On the Brink of Something Bigger

I'm taking a moment from the frantic whirlwind around me - frantic because I'm leaving for the nation of Haiti in less than 13 hours, and though I should have begun packing roughly three days ago, the first time I even considered what I needed to take was.... about six hours ago.

This being my third trip to this tiny Caribbean country, I think I've got the packing list down, but the mental preparation is a bit more daunting. Here I am, little American girl with suitcase in hand, standing right on the edge of something so much greater than I. I recognize the spectrum of emotions I always feel before this journey. Anticipation, concern, excitement, and a dose of apathy as well. These are the polar opposites of the ones I feel coming back, which range from sorrow and joy to absolute, total disgust.

Why?

Because every time I go I learn to love new souls. Every time God spreads His light a little further into the darkened box of humanity that is the island of Hispaniola. Every time I see just how much I could do without and just how willing I am to do without it if it means just one day longer with these children, these precious, precious children. Because I know that when I leave them, I will inevitably at some point not cry every night for their poor, starving bellies and their empty eyes. And it breaks my heart that every year I would be so able to underestimate the human's ability to forget. And every time I say, "Not this year."

Today Is the Day

Good morning, friends. Wherever you are in the world today, whether it be 2:00a.m. or 7:00 or 9:00 at night, I wish a good day on you all *waves wand*

This is, to date, my fourth attempt at blogging over the past two months. I think I reached the point where I was getting out of my blog exactly what I put into it, and neither of those levels were where I ever wanted to be.
  So, I stepped back. Tried to learn how to blog again. Over the past weeks I have been voraciously reading my favourite writers on the Internet (some of whom inspired me to create this blog in the first place) and trying to figure out what went wrong. Ultimately, the issue was just what I said above. I was hoping that the little effort I put in would result in a satisfying outcome.

Guys, when does that ever work?

I was watching an interview a couple weeks ago with the lead of the band Switchfoot, and the interviewer asked him if he thought the band would be different without one of the band members. I was gearing myself up for a typical "Of course! We couldn't be the band we are today without ___!", but Jon doesn't really give typical answers, so he responded that yes, the band would look drastically different, because everything in our lives bears significance and everything will impact us in some way and change who we are as people.
  I was grateful for that answer. Because I think so much of the time I am content to let the little things fly past or fall down without giving them a second thought. But really, who would you be if you hadn't lived the life you have up to this point?

The Coffey Grounds

I went to a gorgeous spot of land today with Caitlyn and Claire.

And when I say gorgeous, I mean this veritable Paradise-on-Earth

I mean

Much wow, right?

This random plant thing (photo creds: Claire ;)

And Baby Jack, all grown up now, and quite popular with the ladies;)

~Margaret

Excuses, Excuses

Hello, all two of my readers! This is just a quick apology. I realise that I am ridiculously off-schedule and I also have a few posts backed up in Drafts waiting for finishing touches and whew there's so much time and so little to do- wait. Scratch that. Reverse it. Thank you.

Life has been weird lately. And I know how much like an excuse that sounds and it is. I'm making an excuse. But I feel like I have so much to write about and only so much that my brain can stand to let out sanely. I've been doing some major reconsideration about this blog lately and where I want it to go. I'm sure you guys are sick of my blogger drama by now, but this place is my outlet. I just think that this particular outlet needs some upgrading.

So no, I'm not in any way leaving or going on haitus. Actually, I guess I kind of am. I'm going to North Carolina for a week, to a camp there. So if any of you creepy readers out there are going to the Wilds this week, make sure and say hey;)

My goal for this week is to come back revitalized and reinvigorated. I love you guys. I want to make sure that I'm putting the time and effort into this website to make it worth your time. You have been so encouraging and uplifting to me, and if anything, I want to do the same for you. So au revoir, dear interneters, until we meet again.


~Margaret

The May Roundup

Hello all of you livers of life!!

I have some exciting non-book related news that several of you probably relate to now that school is out for the year... I'm a high school senior! Like a real, breathing, done-with-the-junior-year, hasn't-died-from-school-yet senior!
Other exciting news that probably is more awesome for me than for you: I'm getting a new computer! After my old one went AWOL on me, it severely dampened my creative juices, because though I could still write, all of my research, plotting, everything I had written of both The Peasant and Lorelei was on that computer. Fortunately, it came alive long enough for me to transfer all of that onto another computer, so all is not lost.

Enough unscheduledness. Let's get to the order of the day: monthly reading!!

This month is rather odd in that you will see no Shakespeare on the list. Shocking, right, for a nerd like me? But with end-of-the-school-year cramming, I found that a lot of my normal reading got left behind...

Comfort Foods and Favourite Authors

"If one had not experienced it, it would be hard to understand how a dead man out of a book can be almost a member of one's own family circle." -C.S. Lewis, to his brother Warren  

Recently I've been thinking about a particular question, one I've been asked far too often. "Who is your favourite author?"

  Now I suppose this question is not at all unreasonable, you could only expect that someone who loves reading would have at least one author they preferred above the rest. 

  The problem for me is, there just seem to me to be so many types of favourites. For instance, if I said algebra was my favourite education subject of all time, I would probably be lying. Why? Because it's too vague a question. But if I said that algebra was my favourite subject which dealt with improving my logic and helping me to think more analytically, it would be truth. 

  In something of the same way, every author resonates with his audience differently. They leave an indelible impression on their readers, whether it be of a particular character or place, a message, or just an overall feeling. 

With all of the random thoughts that I spend so much time developing, you'd probably get the impression that I have way too much free time on my hands. Wrong. I have no control over this. If my brain decides that it's going to categorize the types of authors and their written works, so help it, it's going to. So please try not to be too fed up by this post. I tried to stop it. *dramatic music*

Liebster Blog Award

So yesterday, I found to my surprise that I had been awarded the Liebster Blog Award by Ashley and Megan over on their blogs. Thank you, guys=)

I have actually done this before on a previous blog (no, it is entirely off the web now, thank you very much) and the memory of it, like most things from my past, is embarrassing. But, it's nothing to be ashamed of, so here I am, ready to change my opinion of it and my blogging skills today!

First, the rules:

-Thank and link back to the person who nominated you (thanks again, Megan and Ashley!;)
-List 11 facts about yourself
-Answer the 11 questions asked by the blogger who nominated you
-Nominate 9 bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers (you can't nominate the person who nominated you)
-Ask them 11 questions
-Let them know about the nomination