Sometimes it amazes me how long I've known this girl...


(first grade)

And here we are after going to school together every year (minus that 1 year I was homeschooled - a memory in which I've tried to repress), going to college together and living in an apartment in Baltimore.


(12th grade)

Can't wait to move into our new apartment tomorrow! Along with Charity, Lena and Carmen!

day is done, gone the sun.

camp is over.

this is what i did today. dressed up as mike wasowski or however you spell it for our monsters vs aliens color war dance off. my team was monsters, obviously. and we danced to monster mash, and a bunch of other cool songs including thriller. so me and this other girl dressed up as the monsters from monsters inc and danced around on the sides and then the kids all mobbed us at the end. haha

then tonight was the end of color war. picture like 100 girls sobbing. yeah that was it. and now there is trip day, packing day and visiting day left. and then the counselors leave!!

I took the kids sailing the other day. That was not by choice.

It was. The most terrifying experience of camp so far I think. More so than going out on a canoe, more than going out on the row boat, more than climbing up a 20ft pole and then falling backwards into thin air. We're on this tiny sailboat, like the one in the picture. I have 3 girls with me, only one has gone before. I've never gone before, much less manned a boat. I'm scared of water, and as it turns out, 2 of my girls are scared too. It was pretty smooth sailing out our way out to the middle of the lake, then suddenly, the boat began to tip. I had to let go of the steering thing whatever its calling and grab both sides of the boat to steady it so we wouldn't capsize. And that my friends was the last straw for the 3 girls and myself.

Immediately I decide it's time to turn around and go back to shore. So I turn the steery thing and try to get us to turn around. One of the girls is crying and grabbing my legs and another just has her head down on the side of the boat. Meanwhile I'm getting anxious cuz I don't like being so far out more than any of the other girls and I don't want to capsize because I'm not wearing a bathing suit. So I get us halfway turned around and the boat wouldn't go any further it's just stuck being pushed back and forth by the waves while the boom bonks me in the head over and over again. I was losing my patience because I had 3 freaking out kids and I had to try and stay calm myself when I'm freaking out too, try to figure out how to sail a freakin boat when I've never learned, and calm kids who refused to be calmed.

After what felt like forever, but what was probably no more than 10 or 15 minutes, another one of our boats came close by to water ski. The kids were yelling and yelling to the driver but he couldn't hear us. So finally we all decided to yell at once, "JAAACCCK!!!" and he looked over. I asked him if he could call a boat to come get us cuz the kids were freaking out and we couldn't get back to shore. He helped us get turned around a little and how to work the sail (which was still hovering around my head) and we got a little further, but it was just pointless. The girl working the sail was actually doing a great job but we were all just tired and wanted to get back in. Within a few minutes a boat came to come and tow us in. My kids were still freaking out, one saying she was going to scream if we didn't get in right away and I told her she was NOT going to scream because that wouldn't help anything. (This was the same girl grabbing my legs the whole time, while I took her hands and kept putting them back in her lap and telling her to get her hands off of me... seriously. creepy.)

Getting towed in was the best part, we went fast, there were bumps, we didn't flip over, and we were finally back to shore. I told the kids to take off their lifevests and then sit on the sand and play quietly while I walked shakily over to Jordan to tell her about my experience. Definitely the most exhausting thing mentally and physically during camp.

One week left!!

right now: feeling exhausted and annoyed. just want to leave camp. but not looking forward to anything at home.

the rushing river we were stuck in. it was scary. but we lived.


our lake



Today at camp we went on a hike to the cascades. When we went last session, we got the river and it was unusually high due to the rain so we had to take off our shoes and socks and cross in a shallow place with help from the xtreme staff. The water was burning cold. That may not make any sense, but if you have ever felt water that cold you know it burns. Some of the staff was in the water for a long period of time and I felt bad for them. I only had to walk across and help the kids.

Today while going down the path we came to the river and it was rapid and really high due to the pouring rain all night. Immediately we turned around and decided to take another route. Good plan - I've already had my fill of rushing rivers for my lifetime. (To make a long story short, day off, tubing down a river, turned to rapids, got stuck, almost couldn't get out. very scary. the end.)

We took another path up to the waterfalls and ate lunch. It was beautiful as before.

The hike was another story. It was so humid we could literally see the liquid in the air. I felt so gross. And on top of just feeling icky, certain children were not making the trip pleasant with constant complaining and not obeying. But we made them chug through to the end.

Tonight one of my co counselors and I were letting off steam while putting the kids to bed. We burst out into the chicken dance - a very intense version at that - and danced all over the room while the kids watched from the bathroom with toothbrushes hanging from their mouths and shocked expressions on their faces. Then, the girls requested a lullaby to help them go to sleep. So I sang them a song from I Cantori, Cadul Gu Lo, even tho I forgot some of the words.. they didn't notice haha. Then it was time to sleep.

My kids I have in my bunk (these kids I've been talking about are in a different bunk I'm just helping out in, but I'm with them all day long so I know them well), are arriving on Sunday and I get to go help pick some of them up on Saturday, I think from nyc. Sweet!

In other news, this is prolly the funniest youtube video I've ever seen. No joke. watch it a few times to get everything out of it. some of the things said are just ridiculous haha
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nda_OSWeyn8

camp goodnight song

green trees around us

blue skies above

friends all around us

in a world filled with love

taps sounding softly

hearts beating true

as campers say

goodnight to you

day is done

gone the sun

from the lakes from the hills from the sky

all is well

safely rest

god is nigh

Reid Lewis Jones

My cousin Reid (22 yrs old) passed away on Saturday of pneumonia. For those of you who don't know, he had severe brain damage, cerebral palsy, was blind along with some other problems. He was a blessing to our family and to others who knew him and today at the memorial service I said the following,


When we were younger, a song we dubbed as Reid’s song went like this, “Peter and John went to pray, they met a young man on the way, he asked for alms and held out his palms and this is what Peter did say, 'Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I thee, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk!' He went walking and leaping and praising God! Etc…”

Growing up, we used to pray for Reid’s healing almost every night before bed. We prayed for God to heal him and that one day he would just get up and walk. But God had better plans for Reid to impact people. He didn’t need to have a voice to preach or the capability to walk. Instead, God used Reid’s incapabilities to show others the love of God.

In this sad world we live in, kids like Reid aren’t always cared for, but the opposite happened with Reid. His family willingly took on the burden of caring for him. This meant diaper changes, milk pump feedings, rushing to the hospital, shaving his face, moving his heavy stiff body, late nights and early mornings and probably many other things I don’t even know about, the tasks only grew as he got older. I never once heard a complaint. I believe he brought their family closer as they accepted the situation and were grateful for him.

Reid was involved in every aspect of family life. He sat in the same room with us, moved to the dining room when we did, listened as we all yelled during football games, or sang songs or performed skits. I remember as a kid loving to climb up on his wheelchair when he wasn’t in it, thinking it was pretty cool. The younger kids even got to sit on his lap sometimes. We used to lay on his wedge with him sometimes too, he was always included. I remember Vicky opening his presents at every birthday and Christmas and reading him the cards and then letting him feel the present with his hands and putting it in his lap. I remember babysitting him and just sitting and holding his hand or rubbing his chest when he was upset, or turning on silly music with Erin for him to listen to and then running away giggling, leaving him to listen to whatever we had turned on – poor guy! One particular time I remember was at my graduation party, my friends and I were talking and laughing all over the family room and Reid was sitting right there with us included in the fun. I always appreciated how at events or church, people would greet him along with everyone else, he was never ignored.

My recent favorite memory was Reid’s 21st birthday. Many people dropped by as the night went on, unexpected friends old and new filled their home. The girls pulled out the camera and took tons of pictures of each other and we gathered around Reid and took pictures and made goofy faces. I remember laughing about how most guys would love to be surrounded by girls on their 21st birthday and he got just that! Even though we were his sisters and cousins. Us girls are big gigglers and he got a lot of that that night. It’s how he knew us since he couldn’t see us. He probably knew there was trouble when he heard the giggling starting up.


As we all know, Reid was special. God allowed Reid to live a long life. He made it through 22 years of life when he wasn't expected to live a few days, and when kids like him don't usually get through their teen years. God has been so good to Reid.

In Reid, I see a glimpse of heaven. Because by looking at him, and being with him, I get to long for the days when I get to talk with him, walk with him, and run with him around the pearly streets of heaven. In Reid, I see a day where there will be no more suffering, no more handicaps, no more hardship, no more tears. One day, we will be up in heaven, and Reid will be there too, and he will be talking to us, and we will be able to laugh and sing and talk of God's mercy. I cannot wait to spend eternity with him, marveling in the goodness of God. And I cannot wait to go "walking and leaping and praising God" with him!

camp

The kids have been here a week as of today and there are 2 and a half more weeks left. Everyone is getting the flu, or is just feeling crappy in general. Including myself.
And it's raining. I think we just need to go to bed and try to start the day over again.

camp

I've arrived at camp. This place is so gorgeous. Everything is lush and green and cool except the very middle of the day when the sun is right over top. Not a good time to run around outside. Actually I wore a hoodie most of the day. My kind of weather!!

Right now I'm in a bunk with a bunch of other staff, but we'll split up once the kids get here next Wednesday. I met my head counselor today, she is from England and totally awesome! She acts very british too... hilarious.

This week we're in orientation and on Friday (i think... I'm still not really sure what day is it) we may go to Boston. One girl I'm friends with is from that area and was like, eh I guess I'll go. I told her I feel the same way about people going to visit DC. Whyyy??

I'm learning to differentiate between British, Australian, New Zealand and South African accents. It's hard but I'm picking up on it and can notice differences. Some of the girls were joking about how they sounded Australian when really they were british and how they should put on a different county's accent every time they talk to someone new. I thought, they all sound the same to me and probably most other americans here. oh well. :-P they're still fun to listen to. Some girl just came up to me and asked my name in an Irish accent and then was like, I'm actually not Irish I'm just talking like that haha

We have flag raisings and someone wakes us up over a loudspeaker in the morning. But its not super loud like when my mom comes in and sings to me in the morning. Not cool.

Right now everyone is playing games in the staff lounge or watching tv or on computers. I'm probably gonna head to bed soon. I still haven't recovered from the lack of sleep before driving 13 hrs. Plus I'm so dehydrated right now so I just feel tired.

Tomorrow we're making a run to Walmart, which will be good. Already I'm realizing stuff I forgot! Sweatpants (how did i do that?!?!), laundry bag and I need a watch. A lot of girls do haha cuz we can't have our phones on us so we never know what time it is. Then the day after that the boys' camp staff from Lake Winnepasaukee is coming over for some social or dance I think.

Right now all I can think is I can't believe I'll be here for 2 months. Seems like forever now, but it'll probably pass quicker than I think it will. Especially once the kids arrive.

Anyway. I'm gonna go to bed and read for awhile or something.

Psalm 18

¹ I love you, O LORD, my strength.

² The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.
He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

³ I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise,
and I am saved from my enemies.

⁴ The cords of death entangled me;
the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.

⁵ The cords of the grave coiled around me;
the snares of death confronted me.

⁶ In my distress I called to the LORD;
I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry came before him, into his ears.

⁷ The earth trembled and quaked,
and the foundations of the mountains shook;
they trembled because he was angry.

⁸ Smoke rose from his nostrils;
consuming fire came from his mouth,
burning coals blazed out of it.

⁹ He parted the heavens and came down;
dark clouds were under his feet.

¹⁰ He mounted the cherubim and flew;
he soared on the wings of the wind.

¹¹ He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him—
the dark rain clouds of the sky.

¹² Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced,
with hailstones and bolts of lightning.

¹³ The LORD thundered from heaven;
the voice of the Most High resounded. ^c]">

¹⁴ He shot his arrows and scattered the enemies ,
great bolts of lightning and routed them.

¹⁵ The valleys of the sea were exposed
and the foundations of the earth laid bare
at your rebuke, O LORD,
at the blast of breath from your nostrils.

¹⁶ He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
he drew me out of deep waters.

¹⁷ He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.

¹⁸ They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the LORD was my support.

¹⁹ He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.

²⁰ The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.

²¹ For I have kept the ways of the LORD;
I have not done evil by turning from my God.

²² All his laws are before me;
I have not turned away from his decrees.

²³ I have been blameless before him
and have kept myself from sin.

²⁴ The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

²⁵ To the faithful you show yourself faithful,
to the blameless you show yourself blameless,

²⁶ to the pure you show yourself pure,
but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.

²⁷ You save the humble
but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.

²⁸ You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning;
my God turns my darkness into light.

²⁹ With your help I can advance against a troop;
with my God I can scale a wall.

³⁰ As for God, his way is perfect;
the word of the LORD is flawless.
He is a shield
for all who take refuge in him.

³¹ For who is God besides the LORD ?
And who is the Rock except our God?

³² It is God who arms me with strength
and makes my way perfect.

³³ He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
he enables me to stand on the heights.

³⁴ He trains my hands for battle;
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

³⁵ You give me your shield of victory,
and your right hand sustains me;
you stoop down to make me great.

³⁶ You broaden the path beneath me,
so that my ankles do not turn.

³⁷ I pursued my enemies and overtook them;
I did not turn back till they were destroyed.

³⁸ I crushed them so that they could not rise;
they fell beneath my feet.

³⁹ You armed me with strength for battle;
you made my adversaries bow at my feet.

⁴⁰ You made my enemies turn their backs in flight,
and I destroyed my foes.

⁴¹ They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—
to the LORD, but he did not answer.

⁴² I beat them as fine as dust borne on the wind;
I poured them out like mud in the streets.

⁴³ You have delivered me from the attacks of the people;
you have made me the head of nations;
people I did not know are subject to me.

⁴⁴ As soon as they hear me, they obey me;
foreigners cringe before me.

⁴⁵ They all lose heart;
they come trembling from their strongholds.

⁴⁶ The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock!
Exalted be God my Savior!

⁴⁷ He is the God who avenges me,
who subdues nations under me,

⁴⁸ who saves me from my enemies.
You exalted me above my foes;
from violent men you rescued me.

⁴⁹ Therefore I will praise you among the nations, O LORD;
I will sing praises to your name.

⁵⁰ He gives his king great victories;
he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed,
to David and his descendants forever.

The bolded verse just suddenly popped into my head as I thought about the last month or so. In my distress I called out to the Lord and he answered me and rescued me from the threat of the devil's entanglement.

I leave for camp in 3 days. I'll be there until August 17th. I'm going to try and keep this blog updated with whats going on.

hangin with sisters

sleep study

So this picture is dark but I couldn't get out of bed to turn on the light because I was wired to the machine. The other night I did a sleep study to try and figure out why I'm sleeping so long and waking up exhausted. The doctor thought I may have sleep apnea - where one wakes up all throughout the night because they've stopped breathing for a period of time, but they never remember this happening because it only goes through their short term memory and never makes it to long term memory, so by morning its all been forgotten. ::takes a breath::

Anyhow... this visit to the doctor was fascinating because I told him I was a psych major and so he was going a little more in depth about things knowing I knew what he was talking about. Whenever I'd learned about sleep and sleep cycles in the past classes I've had I was always so intrigued. He talked to me about how he thinks I may have this thing called Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome, which is caused by disassociating my bed with sleeping - my guess is this is from many late nights of talking online while sitting in my bed and then going to sleep late.

The way to fix this problem is to do behavioral therapy on myself by changing my routine. Picking a time to go to bed each night and a time to wake up each morning and never straying from that routine. So like he suggested going to bed at 12 every night and waking up at 8 every morning - something I haven't done yet what with hanging out with friends late at night. This will probably become an easier pattern once I'm at camp for the summer and will be waking up before 8 every morning to little girls in my cabin. :) Also, whenever I'm lying in bed and can't fall asleep, I need to get up, leave the room and do something else calm like reading, but no computer or tv or texting because the light that comes off of those can be so harsh that it wakes me up by turning off my melatonin - a chemical in the brain that makes you sleepy, usually set off by darkness. Also, getting out of the bed when I'm not tired will help reaassociate my bed with sleeping instead of laying awake. I also have to make sure I'm not sleeping during the day, even when I've missed sleep at night. I have failed at that this week because there were two nights where I got little to no sleep at all and couldn't keep my eyes open in the morning so I slept.

This therapy will take time to get into and I think will come a bit more naturally while at camp, which by the way I am so excited about - I leave a week from Monday!!

Anyway, this sleep study I did, it looks like I don't have sleep apnea after all, which is good. I didn't want to have to wear this mask thing when I sleep, blech. haha. But I don't think the study was a good representation of how I sleep since they stuck wires all over my face and in my hair (yuck) and had tubes around my nose to see when I was breathing and stuff. There's nothing like being rudely awakened at 5am and then having stickers ripped off your face while you're groggily coming to consciousness.

All this stuff fascinates me. Because I am a nerd. Oh wells. :)

I never thought I'd get to the point where I was looking forward to going to camp to live with and care for children for 2 months because it's a break from life here!

So worn out! And not just because I haven't been sleeping or eating.

Thunderstorm in a field

So today was insane. And fun.

Last night after saying goodbye to Brian :( Kelley and I decided to go to Elisha's bonfire. We hung out there until like 3am, sitting in the treehouse, talking around the fire, dancing around the fire, attempting to have a "courtship panel" ::panel fail:: etc. Then, the plan for today was to go to Kelley's farm and blow up the groundhog holes.


Today was rainy and humid and overall disgusting. But the plan was still a go. Elisha and I arrived and we had to go get Angel who had missed the house and was parked down the street a bit. So Kelley drove the 4-wheeler and Elisha and I side-saddled on the back thru the fields and stuff. When we were all there it was time to go out to find the holes. Elisha and I were on one 4wheeler and Angel and Kelley on the other, Angel was driving so we were going pretty slow :) (he'd never driven one before).

We drove around looking for holes, Elisha and I drove off down the field ourselves to look for some holes he remembered from before. We couldn't find any fresh ones so we came back to where Angel and Kelley were. They had found some holes so we parked the 4wheeler at a distance, along with the multiple containers of gas we'd brought along. The guys began to pour gas down 4 or 5 of the holes - there were tons. Then after the other 3 of us had backed away, Kelley threw a match down one hole, while standing in the middle of the other 3 holes. Immediately - KAAABOOOOMMM!!! A huge fireball explodes into the air with a blast from every hole while Kelley ducked in cover between the fire. The guys and I went running to get away from it but it was over as soon as it started except a lingering fire which we steered clear of in case it was going to explode more.

After we decided to not pour more gas down any of the holes for fear of it being attached to one of the other holes with fire still in it and blowing ourselves up - yes, we can be smart - we decided to move onto another colony of groundhog holes.

When we had first arrived out in the field, it was just starting to sprinkle and the clouds looked ominious, by this point, there was a stead rain falling and the thunder was clapping louder over our heads but the storm still wasn't quite there and we decided to stick it out a little longer.

Anyway, we get to the new colony and find about 4 holes which we pour gasoline in. The guys wanted me to throw the match in so I agreed reluctantly and told them if I died it was their fault. So I stood behind the hole so the fire wouldn't blow in my face and threw the match in.

It didn't make a KABOOM sound again but huge puffs of fire blew out of three of the holes, while dodging one of them I almost ran into another one. It was exhilerating. We then examined the holes to see what was happening in them and saw there was still a fire in one of them. So we decided to stomp it out with dirt and keep going.

Then suddenly, the storm was right over us. We're in a field, which is the better option? Under a tree or in the middle of a field? Kelley and I felt safe since we were the shortest though :)

Thunder boomed above and lightening shot through the sky, and a downpour quickly soaked us. We ran to the 4wheelers and jumped on heading full speed for the house. Elisha and I got out faster than the other two so we're racing ahead, and the rain is coming down so hard we can't see anything and we're laughing about how insane we are when we realize Kelley went a different way up the field and we're like uh oh can we still go this way?? But we could, fortunately. As we kept going toward the house the rain got harder and heavier and I couldn't see a thing, hopefully Elisha could see better than I could since he was driving.

We pulled up to the house and leaped off the 4wheelers and ran for cover. We were all completely and utterly soaked. All we could do was laugh at ourselves and how crazy we were but how much fun it was. Mrs A took a picture of us before we trudged through the house with our soppy clothes to change. What a relief it was to put on some dry clothes and curl up on the couch with hot chocolate and watch The Patriot. Aahh Mel Gibson :D

Crazy day with crazy friends = perfect memory.

Remembering Grandpa

I have a lot of grandpas. And out of all of my grandpas, Grandpa Jones was the one I knew the best - and with no offense to all my others - he was probably my favorite. And I had the joy and privilege of living with him for quite a few years of my life, and although I don't remember much from when I lived with him as a kid, in the past few years I got to know and appreciate him even more.

Grandpa was so selfless and giving of what he had. From putting up with our family of 7 in his condo, or planting a tree for each grandchild in the front yard, to sending all the girl cousins out on a shopping spree - regardless of the cost, he just wanted to make sure we had fun - to paying for all of us to come visit them in Florida, to buying us kids computers, and putting together my furniture and fixing the dining room table for a caregroup event - which meant flipping the whole thing upside down. I never heard a single complaint. Never did I hear him raise his voice, or angry - he was such a happy old man who loved his family and doing things around the house and building his retaining wall out back, or just riding around the yard on his lawn mower. He was steady and hardworking. Even when he got to the point of having to stop and take a break from his work every few minutes and sit down, he kept at it until the job was done. I miss just sitting inside the house and watching him work meticulously on his retaining wall, or come home to see him just driving his beloved lawn mower around the yard (that he wouldn't let me drive).

It wasn't until I was older that I understood how hilarious Grandpa was. Whether it was a completely random email about our old cat Spats, which he renamed Tom, or signing an email with a Get Smart quote, or hanging a note on the thermostat the day after my parents moved out that said, "touch the thermostat and you die. granpa", or walking into the family room to find all the cousins dancing the cha cha slide and joining right in, or suddenly jumping into a conversation with a joke or comment out of the blue - he always left us laughing. If you ever want a glimpse into what Grandpa was like, sit in on a family conversation sometime, they very quickly dissolve into making the world a better place with luxury porta potties or some insane gagdet or plan to make life easier.

I love how Grandpa loved Grandma. He was not always emotionally expressive - at least around me - but I could always tell just from the way he looked at her that he adored her. He would tell me that she was quite a catch and how pretty she is. I remember one time holding up a camera to take a picture of them when they weren't expecting it, and he saw me and put his arm around Grandma and smiled with this look on his face that said, "this here is my woman!" He was so proud of his wife, and so are we all. Grandma, I want to give honor where honor is due, you are a woman of God, the family stronghold, always pointing us back to the Lord, and we respect and love you dearly. Your faithfulness to God and your family was reaped in Grandpa's life and continues to show in the lives of us kids. You will have much reward in heaven. You are one of my heroes, and I want to be like you when I grow up.

When a person reacts positively to tragedy - that's a miracle. Psalm 23 concludes with the glorious line: "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life." That's God's way of saying that life will often be filled with goodness, but that even when God's goodness cannot be seen, his mercy can be experienced! In the midst of tears, heartbreak, enormous loss, and terrible sorrow, suddenly a sweet mood, like a gentle kiss, will touch your wounded heart. That experience is called mercy. It comes as an expression of God's love.

The good news I have for you is: God promises mercy adequate enough to meet any tragedy.

-Robert Schuller

i miss him.

favorite hymn

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
when sorrows like sea billows roll;
whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul

 It is well with my soul, 
 it is well, it is well with my soul. 

                        Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, 
 let this blest assurance control, 
 that Christ has regarded my helpless estate, 
 and hath shed his own blood for my soul. 

                        My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought! 
 My sin, not in part but the whole, 
 is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more, 
 praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul! 
 
                      And, Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight, 
 the clouds be rolled back as a scroll; 
 the trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend, 
 even so, it is well with my soul. 

The Altar

A broken ALTAR, Lord thy servant rears,
Made of a heart, and cemented with teares:
Whose parts are as thy hand did frame;
No workmans tool hath touch'd the same
A HEART alone
Is such a stone,
As nothing but
Thy pow'r doth cut.
Wherefore each part
Of my hard heart
Meets in this frame,
To praise thy Name:
That if I chance to hold my peace,
These stones to praise thee may not cease.
O let thy blessed SACRIFICE be mine,
And sanctifie this ALTAR to be thine.

by george herbert