Showing Up on a Friday

Since I sometimes jump on the bandwagon of “Things I’m Loving” on Fridays, I thought it’d be fun to make it fit with this month’s theme.

5 Places I Love Showing Up

1. Home–I love love love coming home.  I love when my little man greets me with a big smile and all sorts of his crazy jumping up and down.  Boaz goes crazy (though, let’s be honest, he loves when anyone comes to the house).  The husband’s there ready with a hug.  My bed is ready for me to crawl into and get cozy.  Home is pretty much one of the best places ever. 

2. Dirt roads–running and walking on dirt roads have been my favorite.  I love showing up there with my shoes on and my phone ready to play music or a podcast.  Showing up to pray and talk to God.  Showing up to take care of my body and push myself to keep running or to listen and slow down to walk

3. A good book–I love setting aside time to read a good book.  Clearly, I’ve been trying to pass on my love for reading to Asher…

4. My journal–I have almost a full shelf of old journals now.  I was given one by someone because they said that good writers often have a journal.  So I started and now I’ve got a lot of them!  They have a mixture of sermon notes, prayers, scripture verses, pictures, and all sorts of random parts about life.  I show up in my rawest form with some intense emotions and write it all out.  I couldn’t find a picture of my journal offhand, but here’s one of my grandma’s journal. 

5. At the airport–I LOVE to travel and showing up at the airport is one of my favorite things.  Take me somewhere new or somewhere old and I’m just happy to board the plane.  I am super excited about our upcoming trip to Africa and to get on that plane (well…a little nervous about the actual flying with a toddler, but the being in Africa as a family–yes, please!).  Here’s a fun picture from my time in Rome!

Pour Out Your Hearts

Trust in Him at all times, o people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. – Psalm 62:8

I love that throughout scripture I see examples of God hearing and answering His people.  He longs for them to cry out to Him and to come to Him.  He asks them to cast their cares on Him.  He binds up their broken hearts.  He knows their sitting and their rising.  He does not act like an indifferent bystander.  He’s working for us and for our good.  So, today, in light of writing that, I’m going to share some of the things that are tucked into my heart and just plain make me happy (besides, Fridays are for happy things!).

1. That husband of mine who does life with me.  He is such a gift.  Such a rock and such an encouragement. The road has been rocky and full of adversity, but I’m grateful that I chose him and am still choosing him…and grateful that he chooses me still.
2. Baby oh baby.  Mr. Asher is pretty much the happiest baby and my goodness I am so blessed and privileged to be able to be his mom.
3. My Lindo. He’s the one I miss and the one who taught me to love little boys so much.  I’m so glad I got to know him and for all the ways he cracked open my heart.  He taught me much and he is part of one of my absolute favorite God stories.
4. My Africa. My heart still beats for this place and for this country.  This is such a both and of happy and the heart wrenching grief of not being there.  This is where I pour out my heart waiting for God to weave this piece back into my life in a bigger way.
5. That crazy Boaz.  He pushed me out of my comfort zone and led me on a path toward more joy, laughter, and lots more snuggling than I could have guessed when I brought him home.
6. Church.  I couldn’t have guessed all the ways being on staff at my church would challenge, encourage, change, and ground me.  There’s so much goodness in being planted in a local church.
7. Community/Friends/People.  The world is so full of so many good, good people and I am so glad I’ve gotten to know and do life with a lot of them!

I think (maybe?) sometimes part of knowing you are the beloved of God is remembering, taking note, and being grateful for the things He has put in your life.  He is good to us.

What has He put in your life that makes you happy?

25 Things

I snagged this from my favorite Vizsla loving blogger because it looked so fun!

1. I’m happiest when…. 1) I’m hanging out with my favorite people (my boys! the husband, my little man, and Boaz) 2) when I’m outside. 3) eating delicious food

2. …Especially if it… 1) involves mountains, the beach, or some kind of adventure!

3. I’ve always wanted to….move back overseas.

4. My family and I…love going on walks!

5. I was a terrible…er let’s say I have a terrible time noticing things that need to be cleaned.

6. My first job was….babysitting!

7. I could probably eat ice cream and cake every day!

8. I stole…I’ve got nothing on this one…hm.

9. I was born on the same day as….Brad Pitt

10. My all time favorite film is…I do love the Narnia movies and there are a few others too!

11. I do a pretty mean…forehand while playing tennis.

12. I’m still mad…I didn’t take advantage of post-secondary options.

13. I met my husband…at church!

14. I always knew I wanted…enough books to fill a room/library in my house.

15. I’m not afraid to…climb mountains and jump off cliffs!  Well, I may be afraid at times, but I do it anyway!

16. I make the best…desserts!

17. I have almost no…flexibility.  Sit and reach always messed up my physical fitness awards in school.

18. I always cry when…I’m done using anger as a cover up for being hurt.

19. I’m a Minnesotan with who still calls Africa home.

20. I spent 1 year living in South Africa.

21. I wish my folks…the best 🙂

22. As a child, I was deeply in love with…making up stories

23. I believe if everyone had a better sense of their worth and how loved they are the world would be a better place.

24. I can’t stand…the smell of black licorice.

25. Whenever Amazing Race is on I’ll watch it.  Mainly I love seeing all the amazing places they go!

Your turn!  I’d love to hear your answers to any of these 🙂 

10 Day You Challenge

The title of this post totally makes me think of a fitness challenge…but it’s not.  I saw this on my favorite Vizsla loving blog and thought it was so fun!  Since it’s a perfect sunny day and I’ve got the morning free, I’m taking a little time to start this.  Here’s the lowdown…

ten secrets, nine loves, eight fears, seven wants, six places, five foods, four books, three films, two songs, and one picture.

So, today, I’m going to start off with six places!  Mostly in random order 🙂

1. Africa. First place that comes to mind that has my heart and that I can’t wait to go back to someday.  I loved falling in love with Africa even when there were the incredibly tough times and the things that stretched me to my limits.  Living there for a year definitely was one of the best things I have ever done.

2. Greece…this trip for school was so good for my heart and filled with so much fun with fun people.

3. Italy.  I loved all things pistachio and all things food!  I would love to go back to Italy and explore more and see more of the coast.

4. Mountains.  I love mountains.  Hiking in them, looking at them, skiing, whatever.  They’re my favorite.  I would totally be down for living in the mountains someday.  I loved living on the side of one in Africa.  Add in a lake by the mountains and I’m set.

5. Dirt Roads. When they’re dusty, but not too dusty and stuck in the middle of nowhere.  I love a good run or a walk or even a drive on a dirt road.  6. Bed.  My bed has one of my favorite places to be.  So in bed with a good book or a movie with these two makes my day.  I love being able to retreat there and just be comfortable and relaxed. 

Oh and for the record…this was actually really hard to keep it to just 6 places! I could have added in a ton…the beach, the water, sitting outside, running, and that doesn’t even include all of the places that I want to go to but I haven’t been!

 

 

 

 

What I Learned-February

I had so much fun writing last months “What I learned” that I thought I would jump on board again this time!  February really felt like a short month and yet I definitely feel like there were a lot of big learning curves as well as fun things to learn too!

1. The Olympics are my favorite, but I learned that I do have a limit of watching…I eventually hit the: “We need to do something else!” stage!  But all in all, I loved being able to see the athletes and the competition.  Plus, my husband likes them too! Even Boaz loved all the times he got to either “watch” or sleep on us.

Boaz is so high maintenance.

2. There are SO many baby options for everything. I’ve started bookmarking a few things and my Pinterest page is growing!

3. This baby loves to move and I am in love with baby feet.  One of my favorite ultrasound pictures definitely was the one with cute little feet.  Not too surprising because I have always taken feet pictures wherever I travel.

Speaking of, I’m ready to be back in Africa… 🙂

4. I definitely have a bump and people have noticed. Maternity clothes are around the corner.  Not yet, but definitely soon!

Oh and how cute is this picture with my husband.

5. My limit of handling winter is getting shorter.  I am longing for walks and runs outside.

6. It’s okay to spend money to take care of me (even when I’d rather spend the money elsewhere!) and to do things afraid. I definitely had to be open to making this decision and to God’s promptings.

7. Downton Abbey turned into a perfect thing to watch while on the treadmill with Boaz! And I will say that I was thankful for a “happier” ending than last season.

8. Communication is ever a learning process, but worth the hard work.

9. Even though February is a “short” month, we totally used all of our grocery budget to make good food early in the month.  Next month, I might need to spread things out a bit!

10. This salad dressing is delicious. 

11. The book of Numbers hasn’t been nearly as hard to read as I thought it would be this time around and I am loving reading Romans this month.  (I’ve been using this plan since I think July last year and have been more or less reading a day or two or three at a time.  I love getting to read out of 4 different books each day.)

12. Baby names are hard to pick!  But I am loving all the potential names and options…I may or may not be a name hoarder.

What did you learn this month?

Friday Write

I haven’t joined in on one of these for quite a while so I figured today would be a good day!  The Olympics have started, Friday is finally here, the puppy is sleepy, and my fingers are ready to write.  Here’s the deal…I’m linking up with Lisa-Jo (she loves Africa too) and the “rules” include writing for 5 minutes without extreme editing or worrying about being perfect.  The prompt…

Write

One of my aunts recently shared my grandmother’s little journal with my dad.  I quickly asked if I could take the journal first.  This is the grandmother that I really only knew through pictures and stories.  She died when I was 2.  But oh did she go out with a story.  She just happened to die while walking down (or was it up?) some steps of a cathedral in Spain.  She has always intrigued me.  This mother of three who traveled and who now I know wrote.  She even included pictures within her journal, which I absolutely adore.  She was specific and real in the bits and pieces I’ve read.  Her mother died when she was young and she went to live with her aunt and uncle.  Yet, she made a point even in her journal to say that they were both mom and dad and aunt and uncle to her.  I’ve barely dug into this little treasure, but I’m excited to discover the world she lived in and the words she chose.  This little journal makes me wonder what I would think if someone opened up one of the countless journals on my shelf.  Would they find my stories of Africa tucked in the pages or the questions I have for God?  Would they see my heart and hear my hurt?   There’s so much to be found in writing.  So much to be shared.

after

five minutes of writing on friday! i’m ready. are you? jump on in on the fun over here.

here’s the prompt!

after

the music fades, the people have left, the airplane lands, the fanfare slows, and we find ourselves in the after. the after moments of eery quiet filled with tense wondering of is this all there was and the wide eyed anticipation of just how these moments will change everything.  for in these moments and places and situations the course of our story changes.  sometimes i’ve known ahead of time that i will lay down my rock to create an altar of remembrance.  other times the moments pass me by before i’ve realized that that was the time when things changed. there’s the before and the after africa. the before and after “i do.” the before and after “god, you are my all in all.” my life is filled to the brim with these sacred moments and while some of them hurt so bad that i’d rather skip them altogether, i can’t help but still recognize the powerful ways they’ve changed me.  they’ve rearranged me. He’s rearranged me. He’s wrecked me. wholly and fully for His purposes and plans. being conformed and being renewed requires a whole lot of bending and stretching and fitting awkwardly into the new afters.

What’s Up Wednesday

hearing Boaz crunch on an apple that I deemed too old for me to eat

seeing the book of Luke and my DSM book

thinking that I’m ready for spring and to be able to go outside!

doing bible reading, breaking free, and a final exam

looking forward to seeing sigur ros, going to virginia, and planning another vacay

feeling content and happy to have Boaz home

touching the wooden chairs my grandmother made

missing africa and friends

thankful for being able to sleep in, cereal, pretty wedding pictures, marriage, friends, sunlight, mountains

excited about going to the mountains again

coming up easter, spring, and ally & levi coming home!

something old the shorts i’m wearing that i love

something new a super soft liberty sweatshirt that i got for free

something blue Boaz’s chew toy

home.

Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking. er…write for as long and however your heart needs =)

home

i hide from this word sometimes because oh how it haunts me in a heartbreakingly raw way.  before i know it, i’m playing around with google looking up for ways to get myself home. checking flights and seeing prices. looking at pictures and wondering if when i get there if it’ll still be home.  will she still be the home i have in my heart?  i’ve changed so much since my feet last hit her ground.  my heart has traveled all over since then. i’ve found myself at the feet of fountains in rome and on the beaches of greece. i’ve walked the streets of london and sat in her theaters.  i’ve sat in staff meetings with staff i love.  i’ve careened around the streets of sri lanka.  i’ve zip lined through mexico.  i’ve laughed and loved my way through VBS and kids camps.  i’ve held the babes in rwanda.  i’ve found a man who holds my heart and is my other kind of home…the strong, steady, safe.  god’s brought me all the places i never thought i’d go. but then again i never thought i’d find myself in south africa in the first place. and i don’t know where He’ll bring me us next. maybe germany. maybe guatemala. maybe china. maybe back home to south africa (pretty please?).  maybe some country i’ve never even thought about.

Dear Africa,

Thank you for letting me come home.  You always capture my heart and win me over.  You startle me.  You shake me. You make me smile.  You catch me laughing.  You tuck me into corners where I can be quiet and process like crazy.  You let me see the stars like never before.  You open my eyes to the ways we have good intentions but end up hurting anyway.  You’ve taught me to pray that I would help more than hurt.  You’ve challenged me to think outside of my black and white boxes.  You sure love teaching me to follow and honor instead of lead and criticize.  You teach me to wait and wait and wait and wait. You’re ready to welcome me home in His timing.  You sweep me up into all kinds of wonderfulness.  You are full of joy.  You help me reclaim bits of me that I’ve lost along the way. You teach me over and over to love deep and wide and big.  You’re home. I didn’t think you would be and sometimes I wish you weren’t because you make it hard to be away.  But, in the end, you’re the place that I come back to and the place that I love.  I can’t wait until I get to put my bare feet on your soil again.  

Love,

Lerato/Katy