Enjoy Your Day

      Lately, our Saturdays have been busy. One weekend we butchered chickens. Then we spent one Saturday cutting up and shredding the 40 pounds of cheese that we ordered and split with the Lovely Keren Ruth and Benjamin. And last weekend it was goat butchering time. Needless to say our two freezers are quite full now, we are blessed.
      So this weekend, Keren and I decided to get together simply for the fun of it. Nothing to cut up, package, or shred. It was lovely.
      We made sugar cookies and split pea soup and played scrabble. I lost, which I always manage to do when we play scrabble, but I thoroughly enjoyed the day.

     Then today we proved that great minds really do think alike when we showed up to church with similar outfits.

     So, may your day be filled with joy, and beauty, and an overpowering realization that The One who created the goodness that goes into a simple day loves you.

“Joy is found in simple things.”~Todd Stocker

The Circle of Goodness

      Yesterday I had parent teacher conferences. So, I typed up the kids' report cards, pulled a couple chairs up to my desk and settled in for a day of chatting with parents. And it was a wonderful day. I work at a small school so I only had 8 conferences and I knew most of the parents.
       Afterwards as I was thinking back over the day and things parents had said, I realized that parent teacher conferences are as much for me as they are for the parents. I shared with parents their child's grades and how they were doing in my classroom and they shared back words of encouragement for me.
       When a parent brought me a cup of tea because she thought of me while she was picking up her own Caribou on the way to the conference, I felt loved.
       When a parent came in a told me that they appreciate me and that I truly am having an impact on their kid, it reminded me of what an important job I have.
      When a parent came in for their conference and afterwards asks me how I was doing and if there is anything in my life I would like prayer for, not school stuff just my life stuff, I felt blessed and cared about.
       So it's a circle. I shared and they shared right back. And that is how life should be, a circle of goodness. Happy Friday. 
     

"If you are a leader, you should never forget that everyone needs encouragement. And everyone who receives it - young or old, successful or less-than-successful, unknown or famous - is changed by it."

~John C. Maxwell

The Year a House Became Home

      Last Saturday we hit one year of being in our home. We had a lovely day spent with friends. The sun was shining and it was Fall perfection.
      It is kind of crazy that it's already been a year. It's been a good 365 days. We have loved having a space of our own. I love having company and may of those 365 days have been filled with friends and family spending time in our sunny kitchen.  We've done some remodeling, grown a garden, and Luke's worked on numerous vehicles in his giant garage. We are so blessed.

"Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do....But how much love we put into that action."
~Mother Teresa

   

Frienship: Let's Vote.... I Say Yes!

    The other day I came home to a lovely sight. A plethora of notes and greeting were scrawled across the driveway in chalk. My sweet friend Emily had been over with her kiddos while I was at work and worked their magic to bring a smile to my face the moment I pulled in. It was a nice surprise. I have great friends!

      Actually the past month has been full of great friends. My dear friends Polly and Peggy, and their brother Bobby(one of Luke's oldest friends) came up for a visit. It was so fun to see them.

 Luke and Bobby, Then and Now.

      Then this past weekend, my friend Larisa from college came up for the weekend. It was fun reminiscing and just spending time together. My first year at BSU we lived across the hall from each other. We had quite the adventures!

Friendship is a good and beautiful thing. I for one am in favor of it!

"One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood." 

~Lucius Annaeus Seneca

And a touch of Fall.

Happy Thursday!

Autumn

Fall...
     The days are getting cooler and the colors are vibrant. I just keep thinking how beautiful it is. The vibrant gold of the birch and popple leaves as they play against their creamy, grey bark.
Coziness...
    The cooler days means that the wood stove has been fired up and the wonderful smell of wood smoke lingers around our home. We have a pile of logs waiting to be cut and stacked and it is just makes me feel good inside.
Goodness...
  The Lovely Keren Ruth came out tonight and we cleaned up the garden. It has been a good first run.
Memories...
       The past few days I have been feeling cozy and nostalgic. It was around this time of the year 5 years ago when my love and I first started falling in love. It was this time last year that we bought our first home. Really, this time of year has always pulled out good feelings in my heart.
Restfulness...
       I am curled up on the couch, there is lovely music playing, there is peace.
Remember...
      The One who painted the colors of fall, the One who fills our hearts with His peace and rest, the One who blesses us with beautiful memories, the One who designed in us the ability to delight in a beautiful fall day, He loves you and He wants to fill your heart with the peace and coziness and beauty of all that He is.
Happy Fall!

“Autumn...the year's last, loveliest smile." ~William Cullen Bryant

And Then Summer Became Fall

     September is winding down and October will be here soon. It is a little crazy how fast this year has gone. My love and I are coming up on the one year anniversary of moving into our lovely home. A lot of good has happened in this year. I successfully had my first vegetable garden, My love and I finished paying off my student loans(Yay!), we've laughed and cried and been blessed with a beautiful life. And now, Fall is starting to show his face. The colors are changing, the sun is shining from a different position in the sky and the bright colors of summer flowers are being replaced with the rust reds, oranges, and yellows of Autumn's finery.
     I've been thinking lately about who God is. Rediscovering the One I put my faith in when I was just a little girl. I decided to do this because I realized that a big part of the reason I worry is because I have a skewed understanding of who God is. I need to relearn who He is and then I need to find my way back to the child's faith I had when I said "Jesus loves me this I know..." Because the One who turns Summer into Fall does love me. He loves me and you so very much. It's not just the words to Sunday school song. 

Happy Monday!

"Autumn paints in colors that summer has never seen." ~Unknown

A Formal Affair

     This morning, a couple ladies from Church put on a Fall tea party. I woke up wondering if I should call and see if this was a "wear something like I'd wear to Church" event or more casual. But then, I just decided to call the Lovely Keren Ruth and see if she just wanted to go ahead and be really formal with me(She's good about spontaneous adventure that way.) And so we did. Out came my garment bag of bride's maid dresses. It was lovely.

      I am truly blessed to have a friend like Keren. I have often thought that I sure lucked out when I married My Love because not only did I get him, but I got an amazing friend in the deal(Keren is Luke's sister.) Friendship is such a gift!

“Friendship is born at that moment when one man says to another: "What! You too? I thought that no one but myself . . ."” ~C.S. Lewis

Beautiful Days

     Today is beautiful. The sun is shinning, the air is breezy and it's warm but not hot. The light is changing and the days are starting to have that Fallish sort of feel. It's nice. I really love this time of year. My sunflowers are taller than the porch roof now. They are so fun to look at.

      School is of to a running start and I do believe that this is going to be a great year. My garden continues to do well as does the Lovely Keren Ruth's. Last weekend we made a giant turkey roaster of spaghetti sauce. When I canned it it came out to 14 jars. That was satisfying. 
      Last Thursday I went out for ice cream with the girls I worked with this summer(and the past couple of summers). Friendship is such a great thing and I love to watch how it grows. We laughed and laughed hard. I am blessed.

     This week the Lovely Keren Ruth and I watched the movie Julie and Julia and were thus inspired to try our hand at French cooking. So, the other night we made Beef Burgeon and French bread. I will say that French cuisine is not for the cook who wants a fast and easy supper. Good grief there were a lot of steps. But it tasted good.

      I am getting super excited for this coming week because it is Jackpine time. There is nothing quite like camping in the coolness of fall with some of your favorite people. And this year is even more exciting because my dear friend Miss Polly is coming up early to spend a couple days with us. Actually both Polly and her brother Bob, one of Luke's closest friends, are coming. It's going to be good.
     And to top it all off, we bought the new Matt Kearney cd the other day which is just full of good sounds. Flowers, friends, music, and memories in the making. Life is good. Happy Monday.

"A good life is when you assume nothing, do more, need less, smile often, dream big, laugh a lot, and realize how blessed you are." ~Unknown

Relax

    I love babies, I always have. I have multiple pictures of me over the years holding some baby or other. They are just so sweet. I look forward to the day when My love and I have our own little snuggler, but until then, I have great friends who are willing to share their babies with me.
    This morning at church, I was holding my newest little friend. He was tired, but resisting. He wasn't really upset, he just couldn't quite figure out what he wanted. He was wiggly and fidgeting, he would lay his head down then pick it back up. He just couldn't seem to relax.  I rocked, swayed, and rubbed his back until he finally gave in and fell asleep. One of the best feelings in the world is when that sweet little 8 pounds of wiggliness finally calms down enough to relax into you and fall asleep.
    As I was holding that sweet little guy I started thinking about how even as adults we sometimes struggle with that very same thing. We struggle to relax into the arms of the One who is holding us. Our heavenly Father has us securely in His arms. He loves us so very much but as He holds us, we so often struggle to calm down and rest in Him. We flail our arms, wiggle, feel frustrated, lay our heads down only to pick them up again. Resisting.
   Why is it we so often fail to rest in His love? Perhaps it's fear, or guilt, or the desire to hold onto control. Sometimes I think it is because we simply don't know how to just give it up and rest in Him. We are so used to the feelings of anxiety that resting in His peace is almost a foreign concept.
    But the One who knows what's best just keeps holding onto us. He sways and rocks, pats our back and whispers to just calm down and rest in Him. And just like holding that sweet baby as he finally fell asleep was an amazing feeling, when you finally relax into the Arms of the One who holds you, a feeling of peace will engulf your very soul... And peace is about the best feeling there is.
Happy Sunday

"Peace begins with a smile." ~Mother Teresa 

Confidence and Hope

     Last night, I was reading in the book of Hebrews. Two words that stuck out to me were "Confidence," and "Hope".

Hebrews 4:16

"Therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

    The One who speaks life into our souls will fill us with confidence in Him if we open our hearts to Him. He is love. 

Then there was hope. 

Hebrews 6:17-19 

    "In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath,  so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil."

      I love the part of that passage that says the hope we have(in Jesus) is an anchor of the soul. We must hold onto that hope or we are going to be splashed around. It is an anchor, a safe place, security. 

     The two words I picked from my reading in Hebrews really go hand in hand. The One who designed this life gives us hope. But, the thing about hope is that without confidence the very essence of hope disappears. So, you need hope and confidence together. Hope in the One who gave you life and be confident in it. 

Happy Monday.   

 "What gives me the most hope every day is God's grace; knowing that his grace is going to give me the strength for whatever I face, knowing that nothing is a surprise to God." ~Rick Warren

The Namibia Adventures Part 5

 And then, my time in Namibia began to wrap up(Parts 1 and 2 and 3 and 4). 5 months was almost over.

January 11, 2009
"When I got on the plane back in September(it feels like so long ago), I felt like I was setting out on a grand adventure, heading into the complete unknown. Now as I'm seeing myself at the end of this time here, I wonder if I've accomplished anything, and if I've changed. I hope so, but sometimes I just don't know."
February 7, 2009
"Wow, I can't believe it. The day after tomorrow I will be going home. It almost doesn't feel real. My last day in Rehoboth was good. I gave each of the kids a jar of peanut butter and a balloon and Amanda gave them coloring books, crayons, and gum. IT was fun but sad knowing that I will never see them again. It was also sad because you know that the kids don't understand that you won't be coming back. Stuff like that is just too hard for a 6 year old to fully comprehend. It was so weird to think as I was walking around town that it was the very last time.  I had to say goodbye to Catherin and Heidi tonight and it seems like goodbyes just never get easy. I just can't believe my time here in Namibia is over. When I think back to those first days here and all that's happened since it feels like such a  long time, but when I think of it as a whole, I just can't believe that it's already done--it feels as though it went so fast. For more than a year I had been looking forward to and working toward Africa, and now that it is over I'm like, 'Now what?'"
February 9, 2009
"Well, I am now sitting in the South African airport with Amanda. We have made it through one flight and all the scary checks and now we have and 18 hour flight in front of us. We met this cute old couple today from Texas of all places. She started talking and didn't stop. They were on their way home from visiting their son and grandkids in Windhoek. Apparently they are missionaries there. I tell you, you just never know who you will meet and where. I still can't get my mind around the fact that I'm going home."

     I have been home 7 years now and know that God did use those Namibia adventures. He used them to set me on a new course. Because of my experiences working in a tiny school in Rehoboth, Namibia, I decided that I wanted to become a teacher. Because I wanted to be a teacher I needed to find a college, which lead me to Northern MN where I met My Love. So here I am.

 “I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.”
~Douglas Adams