Le prudent gardien

Vous, Livre, usé par les doigts des décennies,
Présente à moi vos pages toutes pleines des plats visages.
Leurs yeux me regardent d’un milieu noir: les bannis
Relégué, si loin du soleil qui endommage.

Les images préservés par ce prudent gardien,
Attirent l’avenir de revivre son passé:
Un réalité noir et blanc et ancien.
Chaque visage se maintient dans un instant, glacé.

Les souris et les froncements ensemble mélangent;
Ils forment un collage poignant de l’humanité.
Les autos et les robes reflètent les temps qui changent,
Qui enterrent les ancêtres dans la modernité.

Cher Livre, je vous confie aux pages déchirés
Les seules vestiges inanimés de mon passé.

- Grace Berkau

This is the French sonnet I've been writing for my French literature class. It being my first attempt, I'm rather proud of it. The fact that it has 3 quatrains and a couplet, 12 syllables per line, and a consistent rhyme scheme is quite an accomplishment!

I ate your plums.

This Is Just To Say
by William Carlos Williams

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

That poem amused me this morning, so I thought I'd share the smile. There have always been certain people in my family that were a bit...particular...about the items in the refrigerator. ;)

So, today is the official first day of Fall Break. I'm so thankful that I don't have to slog through a normal Thursday this week. Tuesdays and Thursdays seems to be the bane of my existence, but oh well, there are only 33 days of class left in this semester (which is hard to believe!). It should be bearable...that is, if it will EVER stop raining. I don't usually mind the rain -- it helps me focus when I need to study or think -- but I can't stand it for days and days on end. Anyway, it's supposed to stop raining by tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to hiking with my family at Petit Jean and getting lost in a corn maze Saturday night with some friends.

It feels like there are a million other things on the tip of my tongue, but I can't put any of them into words. Maybe I'll be able to put my thoughts together while I'm out of school for a few days. Right now I think I'm going to ... get ready for bed. Sleep sounds good.

His words are new every day

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

why was I scared again?

Is it really October already? And not only October, but October 3rd? The time speeds by so quickly. Only two months of school remain. On one hand, it's a comforting thought, knowing that this semester will be over and done with before too long. On the other hand, it's a thought that makes me nervous, because when this semester is gone, I'll be counting down the days until I fly away to France. There's still a small possibility that the details won't fall into place, and I'll just be here, but it's looking more and more like I'll be studying abroad in the spring. Everyone assumes that I'm super excited, and in a way, I am. It's the opportunity of a lifetime. But, as wonderful as the opportunity seems to be, I'm also feeling extremely apprehensive, nervous, and just plain scared of it. I'm going to live in a different country, a few thousand miles from home and everyone I love, for four months, where I'll be forced to acclimate to a new culture and surroundings and to study subjects I'm not even sure I'll like. I'm going to feel overwhelmed, stressed, and even stupid at times because no one will understand what I'm *really* trying to say. Taking this trip is taking a big risk.

That's what goes on in my head -- all the things I don't say. This is me when the walls are down. I'm not always brave. I'm not always strong. And I don't always have the faith I should. I *know* that God has never let me down. I *know* that He's the same God here as he is in France. I *know* that He has a perfect purpose for me, and that he's even more excited about it than I am. But even those guys in the Bible who should have known better got scared, and here I am in the same boat as them. The story about Jesus calming the storm just popped into my head. That means I should probably read it.

Mark 4:35-41 (New International Version)

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"

Let's see. The first thing that jumps out to me is the fact that they weren't just out on the lake for a joy ride; they had a purpose, and a purpose-giver. Jesus initiated the trip. The second thing I notice is that his own disciples asked Jesus if he really cared if they drowned. Even *they* had doubts. The third thing that seems significant to me is that Jesus didn't scream at his disciples in anger; rather, he calmed the storm and taught them the importance of faith.

If God asks me to "go over to the other side" and leave this "crowd" behind, I know that I will be taking Him along on the journey. I know that I don't have to be afraid because He cares about me - even if I do give in to my doubts and fears. He will still be the all-powerful and infinitely merciful King of the universe, and the wind and the waves will obey Him. But, I pray that I will have the faith and the strength to let the wind and waves rage if it accomplishes His will and brings Him more glory.

Taking this trip seems risky -- just like sailing into a storm -- but with Abba, the storm the safest place I can be.