Cheering on Friends!

Good morning! I'm popping in this morning with a few links to upcoming things that might be of interest to you. I know how great it is when someone shares something they love and as a writer, I am turning into a cheerleader for other writers when their books come out!

First, I wanted to let you know that applications are being accepted for the Writing With Grace Mastermind group with Ann Swindell. This is the writing group I have been privileged to be part of this year and I am so so grateful for what this year has done for me in my writing and just for me personally. Would love to share this with you and maybe you will know someone who could benefit from this sweet opportunity for women of God who feel the nudge to write for His glory.

Next, I want to tell you about a couple of books coming out in the months ahead!

Dianne Jago, wife and homeschooling mom, is the founder of Deeply Rooted magazine and I love her heart for truth and the Word of God. Her first book A Holy Pursuit: How the Gospel Frees Us to Follow and Lay Down our Dreams comes out in March 2020.

I appreciate Dianne's refreshing honesty and wholehearted pursuit of the Lord.

The second book I've pre-ordered for myself is Ruth Chou Simons coming book Beholding and Becoming: The Art of Everyday Worship coming out in September! I'm so excited about this book as I love the blend of truth and beauty in Ruth's books and her heart for preaching truth to our own hearts as well.

Ok, one more book I'd love you to know about is Beauty Maker! Lord willing, coming in August - I am excited to share this work with you that I've had in my heart since before Slow Lane was published! If you are interested in knowing more about my update, you can join my prayer team by subscribing to my newsletter in the margin at right or checking out my Facebook group for my prayer warriors.

*Amazon affiliate links provided for the two pre-order books.

Neighbor Ice Cream Social

Inviting neighbors over is always something I want to be brave enough to do! My sister has beautifully inspired me over the years by hosting her neighbors on her porch each summer for ice cream. Last year, I felt almost convicted to reach out and then over-thought it and never followed through so I knew it was something I wanted to make an effort to do this summer.

Rachel and I made these adorable invitations (template here) and delivered them to a portion of our neighborhood - there are too many houses for us to invite everyone at once but there is a nice section closest to us that felt manageable.

During the hottest part of the day one afternoon, Rachel and I gathered the cute invites into a basket and headed out to stick these on our neighbors doors.

I found myself feeling so thankful that she was with me and we were in it together! I mean, just having the company and she marched right up to each door, while Scout and I followed, and used cute washi tape to pin these to the door. One elderly neighbor was sitting in his garage and I hung back a bit because of not wanting to stir up their dogs with ours, I heard him read the invite aloud and then Rachel's sweet voice saying she looked forward to seeing him there. How that sweetness challenges me and encourages me!

Of course you know I just can't help it - I have to do it up cute! I ordered these bowls and spoons on Amazon.

A few fun photos of our set up! We had a few neighbors come and it was a nice and relaxing evening! Have you ever hosted your neighbors for anything? Tell me about it!

*Amazon affiliate links provided in this post.

Peachy Memories

Sticky summery days beckon us to the sweet juiciness of the fresh fruit department. Boxes, crates and trays of assorted colors, tastes and shapes await our partaking.

This particular visit, my daughter and I were drawn by the peaches - their aroma inviting us closer. The low price per pound was also enticing and we selected fruit by raising it to our noses and inhaling deeply, inspecting for bruises and gently pressing with our fingertips for tenderness.

Purchase made, bagged and transported home - I wanted to let them continue to ripen a few days, so gently placed them in a robin's egg blue colander where they became a work of art and beauty. Their scent sparked a memory from my childhood and I was transported to a charming brick apartment building in St. Louis where we would go visit my Grandma.

The ripening peaches put me in her small kitchen where I knew I would find the book shaped cup saved form my Mom's childhood, chip dip chilling in the fridge, Sara Lee coffee cake in the freezer and, yes, a bowl of fruit on the shelf by a half wall of glass cubes dividing the kitchen and dining room.

My Grandma is a beauty maker and beauty lover like me - or rather I am one like her. Perhaps it is her beauty genes emerging in me now, but everything was always lovely to the eye at her house. Here I knew I would find daisy sheets in the spare room, a drawer with past-their-prime wallets, purses and empty Mary Kay compacts waiting for my sister and I to play with them. Her lavender bedroom with heirloom furniture that I now sleep on every night and the paned windows speaking of a former era where energy efficiency was less promoted.

Then there was the basement - I loved the smooth, cement, echoing stairway leading down to the cool, semi-lit open space for storage and laundry. The smell of the basement was like dryer sheets, an older building, history and treasures waiting to be discovered and I loved it.

The smell of the peaches did all this for me in just a few minutes - one thought leading to the next and I could probably keep going. So when my daughter walks by our burlap and twine colored countertops to comment on how good the peaches smell - I wonder what that will bring to her mind in the future when passes a bowl of ripening peaches?

Darkness and Light

I found myself sitting beneath a canopy of trees and the deepening sky of late evening around the dwindling campfire. Embers glowed hot and white, lightning bugs sparkled whimsically through the trees and Emily climbed into the hammock.

A book in my lap and a candle lit on the weathered picnic table and all I could think about was how cozy this felt. Completely at peace and rest, comforted by the small glowy lights of deep blue sky going to sleep for the night and the warmth of both fire and candlelight.

Sitting alone but not feeling alone, it is hard to describe.

The next morning, I read 1 John 1:5-7 in my Quiet Time:

"This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin."

It doesn't take much light to stand out in the darkness - notice the little bit of light in the sky and the little candlelight in the night. But I am encouraged because God is light and there is no darkness in Him! Light beckons and welcomes, it is warm and inviting, comforting and an acknowledgement that someone else turned the light on or lit the candle in advance.

For further thought: Am I allowing any darkness to hinder my fellowship with Him? Consider the phrase practice the truth, how do I practice the truth?

Adventures at Camp Cozy

Adventures at Camp Cozy