On Just Being

School started back and I just was not ready. I have loved having my babies home even on the days they fought like cat and mouse and I thought my head would spin till it came clear off. I know we need to get back to schedules, less screen time, and for me work. I know our days of lazing around and doing whatever we fancied on a whim is not practical for a long term plan, but oh how I loved it. We were just being together. Every once in a while I had a pang every time someone asked the kiddos what they did this summer and they did not fill their answers with summer camps, sport activities, and some other exotic way of life. To be honest those pangs arise as they always do when I feel like I am not being enough. Even now I wounder if I was too lax, did not create enough moments to make big memories. Part was due to having a flair up since Guatemala. My body can not handle much. The other part of this summer was completely selfish. I know as the kiddos get older their summers will be filled with wanting to be out and about... without me, but with their friends. I have the deepest desire to hold onto the days when they are okay just being too. They are my gift and I want to continue to unfold them as they grow and not miss a moment. To be the one to help mold them into who they are meant to be. I do not take that charge lightly. A charge from above that was gifted to me the moment they were laid into my arms and heart. Now to find new routines and find new ways to just be during this season when school, homework and sports start to run wild. The moments of just being are the moments I desperately do not want to miss. Those are the memories I long for.

These words I read on Design for Mankind and it quickly became my anthem for summer as they penetrated deep within my soul...

"And every day, the world will drag you by the hand, yelling, "This is important! And this is important! And this is important! You need to worry about this! And this! And this!" And each day, it's up to you to yank your hand back, put it on your heart and say, "No. This is what's important." - Iain Thomas

Just Be.

* Erin from Design for Mankind is coming out with a book. Her writing can lull me into another place. A good place where I want to be a better version of my self and actually forgive myself when those days don't happen. She has a gift and I am thrilled she is sharing it with us. You can put the book on pre-order here.

Mornings

Are you a morning person? I have never been one. Slept through the night easily as an infant my mother praises and as I entered my teen years my mornings soon vanished to afternoons. Of course now that I am a so called adult I in turn morphed into a want to be morning person. It was more out of need than want really. The kiddos need to get to school on time and a hectic morning is not becoming for me. It can leave the whole day feeling rushed and flustered. I now have a routine that serves me well. I rise around 7:15 wake the kids and as they bustle around getting all their stuff together I sit with a cup of tea {used to be coffee, darn dr ordered detox diet} and read. Most times it's the bible. Other times it can be a good book that I have trouble putting down or school papers from the day before. When needs arise the kiddos come dashing in with a question, comment, or he said she said. They can find me here, at our kitchen table overlooking our garden.

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When we first moved in I had trouble finding my morning spot to perch. So many of our spaces were too disheveled to enter into the day peacefully. I am a creature of habit and in need of constants. I knew this space was meant to be that. Close enough to the activity center, but still outside of it. Without chairs and having only mismatched stools to occupy my old desk, now turned kitchen table, it was not possible for me to feel at rest here waiting to concur the day. Instead it served me a list of to-do's that grew every day. That's when Industry West so graciously asked it I needed help with any areas of our new home. YES!

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New chairs  with legs to long after for an old table now has become my morning space of solace. Best part is that when the kiddos have friends over or we have our weekly small group this space can continue being surrounded by laughter and good food. This space has not only become my perch, but also for the ones I love.

{CHAIRS GIFTED BY INDUSTRY WEST}

The Wide Shot

This is from where I sit at the kitchen table. Hard to tell in the picture but the counters have a fancy little swirl in them. When we do redo the kitchen we plan on keeping the cupboards here, but not so much the counters. They serve more as a built in and I am head over heels for the vintage glass. Before we bought the house I had a chance to talk to the owners who lived here for over 20 years. They were sweet as can be. I assured them I didn't want to change the house completely. I wanted to honor the years they spent loving this home just give it a boost to fit our family. This is one of those places where I saw sippy cups from their grandbabies and years of collected dishes. I feel like it's now my turn to fill them will treasured pieces.

Of course after a much needed paint job. I find in every instagram pic and blog post it's so easy to crop out the ugly. As a blogger it can be hard to find the balance. I know so called "pretty" pictures are more popular, but is that cropping out reality and giving a false sense of perfection? This girl, at this computer, writing these words, is in no way perfect. I have really bad days and really good ones. I have pretty house corners and widen that lens and it can become quite a mess. I am sure this applies to many of us. On the outside or in that tight shot all seems well, but once we look a little closer there can be hurt, pain, worry, uncertainty etc. These are the moments where I am so grateful for a Risen King. One who can look past all our mess and straight into who He called us to be. He can give us hope when all feels lost. Will one prayer fix that mess in a second? Maybe and maybe not, but that prayer lays it at His feet so it ino longer is our weight to carry alone but one to be shared with the one who knows all. That day He laid His life down for every one of us. To give us hope in a world that can sometimes be hard to part of. To be that hope amongst all the hate, all the pain, and amongst the joy. He died that day to share our lives, the pretty and not so pretty. He is mine and I am His. I am forever grateful.

If you happen to live in the Birmingham, Huntsville, Gadsden, Tuscaloosa , Montgomery, Auburn, etc area then we would love to have you at one of our services if you don't have a church home already. Let me know if you live in the Birmingham area and would like a friend to go with. I am always available!

If you don't happen to live in any of these areas we have online services during Sunday services. It's a live feed so you really can take part.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. - John 3:16