Beauty on a Friday

This has been a week of counting down, sorting out and even laying low. A week that has me marking time as summer winds towards it's conclusion. We have school supplies at the ready and new socks all lined up. And I'm grateful for a silly girl who likes to wear silly things and pretend to be a movie star, ala Hepburn.

The children have played happily, mostly, all week with Pet Shop land. And I'm purposing to be grateful the noise and the mess because I know in two short weeks they will all be at school. I will miss them, I really will.

I am grateful for provision this week, and I must be completely honest as I share that I was worried. I worried about how we get all that we needed for three kids to start school. I thought about the need for jeans that were not too short and ballet slippers that weren't too tight and sweaters that had sleeves with the proper length and socks that were free of holes. And I worried, and then I turned my worries to prayers. I choose to trust that God would provide what they needed. I waited. I thought maybe provision would come in an unexpected check in the mail. A bag of hand me downs dropped on the door step. Or something. But then we cleaned out all the closets. And we found that we had everything we need. God had supplied the need before we even expressed it. We already had it. It reminds me of our life in Christ. Through Jesus we have everything we need for life and godliness. Everything. Sometimes God has to remind us of that through school clothes. And boy, am I grateful.

I am grateful for extra blankets on the bed, a signal of the changing season. Fall is my favorite, hands down.

I am grateful for music, even though no one in this house can play anything other than Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. I'm glad of the potential. And hopefully, soon, at least one of us will be able to play something different.

And as always I am grateful for the season's bounty, and farm fresh tomatoes seem extra sweet when you eat them with knowledge that they are fleeting. I think they'll make a lovely bruschetta.

These are things of beauty, these gratitudes.

What are you finding beautiful this week?

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I'm linking over with Leslie at Top of the Page for her new Thanks-Living series.

Finding Home

The open windows flip my loose curls all around my face, crazy and wildly whipping in the wind. At sixty five miles an hour on the highway towards home fatigue turns to emotional introspection.

Today I'm sharing at Beautifully Rooted about home and finding it right where God has placed you, click over to read more.....

Encouragement for Today

"Am I a God who is only close at hand?" Says the Lord.

"No, I am far away at the same time."

Jeremiah 23:23

Remember today that God is both near and far. Sometimes we can sense his presence strongly and we walk in the peace that provides. But sometimes he does not seem near at all. Even then, he is still close. We don't always sense him; sometimes distractions come and pull on our attention. Problems rise like walls that would want to separate us from God. But still, he is near. We can rely on that, even though we may not immediately sense it.

 

Today we can choose trust in his nearness, even as he enlarges our faith to sense his presence more.

Beauty on a Friday

Today I am finding beauty in found artifacts. Pieces of life from Zac's grandparents house that have found their way home to us.

there's the pile of Grandma's crochet hooks

Grandma's necklace

the paintings done by Zac's grandpa

the afghan made by great Grandma Ada, our daughter's namesake

and a whole pile of hand embroidered linens and handkerchiefs, all lovingly made by different grandmas

It's a whole lot of beautiful to me, these bits and pieces of the ones we love right here and happy under our roof. Zac's grandma passed away nearly two weeks ago and we have been sifting though what remains. Of course we are sad, and she will be missed. But we also rejoice because we know she is with Jesus now. One of the last conversations we had with her was marked by musings of what would come, what she would see, what it would be like. And she said more than once, "I'm just so curious, I wonder what it will be like?"
We wonder too. But we know she is at total peace, experiencing total freedom. And really, we couldn't wish for anything else for her.

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Beauty on Fridays has become a way for me to mark gratitudes, bits of joy and beauty in everyday life. It has become therapeutic, counting beauty in the ordinary.

Won't you join me? Feel free to share what you've found beautiful this week in the comments.

on back to school, expectations, and pressures

I have spent the last 10 years with at least one of my offspring beside me, on top of me, next to me, and all around me.

However, in just a few short weeks all of my kids will be in school. Not just a few like last year, all.


Part of me is giddy at the prospect, for there have been some summer days that have stretched long as we've all been so close together in this not so large house. I will welcome a little breathing space.


But part of me is sad. I am exchanging one season of life for another. We started this journey last year when we transitioned from home schooling to public school. It was hard and easy and heartbreaking all at the same time.


And lately I've been caught off guard by the question: "what are you going to do with all your time?" Neighbors, friends, and total strangers alike are all dying to know. Frankly, so am I.


As I muddle it over, I worry.


As I ponder, I get uptight.


And as I think of all the possibilities I get really excited and totally overwhelmed all at the same time.


It makes me want to hide in the hammock and take a nap.


It seems like there are so many expectations on a girl like me, a mom who has exchanged diapers and training wheels for notebooks and backpacks. I could get a job. I could volunteer. I could try to save the world by helping to provide clean water for kids in Africa. But really, I might not do any of that. And that all terrifies me.


I need to remember that most of the expectations I'm feeling are heavy on my heart because I am the one who has placed them there.


So I'm doing the only thing I know how to do right now: enjoy just where I am while I pray about what is next.


I need to take my frazzled emotions and remind myself that God says his burden is light. (Matt 11:30)


God has a plan, and all I have to do is ask for it. "Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come." (Jeremiah 33:3 NLT)


I usually make things much more difficult than they need to be. I place all these rules on my heart and ideas that are not my own in my head, and it leaves me all a mess.


I don't know what I'll do with my time. I'd like to write more, I'd like to help at the school, I want to serve the youth with my husband. And I want to do it all by 3 pm so I can be all there when the kids are out of school.


I honestly don't know what this season will hold but I know it will be good because I know the one who holds it.


He has never let me down.


So when I'm faced with uncertainty over the future I just need to tell myself to chill. Take it one day at a time. Stock up on Kleenex for the first day of school; not for the teachers but for me.


Whatever season we are in we can trust that God has goodness in store for his children that are wholeheartedly seeking him. Not good things necessarily, but goodness even in the middle of difficulties.


I have found myself humming this song lately:

You stay the same through the ages, your love never changes, there may be pain in the night but joy comes in the morning. And when the oceans rage I don't have to be afraid, because your love never fails.

You make all things work together for my good.

I know that to be true, no matter what is going on in my life.

Beauty on a Friday

Okay, I know it's Sunday...but whatever.

It's been hot around here and we've been at the river escaping the heat. We've also been packing up two kids to go to their first week ever of summer camp. It's a pretty big deal. So in other words, Friday just slipped on by. And then so did Saturday. And now, it's the end of Sunday. School starts in just a few short weeks and we are trying to squeeze as much summer fun in as we can.

But I'm still looking for the beauty in the everyday. And sometimes just witnessing it all unfold through the lens of the camera helps me to appreciate the moments. You know the ones. The ones that slip by like sand through your fingers. The ones that mark where we are in life, and what we are into and the things that are typical summer.


So in no particular order, here they are.

sunflowers from the yard

quiet mornings

 

a new treasure

 

 

sibling love, it's adorbs as my daughter says

 

a watering can surprise, and the little hands holding it

and a perfectly unmade bed

 

Sometimes the most beautiful things are the most simple my friends. What's beautiful in your neck of the woods these days?

and then my soul took a deep breath

 

After two jam packed weeks of summer camp and lots of going and going in between I found myself in need of some quiet. I needed to hear the still small voice of the Lord, just for myself. Not for sharing with others, not for devotional time in the cabins, but just for me.

 

I needed some buoying up from the presence of the Lord. I looked for it in Scripture but my tired eyes found it hard to focus. I searched for it though worship music at home but my ears were still ringing from the worship band's loud praise.

 

And then I found it. On a long trip with the family, on the rocky Oregon coast I heard God speak. It wasn't in a thunder, it wasn't in lighting; it was in the crashing waves.

 

 

I, the LORD, define the ocean’s sandy shoreline

as an everlasting boundary that the waters cannot cross.

The waves may toss and roar,

but they can never pass the boundaries I set. (Jeremiah 5:22 NLT)

The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands. (Psalm 19:1 NIV)

I am so glad I found God here, that refreshing came. A week away with my family smack dab in the middle of God's beauty was just what this tired soul needed.

And now I am back and ready to go. Ready to take on the end of summer. Ready to get ready for back to school.

A blog break was good, it was nice to put electronics aside for a while and unplug. And hopefully you're all still here, ready to read.

As we edge closer to fall I'm working on some projects around the house, and getting back in the habit of writing. Which is needed since I've recently become a contributor over at Beautifully Rooted. Having more chances to write certainly has been an answer to prayer and I'm so excited to be a part of this online community.

 

And that is the haps around here. We are relishing sleeping in, ice cream trips, late evening bike rides, and all things summer while the weather allows it. Since the weather is sometimes tempormental around here we are glad that it's actually feeling like summer, with days in the mid to high 90's and nights cooling to the 50's. It is perfect for summer activities.

 

 

Before I leave I have to share the quintessential summer picture from our camping trip. This is our sweet cousin on the dock at Zac's uncle's place. As you can tell, we all had a really great time.