What You Got?

Yeah, Yeah.

~

What you got if you ain't got love?

The kind that you just want to give away.

It's ok to open up.

Go ahead and let the light shine through.

I know it's hard on a rainy day.

You wanna shut the world out and just be left alone.

But don't run out on your faith.

~

Cause sometimes that mountain you've been climbing,

is just a grain of sand.

And what you've been out there searching for forever,

is in your hands.

And when you figure out love is all that matters after all...

It sure makes everything else seem

so small.

~

It's so easy to get lost inside

a problem that seems so big at the time.

It's like a river that's so wide it swallows you whole,

while you're sitting around thinking about what you can't change.

And worrying about all the wrong things,

time's flying by, moving so fast.

You better make it count cause you can't get it back.

~

Sometimes that mountain you've been climbing

is just a grain of sand.

And what you've been out there searching for forever

is in your hands.

Oh, and when you figure out love is all that matters after all,

it sure makes everything else seem

so small.

~

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

~

Sometimes that mountain you've been climbing,

is just a grain of sand.

And what you've out there searching for forever

is in your hands.

And then you figure out love is all that matters after all,

it sure makes everything else,

oh, it sure makes everything else seem

so small.

For mine and Husband's wedding, my sister, Boo, surprised us by playing Carrie Underwood's new single, So Small, for us to dance to. I cannot thank her enough for giving us that moment.

Because if you ain't got love - you have nothing, but if you have love - you have everything.

~Lone Butterfly )i(

My New Suit...

Fiancé and I need to go this weekend and purchase his tuxedo for the wedding and for our black-tie event that will be on October 6th. The whole "new suit" business reminded me of a story I had heard about 3 years ago. After searching for the story, I reread it and decided to share it here. I hope you are as blessed as I was.

Billy Graham is now 86 years old with Parkinson's disease.

In January 2000, leaders in Charlotte, North Carolina, invited their favorite son, Billy Graham, to a luncheon in his honor. Billy initially hesitated to accept the invitation because he struggles with Parkinson's disease. But the Charlotte leaders said, "We don't expect a major address. Just come and let us honor you." And so he agreed.

After wonderful things were said about him, Dr. Graham stepped to the rostrum, looked at the crowd, and said, "I'm reminded today of Albert Einstein, the great physicist who this month has been honored by Time magazine as the Man of the Century. Einstein was once traveling from Princeton on a train when the conductor came down the aisle, punching the tickets of every passenger.

When he came to Einstein, Einstein reached in his vest pocket. He couldn't find his ticket, so he reached in his trouser pockets. It wasn't there, so he looked in his briefcase but couldn't find it. Then he looked in the seat beside him. He still couldn't find it. The conductor said, "Dr. Einstein, I know who you are. We all know who you are. I'm sure you bought a ticket. Don't worry about it."

Einstein nodded appreciatively. The conductor continued down the aisle punching tickets. As he was ready to move to the next car, he turned around and saw the great physicist down on his hands and knees looking under his seat for his ticket.

The conductor rushed back and said, "Dr. Einstein, Dr. Einstein, don't worry, I know who you are. No problem. You don't need a ticket. I'm sure you bought one."

Einstein looked at him and said, "Young man, I too, know who I am. What I don't know is where I'm going."

Having said that Billy Graham continued, "See the suit I'm wearing? It's a brand new suit. My wife, my children, and my grandchildren are telling me I've gotten a little slovenly in my old age. I used to be a bit more fastidious. So I went out and bought a new suit for this luncheon and one more occasion. You know what that occasion is? This is the suit in which I'll be buried. But when you hear I'm dead, I don't want you to immediately remember the suit I'm wearing. I want you to remember this: I not only know who I am .. I also know where I'm going."

How secure I am to know where I am going, even if I haven't the clothes to get there yet!

~Lone Butterfly )i(

Cleaning the Desk and my Head...

I have been cleaning out my desk and my work area, because FINALLY my office has been scheduled for a furniture upgrade.

My entire department is crammed inside three tiny rooms - and we sit at intern desks, while other departments have an entire office per person (or at the least a large three and a half walled cubicle). This is a VERY exciting time for me.

As I was cleaning/sorting/throwing away, I was struck by the clutter that I had gathered in the last two and a bit years and also what was truly important to me.

In my tiny space I have three pictures of B-10 and CW. One picture of my beloved demon cat, one pair of butterfly wings, six "Bad Cat Calendar" pages, eight jewel butterfly magnets, one hanging sloth (who holds my earbuds), a set of lamb ears (for the months of April and May), and a magnet that has one of my favorite literary quotes on it. It's one of those quotes I read over and over when I remind myself that I'm never going to be like everyone else, and that's okay!

"There is no use trying," said Alice; "one can't believe impossible things."

"I dare say you haven't had much practice," said the Queen. "When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."

~Lewis Carol (Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass)

Another of my favorite quotes:

“It is not the critic who counts. It’s not the man who points out where the grown man stumbles, or how the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who actually is in the arena, who strives violently, who errs and comes up short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause, who if he wins knows the triumph of high achievement; but who if he fails, fails while daring greatly, so his place will never be with those cold and timid souls who know

neither victory or defeat.”

~Teddy Roosevelt

~

I am not to be judged by those who refuse to take my path - Christ did not call me to sit out this life. He called me to live fully, to embrace the pain and the joy of the world. I will not cringe in the corner, afraid of maybes and possiblities - instead I will stand and risk all, for I am promised a prize greater than anything this world can give me.

~

I am at a crossroads, in turmoil as my wishes, desires, and responsibilities tumble together like clothes in a dryer. I pray that God is clear on where He wants me to be, so that I never look back and regret my choices. For He will equip me to my calling. None of us are sent alone.

~Lone Butterfly