tuesdays.

Tuesdays, I have a theory about you.

You are the most boring day of the week.

You aren't Monday, the day which starts the work week. No one really likes a Monday but at least it has a purpose in life.

You aren't Wednesday, the day which marks the middle of the week. The end is already in sight when "hump day" (as some people so tastefully might say) rolls around.

You aren't Thursday, the day which screams, "almost the weekend!". And sometimes Thursdays get to become Fridays, when we are feeling especially lackadaisical.

You aren't Friday, the day which we all live for. We forget our responsibilities at work or school just because "it's Friday!"and spend the whole day dreaming of what the weekend will bring.

You aren't Saturday or Sunday, the days which all the fun stuff happens. The days of laughing and playing and resting and reading and doing whatever the heck we want.

So what are you doing, Tuesdays? You are so incredibly boring you have driven me to write this completely laughable and ludicrous blog post which I will most likely immediately regret posting.

But it needs to be said, you need to be outed for your utter ridiculousness of claiming to be a day of the week.

With all that said, if you are feeling as bored as I am this fine Tuesday afternoon, here a couple of links to keep you from pulling your hair out or making a fool out of your self via social media...

1. Stationary that you can customize to meet all your note writing needs.
2. Lion Heart Image, an awesome vintage photography blog and a friend of mine. (stalk this one daily)
3. And of course, I wouldn't be a good Young Life staffer if I didn't make a plug for all the awesome Young Life Summer Camps happening this summer.

That's all for now, folks. Until next time.

oceans.

"He who is grateful for little is given much laughter...and it's counting the ways He loves, this is what multiples joy."

From the moment I mounted the bike, something inexpressible began to fill my heart. I was immediately thrown back to childhood, where bike riding through the neighborhood was the norm and I did not have a care in the world and things like hurt and pain and sadness did not exist except when I fell off and skinned my knees. But even these were fixed with a simple bandaid and kiss from my parents - a 5 minute rebound rate was all I needed before the pain was forgotten and the joy of feeling the wind in my hair allowed for everything else to fade.

And this is what I felt when I remounted this hot pink cruiser at age 24, on the streets of Panama. The rain drops falling sporadically, kissing and cooling my skin, making the Panama heat that much more bearable.

And as we began to ride down the coast, the something inexpressible that had instantly filled my heart suddenly became expressible. Pure, unbridled, instantaneous joy. Everything else was forgotten except for this bike and this rain and these views and this joy. 

And the rain grew stronger and stronger, with no regard of the four humans pedaling, completely soaking us from hair to shoes. But as the rain grew so did joy and so did laughter. Because what else can you do when you are caught in a rain storm, biking down the coast of Panama, with no concept of where you are headed or when you will get there.

And so the laughter escaped from the depth of my being over and over and over again. And all I could think was, "This is what He loves to give - oceans and oceans and oceans of grace."

And I realize, this is one of those moments you cannot create. This is one of those epic, grace moments that was not part of the plan but is still beautiful, nonetheless. 

"Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days." 

- Psalm 90:14

Panama.

In order to remain legal in Costa Rica, I have to leave the country every 90 days for 72 hours. Lucky for us, Bocas del Toro, Panama is a short 5-6 hours away via bus, regular taxi and water taxi (depending on how long the boarder crossing takes!) And so, last weekend 3 friends and I hit up this small, multi-island town with it's water taxis, vibrant colors, clear waters, delicious (and cheap!) seafood, bike rentals, epic rain storms, white sand beaches, amazing views and strange conglomeration of people. It was amazing and I am super thankful that all it took was $14 bus ticket to get there. And well, I will let the pictures speak for themselves (with a few of my own comments strategically placed here and there, of course.)

First view of the main island as we pulled in on our water taxi.

Rip Tide: Old shrimp boat that now serves as a seafood restaurant.

Yes, everything really is this bright and colorful and beautiful and wonderful.

Told ya.

First time snorkeler, right here.

Underwater Body Boarding...yes, it was awesome as it sounds.

This little guy...

Biked down the coast.

In the pouring rain. And it was amazing.

Caught some waves at Wizard's Beach...it was pretty magical.

Ships and boats and sailing galore.

Receive.

This whole life is grace, I'm learning.

It fills every corner of my mind as I awake each morning, eyes groggy but mercies renewed.

Sunlight. Walk to school. Cup of coffee. Pouring Rain. All counted as grace. As I look around, the whole world is screaming His grace from every direction. All of it. Even our existence - it all began with grace.

I picture a cup overflowing. The water pouring out and splashing over, hitting the table and the floor and continuing to run. This is His grace for me.

I picture the sun rising. Its rays spilling into every crevice of the earth and filling it with light, shining through the cold obscurity of the night, glorious and victorious. This is His grace for me.

How can I not respond? Even when things happen that don't make sense, that I don't understand, that I would never have fathomed happening. It's grace and grace and more grace and that is all I can seem to wrap my mind around lately. This idea of how God lavishes grace gifts onto His children. He never stops. It's continual. It's over us, under us, before us, after us, in us, through us, around us, surrounding us. And every day I wake up and I thank God for the ability He has given me to see these gifts of grace because I know it is nothing in me and everything from Him.

But I hunt for more - I long to see more and more and more because once I realize the overwhelming beauty and abundance and simplicity of the gifts He loves to give, I want to learn how to receive. So I probe, explore and rummage through the things that seem so everyday, so ordinary, so mundane - knowing that the grace gifts are there, just waiting to be received.

And by receiving them, these grace gifts, I feel myself drawing closer to the heart of God and the more I draw into this heart that beats so surely for me, the closer I desire to be.

So I open my eyes to see more deeply and I open my hands to receive more fully - and my heart is opened and I am made whole, over and over again.

// colorful kites in the park // National Donut Day // sunlight and Spanish // fallen flower //

// mornings with Oswald // view from my gate in the morning // morning dew drops // coffee //

24.

Recently, I have realized that I do things differently then I used to a couple of months ago. Some small, some big. Not worse, not better. Just different. Maybe it is because I moved to another country. Maybe it is part of the growing up process. Maybe I am just changing. Or maybe it is simply a mixture of all these things, working together to create a new way of thinking.

But I have decided to account these small changes to the fact that I am now 24 years old. 

And so, more for my entertainment than yours, I have compiled a list of 24 ways I can tell I have turned 24.

1. Flossing happens once a day.

2. I enjoy washing my hands.

3. Coffee consumption has been upped to, on average, 3 times a day.

4. Can't stay up past 11 o' clock without being totally useless the next day.

5. When brushing my teeth, try to brush for 2 minutes. (the dentist suggested time frame for teeth brushing)

6. Go running twice a week in order to maintain a healthy heart.

7. Go running because I actually want to.

8. Daily multivitamins. 

9. Make up the bed, also daily.

10. My room is (almost) always clean.

11. Waking up at 6/6:15am to make it to class on time...and enjoying it.

12. Still immature enough to let out a smirk when someone uses the word "do" twice in a row in a sentence. (I "do do" that...)

13. Craving fruit and salads.

14. T-shirt and jeans are no longer an everyday occurrence.

15. Money budgeting.

16. E-mailing my grandparents once a week to catch up on life.

17. Tears at weddings.

18. Still young enough to paint my nails with neon orange nail polish and get away with it.

19. Enjoying the company of children.

20. I get more and pains in my body when I go on longer runs...or when I dance too much.

21. Still young enough to dance around my room, singing Taylor Swift.

22. My e-mail inbox is organized and clean of junk mail.

23. I reach for my umbrella before going for the rain jacket.

24. The doctor suggested amount of 8 cups of water per day is actually taking place.

And so, in the words of Taylor Swift (kind of) ... "I don't know about you, but I'm feeling twenty-FOUR..."

April&May.

April showers bring May flowers....

...except in Costa Rica when rainy season begins in May! 

(click photo to enlarge newsletter)

*if you would like to be included on my e-mail update list, please shoot me an e-mail at ella.salley@gmail.com and I will be happy to add you.

wedding.

Doors. The doors opened, the tears came suddenly and unexpectedly. The doors the hands of her father had made for this specific occasion. Made with love. His bare hands, calloused and splintered as he measured, stripped, nailed, painted these doors. These white, dazzling doors - made to introduce a bride to her groom for the first time.

Aisle. As I watched one of my dearest friends walk down the aisle to her groom, tears streamed down. Because she was stunning, yes. Because the man who loved her was also crying, yes. Because of the sweetness that surrounded that whole day, yes. But there was something deeper, stirring in my heart as I watched the beauty unraveling before me.

White. Who knew a color could be so powerful. Doors. Dress. Veil. A color so pure, a color so deep. A bride dressed in white. A bride dressed in purity. A bride dressed in the deep love of Christ.

Rain. The light drizzle of raindrops hit my skin. More like a mist, really - barely there but making its presence known. Grace, my heart sings, there's always grace.

And I see and I hear, as if with two different eyes and ears. One eye sees the beautiful union of a bride and her groom. One ear hears the words of two people madly in love with each other and with Christ.

But the other eye sees Jesus and His bride, standing at the altar. And Jesus is pledging His undying, compassionate, grace-filled love to her. The other ear hears, Ella, this is how I love you.

And I take it all in: the doors, the aisle, the white, the rain. And I am overcome again with emotions I did not even know I had. And I see, as though it is the first time, Christ's love for me. He opens the eyes of my heart to see straight into the heart of God. And it is a heart that beats for me.

And that is enough.

Then it is announced: "I now proclaim you Mr. and Mrs. Michael DeVita!"

Happiness and joy is seen all around. Shouts of confirmation and excitement escape from the crowd. And you couldn't wipe the smiles off the bride and groom's faces if you tried.

So we dance. We sing. We eat delicious food. We celebrate the marriage of these two beautiful friends of mine.

And this was my weekend. What a sweet time it was to catch up with so many friends from home, dance the night away, hang with the rents and watch one of my best friends get married!

"The leftovers of Your grace would satisfy me for eternity." - John Piper

"Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me."

-Psalm 42:7

Oceans and oceans and oceans of grace.