God made the ugly fruit too

a whole lot i like about this song 

the lyrics to this hymn i've always loved.
Let thy grace, like a fetter,
bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, 
prone to leave the God I love;
here's my heart, 
O take and seal it for thy courts above.

but this version .. . 

there's some funky offbeat going on. 

i'm sure that's not how to technically - musically - describe it. 

but You know exactly what i'm talking about. 

i'm a fan of all things like that. 

.out of the ordinary

give me navy and black any day

stripes and polka dots.
even the cat scratches all over the edging of my wooden furniture i'm starting to be a fan of, Jayden's weathered it. 

regular - or what may seem like "perfection"  - is plain ole boring. 

i actually just stumbled upon this ad campaign when i turned on my computer now.
via NPR. [great homepage] 

i'll link it below and you can do your own research. 
all i'm going to say is it is Uhhhhh.amazing. 
No white bread - ho hum - walk the liner came up with that. 

Original, creative .. . offbeat thinking. 

[i want to know more] and [more]

raindrops and roses and Christmas cards from the mailman

these are a few of my favorite things
[you were singing that weren't you?] 


1. this Christmas card from my mailman!
Yes.. Brian apparently is his name.
this made me seriously happy
.Seriously

2. The Convos with my 2-year old WebSeries

I have been watching these for the past week or so.
Leaves me cackling.
Can't wait to show a few to my students.
ones without grown men in underwear though. no worries.










3. on repeat this week.

The .Power of Red

i've fallen in love with this lipstick. 
it's the real deal, no normal everyday nude. 

wore it to work this morning.. . reapplied it when my kids were in computers.. 

When I picked them up a student asked, "Do you have lipstick on, Miss Anastasio?"

. . followed by an echo of little girls complimenting me.

who would have thought kids would recognize the power of a little red lipstick? 

towels in the background = super classy

i was scrolling though my playlists and discovered this song.

if you see some crazy thirty-something wearing bright red lipstick, going mad crazy 
singing on the top of her lungs
 .. that .Would. Be .Me. 

these lyrics. the chorus.

but you're not gonna break my soul.
this is the part of me, that your never gonna ever take away from me. 

that was then and this is .Now. 

yes. yes and Yes.

RECENT .PINS

via: GPS

i'm thinking this should just say - A Person's Behavior is an Iceberg. 

Does it really only apply to kids? 

via: Socially Speaking

constant change

This weekend i saw these girls 

My college girlfriends 

Hearts. connected

According to one of them, we look the same. 

haven't changed at all. i'm thinking. No. 

Pictured above - these are baby faces.

Two husbands, seven babies later [none of those mine] we look more.. . more mature.

Nothing stays the same. Certainly not the way we look. 

It's just the way it goes. year to year, month to month, day to day. 

change. 

as i looked through the albums, i couldn't help but notice so many different things 

that i've been reflecting upon. 

We had such a fun time those four years. .. 

and not the drunk, falling all over each other, skipping classes type. 

It was silly pranks, chalking, embarrassing each other, dressing up in department stores. 

All ridiculous. 

.fantastically ridiculous.

In almost all the pictures, we were laughing or trying to be ever so serious 

- as a joke of course. 

Not a care in the world. 

Things are indeed different 

but i still saw the same girl i am now in the photos. 

yes - the 36 year old girl. 

and that makes my heart itchy and fuzzy inside. 

i may have dark and gloomy days but that silliness, that happiness - it glows.

i can feel it on good days and on bad days it tries its hardest to burst through.

i'm blessed that i have people in my life that bring that on and make it shine brighter. 

things do change, people get older and move far away. 

but there are some things that remain constant. 

and for that i am lucky. 

my current repeat.. 

.You are CONSTANT.

heard through the walls of unit 48

this Hymn is beautiful
.all versions 
i'm currently a fan of this one Pandora uncovered for me. 


My favorite verse:
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be.
Let that grace now like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here's my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

Luckily, Optimum decided to slap DIY network back onto their channel lineup. 
It must have been my complaining to the customer hotline.
I've been watching back to back episodes of my favorite, Salvage Dawgs from the DVR. 
Check it out - it's worth some television binging. 

not my will but .Yours be done

hebrews 11:39 - 12:3 

These were all commended for their faith, 

yet none of them received what had been promised, 

since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us 

would they be made perfect. 

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, 

let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. 

And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and the perfecter of faith. 

For the joy set before him He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 

Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

the good i've got is Yours alone

I take all the gifts that You have given and I stake my claim like they're my own,
Will You help me when I forget to remember, the good I've got is Yours alone,

Oh cause I dont wanna tell some arrogant story
or let myself believe I'm you!
I don't wanna be a thief who's stealing Your glory...
Will You help remind me of what is true? 

The ONLY hope I've got, it's You, You.
It's You, You.

Or do I think I have anything to offer,when You have overcome the world?
Couldn't take Your place, cause You're the Author of the greatest love this world has known.

Oh cause I dont wanna tell some arrogant story
or let myself believe I'm you!
I don't wanna be a thief who's stealing Your glory...
Will You help remind me of what is true? 

The ONLY hope I've got, it's You, You.
It's You, You.

Well it's only by Your grace...
That I heard You whisper my name,
I don't have the power to save - to change a heart,
So won't You come and change my heart

Oh cause I dont wanna tell some arrogant story
or let myself believe I'm you!
I don't wanna be a thief who's stealing Your glory...
Will You help remind me of what is true? 

The ONLY hope I've got, it's You, You.
It's You, You.

He dragged me

via chainsawsuit.com

I go back and forth with this guy, Jefferson Bethke.
Sometimes, I love his videos.
Other times, he is a bit much. Maybe it's just the way he talks or maybe it's something more.
The premise of this video is Ten things Christians should stop saying. Proof to my sentence above.
.. .But with THIS clip he is spot.on 
I've experienced it time and time again in my life. 

who You are

This song came across Pandora early this morning. 
I had to stop what I was doing.. . even if the scrambled eggs were overcooked  _ and turn the volume up. 

Isaiah 40:26

It's all proclaiming who You are
You're beautiful 
full lyrics

Let me be singing when the evening comes

i can't even chose a couple of lyrics to highlight as my favorite.
for different reasons, every few lines hit my heart.
in the best way.
very. best.

Rend Collective has created a breath.taking version of this song. 
What a blessing.





lyrics.

The sun comes up, it's a new day dawning
It's time to sing Your song again
Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me
Let me be singing when the evening comes

[Chorus]
Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I'll worship Your holy name

You're rich in love, and You're slow to anger
Your name is great, and Your heart is kind
For all Your goodness I will keep on singing
Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find

[Chorus]
Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I'll worship Your holy name

And on that day when my strength is failing
The end draws near and my time has come
Still my soul will sing Your praise unending
Ten thousand years and then forevermore

[Chorus]
Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I'll worship Your holy name

i see .You

a while ago, i watched a strange
.. . albeit memorable and unique ben affleck movie .To The Wonder
one line hung on my heart since watching it. 

i've always believed it to be true.

even on the worst days, there will always be one, sometimes barely visible- but always there.

one message reminding me that these _ our pains, our sadnesses, whatever frustrations _ are temporary.

Our hope is in Him.

without a shadow of a doubt I believe that "we were made to see [Him]." [4:55]

while at my sister's church this weekend, we worshipped with a rend collective experiment song i posted somewhere a bit ago. 

i've listened to it probably twenty times since i have returned home yesterday. 

ironic, how in these two, almost polar opposite art forms. .. 

He is ever so clearly reflected.

.Build Your Kingdom Here
lyrics

Come set your rule and reign

In our hearts again

Increase in us we pray

Unveil why we're made

Come set our hearts ablaze with hope

Like wildfire in our very souls

Holy Spirit come invade us now

We are Your Church

We need Your power

In us

We seek Your kingdom first

We hunger and we thirst

Refuse to waste our lives

For You're our joy and prize

To see the captive hearts released

The hurt; the sick; the poor at peace

We lay down our lives for Heaven's cause

We are Your church

We pray revive

This Earth

Build Your kingdom here

Let the darkness fear

Show Your mighty hand

Heal our streets and land

Set Your church on fire

Win this nation back

Change the atmosphere

Build Your kingdom here

We pray

Unleash Your kingdom's power

Reaching the near and far

No force of hell can stop

Your beauty changing hearts

You made us for much more than this

Awake the kingdom seed in us

Fill us with the strength and love of Christ

We are Your church

We are the hope

On Earth

.powerful silence

two things i found and loved today

Number One

Yes.. . i am a lover of all things Downton Abbey. 

{like I am sure many of you}

especially Violet, the Dowager Countess of Grantham

played by Maggie Smith

[source]

Number Two

this Caedmon's Call cd was all i listened to for a time in college. 

My CD player stumbled upon it today. 

Quite purposefully as things happen.

how ironic that my blog title circles around the same theme as some of the lyrics

[cause if the birds and the flowers survive, then i'll make it ok] 

This song Table for Two. and this line is of my favorites.

"that i've forgot what House I live in"

1:55

He Said

.I might let you bend, but I won't let you break.

four simple plus.es

i am trying my hardest to look forward to the .spring. 

many challenging things are headed my way. 

many things i did not see coming as i looked into the future.

it seems that's how it always is, right? 

never as planned. 

so i'm choosing to think about some simple positives to get me through 

one day at time. 

cause that's all i can ask for. 

.simple beauty of the spring flowers. 

choosing some flowers and plants for the stoop

check out the Photobotanicus series by photographer Barry Rosenthal 

i originally found this through the online Anthology Magazine. 

Beautiful work to get you excited about what will be appearing in the next few weeks. 

_a new bike_ 

Will be needing this to get around  

I'm loving these vintage.y. ones.

with a basket, of course?! 

.the discovery of Hillsong NYC. 
{which is a few years old now}

considering I live directly across from the train station
this is super.Grand

{twitter}

visiting the LIBRARY on a regular basis
{check out these coasters from HouseofSixCats}
created by Kate @Chicalookate

Source: etsy.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

more gungor please.

please be my strength.

it's Your .love that's Keeping me.

i  pray Your glory shine.

and all would know that You.. . 

that You are my Strength 

that You and You ALONE 

that You keep bringing me back home

that YOU ARE MY STRENGTH 

so Bright.

through All the ages 

into the sky.

You're Amazing.  

creation cries

You have Never changed.

Jesus help me believe. ..

G.ospel

via Frankie @ http://fewmyfavoritethings.blogspot.com/   .. . Thank You!

too .true.

from your Hands.

no words are needed to describe this video. 
no words could even begin to.





The Mountain from Terje Sorgjerd on Vimeo.



recommended by my brother in law, Mark, whose Wonder List is endless.
He just doesn't know it yet.