It’s Moving Day! Snow After Fire is heading over to Blogger!

I’ve loved being here on WordPress. It was the perfect place to take my first steps into the blogging world, and I will miss this little blog!  However, I’m so excited for the new opportunities that Blogger offers, and I’m looking forward to a fresh start.

 So goodbye, WordPress…it was fun!

Snow After Fire can now be found here. I hope you’ll come on over!

Also, I’m sorry for the lack of updates recently–I’ve been busy working on Snow After Fire: the Blogger version. It’s nearly ready, so a move will be coming soon!

And though spoken inwardly, it was far more clearly heard than many a word addressed to the outward ear.

“See in this”–this provoking, this rebuke that should not have been–”a chance to die.” To self, and the pride that comes from defending self.

“See in anything”–anything that rouses you to claim your “rights”, or even to consider them at all–”a chance to die.”

Welcome anything that calls you to your only true position: “I have been crucified with Christ…” (Galations 2:20).

A crucified life cannot be self-assertive. It cannot protect itself. It cannot be startled into resentful words. The cup that is full of sweet water cannot spill bitter-tasting drops, however sharply it is knocked.

~~ Amy Carmichael, taken from I Come Quietly To Meet You

~~ why hello, long-suffering little blog of mine. life came in and you got left. again. and now, starting back up feels a bit clunky…rather like that awkward phone call with someone you used to be great friends with and haven’t seen in too long.

~~ velvety-soft terrycloth pj pants are a wonderful thing.

~~ i’ve been living with this as my constant soundtrack.

~~ have you ever noticed how precious the sound of someone you love breathing is?

~~ only at 3 in the morning is it acceptable to be ignoring capitalization. in fact, it’s not only acceptable, it’s impossible to do otherwise.

~~ although the occasional random, incoherent post is rather fun, being awake at 3 in the morning is an adventure i’d really rather not have.

~~ the british officially win at writing dry, self-deprecating, laugh out loud humor. why can’t we all have a butler named jeeves?

~~ ”laugh out loud” is a bad idea when everyone’s asleep and your bedroom door is open.

~~ there’s a certain naked honesty to the world at night; sleeping trees, shadowy streets. waiting, simply and hopefully, for the light. and yet  the dark has to be admitted, acknowledged, before the light comes.

~~ what would a place called “port blue” look like?

~~ i’m thinking about moving to Blogger. it just seems easier and more personal than wordpress. any input?

Cerulean blue! Cerulean is beckoning oceans, an endless sky that you can somehow almost touch, and Owl City music. Cerulean is the color of summer!

And what does this microscopic, priceless “glue” look like?

It looks like a cross.

Whether this is a specific ”message” to us or not, you can decide. I do believe that there are no coincidences with the Creator. And I think this is a tiny, stunning reminder that we follow an absolutely amazing God.

This is something I’m borrowing that a good friend did on Facebook. Each day, for the length of a month, I will be posting a picture of something that brings me joy.

 So many of the resolutions I made for this new year involved responsibility, obedience, faithfulness, and a good dose of growing up. All of those things are good and necessary. But my friend’s beautiful FB posts have made me realize the importance of starting out 2011 with fresh joy. Of stopping for a moment and taking notice of the “God-whispers”, the blessing both big and small, that make life so very lovely. And if I do nothing in 2011 except learn to rejoice in Him and His goodness more fully, that will be a year well spent.

So without further ado, Day 1!

(Image by rich70)

Sunshine! I lived nearly all my life in a place where the sun shines 300 days a year. And then we moved to one of the most non-sunny areas in the country. I woke up this morning to bright, golden sunshine pouring in my window after two straight weeks of grey days, and I felt on top of the world. I never realized before our move what a precious gift a sunny day is!

I saw this on ForeverFan’s lovely blog The Silent Wanderings a loooong time ago, and since it’s a cold, rainy January day and I’m sipping on a cup of steaming coffee, I felt like talking about books.

1. Favorite childhood book?

Oh my, I’m not sure I can choose! Let’s see…the Chronicles of Narnia, the Anne books, and especially Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.

And if I could pick a favorite childhood book that I didn’t read in childhood, it would be The Wind in the Willows.

2. What are you reading right now?

War and Peace (epic and exhausting but so worth it because it’s not Anna Karenina) and Tolkien’s Tales From the Perilous Realm (lovely, sad, haunting little collection of stories). And I just finished Phantom of the Opera, which was interesting, but makes me feel like a literary traitor because…I prefer the musical.   And The Witch of Blackbird Pond. My favorite read in awhile.

3. What books do you have on request at the library?

We moved just a short while ago, and so I’ve just now discovered the local library. So none as of yet.

4. What do you currently have checked out at the library?

Only a book of Tennyson’s poems, because of the reason above. ^

5. Do you have an e-reader?

No, and I don’t think I ever will. I love the smell and feel and look of a real book too much. I understand the convenience, but words on a screen just seem so…soulless.

6. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?

Usually one at a time. I like to be fully immersed in the story, and I can’t do that if I have several occupying my mind at once.

7. Can you read on the bus?

Yes! Unless you’re sitting in the very back with all the bumps and jolts. “It is a truth–bump–universally acknowledged–jerk–that a single man in possession of a good fortune–faceplant–must be in want of a–crash–wife.”

8. Favorite place to read?

Out in nature somewhere on a summer’s day.

9. Do you ever dog-ear books?

Yes. Aaagh. It’s dreadful, but I can’t seem to keep track of bookmarks, so my poor books are dog-eared all over.

10. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?

 Very rarely. I’d rather underline.

11. What makes you love a book?

 Characters that don’t stay characters, but become brothers and sisters and best friends. Moments where I laugh, moments where I cry, and sometimes where I do both. An adventure that takes me somewhere I’ve never been, and writing that captures the beauty of it. And this is the sweetest part of loving books and the greatest reason why I do; those moments when the author gets it, when they take something that has no words and find words. And the moments when a story moves you so deeply that you cannot even cry. Somehow a tale becomes more than simple words. It touches your raw soul, and it takes your breath away, and it makes your heart pound, and it is utterly, heart-rendingly beautiful.

12. What will inspire you to recommend a book?

Essentially, everything I listed above.

13. Favorite genre?

Classic lit, historical fiction, and well-written fantasy.

14. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?

Most of the time,  I try not to, since taste in books is a very personal thing and the book I hate may very well be a favorite of someone else. That being said, there are some books that are writing or moral trash, and if a negative review saves someone else from having to slog through it, then I think it’s justified. And then there’s the occasional book that may not be trash, but is just begging to be snarked at.  

15. Favorite Poet?

Lord Alfred Tennyson.

16. How many books do you usually have checked out of the library at any given time?

At least seven or eight. I feel like I’m wasting the library trip if I don’t stagger out with a heaping armful.

17. How often have you returned books to the library unread?

Only once in a great while.  

18. Favorite fictional character?

Fanny Price from Mansfield Park, Kate from The Perilous Gard, Faramir, Gandalf, Gen, and Molly Gibson from Wives and Daughters.

And I’m not counting any of the Narnia characters, because if I included them, I’d never be able to choose.

Javert from Les Mis.

21. The longest I’ve gone without reading.

A week, at the very most.

Probably the various versions of Mansfield Park.

26. What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?

Usually it takes something highly objectionable or really bad writing to make me not finish a book. That being said, there are times when a book is just not working and it’s no use trying anymore…

27. Do you like to keep your books organized?

I would like to, but I don’t have much space for bookshelves. So my books migrate all over the house…

28. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them?

Keep them! Giving away a book is like giving away a friend.

Ahh, books. I think I’m going to take my coffee and go curl up with one.

See you after the last page,

Mal

Because no one can sing it like he can.

I know Christmas Eve is, for most of us, a crazy time full of last-minute details. But amidst all the hurry, listen to this with your eyes closed, and take a minute to remember what it is we celebrate: The moment the Great I AM became a baby a teenage girl could hold in her arms. O holy night, O night divine.

Merry Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

May you all have a wonderful day full of turkey, stuffing, football, and especially the chance to spend time with your loved ones remembering how richly we are blessed. God is good!