Believe in the LORD your God

"Then Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the LORD, worshiping the LORD. And the Levites, of the Kohathites and the Korahites, stood up to praise the LORD, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

And they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed." And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the LORD and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say,

'Give thanks to the LORD,
for his steadfast love endures forever.'

And when they began to sing and praise, the LORD set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed."

2 Chronicles 20: 18-22

Tea Update!

I said I'd share my impressions on the teas, and here I am! This is what I bought, the package description, and my own personal impressions.

China Keemun. The burgundy of teas from the Anhui province in China. Full bodied with a light, toasty taste. I tried this tea first, and to my chagrin, although not to my surprise, I didn't like the "toasty taste." Other than that it had a pleasant, I thought light, flavor. Maybe the toastiness grows on you, I don't know. My friend thought it reminded her of smoked salmon. Yech.

Kopili Assam. Bold but very drinkable, this unique Assam is bursting with rich, round flavor. In a class by itself, this tea is very appealing. I liked this tea. It was...dark. In a way it was almost bitter, but it made me think of a heavy tea that would be awesome with chocolate. I'll definitely be drinking this one! Probably in the morning, as a strong wake up.

Kenilworth Ceylon Estate. From on of the most famous tea gardens in Sri Lanka. Long attractive leaves equisite flavor subtle body. Excellent afternoon tea. I really, really liked this tea. It wasn't as dark as the Assam, had no aftertaste like the Keemun, and was almost sweet, with a kinda flowery flavor. I'll drink this one up too!

Black Needle Yunnan. This classic tea has large, wiry, open twisted buds of gloriously tippy tea. It's delicious and full-bodied, with a classic, clean and brisk Yunnan character. I haven't tried this tea yet.

Black Pearl. Tiny pearls of hand-rolled black tea produce a brew with a pleasing aroma and a delicate sweetness. Start with 5-6 pearls per cup. From the Yunnan province in China. I haven't tried this tea yet either, but I'm guessing it will be similar to the Black Needle Yunnan because they come from the same province. I look forward to finding how I like them!

I hope you've enjoyed this taste test with me! If anyone wants to try one of these in person come on over and we'll have a pot of tea together and chat. Tea is the best kind of social drinking! :)

C.S. Lewis on Tea

You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me - C.S. Lewis

Camellia sinensis

You'll never guess what I ordered last night.
That's right, TEA.

Loose tea from Stash. Black tea, Assam, and tea from China.

To find some of the wildest, fanciest possibilities in tea drinking pleasure, visit my link at the right to the Stash Tea Company in Oregon.

I am so excited to discover the new flavors now in route to my house.
Updates on the kinds and impressions to come!

It's All About Perspective!

OK so I'm weird. I know it. But aren't these cool pictures involving perspective? Especially the hand...my middle finger isn't really that big, honest! (ps. who am I being with the big icicle? comment if you know :) We had a great time with that big icicle. It was everything...even a light-saber. It was almost as tall as my brother!

beautiful alone

sometimes, you wonder where
you thought you were
when you looked into
the flames you fanned into being
and in the silence
your failure becomes real

sometimes, you wonder who
you wish you were
you tried to be
who you want to be
and are, or aren't
when you realized you were alone
by that fire

sometimes you forget
what you want
and you release your
desire
or maybe not your desire,
but rather your lust, that
grasping desire that wants for self

sometimes you feel the warmth
when the cold breeze begins
to cut into your skin
you turn to the flame with new eyes

sometimes you turn your back
to the fire and
look up at the stars

you see a shooting star
and the red flame of Betelgeuse
in the shoulder of Orion
like a bleeding wound on that great warrior.

you realize,
not for the first time,
you are small.

and you are beautiful,
alone.

Moon Prayer

Why do I forget

the wind is tossing

forget you are here
the moon glows tonight very clearly: you can see the face in it, and the clouds are orange beside it, cotton candy orange
for some reason
the sunset is like a painting, with living colors behind the silhouettes, colors always changing, so vibrant
I look at my life
depressed, as if you left me
behind.
the silence embraces me with clean passion
as if my plans are what I need
and they don't matter to you
the passion is sinking into me, as stars come, now faintly, now brighter against the deep blue of the sky
but then I
let go
the night wind is getting colder and clouds begin to creep in from the south
I confess my sins
the clouds are making shadows in front of the moon, a beauty so subtle, so wild
And looking around me
I hear the hoot of an owl, the smallest noises piercing the silence, life
I let you love me.

In Honor Of A Lost Charger Found

Yep. Today I'm sharing photos. Unfortunately I don't have photos of some of the things I want to share the most, like the sunrises for instance, or for some of the things that happened between the time the charger was lost and found, but hopefully after next week I will have some sunrise pictures, at least. For now, here are a few so we can celebrate. Praise the Lord I found my camera battery charger!

This is the captivating book that I couldn't put down for a week. Unfortunately it is not the last book in the series, which means I have to WAIT for the rest of the story!

THIS is how I feel after a day of working outside when I've forgotten to take benadrill the night before!

This is the dirt moustash I always get. (and a normal I-didn't-forget-the-benadrill face!)

This is the amazing mp3 player that made the days go so fast and my work go so well....until that fateful day...day before yesterday to be exact....when it DIED.

Anyone interested in attending a funeral?