Today is one of my favorite days of the year. The house is in perfect order after all dishes have been washed and returned to their spots from the day before. There is leftover food, so I don’t have to cook. We’ll cut down a Christmas tree at our favorite local farm this morning, and… Read More Five Favorites on Friday: Christmas Books
Sweet. Not the eight pies I just made for tomorrow’s festivities, but God. That’s how I’ve been describing Him lately anyway. I love words, and so I’m always Googling definitions, synonyms, and even etymologies. When I searched “sweet” this is what I found… pleasant, delightful, nice, good…kind, gentle, sensitive Yes, all of those things. God… Read More Life Is Scary, But He Is Sweet
Kayla created this really great gluten free pumpkin bread recipe a few years back. We can’t quite remember how she did it, but possibly from a combination of other recipes we’d seen and used before. It’s a good one, and I pulled it out on Sunday to make a dessert for a church youth lunch… Read More Pumpkin Bread & Preparations
“We’re expecting a cold front here tomorrow,” is what my dad told me over the phone and from the heart of Texas on Friday night. On Saturday morning, I heard it again from another Texas friend. It was Kelly’s (a.k.a. Miss Riggs) birthday, and when I texted her to wish her a happy day, she… Read More Cold Fronts and Cool Retreats
My seminary lectures and readings last week were all on the book of Ecclesiastes. Kind of depressing at first. “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.” (1:2) “The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor is the ear filled with hearing.” (1:8) “So I hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun… Read More Five Favorites On Friday
It was such a lovely weekend. About twenty-five of us gathered in what can only be described as a log mansion. The oversized stone fireplaces surrounded by the coziest of furniture on every level disqualified it from being a mere cabin. Built long ago as a luxurious hunting lodge, it now serves as the retirement home… Read More Prince of Peace, Come and Reign
Someone with blonde hair, a lot of love for cats, and not a lot of love for Kim and Kanye released a new song last Friday. And because, according to my Myers-Briggs personality type, I am “fiercely loyal,” I believed in this young musician whom I have come to enjoy and admire. I just knew she would… Read More Gorgeous
Ya’ll already know how much I love to have people around my dining room table, but these people right here are my favorite ones to have gathered in one place. They are my favorite people to cook chocolate chip pancakes and bacon for. This is my favorite group to hang out with and laugh with… Read More Weepy Eyes. Full heart. Can’t Wait Till Christmas.
Passport, Visa, packing lists, notarized forms, planning meetings, books to read, letters to send, phone calls to make, a pantry to stock, and fears to face. The trip to Turkey finally came and went, and it was truly an incredible experience. It’s difficult to express all that it meant to me, especially with an inherent… Read More Turkish Delights
Today is the day. I’m as nervous as I am excited, and I’d appreciate your prayers so much… For open doors to gospel conversations and faith sharing. I love the way my friend Christina put it in a text message yesterday: “Praying for unexpected opportunities and conversations with faith-filled responses.” Yes, that! Also…the forming of… Read More Sweetly Sent