i am a blessed women to call these women grandma and mom.
two of the women that have shaped my life the most.
i am grateful.
back to india.
in less than 2 months i have the opportunity to travel back to India. the trip came up in a seemingly random way. trish, my friend and co-worker asked me at work one day if i was ready to buy my plane ticket. ”sure,” i said, “where are we going?” ”india.”
she was serious – and so i started thinking about the possibility of this really happening. in the span of a few weeks it has gone from an idea to a reality for trisha, myself and a dear friend charissa. our tickets have been purchased, our visas are being processed and we’re updating our shot records.
it’s surreal.
the funny thing is – i’ve been there before – i’ve done things like this before – so what is there to fear right? but i find myself having fear – because i think we get comfortable – we get set in our ways -and as charissa and i talked about…we’d rather just write the check to support the ministry we value in Kolkata instead of actually going there and getting our own senses involved.
my friend wave once told me that if things (like us) don’t move and grow and risk and change then we begin to rust – to settle – we need things to cause us to move and be moved – so that we don’t find ourselves stiff and rusty all over one day.
this is one of those acts for me. one of those moments that i know is significant. it’s an act of trust – that whatever God is asking of me – he won’t just leave me too it, rather he will walk with me as i see it, feel it, smell it, touch it…again as he has before.
i’m grateful to be going to this place with two wonderful women. i’m excited to serve and learn alongside them. my excitement grows.
long flights/layovers/bucket showers/power outages/heat/color/dust/rain/people/people/people/darkness/light
/despair/hope/laughter/ joy/tears/trust/chai/spice/walking/transformation…all this and more.
no notice of changing seasons.
Indiana. If you have spent time living in this state during it’s seasons you will know that what i’m about to write is really true: the above pictures were taken within the same week.
one day overnight we receive 10inches of heavy white snow.
a few days later it’s sunny and in the high 50s.
there’s always a dilemma with the switch out of winter to spring/summer clothes, because the seasons never seem to think to tell you when one is over and the next begins.
such is life and it seasons so i find. you’re in the midst of one – whatever it may hold – and then just when you think you’re settled in or/it would never end you find yourself entering something new.
i’m in the midst of a season that wouldn’t be one that i would have chosen for myself. it doesn’t seem grand or full of the things that seem to be world changing or life altering.
it is what it is – simple. surprising.
i think what takes time to realize is that there are things that are happening here with me/in me that might be changing my world, altering my life and i don’t even know it. i think i’m finding that sometimes the seasons that don’t alway seem glamourous or significant often full of life altering moments. ones that affect our person/our attitudes/our vision/our dreams.
there was something unexpected that came up in my life within the past weeks. it was something out of the blue – completely unexpected. it was surprising. i was discussing it with my friend melissa and she spoke two things:
1. that it gives hope.
2. that it is a reminder of how quickly things can change/shift.
just as Indiana seasons go from snow covered ground to uncovered ground in a matter of days — our lives – my season – can quickly shift into something else.
things really can change. fast. when we’re least looking for them.
and when they do – because they will – i want to be ready to step boldly into them – and to know that my last season was lived and enjoyed well.
agendaless.
i’m still in my sweatpants.
thinking about making another cup of coffee because it was so good.
i was given this bag of coffee by friends in california and i made it with a pour over today. it is one of those coffees that really has unique crisp almost lightly fruity flavors throughout. my cup was paired with orange cranberry scones, made by the hands of my sweet mamma, warm out of the oven.
we were visited by my sister and her boyfriend. on their way south they stopped by for a quick hello and a brief but wonderful sit around the table.
i don’t have an agenda today. unless it’s just a day filled with slow, simple things and people i love. what would you do on an agenda-less day?
Cranberry Orange Scones
2 Cups all-purpose flour
10 teaspoons sugar, divided
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup cold butter
1 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup half-and-half cream
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
Glaze (optional)
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon orange juice
Orange Butter
1/2 cup butter, softened
2-3 tablespoons orange marmalade
In a bowl, combine flour, 7 teaspoons sugar, orange peel, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Cut butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs; set aside. In a small bowl, combine cranberries, orange juice, cream and egg. Add to flour mixture and stir until a soft dough forms. On a floured surface, gently knead 6-8 times. Pat dough into an 8-in. circle. Cut into 10 wedges. Separate wedges and place on ungreased baking sheet (we covered ours with parchment paper). Brush with milk, sprinkle with remaining sugar. Bake at 400 for 12-15min or until lightly browned. Combine glaze ingredients if desired; drizzle over scones. Combine orange butter ingredients; serve with warm scones. Yield: 10 scones
why not?
that’s what i said to myself last Friday as i headed northwest to a city i love.
shasta and met in california at a training for americorps. we didn’t know we were going to both be in chicago serving the people of the west side of the city, not far from each other.
our places of work were no more than 10min apart, and as we started our new lives in chicago we also started a friendship.
my experience in chicago was such a rich time because of friendship with shasta. we learned together and from each other, we laughed and cried as our experiences moved and shaped us. we did life together – the ins and outs – dinners and explorations – book clubs and diner cups of coffee.
we both were there for a season – and our seasons ended about the same time. i think we would both say however that what happened in that season – the people we crossed paths with, the things we saw and experienced and lived through – are things that we will carry with us in all places we find ourselves.
when shasta told me she would be in chicago – i thought why not drive three hours one way to have coffee and dinner with a dear friend.
it was wonderful.
(in the photo:myself, maria our good friend, shasta)
a day on the couch.
it got me. the stuffy nose, heavy pressure filled head, sneezing, achy feverish symptoms.
it got me to stay on the couch because it wiped me out. stole my energy.
forced me to rest. do nothing. simply lay. under a wonderful wool blanket with a sweet steady companion at my feet. a day on the couch i think brought healing to more than just my cold. the slowness and forced rest are a remedy i should take more often, for the refreshment afterward is a sweet pleasure.
these 2 things.
a candle. not just any candle. it’s this particular one – capri blue’s volcano. i’m not sure why i love it so much – whether it’s linked to some good memories – whether it’s just the combination of the scents they weave together – i’m not sure – but sitting in a cozy chair with this candle burning near by i feel at home.
kinfolk – i just got the newest issue in the mail. this beautiful magazine/book encompasses so many of the things i value and enjoy. community, small gatherings, good food, times of slowness and really seeing, it’s a work of art really. each time i find it in my hands it invites me to sit and savor it slowly. linger over the words and pictures. sink into the chair i find myself in and not get up until the last page is turned.
so tonight – with nothing on the agenda – i’m burning my favorite candle and anticipating the beginning of sinking into a world created by pictures and words on the pages of kinfolk. refreshing me in the process of enjoying two things i love.
(photos from anthro/kinfolk websites)
