Hello, Monday!
Hello, lovelies!
My heart feels so encouraged this morning.
HE IS WITH US.
And He has filled our hearts with greater joy. (Psalm 4:7)
Good Morning
Author: Natalie
Textures
This outfit is jam-packed with texture. A metal necklace, a silk shirt, a cotton scarf, a tweed jacket, corduroys, and suede wedges.
I’ve been thinking today how God sometimes takes things from us for a season.
Our God who gives and takes.
Do you know what I mean?
Sometimes God says, “Here, you know what? We’re going to take this thing and put it on the shelf for a bit. Let’s focus on something else for a little while.”
This feels so scary. It feels very unsettling.
But the cool thing is, our God is a detail-oriented God.
And oftentimes, He takes things we thought got shelved, and He works them back into our lives in the coolest ways.
You know, He works them together like mixing different textures. It may sound silly, but its true…He puts together our lives with the finesse of a God who cares about the details. A God who cares about the beautiful big picture.
Oh I just love that.
Empty Hands
Here I am, in Minnesota. It started snowing as we unloaded my car 🙂 An appropriate welcome.
Here I am, with empty hands.
Empty hands because I am beginning again, and beginning again means opening hands that held so many good things and memories to make room for new things. I have no idea what those new things are….no idea at all.
And then I got to thinking, what if my hands are empty, not to receive again, but so that I can have two empty hands for serving. For helping. For literally digging in to community.
What if my hands were filled with goodness, love, friendship, growth, and all of those good things, filled to overflowing for awhile to give me the strength and courage to live with empty hands for awhile. It isn’t easy to keep hands open and empty. We are always wanting, always reaching and grasping and taking. It is human nature. I am no exception. But God showed me the image in my head: a beautiful and lovely image of hands reached to the sky, touched with grace, mercy, and strength… held up day after day in front of God, on bended knee, offered to Him for His use and good purposes.
Maybe “empty” hands aren’t empty at all.
Not empty at all.
inCourage Community: Christian Singleness
I talk a lot about community here. I talk a lot about digging into life and setting down roots and really embracing the fellowship of the family of God. But I don’t talk too terribly often about Christian single-ness. I don’t usually talk about being the one who sits alone in church, or who watches Netflix on Friday nights or how often I practice the art of buying myself flowers 😛
Christian Singleness. Even saying it makes you cringe right? There is so much stigma surrounding singleness in our culture: if you’re “secular” and single—it’s great and you are pretty much given a free pass (unless you happen to be Prince Harry. Ahem.) If you’re Christian and single, and “of marriageable age,” (whatever people seem to think that means these days) they are constantly asking you if you have a boyfriend/ring/wedding date yet.
This is where (in)Courage Community sessions step in. (in)Courage is one of the ministries of DaySpring, and they rock! They are starting a series of 40 community group sessions on different ‘seasons’ of life, different journeys and places along the Christian road, and asking leaders to encourage others along the way. They paired me up with Julie. Julie and I…well, we’re single girls, and we have been for awhile. We’re different ages and stages in our own lives, and we live on opposite sides of the country. But we’re hoping to build a community of like-minded women who want to approach Christian single-ness, not on tiptoes around stigma, but by embracing it with a heart of compassion and purpose.
We understand that this season–it isn’t just a season of waiting. Yes, we wait, but we are also preparing, growing, encouraging, and…working on contentment. We’re single. But that doesn’t mean we have to be lonely, hurt, jaded, bitter, unhappy, stagnant, waiting for life to begin, or any of those things. God still works in single people’s lives, friends. God still gives us tasks to accomplish, people to love and nourish, lives to build into…he gives us tough lessons to learn and he gives us MANY, MANY blessings. We’re here to encourage each other in this time. Let’s make it a fruitful time, so that we aren’t wasting it wishing and waiting. We can wait purposefully and with intention.
The first session runs October 2nd-December 2nd and doesn’t require any commitment from you. That just means that Julie and I will be actively participating in our group, offering encouragement in our unique ways, and seeking to connect with you. This is all so exciting!
Join our community on Facebook!
We can’t wait to get to know you.
We can’t wait to get to know you.
Psst….If our group/season of life isn’t the one for you, find the rest of them here!
Bittersweet
My dear church family threw me a party with the theme of Bittersweet. You know? The beautiful fall vine/berry that is red and orange? I’ve always loved it.
Photo by Chelsea of Frolic Blog from Here
And of course a “Bittersweet” theme is just perfect for a farewell party this time of year. They had orange tablecloths, vases full of bittersweet, and the most beautifully decorated cake with Bittersweet piped on. So pretty! I was totally a crying mess.
Cake decorating skillz by one of my favorite people from church!
Hmmm…
My cousin had this darling polka-dot dress and I just had to ask her if she’d mind if I got one! Isn’t it the cutest!?
Of course, I had to have the party earrings—the bling, if you will, to kick this outfit up a notch.
It’s hard to leave such precious friendship.
But everyone has really sent me off with a lot of love (and photographs, handmade presents, little travel things, chocolates, and more) to carry me forward.
Bittersweet, indeed.
Book Swap
I joined in a fun blog book swap this month! I’m always searching for real connection in the blog world, so something like this is the perfect way to join in and get to know more bloggers.
PLUS, it means I got a PACKAGE in the MAIL! Bonus!
{Reading with coffee. So wonderful}
Christen form An Unordinary Hello got my name! I love her blog name & design, so cute. She sent me a (big) novel called “Belong to Me” which I’m a few chapters into so far. Definitely enjoying it!
She also wrote me a really sweet note and sent me this beautiful bookmark:
She knew I am moving and hoping to start my own business, so this quote was so appropriate and I love all of the pretty charms. Did I mention she put an OWL sticker on my package?! I think that might have been my favorite little detail. 🙂
THANK YOU CHRISTEN!
and thanks, Kaylee, for hosting the book swap!
So much fun.
P.S. I sent You’re Already Amazing
to Jessa over at Life of a Sports Wife. Read her post about it here!
I Have No Words for A Title
Legit talking to my neighbor.
Blazer collar legit popped.
Overeager camera face.
Slightly more normal.
See the color flecks in the blazer? Love.
I’ve been so busy lately preparing for my move and working on a few other projects.
I cleared my desk at work today.
Just a phone, box of tissues, message book, and stapler remained and I packed up my favorite mug, my bowl of chocolates, my robin’s egg blue desk accessories.
I think I’ve gone and packed up all of my words tonight, too, because I can’t find many.
{see: post title}
Autumn Thankfulness
I know it isn’t even close to Thanksgiving yet. But my heart, despite its see-saw of emotions about moving, is thankful. I wanted to take a moment to encourage you today. I know it’s a busy day…I am two steps behind, too! Let’s just take a breather together…
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if you have any grievance against another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
And over all these virtues, put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body we are called to pursue peace.
And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.
~Colossians 3:14-16
I LOVE those verses today. They speak to me on so many levels. First off, they remind me to be filled with the traits that make me beautiful in God’s eyes. They remind me of how we should behave, and live our lives so that others know something is different with us, and see Jesus in our lives. They remind me to let go of petty things. And they remind me to be thankful. They remind me to sit at the throne of God, as if I were a little girl sitting at the foot of daddy’s La-Z-Boy, and to praise. To come to Him singing, with gratitude in my heart.
Remember that photo above? Here it is again just in case:
This summer, a block down the street from me, my neighbor’s house caught fire and burnt entirely to the ground. They barely escaped with their lives, let alone any earthly possessions. The pile of rubble remains and every time I walk by it, I pause, to pray and reflect. My eyes scan and I pick out pieces of their lives…a red tennis shoe, a tea kettle, books, flannel shirts. Useless now.
And the burnt leaves of the trees are still scattered along my own yard, mingled with the brightly colored foliage too. Here I am, packing up all of my pretty things to move, contemplating the worth of my earthly possessions, weighing them in my head with the things God tells us to cultivate and to seek.
I am thankful, ever so grateful, for the blessings God has given me to enjoy on this earth. I am thankful that He blessed me with a heart that leaps up in excitement and joy over beauty.
But I remember, too, that those things are temporary.
Do not invest your heart in things of this world, my loves. Fires, moths, rust, and floods destroy oh so easily. What you keep in your heart is eternal.
Seek to fill your heart with kindness, compassion, humility, gentleness, forgiveness, patience, peace, love, and songs of praise and gratitude.
Ugglebo Clogs for Autumn
What says Autumn more than….
Tights! Sweaters!
Mustard yellow!
Burgundy! Tights!
Hmmm…what else?
Vintage tote bags with a bird pattern?
Yes.
Am I missing something?
OH! YES! Clogs!
These beautiful handmade-in-Sweden clogs are beautiful heirloom pieces. The quality is outstanding. The leather is gorgeous and soft, the wood is solid, the construction is old-fashioned, handmade, generations-worthy, well-done work. They have been made the same way in the same little Swedish factory since 1965. I love the way these “rock” when I walk. See that pretty cut of the wood where it meets the sole? Gorgeous. Ugglebo means “Owls Nest” in Swedish, hence their adorable owl logo.
My one sadness when it comes to Ugglebo clogs is that they run extremely narrow. I had originally picked out these stunning babies:
You can see the beautiful that eggplant color of the “Berry” Lisbon clogs. I very dearly wanted to keep them but they were simply too narrow. I just had to send them back in favor of the Etnas you see above, and I sized up. Unfortunately, that means my Etnas are about 1/2 size too big to fit the width of my (pretty-average) foot. The super wonderful customer service representative assured me they were working hard to get their sizing appropriate so we can all wear all of their beautiful clogs. Until then, I figure I’ll be wearing socks inside them soon enough 🙂
Above image courtesy Ugglebo clogs
Friends, if you need some great-looking, comfortable, beautiful clogs for fall and winter, I highly recommend Ugglebo! I have several pairs of Swedish clogs, and these are incredibly beautiful and feel more “solid” that my others. Not only that, but the customer service is unparalleled (especially compared with a more well-known Swedish company based in Sweden with a rather distasteful slogan).
Thank you, Ugglebo!
Disclaimer: Ugglebo sent me these clogs free of charge for review, and the words, pictures & opinions are my own. The links are not affiliate links. Thanks, Ugglebo!
A Little Bit Ivy League
I love a good collegiate style.
A little bit Ivy League with the (fake)Ostrich purse, the stripes, plaid, and pearls.
This time of year makes me really miss school. I just adore the architecture, the libraries, the tradition and the activity on a crisp fall day on campus.
It’s filled with a feeling of beginning again and excitement mixed with purpose.
Wow.
That sounds like exactly what I’m going for in life right now.
What’s better for Back to School than Pumpkin Spice Lattes? In the spirit of saving money, I made this do-it-at-home version and it is yummy, cheap, and easy. If you love Pumpkin Spice Lattes, I recommend you try this (and please, for my sake, try the whipped cream, since I didn’t have any handy).
And it matches my ’70s Norwegian mug. So it’s win-win.
PS. Shorts under skirt + fingertip rule, promise 🙂