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hospitality

A Healing Home

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I savored the sweet Christmas days of husband home, seven* upstairs sleeping, children creating, the couch holding us often, the mornings starting late, frequent visitors, and a messy home. And just when I began anticipating the days of the new year, my body surrendered to a virus. The aching from head to toe kind. I stay in bed. I surface only to satisfy my role as chef and referee. But mostly I rest. In my loud, active, busy home I wait for healing. I want the kind of home that heals. That gathers the hurting and nurses their wounds. And […]

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Gifting {with a heart of hospitality}

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Tis the season of giving and receiving. The very heart of hospitality. And knowing how to do both with grace is a gift in and of itself. I love to give gifts. My favorite ones to give are the I saw this and thought of you ones, given on normal days. Just because. I also love gift wrapping. It’s kind of silly to make a fuss over paper and bows when they’re merely untied, ripped off and usually thrown away (unless you’re my sweet grandmother who saves every bit). Above is a picture of the fun I had in Michaels […]

Heartland Hospitality

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There are very few shows worth writing about. Heartland is one of them. It’s a Canadian TV drama, loosely based on the Heartland books by Lauren Brookes. We started watching it last year on the recommendation of the dear Stockman’s. We love the story we’re living, but we also enjoy getting lost in fictional stories together, extracting truths and discussing the examples of love and struggle witnessed between the characters. The backdrop is beautiful Alberta. The environment is a family farm. And the interaction happens between a family and their community. And if that’s not enough to grab my attention, […]

Be Awkard

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There’s an uncomfortableness when initiating meaningful moments. Not sure why. But surely you know the feeling I’m talking about. The moment when you want to pray for someone, but you hesitate because it feels awkward. Or when you think it would be good to take a conversation to a deeper level, but you’re afraid others won’t join you. Or you gather as a small group and you hate to interrupt the social, and you’re not quite sure how to transition to the devotional. Maybe these moments are awkward because we wish they would initiate themselves, naturally occur without us trying. […]

Holes

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We’ve given up chocolate. Or coffee. Or Facebook. We’re doing without meat. Or complaining. Or Sugar. And in this giving up, there are empty places left behind. The instinct of our flesh will be to fill those holes with something it wants. Something it convinces us we need. If we gave up chocolate, we’ll increase our sugar or find comfort in something else sweet. If we gave up Facebook, it’s likely we’ll spend more time on Pinterest. If we gave up coffee, we’ll probably find another drink that satisfies the thirst of our flesh. If we gave up meat, there’s […]

Hospitable Politics

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God never intended his holy people to be ruled by an earthly leader. His heart for them was something different than the reality of the rest of the world. His longing for them, and what he called them to, was holiness – to be set apart for his purposes. But Israel rejected God’s will for them. They wanted to be like the surrounding nations. They wanted to be lead by a strong king more than a faithful God. And God hears the prayers of his people. He is a living and active God who makes known his will, but doesn’t […]

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Our Maine Environment

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After weeks of sickness and pushing through the darkness to find the light, we finally receive our reward.  Two friends who share a birthday. Just two days apart…and ten years. We dropped off 7 children to spend the weekend with Aunts and Grandparents. Met at the airport with handsome husbands in the lead and only one darling baby to keep us from forgetting who we really are – parents. We depart for Maine, and the lovely Kismet Inn. From the dead, bleak, cold of winter we enter into Shadi’s home. A home of life, color and warmth (which had very […]