100 years of Anne

2008 will mark the 100th anniversary of the publishing of Anne of Green Gables, LM Montgomery's beloved book about the mischevious red-headed orphan, Anne Shirley. In celebration of the anniversary, my best friend Bethany and I are planning a trip to Prince Edward Island to do all things "Anne" next July. I got so excited thinking about the trip, that I just had to reread the books! And although I've read them numerous times during childhood, the last time was over 10 years ago.

My brother and husband can attest to how much I truly love Anne...

At a game night, the trivia question was, "What was the name of Anne Shirley's love interest?" And yes, because my brother had watched the movies numerous times with me throughout our childhood, he answered without hesitation, "Gilbert Blythe," much to the amazement of his teammates.

My husband is consistently amazed at how I love to "watch" the Anne movies while I clean...in truth, I don't actually watch the movie; I simply press play and turn it up loud so that I can hear it all throughout the house. I've watched it SO many times before that I know exactly what's going on in every scene simply from the dialogue and music.

But back to the books... These books are like good friends - they've become a part of me and have helped shape who I am. Anne's misadventures, insecurities and hopes all resonate with the little girl/woman in me, trying to figure out what it means to love and be loved, to not let go of my ideals and to learn from my ("many though not repeated") mistakes.

I am the type of person who reads at almost every chance - in a restaurant by myself, on the elevator, at a red light - which has left me open to many suspicious stares and awkward glances as I literally laugh out loud while Anne snubs Gilbert's offer of a strawberry apple, dyes her hair green and forgets to put flour in a cake.

So in tribute to Anne, here are just a few of my favorite parts:

Regarding vanity...

" 'But just now I feel pretty nearly perfectly happy. I can't feel exaclty perfectly happy because - well, what color would you call this?'

...Matthew was not used to deciding on the tints of ladies' tresses, but in this case there couldn't be much doubt.

'It's red, ain't it?' he said.

The girl let the braid drop back with a sigh that seemed to come from her very toes and to exhale forth all the sorrow of the ages.

'Yes, it's red,' she said resignedly. 'Now you see why I can't be perfectly happy...'"

Regarding love...

"Once, when no one was looking, Gilbert took from his desk a little pink candy heart with a gold motto on it, 'You are sweet,' and slipped it under the curve of Anne's arm. Whereupon Anne arose, took the pink heart gingerly between the tips of her fingers, dropped it on the floor, ground it to powder beneath her heel, and resumed her position without deigning to bestow a glance on Gilbert."

Regarding fashion...

"...she felt very miserable; every other little girl in the class had puffed sleeves. Anne felt that life was really not worth living without puffed sleeves."

Here's to 100 years of Anne!

the butterfly is already becoming

chrysalis
Originally uploaded by pcrispin

I have wanted to go to Africa for as long as I can remember. This summer, that dream was fulfulled when I went on a mission trip to Blantyre, Malawi. And although I learned many things and had an amazing experience, I did not feel any sort of great or dramatic change within myself...and was in fact, disappointed. I had prayed and prayed for this remarkable change, complete healing of my heart and the re-discovery of my True Self. So when this didn't happen like I expected, I was frustrated and somewhat disillusioned with my life-long dream. Yet, things are never what they seem...

I began to pray...and thankfully, God spoke...

I "randomly" came upon a book in the bookstore called When the Heart Waits, by Sue Monk Kidd. In the first chapter, she tells about her experience of coming upon a cocoon and how the rememberance of a certain childhood story accurately described her current situation...

Yellow, a caterpillar in Trina Paulus's book Hope for the Flowers, saw another caterpillar spinning a cocoon and asked, "If I decide to become a butterfly...what do I do?"
"Watch me, " came the reply. "I'm making a cocoon. It looks like I'm hiding, I know, but a cocoon is no escape. It's an in-between house where the change takes place...During the change, it will seem...that nothing is happening, but the butterfly is already becoming. It just takes time."

I love how God speaks to me in ways that relate uniquely with my soul, my personality...He speaks to me in books...and I knew that God was saying, "You too have entered the chrysalis. And even though you do not sense the change, the butterfly is already becoming. It just takes time...so trust me and rest in MY timing for your shaping, growing and revelation."

So, like Kidd, I pray I am able to embrace and even rest in the cocoon with courage and endurance...that I will trust the change that is happening, even though I cannot see.

Baaahh-stun

We're moving to Boston! It seems like we have been talking about it for so long and now it's almost here. I am have a myriad of feelings all swirling around inside of me - sadness because I've finally learned to like Dallas and love the people here, anticipation because I've always wanted to live on the East Coast and because Boston might be one of the most amazing cities in the entire United States.

And much excitement...to get back up north where it's cold and there's lots of snow; where we can eat fresh and yummy seafood; where I get to wear sweaters and jeans and boots 3/4 out of the year; where it's green and there are parks and trees everywhere; where I can walk almost anywhere; where we are 10 minutes from the ocean and an hour from the mountains; where there is so much history here it puts me to shame how little I actually know of it. Wow, I'm getting myself even more pumped up.

Since I don't have any pictures yet of our humble abode - our miracle as we like to call it - for now a map of our new destination will have to do. So take a look at section 6 "Brighton" and then go slightly to your left, right on the line. This is where our new apartment is located - right on the line of Brighton and Newton. Remind me to write about our Miracle Apartment on a later blog.