Monday, May 07, 2007

Dandelions

Once again, I write a post of reflection- a post that my lovely friends Amy and Kimmy will love. :)

This time my subject for comparisons is the common, ordinary, everyday dandelion.


Dandelions are like Christians are supposed to be... I was staring at a dandelion the other day, and it just hit me... they are a very good example of how we should live our lives.

Dandelions are bright, and resemble the sun when they are vibrant and alive- their bright yellow heads mimic the immense and powerful sun above, as they bask in it and grow in it. They grow almost anywhere, bringing their lovely yellow cheer to lawns, ditches, fields, parks, flowerbeds, gardens... just about anywhere with dirt, dandelions can grow. Some people don't like dandelions. They call them weeds, and say they want them to go away, and often spray them with weed killer, to rid their yards of the flowers. Dandelions mature into little white puffballs of seeds, which are carried off by the wind to new spots of ground and planted there to grow more dandelions. The spent dandelions then look unattractive... but they fulfilled their purpose, to spread their seeds, to grow more lovely dandelion flowers, and continue onward.
A weed is something that isn't appreciated where it's growing, or that is growing somewhere you don't want it, or something you just don't like. Sometimes people define particular plants as always being weeds- and they usually put dandelions and thistles in this category.

Dandelions make me think of life. Like dandelions bask in and grow in the sun, and even resemble it to some extent... we are to bask and grow in the SON, who is our Lord, and show His character and being to the world.
Like dandelions, we are to be bright and alive in the midst of a dark and lost world. We are to spread the seeds of God's Word- which He uses to bring more people to Himself, taking our seeds and planting them in people's hearts.
Like dandelions, we as Christians are often disliked or despised- those who do not know our God often want us to go away, and some will try most anything to rid themselves of these people called Christians, who spread their Hope to others, grow all over the place, show others their Christ, and help to increase the flock of God's sheep. ;)
Think about dandelions a new way next time you look at one- Let the brilliant yellow of the dandelion remind you to be a bright beacon of joy within our dark and hard world- show people the bright light of the joy, love, peace, and hope that comes from our wonderful God. And maybe next time you see a dandelion, you can thank God for its being there to remind you to shine brilliantly for God.

Matthew 5:13-16
"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

Sunday, May 06, 2007

Spring...

I shall soon be writing a post about dandelions, because...well.. I want to... In the meantime, here are 65 new pictures of nature stuff on my photobucket. lol :)
Link
My Photobucket site...

:) There you go.. :)


~Danette

Monday, April 30, 2007

Hey, it's a good day!

Today was an awesome day. I came down to Eau Claire, and got a lot of stuff done, and now I'm really happy with how the day's turned out. :)

I got my classes figured out- which ones to register for, I got to talk to Lorraine, who was my temporary advisor, who was AWESOME and a lot of help and encouragement... I was able to go to InterVarsity tonight for the first time, and it's kind of funny to me that I finally got there... without being a student this time. LOL

I also discovered Cafe420... a Christian coffee shop in Eau Claire, really close to the university. :) I'm writing this blog post from there, lol.

I also got a new book to read... I'm going to see how long it takes me to read it. lol! "Til We Have Faces", by CS Lewis.

It was a great day... but it really made me wish this was a normal day... meaning that it was a day while I was at school again. I am SO looking forward to fall, when I get to go to school... though it's funny that everyone thinks I'm absolutely crazy because I want to skip summer and just have fall come right away.

However, I guess at the same time, I don't want to do that... because I want to have summer with my family again... to get to canoe down the river, to get to have lots of bonfires, go swimming a couple of times, etc... I miss camp Chetek even, and it's sad that it's changing so much, that I wouldn't feel able to work there, but yet, I miss its familiarity, and the comfort of being there, and not working there just is something that falls short of the plan I had since I was very little, of working there when I got old enough to be a camp counselor.... remembering what it was like to have an awesome counselor like Ruth was, and how much encouraged I came home from camp the one year I had an awesome counselor.

But alas, this summer, I work. And work. And work. And work some more. And I don't know what else the summer holds for me... maybe something, I hope so. A friend gave me a link for a day-camp thing that's happening near madison for special-needs kids, and it sounds kind of cool... after working as a CNA, it's funny how much my perceptions and reactions for things have changed. How a few years ago I would never have considered doing much at all with special needs-kids, because I wouldn't know how to treat them, or how to deal with them... but after working with alzheimers' patients, I think I could handle it well, and probably enjoy it. Though.. I'm pretty sure that I'll probably end up just working... *sigh* I don't know for sure. God does though, and I'm going to wait for him to let me know. :)

I want to get to have fall, and the spring, and finally be a nursing student, partially because I'd love to get to be a camp nurse... :)

Well, I should go now, lol. So... the end. :)

~Danette

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

The old and the new

I am going back to school in the fall. I am looking forward to being back on campus.. the familiarity of walking down the wooden steps behind McPhee... of sitting in Davies and getting coffee at Jazzman's... and of going to classes. Taking notes. Inhaling the lovely fall air, and admiring the trees... taking pictures like mad when I look around and see how gorgeous everything is... once again feeling like I have the freedom to get up and drive off to wherever I want, whenever I want to- knowing I'll be responsible, but that I'm also responsible for MYSELF- instead of having my parents there trying to be responsible for me...

I also am looking forward to the new things... New friends, new experiences, new... everything. I might try to get involved in the gospel choir or something... and I'll be involved in Lighthouse Society again.. that will be sooo nice.. to be back.

And now... I should go work on my crocheting or my pharmacy tech stuff, or reading... because there are things to do. lol.

~Danette

Monday, April 23, 2007

music!!!

Korismos #0 - Composition 1

my first piano composition....




See what you think? 4 minutes of piano music. :)