This...

...is my 1000th blog post!  (And my eighth year of blogging.)

It's also the last day of 2018 and so it's the perfect time to do a catch-up-throw-all-the-random-pictures-that-haven't-been-posted-yet post.

So here we go!

This is Jonah, getting his hair cut at home.  I just love that serious little face.

This is two dear friends and I, on a rare occasion that all three of us got to be together.  Had to document it, naturally.

This is Abby, a sweet friend and dorm daughter, at graduation this December.  I'll miss her face around the school.

This is Brittany, another lovely friend who graduated.

This is Kai, the cool big brother.

This is Kai and Ava, the coat models. ;)

This is when Ava "got a blood test on her arm and cried" (so she told me at least four or five times), and then afterward got waffles!!! with Mommy (she really loves waffles, judging by her voice when she told me about them).

This is Gracie-Poo, with the softest hair, the cutest nose, and the most kissable cheeks.  I love her to pieces.

This is a mini Auntie Rachie...wearing Auntie Rachie's shoes, Auntie Rachie's gloves, and carrying Auntie Rachie's bag.

This is an impromptu three-siblings-on-the-couch photo shot.

This sequence is from Beck's perspective (we were both snapping pictures at the same time).

This is puzzle time!

This is one I'd call "Like Father, Like Son."

This is how I've spent like 83% of my Christmas break (at least 83% of the time they're here): snuggling with Grace.  Baby snuggles are my favorite.  Give me all the snuggles!

(Photo credit: LD)

This is opening presents on Christmas Eve.

This is all the food for Saturday's Open House.  I love party food.  Each year we change things just a bit, and this was the simplest year yet.  Simple is good.  I like simple.

I also like sisters who make stuff like gingerbread brownies. :)

This is just a few minutes out in the backyard with the sun and a camera...

Good-bye, 2018.

Hello, 2019!

Saturday 12.29

Vacuuming and scrubbing

Dog hair all over my clothes, because Toby is a clingy little pooch

Sunshine and contrails

Jack Frost candle filling the room with its lovely scent

Leftover Applebee's for breakfast

Christmas in Paris tea

Platters of food for today's Open House

Branches weighed down with lemons and oranges

Online shopping with tortuously slow internet

A bouquet of flowers to arrange

The hum of planes overhead, because my parents live near approximately 37 airports (okay, maybe not quite)

Gingerbread brownies, courtesy of Sarah

A full dishwasher (that's what having a party will do!)

Kids laughing, babies to snuggle, and a dozen conversations throughout the afternoon

Hospitality(ish): Creating a Haven

One of my biggest goals whenever I set up home (which, as an adult, has been a total of six different apartments so far) is to create a haven: a place that feels comfortable, relaxing, and welcoming for both others and myself.

It's been a learning process - one that I've thoroughly relished.  Below are some things I've discovered along the way, tips that help me make the "haven" goal a reality.  I would love to hear ways that you make your home feel like home!

Use colors to set the mood.  Paint is perhaps the easiest way to do this on a large scale.  It's often cheaper than big pieces of furniture, rugs, and sometimes even curtains.  It's relatively simple to paint a room, but it can dramatically change the overall feel.  I love what a fresh coat of paint can do for a space!  With my current apartment, I knew I wanted a fresh, clean look - one that would maximize the limited natural light, so I picked an off-white paint and used lots of greens and teals as accents colors.  It turned out exactly how I'd hoped - hurray!

Use nature as decor.  Cut flowers, eucalyptus branches, potted plants - all of it makes me quite happy indeed.  God is the original Artist, and His creation not only brings beauty into my home, but lends a calming, inspiring feel to the space.  I can't say it enough: I love nature!

Celebrate and embrace the seasons.  Taking inspiration from the seasons and incorporating it into my home is so fun!  It doesn't require a lot of money, just a bit of creativity.  Budding branches in a pitcher in spring, cut flowers from the farmers market in summer, pumpkins and a bowl of apples (which I would buy anyway!) out on the table in fall, evergreen branches around Christmas, scented candles or hand soaps to match the seasons, extra blankets when it's cold, and so on.

Don't be a slave to stuff.  Few things feel as stressful to me as a house or space cluttered with too much stuff.  If my stuff is getting in the way of living, I have too much of it.  More is better is a lie.  Enough is good enough.  Let it be.  Our stuff should serve us, not the other way around.

Feel comfortable in your own space.  Keeping up with the Joneses is not the goal.  The beach-house-shabby-chic-cottage-retro-glam style might be just perfect for someone else, but if it isn't you (if it doesn't fit your personality or budget or family's needs), that's okay.  Make your home a space that you enjoy, and others will enjoy themselves in it, because you, the host, are at ease.

You live in your house.  It should look like you do.  I used to obsess about having the house as tidy as possible before people came over; no dishes in the sink, no books off the shelf, no projects on the dining room table.  Here's the thing: people don't come over to look at a show house.  They come over to hang out.  I don't go over someone else's house expecting it to look un-lived in, so why would I think they expect mine to look that way?

It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful.  This goes along with the last one.  There will probably always be projects, things we want to change or improve, areas that don't stay clean as long as we wish, floors that slant and door frames that aren't right angles, but that shouldn't keep us from loving our homes.  If we wait till everything is perfect to invite others in, we'll miss out on the opportunity for so many good memories and friendship-building experiences.

In closing...

Two of my current favorite resources for creating comfy, welcoming spaces are Myquillyn Smith's books, The Nesting Place (great for renters!) and Cozy Minimalist Home ("More Style, Less Stuff").  They are great reads - easy and practical, full of beautiful pictures, and feel like having a good friend around for inspiration.

2018 Top Ten Reads

Here are my ten favorite reads of 2018 - the titles are linked to the blog posts I originally reviewed them in, so you can read the descriptions there.

Generous Justice

Faithful Women and Their Extraordinary God

Disciplines of a Godly Woman

After the Boxes are Unpacked

Bread and Wine

The Nesting Place

Adorned

Cozy Minimalist Home

Inspired You

Praying with Paul

Bonus (for fun!): 

Country Kitchens

What were your favorite books of 2018?  Do tell. :)

The Sacrifice

It's my first October in Senegal, and the holiday of Tabaski (called Eid al-Adha in many Arabic-speaking countries) arrives.

The morning dawns, bright and sunny and hot.  Because it's a holiday, there are no language sessions for me today.  Kids aren't in school and the adults aren't at work.  There's a festiveness in the air itself; I can feel it somehow and it reminds me of holidays back home - the expectancy you feel when you wake up on Thanksgiving or Christmas.  Even though I'm just here in my own apartment with no plans for the day, the fact that I can "sense" the holiday in the air makes me feel a little less alone, as though I'm connected in the smallest way to the rest of the city celebrating.

I hear the neighbors chattering and the bleating of sheep.  Families are bringing them down from the rooftops, where they have been fattening up for the last several weeks, to sacrifice for today's feast (which is to commemorate Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son).

I stand on my fourth-floor balcony watching the scene on the sandy "street" below.

A sheep, his legs tied with rope; one of my neighbors sharpening a knife.  The metallic scraping sound bothers me far more than usual, but I force myself to watch this just once.

The two men hold the sheep down so he won't struggle - one half holding, half kneeling on the body, the other man holding his head and his front legs.  They slit his throat; the blood soaks into the sand and the animal goes limp.

I turn away, deeply unsettled - almost sickened - by what I've seen.  It's not because I love animals (although I do).  I don't remember ever watching an animal die before.  Something about seeing the life-blood pour out seems dark and ugly.

This is what sins does.  It kills.

I've read it, heard it a thousand times, I'm sure.  But now I understand why God gave the Israelites the system of sacrifices.  The graphic reminder: Sin brings death.  Sin deserves death.  My sin requires death.

Today the whole city smells like roasted lamb.  Tomorrow it will smell like the blood and skin of all those lambs.

My mind goes to the Temple, imagining the stench of a thousand sacrifices and the blood of so many animals.  It's a dark, almost oppressive thought.  Every day, every week, every year - so much death, so much blood - each sacrifice the reminder of a sin committed.

Suppose I had to kill an animal every time I sinned?

I shudder.  It's too much to wrap my mind around.

But the picture still stands, seared into my memory: Sin, a lamb, and death.

And I find a new appreciation, a deeper gratefulness for Jesus, the Lamb of God.  The One whose blood soaked the ground because of my sin.  The Perfect One who died so that I would not have to.  The once-and-for-all Sacrifice that has taken care of my sin, wiping away all the judgement and condemnation I brought on myself.

There is no more need for sacrifices of sheep and goats.  The work is done.

Advent Reflections {4}

The Coming



"For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger."

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

"Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"

 - Luke 2:11-14

Even though I know the story, what happens and how it unfolds, my heart always leaps when I read this.  Finally!  The Savior is here!

Just like God had promised.  Was there ever a baby so long anticipated?  Was there ever a meeting of glory and humility like this one?

Glory and humility.  The glory of the light, of the multitude of angels.  The humility of the manger and of an announcement to overlooked shepherds first.

Glory and humility, the thread woven through every chapter in this Story.  Glory and humility, His plan from the beginning.  Glory - God - and humility - with us.

This coming will make me sing and cheer till the end of my days.  My God is not distant, up in Heaven looking down on the plight of humanity.  He chose to be born as a baby - a poor one - and to walk on this earth.  He felt sweat and dust and hunger.  He smelled our trash heaps.  He wept and experienced loss and betrayal and death.  He knows this life we live, not just because He is the One who set it in motion in the beginning, but because He lived it Himself.

Because of this, history - the world - will never be the same.  Because of this, I will never be the same.

So today, I release my breath.  I don't have to hold it, waiting for the Promised Deliverer.  He has come.  Exactly as He said.  What peace, what confidence, what joy for us!  Even still, I find myself drawing my breath in again, mentally inching toward the edge of my seat.  He said He would come back for us one day.

The Story isn't over.  Advent isn't over.  Nor is it only for December; it's a way of living.  I wait, believing His promises, standing on hope.  He will come.  Like His first coming 2,000 years ago, there are whispers, signs that say it's ever closer.  Will it be today?  Could it just be?

Saturday 12.22

Sleeping in (so very needed!)

Cascading Snowberry candle

Candy Cane Lane tea

Kai's "Tell me a 'tory!"

Eggnog scones and coffee with Sarah

Sitting in a sunbeam

Dog collars jingling

Handel's Messiah playing

Crunchy red leaves on the sidewalk (because California seasons are all wonky...)

Christmas brunch planning

Itsy bitsy Grace stretching and grunting (newborn noises are so precious!)

Chicken tacos

Monk with Mom

Hospitality(ish): The Semester in Review

I'm sitting in the airport, having just wrapped up another semester (and year!) at the Bible School.

It's been a very full, productive semester where the guest house is concerned.  Here's some just of the things we accomplished ~

Hung new curtains in the apartments

Sold or gave away a lot of extra furniture, linens, etc. that we weren't using



Got new guest fobs

Updated flatware

Created little snack baskets to put in the guest rooms

Replaced old glassware

Got simple tea caddies

Bought laundry baskets for each of the apartments

Made an Ikea trip, which included getting artwork and side tables (and lunch as a team :))

Got shoes trays - just in time for winter's snow, salt, and mud

Replaced old, worn out pillows

Updated a few lamps

Replaced comforters

...and as we speak, one of the apartments is getting painted!

I'm so thankful for the other ladies on my team - Emily, Casie, and Kristi, and for the other departments and volunteers who have helped throughout the semester.

Three cheers for teamwork!

December Reads

The Best Yes | TerKeurst: I picked up this book at the library, thinking the title seemed very relevant and helpful.  When I actually started reading, though, it took me a few chapters to get into it.  I’m not sure if it was a slow start or if I was just getting used to a new author’s “voice”.  Anyway, it turned out to be quite good: she has a gift for choosing incredible analogies and illustrations.  The content was relevant and challenging – exploring how to make decisions in a world filled with opportunities for good things.  How do we choose well?  How do we deal with others’ expectations?  How do we keep the focus on the Lord and not the things themselves?  Definitely a worth-while read. 

Grace-Laced | Simons: I’d seen some of the author’s artwork before and read her blog, so I was excited to check this out.  It was full of delightful artwork and gentle but poignant reminders of truth.  The book is divided into four sections by seasons, and each season has eight devotionals.  A lovely read.

Country Kitchens | Innes: This was just for fun.  And fun it was indeed!  I love the warm, friendly, worn feel of country kitchens.  Even though it was published a while ago (1991), it didn’t have the annoyingly outdated feel that so many old décor books do.  I suspect that’s because all the kitchens were already old – old enough to stand the test of time. :)

Advent Reflections {3}

The Thrill

 

A thrill of hope
The weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks
A new and glorious morn

One of my favorite parts of Advent is the sense of something building.  After all the waiting and the silence, after the weariness and the dark and the need…finally, there’s a glimpse of dawn.  The long-awaited Deliverer is about to walk on the scene.

God's Story is so powerful; it pulls us in as participants in this living narrative and not mere spectators.

Do you know what it's like to wait, achingly weary and aware of your need for hope?  Yes?

Well then, feel the thrill as Christmas approaches, as we remember the turning point in this Story.  That tiny baby Jesus is the hinge of human history.  Everything God had been revealing, everything God had been promising His people was wrapped up in that life Mary carried inside her.

In your own life right now, no matter what you are facing, no matter what you are carrying, there is hope for your weary soul, like the tiniest glimmer of light as dawn comes, like the spark that lights a fire.  Enter into the expectation.  When He comes, everything changes.  When He comes, there is new life.  When He comes, there is hope and redemption and purpose.

So let's rejoice.  Let's sing and cheer and nod amen to what He's done.  This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.