Forgoing the Hustle & Embracing the Rest - Seven Gratitudes, vol. 10
Round 10 of #SevenGratitudes is underway, friends.
This is a weekly space for considering our lives through the lens of gratitude. It is an opportunity to cultivate thanksgiving in our hearts, feeling in our bodies the liberation it brings. It is dogged resistance to the systems of greed and consumption in our world today.
It is a hopeful practice--and hopefully a fun one!--for a better world.
Thanks for joining us!
This week I am grateful for:
1
Permission to forgo the hustle and rest, rest, rest.
Spring Break this week has been good. I needed the rest, and, more than I even realized, I desperately needed permission to leave off production for a while. I almost did not know what to do with myself during those first few days. It was blissfully disorienting to not have to get somewhere or do anything.
Barbara Brown Taylor describes the experience of Sabbath as a wonderful, mysterious gift—in which there is a “little death.” Even though I was on Spring Break and not a Sabbath day, I think I experienced some of what she meant by that “little death.”
Thankful to have time to notice the change of season—the death of some things and new growth of others—within myself.
2
Morning sunshine.
Most every morning this week I have opened my eyes just shy of seven o’clock to sunlight. And a smile spreads across my face. It feels like the world is saying hello.
3
Time to explore our own bookshelves.
My eyes were like GET OFF THE SCREENS, LADY for a good three days or so at the beginning of break. Therefore, I took to the bookshelves and unearthed this treasure trove of homesteading wisdom.
My mom recognized the depth of God’s call on my life to sustainable living almost before I did. She gave me this book, apropos of nothing. It has fueled many a talk, many a wondering, and many a whispered dream over the years.
4
Outlander.
While I was all Belle-in-the-library, I decided to dive back into Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series.
Bestie Kelli introduced me to the new Starz show during our Girls’ Night In last August when she came for a visit. Two weeks later I had finished the first book. Next thing, I spoke with a Scottish accent and volunteered to suture anything that moved. ;)
(Please see Barns & Nobles' "8 Things You Need to Know About Diana Gabaldon's Outlander Series." Please.)
Aaron gave me the entire cannon for Christmas—complete with cookbook!
I've started book 4 now.
Anyone else adventuring/trying to survive the eighteenth century/exploring the vocation of marriage with Claire & Jaime?
5
Chocolate chip cookies that I actually LOVE—and the wonderful woman who first made them for me.
It may come as a shock, but I have never been one for chocolate. Chocolate chip cookies have been especially loathsome to me because they always look so promising and homey…and then taste bitter and sickeningly sweet in my mouth at. the. same. time.
That all changed, however, when my dear friend Kaitlin brought a beautiful batch of chocolate chip cookies to Aaron's seminary graduation party back in 2015.
Changed my life. You gotta try them. They're made with whole wheat flour, coconut oil, applesauce, and brown sugar--so moist, light, and fluffy! I made a batch for my extended family this past Christmastide and they gobbled 'em up.
CELEBRATORY ASIDE: Kaitlin has a book coming out in the fall and Brian McLaren really likes it! How exciting is that?!
6
Learning how to stock a pantry.
I came across two interesting articles this week about the well-stocked home pantry. It is important to me to do well with our resources (to multiply the talents, so to speak) so that we may live in hospitable abundance rather than frightened scarcity. I enjoyed these well-organized tips on keeping larder:
- Stocking the Pantry for Three Months of Meals, 1997 - Mother Earth News.
- Eat Really Well on a Tight Budget, 2017 - Walkerland.
7
Unexpected guests.
My friend Amanda and her awesome mama are coming into town to meet their newest little family member this weekend and GUESS WHO they’re staying with?!
Can’t wait to hug my friend. Amanda lives in Mexico these days, so I am absolutely thrilled to have a chance to catch up with my fellow preministerial scholar, one-time roomie, tiniest bridesmaid, and dear sister.
Seven Gratitudes Link-Up
If you would like to join in on this weekly practice of gratitude and chicanery, grab yourself a button and link up with us here every Friday morning of 2017.
HOW TO:
- Write a listicle about your seven gratitudes each week.
- Publish your piece with a link back to my blogpost on Friday mornings.
- And then link up with the form at the bottom of the page.
Be sure to visit with the other bloggers in the party--THEY ARE TOO WONDERFUL TO MISS!
What are you thankful for this week?
To participate list out your thanksgivings in the comments below or use the hashtag #SevenGratitudes to link up on Facebook.