where are thou? I blame the bedbugs...{2017 beauty hodge-podge}

What have we been up to you ask?

1. BED BUGS ~ read about this family adventure here.

• Some day I may not see pictures of bedbugs in every article and newsfeed on my phone. I was researching how to deal with these little monsters so extensively, bedbug extermination tips and related businesses are apparently the only advertisements I will ever see again. Irritating. Salt in a wound.
• Bedbugs did not exist before the fall of man, or maybe they were more like ladybugs, but I digress...
• The above picture will soon be hanging in my laundry room. This is how I felt and how very tempted I was to crawl into an industrial dryer, click my heels and get out of OZ.

2. Oh life...

• new company for my husband 
• new classes and so much lovely learning for me 
• + so much of the every day ordinary ups and downs and messy beauty.
• Oh, and my kids are doing PARKOUR! My brother may have placed bets on how soon and how often we will see the inside of an ER and/or Urgent Care. But my youngest girl is a delight to watch ~ like she found her home planet.

3. New projects afoot...details to come, but most often you'll find me on Instagram: @literaturethreads.

• I saw an Instagram site once that said "Instagram killed my blog". I totally get it.
• But how do I love Instagram? Let me count the ways...

4. Speaking of poetry, we have been placing Poetry Tea Time into our weekly rhythms. We all love it so much. A few links for you:

• Brave Writer // @juliebravewriter & the blog
• Instagram // @poetryteatime
• Build A Path for the Soul: 12 Poems, 12 Hymns, 12 Scripture Passages 

5. With all that pulls on my heart, mind, and physical abilities, I think of how to savor my moments ~ in solitude and with my people. 

• Breathing new life into your time with God
• Why You're Off the Hook for Making Every Moment Matter

• I really enjoyed this book about Denmark this summer ~ I did not come away thinking Denmark was amazing. Like every country, it holds claim to great strengths and deep weaknesses. But still, great read.
• I most like the Danish concept/practice of Hygge. 

6. I haven't forgotten about my 300 days of beauty. I will finish, but was much too ambitious for last year. (In this post I stated that I was realistic to pick 300...delusional/optimistic might have been more accurate!)

I hope this post finds you well, encouraged and choosing hope. 

(Some pictures of our recent months...)

Soft boiled eggs and hot cocoa for breakfast...

Poetry Tea Time

It's important to buy pretty cakes sometimes.

More Poetry Tea Time with homemade maple cakes by Cece

Many nights called for sparkling cider in stemmed glassware just because.

Brother-sister sugar-cube pyramid creation

This version of audio fairy tales is just lovely...

Dinner party using only recipes from Bread & Wine by Shauna Niequist.

When you don't have a fireplace, Netflix delivers. Hanging with D during a wintry cold day and loving it.

Laundromat pizza picnic (one of many)

This is how you save a table in the laundromat...evidently. No one sat here ALL DAY. I know because I was there ALL DAY.

 

 

So, it's December, and I choose hope...{mish-mash and encouraging links}

Where has the year gone? I sit surrounded by boxes of decorations and ornaments with idea and to-do lists nearly writing themselves in frantic fashion. 'Tis the season! I use this phrase so much (all year round) that my kids make fun of me.

Can I be honest? I feel like I cannot escape negativity and pessimism pressing in on many sides, from within and without. So, I'll share a few links~there is good stuff happening in the world around us. CNN, MSNBC, and media in general have skewed reality, they do not hold the patent rights on truth, they are not concerned with infusing people with hope or joy or kindness or peace, they are concerned with ratings. The media, the people around us should not dictate our ability to hope.

Take a moment to watch this short video and read the article about ministry in "The Forgotten Southern City" of Fairfield, Alabama. 

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I saw an interview with the man who created the non-profit "My Block, My Hood, My City"~check out his work and mission in Chicago here. 

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A shout-out to Toyota for a commercial speaking to what our country so desperately needs. Let's Go Compassion.

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25 days to quiet the crazy of Christmas. Enough said.

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I liked this post that documents the simple and the beautiful from the author's autumn, from food to books to every day life. I walk through this pseudo-scrapbooking-journal process on occasion and it's good for my heart.

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LOVE this quote from Pollyanna:

"The influence of a beautiful, helpful, hopeful character is contagious, and may revolutionize a whole town . . . People radiate what is in their minds and in their hearts. If a man feels kindly and obliging, his neighbors will feel that way, too, before long. But if he scolds and scowls and criticizes—his neighbors will return scowl for scowl, and add interest!”

(For an encouraging family movie, I recommend this version of Pollyanna.)

This season and coming year, I choose hope. I choose joy. I choose to find beauty. I choose kindness, patience, gentleness, and self-control. I choose Jesus.

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{Coming soon: This years "wills and will nots" for December AND Christmas book picks. 'Tis the season!}

300 days of beauty, day 39 [He is near]

 #TRUTH

Artwork created by:
Cobblestone Road Hand Lettering

to be encouraged

I awoke to a rainy, drizzled and blustery day. I was up until 2:30 a.m. finishing a book. My son caught me. Guilty. He is never up in the middle of the night, but due to the joys of orthodontia, he needed some ibuprofen. He also tattled on me to my husband who "tsk-tsked" me with a roll of his eyes and shake of his head (and I'm sure a smile too). 

I like the rain, but being spoiled by so many sunny days, it affects my mood quickly. I felt dreary of soul this morning. Add this to the fact that taking less than a minute on my phone or laptop and I've already sucked in at least a dozen negative and often heart-wrenching stories from around the world.


Tragedy deeply affects me. For the last several months, I've taken a news "sabbatical." It has helped me live with more hope and optimism. That being said, it's virtually impossible to live in a bubble. I've enjoyed receiving theSkimm in my inbox each morning--a summary of top world stories with some sarcasm and dry humor to boot. It's enough to be connected yet not inundated. I also look for encouragement. I look for the touching, some humor, the inspiring, the interesting...here's my sampling:

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I read this story years ago in Franklin Graham's book Living Beyond the Limits:Life in Sync with God. The story etched itself permanently in my mind. I've thought of it often over the years and especially with the recent airplane tragedies. It recently resurfaced in my Facebook news feed. Powerful. What would I do if I were on an airplane I knew was destined to crash?

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Superior Women: And the Men Who Can’t Out-Give Them

Doug Wilson's thoughts.

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I LOVE this story. I heard it on the radio during this last Christmas season. I can't resist a love story.

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I am well-versed in English royalty. My mom loved it, I grew up "knowing" the royal family, watching the royal wedding of Diana and Charles, looking at pictures of Diana's wedding dress in magazines, and learning the history. I know exactly how succession works. I traveled to London as a high school graduation present. My brother and I went again and were in London when the Queen Mum celebrated her 100th birthday. I may or may not be an Anglophile. I found this to be a very interesting read.

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Lastly, read about veterans who make sure students in rough Chicago neighborhoods get to and from school safely. Loved this.

The world has much good and beauty. Jesus still reigns. He will continue to reign.

Happy weekend!