Adventura: The Romanian Trip Pt. 1

In Dulles, waiting for departure

Wow. Before I went on this trip, I had always majorly scoffed at everyone who came home from a mission's trip and said they had been "changed". Honestly, I had no patience for it. But coming home from two weeks in Romania, I can say in perfect truth that they were two of the best and most impacting weeks of my life. So much happened, so many iron bonds were formed, and my heart underwent so many changes, I'm finding it difficult to choose where to start....that being said, I shall start at the very beginning because when all else fails, logic is on our side. A quick warning: these will be long posts full of pictures, stories, and tid-bits, so sit back and enjoy 'em! You wanted updates, I give you updates!

Ahem.

The flight from DC to Paris was long and completely strange. We left DC at 10 PM American time, but somehow as we crossed the Atlantic and various time zones, we ended up in Paris around 11:30 their time which was like...6 in the morning American time? At any rate, we were awakened by the flight staff for breakfast at what felt like 3 a.m. Definitely an exotic sensation! We were flying Air France, and believe me, I delighted in hearing all the accents! Yes, I gloried in actually being in Paris...until I had to sit in the stuffy, overcrowded Charles de Gaulle (Sharl dee-gull) airport during the layover. Dan Tate was our voluntary Facebook-Quote-Keeper (and took most of these bombdiggity photos), and has me down as saying, "It felt like a greenhouse, and I was growing way too fast." Pretty much...yeah. :D I did not enjoy Paris as much as I hoped to. But then of course I didn't get out of the terminal. The toilets were nasty, and that soured my whole impression.

Because everyone eats while in Paris, right? 

From Paris to Budapest, Hungary, the accents got thicker, the plane got smaller, and my heart got thumpier. We landed in Budapest and I felt for certain how utterly American I was. My travel-journal (religiously and awesomely kept) describes the moment:

"From Paris, we took a tiny, disagreeable plane to Budapest where we were unceremoniously dumped and made to feel entirely foreign by the total lack of anyone speaking English. We gathered our luggage and wandered to the front door where I then began to second-guess whether Pastor John had or had not got my email with the information of our flights. Oh, it was a rotten moment."

^Yep. Accuracy there. {One quick note about the travel-journal: I became the group historian, and kept the thing so closely that when I left, I found my page-count at something like 104 pages, complete with illustrations. *high fives all round* This means y'all get first-hand impressions from the excerpts: things I would likely have forgotten or described differently had I waited till I was home to write them. Enjoy!}
But Pastor John was there eventually with two drivers (Branson and Mr. Frederickson) and we piled in and were soon acquainted with one of the hallmarks of the entire trip..."Verrrrry bad roads." :D Another spot in my journal is ornamented with a drawing of a car zig-zagging down a skinny, pot-hole-pitted road and the description:

"But the ROADS! Oh my gosh. If you are going to drive in the opposite lane, why not just change the law and make it legal? If you saw our van's footprint from any given stretch of road after the main highway it would look like this: (insert illustration) Absolutely bonkers. (our driver) appeared to be fully confident that driving in the left (wrong) lane to pass 4 eighteen-wheelers was a perfectly normal thing! We seemed ever to be in immediate danger from head-ons or fender-benders. I was happier asleep, while at the same time enjoying our peril."

Yep, this pass occurred at about 80 or 90 kilometers an hour

The road-terror was the first thing about my impressions of Romania to change: by the end of the trip, the "potty roads" held some of our fondest memories. Roads in America are so terribly boring. Adventura would never have been born were it not for the terrible state of the village roads...but that belongs in another story later on. :) Suffice it to say, I love dirt roads full of reckless potholes and reckless-er drivers.

We arrived  at the church and were installed in our apartments and fed the first of our legendarily enormous meals. Our chef was a fellow who, before he became a christian and cooked for God's people, used to cook for the last Dictator each time he came to Arad. This means that our chef could cook like nobody's business. Poafte Buna! ("good appetite")

The first night I wrote my slightly-homesick, disgruntled entry in my journal, which is why you get the first two excerpts above that don't sound overly enthusiastic. The next day was Sunday, and were immediately dunked into life as Pastor John's sidekicks which included three distinct services on Sunday. We were blessed to have a translator part of the time, but for the majority I just listened to the sermons in Romanian, and sang along with the songs as they came in Romanian on the screen. That was so much fun and excellent practice: the tunes were easy, and I could practice my Romanian pronunciation without the inconvenience of everyone else listening. And let it be here recorded that our dear Pastor John speaks way more English than he ordinarily lets on! We got on swimmingly through the first day of church-work! For some reason I neglected to write anything about that first Sunday (probably too exhausted) so I can't recall if we actually shared testimonies and music...at any rate, that was the kick-off day to what became three weeks of playing the VonTrapp family: our main source of ministry in Romania ended up being going around to a different village church every day of the week and conducting a children's service, and then eating dinner, and then conducting an adult service.

                   

We would sing loads of songs (often accompanied by a borrowed guitar) and then give testimonies which would be translated to the people. I'm just giving you the basics now, because later on I will elaborate on how terribly special these times became. *sniff sniff*

I think perhaps my favorite aspect of this trip was the fact that we weren't on a "Tourist Mission's Trip". Pastor John isn't your typical missionary with houses to build and wells to dig and chickens to distribute. He is a pastor and his son, Cristi (they deserve their own entire post later on) is a pastor, and they have a sprawling area of ministry (Cristi travels all over Romania and Europe to preach) and we plopped right into it and followed them at a breakneck pace. Truly, we were able to join into Romanian Church-Life on a local's level which was brilliant and unusual and perfection.

Monday morning we met Cristi (he'd been driving over 1500 miles that weekend, preaching in several places) and before the day was out, we knew we'd met someone really amazing.

 Cristi fit into our group with the ease of an older brother or an uncle or something. Seriously, we adopted him and swallowed him whole into our band of merry men. He is so much like a mash-up of all my hilarious male-relatives that we felt a deep kinship right away. So with Cristi to translate for us (and to make us laugh in the wrong moments) we began our daily schedule:

• 7:00- wake up
• 8:30- group devotions
• 9:00- breakfast
• 10:00 - 1:30- touring sites with Cristi or exploring Arad with the Bales
• 2:00- lunchtime
• 3:00 - 4:00- group practice/prepare testimonies
• 4:30- leave for villages
• 6:00 -children's/youth service
• 7:30- dinner in the village
• 8:00- Adult service
• 10:00- arrive back at the church
• 10:00 - 12:00- loaf, sing, laugh, go to bed

This is the daily schedule, and I will elaborate as time goes on. For now, enjoy this first peep into Adventura: The Romanian Trip Part One! And stay tuned for daily updates from now till we've exhausted to subject! :D If you leave comments with any questions you have, I can be sure to include my answers in the upcoming posts!

Toodle-loo!

Dear People. I am leaving for a trip in exactly 24 hours. A trip that alternately freaks me out and thrills me.

But really, I'm thrilled all the way through.

Two weeks in Romania...

Stops in Paris...

And Budapest...

People,

Places,

Sights,

Sounds,

Wow.

I was not so on top of things as to make up a bunch of posts to schedule, so unless Abigail hacks me and posts on my behalf, there won't be anything here for the two weeks I am gone. But oh my goodness, I think you need this break because when I get back?

yeah.

This blog will positively explode.

Bon voyage, guys! Till we meet again! :)

A Southern Mix of Lost and Found

"I grew up in a little farm-town, a Southern mix of lost and found, but most folks seemed to stick around.... whoa-oh!"

-Andrew Peterson "World Traveler"

Hello, Friendsies!
      I am sorry the post about the DIY coffee-house decor hasn't gone up yet! My internet has been spazzing out and wouldn't send the pictures from my tablet to my laptop so I need to figure that out before I can do it. :P

      Oh my goodness. Guys, life is so hectic but SO exciting right now! In just over a week I am leaving for Romania. I will be on the plane and in Paris a week from Saturday. CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT? And then from Paris to Hungary and from Hungary to Romania! My brain is already ticking with all the things I plan to draw and write in my travel journal. I have made a solemn vow and promise to keep up my travel journal even to my own annoyance because I know that when I am seventy years old, I will be wishing I was more patient at twenty and had taken time to write about my journeys. Plus, I don't want to lose any of the writing inspiration I am assured I will collect. :) My friends and family have been SO supportive of this trip. I really want to thank Mama and Leah and Anna especially since they aren't going to Romania but they have worked just as hard as Sarah and I.

      One sweet friend saw I was looking for a crossbody/messenger/tote bag for my trip and offered to buy Sarah and I each one of our choice. I ended up choosing this beauty:

The Baccini crossbody-shoulder-gaucho bag 

     It is made of Italian sheep-leather (isn't that cool?) and supposedly comes with a long strap for carrying cross-body. I love the look of this bag...it's PERFECT for a trip to Europe, don't you think? And it is leather like my travel journal. Woohoo!

      Yesterday I took Matthew and Sarah into the Beach to catch the Wednesday 50% off all clothing sales at Salvation Army so we could load up on the few items that our whimsical Virginia weather doesn't require us to have; Sarah has spent almost the entire winter wearing short-sleeved shirts, and I don't even own a coat! Or at least I didn't till...

Yep! It's a plum-purple woolen, double-breasted pea-coat! 

   A very tiny thing few people know about me is that I have always wanted a pea coat, and I have always wanted a purple pea-coat. God was totally behind this item because it as at the Goodwill that doesn't have 50% off sales, but for some reason yesterday ALL the winter coats were 50% off! It's the most beautiful thing...there was a London Towne brown coat that was cute too, but when I saw the plum colored one, I knew it had my name on it. God also provided the shoes we needed (Mine and Sarah's black shoes were both literally falling to pieces. Like...soles flapping. It's what happens when you live in the countryside), as well as other items like a brand spankin' new pair of dark-wash jeans (I despise light-colored denim) and several adorable sweaters. When we got home Leah slightly complained, "How is it that we go out for weeks in a row and never find a thing and you go out one day and get it all?" I could only answer with the truth: I guess the Lord knew I had just over a week to get it together and hardly any time to be spared. :)

      But Sarah and I weren't the only ones that scored big...we turned Matthew into Neal Caffrey. :D

And do you see Sarah and I photo-bombing in the background?
 NO idea what that was about. I am very interested in what she was staring at on the laptop, apparently.

      The time is soon approaching and my wander-lust grows with each day. The stress I had been formerly dealing with before we got the kinks with funding worked out has been lifted, and I just feel that God is going to do wonderful things in my personal life with this trip. :) 

      It y'all could pray for Sarah and Matthew and I (and the rest of the team) that would be great because we are going to be writing up our testimonies, including how God is working in our lives and how we are affirmed in our faith and then speaking those testimonies over in Romania. :) Exciting! But a little nerve-wracking, as the things that are so beautifully simple in my heart and head get knotted when I try to make them come out. :D I have asked Jesus to give me His words, and I know He will. Pray that my heart will be quiet enough to listen. :D 

    In other news, I am re-reading A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken and finding I love to write in books. Haha. Sing ho for funny new habits! Also, some friends of ours are coming down from the Richmond area to conduct a Seder meal for our church family...can't wait to celebrate Jesus as our Passover Lamb! <3 :) 

The Long-Awaited Coffee-House Part One! :)

I am sorry to have neglected this blog recently, but the truth is that the business of planning, preparing and executing two large fund-raising events within twenty-four hours of each other put quite a damper on all things blog-related. But I DID keep my tablet charged and I DID take pictures so there you go. I suppose I ought to start at the beginning because this isn't a very coherent update for those of you who aren't on Facebook and haven't been constantly told updates about our coffee-house fundraiser event and the following yard-sale.

Wednesday was a prep day with things like making the chocolate chip cookie-dough cheesecake, organizing piles of decor in the four categories: (Hipster, French, Coffee-Shop, and Vintage), and packing all the items for the garage sale in the garage. (A very large feat, that.)

The coffee-house was first. Thursday we spent the day cleaning the house, and in afternoon I swung out of our driveway, picked up Matthew and then drove to Petersburg to meet Josie and her momma. I also wore my awesome but hipster polka-dot sweater and straightened my hair. I look like such a kid when I do that!

We got home, unpacked, and spent the night watching This is the Army which swung us on with fabulous music till midnight. The we collapsed into bed, and the morning came way too fast for anyone's taste.

Friday morning.

I had a slight panic moment seeing how light it was when I woke up--I thought I had slept the day away. Turns out it was only 7:30 and I had nearly 12 hours to pull off my brain-child project. Josie was absolutely invaluable in boosting the skills and things that Sarah and I have in moderation. We would arrange a corner and it would look good, but then Josie would come, tilt her head, furrow her brow, rearrange something and it would look perfect. We totally rearranged the furniture, took down all previously existing decor, and re-did the house. So much so that when one of our team-guys came in he said, "Hey. You guys should keep your house like this. It looks really cool." That made me happy, because this guy is at our house at least every Sunday, and oftentimes in the days between.

Friday we literally spent all day on our feet. We felt like tree-toads, walking all over countertops and table-tops and using tape for everything. I swear tape is a modern miracle. Honestly. Scotch-tape held up 80% of our decorations! I ought to buy stock in the company and then go around demonstrating it as the party-planners best friend. ;) I'm going to do a whole post on the decorations and how we made what we made and how we spent not a red-cent, but I don't want to overload you so today you get the general push through of the weekend. One quick mention of our method, however: we asked for $5.00 at the door, and then priced the drinks and baked goods cheaply. The most expensive item was "The Neverland" which was a coffee milkshake loaded with whipped cream and sprinkles that cost $3.00. Funny thing is, that and the "Poor Edith" (a simple, plain caramel latte) were the most popular items. We made a killer off the Neverlands. Will definitely be selling those again if we do another coffee-house sometime.

The rest of the team arrived at 5:30 and we had nachos and then got down to business. (but we didn't defeat the huns ;) and I trained my team of baristas. There was a vaguely frightening moment when I started to doubt anyone besides the team would show, but then the people started streaming in and the kitchen filled up craziness from Justin, Daniel, Tim, Emma, Sarah, and I, and before I knew it people were leaving and it was 11:00 PM and we had made well over $200.00 from the thing! I was shocked and pleased when I saw how God had blessed our efforts! The whole time it kind of felt like grabbing at the wind because it was Sarah and I planning this thing kind of last minute and not knowing if it would fly, but God gave it wings enough. After everyone had left, Josie and I perched on hard chairs in the dining room (don't ask me why) and talked until at least midnight again. Wow....noticing a pattern here.

We tumbled to bed and were awakened before the sunrise to get the yard-sale set up and together.

It was supposed to start at 9:00, but people started coming at seven-thirty and didn't stop till 1:00. Again, the Lord totally blessed the method of the yard-sale. We stuck all the items in neat rows and told people  to make a reasonable offer and then pay up and take it away. By the end we had made at least $600 which brought our grand total for the weekend up to $870.00 which exceeded (by a bit) the amount we had gone into the weekend needing!

This means our trip is fully funded now! We are going to Romania and it is paid for and we will have an amazing time and we will come back!  Hallelujah, and a huge thanks to those of you who helped us all the long and tedious way to raising our funds! Those of you who came and donated your time and money (Josie! <3) and those who put effort and time into helping with the decor (Jill! <3) and everyone in between! This weekend was crazy and fun and hectic and I am exhausted now on this cold Monday morning, but it worked. To quote a very very sappy movie, "Never despise meager beginnings."

So thanks, ya'll, and stay tuned for a post with more pictures, awesome details, and How-To-Plan-This-Party-Yourself. :D

The Scarlet Pimpernel: My Dream Cast

Oh my dears. Oh my deary-dears. You all know (or ought to know, or can imagine) that I love The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy. Recently I converted a friend onto the First-Timers campaign and experienced all the honest pride of a mother exhibiting her favorite child. I can't imagine how it would feel to have written such a book! There was a film made in 1984 starring Anthony Andrews and Jane Seymour which I really do love, but I haven't seen the newest version. That being said, I have been putting my wits to the question for a long time of what my TSP Dream-Cast would look like, and here is what I have:

Sir Percival Blakeney:

Benedict Cumberbatch

He could so swing this part. Perhaps a little small-framed, but nothing worse than Anthony Andrews. He could nail the foppishness as well as the intensity, and I cannot think of a better person for this part. Seriously.

Chauvelin:

Andy Serkis

(sans crop of crazy-curly hair)

Small, intense, scheming, and evil to the core, Andy Serkis would OWN this role. 

Marguerite Blakeney:

Romola Garai

Romola. Beautiful, beautiful Romola. Ever since I saw her in her stunning role in Amazing Grace, I have pictured Marguerite Blakeney thus. Don't think Emma Woodhouse, think Barbara Spooner. I think she could carry the gravity, the heart-break concealed under the wit and mockery. She could do this if given the chance.

Armand St. Just:

Rupert Evans

Because Armand's largest fault is his bull-headed, blind passion for a stupid dancer, I think Frank Churchill (aka Rupert Evans) would do the part justice. I like his acting. I like him. And seeing Rupert and Romola in another movie together as brother and sister would be pretty great.

Lord Anthony Dewhurst (Lord Tony):

Dan Stevens

I know he's done with Downton Abbey, so whaddya think: would Dan like a nice side-gig as leaning-post for Benedict Cumberbatch as Percy? I think he'd be perfect for the role. He's just such a nice, solid Brit. You know. He couldn't be mistaken for coming from any other country. He's just....wholesome looking. Perfect for jolly, bluff Lord Tony.

Sir Andrew Ffoulkes:

Tom Hiddleston

He needs a happy-go-lucky-yet-important role, doesn't he? Because from all I've heard, Tom Hiddleston is a pretty sweet guy, and he never gets to play happy roles. He would be really great as an essentially-English man. Truly.

Suzanne DeTourney:

Rosamund Pike

Because she's gorgeous, a fabulous actress, and looks a mite French.

Other Characters:

Robespierre:

Rufus Sewell

Ew. Yeah. He'd do the job. He always looks French to me no matter what, and I think he has cold, fishy eyes. Plus he's a good actor, and has played in a period drama set right about the same time (Amazing Grace again, anyone?) but I chose him for this role because his coloring is right for Robespierre in my opinion. Seriously. He always looks kind of half-crazed. Exactly the sort of guy who could aptly play a character like Robbie. ;)

The Prince of Wales:

Tom Hollander

Because he's little and dweeby but harmless.  And the PoW needs to be little and dweeby and harmless. :)

This late at night my mind forgets what other side-characters there are on the French side, but I will state that Ciarin Hinds needs to make an appearance as a Frenchie. He just looks French. I'm just sayin'. And if I could stick Ioan Gruffud in there somewhere as another Frenchie, it'd make my day and the day of several of my friends. 

So this, my friends, is my Dream-Cast List for a remake of The Scarlet Pimpernel. I tried to be true to what I recall from the book about the various characters. (i.e. Marguerite is clearly stated to have reddish-gold hair. NOT BLACK!) All the actors I have listed are well-known BBC (or closely-related to BBC) actors, and I think would work really well in a film together. All of them have done period-drama work in their careers, and some of them are actively "Period-Drama-Actors". :) I think it's rather perfect.

 So. Who wants to bring this awesome list to the attention of the BBC? We really should. Because I would pay my life's savings to see a film with a stellar cast like this. :)

Please Hold my Head Before It Flies Off

Soooooo much is going on right now that if I stop and thinking about all of it, there is a certain chance my head will pop off and go sailing off without me.

I am going to Romania in a matter of a couple weeks. GAH! It's a slightly panicking, whole exciting and overwhelming thing. I know the moment I set foot on Romanian soil I will panick and wish myself on a flight headed home, but I also know that the next moment I will love it, so I'm not too too worried.

To raise funds for this trip (the further funds we discovered we will need) Sarah and I are hosting Cafe en Romania, a coffee-house night with European flair on Friday, March 22 at 7:00 PM.We are going to run it exactly like a Starbucks, complete with a full menu of drinks for a song, and a raffle for some great items my so-generous friends and family have donated for the purpose. Sarah and I are hard hard at work thinking up ways to transform our sunny, open farmhouse into a cozy coffee-shop on our limited budget. Truth be told, as Sarah and I were huddled upstairs painting and drawing and ripping away at the decor, I flourished my paintbrush, spattering modge-podge over my project and declared:

"LET'S DO ALL THE DECOR WITHOUT SPENDING A DIME!"

Which, considering I literally have nothing but dimes left in my wallet, shouldn't be too hard to resist. :P But seriously. Sarah and I are two creative girls, and we. can. rock. this.

The fruits of a morning's labor are already amazing. Our efforts combined with the donation of several neat things from a friend's home are bringing the coffee-shop idea together. YES. It's working. Now it's up to you all to come. I'm serious. Any of you who live in the area or near the area, you know my email. (psssst: heirloomrosebud@gmail.com) If you'd like to participate in this fund-raising event, just shoot me an email and I will give you full details. The decorations are seriously awesome. I'm not sure that some of you who have a special fondness for coffee might not like to buy some of it off the walls. For real. And we'd be good with that. ;)

Yes, yes I know you were hoping for pictures of what we've done so far, but I want to keep it a magical surprise for all of you who will come. If you are our friends and need a place to stay the night if you come, we have couches and floors and rooms and squish-in-places available! Come one, come all!!

Now for the other part of this post that deals with the larger event in life right now.

My Gentleman got a job.

Daniel got a job with Generation Joshua and he is moving four hours away this Saturday.

As you can imagine, this is a pretty major thing for our family. He has lived with us since the day he was born, and it's gonna be an adjustment. I was reminded by a friend that we have had Daniel with us far longer than most people get their older brothers (he's 22) so I ought to be glad for that. And I am! I really am. And I know the move doesn't mean we won't see him anymore, because he's still gotta come South to go courtin', and I'm planning on frequent roadtrips, and clogging up the Post Office with mail, and clogging up his phone with texts, and doing all the things I've winkled out in my brain for years and had no one to use them on. Oh yes. It's gonna be fun. We have consoled ourselves with the idea that truly, until Daniel is gone for five weeks in a row without coming home once (which I hope won't happen for several years) it won't be any worse than when he and I were in Georgia for a month last year. Still, we miss him, and listening to "Drive Your Truck", "The Ballad of Jody Baxter", and "Come Back Soon"  is not an especially wise thing to do right now for fear of making all of us more sentimental and glum than ever. Thus we have sworn off pretty nearly everything but Broadway and Disney till the deed is done and he's in Purceville and we are accustomed to the idea.

Gon' miss my crazy guy. :'}

Truly. Sarah and Danj and I were driving in the car the other day and listening to Andrew Peterson and the Wistfulness was getting way too big so we turned on the good ol' country station and "Drive Your Truck" came on and affected me like it always does, and we turned into the drive not in a very dry state of eyes.

Really, the hugest emotion I've felt so far over this whole thing is excitement. I mean, this is a big deal. Daniel has a full time job with which he can provide for a family which means....a lot of things. Yep. It's pretty awesome, and I am so ready for him to get up there and learn the ropes and have all the wonderful, fulfilling things I know are in store for him. 

So Daniel and Coffee. Those are the things occupying my brain these days, along with a bit of deep allegorical poetry, historical romance, and Newsies....and when all of those wonderful things come together, life is overwhelming, but good. Very good. In an overwhelming, help-i-think-i'm-drowning kinda way.

Craziness.

:)

A deep and wildsome glory

"Into the peace of these wild things,

 Into the wild of this grace,

Into the grace of this blessing,

Speak in the peace of this place."

-Andrew Peterson "The Magic Hour"

There is some beauty too great for words.

Have you ever stood outside at the moment Day washes into Night, and felt the very air was filled with a thrum of praise?

Have you even been awakened by the scent of daffodils in the dark, or watched the laughter bubble over in a baby's smile, or seen the moon hanging low in the West and felt your heart might burst with the pain of Joy?

It is these moments I wish I could speak the language of the birds who flit over the sunset and pour a fountain of notes tumbling one over another down the fingers of the breeze.

But I am only human. My attempts to speak and write and pray are met with complete silence and a mind whisked clear of words.

I watch the sun gleam over the Spring's-blood green of the wheat field and the soul-ache deepens.

"Lord, Lord!" is all I can manage, and as I murmur the Name the pain cuts deeper and sweeter, sending shafts of holy light blinding my soul.

If I cannot tear myself away from the beauty and I cannot ease the joy-pain with words, I am awash and afloat in helpless, unbridled Joy.

It can terrify me, this soul-moment.

The pull of eternity is so near, so deep that my heart strains for it.

But human I am, mortal-life coaxes me back and the veil is half drawn again over the face of the wild peace.

"Lord..." I begin again, near to breaking under the weight of His glory.

"Satisfy your soul."

The gentle, tender commandment takes the desire of words from me.

Defenseless.

My words.

My weapons and tools.

The King has taken them away, gentle but firm and asked me for silence.

And my soul...

      My soul warms in the after-glow; expands, dances.....and is full.

Satisfied.

Nothing more I could ask.

Nothing less I could wish.

Eternity in the heart of Man.

What a deep and wildsome glory.