Facing The Rapids

Today was a much needed day off and like most late summer weekend days, I felt the river trail calling to me. So I loaded up the dog and set off for a hike that allowed me a few hours of quiet and solitude.

As I was walking along the river I could tell when I was nearing the rapids by the sound of rushing water. And while rapids are a beautifully dramatic sight when viewed from the safety of a river bank or from behind the lens of a camera, they are not so enjoyable when one is trying to navigate them in life.

We all have seasons in our lives when the waters are a little rough, much like rapids, and at times, probably feel as though we're being tossed around in the current, fighting to keep from being pulled under. As hard as these times are, I believe we need the rapids in our lives to stir up the silt that has settled into the nooks and crannies of our hearts.

The past few years I have experienced many moments of 'silt sifting' brought on by feelings of failure, guilt, disappointment, frustration and discouragement. The past few weeks are no exception and as difficult as it may be to face these things, it's a necessary process that we must go through in order to deal with whatever we've allowed to settle in our heart that has no business being there. I believe we will never go through rapids that are too big to handle and as uncomfortable, trying, difficult or scary as these times are, we are never left to navigate the rapids by ourselves.

Sometimes, that is hard even for me to remember, and in the moments when I begin to feel the water creeping over my head I sense the hand of God holding my chin above water as the rapids swirl around me. I know that when He said, "Don't be afraid; just believe," it was a promise that not everything is going to go my way and be easy but that He will be there to restore life to my soul. (Mark 5:36)

Sometimes it seems like life is one, long, dangerous Class V rapid with no end in sight. But, we have to remember that even though the rapids may be long, at the end of every rapids lies still waters.

The First Signs Of Fall

I love summer, but there is something about the days just before fall when the sun sits a little lower, the first leaves start to change, the air feels just a little crisper and the woods are a little more still. It is days like these, where the temperature is hovering around 80 that I love to be out hiking along the river.

Today was one of those days, so I grabbed Boz and my camera and headed out to the woods. I thought I'd share a few pictures from my hike.

The first sign of fall...



The meadow...



The trail...



Boz going down when we should be going up...



The beginning of the rapids...







The view from above...



The long road back...

National Polka Day? Nah...It's Helen's Birthday!

Today is Helen's birthday. If you don't know Helen, she's Hungarian, which makes us sisters, literally, because I'm Hungarian too. And she's Catholic. Which has nothing to do with her birthday, but it's a big part of who she is and how she sees the world.

And she loves Polka. Now I don't know a lot of 29 year olds that like Polka, but that's what makes Helen so cool. She likes Polka and Bob dresses in costumes to go to the movies. So she's married to the perfect man. She'll salsa in the grocery isle and make a mean goulash. And I bet she likes Weird Al cause she's into 80's music. And if you mess with her you will see just what they mean when they talk about making a Hungarian mad. But her heart is big and full of lots of love for her blog buds and she's an awesome daughter because she takes care of her mom. And Bob thinks she's the schizzle.

So, what's with all this randomness about Helen? Well, that's what Helen's blog is about. Random musings. And if you want to have one very happy (young) Hungarian today, I suggest you head on over and wish her a happy birthday.

And Helen, this polka, while a tad non-traditional is just for your birthday.

Happy Birthday girl!