Mountaintops and Valleys. And Plateaus.

I've always thought that life goes through times you feel like you're on a mountaintop, and times you feel like you're in a valley. The valleys are definitely not fun, but I always know that they can't last forever, and soon there will be another mountain to climb.

It's a pretty basic life philosophy that keeps me encouraged when I'm feeling low. But lately I've discovered there are more geographical features than just mountains and valleys. There are also plateaus.

Just In Case You Care

It's been two years.

This is art. It is a legitimate sculpture. And it's fun.

Two years since what, Julia?

It was only 6 am. And 30 degrees.

Well, I'm glad you asked.

(It's my college graduation, if you couldn't tell)

Since that.

An Anxious Adventurer

It was 4 in the morning when I finally decided I might as well just get up and go. I hadn't slept much, due to anxious excitement (and the fact that an air mattress in your friend's living room just isn't the most luxurious).

So up I got and off I went to the airport. I was actually driving myself to the airport, which was a first. I am such a big girl. ;) Well it took a couple times around to find the parking lot that I wanted, and I did almost return my car to the rentals, but I managed to park the car, hop a shuttle, and reach the airport with plenty of time for my 6 am flight.

Despite the fact that I was in fact, right on time, my boarding pass placed me in the last boarding zone, and my very humble patient attitude placed me at the very end of that line. I was the last one on the plane. Except for the two women who came running in at the last minute. But for all dramatic purposes, I was the last one on the plane.

And my suitcase wouldn't fit.

Reminiscing On My Senior Show

Slightly more than a year ago, some of you may recall a post with some pictures and poems from my senior art show at IWU!

Opening reception of my senior show!

I have some terribly exciting news regarding said photographs, which are palladium platinum prints. Palladium is a very old method of developing photos; they are incredibly expensive, time consuming, and beautiful. They also need to be properly framed, which brings me to my next order of business.

My Palladium Platinum photos in their new homes!

Mama helped me buy new (BIGGER) frames, glass, and double mats, to proudly display my work the way it deserves! Man, they look SOOOO good in person! Come visit me and see!

But seeing my work like this reminds me to think about what the original purpose of my artwork was. These 5 pictures are meant to create a sanctuary: a space where the demands of time fade away, worries are irrelevant, and we simply sit in God's presence.

They remind us of the journey that we are continuously along, from the mountaintop to the valley. Mountaintop, overjoyed experiences will come; inevitably dark, depressing times will follow. But if we DO take that time to just sit in God's presence, those times DO NOT have to wear on us. God will lead us through.

So I invite you--come sit. Be still. And bask in the presence of the God of the Universe.

It's Been a Year

A year. One whole year!

It was exactly one year ago that I had just graduated from Indiana Wesleyan, said goodbye to all of my friends, and was on my way home for a new adventure in life. An adventure called waiting.

Now by the time I actually post this article, it will have been a bit more than a year, that being because I am posting my "short" story every week (Come on guys, it's only like 20,000 words).

But it has been a year, and a lot has happened in that year since I came home a depressed and heartbroken college graduate, thinking that my life was over. Let's review, shall we?

Short Story: Loved, Part 15 of 15 (AKA The end!)

This is it!!!!!!

The end.

I mean...um...well, you have to read it first. Then I can write "the end."

(Although if you need to read the beginning first, you can do so by clicking here.)

Hand trembling, Rebekah raised the mirror to her face and looked in. The painted man’s words filled her head, and the shriveled flower filled her eyes. But another voice whispered into her heart. The voice that wanted to be a flower on the hillside, dancing in the wind. The voice that said she was a flower, that she was precious. That she was wanted, just as she was. Rebekah concentrated on that voice for a moment. And the flower in the mirror grew. Its brilliant white petals spread their wings and flew out of the reflection and into her heart.

Short Story: Loved, Part 14 of 15

It's almost done! Just like winter's almost done!
Well...I mean, I'm writing this on Easter, and it SNOWED today. :( Lame.
But yeah, by now, it should probably be sunny.
And you only have one part left to read after this! Unless of course you missed the beginning and need to be redirected there. You can easily do so by clicking here.
 

At his words, Charlie’s self pity left him, and the urge to protect the fragile woman beside him replaced it. The lack of respect this man showed for the woman filled Charlie with a fiery rage. His lips curled at the beast.

            “She does not belong to anyone,” Charlie asserted through clenched teeth.

            The painted man looked amused. “Are you going to try to fight me for her?” he laughed. “Please, be my guest.”