To hope for
Yeah, with something
To hope for

Could it be true
Can life be new
Could it be all that I am
Is in You
Could it be this
Could it be bliss
Can it be You
Can it be You

-Switchfoot