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Old Pine

Hot sand on toes, cold sand in sleeping bags,
I've come to know that memories
Were the best things you ever had
The summer shone beat down on bony backs
So far from home where the ocean stood
Down dust and pine cone tracks

We slept like dogs down by the fire side
Awoke to the fog where all around us
The bloom of summertime

We stood
Steady as the stars in the woods
So happy-hearted
And the warmth rang true inside these bones
As the old pine fell we sang
Just to bless the morning.

Hot sand on toes, cold sand in sleeping bags,
I've come to know the friends around you
Are all you'll always have
Smoke in my lungs, or the echoed stone
Careless and young, free as the birds that fly
With weightless souls now.

We stood
Steady as the stars in the woods
So happy-hearted
And the warmth rang true inside these bones
We stood
Steady as the stars in the woods
So happy-hearted
And the warmth rang true inside these bones
As the old pine fell we sang
Just to bless the morning.

We grow, grow, steady as the morning
We grow, grow, older still
We grow, grow, happy as a new dawn
We grow, grow, older still
We grow, grow, steady as the flowers
We grow, grow, older still
We grow, grow, happy as a new dawn
We grow, grow, older still

-Ben Howard

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8ccDb6n5Wg

Hannah Squared

What happens when you spend the night in an airport...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then it got crazy.

I'm gonna miss this girl.

Bye Bye Wellington!

AHHHH!
Today, Hannah and I are busing to Auckland! 11 hours of roadtrip fun!
Bye bye Windy Wellington!

A Letter to My Bangs

Dearest Fringe,

I feel like I need to apologize. It’s been over a year since we’ve been together, it’s just, I feel bad because I didn’t have the time or energy for you. You are a full-time commitment, and that’s something I just feel like I can’t be passive about.

But I do miss the way you make me feel. The way you frame my face, how you tickle my eyebrows in the morning when I wake. How you make a simple ponytail look so glamorous. The way, when my hair is long and straightened, you make me feel like Zooey Deschanel. Unfortunately, combined with short and straightened hair, you make me look like a space woman from Star Trek, galacta girl, maybe even a 90s pop star. Just add a choker. 

 

I’m not gonna lie, you freaked me out a little bit today. But you’re growing on me, after I blow-dried you and fluffed up my hair. We can try again – it just might work. But please don’t be too disappointed if I decide that we no longer have good chemistry. Really, it’s not you, it’s me.

Even though it really is you.

Love,

Hannah

 

 

Three Days

Oh my.

We said bye to Rebekah a couple days ago. I felt like I was sending her off into the world. We watched her board the plane and everything.

These past couple of days have been so beautiful. We’re having Harry Potter movie marathons, eating overpriced Indian food, drinking lots of tea in cute little birdy teacups, sunbathing, etc.  Hannah and I are both somewhat hopeless cases, singing everything anywhere we go. I’m pretty sure we sang every Disney song ever released on our way back from dinner last night. We’re princesses at heart, what can I say?

I’m going home to Franklin in three days.

THREE DAYS.

 

Tomorrow is Wednesday, Thursday is my last day at Hannah’s house, and then on Friday, Hannah and I are busing up to Auckland (a 12 hour ride!) together. I spend the night in the airport, check in at 3 am, and then fly out. Wow, time is flying.

I miss my DTS friends – my heart aches to hear their voices and hug them tight! And I am NOT looking forward to saying bye to my soul sister, Hannah, when I board on Saturday morning. But I am soooo excited to see my friends and family at home! To have y’all back in my arms again will be so nice.

I think I’m gonna write a song.

Peace out girl scout.

 

I'm A Lover of Your Presence

Let this be a sacrifice, let me dedicate my life, to worship You
Let this be a sacrifice, let me dedicate my life, to worship You

Iʼm a lover of Your presence, Iʼm a lover of Your presence
Iʼm a lover of Your presence

Our passionʼs stirring deep inside, Youʼre all that really satisfies
We worship You         
Our passionʼs stirring deep inside, Youʼre all that really satisfies
We worship You  

We are lovers of Your presence, We are lovers of Your presence
We are loverS of Your presence

I was made for Love, I was made for Love, I was made for Loving You




Bryan and Katie Torwalt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nncUQw4TeXY

Valentine's Day

I had the best Valentine’s Day in the history of all my Valentine’s Days this year. Thursday, we woke up early, got our bags and went to the ferry. We packed so light, I was so proud of us. Just one backpack for clothes and toiletries, one bag with our sleeping bags and pillows, our tent, and a cooler with our food! We checked our bags (yes – there’s actually baggage checking and terminals, just like airplanes!) and got on the ferry. And it was a beautiful 3-hour ride. Man, the clarity of New Zealand water never ceases to amaze me. And the scenery is just so gorgeous. And one of our many presents for Valentine’s Day was a pod of dolphins. Not just 4 or 5 or even 20; there were at least 50! There were so many and they were swimming around the ship, jumping and playing. Probably one of the most incredible natural sights I’ve ever seen.

Then we landed in Picton! We had some time to grab lunch at a fish n’ chips place and then we sat out on the dock eating our lunch. I think harbors are so romantic – that crystal clear blue water, the countless sailboats bobbing in the water. There’s something so peaceful about it all and I feel at home there. Right as we were approaching, I saw that there was a massive school of red fish! And as we got closer, I saw that they weren’t fish at all. They looked like thousands of miniature lobsters, just a-swimmin’ around with their little behinds propelling them backwards. And then a lady told us that they were krill. Krill? You know, the little things that blue whales eat? I never understood how they could possibly get full off of the little creatures. I mean, blue whales are so BIG and krill – well, they’re smaller than shrimp! But now I understand – there were hundreds of thousands! Millions! The blue water was thick with them – turning red; you could see them moving in the current across the harbor. It was beautiful, in a way I never knew I could appreciate.

 

We had to say bye to the krill and got on our water taxi to get to our campsite – Mistletoe Bay. This beautiful little secluded bay. So sweet and quiet. As well jumped off on the dock, I couldn’t help but smile as I saw a group of little schoolboys learning how to sail in the teeniest little sailboats I’d ever seen. It was precious.

We checked in, set up our tent and went and lay out by the water. We napped, talked, watched sailboats, fed ducks, and swam all afternoon. And we ate dinner out of the chiller. Which consisted of pre-made sandwiches, fruit, chocolate (it was Valentine’s Day after all!), and wine – straight from the bottle because we didn’t think to bring wine glasses on a camping trip. Classy.

Then the sun went down and we had girl talk in the tent for a few hours until we decided to go out and look at the stars. Man, I’m gonna miss the New Zealand night sky. I don’t think there are stars like that anywhere else. And you are always guaranteed to see multiple falling/shooting stars. They happen about every 2 minutes if you keep your eyes open.

 

And then we went down to the dock because Hannah heard that there were some phosflorescents. Translation – you know that scene in Avatar where they are in the water and it all lights up when they touch it and swim in it? Yeah, that’s not an original idea. God totally thought of it first. It was incredible – like electricity bouncing across the water every time something even slightly touched it. And you could see fish darting around at incredible speeds underwater. And watching Rebekah and Hannah jump in was amazing. The water went crazy, lighting up and splashing light everywhere! I tried to get pictures, but the camera failed miserably. It is one of those life experiences where you just have to remember it in its full glory.

We woke up the next morning to the sounds of the campground preparing for a wedding! We had a lovely waterside breakfast and packed up our tent and stuff to get it out of the way and I spent a few hours with Jesus, reading, listening to music, and hiking around the mountains. One revelation I’ve had in the past couple of days, especially Valentine’s Day, is how I always expect God to romance me, but He desires for me to romance Him as well. How on earth do you romance the maker of the universe, the one who thought everything in to being, one who’s heard every praise and every love song and originality flows from Him and not ourselves? I guess I could begin by spending time with Him. Not just the habitual devotion time in the morning where I arrogantly expect Him to speak to me, but time aside where I speak to Him – constantly sharing my heart and desiring to know His heart as well.

Then we checked out and got on our water taxi and rode back to Picton! We sat on the grassy knoll above the harbor, under a tree, just taking in all the beauty and having major girl talk – you’d be surprised on how much time girls can spend talking about future baby names. And our ferry was running about an hour late, so we went looking for a place to eat. And we found a legit Irish pub. Beautiful. I tried my first beer here. Ew. I hate beer. I couldn’t even finish a pint. I barely even made a dent in it! I gave up and got a glass of chardonnay.

Hannah and I shared a delicious plate of fish n’ chips and we had more serious girl talk and then we left and got on the ferry and came back to Wellington, finally deboarding at 11 pm, where Hannah’s beautiful parents were waiting for us. So sweet – I love them dearly! And then we fell asleep to Gone With the Wind.

Thank you Jesus.

Domestics

And Monday was beautiful indeed. We woke up and had some quiet time, then the three of us had more quiet/worship time altogether plus intercession, which was great. And then Hannah bussed into the city to pick up Henk and Noemi to come and hang out and make…BABAKAU. A lovely Fijian fried bread that I have missed sooo much. Aunty made it so well!

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

It was wonderful to have so much time with these guys – they mean so much to us! After hanging out, we bussed into town to watch…LES MISERABLES. Which was just as emotional the second time around for me. For dinner, we hit up a sushi bar ( SO GLAMOROUS) and then had a lovely walk along the waterfront before saying bye to our European friends and coming back to Hannah’s!

And Tuesday. Oh Tuesday. It was a lazy day. We all know vacation is EXHAUSTING. So of course we had to have a day of rest. Which meant we lay in bed all day, watching movie after movie (mostly chick flicks like Love, Actually and Pride and Prejudice – WHICH I DO NOT ACTUALLY QUALIFY AS A CHICK FLICK – IT IS A CLASSIC). We actually did nothing. Except eat some crumpets and leftover babakau. Oh, and I skyped with my lovely Kari! And my bestie, Mary Kate Grant!

And today (Wednesday) was supposed to be Domestic Day, where we make all kinds of lovely baked goods. But, it wasn’t. instead we: skyped with Jacob McCormack (love you!), discovered Hannah’s keyboard and spent hours playing worship songs, went grocery shopping for our trip to the Sounds tomorrow, ate fish n’ chips, skyped half of our DTS in one setting (me, Hannah, Rebekah, Schnegg, Elisa, Marit, Steph, Brent, Jacob Van Zanten), skyped my mommy, skyped with Leish and Tiff and Sarah, planned more stuff for trip, showered, shaved, pimpled popped, eyebrow tweezed, etc. etc. oh – yes. We visited one of the most beautiful outlooks I’ve ever been to. Thank you Jesus.

 

 

PS - Most photo credits go to the loveliest Rebekah Combs. <3