The Marvelous Melinor

I've been looking through some old pictures, and a great many are of the amazing, undeniably adorable Melodi Williams. The youngest of the eight. The cutest of the three-year-old's presently living in the Williamsville household. The might be the only 3-year-old living there, but it doesn't matter. Look on these moving pictures of the pure pure heart of this melodious Meli. The effervescent expansive expression of the joy and brilliance of the world's cutest child.




She knows she's cute... she's absolutely got to.



Sooooo cute!! I love the glowing halo of hair especially. The only time frizzy hair is completely desired.



She'll hate me for that one... but I have a few years to get out of the house permanently before that happens.



Only the MarshMeli would be found in a chair on a table reading a playbill upside down with a look like that on her face and warm the hearts of millions.



This could make a tree cry.



I just want to squeeze her.



If you lost her, there's a chance she could be in the refrigerator eating a poptart. With a piece of cheese.



She likes make-up, and is far better and more creative with it than I will ever be.



She can be found sitting on a chair, as well as under one and possibly eating the ice cream out of the carton that everyone might have been looking for.

Ahhh. I miss this kid.

Everybody Plays the Fool

I am so proud of my amazing Burlington County Players! I was in this group of homeschooled Shakespeare lovers for 5 years, and have gone to every performance since I was too young to remember, until distance at Gville has limited my travels.

This year the drama geeks are in the midst of recreating Shakespeare's "Comedy of Errors" with a 70's twist to it. They all got to learn some disco dances and whatnot, and I live in constant jealousy. They're dancing to some fun songs, and singing a few themselves, like, "Everybody plays the fool." Elliott's falsetto is amazing. And Melissa's tears are adorable. And Caleigh's odd dancing towards the side is unmistakably hilarious and fun. Nic's heartfelt heartache agony in song will bring tears to the audience unsuspecting that the "comedy" will actually involve some emotion other than happiness and hilarity. I got to go to a rehearsal earlier this month when I was home for Easter, and oh my... how I miss acting! And I miss those experiences I will always hold in my heart with the BCP.

http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/burlington_county_times/bct_news_details/article/26/2010/april/28/4-h-conjures-shakespeare-in-the-70s.html

The link above is an article written on their performances yesterday. I am so proud!

24

Today is my mom and dad's 24th wedding anniversary! I had quite a few dates to remember not to forget lately, and I'm happy to say I remembered each one, and even wished my mom happy anniversary first, though at an unmerciful hour after I stayed up way too late finishing The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks. I've been reading more lately, which I absolutely love. I love to read. I miss reading as much as I used to. I think my junior year in high school I charted over 50 books I read during that school year. I think I'm about at 5 or so now... that stinks.

Anyway, I decided I wanted to blog about my parents. Since today is their anniversary, since I'm such a reflective person, I naturally have been thinking about how awesome they are and how much I'm thankful for them. I've heard so many people argue that homeschooling is the only possible right answer for education, but I think it's pretty obvious that is not at all correct. I think there are certain families and situations that make homeschooling as great as it can be. When I look back over growing up, I can see how much the people my parents are made the path straight for us little Williams children.Before we started taking outside classes, my mom made school fun, though we'd complain probably everyday... how can any homeschool student enjoy school enough not to on occasion? I remember crying about math ceaselessly to the point that my mom was probably crying harder than me. My dad was the one who taught me how to to do long division and how to do a lot of multiplication. My mom had to pass the "project" on to someone who could handle me while she transfered her academic attention elsewhere.

My parents were perfect for homeschooling my brothers and sisters and I. I can still remember singing worship songs, led by none other than the all powerful singing voice of my mother as we gathered the table at 8 o'clock. Hey, if we didn't do that, how else would I ever learn the old songs like, "Jehovah Jireh?" I think that was Zach's favorite for a while, until he turned to "I could sing of your love forever." It used to be written on the border of his old bedroom. After singing, my mom had us all take turns picking out a Bible verse we liked, and we'd have to share it with everyone (meaning mom and the other classmates/aka siblings), and say why we liked it, and then we'd have to memorize it and write it in our notebooks. Mom had us memorize Psalms and Proverbs. We were always in the midst of memorizing something.

Sometimes my dad would read to us, when the mom was busy with something else. We didn't argue with dad nearly as much. One look from him, and we knew we'd better stop complaining or it'd get very uncomfortable very soon. He never raised his voice. It was like his silent call to attention set us straight, and almost in fear.

My parents always encouraged us to chase after our dreams with all we've got. They encouraged us to dream, and always did everything they possibly could do to enable us to achieve them. But, they didn't just encourage us to dream, and then leave us to our "star light start bright, first star I see tonight" rhymes. They dreamed with us. They still do.

My parents are incredible people. I couldn't imagine having anyone else for a mom, or anyone else as a dad. I hope I can be a wife and mom the way my mom is and has been, and I hope I marry a man just like my dad. Their relationship is beautiful, and I praise God for placing exactly them in my life to watch and model myself after.

So.... Happy Anniversary! Hope you found someone to watch the little blonde haired chickens so you could go out tonight!

Annnnnd now. Back to work.

False conjectures

I just love writing. It's so cool. I suppose I'm slightly bored, and in a pondering mood of sorts. My throat feels 10 times its size, and sprinkled with aches the size of a normal throat, and I don't feel like talking.

I stalk a lot of people who blog. I know that sounds shady, but I don't care. People like their blogs to be read, so I read them. Sometimes. Anyway, what I like about other peoples' blogs, is people actually comment on them. And I've had 3 comments on mine total. Hmmm... lame. Anyway, this to say, it's kinda sorta pretty cool if anyone should so desire to comment if ever;)

Today after lunch, a friend and I were discussing the common expectation that going to a Christian school will present you with a seemingly unchallenging life while attending the college. We mused about the disconnect of execution in that false conjecture. Now before I continue, I restate my honest love for my college. I do completely love this school. I appreciate a great deal of the "guidelines" and how people don't get kicked out if they should "cross the line" or break the lifestyle statement. I love that girls who get pregnant are welcomed to continue their education here, regardless of the fact that there is no getting around that they "broke the lifestyle statement." I love that there is generally no slapping someone with a Bible if they make a mistake. I've been raised with a spoonful of Scripture from the day I was born, and I can't stand Bible slappin' and I'm already a Christian... not the point... anyway, I love that all are welcomed here. I think it's a great witness, and I detest the front that Christians very easily (including myself) put forward, that proclaims us as better than the rest of the world which falls beneath us. Not true. And disturbingly false and uninviting to the precious people around us.

Anyway, Lindsay and I continued our musing as the air misted around us. She in her ponytail, and I under my (brother's) hoodie shared our frustrations about how certain things are seen as not only entirely permissible, but beneficial for Christians. I can't get into much detail here, but I can say I'm guilty of consternation- I'm guilty of shock, and failing to be prepared to encounter such differing opinions on that which is seen as beneficial for a Christian.

I was homeschooled, and a great many people would impetuously lend my "half-full" view of life to what I did not experience in previous years of my academic career. However, I disagree that my lack of experience should build the conclusion that I am lacking. I've said a number of times, I was privileged with a multitude of invaluable experiences as a homeschooled student. The knowledge and upbringing I hold so precious now that it's collected in my "That which had fled" portion of my heart, is inestimable. A treasure too great to calculate. Hmmm... that has a nice hook;)

What I'm getting at, is I am so thankful for the fact that living here makes me think. I hate having to venture into uncomfortable territory as I sort through a passage of Scripture I had grown up thinking I completely understood, all to be confronted with unexpected opposition in front of an entire classroom. But as Lindsay and I agreed today, we will certainly walk away from these years of education knowing so much more of what we believe and why we believe it.

One thing I have to give a token to in my homeschooling years, was biology with Mrs. D. Two years of academic affliction in some ways, yet also two years that have prepared me for the appointments of the forthcoming, which have indeed arrived in my life. The issues we discussed in that bio class were much broader than the intricate little details I didn't even know could be of debating matter until debated here, but I gathered a foundation that in those position papers and other assignments I completed years ago.

Mrs. D was the most impacting teacher I had in high school. As I've said, the classes themselves were very beneficial and continue to be even now. However, she herself lent to the authenticity of the fruit born from those years under her instruction.

I'm going to head off to the D.C. for dinner, but I'll close on those thoughts. Ahhh the limitless list of labors in life!

O love of God, so rich and pure, how measureless and strong

I feel like I really haven't written for a while. I guess I haven't in the span of how often i had been writing before now. Only a few more weeks of school left! I am very very excited about that. I'm really not dreading classes at this point though, which is good. I guess I'm tiring, but I'm not quite as desperate as I thought I'd be. I'm in a pretty happy content medium right now. It feels good.

The only thing I am about to start a revolt about is allergies. I would love to be able to sing without nearly dying brutally on the floor. After all I am a voice major... so I have a question. Whose smarty pants idea was it to have a music school in the middle of the pollen capital? Think on that.

Anyway, I've been doing kind of a study on love in the Bible. Mostly agape love, meaning God's love. I'd write that in Greek if I could but I don't have the font... I love Greek. But when I was reading a few days ago, I found it strangely new for the first time, that love is not a human creation. We adapted the concept. We love because He loves. And these words I'm typing are probably boring, because they're all words repeated so many times they become so normal. I knew these words. I knew the truth in them. But I don't think I've ever grasped the concept comparably to how I have now. Love is a heavenly entity. It is only of God. We are able to take hold of that which is not our idea. We're allowed to love other people.

The reason I think I was struck by this, is for a few reasons. One, growing up in a charismatic church, I learned soon that God is not an emotion. He is not a human entity that we can relate to. It doesn't mean that God is not present if I don't cry in worship. It doesn't mean God isn't listening to me if I'm not struck by lightening. It doesn't mean God is punishing me by causing me to feel void when I seek Him. He's not human. When I expect Him to meet me in human relatable ways, I might be disappointed. Something else I learned, is how incredible a gift it is when God does meet with us, and we experience Him in a mighty way, relatable to our human sense. He meets us where we are. A God completely inhuman meets with us, so far below Him. What an incomprehensible gift!

So now I think of love in a similar way. Love was something God did. It was an element of God. And he expanded it, and gave love to us, the incomprehensible gift, an element of God. An element of an unearthly God, inhuman in every way. God the Father, the one who took intangible and made it tangible. He stretched our hands to make them able to grasp what shouldn't be able to fit in our hands. Love. It's of God. God IS love. How can we hold Love?

I know I'm in some ways rambling... I guess I can't even describe the revelation I feel I've had... But I'll just end here anyway. Cor class is calling!

Marco Polo

This is a song Whitney and I wrote today... She's beastly with music... If I lived any closer to her (she's already only a few doors down) I don't know how many songs we'd write...
We usually end up writing songs after we start talking about things we're thinking about. This time, we weren't in a pool playing games, but let's face it... life can resemble a game sometimes.


I can be your marco
If you're gonna be my polo
I don't wanna get stuck
By myself just singing solo
Listen to my voice
so you can hurry up find me
Hush all imitations
And walk up just right behind me


Stormy waters right before me
Keep you at a distance shield your eyes
Confusion lends to disillusion
Wait to hear my voice we will survive
Keep your arms out
Echo when you hear my shout


Need to hear your answer
Lead me in the right direction
Keep your call form drifting
In the current's swift rejection
Tend to your discretion
Don't be foolish just hang on
Grant me with your signal
Give me hope that I can ride on


Stormy waters right before me
Keep you at a distance shield your eyes
Confusion lends to disillusion
Wait to hear my voice we will survive
Keep your arms out
Echo when you hear my shout

All By Myself

Well everyone, I'll be all by myself tonight. My roommate Francine (aka Ali Lakey) is staying at her house tonight. So I shall be all by myself. And so, I realized, I would hate to have my own room. All the years and years I could not stand the nonexistent privacy I knew from sharing a room with at least one or two people... I need the presence of another person now. Crazy!

And mom if you're reading this, I do not grant you the right to weigh this over my head this summer when I resort to complaining of no time to myself. I will remind you of this right I did not give you if this statement is violated. Ok, moving on now...:)

So in case anyone doesn't know what i'm talking about, please listen to the song I attached to this blog (clicking the title of this post will do it too...). And share in my loneliness.

All by myself... except for Katie and Whitney sitting on my bed right now because I made them:) OK good night all!