I’m tickled to have a guest blogger posting today! Below is a brief paragraph, written by my special guest:

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The church’s steeple was a shadow of grief that loomed over the tombstones like a watchful mother over her baby. The wind moaned in the distance; thunder boomed and lightning flickered. A slow rain fell from the caliginous sky, providing relief to the taupe colored grass. Puddles appeared in various spots around the graves. A mist slowly came upon the churchyard. A lone figure huddled in the corner, having no place to go; the tears running down his face seemed to merge with the rain into one slow dance toward the ground. He leaned on the old iron gate, rusted by years of harsh, uncontrollable snow and rain. The old iron gate was a barrier that kept the dreary things in and protected the rest of the world from the dead and their images. Several ravens, black as coal, flew swiftly by, hoping to find shelter against the cold rain. Flocks of geese dashed across the sky, honking as they went. The churchyard was a forgotten, despised place, reserved for those who had nowhere to run to, and had no hope.

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*the paragraph above, published here with permission, was written by my 13-year-old daughter as a creative writing assignment for her English class this past year. They were reading Great Expectations, and had to write a descriptive paragraph which included metaphor, simile, and adjectives, and one of the choices was to write about a church graveyard. I loved this piece and wanted to share it. (I admit I had to look up the word “caliginous”.) 

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Sharing in gratitude:

250. a dress, beautifully finished, ready to wear… Below is a picture of a dress my guest blogger (aka daughter) made all by herself. She is part of a 4H clothing class, and a few days ago, the girls modeled their handmade outfits for the “Clothing Revue”…an occasion where a judge looks at the appearance of how the dress fits. She received a blue ribbon (a 1st place!). Again, me, proud mama, of her. I wasn’t this accomplished when I was 13; thank you for letting me share all of this with you!

Description of dress: this dress has gathers and pleats at the empire waistline; a zipper; a gathered square neckline; gathers with elastic and slight puffs at the sleeves; a ribbon belt. I’m sure I’ve left something out, but that’s the gist of it. Fun to do (even when the sleeves had to be readjusted, etc.) and a skill to last a lifetime.

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251. Summer is officially coming, one week away

252. a few spinach and lettuce leaves cut from the garden

253. tall yellow blooming lilies

consider the lilies of the field…

254. other blooming flowers in the yard

255. reading poetry this week; checked out a book of haikus from the library, A Little Treasury of Haiku, with haikus compiled from various Japanese poets

256. giggling boys, who came to my room during a nighttime thunderstorm for an unexpected slumber party; I know these will end all too soon. I’m thankful for this gift, their company; how they sought shelter with me during the storm, and what this teaches me about God sheltering me

257. a camera

258. hungry, growing kids… means they’re healthy… even if I struggle in keeping up with their appetites and in offering healthy eating options

259. daughter getting to spend the day with two other friends, shopping together, for her friend’s 13th birthday

260. lemonade

261. dreaming of my Alabama home and the hills

262. writing poems

263. descriptive paragraphs

264. juicy ripe sweet dripping watermelon

265. blueberries, lots of blueberries

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Linking with Ann Voskamp At A Holy Experience: