: About Me :

Hello! I'm Madeleine, a young woman striving to savor the beauty of life. I am seven and ten years of age and five foot four inches. I delight in worshiping my Savior, Jesus Christ, and living in response to his Word.  I desire to walk through my life opening my heart to his transformational presence.

Some random facts about me...

I delight in spending my time outside, which could mean reading on the hammock under our apple tree or going on hiking expeditions.

I enjoy creating beautiful things through fabric and almond flour. 

If I had a whole day to spend on a project, I would be contented with a messy room that begs organization. 

I appreciate intellectual pursuits, such as critical thinking and writing. 

I adore playing classical piano music. 

I don’t twist the toothpaste tube. 

I love picnics in a basket. 

Cleaning out the fridge makes my day. 

I love biking in a skirt. 

I write in cursive. 

I love capturing lovely moments with a camera. 

I write in cursive. 

I am never awakened by a storm in the middle of the night.

I revel in the company of my five siblings, and ask my parents just one more question before bed. 

     I began this blog as another medium through which to glorify my Lord, and as a way for me to enjoy more thoroughly the things of life with which I am in love.  I hope this blog may be a blessing to you at whatever stage of life you are in currently. It's a smattering of recipes, photos, writing, fiber arts, and discoveries--chronicling daily life. 

     At the beginning I did photography as a necessity for creating well-rounded posts. But through the process, I became more interested in it as an art form. I don't claim to be especially learned in photography, because I merely rely on my instincts. But I am inspired by photos I see, and work to capture the beauty around me. I have taken all the photos on this blog, with the exception of pictures of me, unless otherwise noted. All photos are taken with a Canon Rebel EOS T2i. 

     I also strive to live a healthful life, especially reflected in my food choices. On this blog you will find a growing collection of healthy and delicious recipes. I believe healthy food should be delicious, and not seem like a chore. I enjoy sharing recipes I've created, adjusted, or discovered. 

   The origin of the title: A couple years ago my five siblings and I memorized the poem God's Grandeur by Gerard Manley Hopkins. In this poem, Hopkins mourns the lost connection to nature and the disconnected way in which we interact with the world: shod. Elizabeth Barrett Browning also writes in Aurora Leigh about God's presence in the earth but how only a few, sensing the Lord, take off their shoes. This of course references the times in Scripture that God instructs one who is in his presence to take off his shoes because the ground is holy.

     So it is that being shod is being unaware of the presence of the Lord in our everyday lives, because every moment is filled with his glory; we have only to acknowledge it. 

     In this way, I hope to take off my shoes and delight in our gorgeous earth and the rich life I'm living right now.

                                           

Earth's crammed with heaven,                                    

And every common bush afire with God:                                                

But only he who sees takes off his shoes,                                                

The rest sit round and pluck blackberries,

And daub their natural faces unaware.

From Aurora Leigh by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
    It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
    It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
    And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;
    And wears man's smudge and shares man's smell: the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.

And for all this, nature is never spent;
    There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
And though the last lights off the black West went
    Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs —
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
    World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings

From God's Grandeur by Gerard Manley Hopkins

Thank you for stopping by! I hope you enjoy looking around.