awake, my soul

you were made to meet your maker

maybe we should get them in a size bigger...

when investing in a new piece of clothing, and not just another thrift store impulse but something new and nice like a suit or pair of dress shoes, i sometimes have to remind myself that i no longer need to compensate for future growth. i'm fully grown now, and i don't need to think about growing room like our parents did when we were children. we can all recall the the late summer school shopping when our bodies were still growing, and all our clothes were bought a little baggy and our shoes a little bulky. surely we would grow. they might feel a little awkward and difficult to maneuver now, but in a few months we would fill them, and in a few months more we would outgrow them. with the foresight of the parent encouraging the process we would be allowed to flourish without restriction. being but children we may have had no idea how much or quickly we were going to grow, but with our parents having gone through the process themselves and having seen it countless times in other children, the future could be more or less envisioned. we would grow, and we would need clothes to fit when we were bigger. by buying a size bigger our parents would meet our future needs.
i have to think that the responsibilities placed on us follow a similar pattern. when they are first given to us they seem massive and unsurmountable. we clunk around in these cavernous clown shoes and wonder how we're ever supposed to fill them. but thankfully our Father gave them to us wisely, knowing we would grow. if we continue to bear them patiently, we'll arrive at the day when they comfortably cover and protect us on our journey. if we cast them aside and chose a smaller size, however, sooner than we wish they will be too small and will painfully restrict our progress.
right now i feel as if i'm a child anxiously fingering through the racks trying to select the clothing i will wear as an adult. should i buy a suit? should i buy scrubs? a set of work boots? and what size should they be? i'm not sure. i could don them all if i really wanted to, but what am i going to want to wear in 30 years? i don't know. but through the foresight of my parents, both heavenly and earthly, the future can be generally envisioned. through a careful process my garments will be chosen, and as i slip them over my head, layer by layer - college graduate, husband, professional, father, priesthood holder - they drape and swathe my tiny body. when i feel as if i'm about to drown in linens i hear the comforting words coming from somewhere above, "don't worry, son, you'll grow into them."

"the velvet hand... the hawk's eye"

Henri Cartier-Bresson
a champion of the fleeting moment

oh, just a nature video

i get the feeling that an upcoming pixar movie will be based off of these guys.

relativity

a couple of interesting things happened yesterday:

1. i outpaced and passed a guy on the bike trail who was riding a bike that cost over twice as much as mine.

2. i checked the resale value of my car and i realized that it is worth less than my bike.

so if people laugh and giggle when you tell 'em where you live....

bicycling magazine names minneapolis america's best bike city

this article wonderfully captures the minnesota mentality, and not just regarding bicycling either. we're a kind, sweet bunch of blond-haired, blue-eyed scandinavians but underneath we're tough as nails and will keep rolling through any weather.

my favorite line: "all i ever hear about is how cool portland is. who rides through the [shiz] we do? we ride more by accident then they do on purpose."

it's in my honey, it's in my milk

http://timoroustucker.tumblr.com/post/830680498/sorrow-found-me-when-i-was-young-sorrow-waited

celebrating our country by blowing up a small part of it

our internet connection has been spotty so i haven't had the chance to upload any photos until now.

this photo perfectly sums up my fourth of july weekend:

From blowing up a small part of it

if you want to see adorable pictures of my adorable nieces and nephews as well as my mother making funny faces you can click on the album link. it was an purely american weekend. hope you enjoy.

worst opening lines in literature

Winner: Fantasy Fiction

The wood nymph fairies blissfully pranced in the morning light past the glistening dewdrops on the meadow thistles by the Old Mill, ignorant of the daily slaughter that occurred just behind its lichen-encrusted walls, twin 20-ton mill stones savagely ripping apart the husks of wheat seed, gleefully smearing the starchy entrails across their dour granite faces in unspeakable botanical horror and carnage – but that’s not our story; ours is about fairies!

Rick Cheeseman

Waconia, MN