Goodbye, Hello

This summer certainly has been full of "Goodbye". Goodbye to friends moving away, goodbye to jobs, goodbye to world traveling on someone else's dime, goodbye to Charlottesville last week! I have never been good with change and yet, here we go again. This time, there will be a lot of "hello's" too: hello to our old stomping grounds, hello to our families, hello to a new house, hello to new churches, bible study, friends, grocery stores, routines. And last but not least, saying hello to baby sometime between now and mid-October.

Why life is so full of change will always be a mystery to me. In our marriage, we have tended to cram all the biggest changes into one, tending to move at times in our lives when everything else is also changing. I guess I'd rather have my life flipped upside down all at once rather than having to deal with every little change as it comes, but still, times of change are when I realize how much I value things that are not eternal.

While unpacking my kitchen in the new house, I found that one of the drawers only opens if you open the oven door. Finding this to be extremely ghetto, I quickly found myself traveling down the road of discontentment.... and that is a very dangerous road. How I could already forget how God has answered prayer after prayer and provided for us over and over again, I do not know.

So, how do you remind yourself of all the ways that God has heard you and been your Providence? I need to remind myself daily. I need time in the word. Hopefully amidst all this change, one of the most important changes will take place: I will find more time to spend with God.

I am considering a few studies to help myself stay on track, but would love to hear any of your ideas: Nehemiah, the Beattitudes, Grace.


On a less serious note, I am obsessed with Pinterest. I know that A and E are pinterested, but what about you, C? I find this site to be very useful for getting ideas and cataloging all the ideas floating around the interwebs. Here are a few recipes I'm planning to try:

Source: butterflyfoodie.blogspot.com via Katherine on Pinterest

Source: myrecipes.com via Katherine on Pinterest

Source: blogs.babble.com via Katherine on Pinterest

Home Sweet Home

Happy Labor Day, CAKES! I'm having a wonderfully lazy day in my PJs, listening to it rain and just wishing we could be sipping coffee together... at Shenandoah Joe's or maybe that cute little coffee shop in Brooklyn. We've been absent from the blog but with good excuses. I mean we've had a big summer among the four of us really-- moving, pregnancy, travels, romance, etc! :) I hope you all are handling all this change better than I am! Every time I think I'm getting settled here, I have to go to Kroger. It just puts me in such a bad mood. We've listened to a handful of sermon's from Trinity's Summer in the Pslams series and I so related to Greg's sermon, "Praying Our Homelessness" and thought I should share it with y'all since in one year's time all four of us have moved and have probably been reminded of the reality of our homelessness on this earth more than usual. Please download here and listen to it when you have a chance. I now "pray my homelessness" to the Lord as I walk through the unfamiliar, unpleasant aisles of Kroger ( the ONLY reasonable option for weekly shopping) and stroll my bags to my car in the hottest parking lot I've ever experienced. He is my sweet home.

So much I would love to catch up on-- Our trip was fab and you can see my pictures here:

Europe

There are some funny one's I threw in for your entertainment--like me looking cool with my eye-mask on on the plane or Peyton smoking at the Eiffel Tower ( he had a pack of cigs in his shirt pocket the entire trip-- such a dork). I've finally starting cooking again after a couple months of a sabbatical and I must say I feel very rejuvenated by my break :) I'm sure Peyton is thankful for that. My sister ( with 3 boys and a husband) just sent me her new favorite cookbook, Mad Hungry and I too am loving it. To combat my anxiety (that thorn in my flesh), I've been reading Running Scared by Ed Welch-- a great meditation on many wonderfully comforting aspects of God's character. Oh and we tore the ugly green awning off the front of our house and added a flag... we are liking the change.

Anyway, that's it for me friends. Can you share your favorite picture, project, recipe, sermon or book from this crazy summer? It would make me happy. Thanks!

Much love from Mississippi,
E