Yeah, be exquisite.

Love this too much to not post on here. This is probably cheating, posting a Pinterest find instead of being creatively inspired. Oh, well. There's tomorrow for that.

Though your parents, they are wiser and will be better advisors.

Time for a shout-out. I've been doing plenty of reflecting on how God's wisdom has carried my whole family this past year. It's been a crazy one, for sure. It's not every year that you move away from your hometown, you transfer, and your sister and brother-in-law (!!!!!) get married! But God's glorious love and wisdom have been clear throughout the process. I've never been so thankful for comfort and sameness in Him EVER!!

But I also can't reflect without thinking about my parents. Those two make quite the team, Mac and Mary! They understand grace and friendship so well. And their faith blows me away. My mom has never said an ugly or pitiful thing about transition with my dad faithfully taking a new career position in another city. Not once. All summer she planned reception details and unpacked boxes. I think, "Shoot, such a sweet supporter. I want to be just like that as a wife one day." Growing up, I never realized what a gift it is to have parents like mine, with true and balanced friendship that is centered around the Lord.

photo courtesy of Jan Mitchell

Not to mention, they're beautiful...

photo courtesy of Nancy Carter

Post title: from Ben Rector's "Hank"

Let the beauty we love be what we do.

How about a little artistic flair for your restful Sunday afternoon? I'm A-L-W-A-Y-S into discovering new people whose work makes life joyful and fun. And Katie Daisy of Asheville, North Carolina knows how to combine perfectly vibrant colors, solid phrases, and her wanderlust to create something razz-matazzy beautiful. She says that she wants to share messages of love, joy, and light through art. ALSO, she loves tea and mountains! BOOM! When I get back to Raleigh, I'm so getting her prints to adorn my new bedroom!

and, of course...

She also makes sick nasty good, awesome, sweet, rad music posters. This sure brings out the PR nerd and music lover in me:

Post title: from Rumi, a quote used in one of Katie's other ballin' paintings

Played It To The Beat

Please take time to watch this. Phenom way to end the week. This is Jorge and Alexa. You may have seen the father-daughter viral hit a few months ago. It was a schweet rendition of "Home" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. The kid has PASSION!

"And He will fill your heart with laughter, your lips with shouts of joy!"- Job 8:21

Well, y'all, I'm a blogger it looks like! Gettin' crazy because this is really unlike me. I used to label myself as one of those cynics who thought blogs were only for 1. cute moms who were always crafty and fun with their growing children or 2. people who love hanging their dirty laundry online, creating a "diary" as if nobody is reading it. I tried Twitter (not for the first time) back in the spring and felt silly. Who could possibly care if I'm en route to Birmingham, Alabama to visit friends and hang with The Avett Brothers and The David Mayfield Parade? Or that I'd accidentally told the lady behind the check-out counter at Walgreens "bless you" after she belched embarrassingly? I felt so narcissistic. There ARE blogs I read, so I'm not knocking those who do tweet/write, but I just didn't want the point of life to scream "Everyone watch me on here!" That's what I felt like I was doing.

Sooooo, you're thinking, "Okay, Jill, what are you doing on here then?" Well, I'll go ahead and say that it's for a grade. BUT also, I hope that readers of this new blog will find joy in their day after reading it. God created joy for us and no matter our circumstances, it is ALWAYS His will to find joy in Him and in daily community. I'll be telling funny stories, posting things I'm passionate about, and other... um... surprises and crazy ideas that pop in my little head. So enjoy and check back often!