Faithful in Prayer

 

Last week, I wrestled through a few days when it came to things of the heart. I have some long-standing prayer requests that I’ve committed to the Lord, but I find it hard sometimes to leave those things in the hands to which I committed them. I’m sure I’m not alone in that.

            A handful of them surfaced all in one day last week, and I struggled to even make sense of how it all made me feel. This word girl had a hard time putting words around the feelings, and that’s so frustrating.

            Somewhere along the way that day – probably on a social media post – I saw the words of Romans 12:12, reminding me to be faithful in prayer.

            Faithful. In. Prayer.

            The truth is, the things that overwhelm my heart are beyond my ability to change, control, or manipulate in any way. In some cases, I’m praying over decisions that are not mine to make. I’ll be affected by their outcomes, but I’m not the one in charge of the decisions. In some cases, I’m praying for provision that is beyond my ability to provide. In some cases, I’m asking for answers to questions that utterly baffle me.

            I can’t do anything to make anything happen. I can “only” pray. But as the verse reminded me, my job is to be faithful in prayer. My job is to trust the One who can guide decisions, offer provisions, and provide answers. He can do all of it.

            Why the wait for any of it? I don’t know. Perhaps the wait, in part, has to do with the growth of my own faith and character. Perhaps it has nothing to do with me and everything to do with someone else’s story, and I’m just part of the bigger story.

            I wrote the words “faithful in prayer” in my desk space so I can remind myself repeatedly that this is what I can do. I can be faithful to pray over the things that weigh on my heart. I’m responsible to pray over these things.

            My goal for the days ahead is to remain faithful in prayer. If you feel compelled to do the same, I’d love to have you along for the journey!

Sunday Sentiments: Listening in Midian

 

Ryan and I are co-leading our Sunday School class today – an opportunity that came to us a bit late in the week, so we scrambled to find a topic. I’ve been camping in Exodus lately, and I’ve been reviewing some of the lessons I learned to use in my upcoming women’s retreat, so I naturally gravitated to those chapters for some class discussion for today.

            Yesterday, as we worked to unpack a few more boxes in our office, I cataloged and shelved some books that had been sitting in a pile for far too long. One of them is a great book I read months ago, called Letting God Be Enough. It’s written by my friend and favorite Bible study writer, Erica Wiggenhorn.

            One of the chapters – the one we’re using for class today – talks about the years Moses lived in Midian. Erica talked about how God used that time to prepare Moses for the massive upcoming assignment, but she also wrote this sentence, which I had underlined for very good reason: Midian is the place where we learn to listen.

            I learned, as I studied in Exodus that Midian was a place of a (perceived, anyway) fresh start for Moses, and it was also a place of comfort for him. He was content there.

            But it wasn’t as much of a season of down-time as he thought it would be. It was the place where, in the quiet, God worked in his heart, even if he didn’t realize that’s what was happening. It was a place of listening.

            Does your life feel like a Midian right now? Maybe it’s kind of comfortable. Maybe it’s a fresh start. Maybe it’s mostly good – but not all it could be. Maybe you know, somewhere deep in your soul, that God has more for you, but you don’t know exactly what it might be.

            Can I encourage you to listen? You have no idea what God might have to say to you if you just…listen.

            I know I need to do some listening of my own.

The Saturday Suggestions

 

ONE. 

Last Sunday I shared about the anniversary of Nita’s death, which took place four years ago now. As I continued unpacking our home, I came across one of the meaningful gifts we received following her passing. My friend, Kari, made it for us, and it was such a sweet offering. She took a photo I had shared on the blog – of Ryan’s hand holding Nita’s hand while she was in the hospital, and she put it on one of these tabletop canvases. She added a Scripture and had it sent to us. It was so thoughtful (as were all the gifts we received in that time!) and a tender reminder of the relationship they shared. Little tokens like that make wonderful gifts – if you are looking for an idea for someone in your life who may be experiencing loss.

TWO. 

I was excited to see that some of you were inspired by the idea of the legacy Bibles I wrote about earlier this week. (If you missed Natasha’s comment, she had a spin on that idea that I loved!) Here is a post that talks more about the details of creating a legacy Bible of your own if you’re interested in making one! It’s never too late to start one!

THREE. 

When I shared about the corner of my desk earlier this week, I gave you a peek at a couple of pieces of wall art that have been gifted to me along the way. The one Lynnette gave me was designed by an artist named Dee Kasberger. Her line of art is called “Red Letter Words” and she has everything from literary quotes to scripture to song lyrics and more. You can check out some of her work in her shop and maybe find something that fits in your home, too!  

FOUR. 

In my attempt to become more well-versed on plants I own, I found this article about the “missionary plant” I have on my desk. I found some really helpful information in here, and if this is a plant you’ve not heard of before, maybe you would like learning more about it, too! I think I have three baby plants growing out of it, so if you’re in my area and want to try a start from this one, let me know! I’ll try to keep it alive for you!

FIVE.  

If you know you need to start letting go of some of the things you’ve been hanging onto, but you don’t know how to start, check out this article. There are some helpful ideas in here that can help you understand what to let go of and how to do it. It also gives a lot of grace for when you need more time to think about your decision!

SIX. 

I don’t have a link, but I feel compelled to remind you that the time changes tomorrow – in the way that we lose an hour of sleep. My thoughts on the time change have NOT changed, and it’s okay if you don’t agree with me on it. I stand firmly on my opinion and long for the day it won’t change anymore!

A Blank Page: A Place for Hope

 

            This week has been full of creative bursts for me. I’ve loved every minute of it, because I haven’t felt terribly creative over the past few months. It’s the ebb and flow of a writer’s life – at least for this writer – so I never worry about the dry spells. Creativity will flow again if I just give it time.

            Every time I open a blank document on my computer, I feel a rush of excitement about what that page (and the ones that magically pop up after it) will contain when my brain empties into the keyboard.

            Sometimes my brain empties, and I promptly delete the document. The words came out and weren’t worth keeping or pursuing. I freed space in my mind by getting the words out and I can move on with my life and wait for something more worthwhile to come along.

            Usually, though, I find a deep connection with the words. The ideas they hold spur me on to find related thoughts and write about them, too. I can’t wait to learn as I go. That’s how learning works best for me. I write and learn as the words escape.

            For me, hope is found on a blank page. It’s a place of unscripted promise. It’s unexplored territory I can’t wait to discover.

            What does a place of hope look like in tangible form for those who aren’t writers? Do they have those places of unexplored hope? Goodness, I hope so, because I know the joy of a blank page for me.

            What does it look like for you?

The Things We Keep

 

I was born and raised in an era of collections. People not only collected things that came to them naturally, but industries created collections to lure people into purposeful gathering. When I thumbed through Mom’s magazines as a young girl, I saw pages of porcelain dolls, plates, coins, and more. I tore out the pages, because keeping those became the version of collection I could afford. I made photo albums of things I would collect if I could.

            And, to be fair, I did have a collection of my own. When my mom announced to the family that she was expecting me, my sister had just been to Washington D.C. on her senior trip. She had purchased a little souvenir liberty bell, and the story I’ve heard is that she ran around the house ringing the bell in great excitement at the news of a new baby on the way. That bell became the first in a bell collection that grew rapidly throughout my childhood. I still have it – boxed away in storage.

            That seems to be what happens to many collections. They’re boxed away – from a lack of space or a lack of interest. Collections leave us with more things, but sometimes (over time) less connection to those things.

            Ryan and I live in a community that is big on auctions, and I see ads often for estate sales. I flip through them just to see what people are selling, and I’m sometimes overwhelmed by the muchness of what we (collectively speaking) have.

            It’s so easy to collect much – whether or not it’s considered a collection.

            When Ryan and I were first married, we were eager to create a physical story in our home that reflected the daily story we lived. We began unofficial collections of our own. Sometimes we added to them and sometimes others gifted us additions. A decade into this story we live, I realize that we need to leave margin for the decades to come.

            The things we keep need to be meaningful. They need to make up our home, but they also need to leave room for things that may come along later, associated with memories we have yet to make.

            Ryan and I have always said – from the moment we were married and combined households – that we want anything we keep to tell part of the story of who we are. If it doesn’t accomplish that, we will let it go. But now we’re realizing that even within our own story, there are things we need to let go.

            It’s scary, sometimes, to put something away permanently. But I submit to you that even more than being scary, it’s freeing. We are grateful that we have photo albums chronicling memories, so if we want to go back to the memory itself, we can do it through a picture. We don’t always need an item in our face to add to that.

            Keep the things that matter to you. Keep the things that tell a story. But I hope you can also find the freedom in letting go of the things that no longer tell the most important story.

            The things we keep ultimately go to someone else. Maybe they go in an estate sale. Maybe they go through gifting. Maybe they go through inheritance. But they will all go. Let’s make the stories that go with them meaningful!

            Side note: Many months ago, I read on social media a story about a lady who had died. She was ill for several months before she passed away, and during that time, she went through her possessions and made gift collections for people in her life. She wrote letters to them explaining why she gifted them the things she chose. After her death, they received these gifts and letters – and none of them knew they were coming. What a meaningful idea!

            Whether or not we take a cue from the woman I read about online, we all keep things that will all one day go to someone else. May the stories they reflect – for us and for them – matter much!

Quiet Corners: The New Desk

 

Today I want to introduce you to a quiet corner of our new home. It’s one of the spots I loved most when we first toured the place, and it remains one of my favorite corners. I don’t know that I’m prepared to call it finished, partly because I realize I may yet uncover some more packed items that somehow need to find a place in here. But I also don’t have much more room in this corner, so it has to be just about complete. It’s certainly complete enough for my work days and the stimulation of all the creativity.

            This desk is built into a corner of the kitchen, and while I know (via the magic of Pinterest articles) that desks in kitchens can be somewhat controversial (aka dated), I like it. I’ve never had a kitchen desk before, so it feels new to me, even if it’s not trendy.

            The cabinets around the desk hold kitchen items, though I did claim a few of the drawers for office purposes. The chair came with the house and is actually a little piece of town history! It apparently belonged to the old schoolhouse, which I would guess isn’t even standing anymore. It’s a solid, heavy chair with a ton of character, and I’m so glad the previous owners left it. It doesn’t have any padding, however, so I found a nice pillow we already owned and threw it on the seat for a little extra cushion.

            I put the blinds down for the photo, because you can see it’s a bright day here, but normally I leave those wide open so I can enjoy the view! 

We also didn’t change anything in this space other than putting a fresh coat of paint on the walls.

            Here’s a tour of the desk! All my pen and pencil holders make such great décor. The Flair Pen holder on the left was a gift to me from my friend Amber (pictured with me in the frame) and came stocked with the pens. What a magnificent gift! The typewriter pen holder was a very sweet gift from Ryan on my first day of my temp job at the church back when we lived in Kokomo. He wanted me to have something on my desk that was mine, since I was merely borrowing the desk space and chose not to personalize it while I worked there. And is a desk even a desk without a family photo?

            The wall art was a gift to me years ago from Lynnette. I love it. I love the work of the artist who created it – and even interviewed her on Mid-Morning! I love what the piece says, and I love the reminder it brings to my days.

            Remember my tenth anniversary gift from Ryan? It was this little card catalog, which I adore. I’ve filled it with office supplies like paper clips and rubber bands. It’s perfection in this space.

            The sign around my colored pencil holder is a piece of art Amber made for me one year. She meant it as a half-joke, but I actually love it and always have it displayed in my office space. The hot air balloon piece is actually just a black and white (printed on office paper) free printable I found on a blog back when I worked at WBCL. An author made it as a gift for her readers, and I loved it. If you can’t read it, it says, “My impossible dreams…aren’t.”

            The tiny pitcher was from a retreat I spoke at a few years ago, where the theme was “Pouring In, Pouring Out.” I keep it there to remind me to pour into others even when I’m tired or feel like my efforts are in vain.

            The Proverbs 31 art was a gift from Ryan on my last day at WBCL, and I love the message it offers. I need these words every day. The little lamp in the corner brightens the desk in the early morning and late evening hours and is one we already had from many years ago. I’m not sure it’s the best fit for right there, but it’s what we had, so it works! Maybe someday, along the way, I’ll find something that fits the area a bit better. For now, this works just fine.

            Those little flowers down in the corner are almost two weeks old and are still going strong! They were a housewarming gift from some friends of ours. I love flowers so much and have appreciated the joy they’ve brought to this corner for almost two weeks!

            Last Saturday I talked about the plants I’ve kept alive, and this is one of them! This one has a story to it, so let me share. The little white pot it sits in says “Rooted for Success” and was a gift to us from Rob when we worked at WillowBridge. We took that trip out west a couple of summers ago, and when we returned home, we found it in our apartment with a great succulent in it. You know how you’re not supposed to be able to kill succulents? I did. I killed the unkillable plant in a pot that said “Rooted for success.” I felt it might have been telling of my life right about then, actually. But I loved the pot, so before we left Grabill last March, I went to the local plant shop and purchased two tiny little “missionary plants.” (They’re called by other names too, but that was the one that was meaningful to me.) I gifted one to our support couple as we left our work with them, and I kept this one as a reminder that new life and ministry can come from endings, too. This thing has grown significantly in the past year, and I’m pretty sure there are a couple of starts growing in there, too. I need to figure out what to do with those.

            I keep this plant right here to remind me I can be rooted for success and my work, no matter what it looks like in detail, can be a ministry.

            The little file cabinet is actually a business card holder. Isn’t it adorable? And the “Wish” art is a print on a wooden block made by – can you guess? Amber! I love supporting her art whenever I can. I chose this one because I’ve written a yet-unpublished book called A Dandelion in September. This reminded me of it.

            This little corner has some fun gadgets provided by my job! See that white piece? The flat part is actually a white board you can scribble notes on! It lifts up to reveal a small organizing space that holds little supplies. You can see that in the back, you can store notebooks and pens, too. It is the coolest thing. I’d never seen one before my first day of work. My boss has one and after she saw my face light up, she ordered me one too! And beside it is my work phone holder, which I love. It elevates the phone so I can see the screen easily.

            I have a wedding picture I plan to hang up on the wall there, but we didn’t have the right hardware for hanging it, so it hasn’t been added just yet.

            Like I said, I may yet uncover another thing or two that should go in this space, but for the most part, my desk feels complete! It provides a beautiful space for creating, and I dearly love it.

            Lexi also says hi from her perch. Most of the time, when I’m working, she hangs out beside me in her little bed. Sometimes she goes to hang out with Braeya or to stretch out on the couch, but most of the time, she wants to be right beside me.

            Thanks for visiting my quiet corner! 

Legacy Bibles and Lunchbox Snacks

 

It’s been a few weeks since I learned about these ideas, and I’ve been looking forward to sharing them with you, but life has been newsy in other ways, so I haven’t gotten to these topics until now!

            Right around the first of the year, I saw a post from a writer-friend of mine who spent all of 2022 studying out of a new Bible she purchased for her teenage daughter. As she read through the Bible in that year, she highlighted verses that she found especially meaningful and wrote prayers, notes, and lessons in the wide margins. At the end of the year, she presented that gift to her daughter, who is now a senior in high school. She mentioned her husband was doing the same thing in another Bible for their son.

            I loved this idea. As I scrolled through the comments on her post, I found notes from other parents and grandparents who had done this very thing as a legacy for their children and grandchildren. What a wonderful gift!

            Even if you’re not a parent or grandparent, this would be a tremendous gift for someone you’re mentoring in the faith or a dear friend who might be newer to walking with the Lord.

            Right after I learned about legacy Bibles, I saw another great idea that I wanted to pass along to you. It’s also a grandparent-geared idea, but it wouldn’t have to be limited to grandparents. You could alter it to fit your own life!

            My former pastor and his wife retired from their respective jobs within the last year, and I have loved watching them embrace everything about retirement. They are so purposeful in investing in others and living actively, and it’s a joy to see what they’re doing with these post-working years.

            They have a handful of school-age grandchildren, and most of them live locally. One of their daughters posted about an adventure they had last summer and repeated again over Christmas break.

            They picked a Saturday and invited all the children and grandchildren to come over, and they spent the entire day baking together. They made dozens of treats: cookies, brownies, popcorn balls, puppy chow…you name it. They packed everything in individual serving bags and put them in the freezer. Throughout the school semester, one of these treats went in the kids’ lunches every day (or was available when they came home from school). They were able to daily enjoy something they remembered making with their grandparents.

            The post said the first round of treats lasted the first semester, so they reconvened over Christmas break to make a second round of treats for the spring semester.

            Goodness, how I loved that! Knowing them like I do, I could just hear the laughter, stories, and lessons shared on those (probably chaotic) baking days, and even if the kids don’t verbalize it in the moment, I know they think about it every time they enjoy one of their lunch treats.

            What I love most of all about both of these ideas is the intentionality that went into making a specific investment in a loved one’s life. Whether investing in their faith journey or the daily mundane, both these gifts go far beyond the tangible in front of them.

            Maybe you’re a parent or grandparent…and maybe you’re not. But either way, I know you have people in your life you love and want to bless. These are magnificent ways to show love!

Celebrating February's Date Nights

 

            Moving and squeezing in meaningful dates can be a bit of a challenge, but we did our best to make February a month of purposeful dating. I wanted to share what we did, even though some may have been a bit on the unconventional side!

            Our first date was our monthiversary, on the 2^nd, when we redid our January Monthiversary date. We enjoyed cocoa bombs made by our friend Jenna, watched episodes of Without a Trace, and did a workout together. The night was about celebrating our favorite things together and recognizing how far we had come in a month of our new exercise routine!

            Our second date was a trip to our church youth group’s fundraiser dinner! They did a Valentine’s Day Italian dinner, and we thoroughly enjoyed our evening. The food was scrumptious, and we turned our night into a double date with a couple from our Sunday School class who sat at the same table with us.

            Our third date was Valentine’s Day itself! We chose to cook dinner at home together – another favorite of ours – and we through some sparkling grape juice into the mix. I have enjoyed each of the (now eleven) Valentine’s Day celebrations we’ve had, and this year was no different.

            Our fourth date didn’t really feel so much like a date, but it still counted. We had to travel to Indianapolis for a funeral, so while we were in the city, we took time to enjoy Chick-Fil-A for lunch and ran (kind of literally) through IKEA just to look around before returning home. It wasn’t a leisurely day at all, but it was a chance to spend some time together in some of our favorite places. We also enjoyed fantastic conversation in the car to and from our destination!

            Perhaps March will be a little bit more conventional in the dating scheme, but I am grateful for each of these opportunities to enjoy food, conversation, and celebration!

Sunday Sentiments: Remembering Nita

 

Today marks four years since we said our earthly goodbyes to Ryan’s mom. I remember that day so clearly and remember all the kindnesses the Lord gave us so we could even be there when she passed away.

            For those of you who might be newer readers around here, Ryan’s mom battled a brain tumor for about five months, and during her final weeks of life, we were part of a rotation of caregivers who spent the evenings with her at home. The night before she died was our regular night, and though our evenings usually included other visitors stopping in to see her, that night it was just the three of us. Ryan knew time was short and was able to have one last night caring for her and talking to her.

            We weren’t even supposed to be there the night she died, but Ryan had a nudge in his soul that we should go. He suggested we eat dinner at home and then drive out to the cabin, but I reminded him the cabin was overrun with food, so we could just eat there – and we should leave as soon as he got home from work. So we did. The hospice nurse told me when we arrived that she imagined Nita had maybe 24-48 hours left.

            She had 45 minutes.

            We all gathered around her bed and prayed her Home to Heaven, and I was so glad Ryan was there with her. It had been his biggest prayer throughout her illness – that he could be there with her when that moment came. And he was.

            I’m grateful for the kindnesses of the Lord that allowed us to be there with her that night, but I’m also glad for the life she lived and the impact she had on Ryan.

            When I look at his life, his character, his personality, I see the intentional molding and shaping of so many people who invested in him throughout the years. But I see a lot of Nita. I see her compassion, her kindness, her love for people and stories and music. I see her empathy, work ethic, and even her smile.

            Nita was proud of all her children and never missed an opportunity to share about them. I know she was always proud of Ryan and who he became. I believe she would be even prouder now of all he’s invested in over the past four years since he sat beside her to hold her hand one last time.

            I am so thankful for the talks they were able to have in her final days. I’m thankful he was able to care for her like he wanted to do, even though I have no idea how he physically did it all for those months. I’m thankful he was there with her when she died, and I’m thankful he has continued to live his life in the ways she raised him to live.

            I’m thankful for her kindness to me and how she made a place for me at the table when I married into the family.

            We miss her and look forward to reuniting with her someday in Heaven!

Saturday Suggestions

 

This week I’m taking the post old school – just some random things I encountered on the internet this week that you might find interesting! No rhyme or reason. Just a bunch of ideas!

ONE.

I have loved finding new spots for our plants in this new house of ours. We currently own five plants (starting with one from Nita's funeral four years ago) and all of them have stayed alive, so I am grateful for that. I’m improving! I still have much I’d love to learn about making plants thrive, so if you’re a crazy plant lady, let me know. Maybe you can teach me! But I ran across these plant markers and they made me laugh!! I think I could use all of these – though hopefully some not as often as others. Super, super cute, though! Here’s to continuing to add plants to the house in tasteful and purposeful ways!

TWO. 

I’ve seen lots of suggestions for fall/winter simmering potpourri recipes, but these options are all about the spring feel! We’ve had just enough warm weather lately to make me crave some spring come-to-life in here. You can pick the scent combination that suits you best and make the whole house smell just like spring! The good kind of spring. Not the fertilizer kind of spring. 😊

THREE. 

Ryan had a kidney stone this week, which was absolutely miserable for him. We think it’s over, but in talking about it with my boss later in the week, she told me she’d known people to have success in speeding up the process by taking hydrangea pills. Hydrangeas? Like the big pretty flower? Yes, indeed! I found this article, which talks about the benefits of hydrangea, and I did find (in health stores and on Etsy) that you can purchase it in capsule form. If you are prone to kidney stones, it might be something to check out! After the pain he had this week, Ryan said it is worth keeping on hand!  

FOUR. 

I don’t know if I’ve said this in this space before, but I love sloppy joes. They are one of my favorite foods, and I always love finding new ways to try them. I haven’t tried this one yet, but I love it because it’s a NOT-so-sloppy joe. It’s all wrapped up in a pizza crust pocket and stays contained. If you have kids (or sloppy eaters), this could be a great solution to the mess! Now if you’ll excuse me…I want to go make some sloppy joes.

FIVE. 

I don’t know that I have posted this exact link before, though I think I’ve posted similar ones. It’s always fun to see what travel bloggers suggest visiting in each state. This list includes a TON of things on our bucket list. A couple of them aren’t really our thing, but most of them are. We have toured West Baden Springs Hotel, which is the Indiana pick. (It’s gorgeous. I’d love to stay there someday.) And Ryan has gone whitewater rafting in West Virginia. (I looked at the photos. Can you even imagine me in a raft on rapids? Oh my.) And we have been to Lake Michigan (the Michigan pick) – though that is the only one of the Great Lakes we’ve ever officially been to. We’ve driven by another one, but we haven’t paid a proper visit. Fun goals!

SIX. 

I saw this post and it brought back such great memories from my childhood! My mom always put together little gifts for me to open along the way. You can mark them to be opened in certain locations or at a specific time, regardless of how far you’ve gone. It’s a really fun way to pass the time and gives your kids (or picky adult travelers – ha!) something to look forward to as they go! I know spring break trips may be coming up for some of you, so I wanted to share the reminder!

The Celebration Continues: 123 Months

 

123 months of marriage. Isn’t that an adorable number? Ryan really has made this whole 123 months as easy as 1-2-3!

            Unfortunately, he wrestled with a kidney stone this week, so we started the monthiversary with the tail end of that adventure – or at least we hope it’s the tail end! I hate seeing him hurt!

            Last month, we were in the throes of packing, dividing-and-conquering, and trying to redo the previous month’s date, which hadn’t been our best. I remember, last month, being so excited to know that this month we’d be at the lake for this occasion. And oh, what a beautiful morning it was to be looking out over the water when the day began!

            I was happy to see Ryan feeling some better from his two days of kidney stone pain, and I sent him off to work so I could finish getting ready for my own work day. He had barely left before I realized that I couldn’t find my phone. I’d had it earlier in the day, clearly, since I took the pretty sunrise picture. But I could not find it anywhere. Since he was already gone, I couldn’t have him call me to help me look for it. I also knew he was likely to call on his way to work, and I wouldn’t be able to answer. I sent a barrage of emails, hoping he would see notifications on his phone eventually to let him know my phone was missing.

            I spent 25 minutes looking for it. I went into every room I’d been in throughout the morning. I checked pockets. I unmade and remade the bed. I looked in the refrigerator, even! Would you like to know where I found it?

            Laundry hamper.

            I’d taken a shower and apparently gathered it up with my jammies and tossed the whole pile into the hamper. (For the record, I had checked there, but I only checked right on top. It had buried itself deeply in the hamper.) I was so grateful I hadn’t dumped everything into the washer!

            I got to work and then received a call from Ryan asking if I’d like to take a lunch break today and join him for lunch – so I did! It was a quick date, but it was fun, and it was SO good to see him happy and smiling again!

            It was so nice outside and is supposed to be pretty rainy today, so I asked if we could go for a walk around the lake. Lexi and I were both stir crazy, and I hated to miss a beautiful evening. So we headed out and look what we discovered along the way! A beautiful bald eagle, high in a treetop!

            We had leftovers for dinner and used our evening to hang the shelves for our coffee mugs! That allowed us to unpack our last big box. It was a joy to put that together…together.

            Ryan, setting up a home with you is one of my favorite things to do. We’ve done it many times. Let’s have this one hold for a while, okay? Happy 123 months! I love you with my whole heart!

On the Bravery of Ducks

 

Monday was a dark and stormy day here on the lake. Less than a week after the torrential downpour that signaled to us the delightful leak in our roof, rain fell heavily again, and angry clouds tumbled across the sky.

            I’m not a lover of storms on my best day, and I remain profoundly grateful to have two pets who don’t care about storms at all. They sleep right through them with barely a glance skyward.

            I, on the other hand, stalked the radar, watching for green to change to yellow and red. I carried the important things to safety in case we had an tornado. I kept the leash on Lexi in case we had to get to shelter quickly. I wondered how in the world I would push the cat and dog into the SAME space for any length of time if it came to that. Fortunately, it did not.

            But my bigger worry that day was the roof. Would the tarp hold? If it flew off, what would I do? If the ceiling started dripping again, what would I do? I peppered Ryan with these questions before he left for work, and he remained calm. If the tarp blew away, I wasn’t to chase it. Just let it go. We would get a new one. If the ceiling leaked, I should resume pot-and-pan duty and not worry about anything else.

            Not worry?? I don’t understand.

            All day, I worked on “not worrying” from my perch at the desk, listening for drips in the bedroom, listening to the wind whip through the tarp on the roof, peering out the window to see if I could see the tarp flapping as it fell.

            Mid-afternoon, I glanced out the window to see four ducks surfing in the lake. Their little bodies rose and fell with waves. Thunder rolled, rain fell, and yet those ducks just rode the waves. They almost seemed to be having a little contest out there. They weren’t worried or rushing for shelter.

            The Lord nudged me to remind me that if the ducks were okay, I would be too. If things were dire, they’d know and scoot to some sort of sheltered spot. But they were having a grand time riding the waves, not worried a bit about anything.

            God used four brave little ducks that afternoon to show me that I, too, can be brave. I was so grateful when Ryan returned home and could oversee things like the roof, but I was also grateful we had made it through the day – as bravely as we could.

Dreams and Goals: March 2023

 

            I’ve been told our entrance into March (here in Indiana) is considered lamb-like, so we might be in trouble for a resurgence of winter, but we’ll hold out hope for the best. Regardless of the weather, I have many goals for the month of March. Here’s hoping they go fairly well!

ONE. Finish unpacking! We’ve been in our new home for a week and a half and have done really well in persevering to unpack. When I allow myself to set aside my perfectionism for a brief moment, I do recognize that we’ve accomplished a great deal in a short time. But neither of us works well in messes, and we are ready to be FULLY settled. We will continue working a little bit each day to unpack, find homes for things, and figure out how we fit, in terms of stuff, in this space.

TWO. Figure out new daily rhythms. I don’t really want to mention this, but I have to: the time changes this month. That, in addition to changes in the layout of our daily work schedules, plus figuring out how our days function best in this home and this season will require some trial and error on our part. Things that have always worked for us may not work here. Do we need to change our getting up/going to bedtimes? Now that we aren’t dividing and conquering every single night, when should we eat dinner? It will take some time to figure it all out, but I know we’ll need to work on it this month!

THREE. Host our first overnight guests! We are excited to already have a “booking” at the Shafferland B&B. It will be fun to play hosts and get to share our beautiful lake views! (This should also help us unpack on time!)

FOUR. Complete my writing projects. The projects I started last month are both officially due this month, so I must complete them. I don’t want to procrastinate, so I’ll need to work diligently throughout the month to get them done ahead of schedule!

FIVE. Finish preparing and present my retreat material! I am so excited that my first event of 2023 is this month! I’m getting to share brand new material with a group I’ve served multiple times. It is always SUCH FUN to spend time with them! I am so excited to present this series of sessions. I have some finishing touches to add, but we’ll get there!

SIX. Get a new roof. This one is somewhat out of my control (okay, entirely out of my control) but it’s still our hope! We are on the waiting list for a new roof, since ours is leaking so badly that it’s coming into the house itself. We’ve been told the company prioritizes people who have active leaks, so we’re hoping ours can be put on this month!

 

            How about you? Any goals for March?