breathtaking [travel writing assignment]

I’ll admit it…  This post was a little harder that I thought it would be.  Not only was it hard to pick a place, but it was hard to put into words all the things I saw there.  Hopefully you’ll like what I wrote – I’m anxious to see what y’all think. 🙂

Rhode Island.  I’m not really sure what our reaction was when we heard that my dad would be going there for a work-related conference.  Other than having the honor of being the smallest state in the Union, I couldn’t have told you a thing about it.  We were in for a treat!

The biggest attraction in Rhode Island is a small resort area called Newport.  It’s just a short drive from the capitol city of Providence.  Cross a few bridges and you’re there.

One of the bridges you cross is called the Pell Bridge.  I lovingly claim it as “my bridge”.  I was driving at the first time we crossed this bridge – It’s a wonder we didn’t go plunging off.  The view from the top overlooking Narraganset Bay is breathtaking.  Sailboats are sprinkled over water that sparkles with sunshine.  Something about the view makes you wonder if, just maybe, this was what it looked like when ship-loads of people sailed to the New World.  Maybe this sounds like a romanticized description, but I promise it really is that beautiful in person.

A minute or two more of driving and you find yourself in the heart of Newport.  The streets are shaded and a little too narrow.  Newport is flooded with tourists during the summer, making parking spaces a rare commodity.  A lot of tourists  rent scooters to make navigating a little easier.

Back behind the shops and even farther from the hustle and bustle area of the pier is a neighborhood.  But not the kind of neighborhood that you’re thinking of.  This one is in another class.  The houses (if they can even be called houses) are set on acres of land.  From the back porches you can see rocky shoreline and endless water.

I’ve never seen such a relaxing and beautiful place as Newport.  One day I hope to go back to walk the shore or simply sit quietly somewhere to soak everything in.

walk

[I wrote this post last night for my personal blog – so I thought I might as well put it up here, too, since the point is to write just about every day. 😉 I’d love to hear any suggestions y’all have… :)]

[originally posted on http://www.chaiaddict.com]

Last night I had a not-quite-midnight snack of tortilla chips and mango juice and thought about some of my favorite Bible passages: Psalms with it grand words of praise and intensely personal cries to God.  First John – full of God’s love.  In Isaiah I see that God is always present and always to be praised- even in the midst of trials.  Portions of Exodus and Deuteronomy reveal to us so much about who God is.  Micah sums up in three tiny phrases what God expects of us.

But there’s one verse that stands out to me from all of these other passages.  If you know me well, you know it’s one of my favorite verses in the whole Bible.  Galatians 5:25-

If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

It’s a verse that I share fairly often, but I don’t always take time to explain why I like it so much. That’s what this post is for. 

For one thing, as believers we have the Holy Spirit within us.  That alone is a pretty amazing thought.  The fact that God wants anything to do with us is far beyond my understanding; the fact that He chooses to dwell in us is incomprehensible.

If I were to paraphrase the verse it would probably go something like this: “You have the Spirit – now live like it.”

I love the words “live” and “walk” in this verse.  ”Live” reminds me that it’s only because of a work of God that I can have spiritual life.  ”Walk” reminds me that our spiritual life should be evidenced in the way we live our physical lives.

This verse tells me that it’s possible to have the Spirit without functioning under the control of the Spirit.  It tells me that it takes a conscious effort to live like the Spirit is inside us.  It tells me that we have to surrender ourselves to the control of the Holy Spirit to live a life that pleases the Lord.  It’s a reminder that (in the flavor of my post on Monday) without the Lord’s help I can’t do it on my own.

And that’s something I need to be reminded of on a daily basis…  Thank you, Lord, for giving us supernatural help to make that possible! 

 

it’s where the heart is

Thanks to those of y’all that pointed out the typos – they’re gone now. 😉

If you were find yourself in a not so small suburb in Texas today, you just might find yourself near my home.  If you were to go inside, you would find three people that live there along with a not so small poodle.  I love my home and I love the two people that I live with.  We enjoy being together and doing things together.

When I think of my home I think of days that start a couple hours before the sun rises.  I think of quiet times in the morning when we each take up our little corners and spend time in the Word of God.  I think of evenings that end with a few minutes in prayer.

When I think of my home I think of time in the kitchen making old standbys or experimenting with new dishes.  I think of time around the kitchen table in the evenings when we share tidbits of each other’s day.

To me, though, home is more than just a place with a few people.  Home is a feel.  The person who coined cliché, “Home is where the heart is,” was spot on.  To me home is a place of peace and quiet.  A place understanding.  Home is a place where you feel free to show your full personality in ways you wouldn’t be comfortable elsewhere.  A home is colored by love with accents of lots of laughter and a few tears.

Another Home comes to mind, too.  This Home is like nothing you or I could ever being to imagine.  This Home is characterized by love as well.  A love that loved us in spite of all of our failures, rebellion, and shortcomings.  Dwelling there is the Creator of the Universe and the countless people that were adopted into His family.

Earthly or Heavenly, home is unlike any other place.

[Note: I’m very accustomed to writing with pictures, so hopefully y’all won’t mind if I slip one into my posts every now and then. 🙂 ]

hi!

Hi there!

I’ll follow suit and make this first post a little bio. 

Chai.  Tweezing my eyebrows.  Dried pineapple.  Lip gloss.  All things photography.  Smiley faces.  Candles.  Music.  Edgar Allen Poe.  Reading the amazing Word of God.  Flip-flops.  Scarves.  Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream.  Jane Eyre.  OPI nail polish.  Old TV shows.  My family. My church.  My friends.  My Lord.

Those are just a few of the things I love.

My name is Laurel.  I’m twenty years old, until next month. 😉  I enjoy writing, but  most of my the writing I do is when I’m inspired not when I’m instructed to write something in particular.  That said, I intend to take a good stab at this challenge!  I warn you: I’m a Texan.  Sooner or later “y’all” will slip into a post. 😉