My Husband's Good Fortune

The day the Packers play the Vikings, Ben is at Soldier Field, meeting the Seahawks coach Pete Correll.  What? Only Ben, via Bud of course.  (While this was going down, I was watching The Cosby Show and eating tacos, for the record. No idea who even won the Packer game)

Less Is More

Last week I was convinced Ben and I needed to buy a house as soon as possible because the hall closet was a bit too overstuffed.  It wasn't until later that I admitted a bigger house would simply hold more things. Not really solving the problem.   Especially because I love things. I like to shop, and I am easily bored-with styles, items, routines. I know the material will burn away, and many of the pretty things I own have already cracked or broken, and lost their allure.  Just this morning while Ben was making pancakes the salt shaker was knocked down from the top of the stove and landed on the ceramic spoon rest on the stove top.  It cracked into smithereens. 

This motto of "less is more" has been floating through my head for several months, and it causes me to think about living a bit more simply.  I'm not very good at this. Ok-I'm horrible at it.  My friend Lisa is the opposite of me.  She is always giving things away and living very presently-talking about what God is doing right now [as opposed to what He might do next week, next year, or dwelling on what He didn't do in the past].  Her cupboards appear to be half empty and you can always see everything that is in the refrigerator.  She's not the sort of person to be accused of having a cluttered home. Since we live in the same town and I see her at least once a week, I get to glean a little inspiration from her in this area, as well as benefit from receiving the clothes purged from  her closet. 

Believing that "less is more" reminds me to show myself grace when I don't feel like I measure up-mostly to my own standards.  This is something else I am no good at.  I spend a lot of time doing things, checking big and little tasks off my proverbial list, because it makes me feel accomplished and productive. But the problem is-the list keeps growing. Just when I feel a sense of relief, another pile of mail enters through the door, waiting to be opened.  Or I remember that it's been a week since I talked to my mom, and I don't have the energy to pick up the phone.  Fail. Do my friends know I still care about them even though I haven't checked in? We should schedule something.  And I am tired.  The list could go on...but not without wiping out my enthusiasm for life and remaining grounded to who I am and what I'm here for. 

Jesus told the crowds that followed him, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)

Less is more.  

Jesus didn't delight in a packed schedule or a home filled with a variety of material things.  He didn't command people to follow him by force or lord his authority over others.  He knew the true way to have abundant life-connected to the Father, and living by His will, and he invites us to live like him.

The apostle Paul boasted in his weaknesses because then God's power would be seen, instead of Paul's confidence or abilities.  This is a good thing, and reminds me that less of me and more of God is actually how I want my life to be lived. 

I hope to continue giving thanks to God for the daily reminders that call me to rest in his love and power, and not buy the lie that I should be something more than I am.

Sentimental Road Trip

I headed to Iowa for a not-so-pleasant reason this weekend: a funeral.  But along the way, I enjoyed some simple pleasures that I have missed since moving away.

 

An endless sea of cornfields (and other fields unrecognizable to me)

 

And of course:  Pancheros! My traveling companions and I may have stopped there twice on our 17 hour journey.

Photo Book

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Under Construction

Currently, our street is under massive construction.  We have been navigating "Road Closed" signs and cranes at any given hour of the day.  This week, our alley was completely blocked off, and a path was made through the Alterra coffee shop down the street.  We are flexing with each new development. I just feel bad for the home owners whose homes face the worst of it all!

View to the left from our alley:

                                     

And to the right.  It is actually drive-able today!

                                    
                                     

We have had to alter our jogging route on the parkway as well.

New view for the neighbors

                                      

 We enjoyed playing in some of the equipment.

So many big round things!

A new scenic overlook.



 All of the work will allow the new sewers to drain into the river and keep us free of flooding. Even better, we get a pedestrian-controlled stop light on our corner, which means we won't have to wait so long for North Ave. traffic when crossing!

Sabbath Rest

I have realized something about myself over the past few years that I am finally taking time to reflect on.  It's something that needs to change, and it's not a change that will come easy.  I anticipate figuring this out for the rest of my life.  The truth is:  I have a really hard time resting.  On Sunday a friend of mine asked why I don't like taking naps, and my response was, "I feel like I'm wasting time."  

Do I think the world can't go on without me? Am I really that important and productive that if I stopped to rest every now and then, everything I've been working toward will become mass chaos? Of course not.  But then why do I live that way?  In Peter Scazzero's book Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, which I am reading at the moment, he dedicates two chapters to the importance of the sabbath.  The fourth commandment God gave to His people, in summary, is, "Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy."  This is one of God's commands-and I have been breaking it my whole life! (Thank you, God, for your lavish grace that allows me to know you still). 

The Sabbath is a time to rest and delight in God.  It puts God at the center and focus of my week, as I stop work and trust Him to take care of the things I have left undone for the time being.   God did it after creating the world in six days, and He invites us into this rest, because He knows we need it.  Scazzero calls it "stopping to breath the air of eternity".  Even in my free time I am often checking things off of my ongoing list, which doesn't really allow myself to rest in the way I am meant to.  A Sabbath can be taken any day of the week for 24 hours, and for those working in full-time ministry it thought wise to take a several month long Sabbatical every eight years or so. 

Sometimes I forget that I have limits, and I try to replace God by acting as if I know what is best, and  I have all the energy in the world to do it.  For my mind to make the shift from "doing" to "being,"

it will take a radical transformation and undoing of habits I have built up for years-but I am ready.  I'm ready for the refreshment and rest that God invites me into, so that I can best reflect and glorify Him with the limited time He has given to me.

  

(Photo taken on our honeymoon in Negril, Jamaica. It is a perfect depiction of rest for a beach lover like myself!)

A Messy Kitchen

This is what our kitchen has looked like two nights in a row.  (And not because we didn't do the dishes). These are just the dinner dishes! While it was a lot of work cleaning up, it was well worth the work.  The weekend was full of home made meals with fresh ingredients, and three new recipes that weren't planned out. 

Earlier in the week we had eaten lunch at a cafe in Cedarburg and as we raved about our chicken pesto paninis with roasted red peppers I said, "We could make these at home".  So today I busted out the counter top grill that we had unintentionally relegated to pancake making-and the turkey paninis that turned out were amazing!  Last night it was bruschetta (Ben's favorite appetizer), and shrimp with angel hair pasta and a sauce I made up on the spot.  For desert, the ever so easy but always delicious trifle with angel food cake, pudding & Cool Whip, and berries. 

So, I don't mind a messy kitchen at dinnertime because it means we are likely enjoying some good food, and in this season of fresh fruits and veggies and endless options of exploring how to enjoy them, I anticipate spending a lot more time in my kitchen.