roll away your stone

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


I am pretty obsessed with this song.. I think it has a lot of meaning tied up in it... yeh.. Maybe I will write more about this later..

"Remind me to tell you how I escape all the Noise."

So here I am, weeks away from a few things, (volleyball ending, my best friend getting married, potentially a change in schools, majors, friends leaving, and friends coming..) Things seem to all the sudden be creeping up on me. Does that happen to you? Thinking things are so far away, and you will figure it out later and then all the sudden, BAM it is right in front of you, and you realize you have a lot to deal with, or just a lot of directions that life could be going, and having to figure out how you FEEL about each one individually, and collectively.
Well.. I have come to the conclusion that I am joyful and excited, but of course.. nervous/anxious.. that always seems to be my nature about things. So I am trying to reach a little harder for the joyful side :).
Okay so with all this Speed and things creeping up, I have struggled to find my quiet place.. or just time for the Lord, finding time to listen for his voice. I was in New York recently for an Art trip, and i just noticed how different the culture was there, everything moved 20 times faster than life in clinton, and I left wondering how in the world these people find that place.. where everything is slow, and God's voice is easy to hear. How could these people possibly block out or escape this noise, chaos, business, and overall hurried lifestyle?
So I asked a friend how he did it when he was visiting New York in the Summer, and here was his Response..
"Lindsey, you have to go to Central Park, Lay Down, and close your eyes, block out the noises, force yourself to listen for 5 things other than the obvious... Listen for the simple sounds."
-Thomas Joyner
-- If you do not know, Central Park is of course surrounded by the city, with horns, cars, and just noise EVERYWHERE. I never had the time to make it to Central Park. ( This will for sure be on my agenda when I go back.)

So... What are the simple Noises? To know the simple, I think we need to know the opposite, what are the complex noises?

Complex: 1. So complicated or intricate as to be hard to understand or deal with."

Simple: 1. Consisting of one element or part only; not combined or complex: a simple mechanism
2. Free from complexity or difficulty
3. Clear, intelligible, understandable, unmistakable

I want to listen for the simple noises, the things in life that are unmistaken, and clear.. Like the person obviously needing love, affirmation, or a listening ear. There are SO many things in this life that are FOR sure things, that are RIGHT under our nose, plain as day to see, and yet we so often miss them because we are to busy searching for the complex noises, and complicated ideas.
When it comes to our faith, I have observed people trying to make sure the "non-believer" GETS the idea that they are "This and not That," and trying to pound every piece of information into their head, and help them wrap their minds around the FULL Picture at the very beginning, when of course it will seem SO complex to them because you are trying to grasp the extraordinary before the simple.
I think Christ calls us to look for the simple in the world, and when you start to see and hear the simple needs of others, and discover his simple joys THIS is when we will stumble upon the extraordinary...


"Such simple things,
And we make of them something so complex it defeats us,
Almost. Why can't everything be simple again?..."
-John Ashbery

Benjamin Nathaniel Savory

Simple Joy of : Benjamin Nathaniel Savory

-Building forts out of blankets and couch cushions
-towels out of the dryer (after running through a sprinkler)
-pictures of people i don't know in black and white
-old notes folded like a paper football
-popping bubble wrap.
-Reading the last line of a book before i start it
-singing a song at the top of my lungs with someone else without the music

and
-getting mail :)

Ben and I shared a month together in wonderful Canada at a Young Life Camp called MALIBU. :)

A few things I enjoy about him:

-His nature to be so incredibly intentional with people.
- His intelligence
- Child Like Spirit
- His never ending Energy
- how Spontaneous he is.





These come from a dear friend, Ben Savory.

‎"But its a matter of the little things, my dear, Little things + Little things = Big Things." - A Wise Woman

Left Turns with the Window down.

A friend, Lauren, sent me some Cds the other day, and I have not stopped playing the songs since. While I build my ceramics pieces, paint, drive, or just whenever.. I have a few favorites of course. There is one song, " The Lime Tree" but Trevor Hall. I think this is my new favorite song. I am not sure why, but I love one of the lines.. " It took a while for you to find me, but I was hiding in the Lime tree, above the city and the rain cloud, I poked a hole and watched it drain out. I just keep thinking about how I go hiding places sometimes. . . not really physically, but mentally, or spiritually. I just run away from things sometimes. Or I hide from God, and try to just hold on so tight to what I know, or what I can control. Lately I have just been realizing a lot about myself. I am in the process of making a huge transition in life. Like HUGE. I am so thrilled, but at the same time, I have realized in the past few days, how many things are going to be different. I am going to have a lot of decisions to make, and just adjustments to make. I know God is leading me here, into this new season of life, but with this season, comes change, and willingness to let go, and follow, two things, I am NOT good with. Anywho, yes, got it, hiding.. equals no good.
On a simple note.. Today, I discovered one of the little things in life that I just LOVE, and it makes me smile every time .. Okay, I will set the scene, I have been running around all morning, packing for my volleyball trip, packing for New York, getting my withdrawal slip signed, and then turned in to registrar before it is to late, la la la.. and FINALLY I have it all done, and I need to be to the gym in like ehhh 15 minutes. So i am in the car on BEAUTIFUL day, just pulled out of McDonalds (where I purchased a dollar menu sweet tea), windows down, breezy, and I am going to make a Left turn.. Okay, so here is the small part, if you don't read slow you MIGHT miss it. LEft turn, and the wind brushes across my face a little faster, and with a little more cool air. I keep going.. and then head back to the gym. RIGHT there. the left turn and quick cold breeze across my face. I realized how much I love that. EVERY time it happens, it is one of my favorite things, because it is a little warm from the sun, and that one little second of a left turn, and that air.. ha I know that sounds like nothing, but I know for sure that it is one of my favorite little things in life. We will throw that in with cold side of the pillow and clean laundry smell.
So we just won our game against Radford, we play Highpoint tomorrow, and then I head to NYC for an ART trip with a bunch of other art majors on Sunday until Tuesday.. I am SO excited, we are going to a show, and museums, and all that fun stuff. Well I don't have much else going on. I actually have a million things I could chat on, but this will be all for now.

My little challenge to you.. my lovely blog reader.. Find one new thing.. one "simple thing in life" that you just love, and remember it, write it down, comment me back on it, or just tell someone.. or thank Jesus for it. :) I would love for you to email it to me, I like hearing other people's "simple joys". rlharris@presby.edu

Have a great day :)

Patiently Hope.

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.... For in this hope we were SAVED. Now Hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. "

Romans 8: 18-25 [ random parts]

Patiently Hope.. those are two words that have been on my mind for the past few days..

I think often we associate hope, with a sense of urgency, as if we hope something happens fast, or soon, or right now. Even if we say we hope " in the future," we--well ME, I hope that it happens soon. I usually don't set my " Hopes" like 5 years in the future, they are usually short term hopes. I want to learn how to set my hopes for the things that I do not see, and to realize that there is a glory that is beyond words that is going to be revealed to me.. :)

" Trust in the Place of Unity"

" Right now you experience an inner duality; your emotions, passions, and feelings seem separate from you heart. The needs of your body seem separate from you deeper self. Your thoughts and dreams seem separate from your spiritual longing. You are called to unity. That is the good news of the Incarnation. The Word becomes flesh, and thus a new place is made where all of you and all of God can dwell. When you have found that unity, you will be truly free.
- " Trust in the Place of Unity"
by Henri J. M. Nouwen

Recently, I have been feeling a little, i dunno, like my joy is being attacked, and there are just certain things that have gone on lately that are really challenging me. I know that my heart is in this certain place, and where I want, and long to be, but my actions, emotions and feelings are telling me different. I keep coming back to it. This has been a pretty rough cycle for me, for quite some time, but needless to say, I am hopeful. Ashley Marshall gave me a sweet little book for my birthday, that is filled with wonderful little 1 to 2 page entries that really speak truth into what I am going through. So today, this was that one I discovered, and I think I can understand a little better.

Your thoughts and dreams seem separate from your spiritual longing.<--- this part rings very true to me right now. I have things that I think about a lot, and they do not quite line up with my spiritual longing. But I see where I am, and where I want to be, and those are two different things, so I want to keep taking steps towards uniting the two. Maybe this makes sense? Somehow it all made sense to me.

I have also realized, I have become COMFORTABLE with all the discomfort I allow in my life, and so much so, that I am ANxious to lose it. ha CRAZY right?! yes, it is. But praise the lord I am starting to see it now, it goes from anything to relationships, and volleyball, or just things in general, and I am sick of changing to fit other things or peoples visions of what I should do, or trying to mold, I want to be who I, LINDSEY HARRIS, is in Christ, and step out and realize that it is alright to let go of the things that are holding me back from becoming truly free.