Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Afraid but Content


Today is the last day of April.

April has been a good month for me. I have grown in ways I cannot express. I have had nights where I was up until midnight on my knees, pouring my heart out to God. I have had days overflowing with joy and crazy love and happiness. I have had great talks with great friends about great things!! But mostly, I have had peace.

Peace amid the storm.

Crazy, right?

I don't think so.

See, my life is kind of at a turning point. In several ways.






First of all, my book is almost ready to send to a publisher. I mean, like days away. The last few steps are creeping up on me and will be done before I can blink an eye. Or two, for that matter.

Second, God has been doing some scary stuff in my life. Opening doors I never thought would open, bringing people into my life I never thought would come, changing things I never thought would change... In short, He is flipping me upside down, shaking me till my pockets empty, and setting me back up again. It's good to be rid of the baggage and trust Him with everything...but I am scared to death. He is Mighty and He is doing Miracles... in my life. Yikes. With God, anything can happen. And that is almost as scary as it is wonderful.





But it is more wonderful.

And that is why I have peace. Though all this crazy, awesome, terrifying stuff is happening to me, I know He is in control and knows what He is doing and that every little detail that He has worked out {and let me tell you, He has worked out some pretty masterful ones} are for a specific plan. Thank goodness. Otherwise I think I would go crazy.

Naw, pretty sure I am crazy. But that is beside the point.

I think.

Actually, I can't remember the point.

:{

:P

~_* {my favorite winking guy, as always}

Anyway, I am super excited to see what May holds for me. Each new day is the start of a glorious adventure and I can't wait to get into them. Life is exciting, eh?!!?!!? Exhilarating.... that is my word. It has a funny story behind it. But it is my word and it will always be my word.

I am exhilarated.

<3


 



Monday, April 29, 2013

Don't Forget!!!!


The Photo Challenge will begin Wednesday, May 1st. Don't forget to spread the word. The more people involved, the more fun this will be!!! Tell your friends, distant relatives, maybe even a few enemies.... ~_*

For those of you who did not see the original post, here are the rules for entering!!


 




1. be a follower of My Unicorn Has Wings. {how cliché is that, eh? but hey, some things ought to be. ~_*}
2. post your photo's to your blog and make sure you identify that it is for the challenge!!
3. have tons and tons of fun
4. all photo's must be originals that YOU took FOR the challenge
5. please, make sure you send me your link to your blog and the picture so that I can MAKE sure and get them!!


The categories are super fun!!


1: a bridge. hopefully a cool one. if not, any ol' bridge will do.

2: something purple. because that is my favorite color. and I want to see lots of it. :D {hehe}

3: your pet {don't have one? borrow one.}
4: you and a book. any way you want it. just a picture of you and a book {or two, or three, or 300.}

5: happiness in a jar. you know. could be anything. as long as it's in a jar. maybe chocolate. or jellybeans. or socks. whatever.

6: sunshine. be creative. portray it in a new light. {yes, that was a pun.} find something cool.

I can't wait to see all the awesome pictures. My judging team {to be revealed later} is going to have so much fun!! :D

There will be a prize too! The winner will receive an original drawing by me of one of their pictures {their pick}.

{Samples of my drawings? Check here and here and here.}

The first picture is due May 1st - May 5th.

:D Have fun!!!! I sure will.


 


Thursday, April 25, 2013

The Glories of the Sky


 
 
 
 
 
 
I took each of these pictures, about a year ago. The sky stuns me. It always has. It always will. A piece of wild, untamed beauty that no one will ever be able to control....



Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Journey

 
 

I pick up my pencil and stare at the blank page of notebook paper. There is so much to write, but I cannot find the words. A deep blue sky hovers over me, warm breezes tickle my skin, and I glance around from my perch in the old oak tree. For a moment I let the moment just suck me in, pull me apart, and fill me with wonder. Then I turn my notebook over and flip through the pages scrawled with smudged lead. One page is illegible, stained with tears. Another is half torn where I ripped out the writing I could not bear to erase or keep. This is my journey. A sigh expands my chest and I try to catch it and stuff it back. It won’t let me. When it escapes, a part of me does too. This notebook, this story…this is me. It stares back at me, reminding me of all the days I spent alone. I set my jaw and flip the notebook over again, smooth out the clean, fresh page, and lift my pencil. Today is different. Today is sweet and beautiful. The only tears I could shed are those of joy. I want to write something new. Words slide through my mind and I scrawl against the ledger lines, watch the swirls and curls of my letters form against the indigo line.

 
For so many years I was alone. I felt abandoned, forgotten, and helpless to stop it.
What could I do in the face of such hopelessness? There was no escape.
I was trapped and no one was there to sever my chains.
 

I don’t want it to start so sad. But it has to. How can you explain the depth of joy when you cannot feel the cavernous pain? But I know where it is going. I look up and watch the sun break from behind a puffy cloud. Sparkling rays dance on the paper, on the green leaves, through the shimmering air, over the rustling prairie grass. Memories flood me.


I held my heart in my own hand. It was broken, crushed by an aged care, and I was too afraid to let it go, too afraid it could never be fixed. I could not do it.
When I clutched it, I could control my heart. I was bound to it and the rulings it kept and needed. But no one could have it. And no one could fix it.
Weary time crept by and sharp edges wore down.
Fear filled me. Fear that I would never be made whole. Fear of letting go to be healed.
As the days passed, I began to see there was more out there than loss. There was more than brokenness and despair.
A Healer was knocking at my door, if only I would let Him in and listen to His words.
I fought the urge to let go, to give up the grip on my heart to Him. I wanted the control, to feel safe in my own power.
But I had no strength. I had nothing.

 
Tears sting my eyes when I think of the days I wasted, longing for something I already had. How long was He knocking and I didn’t hear Him? Why did I never see it was there all along? Thankfulness for Him fills me. An unconscious smile creeps up on my lips and a sweet sensation fills my belly. Now to write the best part of all!


I didn’t know how to answer to His call. I couldn’t tell what I wanted. Freedom was the only light that shone in my eyes, but it was so very distant.
Slowly, so very slowly, I loosed my fingers and reached toward it. I let Him take my hand and lead me away from my shattered heart.
I limped at first, but He held me up, half carrying me. The more steps I took, the easier it became to walk.
The light filled me with renewed strength. I began to run, to bathe in the splendor of it.
And suddenly, I realized I was no longer in any darkness. There was no heaviness weighing me down and no pain deep in my chest.
His hands left mine, just for a moment, just to lift something up to me.
Something beautiful, untouched, whole. A new heart.
Love cascaded over me. I felt new life filling me, giving me hope of a purpose and a future. There was no shame left, no guilt, and no pain.


Tears run down my cheeks. I wipe them away, afraid they will mar this page like the one from long ago. I don’t want it to be ruined. It is to be treasured and kept forever, a keepsake, to remind me of all the things He has done for me. I can’t forget.

 
A friend found me. She was sweet, wonderful; her words were full of love and beauty. She spoke of Him, and of glory and goodness.
And she loved me. For me, who I am and what I am.
She didn’t run away from the things deep inside of me. She cherished them.
 

I could spend pages writing about my friend. About how she renewed me each day with her smile and acceptance.  I could write about the others, friends who call me by name and seek me because they want me. There is so much goodness to write about, blessings from Him. I lean back into the trunk of the oak tree and feel its rough bark scrape against my skin. The wind blows my hair across my face so I tuck it behind my ears. How can I write the next part? My heart sings with joy when I think of how He rescued me, how He brought me back from death. Can I ever put it into words? Looking out across the golden fields, into the tree-studded horizon, at the clumps of forest, I see the beauty of the world and wonder why I never noticed before.


Awakening from the darkness let me see how blinded I was to the light that had been shining for me all along. I was never alone. Never left behind.
He was always standing there, ready to show me His power and love. He was just waiting for me to want Him. He wanted me to need Him.
It is only when you need rescuing that the knight is suddenly wearing shining armor.
And now? Now I can stand tall. I have love at my side. Joy in my heart. Peace with my soul.
I am glad to be alive. It will be a journey.
 I am here to live it.

 
I let my pencil fall to the page. It is not perfect. It never will be. Maybe through the years I will tweak it and change it. I will learn new lessons and understand old ones better. Perhaps I’ll even find a better spot to write. But for now, I am content. I drop out of the tree to the grass below. My bare toes sink into the soft ground, relishing the freedom. Throwing my head up to the sky, I close my eyes and let the wind whisper across my face. Warmth from the sun flows through me. Yes, it is good to be alive.

© Pure Grace
 
 
I entered this is a writing contest early this month. Yesterday, I found out I received 3rd place in the 1st category!!!!!
 
Let me know what you guys think of it!! I'd be so glad to hear your thoughts. :D
 
 

Monday, April 22, 2013

Photography Challenge


I think it's time for some fun, what about you???

Welcome to my May 2013 Photo Challenge!!!





I know you. You know me. We all love pictures.

Still, it can be hard to snap a million pictures and keep up with a day by day challenge. So I have decided to do this a bit differently. Instead of making you take a picture a day, I am going to limit it to 6. I will announce when each picture is due. And will give you at least 5 days to find your best pose.

This is going to be so much fun!!!

So, the official rules to enter are pretty simple.

1. be a follower of My Unicorn Has Wings. {how cliché is that, eh? but hey, some things ought to be. ~_*}
2. post your photo's to your blog and make sure you identify that it is for the challenge!!
3. have tons and tons of fun
4. all photo's must be originals that YOU took FOR the challenge
5. please, make sure you send me your link to your blog and the picture so that I can MAKE sure and get them!!


Here are your catagories!!!!


1: a bridge. hopefully a cool one. if not, any ol' bridge will do.



bridge
 
{Don't shout at me because I stole all these example pictures from Pinterest}


2: something purple. because that is my favorite color. and I want to see lots of it. :D {hehe}


purple



3: your pet {don't have one? borrow one.}


 
{Ok, I didn't steal this one. These ARE my dogs.}



4: you and a book. any way you want it. just a picture of you and a book {or two, or three, or 300.}

5: happiness in a jar. you know. could be anything. as long as it's in a jar. maybe chocolate. or jellybeans. or socks. whatever.

6: sunshine. be creative. portray it in a new light. {yes, that was a pun.} find something cool.


Pretty exciting stuff, right!? Can't wait to see who all enters and all your fantastic photo's. The challenge will begin with picture #1. on May 1st.


I am going to assemble a judging team before the contest is underway so it will not be *just* me choosing. I don't want to be biased. ;)


And YES, there will be a prize!!! I am considering this {you guys tell me if you like it}: I will draw one of the photo entries of the winner for the winner. Your pick. As long as it is doable.

{Samples of my drawings? Check here and here and here.}


:D


It's been a happy day. Actually, it's been a happy last three or for weeks. No. It's been a happy last year. Yes, almost literally starting January 1, 2013. It's just been fantastic. ~_*


 
 
 
 


Thursday, April 18, 2013

blue sky, sunshine, and little flowers


Yesterday was gorgeous. 80 degrees. Luscious breeze. Perfect sky.

That's saying something. Cause today....it is rainy, bleary, and freezing. Literally.

So I decided to share some pictures with you guys from yesterday. Not today. Just two.


 
 
{I have the happiest dogs in creation.}
 
 
 
 
{Our driveway is pretty gorgeous. You can't really see it in this pic though...} :D
 
 
So tomorrow is our choir's music federation contest. It will be super fun. The choir director asked me to sing the high D for one of the songs, even though I am not in the choir this year, but am a teacher. I'm excited!!!
 
Oh. And I am working on something pretty exciting to launch on the blog. I'll tell you all about it soon, hopefully, once I figure out the loose wires. :D It should be pretty fun!! I'll give you a hint. It has to do with pictures.
 
Also, random announcement: I am on instagram!!! If any of you care to follow, I am at myunicornhaswings. :D
 
Sleep tight, my friends!
 

 


Monday, April 15, 2013

Life is Good


*Warning, picture overload.

It's been a busy last couple of weeks. I'm going to top them for you by way of photo's. Enjoy! :D


 
 
{She is not allowed past the line and it makes her sad when the rest of us are.}
 
 
 
 
{My sisters and I....}
 
 
 
 
{This is a present Brisa gave me on Wednesday. Little purple flowers. :D} 
 
 
 
 
 
{She's soooo cute!!!}
 
 
 
 
{Friday we played volleyball after choir and orchestra. This is my friend Lydia!!! She's so pretty!}
 
 
 
 
{Me, in the purple, Brisa, in the grey, Abrienne, in the yellow, Lydia next to her, Joe is the redhead, and Jessica's on the other side of the net.}
 
 
 
 
{Ahem....the epic moment of the day. I got flattened [yes, I am down there]... But we got the point, so it was so worth it! ;)}
 
 
 
 
{What is a picture without a little fun? ~_*}
 
 
 
 
 
{Saturday was one of my good friend's high school Graduation. I didn't get there till much later, after a crazy day of work, but arrived just on time to play volleyball! And a note. See that colorful bracelet on my elbow? I always wear that. Always.} [People: Brisa has the ball, Philip in yellow next to her. He is Lydia's brother. Micah jumping, me next to him, Liz in the blue, and Brenden in back.]
 
 
 
 
{We played speed v-ball. There were four teams. If you've ever played before, you know it is crazy, and awesome. This is my team. We were pretty awesome. We won. :D} [My team: Micah, me, Emily (Liz took her place for one play when she had to leave for a sec), Julia, in the middle, Brenden with the crazy shirt, and Heather, who you can't see in this pic.]
 
 
 
{Before we picked teams, just hanging out and talking. Heather is the other girl in purple next to Brenden. And that is my little brother running in front. He's rather cute. ;)}
 
 
 
 
{Micah and I trying to arrange the team. Again, that is Keaton. :D}
 
 
 
 
 
 
{This is my favorite picture!!! It is sooooo funny! Micah and Julia are hilarious! You can hardly see it in this because it is so small.... I just can't look at it without bursting out laughing.}
 
 
 
 
{Yesterday, I found this pretty thing out in the forest.}
 
 
 
 
{God gave this to me yesterday too, while I was working. It just reminds me of His goodness.}
 
 
I hope you are all praying for the Boston marathon runners right now. It just breaks my heart that someone would do such a thing to others. Can't put my feelings into words....Just terrible. But I know that God is in control and has a reason for everything under the sun. Somehow, somewhere. And that is such an encouraging thing to know.
 
Well, it is so long for now, everyone. Hope you enjoyed my last few days, and I will hopefully be getting a proper post up sometime here. :D
 
<3
 
CKC
 
 

 


Sunday, April 7, 2013

I hate cake...


I know, I know. I am admitting a heinous crime. But, really, cake is disgusting. It sort of makes a lot of celebrating difficult. Like right now. Because there is much to celebrate!

First off, Treskie won the AWESOME giveaway!!! {Thank you Jonnah for writing that post for me! I feel so bad everyone that I had to ditch you. But frankly, not one of you compares with my bro, even though you are all awesome, so I spent my evening with him. ;)}

Second, life is good. Don't fool yourself into thinking otherwise. Forget the little problems and focus on what God is doing in your life. Because no matter how dull you make think it is, He is setting you up for something grand, if only you will open up and let yourself be used!

And, yeah, that was actually all I had to say. So eat ice cream! Cause it's fantabulous!
 
 
{story of my life}
 
 

 



And, now that the giveaway is over, I am thinking up a new way to liven up some of these Podunk posts. It will come to me, never fear. As usual, it will probably knock me to the ground and clobber me with it's brilliance. ~_*


Btw, today was beautiful. Simply. Beautiful.




Saturday, April 6, 2013

And The Winner Is.....

So. First off I have to give you a big drawn out explanation as to why it is Jonnah sitting here typing and not Caitria. The reason for it being drawn out is so that you guys don't see the name in the window on the little bit of post it shows you on your Dashboard. :-) 

So, First off, This is Jonnah from Merrie Melodies. 

Yeah. Not my blog. I know. But Caitria is busy tonight because her brother is home for a little while from collage. She couldn't write tonight, but since we promised you the announcement today, I will try to get both posts done before midnight. :-) 

Now I want to apologize because it has been so long coming. So many things happened that kept us from seeing each other for three weeks instead of the usual every Friday. 

But yesterday we worked up this really cheesy/fun video of the two of us drawing the name from a hat. But I have spent the last hour trying to get it to work. Well. I wouldn't be explaining all this if I got it to work. Right? So, yeah. I couldn't make it work. 

Anyway. We talked and we (I) am going to announce it right here. 

So. This is drawn out enough. Right? Like, Can you see this on your little dashboard? 

So. I think you have all waited long enough. 

The winner if the Merrie Melodies and My Unicorn Has Wing 100th Post/1 Year Anniversary Hunger Games Giveaway is....

!!!!!TRESKIE!!!!! 

WhoooHooo! 

Congratulations Treskie!!! 

Comment and leave your email addy so I (Jonnah) can contact you for your mailing info. 

Congratulations again, and thanks to everyone for participating! <3 

~Jonnah for Caitria. :-D 

Friday, April 5, 2013

In which I say something somewhat important


So, I know Jonnah and I promised all of you the announcement of the giveaway today. And I promise you, we really did draw a name. But, we also created a video of us drawing that name...and we didn't have the plug to transfer that video to the computer. So it will hopefully be posted tomorrow evening, as long as Jonnah can email it to me sometime tomorrow morning. :D

All I will say is, CONGRATS to the very lucky winner.

And I can't wait to see your reaction.

And good luck to the rest of you! I am hosting another, smaller giveaway at my other blog, Stories in the Mind. Link is at the top of the blog. Go check it out! It's still pretty cool!

Cheers!

~_*




Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Picture Quotes


I haven't done one of these posts in a long while, so I suppose today is the right day. I need a good dose of encouragement right now. =)


 

so sad..... :(








 
 
 

 
 










Dreams...


 
Laughter is timeless, Imagination has no age, Dreams are forever -Tinkerbell