The Shepherd's Psalm

All I Want...

Our pastor taught on the 23rd Psalm today. Well, really, he taught on the first verse of Psalm 23. "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want." He shared a story of a little girl who was reciting the Psalm, but she said, "The LORD is my shepherd; and that's all I want!"

Over 10 years ago, I attended a Women's Conference with a dear friend of mine. We were able to see Marilyn Meburg in a small setting. She taught on the 23rd Psalm. I remember my dear friend realizing for the first time that the Psalm did not say, "The LORD is my shepherd; I shouldn't want anything." A verse that was meant to bring her ultimate comfort... had always been more of a command that she wasn't even sure how to fulfill.

Our pastor encouraged us that this Psalm shows how we are recipients of God's provision, peace, protection and presence. But then he crossed the line... he gave us a challenge! He said if we would read the 23rd Psalm five times a day for the next 7 days, it would change our lives.

We are to read it slowly, meditatively, prayerfully... reading different versions. When we wake up before we get out of bed, at breakfast, lunch, dinner, and at bedtime. He said it would increase our coping skills, help with our relationships, and deepen our walk with God. Sound too simple? Maybe it is too simple. But if you knew something could change your life for the better... would you do it? Or would you question it? Would you say it's too good to be true? Would you say that you've tried it before? But really... have you? 5x a day? for 7 days?

I'm going to take the challenge and find out for myself. How about you? Are you ready to move beyond knowing The Shepherd's Psalm? Are you ready to know The Shepherd?

Psalm 23 (King James Version)

1The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not want.

2He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
he leadeth me beside the still waters.

3He restoreth my soul:
he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.

4Yea, though I walk through
the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil:
for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

5Thou preparest a table before me
in the presence of mine enemies:
thou anointest my head with oil;
my cup runneth over.

6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life: and
I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Blogging Etiquette

My favorite magazine is Real Simple. In their September 2008 issue they recently decided to deal with blogging etiquette.

#13 A friend has a blog, and you feel that she is embarrassing herself by giving away too much personal information. How can you tell her?

SMITH: Say that you love her blog but since some readers don't know her as well as you do, they may misinterpret what she's saying. If she gets defensive, back off. But if the information on her blog is creating a safety issue--like she could be attracting a stalker--you're morally obligated to tell her.

SCHWALBE: I'd pose it as a question, such as "How do you decide what's too personal for your blog?" That gives her the opportunity to proclaim a philosophy (in which case, it's her business) or to admit that she doesn't have one. In that instance, your input might be welcomed.

FOX: Unsolicited advice is hard to give, but it is necessary to speak up in a situation like this. Before giving specific examples of content you find troublesome for her professional or personal life, make it clear that you are saying something only out of concern and not judging her.

Whew! Glad to get that information out there. Now, I can morally give you unsolicited advice that you just might just welcome. Be prepared!

But to each one of us Grace has been given...

Sister Sheri and Grace

I had the unique opportunity to meet one of my blogging sisters, Grace of Grace Today. We happened to be in her neighborhood on Wednesday... Sunny, California! Grace and I originally met on-line through our blogging sister, Beloved Mama. Grace has known Beloved Mama for quite some time. I have been fortunate to meet Beloved Mama through our Ladies' Bible Study at church.

We had a wonderful lunch overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Anthony and Christopher joined us and I think we talked her ears off!

Grace has been inspirational to me. I wrote a post about her called, It is Good for Our Hearts to be Strengthened by Grace. She has also exhorted me (well, the blogging community) to get back to blogging... which inspired me to write Substandard. You'll notice the little "thank you" to Grace at the bottom of the post referencing her post called Blogland. The "Substandard" post got me back to blogging and not being so concerned about getting it right all the time. What freedom!

It is truly amazing how God brings us together. How He has given us grace... and in this case, Grace!

But to each one of us
grace
has been given as Christ apportioned it.
Ephesians 4:7

20th Wedding Anniversary

Entreat me not to leave you,
or to return from following after you,
For where you go I will go,
and where you stay I will stay.

Your people will be my people,
and your God will be my God.

And where you die,
I will die
and there I will be buried.

May the Lord do with me
and more if anything
but death parts you from me.

The Abomination

Do you mind?!

Please pray for me! You know I love Legoland... but these people have been violating my perceived rights! The Abomination! Can't I just get a picture of my son alone with R2D2? Do you have to appear to be trying to get in front of me in the ice cream line? Could you just stand back about two feet? How rude! That person just walked right in front of me! Could you quiet your screaming child who obviously needs a nap? Do you mind?! You're violating my personal space!

I'm not asking you to pray that I won't be bothered by the people around me. I'm asking you to pray that I would not sin in my anger. Yesterday, a woman sat in front of me. And I asked her to move. Well, she was sitting in a spot that she shouldn't be sitting. It was reserved for children. And she was blocking my view. And my son was going to be on stage and I wanted Anthony to be able to get really good photos of him. And I asked her to move. And she did.

But afterwards, I felt like an idiot. Why had I lost it? What had happened to me? Too many violations in a row? Too tired? What about my "christian witness" to those around me?

So, today, when I return to Legoland I am going to practice what I "preach"... I am going to submit my perceived rights to God. Because on my own... I just can't do it. And that is the point.

Legoland

C is for "Christopher"!

Legoland 2008

Two years ago Anthony, Christopher and I went to Carlsbad, California to visit Legoland. We had such a wonderful time that I've been asking to return ever since. I finally got my wish. The same week (we were here for our 18th anniversary), the same hotel, the same room!

Anthony had hesitated returning to Carlsbad thinking that we might end up overwriting a wonderful experience. Have you ever done that? Revisited something and it didn't live up to the memory?

I've done that. A couple years ago, I decided to try my most favorite ice cream flavor from childhood: PINK BUBBLEGUM. Thinking I would re-live memories... feel like a kid, again. All I have to say about that is... YUCK! So wish I had not done that!

Fortunately for me returning to Legoland has been like a dream. I'm like a kid in a candy shop. Grinning from ear to ear. Oh, yeah... and Christopher and Anthony are having fun, too!

Submission

As I approach the 20th Anniversary of my marriage to Anthony, my mind has been drawn to think of our wedding... our love letters (some over 23 years old)... milestones and memories... and of course... submission.

You know... the verse... somewhere in the Bible... in the New Testament... in Ephesians... chapter 5... verse 24... let's all say it in unison "wives should submit to their husbands in everything."

I remember going through pre-marriage counseling and being asked pretty much, "Sheri, what do you think about submission?" I probably stifled a laugh and with indignation said, "I'm all for anyone submitting to me." Come on, I was 20 years old... and grew up in a home of just women.

I think about the struggling and the controversy over this barely mentioned word submission. I think it is brought up about once a year in church... kind of like tithing. We're "supposed" to do it... but no one likes to talk about it due to fear of offending someone.

I have been attending weddings lately... actually, my friend's children's weddings. (Wow! That makes me feel old!) I have been overwhelmed by the extravagant websites... have you seen these? Photos of the engagement... links to registries... information about the wedding... how to help pay for the honeymoon to Hawaii... and these gals really seem with it. They are prepared. Prepared for the wedding... but I see no link... no information... are they prepared for the marriage? Have they even put one percent of their effort into being prepared for the days... the years... after this incredible dream-like day?

And so I wonder... if I could give these precious princess brides any advice... what would it be?

Ephesians 5:24.

No, really. It would be about submission. Learning how to submit.

To God.

You see, we haven't memorized all of Ephesians 5:24... have we? Let's try it again in unison, "Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything." Okay, so some of us dropped off on that one...

Now, church here does not mean a building... it means us... it means me. How in the world do I submit to Christ? I mean, come on, before we can learn what submission to our husbands looks like, we've got to figure out what submission to Christ looks like.

And so my question is this... Is it easier to submit to a husband... or is it easier to submit to Christ? And my answer may surprise you...

I encourage you to take time to read Ephesians 5:22-33. First, ask the Lord in prayer, "Heavenly Father, help me to understand what these verses are talking about... I want to learn more about who You are." And when you read it... I want you to focus on Christ. What is He doing? What has He done? Who is responding to Him? Can you trust Him? Why would He even want us to submit to Him?

Whether you are a bride-to-be, single, divorced, happily married... or not-so-happily married, my advice to you... is to find out more about our Lord. Spend time with Him... get to know Him... by reading your Bible, doing a Bible Study (whether alone or in a group), praying, attending church... submit yourself to finding out more about His love for you.

And when you get to the point where you feel you know Him... and can trust Him... and realize that He is for you... you'll want to submit to Him and His will.

He loves us, sisters. Take Him at His Word.

Give Away: Sisterchicks Go Brit!

I fell in love with the Sisterchicks series about two years ago. I was looking for some light-hearted Christian Fiction that didn't involve young romance or murder or teenagers or end times prophecy or anything that would make me sad... Good luck, right?

The Sisterchicks novels revolve around two Christian women (different every book) who are "midlife" and how they experience growth in their relationship. Normally, through a trip or a life change. My favorite one is Sisterchicks Say Ooh La La when the girls visit Paris. Probably my favorite for a couple reasons... I took six years of French... and have visited Paris two times. And it was the first Sisterchicks novel I ever read...

I purchased Sisterchicks Go Brit! as soon as it came out. It was fun as always... and it inspires me to get together with my Sisterchicks. Not only to get together... but to make it memorable. Of course, this one makes me want to have you over for a cuppa tea with some traditional cucumber tea sandwiches, fresh baked scones topped with Devonshire clotted cream and organic strawberry preserves, and top it off with the fruits of the forest compote with English cream.

Doesn't that just sound delectable? and to share it with a girlfriend... or two? Can you imagine with a special memory like that... you're really doing something to encourage the growth of your relationship?

If you would like to enjoy my used copy of the novel Sisterchicks Go Brit! just leave a comment to today's post. I'll pick the lucky recipient within a couple days. I'll add a nice little note especially to you in the front of the book... and then when you pass it on, you can do the same for the next person.

And you never know, if you win... I might just have to invite you for a spot of tea!

The Truth

Disclaimer: This post is not for the faint of heart. If you intend to keep me on a pedestal, please read no further!

I don't make my bed everyday. Okay, I maybe make my bed once a week. Well, the truth is that it might not really officially be called "making" my bed... It is more like straightening the covers.

I don't do the dishes every day. I like to let them pile up and then put them into the dishwasher at one time because I have a whole logical schematic as to which items go where.

I have piles of clutter around my house at this very moment. When-am-I-going-to-read-these-books pile. Where-do-I-file-these-papers pile. Need-to-put-this-stuff-in-the-car pile.

But if I knew you were coming over... I would most likely do the dishes. I would definitely throw all my piles of clutter into a laundry basket and shove it in the laundry room. And I might... just might... on a good day... straighten my bed, but most likely... well, the plain truth is... I would just shut the bedroom door.

I had some darling ladies over my home a couple months back. After having visited my home, one of my precious ladies told me that she saw my piles! She actually went looking for them. It relieved her to know that I had piles. Because she has her own piles, and she wondered what other people did with their piles.

Now, mind you, I don't always have piles. I'm pretty organized by most standards. Most of the time I have piles because I want to make sure everything ends up where I can find it at a later date.

I don't hide my piles because I want to impress you. I hide them because I don't want to be distracted by them while you are here. I don't want you to be distracted by them either. It's not that I'm trying to be someone that I'm not... It's just that when you are in my home... I want it to be a haven to you.

I guess I do this in other areas of my life. I may not always greet you with my piles in tow... I may appear to have things together... but I do this because... I want to be a haven to you... whether in my home or in my heart.

I want you to feel free to come over and peek in the laundry room and see my piles. I encourage you to do so. You can even take a peek into the sink... if you must. But in all honesty, when you peek into my bedroom... you'll find the bed unmade... because... well, isn't that what matching bed sheets were made for?

Air-Guitar: noun, informal: used to describe the actions of someone playing an imaginary guitar

At our church, the elementary Sunday School teachers get the month off in August which means that Christopher attends "Big People" church with us.

Last Sunday, as we were worshiping in song, Christopher decided to to play the air-guitar. Then he started spinning. We were sitting on the front row and were all the way to the left of the pulpit, so he had ample room... and a bit of an audience.

Now, mind you, we attend a charismatic church. Raising hands and swaying to the worship songs is quite common. But air-guitar and spinning? Not normally part of the service.

You know your instinct. That was mine. "Christopher, come over here. Don't play air-guitar and spin during worship. That's just... that's just..." and then I realized he was really worshiping the Lord.

...I will celebrate before the LORD.
I will become even more undignified than this...
2 Samuel 6:21-22 NIV

Worship was over (whew!) and we took our seats. Then the pastor began the sermon, "When Worship Breaks Containment" to our surprise. It was from 2 Samuel 6 where King David dances before the Ark of the Covenant in praise to his Lord. The pastor spoke about David's passion for the Lord sometimes exceeding his ability to contain it. And that when we lose preoccupation with self and become occupied with God... we just might dance.

...And when she saw King David leaping and dancing
before the LORD, she despised him in her heart.
2 Samuel 6:16 NIV

And then he went on to talk about David's wife, Michal. She tried to mange David's response to God. Calling it vulgar. Immediately after this conversation, it is noted in 2 Samuel 6:23 that Michal "had no children to the day of her death."

So, I did not follow my instinct. (As you can imagine with great relief after a sermon on David dancing before the Lord.) I watched in enjoyment as Christopher danced before the Lord... and wondered if King David perhaps in his dancing played a little air-harp... What? It could've happened...

The Dog Days of Summer

My Pet-in-law, Alice

It has been over 100 degrees here for the last three days, but by Wednesday of this very week, it will drop to 60 degrees. So within a span of a week the temperature is going to drop 40 degrees.

You know how important the sun and heat are to me. So, as soon as I heard the forecast, I ran outside. It currently "feels" like 101 degrees. But I don't care. I know that soon I will be back wearing jeans and socks and layers and sweaters... in just a week, so for now... I am one with the heat.

I just want to be outside. As if by being out here and soaking up the heat and humidity while others savor the AC, I will be happier next Wednesday when I am cold. I have to savor the heat while I have the opportunity. There are no guarantees in the weather department... but there are forecasts!

And that made me think... what if we had "forecasts" in other areas of our lives? Like a marriage forecast...

"Communication with husband at a record high 88 percent today,
but by Friday it will be in the low 50's"

Or a spiritual forecast?

"Partly legalistic this week with clouds of judgment by the end of the week" or

"Sunny disposition tomorrow with a chance of godly contentment"

Makes you wonder... doesn't it?

Entombed in the Moment

I have a dear loved one who is in the midst of making a difficult decision. It might be easy for me to tell her what I think she should do... but I know better. She needs to make this decision because she is the one who will have to live with its ramifications. Good or bad.

As I prayed and asked the Lord for any guidance, He reminded me of the book "The Best Question Ever" by Andy Stanley. God tells us in Ephesians 5:15 to "Be very careful, then, how you live -- not as unwise but as wise." And so Andy Stanley suggested that we ask ourselves the question...

In light of
my past experience,
my present circumstances, and
my future hopes and dreams...
What is the wise thing for me to do?

And I thought about you... I thought someone else needs this today.

So, as you are thinking about that decision you need to make, I want to encourage you to take some time to think...

What is my past experience?
What are my present circumstances?
What are my future hopes and dreams?
Now, with that knowledge, what is the wise thing for me to do?

I have found this question to be very helpful... life changing. It helps me to find areas where I have been deceiving myself... and refocuses me from being entombed in the moment to finding hope in the future... even JOY!

It is also a great question because it reminds us that there are NO COOKIE CUTTER ANSWERS. It helps us to look to God in prayer... and ask... what are my future hopes and dreams? Sometimes, we get so entrenched in our present we forget about hope and future... and wisdom.

About three shelves up.

I forgot to tell you that I lost my hope a while back. But, it's okay, really... I found it. I have to admit that I had stopped looking for it.

And do you know where I found it? In the cupboard next to the sink. About three shelves up. I had added it to a bunch of rocks in a flower display/vase. I took the flower display down... and there it was. So, I hadn't really lost my hope. I just didn't know where it was.

I decided to set it out on my patio table and put some flowers from my garden in the display.

And then it hit me. I really had lost my hope. Each morning I would come out to the garden... and I would be disappointed. It would be gray and cool. Or it would be sunny, but too cold... no humidity. It was just too cold for me to spend time in the garden. Time when I knew the Lord might speak to me. I felt like I was missing out on the best part of summer.

And then God reminded me. His timing is perfect. Even in the garden. There were things I was not ready to hear yet. Things God wanted to speak, but I was not ready to listen. Just like my garden, I had needed a little fertilizer... or a little time to be fallow.

And now, here I am. Ready to weed. Ready to prune.

Ready to reap.

Creating Beauty, Again

This is one of my favorite posts from last year. I hope you take the challenge.

In the Garden

Okay, so I've been a little melancholy lately. I decided to give you a break from my grieving. I know you can benefit from it, but sometimes we need to think about beautiful things, right?

On Saturday, I had my quiet time in the garden. I've started a Beth Moore study, Beloved Disciple, and I had some journaling to do for my grief class homework (oops, there I go, again). Plus, I had an e-mail that a friend had forwarded to me with a devotion on gardening. She was so cute! She said, "Ok, I promise I won't only think of you in terms of gardening and won't continue to bombard you with e-mails about gardening. But thought you might have some kindred spirits here." Please, keep thinking of me in terms of gardening! Whatever draws me closer to the Lord!

Anyway, I took extra time to prepare my solitary place. And I realized I was creating beauty. I brought out extra candles. I poured my lemon-flavored Dasani bottled water into a glass. I pulled out the zucchini muffins I had made - heated them - and placed them on a darling little dessert plate and surrounded it with sliced apples. I really started getting into it when I moved two of my Willow Tree angels outside. Prayer and Good Health.

As I sat down to read the devotion my friend had sent me, I could barely read through the tears. Here was a devotion on gardening which was on beauty!

Beauty has been defined as, "things that please us when seen." But why do certain things please us? No answer satisfies me. Perceptions of beauty, I suppose, are instinctive, intuitive, and inexplicable. I know beauty when I see it and that's about all I can say.

The pleasure of beauty, however, is transient. All of us, I believe, have had the experience of finding something exquisitely beautiful and then discovering one day that it no longer pleases us. Beauty is not end in itself, but points beyond itself to something better and more beautiful.

...The beauty of holiness, on the other hand, is "unfading."[1 Peter 3:4] That encourages me a good deal.

There is other encouragement here: Through the beauty of holiness we may become the means by which others are drawn to God who is the source of all goodness and beauty. Peter puts it plainly, "Live such good (beautiful) lives among unbelievers that…they may see your good (beautiful) deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us" (1 Peter 2:12). - David Roper

So, my challenge to you today is to create beauty for yourself. Yes, it will take a little extra effort, but think about how it will change your outlook on today. And tomorrow. You know, if it would help, why don't you come over and visit my garden.

A Kiki for Benjamin

Meow! I've been anxiously waiting for you, Benjamin.

I am made from yarn purchased in Jerusalem, Israel.
Especially for you.

Just like you, I am one of a kind.
I was supposed to be a sweater,
but when your Auntie Sheri saw my pattern in a book...
she thought we would be good together.
I'll (hopefully) last a lot longer than a sweater anyway!
I am the first yarn toy that your Auntie Sheri ever attempted.

Well, better be going.
Auntie Sheri is about to stitch a little
"Knit with Loving Stitches"
tag on me
and then I'll be on my way!

Because I cannot be there...

Because I cannot be there... but He can.

A letter found in the devotional called "His Princess: Love Letters from Your King" by Sheri Rose Shepherd.

And be sure of this;

I am with you always,

Even to the end of the age.

Matthew 28:20

My Princess...
You're Never Alone

You never need to hold on to anyone out of fear of being alone, My precious princess. I am with you wherever you are. I am the friend who walks in when the world walks out. I created you to have strong relationships, My love, and I see your desire to be close to someone. If you will seek Me first and come to Me with your wants and needs, I will choose your friends for you. I also will bless those friendships abundantly. Don't settle for less than My best just to fill your schedule with people to see and places to go. I want to reach you with the reality of My presence in you first, and then you will be ready for real relationships that are orchestrated by Me.

Love,
Your King and your Best Friend


You are in my prayers, sweet Sister. I love you.

Beckoned

In the Garden

Time spent in my garden today. Oh, I am so happy to have 90 degree weather for a couple days. And I am so happy to be back in the garden.

I guess I am what you call a fair-weather gardener. With the temperatures hovering in what feels like the 60s for most of the summer, I've kept my distance from my garden. Last year what had become like a sanctuary to me ... has become silent... idle... overgrown... abandoned.

It was like my friend refused to beckon for me. In a way, it actually made me feel like I was unwanted.... or perhaps unneeded.

But today, I was all of those things... needed, wanted, beckoned... and it felt so good. It felt good to be in the garden... because it is a place where I hear the Lord so plainly.

So, while others of you are cursing the thermometer because of the heat... I am soaking it in. The heat. The warmth. The time in the garden with my Heavenly Father. It reminds me of one of my favorite hymns,

In the Garden

I come to the garden alone
While the dew is still on the roses
And the voice I hear, falling on my ear
The Son of God discloses

He speaks and the sound of His voice
Is so sweet the birds hush their singing
And the melody that He gave to me
Within my heart is ringing

I'd stay in the garden with Him
'Tho the night around me be falling
But He bids me go; through the voice of woe
His voice to me is calling

And He walks with me
And He talks with me
And He tells me I am His own
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known

- Words and Music by Charles Austin Miles, 1913

Benjamin Luke

Welcome to the family Baby Benjamin Luke!
Congratulations to Tim and Tamra and
Big Brother Ethan and
Big Sister Emma!

8 lbs 2 oz
21 3/4 inches
Wednesday, July 30th, 2009


For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.

When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body.

All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

Psalm 139:13-16 NIV

Re-Assurance

Tumalo Waterfalls, Oregon

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you,
for my power is made perfect in weakness."
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly
about my weaknesses,
so that Christ's power may rest on me.
2 Corinthians 12:9

I was considering one of my weaknesses today.
Lack of confidence.
Always needing reassurance.

And I thought did I really write that correctly "Always needing REassurance"? So my weakness is that after I have already received assurance... I need to hear it, again.

Yup, that about sums it up.

So, how is it that God's power can be made perfect in my weakness? I figure that as I need reassurance... and this is true for all my relationships... I must also need it from Him. Where must I turn to find my reassurance in God? The Bible. Prayer. I have to turn to God, Himself.

And that's a good thing. A very good thing. Exactly where He wants me.

Hide and Keep

I have hidden your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you. ~ Psalm 119:11, NLT

Have you ever felt distant from the Lord? Wondering... how do I "get right" with God? How do I know what He wants from me? What exactly is sin? What makes something a sin?

We can know what the Lord requires of us.

But we have to stop guessing. And we have to start reading His Word (the Bible) and hiding His Word in our hearts.

Not only reading His Word, but hiding it in our hearts. The word hiding here doesn't mean that we have hidden it and we can't find it. But it speaks more of hiding it deep within so that the enemy cannot take it from us. Keeping it close. We are guarding it. Defending it. Remembering it.

Those along the path are the ones who hear,
and then the devil comes and
takes away the word from their hearts,
so that they may not believe and be saved.
Luke 8:12 NIV

an hundredfold

Still other seed fell on good soil.
It came up and yielded a crop,
a hundred times more than was sown...
Luke 8:8a (NIV)

Substandard

I'm struggling today.

I want to write a post.

I have so much I want to share with you.

I start to write... and then... well, it just gets complicated.

I have a fear of being misunderstood.

I open a "New Post" and start to write... it feels good.

And then... here I am... feeling uncertain, insecure... at a loss for words.

I hit "Save Now" as if I will return to my draft and finish the post.

Which I don't.

I really am here. Blogging. You just can't read all my posts because they are drafts.

I have to hit that "Publish Post" button.

But I don't want to share my substandard posts with you.

So, you wonder where I am at... perhaps enjoying the summer.

But here I am, keeping my thoughts to myself.

Actually, a little miserable because I am keeping my thoughts to myself.


ps. a note to Grace... thanks.