Family Photo Friday- Handsome Couple

These are my maternal grandparents probably very soon after they were married. I really like this picture. Such a sharp couple. :)

Honest thoughts on this Easter

Those who've followed the blog over the years may remember that I try to be especially mindful during holy week. But this year I am just wrecked out.

To make a long story short, the last month has been one of crisis at my church. Watching this play out and talking to many of those involved, trying to understand has only led me to believe Satan has won a battle and we have lost sight of our First Love.

So forgive me today when I can't rejoice. For Christians this is the day that marks ultimate victory over evil and death, and I so desperately want to be glad in that, but I can't.

Maundy Thursday was especially difficult as I reflected on the Last Supper of Christ with his disciples and remembered his prayer for unity in the church then and to come. I feel such a weight of guilt as we have mocked this prayer in our actions and divisiveness.

This morning I cried through most of church as I looked around and so many people I love were missing. I am so hurt. Although this is a day of joy and victory, I feel sad and defeated. I'm still back there on Black Friday, grieving the pain and price of sin.

And I think it's okay. I believe that God will redeem this situation and all those involved and effected. I believe there will be a day of victory where I will rejoice at the light that God has called from the darkness.

So maybe rather than victory, today I will celebrate hope.

Family Photo Friday- Smirk

This is my paternal grandmother, Mary. I don't know when this picture was taken. I love the little smirk on her face. So gorgeous. Still beautiful.

Growing up

And how I long to see the picture finished,
Painted as a perfect portrait
Void of all the mysteries of my life.
-Audra Lynn, "Cross"

But sometimes it's good to see how we grow, step by step. There's beauty in and of itself to be found there.

Family Photo Friday- Lighthearted

I'm not sure, but I think this is my maternal great-grandmother, Lena.

I really hope this is her.

She was a woman who endured quite a bit of heartache that she carried for many years, and all I can say is that I hope this joy is hers.

You keep using that word

You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means. -Inigo Montoya

Leadership.

Authority.

Submission.

Success.

Failure.

Trust.

------

What looks like failure is success
And what looks like poverty is riches
When what is true looks more like a knife
It looks like you’re killing me
But you’re saving my life

What looks like weakness can do anything
And what looks like foolishness is understanding
When what is powerful has not come to fight
It looks like you’re going to war
But you lay down your life

Derek Webb, "What is Not Love"

Family Photo Friday- Sisters

Again, in honor of Sister's birthday, here's a Family Photo Friday for her.

1988

1990

Ode to Molly Sue

Upon the 21st birthday of my sister (and the 2nd birthday of my dog nephew), we'd like to send a little love across the intertubez.

Family Photo Friday- Four Generations

My great grandmother, my grandmother, my dad, and me. Probably about 1984 or so.

Ruthless Trust

When brilliant ethicist John Kavanaugh went to work for three months in the "house of the dying" in Calcutta, he was seeking a clear answer as to how to spend the rest of his life. On the first morning there he met Mother Teresa. She asked, "And what can I do for you?" Kavanaugh asked her to pray for him.

"What do you want me to pray for?" she asked. He voiced the request he'd borne thousands of miles from the United States: "Pray that I have clarity."

She said firmly, "No, I will not do that." When he asked her why, she said, "Clarity is the last thing you are clinging to and must let go of." When Kavanaugh commented that she always seemed to have the clarity he longed for, she laughed and said, "I have never had clarity; what I have always had is trust. I will pray that you trust
God."

The way of trust is a movement into obscurity, into the undefined, into ambiguity, not into some predetermined, clearly delineated plan for the future. The next step discloses itself only out of a discernment of God acting in the desert of the present moment. The reality of naked trust is the life of a pilgrim who leaves what is
nailed down, obvious, and secure and walks into the unknown without any rational explanation to justify the decision or guarantee the future. Why? Because God has signaled the movement and offered it his presence and promise.

From the book "Ruthless Trust" by Brennan Manning.

Family Photo Friday- Big Brother

This is my maternal grandmother's brother, James. He died before I was born so I never met him, but every time she spoke of him, she still talked like he hung the moon. I wish I could have heard more stories about him.

Learning from my hobby

Why can't I learn about the beauty of people from the flowers I love to photograph?

Beautiful in birth...



Beautiful in death...



Beautiful in weirdness... :)




And most beautiful when they shine as they were created to.

Family Photo Friday- McBirthday

In honor of my birthday this week, here is a classic childhood birthday party shot. I believe this was when I turned 6 or 7.

Love is gonna break through

I love daffodils. To me they are the first sign of resilient spring life after the winter.

From lifeless, brittle Oklahoma grass pokes through small green stalks...

That bloom to reveal what has been growing beneath the surface all winter.

It hits me like lightning
That love must keep fighting
And somehow, every time
Love is gonna break through.
-Chris Rice

Family Photo Friday- Rebel without a cause

This is my dad. Hmm, wonder where I get my rebellious streak from. :)

Neglected praise

I blatantly stole this idea from Abraham Piper at 22 Words, but I find myself quoting it so often that I wanted to do my own list.

10 things we don’t mention in worship songs, but that I’m happy God saved me from:

1. Gangs
   
2. Hypochondria
3. Fear of the dark
4. Attracting men with my cleavage
5. Timidity
6. Being satisfied with the ordinary
7. Legalism
8. Internal bleeding
9. Being a theological snob
   
10. The things I thought I would make me happy
    

Family Photo Friday- Willie and Billy

These are my mother's family's Siamese cats, Willie and Billy. The note on the photo says they were 10 weeks old on October 15, 1967. That is my grandmother's handwriting.


This is my cat, Penny Lane, February 2009. :)

My 1 in 2018

My favorite radio show had the funniest opening act last Saturday, where they took the Drake Equation, used to determine the number of planets in the universe capable of sustaining life, and applied it to single people wondering how many potential mates there are for them in their part of the universe. Seriously.

So here is my Drake Equation. Let's call it the Ann Equation.

I'll start by narrowing it down to Oklahoma, even though that's still quite broad for my personal geography.

Population of Oklahoma- 3,450,000

Population of Oklahoma Males- 1,725,000

Population of Oklahoma Males ages 25-34 (13.1%)- 225,975

Population of Oklahoma Males ages 25-34 and not married or divorced (44%)- 99,429

Population of Oklahoma Males ages 25-34 and not married or divorced with a college education (20.3%)- 20,184 (not necessarily mandatory but hey, why not throw it in)

And let's say I find only 10% of men attractive. Let's be honest, this number is quite high. In reality I don't think anyone finds 10% of people attractive. But anyway. That gives me...

2018

That is the pool I have to work with in the entire state of Oklahoma, when applying the principles of the Drake Effect. And let's be honest, that's not encouraging. Because think of all the other factors! Christian, emotionally stable, no felony records, adherence to dental hygiene standards... the list goes on. :)

Anyhoo, see what you learn listening to public radio? Can you figure out your equation?

And let me say for the record, at the end of the day you just have to find one. The right one. :)

With many thanks to the US Census.

Family Photo Friday- Just Married

These are my paternal grandparents. Just married. Aren't they a handsome couple? Still are. :)

Sunrise, sunset

This is how the day began:

And this is how the day ended:

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands." Ps 19:1