Sweet Sabbath

Yes, we need the rudder of the left brain, but without the current of our right brain, our boat goes nowhere. ~Curt Thompson, M.D., "The Anatomy of the Soul"

With all of the left brain tasks to be accomplished and long "to do" lists looming, sometimes I need the reminder to allow my right brain to soak up and enjoy God's creation of so many beautiful things.

Wedding Weekend

 In an age hostile to the keeping of promises, 

may you stand side-by-side, defending always and with great passion your holy pledge to one another;

 and may your souls be shaped, through joy and sorrow alike, 

by long obedience to those good promises.

May your love for one another overflow in blessing to all who have the joy of knowing you.

May the world be better loved because of your passion for each other.

May the flame of your love never wane, but burn ever fiercer across the years,

that even in old age you would remain well springs of one another's delight.

May your home be ever a haven of tenderness.

May you never retreat from one another in your woundedness.

Rather, when you feel most vulnerable, when you feel most hurt, 

may you learn in those moments most of all, to lean in to your love, 

holding it all the more precious for the sacrifices it requires.

May your shared story be one of courage and creativity, 

of conviction and compassion as you co-labor in the light of that better kingdom of which you are true citizens.  

Along your path through this life, may you build together bright beacons,

 that those generations still to follow might one day walk 

in your illuminated footprints towards that eternal city.

from "Every Moment Holy"

Prelude to a Wedding

I will argue that it is only through this process of being known that you come to know yourself and learn how to know others.  There is no other way.  To be known is to be pursued, examined, and shaken.  To be known is to be loved and to have hopes and even demands placed on you.  It is to risk, not only the furniture in your home being rearranged, but your floor plans being rewritten, your walls being demolished and reconstructed.

~Dr. Curt Thompson, "Anatomy of the Soul"

Staying an entire week for the wedding festivities was cheaper than only five or six nights, so the Monday before Hannah and Benjamin's wedding we hit the road for Des Moines.  Our first stop was to eat lunch with Bree, my friend and personal trainer.  Pho Thanh provided a refreshing visit!

We always look for local coffee shops for pit stops along the way, and we found a cute one in Butler, MO, Cafe Affogato.  Coffee and ice cream are always a good combination.

Speaking of ice cream, another good place for a stretch is the tried and true Dairy Queen.  Their mini blizzards were exactly right to refuel and hit the road again.  I always get the turtle pecan cluster, but Aaron tried the very cherry chip and Katherine enjoyed the drumstick Blizzard.

We stayed in an old house that reminded me so much of the one in which I grew up, with push button lights and creaky floors.  The Air BnB was on the same property as Dogpatch Urban Garden, so we had fresh, local produce at our fingertips!

Nearby, a "rails to trails" conservancy gave us a beautiful place to go move each morning.

The rest of family joined us on Tuesday, which isn't a small thing, considering several of them are taking classes and working this summer.  Our time together was precious.

And fun.  And full of more ice cream.

More friends and family began to trickle in,

and wedding preparation began in earnest.  Hannah and Benjamin kept everything simple and easy, and one of my favorite things was to get rid of the traditional first dance (father of the bride/bride and mother of the groom/groom) and replace it with their arrangement of a popular song.  Hannah's dad and I played along as Hannah and Benjamin sang.

But at our first rehearsal, I realized that my rockstop was still in Arkansas.

Thankfully, Becker Violin Shop had them in stock, and their store was close to our Air BnB.

Katherine and I drooled as we admired all of the beautiful instruments on display.

 

The days leading up to the wedding were full of food prep for the rehearsal dinner, 

trips to the gym wth my favorite exercise buddy,

more rehearsals,

a baseball game with my brother and sister-in-law,

who came all the way from Maine!

and carving out pockets of time for those who needed to log some office hours.

June "Pieces of Art"

June was a hodge podge of living to glorify God in a myriad of ways.  I love the idea that we are "pieces of art, designed to be beautiful and thus draw attention to our artist".

Katherine is taking full advantage of opportunities to practice her driving.  Aaron is a super patient driving instructor.  He taught each of our kids how to drive, and when we were in college, he even taught me how to drive a standard!

Father's Day was a sweet time to gather with our extended family, especially since my brother celebrated his first Father's Day with a new little one.

In our fridge during summertime, you will always find a pitcher of cold brew coffee,  And some June days were nice enough to teach cello lessons outside.

We picked what seemed like millions of peaches, ate bunches, froze some, 

and dehydrated the rest.

An unexpected text gave us the opportunity to gather with multiple generations of cousins as they were passing through town. Nothing like an impromptu pizza party to facilitate catching up with some sweet people.

 

Sweet Sabbath

I believe our lives will be abundant, joyful, and peaceful only to the degree that we are engaged, known, and understood by one another.  I also believe we cannot separate what we do with our brains and our relationships from what we do with God.  God has designed our minds, part of his good creation, in invite us to a deeper, more secure, more courageous relationship with him and with one another.

~Dr. Curt Thompson, "Anatomy of the Soul"

Pump up the praise music (can't go wrong with Shane and Shane) and spend some time pursuing that more courageous relationship with the Lord and with others today.

 

Don't Go Chasing Waterfalls

Maybe we were foolish, but we decided to make our first waterfall chasing adventure with friends.

After talking back and forth for weeks about distance and difficulty, we settled on a "difficult bushwhack" that wasn't terribly long.  And we brought our bushknife.

The directions were simple, something like go down the driveway, through the pasture, into the woods.  Except I think we found the wrong driveway.  

We did pause and ask for permission.  The guy we found in a camper trailer was kind and gave his assent to go find the waterfall "down in the holler".  We found the top of one of the waterfalls, but couldn't figure out how to get down the sheer face of rock to look for the other waterfalls in the ravine.

Our friends headed home, and we drove to a popular (and much easier) waterfall, the Glory Hole.

Even with only a little water, the area shone with God's creativity and delight.

On the way back, after a long day of hiking and climbing and sweating, we really needed a pit stop and some refueling.  We found the Ozone Burger Barn to be the perfect place for both!

 

Friday Favorite Five

 1) Revive Our Hearts recently posted a series about three primary idols of the heart...comfort, control, and approval. Ouch.  Thought provoking and soul searching reads.

2) We're rough on measuring spoons and cups around here because we use them multiple times throughout the day.  Even with fewer people in the house, we still cook often, so several sets are nestled in our drawer.  But when I snapped another plastic handle off, I knew it was time to add a metal set to our arsenal.  I'm super excited about this colorful measuring set and anticipating it bringing much joy to our kitchen!

3) Tim Ernst's "Arkansas Waterfalls" and "Ozark Highland Trails Guide".  We are having SO MUCH fun discovering this part of Arkansas that we've never seen. 

4) Monteau women's clothing.  Katherine is still growing like a weed.  And as I'm doing more strength training, my body is changing shape.  So we recently hit up TJ Maxx to find some clothes that wouldn't break the bank and found that Monteau fit our curves well.  Some of the necklines are lower than we would like, so those went back on the rack or got some adjusting at home.  Shopping is not one of my favorite things, but I look forward to seeking out this brand the next time we need some new clothes.

5) Sally Lloyd-Jones summer book activities and summer boredom busters.  Makes me want to have little ones around again, but we will still explore her fabulous suggestions even with the old people that live under our roof.