Tuesday, August 21, 2012

A Few of My Favorite Things

There are still boxes to unpack and pictures to hang,
but we feel like we are home. 
Just for fun ~
would you like to see a few of my favorite things?

Every room in my house is filled with the presence of others.
My dad says he can visit any of his kids and feel right at home ~
we all have furniture from my parents.
They have definitely taught us there is great joy in giving.
I love their testimony to this.

I love unpacking things given to us, 
things collected along the way, 
things that reminds us where we've been
 and ultimately to whom our hearts belong.
Almost every item has a face and a story of relationship behind it.

Though I am humbled to have these worldly treasures, 
their beauty would not disappear in fire or flood.
Though wood turns to ash and water rusts the iron,
the treasure of life lived in community is stored in my heart.
My prayer for the beauty of my home is it be a place of respite,
a sanctuary filled with peace,
a banquet hall for feast and celebration,
and all who enter here will have stepped out
of this world's pace and pressure
and receive the gentle favor of His love.

A few of my favorite things ~
Our study ~
sharing space with the living room.
What a perfect place to remember living requires learning 
and we get to do this together.
My husband laughed at me last night 
as he helped hang the window scarves.
I love/live in scarves.
Of course I would put them on the windows. 
Atop the sheers hung on 52 windows,
in the historic house in Wyoming,
 all those years ago when my family was filled with littles,
and I played house to the fullness of my heart.

 My desk is in order.
It is my nature to feel best with order and routine.  
My perspective seems to change when things settle into a proper place.
I'm trying to be patient with myself regarding blogging.  
I don't have natural rhythms and routines yet, but I'm getting there! 
This is where much of my life happens,
 so I'm grateful for the sunshine spreading across it.
I love my owls.
My daughter sent the first one,
well, I guess because she just had to!
I'm grateful she and I each have one.
Benjamin just found the little ones
 and insisted we needed them.  Why?
Because we homeschool of course!
Owls, wisdom, teacher, students ~
you get it.  I love that he does, too!
Weakness.
I have a weakness for containers.
Because the study/office shares the living room,
I love these storage boxes I found at Target.  They have dividers inside. 
(I'm pretty much a sucker for circles and polka dots.)
Like my sock monkey coin holder?
Oh, Gayle.  You were SO sweet to get me one.
  I'll never use it, except to hang it where I can see it 
and remember my first real friend in a foreign land.
 This clock is the latest gift from my parents.
It hung in the living room of my childhood home,
sounding out time every 30 minutes.
The bim-bam has eased us back into America.
Our village in Germany had a clock tower 
and two churches chiming the hours.
There is nothing quite like bells ringing out through the valley,
in the trees, with birds responding in song.
We miss the resounding mark of time.
This clock is perfect, Mom and Dad.
Thank you.
 Two hearts, 
one collected on a bridge of a medieval town,
one collected amidst the flowers,
with a friend by my side.
Three glass balls,
purchased with little money 
all those years ago.
Baby Airman and his wife,
collecting treasures to remember
amazing journeys always have a beginning.
 And a husband who helps me with my vision every time.
We bought a Target curtain rod
and he mounted it on the ceiling
so we could hang the treasures by ribbons.
Ribbons still carried around from Emily's little-girl days,
when I would cut out dresses and bows 
and sewed tiny ribbon to the edges.
 Three clocks to remind of the time our loved ones live in.  
Parents, siblings, friends,
and now two children share the same time ~
young adulthood.
 Billy Badass is at home in our kitchen,
though I'm not sure he loves being under glass.
The boys and I found him in an art studio
on our trip through Asheville, NC.
Thanks, Aunt Ruth, for the recommendation
to explore the River Arts District.
His creator discovered him beneath her
paint brush bristles as she painted her
way through cancer.
I love his defiant posture and his name.
An old bell for a new tradition.
(I'm such a romantic that way.
I love tradition that moves through
a family line.)
Calling family to the table.
And above our table,
where we feast and fellowship,
our reminder ~
Jesus Christ is in the center of us all.
Thank you, DeeDee and girls,
for wires and beads you twisted
together to share love.
For the words on the wall,
thank you Cyndi Lou.
We shape our lives
not by what we carry with us,
but by what we leave behind.
Water colors of a home,
with little ones, large fields,
and friendships that called through
back-door screens.
 I love having a laundry room on the bedroom floor.
Any other words,
not necessary.
 "Do you want this petrified wood?"
Of course, Mom.
I will take it and use it in my bathroom,
cover it in shells,
and make a quiet place to reflect.
 And there are no drawers in the bathroom?
No problem, says my man.
Two shelves from IKEA,
and a few World Market baskets.
Perfect!
 Finally.
Our prayer rug.
Scenes of Wyoming,
the wind that never ceases
a reminder of The Spirit.
It was here that He claimed us fully.
Here He blew real breath in our spirits.
And here we kneel in the morning,
filling our lungs with His glory,
exhaling His praise.
Here we kneel at night,
a posture of thanksgiving,
surrender to His protection,
and once more to breathe in His peace
before we sleep.

And I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28

I hope you have enjoyed a few of our favorite things, Favored One.
We welcome you here.
I'm serious.
We love the opportunity you give us to love well.
Hope to see you soon at our table.
We need more faces and relationship stories in each room.  
Of those, our store-house will never be too full.

Love to you, Favored One.



12 comments:

  1. Before I saw the text, I had a thought I'd seen that clock somewhere before. :) Lovely home! Thanks for sharing it with us!
    Beth

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    1. I was thinking about you as FrankE and I went for a short walk this morning. So funny that you stopped by today!

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  2. I have that same (well close to the same) Grandmother clock...that actually came from my grandmother! Thanks for linking up today!

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    1. How funny that we have the same clock! I was happy to be part of the link up and thanks for stopping by!

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  3. Congratulations! Everything looks great. I'm so happy for you. Thank you for linking up at FunkiPlanet.com today.

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    1. Thanks for having a link-up! Slowly I'm finding my way back into this new venture! I appreciate that you've been an encouraging voice these past few months! Thank you.

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  4. This is the craziest thing. Just the other day I was trying my hardest to remember your name. I searched through tweets to find the girl moving from Germany to VA that was attending Allume. I went through the Allume attendees to no avail - I haven't sent in my bio either. I've been seeking and here you are! I've found you through Debi's linkup!! We definitely need to connect before Allume since we are so close together, the other side of a very big county.
    I loved this post. I can so relate to having the memories attached to the things that have been picked up in moves or given over by friends. It really is the memory that lives and not the thing. If they were all gone tomorrow the family and friendships would npt be erased. So glad you have gotten settled.

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    1. Hi Amy!! I kind of dropped of the planet after we left Germany until these last couple of weeks. Fasting from social media until this Friday has made connections pretty weak. I'm so glad you found me again! I will be fully back to FB on Saturday and connected again. And I only just realized there was an Allume attendee bio spot. One more to-do for my to-do's! I'm looking forward to getting to know you in person soon! Let's plan on that!

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  5. I love how so much of your home has special meaning attached to it! The wall with your kiddos pics and the cross is especially beautiful!!

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    1. Thanks Mary Beth! I didn't put that arrangement together until we moved to Germany. Two are senior pictures I took, and now it's one of my favorite groupings. We will change out Ben and Sam's photos with their senior pictures when the time comes. I love the reminder that every day adds to what I'm leaving behind. Blessings!

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  6. I am reading your post just after I have walked into my house and realized that I am frozen- stuck if you will- in place. We moved into a different house two years ago, for the most part the renovation is done, there are a few places that still need to be completed. After we moved in, i was drained of all energy, retiring and moving the same year, whew. We fixed up what had to be done before we moved in, did a little here and there. But, me, I am stuck, I get ideas I can't complete, I am laid waste by the inheritance of my mother's and my husband's mother's stuff-it's been whittled down, but now I look at what's left and say - now, what do I do with this? sorry for the nuclear waste dump- I love your post and the pictures are so wonderful to look at- I love the order in them, and I am inspired! N

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    1. I totally get being drained! Life-stage and timing just has you STOP sometimes. Maybe you've not been frozen as much as you've needed rest, like Elijah when he was told to get up and eat for the journey was too much for him. You've just been resting for awhile? But maybe if you're refreshed now it's time to clean out and settle in. No nuclear waste! Nothing wasted. I look forward to seeing how things shape up for you in these next few months! And giving you a hug in October! Yikes! It's almost here! Blessings!

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