Present Over Perfect

She had me at the title....

and my dear husband knew it 

when he picked the book up at a conference he attended!

It was like it was calling to me to be read,

never mind everything else on the pile of books

(and yes, if you know me you know that I always have a pile of books).

Present over perfect,

Leaving behind frantic 

for a simpler, more soulful way of living.

As I read the forward I knew that this was a book for me,

one that would cause me to over and over again say,

YES!!! That's exactly how I feel(felt).

"Stop.

Right now.

Remake your life from the inside out."

(page 17)

This past year of living in intense pain

feels like that has been exactly what has been happening,

God has been remaking my life from the inside out. 

He has taken this busy Grandma
who worked hard to make everything look just perfect
and changed me from the inside out.

My life is marked now by quiet, connection, simplicity...
there is a peace that defines my days,
a settledness, a groundedness.
(page 27) 

God brought me to a full stop
and in the sitting still he has filled my soul with peace
...this is what He has for me for such a time as this.

Where I've Been

 

It's hard to believe that it's March already 

and I haven't written a new blog post since Christmas.

 So where have I been?

I struggled with whether to call it quits,

wondered if anyone would miss me,

 whether I would be relieved or sad not to be writing regularly 

after almost 11 years of doing this.

I read a lot, 

intentionally picking up some books that challenged my thinking,

that stretched me, 

that weren't always easy to read.

 Seeking the Face of God was the first one on the pile,

a challenging book based on the book of Psalms

that I would heartily recommend.

 Anonymous was a gift from a friend

who realizes that we are approaching a new season of our lives,

moving from being in leadership,

being known in ministry,

to a more hidden time.

Looking at the hidden years of Jesus was eye-opening.

 Fringe Hours came recommended by several friends

and I appreciated her look at how we as busy women of all ages

need to take back our fringe hours

and make time for ourselves.

I resonated with her three core questions that she says we must all answer...

Do you choose joy?

Will you celebrate your victories?

Are you thankful?

 

 Left Neglected by Lisa Genova,

who also wrote Still Alice,

is a moving look at what 'Traumatic Brain Injury' can do to a family.

 I also took some time to 're-create'...

 making cards out of photographs that I have taken.

 And we were blessed to spend time with good friends from our past...

 and I realized again that they enjoyed reading my blog posts,

seeing what was happening in our family

and watching it grow

along with hearing my heart and what God is doing in me.

 So for now I'm back,

not regular posts because that puts way too much pressure on me,

but I will write

and share,

and hopefully encourage you along the way.

One of the Boys

 We often marvel at the different make-up of our three families. There are the all boys, the all girls, and the one-of-each.

 Kai loves playing with his boy cousins...

 ...and sometimes so does Halle. This day the boys were all laying on the ground watching a TV show but she was playing on her own.

 I quickly grabbed my camera to catch the boys...

 ...and she decided to join them! We laughed as she just laid right down beside Kai...

...and with a little encouragement she got in line and became one of the boys!

This week our 8th grandchild is due in Texas. Will it be another girl? or will there be a little boy that will feel like Halle when she is one of the guys? We will just wait and see. 

What do you think? :-)

Passport to Adventure

Let me introduce you to one of the new things that I carry in my wallet....it's a passport to adventure, otherwise known as a library card! :-) With more time to read and people recommending books to me, I decided to check out our local library. My first discovery was that my card was an antique(in other words, it didn't work anymore) and I wasn't even in the system. So they issued me a brand new card. Now I could download online ebooks or check them out at the library.

A couple of weeks ago I had a book that was due so Jaxon and I decided to return it on a Mimi Monday. Well, once we were there, he had so many questions and his eyes were as big as saucers!! Books, books, books everywhere....He slowly walked through the children's stacks, touching all the books on display. We just had to take some home with us(good thing Mimi had thought of this possibility beforehand and brought along a big bag to put them in). At first I told him we could take 5 books out.

But as you can see, we didn't stop at 5!! We ended up with 10 in our bag(he would have wanted more) but I thought reading 10 books that afternoon would probably be enough.

 We even found an entire section of children's videos! He was so excited!

But sometimes the books you find are books that Mimi already has at home, like this one which is definitely one of my favorite all time children's books. Well he wanted me to read it right there in the library, so we sat down on the carpet and read it. When he asked me to read it again, I reminded him that we had it at home and could go back to my house to read it. Well that's exactly what we did. He ran to take off his shoes and then to the shelf to find it......We had to read it two times before we even started the other books!

I'll love you forever,

I 'll like you for always,

As long as you're living,

Your Mimi I'll be......

That's not exactly how the last page of the book reads,  but when I read it to my grandchildren, that's how I read it....and it always makes us all smile! :-)

Seven

Another book that I read while I was in Texas was the book '7' by Jen Hatmaker. 7 is the true story of how Jen and her family took seven months, identified seven areas of excess, and made seven simple choices to fight back against the modern-day diseases of greed, materialism, and overindulgence.

Food. Clothes. Spending. Media. Possessions. Waste. Stress. One month spent on each of these areas, boiling it down to 7.  Only eat seven foods, wear seven articles of clothing, spend money in seven places, give away seven things every day. What started out as questionable in my mind turned into an amazing journey and I found myself wondering how I would do if I did the same thing.

If I could only wear seven articles of clothing for a month, what would I choose? Jen ended up getting rid of over half of her wardrobe over the course of the seven months....interesting concept.

If I had to give away or get rid of 7 items a day for a month...oh, wait! I already did that! It was called purging and getting read to move!! But I haven't stopped and continue to find myself wondering if I really need that item of clothing of that household article.

This book challenged me to reconsider what I thought were necessities and how much less we actually need to live comfortably. It is so easy to get sucked into the theory that more is better and that we can never get enough. Instead, the importance of time spent together became very apparent, giving your loved ones undivided attention without checking the iPhone or Facebook ......definitely food for thought and a great read!

Kisses from Katie

I am an avid reader which is probably an understatement since I read more than a book a week and at least a book a day on vacation.(yes, I am also a fast reader which helps).

While in Texas, Jody lent me a book to read that she said was a must read. And I must agree, it was!! Kisses for Katie is the true story of a remarkable young woman who moved from Nashville,Tennessee to Uganda where she is now in the process of adopting thirteen little girls.

Katie is passionate to follow Jesus and invites the readers on a journey of radical love down the red dirt roads of Uganda(as the flyleaf says). I was challenged to consider what my walk with Jesus looks like. Would people describe me as passionate? Radical? Do I really love people with my actions and not just my words? Would I give up everything here in my comfortable new home to go and make a difference in the lives of people who have nothing?

Somehow in the process of purging and packing up for our move my heart has been moved to consider how much 'stuff' we here in North America accumulate and feel that we need to have. This book definitely challenged my thinking and has lingered with me since I first read it. Definitely a worthwhile read!

In her own words...
I am twenty years old and have fourteen children and four hundred more who all depend on me for their care. Who are all learning to love Jesus and be responsible adults and looking up to me. The reality of it all can be a it overwhelming at times. However, it is always pure joy. There is a common misconception that I am courageous. I will be the first to tell you that this is not actually true. Most of the time, I am not brave. I just believe in a God who will use me even though I am not......

Lord use me right where I am at.