Some Fun :-D

Here are some pictures of Jules. :-D






Hehehe
That girl in Switzerland

Perspective + Some Autumn Crafts

This morning, whilst feeling musical, I turned on some Charlotte Church music on my ipod and began singing loudly. My Charlotte Church imitation is nothing to be sneezed at. Jules and I were doing some craft projects at the time. So after a few songs, I asked Jules if he liked my singing.

"Yes," he said, "but you know what? If you keep singing really high and a bird comes, he's going to get bigger and bigger and EXPLODE!"

I'm assuming he's seen "Shrek" recently, but his comment was no ego boost, let me tell ya.

Here are some pictures from today:

Jules's depiction of the neighborhood's animals...He's not much of a drawer, but he does try. There are our two dogs, Jenny (blue) and Teacake (large brown), and also two more dogs, Bo (larger black) and Filly (small brown), and also a cat, Raffy (very small black):


Our spiders ("art" for boys...hah):


Jules making designs with those little plastic pieces (no clue what they're called):


Jules with our scary spiders:


Being crazy:


Jules being...well...Jules:


Moi (photo courtesy of Jules):


Cheers!
That girl in Switzerland

Five Minute Rhyme

Today was a big day -
Was a lot to be done.
I made a huge list
And accomplished a ton.
I wired some money
And went to the Poste,
I managed three children,
And cooked artichokes.
I studied for French class
Until my brain ached,
Then took a short break
Down by the lake.
I walked two big dogs
That needed to GO!
They walked quite quickly;
I walked quite slow.
I traveled three hours
To Nyon and back,
And studied my Bible
To pick up my slack.
Had coffee at leisure
(It's never a rush),
Said hi to a friendly
Old man on the bus.
Of things needing done,
I think I did most,
But writing a poem...
This project's burnt toast.
Tomorrow I might write
Something quite new,
Something inspired
That impresses you.
But now I'm so tired,
I'm going to bed
'Cause more of my brain cells
Are obviously dead.

(...must have been the coffee...)

Goodnight!
That girl in Switzerland

Just Me. And That's All.

Dear Readers,

Last February, somebody asked me to define myself. "Who is Heather?" they asked. And after scratching my head and feeling bewildered and realizing that I had nearly no idea, I came up with a trite little answer, emailed it away, and thought nothing more about it until tonight.

Tonight I was thinking about God. And about me. And about who I am as God made me to be. And I was thinking about the unique path that God created for me even before I existed. And I was thinking about how I don't know exactly what that path looks like, and how it's scary to trust what you don't know. And I was thinking about how it's so easy to get distracted from following that path because I'm too busy trying to live up to somebody else's idea of who I should be.

Tonight I was asked the question, "What would it look like for you to completely trust Jesus when He says, 'You, follow me'?"

And I realized that the answer to this question lies in two places - who I am, and who Jesus is.

Jesus is love, loyalty, bravery, sacrifices, patience, hope, light and righteousness. I am the sum of my choices and experiences, and hopefully some of the characteristics of Jesus. Jesus takes all of my successes and failures and joyful times and broken dreams, and turns them around into lessons and growth and love and peace. He takes the best and worst parts of me, and turns them into something beautiful, something that reflects Him.

Jesus came to give life, and life more abundantly, life to the fullest. The only one getting in His way is me.

Jesus wants me to be who I am and to look a little more like Himself every day. He wants my heart to reflect His heart. He wants me to find my identity in Him. And that's all.

I might not know my path, and that might be scary, but I do know Jesus, and He takes all the fear away.

It's just a simple truth. So obvious.

So after taking a second look at my "trite" definition, I've decided it isn't so bad.

"What makes me, me? It's quite simple really: my failures, successes, fears and insecurities, confidence, family, friendships, opinions, beliefs...a passion for people, a couple of failed relationships, about one and a half severely broken hearts, a tendency to reflect on everything in words that never get spoken to anyone, and a strong love for God that actually does leave me speechless; essentially, I'm me because of my ability to embrace human experience and turn around a better person."

I'm just me. Me enhanced by Jesus Christ. And that's all.

Love,
That girl in Switzerland

To Those People Windsurfing on Lake Geneva in November

I should have thought that
The now-perpetually snow-covered
Mountain peaks, or the
Glistening orange and red horizon
Below them, or even the
Very chill in the November air
Would have clued you in.
Shouldn't you be waiting for spring again -
Polishing your boards,
Buying new sails,
Storing away wet suits,
And then anticipating warmer winds?
Now it's time to exchange scenery -
To move to the brilliantly white slopes,
To the boards that need no sails,
To the glaring sunlight that bounces
Off of goggles and ski poles,
To the winter hats and scarves and gloves.
What drives you to the less-forgiving,
Shockingly cold, breath depriving
November water of Lake Geneva?
Is it merely the enticing wind and waves,
Or is it also the needing to know you're alive?

Pondering,
That girl in Switzerland