Farmgirl Paints: surprising myself...

I've developed a bad habit over the years. I've unintentionally put myself in a box. I can hear my voice in my head saying, "I hate to cook. I'm not good at tablescapes. Entertaining isn't my thing. I'm just not good at planning. I am NOT a detail girl". I think sometimes we label ourselves as a scapegoat, so we don't have to do the things we're uncomfortable with. But guess what? During Tamara's festival week I did ALL those things and I did them pretty well thank you very much lol:)!!

I'm not talking down to myself anymore. I CAN cook. I CAN decorate a pretty table. I'm AN AMAZING hostess! I can ROCK all the millions of details!!! I can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens me. I can and I will be who He's called me to be according to His purpose. It may not be easy. It may make me break out into a sweat, but I can do hard things!

I can't even begin to tell you what a joy it was serving during T's surprise week. To have our house full of people. It felt alive. It felt right and good. It wasn't the norm and that was a very good thing for us. We get comfortable. We do things just the four of us 95% of the time. But we need people. We need to be available to share His love...His grace in and through us. Honey and I have since then shared over and over again what a blessing it was FOR US! How much we loved having a house full of "family". That's what it felt like. Makes me teary just reliving it.

I've always been intimidated by entertaining. The inner fussy "Martha" came out a bit. It's so much work. You have to meal plan, grocery shop, prepare, time it all out, clean it all up etc... Excuses excuses...valid excuses, but lazy excuses nonetheless. Then I read an amazing book and it kind of made me understand myself a bit more. I see God in nature. I see Him in the sea, in the trees, in the birds flying through the air etc... I never really understood those that found Him around the table...until now:)

What's becoming clearer and clearer to me is that the most sacred moment, the ones in which I feel God's presence most profoundly, when I feel the goodness of the world most arrestingly, take place at the table.

The particular alchemy of celebration and food, of connecting people and serving what I've made with my own hands, comes together as more than the sum of their parts. I love the sounds and smells and textures of life at the table, hands passing bowls and forks clinking against plates and bread being torn and the rhythm and energy of feeding and being fed. Page 13 of Bread & Wine

I had a couple of "Bread & Wine" moments that week. If you haven't read that book you really should. It's beautifully written about how gathering around the table can bring us together. Shauna Niequist weaves stories of her life, shares yummy recipes and writes in such a relatable way that I want her to live next door. How cool would that be! Anyway looking at these sweet people gathered around our table...celebrating another. It truly was beautiful.

This makes me cry...to watch this video Big Chick took...click here.

Our only focus was to love. To lift up and embrace one another. That's what gathering together should be about. That's what WE should be about. Full circle indeed!

**Tamara and I are leaving today for HOPE SPOKEN in Dallas, TX...and guess who the keynote speaker is going to be? Author of Bread & Wine herself...Shauna Niequist. So very excited to hear her speak and to hug so many of you:) It's going to be goooood! Follow along on IG if you want to see the whole thing unfold...@farmgirlpaints.

**Oh and on my last post I told you about John and Sherry Petersik crashing our house?? Well it's up already!!! Read about it here. They are lightning fast:))

Be a blessing.