It is So Hip to Be...

It is so hip to be tense and foreboding, these days. Especially in the church.

I've been thinking about this, because I have every reason to be tense and even a little foreboding right now, and therefore I choose not to be. I think I shall instead enjoy a glass of wine, and be a drinker with a writing problem.

The Christian life requires stamina and perseverance and emotional fortitude - most of us know that already, because we've long since been living of the gospel. We've been going against the flow in reality, and for the only Real Reason (the gospel), rather than imagining that we're going against it because we are simply being obstinate or perhaps merely sentimental.

When my life became all about the gospel - living it, illustrating it with my decisions, my doings and my day, getting it right and getting it true, I became the target of spiritual forces.

This is no revelation - it is a firm grasp of the obvious.

Perhaps it is the Scotswoman in me, but deep down I never met a fight I didn't expect to win. When I combine this with the truth of Scripture that tells me I am more than a conqueror, all the overwrought hoo-ha about spiritual warfare just seems like so much melodrama. I mean, do we expect to lose?

Nah. Not me.

Yes, it is all about the gospel. Yes, this means things get difficult. Yes, it means losing a few battles in the process of winning the war. Yes, there is a shout going up in the spirit.

But beloved - it is the sound of victory.

No, it isn't easy. And because it isn't easy, we'd all better learn to lighten up. If I may be so bold, take it from someone who has been swinging her sword for a long time: you'll be standing in faith for something until you lay this earthly life down. Get over it, get used to it, act like you've done it before and will do it again. Pace yourself, and for Pete's sake, it isn't the end of the world until it is the end of the world.

A Scot is crazier than a run over cat. Historically, their wars were merry. No one suffered more than they in their fight for freedom, but no one had more fun fighting, either. Big hearts break big, yet we serve a God who heals them. Weeping endures for a night. But "joy cometh".

I've known a few folks who have been through what I am just now going through...some handled it with faith, while some hurled headlong into a quiet, self absorbed life of merely "coping". A very few continued to live in an others-minded fashion, while others became a drain on all who loved and walked with them. Some pressed forward, kept calm and carried on in community with the saints, while others slipped backwards into emotional instability - making unwise decisions and abrupt changes in course.

My God has promised to be my wisdom, my strength, and the stability of my times. (Isaiah 33:6)

"Steady, now." This is the grace in which I stand. I can actually rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:2)

Call me crazy. But I'd be lying if I didn't admit to being a veteran of a few wars. The current one is not the first, and won't be the last. It is by far my hardest one.

All the more reason to relax. I know...very uncool. Ask me if I care. I know what it takes to win - it takes quietness and confidence.

And joy.

Wood Counters Are In...

(loving all things natural, ivory, white, cream, gray, toffee...)

My word for 2010 was create.


So far, it has definitely been the year to do exactly that. Among other things, it was my goal to redecorate my kitchen this summer. (In my mind, this meant changing the wall color, severely editing what was on display, and maybe a new throw rug...)



A terrible little incident sped up the timetable for the project. Still. The results far surpass what even I had in mind. If anyone is considering all butcher block counters, please allow me to encourage you to go for it. The maintenance is more than probably any other surface you can buy, including granite, but the warmth and understated elegance is well worth it. After all, "beauty is about maintenance".

I'd rather not have a surface in my kitchen that is quite literally "hard and cold". Give me warmth and patina and pleasantness.


excuse the crumbs...I don't style my pictures.




...the long view...



The coolest faucet ever!



close up...


I love this shot, so much. Two of my aprons, the antique dresser in the dining area, sunshine spilling in the window, the new faucet and porcelain sink, the wood counters, terra cotta tiles...all of it. This kitchen is exactly what I wanted. (Still don't have my knobs and drawer handles, but that can wait...)


Open shelving installed (not yet painted by yours truly...but built by my handyman, and lovingly installed last week...)


fun details - mercury glass spheres, which will be displayed year-round, and hung by velvet ribbons in the windowsill at Christmas time...the burlap basket that I gather things from my garden in...pothos plant, which grows even in low light...



More fun details...blue mercury glass and twine, the contrast of rustic and shiny, together in a glass trifle bowl...verse on the wall in shades of faded turquoise and ivory, with brown script...

So fun, and so satisfying, to come up with a design idea from scratch...and create!

Father's Day...

It began like this...the fifth baptism in four weeks.


The pilgrimage to dad's house...


where dad treated everyone to grilled steaks for lunch...


Then, dad was encircled by his children...


Hannah baked him a cake...


His girls and their husbands got him a new top for his "Barbie Jeep" - the boys gave him a Lowe's gift card, since there is always a tool their daddy wants.


Then it was off to the movies...


Playing on the escalators...precisely what their father taught them not to do when they were little...


Fun!

We ended the day by driving to our secret family spot for firefly watching. No, it is not Elkmont (famous for its firefly display in June). This place is just as beautiful, and not far away at all...Sarah and Jonathan found it by chance, and shared it with the family. We aren't telling where, because sure as we do, it won't be our secret anymore. The fireflies are there in the millions, and it looks like magic...twinkle lights all through the trees, all around us. We were awed and blessed.


Tim - you are an incredible father. Your love for your God is the stuff of family lore and legend. We love you!

Butcher Block Countertops

Believe it or not, even in high-end kitchens, it isn't an altogether "granite countertop world" out there. Not by a long shot. Many designers prefer wood, its warmth and the potential for character and patina ~



gorgeous, no?

My counters are about this color...

in fact, mine look almost just like this, except with a small backspash.

loooooove this!

A little too shiny for me, but see the rich wood grain? My counters have this sort of pattern, with knots and tons of character...

Very high end kitchen - beautiful wood counters! I think I'm on to something....

Counters are in! There are several loose ends to tie up before I can take some pictures. I cannot wait to show you...

Maybe the Kitchen is NOT Done...

Well, I thought my kitchen was done for now.

But Tim and my daughter Sarah (very important...Sarah found these counters!) ::smile::

...they have figured out a way to create butcher-block counters for me, for a fraction of a fraction of their retail cost. He found supplies unexpectedly at a salvage store, and so this evening he and both son-in-loves (one mathmetician Justin, one artist-woodworker Jonathan) have already begun creating my new kitchen counters.

I've always wanted wood counters...not granite. Why not granite? Granite has been done and done and done. Plus, granite isn't my vibe. I like them in your house, but in my own house, I tend to have a consistent aesthetic of "perfectly imperfect", time-worn, hand made. At least that is the ethos I am steadily working towards. Eventually, I do not want my home to speak "big box store" OR "designer".

Wood counters. No more Formica - yeay!

With a new white porcelain double bowl sink. Very farm-housey without the expensive "farmhouse sink".

And a fabulous faucet. Promise you've never seen anything like it. All these things from a salvage place.

Of course, full pics when they are done. Can't wait!



Forty-seven year old preacher hands...



Young, newlywed artist's hands...





Working together with a son-in-law...also a comfort. Oh my, how we love our sons-in-love.




small vignette in my kitchen...might keep it this way, might not. I've seen lots of old paint splattered ladders in all the design books lately. What do you think?





excuse the magnetic DART sticking out of the side of the fridge...which is covered in pictures of my beloved church family.

I am actually using a shopping bag, when I remember, to get groceries (when I only have to shop for a few things.) Our local Fresh Market is my favorite grocery store...I fell hard for this burlap shopping bag there. My goal is to decorate completely with things useful as well as beautiful, rather than "knick knacks".

I'm hearing the sound of sanders and saws...just outside this door!

The God of All Comfort

Comfort food soothes the soul of both the one who makes it, as well as the one who eats it. I made this thick, French-style beef stew in a red wine broth yesterday. It took several steps, and then was cooked low and slow in my old, gorgeous clay pot, all day long. There is something so comforting about taking the time to prepare a detailed but classic recipe. Circumstances can spin out of control, but a good beef stew is reliable.


Words of comfort, via post.

That word "comfort" in Scripture means to be summoned to God's side, and drawn very near to Him. It means to be spoken to, given reassuring counsel and instruction. It means to be given strength. It means to be relieved, calmed, soothed, and salved.

It also infers that I allow myself to be console-able. That is an important part of the process, and one rarely talked about. To be inconsolable is to, in fact, be proud. It is to think that my problems are unique, and my pain deeper than anyone else's.

To all who are thirsty, weak, exhausted and discouraged, our Great God says "Come here, child. Tell me the problem."


"Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest..." this is to be comforted by the Only One Who Can...summoned to the side of the One who alone has the power to restore your soul.


Oh, to be a vessel of comfort! I should be quite satisfied by a ministry of pure comfort - doing my small part each day to soothe a precious saint. None of us, by ourselves, has the power to bring the full spectrum of comfort that a grieving heart needs. None of us should even try to bring "all" comfort. That would be pretentious. Rather, we should look to the God of all comfort, trusting Him to show us our part.

So someone brings a word. Someone brings cookies and flowers. Someone sends a card. Someone checks in, briefly, each day via email - no strings attached. Someone brings a meal. Someone gives finances. Someone organizes a level of ongoing assistance. Someone takes up the slack.


It is all comfort, and all true comfort originates with God.

Oh...My....God...

In the title of this post, I am not taking the Lord's name in vain. It isn't mere euphemism. Truly, it is the prayer of my heart in this season. God knows.



For whatever reason, the Father in His magnificent wisdom has decided that my pastor-husband and I are not permitted to preach the gospel academically. He has decreed that we must "live of" the gospel, to the deepest, most profound levels in our lives.




Oh...my...God...life might spin out from under me, were it not for His everlasting arms underneath. This is an adventure, this could be dangerous, this is the most hopeful journey a woman can undertake, and it is definitely not under my direct control. I'm just trying to keep my feet under me, and learn to navigate the curves.



In the past one year alone, we have had to teach and preach and stand against both unBiblical extremes to the gospel - legalism and license. As well meaning and near and dear as those persons are in your life who are committed to either extreme, if you "live of" the gospel, you cannot sit back and allow that leaven to creep unwittingly into the lives of those for whom God holds you responsible. Either extreme is deadly to right relationship. Either extreme is not the gospel, see.

We are called to preach the gospel.

Oh...my...God...




To stake your claim on the gospel of Jesus Christ, of grace-through-faith, of living in the new creature, of love being the fulfillment of law...well, it means you have just strapped on a pair of roller skates, my friend. There will be pain. There will be wipe-outs. You will live with constant, ever-present excitement, because God does not perform miracles in your midst because you kept the law - and God is still on the move miraculously today. Every new day could bring another Mighty Act.




Simultaneously, you will feel surges of pain and panic, because the gospel is a dividing line. It threshes and separates the worthlessness of legalism and license from the preciousness of the seed of the Word.




And sometimes legalism and license each wears its own face that is nearer and dearer than words can ever convey. But you must not compromise the gospel.



Ours is not a life of behavior modification, because righteousness is a gift. At the same time, ours is not a life of continual, open sin and rebellion, because that also indicates non-reception of the life-altering gift of righteousness. To each extreme, must be held out the hope of Christ Alone.




The Gospel, and nothing but. Grace, plus nothing. You cannot attach your own lifestyle of good behavior, and you cannot attach your own lifestyle of sin. Both must be swallowed up in a righteousness outside yourself, both must kneel before the God Who alone is Maker.




Academically speaking, this is easy stuff to preach. But to illustrate it with your life takes days, months, and years, and is very, very difficult. Oh. My. God.