January isA clean white sheet, newly-ironedAn empty page:A field of freshly-fallen snowWaiting to be mappedBy our footsteps.– John Foster Hello, mid-January! As mentioned, I’ve taken these first days of the year to set new rhythms. All of January (and likely part of February as well!) is my “January 1st.” I love these first days of the year and the opportunity to be made new through new habits and intentional choices. It’s fun to try new things! Affiliate links are used…
“New Year’s Day is a good time to fix one’s eyes on the only One who knows what the year is to hold.” — Elisabeth Elliot Like my friend Erin, I, too, feel like I’m tiptoeing into 2024, taking it slow and carefully considering each step. You, too? December was full: a month of loss, continuing to recover from surgery, doing the holidays with as much meaningful intention as I could muster, and hosting family. I didn’t have my usual…
‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.’ Yes, indeed. 2023 was the year I grieved my Dad through all the first anniversaries (the anniversary of his baptism, Father’s Day, his birthday, the anniversary of his death, etc.), the year we renovated our health, my first year as a full-time homemaker, and—among many other significant experiences—the year my best friend breathed her last. This year was the hardest, and it was, at the same time, the most fruitful…
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,In the bleak midwinter long ago.Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain;Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign.– Christina Rosetti I’m in an airport, on my way to be with my best friend from home, who went into hospice last night. It all happened so fast. At the beginning of last month, we had a long conversation about what matters in life. We talked about death…
Our twilight month November is,The evening of the year.The brilliant summer noontide leftA pallor soft and clear.– “November” by Ruby Archer October brought autumn delights: changing leaves, fall seedlings in the garden, new birds at our feeders, and our last trip of the year: a long weekend in a 100-year-old house on a little island with no cars. Ari and I both remarked that there’s something dream-like about this little spot on the island – it holds a quietness that…