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So I'm thinking about getting a tattoo. I've thought I'd like one for a while (Toben has a few), but didn't know what I wanted or where, so I never have.
But I know what I want--beloved, just the word, in pretty script--and am just thinking about where.
So, do you have a tattoo? What is it? Where is it? How long have you had it? Do you still love it? Would you do it again? Do tell...
I've been thinking about this verse a bunch lately...about how God knows and understands me so well. Better than I understand myself, even. Which is a blessed relief some days. Because some days I don't understand myself at all. (Can I get an "Amen!"?)
My friend and I were so pleased this morning to find our drinks looked like this underneath the little drink sleeve thing-ys:
No one asked this morning, "What's your name?" They remembered.
In fact I wasn't even there when Christy ordered them. So he not only knew her name, but knew I'd be there too. Yes, we're there every Friday and have given our names in the past, but one of us always orders for the other so we only ever give one name each week.
The thing is, being known feels really, really good.
And if being known at the Starbucks down the street (to the point that the guy knew who got which drink and even spelled our names correctly!) makes us giddy, how much more giddy should we be to know that God knows us?!
Inside and out. Up and down. Back to front. Sideways and in between. And loves us like crazy in the midst of knowing every single big and little thing there is to know.
Pretty darn giddy. Super-duper giddy, in fact.
In my past life, I worked at NavPress Publishing Group as a publicist, a copywriter, and later as an editor. It was amazing. I love books--always have loved books--and to work at a publishing house was a dream job. I kinda miss it.
One of the books I worked on was this one:
It's one I had a hard time working on because I wanted to mark all the good stuff rather than any stray semi-colons, quotation marks, and misaligned subheads. I got caught up in it and had to constantly refocus to read as an editor rather than just a reader.
I read just about everything with a pen in hand and love marking in my books--it was so hard not to jot notes to myself in the margins of the manuscript pages!
Working with Jan was a joy and this is one of those books I read again and again. Though somehow it didn't make it in the small box of books we brought to Arizona and I'm desperately wanting to read it again right now. More books are coming to Arizona this summer for sure!
Have you read it? It's sort of a The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence for today--you can get a copy at my Amazon shop here.
(My bookshop is run by Amazon and lets me earn a small percentage of sales that go through it to apply toward my own Amazon purchases. Not a huge amount, but enough to get something fun every now and then!)
Here's what I really wanted to say about all of this:
I got an email or two this morning that said, "Praying for you." That's it. A few small words that felt enormous.
One of the things that Jan talks about in her book is that thinking about someone can also be praying for that person.
When a friend or neighbor or coworker or someone comes to mind, we can instantly turn it into a prayer for her (or him!). It doesn't have to be long and eloquent. It can be as simple as...
Be with her
Lord, help him
Have mercy
Be near
Give wisdom
Speak speace
...as we connect whoever it is to our conversation with God as we move through the day.
It's a simple practice, really. One that takes some discipline to make it a habit, but not at all difficult. Try it. When someone pops into mind, let thinking about that person become prayer.
We're memorizing through verse 11 this week. Lots of conversations about discipline and consequences as a result. Talking about how discipline and consequences can be good or bad--depending on the choices we make. So we've been talking about thinking through our choices to determine what the consequences might be before we decide what to do and how to do it.
What are you learning? Leave a comment with a link to your post!
Got to hang out yesterday with Shaunti Feldhahn, author of For Women Only and For Men Only. She came to Phoenix yesterday to speak at our church for twoignite, the marriage ministry that Toben and I run together.
I'd read her book for women years ago while we were living in California. And listening to her speak last night, I thought, I remember that. I knew that.
At the same time, I had a few very pointed "a-ha" moments. Because here's the thing. Knowing something, understanding something is not enough. I have to put it into practice, apply it, just do the thing for it to work. For it to be real. For it to make a difference.
I don't want to be like the man in the parable of the talents who buried the money his master gave him to invest. I don't want to take what I learn and file it away just to have. I want to put it to work, live it out, make it real.
What about you? Is there a truth you know that you need to actually apply?
We're adding verses 7-9 onto Hebrews 12 this week. The girls and I got our verse cards made up yesterday and we need to get to the office supply store to have them laminated in the next day or two. And I need to go add it on Scripture Typer later today.
What are you learning this week? And what's your best memorizing tip?
***
I feel like there's lots I want to say this morning, but I need to go get in the shower and get going for the morning. Which is something on my mind--sticking to our new schedule and persevering to finish school. Audrey's off to summer camp in a couple of weeks and we'd all dearly love to finish our school year before she goes. Some of it is doable--but if we get math finished it'll be a miracle!
I cannot begin to count how many times the word "connecting" has come up in the past week or so!
I blogged last week about the friendship Christy and I share, and then Lisa Whelchel spoke at our church on Mother's Day about friendships for women. Since then, I have heard again and again that women are lonely, longing for friends, wanting connection.
As I spent time with Lisa and talked to women waiting in line to meet her on Mother's Day, I saw so many women with tears in their eyes and heard so many comments about wanting close friendship with other women.
(I loved getting to meet her in person. She endorsed Living Simply for me when it came out, but this is the first time I met her face to face. I also had the opportunity to meet her entire family--hi all!)
Toben and I have been talking about it a lot too. Because it's not just women, it's couples who long for connection too. And as we think about twoignite, the marriage ministry at our church, one of the things we've been talking about is how to foster connection. How to encourage couples to connect with each other. Planning events is fun, but I'm starting to think that couples need time just to talk without an agenda in order to connect. So we've planned something fun to provide just that in June--and I'm so excited about it.
And I think women need space to connect too. I love, love women's Bible study--don't get me wrong. But I think women also need time and space to connect where there's no agenda beyond just hanging out and getting to know each other.
I've been thinking a bunch about the Wednesday mornings I used to host back when we lived in San Diego. And missing that time. And as Toben and I have talked, I've decided to start doing something similar again. (Without the knitting. Since I don't have any of my knitting stuff here in Arizona.)
(You can read bits and pieces about those Wednesday mornings with what Toben dubbed "the knittin' yahoos" here and here and here.)
So for any of you I know in person--or who live close enough to meet in person--let's have coffee at The Coffee Shop next door to Joe's Farm Grill in Agritopia on Wednesday, May 26 from 1-2:30 p.m. Just hang out, maybe have a cookie or a piece of pie, and chat.
If you want more information, check out my Facebook profile page. I posted it as an event there too.
And as for couples connecting, Toben and I have something fun up our sleeve for the summer. But that's a post for another day.
I'll end by saying that Audrey and Emma were super excited to meet Lisa Whelchel too. They've watched lots of The Facts of Life on Hulu and so they were totally ready to meet "Blair" in person.
Okay, that's it for today. Went a little link-y crazy. Enjoy the rest of your Saturday!
I've mentioned before that we are staying here in Arizona for another year. What was a one year commitment is now two, and we're excited. Yes, we miss Denver (though not the snow they're getting today; we much prefer the pool!), but we feel very much at home here in Gilbert. Thanks to our church and some amazing friends.
One of the questions that's come up is this: Do we stay in this house? Or do we look for a different house to rent?
I have not been a fan of this house. Or, I should say, I wasn't a fan of this house until January, when we brought back more of our stuff.
LESSON: Even if you're moving for just a short time, take the stuff you love!
I didn't, and so I didn't feel at home for the first six months we lived here. I just felt like I was staying awhile and waiting for something else. It was awful.
After Christmas, I brought back more of my treasures and we put some attention into the house--a few new pieces of furniture (like a game/work table for the corner that adds some height to the room and big leather chairs for our room) and window (mis)treatments. I started feeling more at home.
I suspect that if we were to bring even more of the stuff that makes our house our home--all those little treasures that don't do much beyond make us happy and feel like we belong (which is really a lot just in and of itself when you stop to think about it)--then we'd feel even more at home in this house.
Things like all my roosters. And Miss Millie, my vintage dress form. And my big dining room table. And some old window frames for the walls. And some vintage aprons for a kitchen window treatment. And some more books. And a few quilts. And the chicken lamp.
Moving would mean a bigger (possibly) house with more room for our stuff. But it would also mean moving. And more rent. And more $$ toward the air conditioning bill. And maybe a pool! But then $$ to the pool man. And possibly giving up our neighborhood clubhouse and all of its amenities--which is like a resort and we use it all the time.
I strongly suspect I'm starting to ramble.
And I strongly suspect we'll be staying in this house. And adding to the TO BRING BACK FROM DENVER list that's on a huge posterboard and stapled to the wall in the kitchen. And getting fuller by the day.
Hmm...wonder if the landlady would be up for new carpet? And removing some of the goofy build-ins that limit the amount of furniture we can have in the house? And maybe some better landscaping? And paint? What about paint?
Think it's time for a THINGS TO ASK THE LANDLADY list.
The girls and I will be adding onto Hebrews 12 this week, memorizing up through verse 6. One of the things that helps us the most is that we each read/recite whatever verses we're memorizing twice on school days. (Weekends? Not so much!)
You can see what Hebrews 12:1-6 says over on the sidebar. I am still loving this memory tool. Click on it to set up your own account. You can even have it email you everyday to remind you to practice your verse. (And you're typing will improve while you're at it!)
"Repetition is the key to long term memory." It's something I've heard taught and I totally agree. The more we repeat it, the better we learn it. Which is why review is also important--something I am not great at despite having tried various methods and ideas to help me do it. Perhaps that's what we'll focus on over the summer--reviewing the verses we've learned throughout the school year.
I will say that the other thing that helps more than anything is having verse cards--ones we can take with us in the car, tape to the bathroom mirror, put by the kitchen sink. If I'm going to learn something, I need to SEE it.
I'd love to stay and chat this morning, but my day is looking full with work and school and preparation for A Woman Inspired tomorrow and I'd better get a move on. Much love!
What are you memorizing? Leave a link or post your verse in the comments below.
I think I must be growing up or gaining maturity or something!
Here's the thing. I got my hair cut on Friday--and it's waaaaaay shorter than I thought it would be. It took me a little by surprise. I totally thought about freaking out. Just a little freak out, but a freak out nonetheless.
But I watched Audrey watching me.
And I saw that I had a clear choice about how I was going to respond. My daughter was paying close attention, waiting and watching to see what I'd do. And so I decided right then and there to choose to like it.
I tell my girls a lot that we have a choice in how we feel, how we act. That even when we feel unhappy or hurt or angry or frustrated, we can still choose how to respond to the things and people around us.
(Don't you hate it when your words come back to haunt you?!)
And the truth is, I do like it. But I liked it even faster than I would have all because she was watching to see if I'd live out what I tell her. Of course, she'd probably not articulate it quite that way. But as she's getting older, she seems to be watching more and more to see if I mean what I say enough to actually do it.
(I have to admit, being able to do my hair in 10 minutes flat with very little blow drying as the high temperatures are getting up around 100 is totally helping me in loving short hair.)
One of the things I included in the last week's homework for the Bible study I taught at church was a question or two encouraging everyone to think about what they would study next. Just because group Bible study at church (or in someone's home) is over until Fall (or whenever it starts up again) doesn't mean we stop studying!
My friend Debby gifted me with The Satisfied Heart at the end of our study together at church. It's one she loves and gives often. And I always love reading books that my friends have said they love that much!
I waited until I finished up the last day's homework from our Psalm 23 study before opening this book. Just from the introduction in which Ruth shares her story, I knew I was going to love the book too.
As I read her story of experiencing God's love and of him being her first love, my thought was, I want that!
I'm only on day 3, but my copy is already marked up, which to me is the sign of a good book! I can tell that this will be a book I'll read again and again. When I come to the end of day 31, I'll just flip back to day 1 and start again.
One of the things I like is that she lists Scriptures to read at the end of each day and suggests picking out a word or phrase that stands out to you. I've just picked one Scripture to read (and will do the others as I go through it again and again) and have liked just picking a phrase to focus on for the day. (Seems like memorizing just a short phrase rather than a whole verse is a very do-able daily thing. I'm thinking that they may need to be verse cards rather than post its. Or a spiral just for this book. But we'll see.)
For now I've recorded the phrases in a little notebook that I keep with the book, and have written them on post-its stuck to my computer as well. It's all too easy to forget what the phrase was when I get up and go about my day. I need things written down where I will see them repeatedly for them to stick!
Today's phrase? "Your love is better than life" from Psalm 63:3.
If you're on a group Bible study break, what are you doing to stay in the Word? Are you reading a great devotional, doing a study on your own? Have a book to recommend? Leave a comment and tell the rest of us!
This is my friend Christy. Isn't she beautiful? She makes me smile every time I think about her.
(And yes, I have a tiara on my head made from foil wire stuff and curling ribbon--it was one of the projects for girls at our church's House Party for Grand Opening a few months ago. And I wasn't about to say no to a tiara of any kind! Though I wish I'd taken it off for the picture because I look kind of dorky, but this is the only picture I have of the two of us.)
Anyway.
This is my friend Christy. She is a gift from God, just for me, and I love her dearly. Our friendship is something special, something we are intentional about. This is the friend I meet for coffee every Friday morning at the Starbucks down the street--for at least an hour and a half, and sometimes right up till lunch.
We drink our lattes (tall nonfat chai for her, tall soy vanilla for me), laugh, cry, pray, and talk about everything under the sun. Somehow our conversations always come full circle and reveal what God is teaching each one of us that week.
Christy inspires me, encourages me, loves me, prays with me and for me, delights me. And I hope I do the same for her.
Our friendship is something special--because we have been intentional about it. Friendship doesn't just happen. Doesn't grow without some time and effort. We clicked when we first met, but we have chosen to be friends, chosen to make our friendship a priority.
There have been times in my life when I've felt lonely, when I've longed for friends face to face. When I've needed the kind of love and support that comes from a girlfriend. And every time I've found that kind of friendship, it has grown because we've been intentional about it.
Talking on the phone. Meeting for coffee. Doing Bible study. Leading Girl Scouts together. Hanging out in each other's homes. Girl weekends. Taking our afternoon walks together. Meeting for lunch. Girls night in.
Friendship is important. We need each other. We can't just wait for it to happen. We have to make it a priority, give it our time. Too often it feels like we fit friendship in when and where there's room. But I'm not sure that really works. We have to be more intentional for friendship to grow and thrive. It doesn't happen by chance.
What do you and your girlfriends do to make your friendship a priority?
Never thought it would happen, but I'm beginning to like the desert. Literally, metaphorically. Who'd a thunk it?
Living in the desert for this season has also been living in the desert for this season. I've found that I can relate so much to what we see in the pages of Scripture as the people of Israel were led through the desert.
Daily manna to go out and gather. Complaining. Temporary housing (at least I'm not in a tent!). Unexpected oases. God's tangible presence. Temptation. Community. Heat. Choosing to learn to obey.
I'd always assumed that the desert wasn't a good place to be. But it was necessary for the Israelites on their way to the Promised Land, and necessary for me too in my journey. They learned so much there. So much that they needed before heading into the promised land--a spacious place to spread out.
In the desert they found their identity. They worshipped. They learned to obey God. They became a people with new traditions. They learned to rely on God for the very basics of life itself as well as for direction and guidance and for him to keep his promises. They learned to follow his leading, to stop when he said to stop.
Hmm.
There's beauty here.
What I really wanted to show you were some pictures from my yard. My deserty, rocky, what I've called really, really ugly yard. But look! Beauty among the rocks and thorns.
Bouganvillea (can NEVER spell that right!) in the cactus. Just look at that color!
Doves are building a nest in this cactus. Toben and I sat and watched for a while yesterday morning. I love the orange bouganvillea.
Those big cactus are blooming. A bloom opens in the morning and is done about mid-day, it seems. Luckily there are a number of blooms on it.
This pink loveliness is from the neighbor's yard, spilling over the wall. It's what is filling the dining room window view right now.
This giant and totally terrifying cactus is by the front door. We're all a little scared of it--just look at those needles! It made the girls cry when we first moved in because they hated it so much. (And I can relate. As a little girl I was terrified of birds of paradise. Somehow I thought they could chomp down and bite you, and I remember running past them as fast as I could so they couldn't get me. And when we moved to San Diego and had them in our yard, I took them out!)
(And we are scared of this cactus with good reason. Let me just say I've accidentally backed into it and had to pull hard to get those thorns out of my backside after they stuck through my jeans and into me. Ouch.)
But the other day I noticed this bloom beginning.
Look!
I'm speaking next week at the One conference by A Woman Inspired. The good news is that as long as my jammies are cute, I think I can do it in my pjs. The conference is entirely online and I can sit in my chair with my computer and not even have to drive anywhere. Pretty cool, huh?
You can learn more about the conference here.
I'm talking about expectations and realities. Here's the little blurb:
Most of us grow up with great expectations about what being married will be like. We dream and plan and hope for the day when we will ride off into the sunset with Prince Charming and live happily ever after. We buy into the fairy tales and romance novels and assume that once we find the “right” guy, everything will fall into place. Somehow we imagine ourselves as a bride forever. Then we wake up and see a wife in the mirror. Where do our expectations come from? What are those expectations? And what do we do when reality doesn’t quite match them?
If you'd like to come (you can wear your jammies too!), the cost is $12.95 and you can register here. And find the schedule here.
This recipe is adapted from one given to me by my friend Yvette (Hi Yvette!). And if you're a strict measurer when you cook, I'll go ahead and warn you that this recipe will drive you crazy. Because I just sorta throw it together each time and have no idea where the original recipe with all the exact measurements even is!
This is a meal you can adapt for two or three or a huge crowd. So just go with it!
Heim Family Favorite Carbonara
Bacon, at least 1 pound
Green onions
Chopped garlic
Sliced mushrooms or peas or neither
2 eggs
Parmesan or cheddar, we like both but have been using shredded parmesan lately
Spaghetti
First, fry the bacon. I cut it up with my kitchen shears and cook it until done. This way you can cook it all at once. While you're doing that, boil the water for the spaghetti and cook it and drain. Keep it hot! (That's not too hard, this is one of those meals that all comes together in perfect timing.)
Next, drain the bacon, leaving some yummy bacon grease still in the pan and add peas (which my family hates, but I love and I had some, so I used 'em and they survived) or mushrooms or neither. Then add sliced green onions, a little garlic, whatever else sounds good and cook until looks "done."
After you drain your spaghetti, beat two eggs and pour it over the hot noodles, tossing it to coat and let the egg cook from the heat of the noodles. Then pour your bacon mixture over all that, then toss with pepper. (The bacon makes it salty enough not to need any extra.)
Finally, toss with shredded parmesan and serve.
Voila! Delicious, fast, easy, and I usually have everything on hand.
Seems like some of you probably have a quick and easy favorite answer to this question--so do share with the rest of us. (And, yes, I think take-out is a perfectly good answer too!) Leave a link to your recipe or use the comments!
(And, nope, this isn't what's for dinner tonight. We're going with comfort food. Tummy eggs, bacon, and blueberry muffins. Didn't quite make it to the grocery today...though I do have all the stuff
Good morning!
Today is the first day of my first week without lots and lots of Bible study work to be done in a long time. Not that I didn't enjoy the work--I absolutely did. But it was work. I added it up and realize I've been spending about 20 hours a week working on this Psalm 23 study. In addition to working with Toben, teaching the girls, and managing the rest of life--all that cooking, cleaning, laundry stuff that always has to be done.
So now that Bible study at church is done, there's some stuff to be done.
Like cleaning my closet. (The laundry has been done and folded each week. And then stacked in an ever-growing pile in the closet. I can't find anything!)
Like scheduling hair appointments for me and for Audrey.
Like sorting through the clothes in my closet that don't fit anymore. (Which is a happy thing! Though I loved some of what it now too big and am sad about that.)
Like catching up with friends who just might think I've fallen off the face of the earth. (I have received your messages and emails and have a whole happy list of people to call this week!)
Like getting caught up on our math lessons. (Oh my, are we behind! We will be doubling up on math until the end of the year for sure.)
Like getting the carpets cleaned.
Like blogging. I have a list of all the things I think of to tell you that I've just not told you. Yet. Stay tuned!
Like doing a window treatment for our bathroom.
Like learning to be still in the midst of all that's to be done and just rest. I'm really not good at that. But God is whispering to me that it's time to learn when to stop a while and be still and be quiet and just be.
***
And it's Monday. And we have learned all of Psalm 23 by heart. I'd have to check out curriculum to see what's up next. So go ahead and leave your link and I'll come back to let you know what we're going to learn once I find out!
I have to say that I feel more committed than ever to memorize God's Word. Part of my lesson each week for Bible study when encouraging everyone in their memorizing Psalm 23 has been to talk about WHY we memorize. I'll put them all together to share here.
In the meantime, know I'm visiting your posts even if I haven't commented. One more thing that's one the list now that Bible study is over is to start commenting again on the blogs I read. I really don't want to be a lurker anymore!
