See You Later, Bethany

Bethany came home from Minneapolis for a week, then we brought her down to South Carolina for college. It is weird taking your younger sister to college.

Bethany is a freshman!

Of course, you need your bike when you live on a tiny college campus. 

There we all are except me. 

At the cafeteria. 

Our friend, Maggie, on the left, was a great companion throughout the day. Here we are sitting in the prayer room.

We walked back to the cafeteria building and sat some more. 

Then I watched Bethany try to unpack. 

Then, Lydia and I sat some more outside the dorms. 

I took several really cool "I'm bored" pictures.

Isn't that cool?

That's pretty neat. 

Oh, yeah, cool selfies with Elisabeth. 

Worship

We end the day with a lovely sunset before I fell asleep on the way home. 

Creation

Just a random old picture from last year about this time. I feel for the new freshman at BCS. I'm sure they'll do just fine. 

Trouble and Sorrow

Nothing particularly spectacular has happened since our trip to the Blue Ridge, except that I remembered that I can write poems. Tomorrow Bethany goes to college, so that's weird.

Anyhow, this poem pretty well describes how my summer has been, specifically lately. I like it, but you can just read it to see what you think.

"Trouble and Sorrow"

or What Now?

What then, what now?

Where, when, what, how?

I'm confused, I'm lost;

What's the detail, the cost?

I've asked, I've wondered,

I've thought through things;

I've tried, I've blundered.

I've tried spreading wings.

I'm stuck, I'm in the dark,

This is no amusement park.

I've plead and wept with tears,

My heart stained through the years.

"Return unto thy rest, O my soul"

Calm down, don't worry so,

Remember the end, the guiding Goal,

Not exactly how you'll go. 

"Oh, LORD, truly I am thy servant"

I'll follow You with steps fervent, 

Or sit and wait quietly in You

When I don't know what else to do. 

Oh, I've "found trouble and sorrow,"

But I called "upon the name of the LORD"

He showed me hope in tomorrow

And comfort in His holy paper Sword. 

*Photography by E. A. L.

Blue Ridge Beauty

It was a most wonderful day driving through one of God's glorious pictures: the mountains. I love the mountains, the Blue Ridge in particular. There is something so stunning, and they just seem to roll on forever. What a good day.

Smoke rising from the depths. 

We hiked at Linnville Gorge. 

The family

I'm only a little obsessed with butterflies, and when I saw this, I was quite overwhelmed. I think I was a little more interested in this than what was above it (the next picture). 

The upper falls

The gorge

Moss is another thing I love.

A little garden below. 

My amazing gem si unt sandvis. 

My parents are pretty amazing too. 

A beautiful scraggy rock we discovered off the beaten trail. 

Don't try this at home, kids. 

A smaller waterfall tucked into the woods. The water was a sheet of clear glass. 

Wet, slimy moss. 

Not long after this picture, I believe we enter into a heavy downpour. Then we drove down a super windy road. It was really cool. 

For the Love of Walnut

If you remember from a couple posts ago, I got my hands really stained with walnut juice, and then one of the chaperones started calling me "Walnut." Well, now that I'm home and don't have to worry about female chaperones being grossed out by my stained hands, I decided to collect three walnuts and make paintings with the juice. I had a real aziroazide of a time doing it.

Lydia kindly took this picture of my three walnuts and the farm. 

The supplies

I cut slivers for making paint.

I made the first painting by just scraping the slivers on the paper. 

My jar of slivers. 

The finished piece.

I poured boiling water over the shavings then crushed them with a rock and the paint was in process. 

A crushed walnut. Of course, they aren't ripe yet, but I don't care. 

Lydia took this picture of me in my "studio."

I was really having fun. 

Of course, the artists hands are never clean for long.

I also used a paintbrush. 

My two favorites. 

The walnut stain bottled up and ready for use another time. 

Farm in the Appalachians. 

Moroccan Road.