Category: the shelves

grateful

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So it’s Friday and our week has been b u s y, tumultuous, happy, and emotional.  We look forward to our Friday ritual tonight of homemade (gluten-free) pizzas and a movie of the kid’s choosing.  We look forward to a weekend, to rest and worship.  We give thanks.

Phoebe began her homeschool co-op on Monday, and so we began our own schooling this week as well.  It has been really good and really awkward at times, too, just trying to establish some new rhythms and figure out how navigate these new waters.  There have already been moans and groans, there have been a multitude of interruptions from two little ones underfoot.  There have been potty accidents as Philippa slowly attempts potty training.  Phoebe and I are both loving it, though, and my heart is filled with thanks!  We have had time to cover a lot of material this week, but also play soccer, ride bikes, play outside, go to the pool, run our usual errands, snuggle together and read, begin a nature journal, press flowers, bake and cook.  Schoolwork is sprinkled throughout, and informal learning is emphasized as much as more formal schooling.  The younger two kids usually join us for the beginning of our morning work, doing their own little puzzles or coloring worksheets, before scattering off to play.  What a privilege and a blessing that we get to do it this way!  I don’t want to take it for granted for a second.  This is high and holy work!

Phoebe had a bad bike accident on Wednesday around lunch time, all of us cruising back home on our bikes after playing “soccer” at a nearby field.  She lost control of her bike and I watched in horror as her bike went down and she slammed her face into the pavement.  I grabbed her and saw her front teeth all bent back toward her throat, her mouth bleeding profusely, and we jumped immediately in the van and headed to urgent care.  After a thorough check and a visit to her dentist, we breathed great thanks to a faithful God who protected her from serious injury!  She will loose her front three teeth soon as a result, and she is bruised and scraped, but for the most part is already carrying on in her usual activities.

This morning she had her year check-up after receiving her diagnosis of Celiac disease last July.  She has gained three pounds in the last three months, which is HUGE for our little tiny girl.  She has gained almost 10 pounds in the past year!  Her BMI has increased, and she is in the 20th percentile for weight, which is a first!  We are full of praise once again to our God who has helped us all the way, and who continues to lead us as we seek Phoebe’s health and full recovery.

In all the muddled ordinary of life, it is easy for me to adopt a complaining or entitled heart.  It is easy, natural even, for me to miss the moments of extravagant grace hidden in these everyday moments, even the ugly ones.

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thess. 5:18)

I don’t want to give in to what is natural, I want a supernatural life, something that can’t be explained apart from the grace of God.  I desire for Him to do this kind of work in me.  I want my children to see their mother pursuing deep roots in Jesus, to see their mother turning her heart back to praise, to see their mother making time for creativity, reflection, truth, and beauty.

Gratitude: A Prayer and Praise Coloring Journal arrived on my doorstep this week, a beautiful summons to slow down, to return to the simple yet profound act of giving thanks.  It couldn’t have been more timely, after the sort of week we’ve had, brim-full with opportunity to worry, complain, grumble, and give in to exhaustion.  I’m excited to dig into this new-to-me format of coloring, of slowing, of turning my mind and heart to thanks, of lingering over scripture and meditating on the simple and profound healing balm.  This journal is absolutely stunning, sturdy, quality pages, simple yet arresting designs, bringing scripture to life and giving it feet.  I pray that for me it is just one simple tool that helps me keep my eyes fixed on Jesus as I go through each day’s work.  Maybe it would be a helpful tool to you, too?  If so, this little journal releases in just a few days (Sept. 1).

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This post contains affiliate links.  

Thanks to Tyndale Publishers for a complimentary copy of this beautiful journal in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions expressed are my own.

yarn along

MarthaKimball5 Comments

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I cast on for these “favourite socks” a couple of weeks ago for myself.  I’ve been wanting to knit myself a pair of socks since I knit some for everyone in my family last Christmas and never got around to doing a pair for me.  I have primarily been working on a sweater for my nephew but realized this morning after splitting for sleeves that my stitch count was so far off that I ripped the whole thing out to start over.  These socks are sort of my happy selfish knitting project when other things I am working on hit a stand-still.  Thank goodness for multiple WIPs.

I am still reading Teaching From Rest and loving it, challenged by it already just in regards to parenting.  Moments and Days: How our Holy Celebrations Shape our Faith is absolutely excellent so far.  It came in the mail for review and I didn’t plan to start reading it but I couldn’t put it down, drawn immediately into the noise and smells and fray of modern-day Jerusalem and the story of a Chosen People set apart by their Sabbath rest.  Written by a Jewish woman who became a Christ-follower in her teens, she explains the Jewish calendar and the church calendar from her Jewish perspective.  She writes about the feasts and festivals of the Jewish people and shows how each one finds their fulfillment in Christ.  I’m very interested in her perspective that time is not merely something we are supposed to measure, but that it is a gift to us, that time measures us, in fact.

Linking up with Ginny’s weekly yarn along where we share what we are currently knitting + reading.

yarn along

MarthaKimball4 Comments

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I’m working on the second sleeve of this baby gown for my friend’s baby boy due in October.  It has been such an enjoyable and fast knit, and so cozy!  Since the pattern came as a bundle of three different patterns, I plan to cast on the sweater version for my nephew’s birthday coming up later this month.  My first sweater!

Also, I finished Come to the Family Table (I reviewed it in my last post), and have started Teaching from Rest per the recommendation of one of my best friends.  I’m underlining it constantly and thankful to be immersing my heart in these truths before beginning school for the first time in a couple of weeks.  Deep breath.

I’m linking up with Ginny’s weekly yarn along to share what we’re reading + knitting.

 

Come to the Family Table

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If you’ve been around my blog for any time at all or know me in real life, you know I value the table and the ministry of good food.  In fact, I have dedicated a portion of this blog to “the table” (see sidebar).  As a busy mother of three little ones ages 5 and under, meal time can easily be hectic, loud, and disconnected.  My home often seems too shabby or dirty to invite others into.  In our culture addicted to “busy” and “hustle,” meal time can essentially be nonexistent, with family’s running through drive-throughs and inhaling food as they race from one commitment to another.  Even in the Christian culture, I wonder if meal time and gathering  in one another’s homes has become sort of a lost art, a lost way of communing together, seen maybe as less valuable than serving in our local church.  Have we forgotten how often Jesus met with others around a table spread with food?  How often hearts were opened around a table?  That is what drew me to Ted and Amy Cunningham’s book, Come to the Family Table, my own hunger to reconnect with a very simple and seemingly lost ministry.

The message is Jesus, and the tool is the table.  The table is still the place where we bring uncommon people together.  God uses the home and our table to bring different backgrounds together, whether rich or poor, conservative or liberal, regardless of religion or past or present.  We are all about inviting people to church, but what about inviting people into our homes?  Around the dinner table walls come down.  This is the beauty of hospitality.  God can use you and your home.  (Cunningham, Come to the Family Table)

The book is organized into two main sections.  The first five chapters make up part I of the book, which centers around “the family table is for us.”  These chapters lay the biblical foundation for savoring meals as a family around the table, practical tips on how to make meal time a priority, and even talk about developing a family constitution.  The last five chapters of the book make up part II, centering around the idea that “the family table is for others.”  The authors discuss hospitality, giving simple tips and also encouraging consideration that gathering around the table with others might be a powerful way to invest in the marriages and families of others.  Each chapter ends with a recipe, a game or conversation guide for meal time, as well as an appropriate devotional and prayer.

I loved the way the authors focused on the family table (even in a restaurant setting) as a way to first reach out to each other in our core family, but then also as a way to reach out to all of those around us.  Rather than seeing our time around the table as a chore to hurry through or a meaningless physical experience, authors Ted + Amy Cunningham redeem the table as a powerful tool for kingdom work and ministry.  Ultimately, they reveal that the family table is a way to savor and enjoy Jesus.  This book is full of tools, tips, recipes, games, conversation starters, ideas for hosting and ministering to hurting friends and loved ones, ways to include and value children at the table, and so forth.  The recipes include are simple and wholesome: blueberry lemon muffins, chicken soup, zucchini coconut bars, one-pot apple cider chicken bake, giant stuffed meatballs, sweet or savory crepes, to name a few.

This would be a great book for those longing to reclaim mealtime as a time to slow down and reconnect with each other.  This book would be a great help for newlyweds who are just beginning to think about opening up their home and practicing hospitality.  This book would be a fun and easy read for a husband and wife and a way to discuss dreams and goals for their home.  I also believe this book would be a great encouragement to families who feel they have little time to minister to others, a reminder that serving God truly can be as simple as a cool glass of water to a person in need given in Jesus’ name.  The Cunningham’s writing was light, helpful, humorous, welcoming, Christ-exalting, simple and yet packed with meaning.  I felt as if I had been invited to their family table.  I thoroughly enjoyed this quick read and will definitely be reflecting on it for some time to come.

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Thanks to Tyndale Publishers for a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions expressed are my own.

 

yarn along

MarthaKimball3 Comments

DSC_0015.jpgI finished the sunsuit over the weekend and need to sew on buttons and block, meanwhile I’m knitting the matching bonnet.  I absolutely love this set and want to knit one for philippa too!  So many ideas, so many things to knit, so little time.  I’m hoping to finish this up by this week and send it off to my cousin who requested it as a baby gift for a friend.

I finished The Light between Oceans over the weekend, too, and had a good cry.  I almost gave up reading it a couple of times, admittedly, just because it was painful to read in some ways, but I’m glad I saw it through to the end.  It was a good book, and I’m excited to see the movie now.

I picked up Come to the Family Table, a book I’m reviewing for the publisher, and am a few chapters in.  It’s about resisting the haste of our current day and age, returning to a slower existence around the table as a family, nurturing relationships there, savoring Jesus there. I am already getting some fun ideas to implement in our own home.  Each chapter ends with a simple recipe and an easy game to play as a family around the table as well as a devotional to share.  It would be a great book to read with your husband together, fairly light and easy reading, but my husband isn’t one to read books with me.  I have been bouncing ideas off of him though as I go, and it’s brought some interesting conversation. I asked him the other night if he felt like we have a “refreshing” home, and what is it like for him when he walks in the door from work at the end of the day.  He snorted, which launched us into some good natured teasing and laughter.  Humor goes a long way in these kinds of discussions!  We are looking for the first time to buy our very own home, so it’s neat to be reading this book and thinking about the layout of the kitchen/dining area, and how the layout affects my ability to slow down and enjoy a meal, as well as how it might affect guests.  Little things like that can make a big difference.

I’m linking up with Ginny’s weekly yarn along to share what we’re knitting + reading!

 

 

yarn along

MarthaKimball4 Comments

DSC_0027.jpgStill reading The Light Between Oceans and enjoying it, heart-wrenching though it be.

I cast on the bonsai sunsuit as a little commissioned project for a friend.  I’ve finished the bloomers portion except for the ribbing around the leg openings and am starting on the bib.  Can I just say how much I enjoy knitting baby items?  I haven’t knit much with cotton aside from dishcloths.  I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about it, but I’m liking this yarn so far.  It’s super soft and I like the feel of it knitted up.

Joining up with Ginny + her weekly yarn along today to share what we’re currently reading + knitting!

 

 

a couple of books

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I am months behind in posting reviews on these two books.  (Eek!)

 

Wild & Free by Jess Connolly and Hayley Morgan

I took this one on my anniversary backpacking trip with Brandon and really savored reading it in the quiet of the wilderness.  The subtitle for this one reads: A hope-filled anthem for the woman who feels she is both too much and never enough.  I’m not sure I know a woman who couldn’t resonate with that statement!  Looking out over the landscape of women today, I see many of my sisters held captive and caged by fear, by desires, by the push and pull of culture, by comparison.  I even find that after all these years of walking with Jesus, having come to know Him as a little girl, and then growing up in the church and raised in the Scriptures, these same things often pull me back into bondage in different seasons of my life. This book reminds me of Captivating by Stasi Eldredge, similar message written for a new generation of women.  I feel like the author’s target audience was probably the 20 to 30-something year old woman, and also somewhat directed toward a newer Christian, but I still greatly benefited from reading this!  Who doesn’t need to revisit the truths of our value as women, our identity, the source of our worth, our motivation, and our definition of success?  At first glance, the terms “wild” and “free” both invigorated me and also raised my eyebrows.  But I love the direction the author’s went in defining their terms, grounding them in the gospel:

“If God is wild and if God is free, what does that mean for us?  The answer we’ve landed on is that we believe we have the liberty to walk out our own wild freedom in pursuit of His kingdom, and He will help us as we go.  He is the one who calls us to be wild–walking in who God created us to be.  And He is the one who calls us to be free–resting in what Jesus has done for us.”

The authors talk about their own histories of living “small and scared” and living “defensively,” ways that they struggled to understand the freedom we have in Christ.  The authors are calling for renewed understanding of what it means to be hidden in Christ and to live a life for Him, calling for revival amongst women in the church today.  I think it is an important book and enjoyed reading it.  If you want to read an excerpt, you can find one here.

The Prophetess: Deborah’s Story by Jill Eileen Smith

I finished this one months ago.  I’m not sure why I’ve lagged to post this review because I really enjoyed it!  I read it at a time when I was studying through Judges, and I love to compliment bible study with historical fiction.  I find it breathes new life and perspective into a text that can sometimes seem boring.  It helps me to remember that these people we are reading about in the pages of Scripture were real human beings with emotions and fears and struggles much like my own.

This book is book 2 in a series by Smith entitled “Daughters of the Promised Land,” and after reading it I will probably read the rest of the series.  She writes interestingly and did an impeccable job of telling Deborah’s story with biblical accuracy and a ton of side research on the cultural context.  As such, the story of Deborah truly comes to life and sparked a lot of curiosity and fresh perspective for me in thinking about this intriguing, powerful woman used mightily by God in a time when the people of God were far from Him, entangled in idolatry.  I especially liked the way she imagined and depicted Deborah’s visions and gift of prophecy, as well as Deborah as a woman–both strong and outspoken, yet battling her own fears and humanity, growing in faith and dependence on God.  Deborah was truly a “wild + free” woman!  Smith’s imaginative biblical fiction reminded me of Francine Rivers’ Lineage of Grace series.  Surely a story to get lost in and one I highly recommend!

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Thank you to Revell Publishers + BookLook Bloggers for the opportunity to read these books in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions expressed are my own.

 

yarn along

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I finished my icelandic slips and cast on this week for a sleep sack for one of my best friend’s baby due in the fall.  I really love it so far, almost done with the bodice and about to split for sleeves.  Knitting baby items = pure joy.

Also I began reading The Light Between Oceans because I don’t have enough books going already (ha), but I really do need a good novel.  I’m probably a third of the way through it and enjoying it though it does have some sad elements and the protagonists keep making decisions that give a sense of dread of what is to come in the book.  I guess thats what keeps me reading, though I know heartache is probably ahead.

Joining with Ginny‘s weekly yarn along today.

yarn along

MarthaKimball2 Comments

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I finished the Antarktis shawl for a friend, finished-knit photos to come soon!  My brother and sister-in-law brought me back some Lopi yarn (!!!) from their recent honeymoon to Iceland, so I cast on this week for a simple pair of slippers.  I think they will be so cozy and special because they truly came from Iceland!

I haven’t been doing a lot of reading lately, it seems.  Phoebe and I recently finished up an abridged/illustrated version of Anne of Green Gables during our read-aloud time, and we are five or so chapters into Caddie Woodlawn and enjoying it so far.

Joining with Ginny today to share what we are knitting + reading.

yarn along

MarthaKimball1 Comment

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Hello blogosphere, again!  I really missed you last week while we were away in upstate New York but it was good to disconnect for the week for the most part, aside from posting to instagram.  I have so many pictures and stories to share from our trip, more later this week hopefully!

All week long I’ve been knitting this Antarktis shawl per the request of a friend.  I started it on the drive, had to rip out a couple of times and start over, and am just a few rows from finishing today.  I have love love loved knitting this pattern and working with this yarn and colorway, and I will feel quite sad to let this beauty go.  I think I need to knit one for myself now!  😉

I admit that reading has fallen by the wayside this week in lieu of knitting, but I have been trying to work my way into Classical Christian Education Made Approachable as I peruse resources and prep for beginning home education this fall.  Also, aren’t these flowers lovely??  I picked them up at my favorite farm stand this morning after picking blueberries with the kids.  Sigh.. it’s good to be home.

Joining with Ginny today.