IF: Gathering

Our IF:Local group of lovely ladies.

This weekend, I had the opportunity to participate in one of the most edifying experiences of my adult Christian life. I gathered with 17 other women locally and 500,000 across the globe to watch/take part in IF: Gathering. It was enriching, educational, beautiful, tearful, funny, and poignant.

IF has a primary purpose, but it's kind of hard to find out what it is. IF doesn't stand for anything, it is the start of a question. IF Jesus is who He says He is, how should we then live? IF we believe the Gospel as He shares it, what do we do next? IF Christ is Lord of my life, what does that mean for how I love others?

Long Time, No Write

It's been about a month and a half since I visited my blog and wrote something here.

You know how the Holidays are. Thanksgiving bleeds into Christmas, which turns quickly to the New Year, and then school starts again and life gears up to tackle something new. We resolve, we break resolutions. We forget to change the calendar over. We forget to write the new year on everything for a week or two. And then it all starts to feel normal again.

A Real Christmas Card

I love receiving Christmas cards. I love the photos, I love the sweet sentiments. I especially love when they come with a letter, summarizing the year. It's like a yearbook of our friends' lives. All the joy and loveliness wrapped into one sheet of paper.

I check the mail much more regularly as Christmas approaches, because I can't wait to see who sent greeting in that day's batch of letters. I loathe the fact that this tradition is falling by the wayside. I get it. I know it's easier NOT to collect the photos, make the cards, write the letter, address the envelopes, and buy all the stamps. I know there are already so many demands on our lives during the Christmas season. But I love them.

My Brother

Two weeks ago, I sat in our marriage counselor's office, talking about my "family of origin". J had to work that day, so he wasn't able to come. Which was fine, because it gave the counselor and I some time to get to know each other a little better, and for her to learn a little more about my history.

We talked about me being a first child. We talked about my pretty much idyllic childhood. We talked about the relationships I have with each of my wonderful parents. And we talked about my brother.

Giant Banners

Our church is preparing to participate in the annual Albuquerque Twinkle Light Parade this Saturday night. It's our first time participating, which means everything had to be made from scratch. J and I put together a stable for our float on Monday morning. It is made of 2x4 boards and wood screws and only cost about $20 to put together the whole thing.

High Fidelity - pt 1

Our Advent series at church this year centers on the Gospel in Ruth. Our Pastor, Justin, has opted to call this series "high fidelity: love & the gospel in ruth". You can hear the sermons from this series HERE as they become available.

I am thrilled to get to sit through a full month (intro week before advent, so we get 5 sermons in our Advent series!) of insight into this book. It is one of my favorites in the Bible. That's because it's short and easy to read, and compelling, and wraps up nicely, like my favorite fairy tales. It's not uncomfortable or upsetting. Or, rather, it wasn't.

Thanksgiving Craft

Today, I'm going to chat about the little bit of crafty fun we did to round out the Thanksgiving decor for our dinner tomorrow. We are hosting two neighbor families, so there will be 11 of us all together. The menu just keeps getting longer and the dishes more exciting, but we are thrilled to share the holiday with our neighbors!

The kiddos and I decided to whip together this happy little Come Gather banner this afternoon. It was super easy.

Banner over the office doors, one of the first things you see when you enter our home.