allison jaye

"there are misfortunes we almost expect in life…and then there are other dark moments, moments..."

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 12:39:53 -0400

“there are misfortunes we almost expect in life…and then there are other dark moments, moments of sudden violence, that alter everything. there was my life before the tragedy. there is my life now. the two have painfully little in common.”

- “tell no one” - harlan coben

Interview with the Atheism Examiner

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 15:33:11 -0400

robbellcom:

Thanks to Staks for the great questions. Here’s the link:
Interview: Rob Bell author of ‘What We Talk About When We Talk About God’

"what is faith if there isn’t some doubt right there in the middle of the mix? they are, after..."

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 15:31:23 -0400

“what is faith if there isn’t some doubt right there in the middle of the mix? they are, after all, dance partners.”

- rob bell

"the gospel is the good news that god hasn’t given up on the world. that the tomb is empty,..."

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 16:35:20 -0400

“

the gospel is the good news that god hasn’t given up on the world. that the tomb is empty, that a giant resurrection rescue is underway, that you and i can be a part of it.

and so, yes, this has a deeply personal dimension to this. jesus is saving me. he’s saving me from my sins, from my mistakes, from my pride, from my indifference to the suffering of the world around me, from my cynicism and despair. the brokenness i see around me is true of my own soul and so he’s rescuing me moment by moment, day by day because god wants to put it all back together. you, me, the whole world.

and so he starts deep inside each of us, with our awareness that we need help, that we need saving, that we need rescuing.”

”

- “you”, nooma 015. watch it today for free at http://premier.flannel.org.

fygr: (via Twitter / Cmdr_Hadfield: Grand Rapids, MI, with the...

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 23:35:50 -0500

fygr:

(via Twitter / Cmdr_Hadfield: Grand Rapids, MI, with the …)

Grand Rapids from space. An astronaut took the picture.

"You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly..."

Sat, 16 Feb 2013 23:56:22 -0500

““You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should’ve behaved better.””

- Anne Lamott (via loveyourchaos)
replace write with speak. (via chemicalsbetweenus)

fotojaro: 87/360. I love this city. I just wished I lived...

Sat, 09 Feb 2013 21:26:54 -0500

fotojaro:

87/360. I love this city. I just wished I lived closer to downtown.

I want to go to there.

Photo

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 00:10:23 -0500

attention-bot:

Sat, 19 Jan 2013 00:17:54 -0500

attention-bot:

“Moses is essentially saying to these poor, wandering, former slaves in this wilderness,...

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 23:44:06 -0500

“Moses is essentially saying to these poor, wandering, former slaves in this wilderness, ‘it’s not always gonna be like this. someday, you’re gonna arrive in your new land, and you’re gonna build houses, and you’re gonna settle down, and you’re gonna have crops, and you’re gonna harvest them. someday, you’re gonna be successful…and the danger is you’re gonna forget eqypt. you’re gonna forget what it’s like to be set free. the danger is you’re gonna forget what it was like to experience liberation.” - nooma 023, “corner”

sometimes people get upset or annoyed at how cheery and goofy I am. I like to sing and dance like a fool and laugh til I cry. i know people look at me like I’m strange but I don’t care—I spent a long time being sad, and I have no interest in going back there. I’m making up for lost time. celebrating every minute. I’m alive.

Photo

Tue, 01 Jan 2013 13:38:24 -0500

hermionejg: 5* parenting.

Wed, 26 Dec 2012 19:13:05 -0500

hermionejg:

5* parenting.

I am so in love. not only has the most incredible man in the universe asked me to be his, but the...

Sun, 16 Dec 2012 23:20:57 -0500

I am so in love. not only has the most incredible man in the universe asked me to be his, but the amount of love and support we’ve received today alone is so overwhelming. thank you to everyone for everything!

I said yes!!!

Sun, 16 Dec 2012 11:25:22 -0500

I said yes!!!

the bittersweet reality of christmas.

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 23:05:00 -0500

i pulled out the drawer holding the eleventh dark chocolate from the advent calendar my dad gave me just now and i held on to it, just looking at it. day eleven? day eleven? only two weeks left until christmas morning?

i decided to celebrate hannukah this year. a few years ago my spirituality was saved/renewed/enriched by the shocking realization that if i ignored the fact that jesus was a jew who lived in a real time in history among real life jewish people and he was really a rabbi—the rabbi—then the ignorance of judaism was not an option if i truly craved something real and deep. i moved to michigan for a lot of reasons, but what got me there was a church community that embraced jewish tradition. every year when hannukah rolls around, i feel a tugging in my heart like i should be observing the holiday, so this year, i finally bought a menorah.

i don’t speak hebrew. i know how to say some very simple prayers in hebrew that i learned as a part of being a part of said community. i don’t know how to traditionally celebrate hannukah—so i did what every millennial does when they need information—i went to wikipedia.

the first night of hannukah, i came home and turned off all the lights. i lit the shamash

“barukah atah adonai eloheinu melekh ha’olam, she’hehiyanu v’kiy’manu v’higi’anu la-z’man ha-ze

blessed are you, lord, our god, king of the universe, who has kept us alive, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this season.”

then i lit the candle to represent the first night of the eight day miracle.

“barukh atah adonai eloheinu melekh ha’olam, asher qiddeshanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu lehadliq ner shel hannukah

blessed are you, lord, our god, king of the universe, who has sanctified us with his commandments and commanded us to kindle the hannukah lights

barukh atah adonai eloheinu melekh ha’olam, she’asa nisim la’avoteinu ba’yamim ha’heim ba’z’man ha’ze

blessed are you, lord, our god, king of the universe, who performed miracles for our ancestors in those days at this time.”

and today, i lit the fourth candle.

eleven days before christmas.

four days into hannukah.

—

christmas. hannukah. the holidays. the miracles. and even if you aren’t spiritual, it’s a time of rest. an extended break from work and/or school, a time when families come together, a time where love is ever present.

unless your family lives in another country.

christmas is my favourite time of year, and at the same time, i hate christmas. i miss my family all the time. every minute of every day, i’m incredibly aware that i’m away from my family…but most of all at christmas. i should be waking up to a fresh snowfall and curling up on my family’s couch in the blankets our grandmother made each of us when we were all knee high to a grasshopper.

it’s not all complaints, though. of course not. i am the luckiest girl in the world and my partner’s family has already taken me in as one of their own, so in twelve days, i’ll leave school and get to stay with them for a few days. i’ll catch up with my love and we will go to his grandparents and we will just enjoy being our family.

i don’t think the bittersweet will ever go away. no matter where we live, we are going to be away from our family in some aspect. i’m going to miss more microwave explosions than i’ll see in my lifetime, but i am grateful that i have two families who will take me in any day of the week, and for that sweetness, i am grateful.

fygr: (via Winter in Grand Rapids 2009 - a photo on...

Sat, 08 Dec 2012 17:06:40 -0500

fygr:

(via Winter in Grand Rapids 2009 - a photo on Flickriver)

It is coming, just you wait and see…….Snow.

i’m ready to move home.

it’s almost 90 degrees here today.

fygr: lemonsorbet: I would be perfectly content working as a...

Sat, 08 Dec 2012 17:05:57 -0500

fygr:

lemonsorbet:

I would be perfectly content working as a real, competitive, barista for the rest of my life. No lies.

Madcap Coffee Grand Rapids Michigan,

this beautiful video is how i will convince the man to move to grand rapids.

nprfreshair: Photo break…and the Fresh Air interview with Tracy...

Thu, 22 Nov 2012 00:18:11 -0500

nprfreshair:

Photo break…and the Fresh Air interview with Tracy Morgan.

nprfreshair: 10 Rules for Students and Teachers (and Life) by...

Thu, 22 Nov 2012 00:18:07 -0500

nprfreshair:

10 Rules for Students and Teachers (and Life) by John Cage and Sister Corita Kent.

You can listen to composer John Cage’s 1982 Fresh Air interview here.

Shrivel Liberties: Grand Rapids, Michigan Walk-Through

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 23:34:56 -0500

Shrivel Liberties: Grand Rapids, Michigan Walk-Through:

shrivelliberties:

This is St Mary’s Hospital, where I was born

It hasn’t changed much, since I was crapped-out, there, in 1982. There have been some additions, however. They, more or less, run as their own institutions.
Like the Lacks Cancer Center, where my mom’s husband was treated before he died last fall