:the one where we are building community:

you never know how things like this will go. a mixture of people from different walks of life coming together. my control freak type-a personality had me racing to the grocery store, in the pouring rain, and around the house getting everything in order before their arrival. busy is good for the introvert. i tend to forget i'm an introvert when i am engrossed in cooking and cleaning.

in an act of solidarity to mothers everywhere i chose not to clean my floors for this event. no one seemed to notice, or they were too polite to mention it.

with staggered arrival we had time to greet and introduce all of our friends to one another. some had met before, some had not. though by the time we said goodnight, it felt as though we had all been friends forever.

we gathered around our table, bought with the intention of just this. nine collectively, tucked tight, shoulder to shoulder, yet not an inconvenience in sight.

stories and laughter filled the room.
friendships formed.

at the end of the night we said our goodbyes, sending each guest home with a tiny pumpkin. a symbol of our gratitude for their part in our story.

 

 "My hope is your story will be about changing, about getting something beautiful born inside of you about learning to love a woman or a man, about learning to love a child, about moving yourself around water, around mountains, around friends, about learning to love others more than we love ourselves, about learning oneness as a way of understanding God. We get one story, you and I, and one story alone. God has established the elements, the setting and the climax and the resolution. It would be a crime not to venture out, wouldn't it?"

-Donald Miller

:friendly friday [on tuesday]:

months ago my husband and decided we wanted to intentionally reach out to others and build relationships. this thought process gave birth to...

{{friendly fridays}}

on fridays, or whatever day of the week works best, we invite a family over for dinner or dessert. it is never anything fancy just something simple, since food and decor are not our focus. though, if the truth be known i do run to pinterest for new recipes and inspiration.

our guests come over and we serve them and love them through food and conversation. our children are present and encouraged to interact as well. eisley is forever more trying to steal away our guests to play in her room. she gets as excited as we do about having company.

this week we hung out with some of our old youth, that are grown and newly married, that we now call friends. we caught up on life and shared laughs and words of encouragement. as i sat on the couch, tea in hand, my heart swelled with contentment. peace. breathing in this moment of blessing, of fellowship, of jesus with skin on.

i am one of those people that really really really wants my house to be clean as a whistle in order when company is coming. however, through this simple act of service, i am slowly but surely letting go and becoming okay with imperfection and just enjoying people that have been placed in our lives.

"love begins at home, and it is not how much we do, but how much love we put into that action"   -mother teresa