SALIENT

[crownkillers]

the notebook problem: you see a notebook. you want to buy the notebook. but you know you have like TEN OTHER NOTEBOOKS. most which are STILL EMPTY. you don’t need to notebook. you’re probably not gonna use the notebook anyway. what’s the point? DONT BUY THE NOTEBOOK. you buy the notebook.

[benedictsmith]

Do you guys ever say the wrong thing in a conversation and then have it haunt you for months or years afterwards like a social anxiety poltergeist?

[ouroboroscyclegroup]

Every Literary Genre Summed Up in a Single Sentence

[crystalliora]

Molly closed her eyes and let her head rest against the back wall of the sedan chair as the door closed. After a fortifying breath, she reached over to pull down the shade on the tiny window and settled back on the seat cushion.

Just as she closed her eyes again, the door was wrenched open with a clatter and a mighty thump as a giant shape hurled itself into the small space. The door was wrenched shut, and the hefty knock on the roof followed by a  “Carry on!” in a deep, impatient voice told her that the invader was most likely a man.

The sedan chair lurched and swayed as the chair men lifted it into the air and began to move.

“Excuse me!” Her voice came out a bit breathier and more timid than she would have preferred in this moment, but given the rather bony elbow shoved into her side, there was only so much breath she could spare for indignation.

The man, who had been peering out the window, turned his head towards her. All Molly could see in the dim light before the shade dropped back into place was an impression of high cheekbones and wild, dark curls. The man only now seemed to realize that the conveyance he had commandeered was occupied.

“Aaah.” His low voice seemed to fill the remaining space inside the sedan. “I seem to have caught the wrong chair.” He shifted a bit, allowing her a little more space on the cushion. His next words were more deliberate, as if he was not certain they were the words he wanted to say. “Thank you.”

“Thank you?” She gasped out in an incredulous laugh. “You must get out at once!”

His voice seemed puzzled. “Why would I do that?”

“We cannot share this chair all the way across town!” She broke off, but at his noncommittal hum, she sputtered on. “We shall be too heavy for the chairmen!” Not the best argument she’d ever used, but she had never before been trapped in a tiny sedan chair with an attractive gentleman (her glimpse before the shade had been secured made her certain that he was very attractive) whose voice seemed determined to wrap around her in the semi-darkness.

“You are hardly bigger than a child. The men should have no trouble.” His voice was matter-of-fact and increasingly disinterested as he returned to studying the passing streets. Molly let out a disbelieving huff.

She had finally gathered her courage to speak up again when his sudden movement as he jerked open the door slammed her back into the corner of the seat, stealing her breath from her lungs.

She barely made out his hurried commands to the attendants, but got a good look at his face when he turned back to look at her after evacuating the sedan. His eyes narrowed slightly, taking in her face, then he flashed a cheeky grin and sketched a bow as he closed the door.

Molly was still fuming by the time she arrived home and alighted from the chair, assisted by a somewhat sheepish attendant.

At least the man had paid for her trip.

___

from this prompt. I’m blaming @miz-joelys-sherlollilists for this. ;-)

[crystalliora]

me: sets a perfectly reasonable deadline for myself to accomplish a task

also me: ignores the task, the deadline, myself,

[crystalliora]

OotP spoiler. Sixth year; HH ship; Fluff. When Harry and Hermione have to sneak back to the common room way past curfew, they come up against more obstacles than they might've counted for.

Harry Potter Universe: Harry Potter/Hermione Granger

Words: 4,665  |  Complete

[crystalliora]

me: sets a perfectly reasonable deadline for myself to accomplish a task

also me: ignores the task, the deadline, myself,

[crystalliora]

i have officially reached the point where I immediately want to quit reading a fan fic when “orbs” is used instead of eyes.

[forfreedomsetfree-blog]

Fresh air and fire

I want to start this with the simple statement: I love living in Lynchburg.  The rich community I am submersed in here blesses me every single week, and the friendships that I have here create in my soul a desire to push evermore into the heart of Christ with a new sense of abandon.  That being said, some days it is very difficult to live in Lynchburg.  Sometimes I find myself reading something one of the students have posted on Facebook, or catching snippets of conversations being had in coffee shops, or listening as someone avidly discusses something at church or a gathering with friends, and I just wonder if we aren’t all missing it.  

I watched a video earlier this week, it was about a child who has an incredibly rare skin disease, and he spends his entire life in pain.  Waking, sleeping, dreaming, all of it contains some level of pain.  His skin is so thin and sensitive that simply touching it causes it to break.  Chewing and swallowing create sores and blisters in his mouth and throat.  There is nothing about this life that is simple or easy for him.  Never once in this video was Christ mentioned, it wasn’t an emotional cry for people to know that God is good in spite of hardship.  It was just a little boy who wanted people to understand what he overcomes every single day.  The video included people reaching out and making dreams come true for him and simply acknowledging that his life isn’t fair and coming alongside him as compassionate humans.  I wept.  I wept openly because for just a second I had an honest moment with the Lord, a moment where eternity met my right now and the space seemed a little smaller and His presence was a little heavier.  “Where are you in this?  How do you receive glory in this?  How is this you being good?”  All of those questions went through my head and the Lord simply went, “Because of this do you not see my heart a little bit more clearly? When you watch people step in and love abundantly, outside of themselves and for no benefit to themselves, do you not see my hands and my heart?  In the moments of pain and trial do you not feel my arms and hear my voice a little more clearly?”  

And here is where my heart broke.  We miss it, every single day, we miss it.  I wake up and go to work and I get to walk faithfully in relative ease.  Every single moment that I have breath should be about His glory.  Every single time I get to speak, smile, laugh, cry, merely exist, is for the furthering and the promoting of the glory of His great and holy name.  And man if we don’t lose sight of that. Inundated with Facebook posts, and tweets, and offhanded comments about rigid morality and what is right and what is wrong, we fail to get it.  We fail to realize that if we are one hundred percent honest Christ doesn’t give a single second to worrying about whether or not the yoga pants I like so much are modest, or if my tattoos are too much of this world, or where I land on a scale from Luther to TULIP.  I fear we spend way too much time worried about earning passage into a Holy of Holies that no longer exists and totally lose sight of the fact that the curtain was torn.  

Hear me here because I want to be clear.  I am in no way saying that the Lord doesn’t care about our sin habits.  He absolutely does, because He makes it very clear in scripture that He is jealous for us.  He ruthlessly pursues our hearts, wholly and not by half, and our sin habits separate us from Him.  HOWEVER when we focus on a list of rules and regulations and try and white knuckle our way into being acceptable in His presence then we just aren’t getting it.  If I somehow attain a list of “I did this right this week” by clenching my fists and focusing on a list of rules, I have by no means achieved the call on my life, or even the call on my week.  The call on my day to day is to find what stirs my heart and my affection towards the Lord and to pour myself into that with abandon.  Perhaps we have placed the wrong question in front of ourselves for way too long.  Maybe instead of “Is this right?”  Or “Is this wrong?”  We should be asking “Does this make me love Him more?  Does this create moments where the space seems to become smaller and I can feel His presence?” Or “Does this drive me away from who He is due to shame, guilt, or preoccupation?”  

In my head I have this picture.  It isn’t pretty, but I fear it is accurate.  I just see so many off us dragging ourselves, broken and defeated, into the tabernacle and scraping our way into an empty and dusty Holy of Holies only to lay on the floor and wonder why God is so quiet and feels so far. It’s hot and we are tired and the room smells of dirt and our own sweat, and that closeness, that assurance of His presence that we just knew would greet us once we had fought our way into the innermost parts of the tabernacle by sacrifice and rigid devotion to the law, is even less tangible here than it was outside.  And the entire time we are fighting and struggling to earn our way into this now deserted room we are completely missing that the veil was torn.  The presence of God is no longer held solely in this space that we have held for too long as consecrated and utmost, and the air has grown stale as we sit and wonder where He is and why He feels so far.  When all we can see is a list of what to and what not to do then we miss the beauty of a scandalous grace and the freedom of justification through faith.  We miss the fact that He meets us where we are exactly as we are, and that a long time ago our sacrifices were made unnecessary. There is nothing that we can bring to Him to lay on altar that He desires outside of our hearts, wholly and not by halves.  

Wanting to pursue Him with abandon is admirable, wanting to do that through a dedication to a long conquered set of laws is dangerous.  The law beckons but it never brings life – life abundant is available now.  So stop dragging yourself in to an empty and dusty room that holds no significance any longer, stand up, look up, and push into what sets your heart on fire for who He is.  

There are moments in life when the space between here and eternity seems to be smaller, when His voice is made clearer, and His heart displayed well, and I can tell you without hesitation that none of that happens on the floor of the tabernacle, where the air is stagnate and the law still rules, it is grace that brings fresh air and fire.  

[crystalliora]

living elegance | gold and teal by crystalliora featuring a glass vase

[crystalliora]

AU AU - Apt S by crystalliora featuring handmade furniture

So, were I to actually write this fanfic I've got going on in my head (I won't.), this is Steve's apartment. Because I love me some Captain Rogers.

[alexandragreys]

[crystalliora]

She's my favorite.

[crystalliora]

manhattan loft | a contest entry by crystalliora featuring Suki Cheema

[crystalliora]

He asks us to praise him, even when a family member gets sick. He asks us to honor him, even when our jobs aren’t going like we planned and things seem to be falling apart. He asks us to trust him when doors are closed and we are told, “wait,” more times than we want to hear. He asks us to love like him when people are cruel and when we feel alone. He asks us to speak his name, even when no one else is doing so.

Emily, Like the Noonday

[the-wolfbats]

is that *goes to IMDB page* I KNEW IT

[spiritualinspiration2]

“God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19, NKJV)

When the people of Israel were in the desert on the way to the Promised Land, God gave them manna to eat. That was good. It sustained them for a while, but it wasn’t permanent provision. Eventually, the manna stopped coming. The people had to move forward, and then God gave them quail. They were so excited. That fed them for a while, but it was also temporary.

See, God gave the Israelites temporary provision on the way to the Promised Land where they would have permanent provision. The fact that God had something much greater in store for their future is what kept them moving forward. God could have sustained them with manna or quail, but God is a god of increase. He works in seasons, and He always has something better in store.

Don’t get stuck in a rut and think that one way is going to last forever. Instead, stay open and be willing to change, make adjustments, make corrections or try something new. If the “manna” stops coming, don’t get upset. Just keep moving forward and be on the lookout for the new provision God has in store for you!

[part2of3]

[crystalliora]

This makes me so happy every time I see this.