February 9th, 2011

Tonight is a snow night. This means that we've been given a precious gift for these parts...the gift of quiet, of calm, of not doing anything for the sake of productivity because most businesses and all schools have shut down. People are hiding in their homes under six blessed (bless-ed!) inches of snow and there is no where to go, no one we must see, and nothing we can hope to accomplish out of doors or within any other than our own. We are sleeping, quiet creatures. We are tucked safely inside of our living rooms and bedrooms and we are milling around in our pajamas with hot cups of chocolate or coffee and we are thinking about how blissful it will be to sleep in.

My husband and puppy and I have been watching BBC miniseries and munching on cookies. There was pizza and there are donuts and strong black coffee set out in the kitchen for whenever we awake. There is the soft hum of the floor furnace when it switches on and there is the fragile cracking of the occasional car that ventures down our icy street. And then we fall suddenly back into the quiet.

I just took the puppy on his final trip outside for the evening. The icicles are terrifying but the houses on our street look dressed up for a Christmas ball. The thick snow is so flattering to the roofs and awnings and the porch lights.

We will sleep good tonight. We will remember today with all of its excitement and its fearful commutes and we will smile. Snow days and snow nights are the things you think back on and wish you had appreciated even more.

Contentment

This morning I read Romans 13:14, "Rather, clothes yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature." This spoke so clearly to my heart! Every so often I find my sinful nature slipping it's way back into a sort of thrify materialism. There is something I need to buy, some project I need to accomplish, some habit I need to form in order for me (and Caleb) to be at perfect rest. But when the Holy Spirit pursues my heart (and He always does!), I begin to see the folly in my discontentment and I instead find myself overwhelmed with joy!
Jesus loves me! Jesus delights in me! I am saved from death and able to live in freedom! Praise Jesus!
These realizations make home projects and shopping for fun seem a little dim, don't they?

All Naturale

New seasons makes me want to shake things up around our little duplex. So with the changing temps (highs of 92 rather than 102!!!), I have decided to create a few new goals for myself and for our household. (I think I still equate new school years with new years....wonder how long I'll be out of college before that habit wears off?)

One of these new goals involves a commitment to make from scratch many items that I normally buy. For example, why buy boxed brownie mix when the real thing takes about 3 seconds longer and is SO much better? Why buy linen spray when you can mix your own and decide what essence you'd like to use? Why scrub with Comet when baking soda and vinegar will create a little volcano in your tub AND make it clean!? In my quest, I'm looking for recipes for liquid dish soap and I'd LOVE to know any of your home grown tips.

Since I've been doing a little research, here are some of my favorite links for you to browse and enjoy!

Well Tell Me

Small Notebook

The New Homemaker

Freedom in the Restraints

As we move into fall, C and I have been reevaluating the ins and outs of our summer life and have come to the conclusion that reorganization is in order. After moving in May, starting a new job, getting used to a new budget and being "in between" paychecks for an extended period of time, we found ourselves throwing our former budget (and spending inhibitions) out the window for a season. We have been excitedly embracing our new part of the world, visiting the coffee shops, finding new places to eat, to enjoy night life, to shop. We had no idea what our finances would look like once we started getting paid and for a certain length of time, had no idea when that first paycheck would hit the bank. We borrowed on credit for the most part and I would pay off the bill on a weekly basis. But we were living very aware of our blissful carelessness.

This lifestyle completely destroyed my meticulous cash budget.

It hit me about a week ago that things needed to change. We are beginning to see the structure of our new finances and I found myself getting fretful over daily necessary expenses. I remembered somewhere way back in the recesses that we actually did used to enjoy living on a tight, cash-only budget. So last weekend I sat down with my calculator and drew up a plan. It would take a week and a half of cash budgetting (with a very tight budget) and we'd be back on track. We are perservering and as I somehow expected, I am beginning to feel absolutely free again. Once there is a blue print for where we are headed, a restraint to what we can and cannot afford, our perspective on our money is freed to become reasonable. I love knowing that we have a certain amount set aside for different facets in our lives. It makes spending so much more rewarding and absolutely free of guilt.

Freedom in restraints is found in so many areas of our lives...art, music, marriage, our faith. Once committed to a belief, a relationship, a canvas, we are set free to enjoy and discover all of the blessings and beauties within. Sounds like a funny way to describe the S family's new cash budget, but it's true! So here we are, just 5 more days to go and we've still got some money for the road. Date night tonight will be an in house affair, but who needs a fancy meal when there's Netflix and a $5 pizza?

Happy Weekend!

A New Season, A New Post

It's been so long since I've written and I am thoroughly ashamed. If I have any readers left out there, let me extend my gratefulness for sticking it out. My plan from here on out is consistency! I have terribly missed not having this outlet in my life.

There has been so much to happen the past several months, I'm not even sure how to catch you up! If we thought we experienced the greatest transition of our lives the first few months we were married, God had a lesson or two to teach us!

Since winter, we have almost completely turned our lives upside down. It became evident the middle of February that the Lord was calling us to help plant a church in midtown. Almost as clearly and quickly as that tidbit was realized, we "found" (our Father provided!) an adorable little duplex right down the street from 1. the new church venue and 2. our new pastor's family. What a tremendous blessing! And all at LESS PER MONTH than we were paying for the apartment. We moved in in May and are adjusting to support raising, Caleb's new bi-vocation-ness (not sure anyone's ever typed that word before) as worship director for a budding church and part time grocer, and our new neck of the woods. God is so faithful to provide and we are currently preparing for our church launch in late September, while also diving right into community and parish building with our new church body. It is such an exciting time!

So needlesstosay, while I have had just a ton to blog about, I haven't really made the time to actually sit down and write. I miss it, though, and I am determined to try to catch up exactly where I left off.

I think I'll save the new home pictures for another day. I want to catch our rooms in the new light of day, rather than at night.

I feel better having just updated the old space, however!

See you soon!

Legacy Summit

Oh the shame...can't believe it's been so long since I posted!
In the meantime, we've had a whole lot of snow (for these parts), a couple of snow days, and one really pretty pathway that runs parallel to our apartment complex.


And then there was Valentine's Day, which was wonderful.


But this weekend is incredibly exciting!
DownLine, the ministry my husband works for, is hosting their first ever women's summit at Bellevue. With the likes of Kay Arthur and Donna Gaines speaking, I'm ready to buckle down, receive some truth, learn about discipleship and be inspired by God's Word.

Already over 1500 woman are signed up! How great is that?

Hope to see you there!


Much Love,
C

Hoping for Spring...

I am absolutely antsy for warmer weather and longer days. But it is January and I am trying to learn the discipline of living in the season I am in and living in it WELL. (Note: This obviously is not only true with calendar season but also seasons of life...don't we just love hurrying through one phase only to look forward to what follows that?)
How do you make your house look January-ish? I have gloves and jackets everywhere...and a coat rack hanging with our prettiest scarves. I am holding off on spring flowers and lightly scented candles. I figure we might as well wallow in the spicy scents and deep colors as long as it's dead winter...they'll be brightened up with hints of bright red in a few weeks anyhow for Valentine's Day!

We used our last wedding gift certificate at Pier 1 this past weekend.

We snagged new coasters with bits of blue, white, green, and gold. It's amazing how something that costs so little ($3.98 and on a gift card at that!) can add a little bit of brightness to our whole living room!

We also added a beautiful new lamp to the table by our front door. My Aunt Lynn had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of going through some model homes and picking out whatever she wanted FOR FREE!! I may have hinted that a new lamp would rock my world and she delivered!

This lamp is really much larger than it looks here. It adds a perfect sense of height to that corner of the room and the big white lampshade makes everything seem brighter. I'm experimenting with lampshades this spring. I'm hoping that if I change out the red shades we have to seasonal white ones, our living room will look breezier for spring and summer.

Finally, I saw this little happen-stance scene when I looked up from my computer this morning and I had to take a picture. Who knew your husband's boots could look adorable in your living room? :) Not I!

Hope you find a little happen-stance beauty during your day!

Much Love,

C