another beauty tree...and a really nice time choosing it too. Sloan's Village isn't cheap, but wow, it's still really special. the sounds, the smells, the spirit of the company. it's a nice tradition.
here are a few pictures to remember the tree cutting of 2024...
just a few things worth noting that i love about this Christmas. right before i take a wee blogging break to soak up this season...
my firstborn is getting on a plane (can't wait to catch up with her), and then there are gifts to be given, delicious meals to make and savour, songs to sing and cycle through my playlist, and cookies to be consumed. there is extended family catch up, and laughter, and a bit of exhaustion too. not gonna lie. hopefully there is also rest, there will be games, candles, and a long awaited baby in a manger...there is beauty and blessings and wonder all over the place, especially if you train your eyes to see it.
Cloverton Hallelujah is still an absolute favourite. the lyrics...
my chalkboard, an extra special reminder from Layla. missing her this year sooo much, but grateful to see her talent all over the house in her artwork.
Layla lands in Tanzania on Christmas day...so fitting, as she brings the gift of Jesus, literally, to the many boys and girls and men and women there who maybe have never heard the very best Christmas news.
these words kinda jumped off the page during our devotional after supper this week. have i mentioned how much i love "the Jesus Storybook Bible" here? "where every story whispers his name"
it's so beautifully written...this is it:
"Mary, you're going to have a baby. A little boy. You will call him Jesus. He is God's own Son. He's the One! He's the Rescuer!"
The God who flung planets into space and kept them whirling around and around, the God who made the universe with just a word, the one who could do anything at all- was making himself small. And coming down...as a baby.
Wait. God was sending a baby to rescue the world?
"But it's too wonderful!" Mary said and felt her heart beating hard. "How can it be true?"
"Is anything too wonderful for God?" (the angel) Gabriel asked.
So Mary trusted God more than what her eyes could see. And she believed. "I am God's servant," she said. "Whatever God says, I will do."
in the coffee world, this is called a "cupping". a bean tasting event, basically. we continue our research and slowly move closer to the end goal. we are taking the slightly arduous, but also super fun and interesting journey deeper into coffee and roasting and beans and opening a café. lots to do, lots to learn. these guys are such fun team members, and together we are well caffeinated!
thankful for them and how far we've already come!
yep, it's nearly Christmas. i am predictably behind. i fell upon these photos the other day and realized i hadn't yet logged them here. sweet and special times.
on the same weekend in October, this time not together, but shared with different friends and competitors~ both incredible accomplishments!
Hannah successfully completed a half marathon in Detroit, and Jeff, another Spartan Beast in Collingwood. i held the fort~ and that sometimes deserves it's own medal honourable mention, right? ;)
i'm 51 and i finally got to Bayfield. and after visiting, i'm not sure why it took so long to get there. what a charming place! and so pretty in the fall...i didn't want to leave.
next time, longer.
been more intentional again these days to sit in the space of gratitude, as the season of fall has allowed me more quiet time to actually hear my own thoughts (translated the four year old who talks incessantly is now in school). grateful for loads of blessings, big and small, and being more intentional to count them as well...i've also been doing a bit of a deeper dive into the study of suffering, and the notion by many that a good God would never allow suffering to the extent that He does. to clarify, i'm not currently in a place of deep suffering, not at all, but i know that suffering is a part of life at one time or another, and if not now, it's coming. that is as sure as the sun setting this evening.
so many take aways, but i think i'll link my two favourite teachers who address the subject in a far more eloquent way than i ever could. so powerful. so countercultural and so true. trusting in a God who knows better than i. trusting His timing. trusting His nature. checking my unbelief that comes from a vastly limited human framework and not the mind of a sovereign, all-knowing and good God.
Jackie Hill Perry is such a gifted teacher, author, poet and theologian, and i will forever appreciate the way she teaches scripture in a way that is bold and convicting and courageous.
Jessie girl at my feet...another gift
Ann Voskamp...well, anyone who knows me knows i long to sit with her one day over lunch, and dig deep into her life experiences and wisdom. she is so open about her own suffering and life journey, and this transparency in her books and messages has pointed millions to the heart of Christ.
grateful for God's overflowing goodness, in easy times and hard. His good gifts, still there and always visible when i look carefully, even during the unexpected, the awful, the moments of agony.
"we give thanks to God not because of how we feel but because of who He is" Ann Voskamp
both messages linked above by these powerful speakers expand on the subject so well. i will revisit them for sure. i hope you enjoy as well...
