glory days.

Listening To: Take it Easy by The Eagles
Line Obsession: "The stars look different from here. There's a lot more of them, for one thing. Big swirls and knots and clouds of them, so bright they hurt to look at. When you're in it, space looks like the biggest firework display ever -- except it's on pause. It looks like freeze-frame fireworks. Even if you're Completely Doomed, you've got to be impressed." - from Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce, HarperCollins, 2008

Happy Thursday my lovelies!

Biscuit and I are writing to you on this gorgeous afternoon from the floor in front of my window. Biscuit has her face pressed to the glass so she can feel the last little bit of sunshine. We dearly love the sunshine up in here. Biscuit's tail is wagging like crazy, flick-to-flick-to-flick-to-flick. A perfect rhythm. Her tail looks like a happy little metronome (not to be confused with a metro-gnome) (have I mentioned that's one of my brother's favorite t-shirts?). My dog is seriously over winter. We just got back from a breezy walk and I'm still wishing I'd recorded Biscuit's strut for you to see. She pranced through the neighborhood like she owned it, nose turned up toward the sky. She looked like she was trying to sniff out the sunshine. :) She's the cutest thing. I'm quite partial to her fuzzy shadow.

I'm also partial to you people. Thank you all so stinking MUCH for all the sweet birthday notes on my last post. And for the attagirl fistbumps of encouragement. And thank you for saying I don't look 30. Oreos for everyone! (Fact: you will find, as you get closer to thirty ... that nobody looks thirty ;).

Seeing new names and faces down in the comments was all kinds of happy-making too. I hope you visitors stop back by and stay awhile. Whether you're a newbie or a regular, I'm glad you took the time to pipe in. That post was a doozie. (Is that how you spell that word?)

Apparently, my ponderings about turning thhh... thhh ...
*deep breath*

Apparently, my thoughts on having a Significant Birthday resonated pretty hard. I heard from you sweet people in the comments, and then again over on The Facebook, and then again via The Email. Wowzers. When I wrote that post, I had no idea it would settle in the way it did. But it most certainly settled. I feel super honored that you would share such personal experiences with me. There are lots of broken hearts beating this Valentine's Day week. I have more to say about that topic, but I don't want to post two heavy-hitters in a row.

Instead, I would like to talk about Bruce Springstein and peacocks. (The connection is so obvious, yes?)

I was listening to "Glory Days" this week ("... glory days ... living in a young girl's heart") and thinking about how much I liked the song. Also, I was thinking about how handsome Bruce Springstein is. Still. When I was a little girl, my crushdom was split between Bo Duke and Bruce Springstein. I still have a crush on both of them.

So I was thinking about his handsomeness. But I was thinking more about his music. I started thinking about how, really, that song is about "glory days" in relation to days that are over. Days that have passed. But, for reasons I don't quite understand, hearing the term "glory days" didn't make me think about days that have passed. Instead, the song got me to thinking about Flannery O'Connor, the high queen of Southern Lit, and her obsession with peacocks.

I read a story (I don't know if it's true) that says Flannery particularly liked the reaction people had when they saw her peacocks. One day, Flannery's peacock fanned its marble-feathers open wide. Cause that's what peacocks do. At that exact moment, a woman walking down the street in front of Flannery's house stopped, stunned - eyes wide open, mouth wide open with words that wouldn't form just right - and stared.
And then the woman lifted her hand and shouted:"GLORY!"

Have I mentioned that glory is one of my favorite words?

I don't know if that story is true but I hope it is. I like it when glory surprises you. I like it when you round the corner and see glory in an ordinary place. I like it when your heart gets slammed by how gorgeous God's creation is; the wild things like sunsets and peacock feathers and summer storms. And subtle things too: like sparrows flickering across the yard and dogs snoozing in a warm patch of sunlight. Springtime mornings. A hand holding yours tightly.

I will not argue with Bruce Springstein about his definition of a glory day. I will not argue with him because 1.) He's the boss and 2.) He wears his jeans very well.

But I also like to think, in honor of Miss O'Connor, that maybe a glory day is very much the day I'm living. I like to think there is something outlandishly beautiful and otherworldly right in front of me. All I have to do is choose to see it. Savvy?

These are just a few of the moments that made my heart shout GLORY this week:

Cold sunshine on my face.

Banana nut muffin{s}. I love it when muffins first come out of the oven, and I pull one apart, and that little rush of steam comes out. And all I smell is warm-banana goodness. The smell is almost better than the taste. Almost.

Downtown adventures with my mom.

This Fuzzy Face.

Words. So many words. Specifically:

... words in a book. I've been sucked into so many great stories lately. I finished Jenny B.'s Save the Date and, as per usual, wishing I could re-read it again for the first time. Presently, I'm making my way through Frank Boyce's Cosmic. That novel is, if you'll pardon the overuse of this word, beautiful. Whether you're a teen or a grown-up-teen ... if you've ever felt alienated, ever felt like you don't fit, you'll absolutely love the way this novel folds over your heart. It's positively starry, in the best of ways. I'm also reading a surprise novel I picked up on a whim in Target called The Golden Prince (by Rebecca Dean). Historical. Romantic. Most likely tragic. I'm so in.

... these words from the newest issue of Garden&Gun.


(I know that feeling don't you?)

... words on my computer screen. Lots of them. Loooooots of them.

... and words that settle my heart. I've been in 2 Samuel for a few months now (I'm doing Beth Moore's David study - which is truly, truly unbelievable). But I'm currently digging in to Hebrews and John and Psalms and loads of other bright places, putting together my chat for the April event. My talk is entitled .... wait for it ... "If Cinderella Wore Cowboy Boots." I'm rather excited about it. ;)

... and words on the tip of my calligraphy pen that I don't actually use for calligraphy. I just like the way it makes letters look.

(I'm a fan of Valentine's Day. Because any day that encourages people to write that word is a good day.)

(And I'm especially a fan of the day after Valentine's Day ... when candy goes half-price.)

Birdsongs.

And mountains. I'm super grateful this week for the artists and miners and students and politicians and dreamers who marched at Kentucky Rising. I dearly, dearly love my mountains. I love the way they shatter sunsets across the sky. Love the way these mountains settle my heart. I don't understand how Mountain Top Removal is even legal, but it most tragically is. Hopefully, it won't be for long. Kentucky, you rock my world.

Dancing Songs. Like "Glory Days." And Neon Trees "Animal." And the Civil Wars "Barton Hollow."



(Could that song be any cooler?) And always my Avetts. Did you see The Avett's on The Grammy's? Playing with Mumford & Sons and Bob Dylan? What'd you think?

Bluebell Snickerdoodle Ice Cream. Glory, indeed. The Rogue Accountant and I ate mass quantities of this while we caught up on How I Met Your Mother.

Red Roses. So classic. So gorgeous. : )

Black and White Pictures of people I miss. My heart didn't shout glory over those. It was more of a whisper.

A late night of dreaming and hoping and praying and planning. And worrying too. Push and pull. Always push and pull.

So that's the gist of what's been happening here. Tomorrow, I'm having oral surgery. I'll be eating ice cream and watching movies all day. Pity me ;) But I hope you get a chance to get lost this weekend, to drive into the sunlight with the windows down. I hope you sing glory to the sunrise. I hope you shout it up at the stars. I hope you whisper it over the moments that take your breath away.

Also, I hope you find some delicious cheap Valentine's Day candy.

Happy weekending to you :)



p.s. - Next week I'm giving away a copy of Save the Date. I am way too excited about talking about the book (and then passing a copy along to you). You're going to love this one. I'm actually planning to write my review tomorrow, while I'm on pain meds. So that should make it even more fun.