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7 Comments» Continue ReadingThis is the time of year you hear comments like these: “I’m going to cut out all sugar starting January 1.” “I sure didn’t do so good with my workout plan last year, but I’m starting the gym the first of the year.” “I totally failed in my Read-through-the-Bible-in-a-Year plan. I always get stuck in Numbers.” I’m being honest. I am no optimist. I have always professed to be anti-goal making, or more aptly, resolution-phobic. Yet, recent years of learning to preach to my own heart has revealed that what appears to be perfectionism and a fear of failing is really pride and self-sufficiency. I don’t want to set goals because I don’t want to either beat myself up to succeed, or to stress myself out when, in my own strength, I cannot find the consistency to accomplish what I set out to do. And, so….for many years, there you’d […]
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» Continue ReadingOur family’s emerged from the festivities and are now preparing for house guests and the anticipation of a new year. We I eagerly took all the Christmas decorations down and returned everything to it’s place rearranged all the furniture. Does this happen at your house too? It wasn’t without reason, you know. In anticipation of the 7th family member this Spring…and because we always have guests for dinner it seems, we’ve swapped the dining table for the kitchen table. I’ve never enjoyed using our dining room. Too formal; too far from the aromas of the kitchen. I love having everyone at the same table. And now, we all fit. (Plus, there will be 7 kids and four adults in our home for the rest of week!) My workspace has returned to it’s previous position from earlier in the year: right in the middle of it all. And though my kitchen […]
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» Continue ReadingAs the holiday season so ubiquitously ushers in rare and sometimes extended time with family and friends, I found myself praying the other day for wisdom in speech and graciousness in attitude in all relationships that I may encounter in this season of celebration. I asked for patience and humility as well, as there is nothing as un-festive as pride rearing its ugly head in the midst of our celebrations. Each of us so desires to make beautiful memories with friends and loved ones during this special time of year; and yet, how many times do we look back and find the nostalgia tainted by poor consideration of words or the timing of conversations. I then came across a fantastic little post by CJ Mahaney, offering encouragement to give the gift of thoughtful conversation. Considerate words. Purposeful words. Timely words. He says: So what words fit a particular occasion? Consideration […]
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» Continue ReadingThe preacher and I have been married for almost 13 years, and we’ve had kids for 8 of those years….and never have we put up stockings for Christmas. We’re not Santa people; in fact, we support the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and Santa Claus about as much as we enjoy dressing up and stocking up on candy. I know, we are a wild bunch. This year, however, I made stockings for the whole family. Just for the fun of it. The coziness of it. The practicality of having a place to stuff chaptick, gadgets, mints, or a new set of pencils. We’re all filling them for each other, though I don’t think any of us require a plate of cookies as motivation. It couldn’t hurt, though. {smile} The rough sketch: And, because the total investment made was less than $10 and an evening at home, I could afford to […]
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Just completed a special order headband for a certain somebody on a special someone’s Christmas list.
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A warm thank you to all who commented on the previous post with encouragement and love. I’m so grateful to each of you who read this blog, and am humbled by your friendship. Painting is cathartic for me. It offers time to think, to create, to correct, and to begin again, and again, and again…each layer covering over the old, but revealing something of what was there previously. A painting is the sum of its parts; the accumulation of all the strokes, textures, colors, and movements of every moment up to the last. Sometimes the unobscured messy layers that lie beneath are what make it a work of art. Not unlike people.
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