Baby Doll

In honor of my darling niece, Aria, I give you a poem, originally written for my littlest brother when I was six years old, and revised for Aria:

Aria my niece is a sweet little girl,

I like to play with her just like a toy [it turns out, this poem's rhyming scheme works better with boy babies, although we wouldn't trade our Aria for a million boys!]

She has brown hair [or, in some cases, blond];

She is so sweet;

And she really, really likes to EAT! 

Have you ever seen anyone sport a wig with so much fabulous charm?!!!

We sure do love our baby-doll girl. 

Happy Thursday, folks.

-Sarah

© by scj

Horses

The townhouse Jay and I have been staying in the last few weeks backs up against horse pasture. Some evenings, just as we are sitting down for dinner, the horses are released from their stalls to graze. We love watching them search for sweet clover. 

We often wish there was clover against the fence nearest our back patio so the horses would draw near enough for us to pet. Sometimes we try to convince them that the feeding opportunities near our house are tremendous. I may stand on the fence and wave a giant carrot in the air, or I may do my best horse call — which is, incidentally, a Mariachi shout — but despite my best efforts, the horses stay put. Until two mornings ago, when I pulled open the shades and saw one of the horses eating brekkie, right next to the fence nearest us. 

Excited at the prospect of hand feeding the horse (I have named her Stella), I ran outside and over to the fence where I was able to pet her. A few moments into petting Stella, I realized that, in my excitement, I had forgotten to put pants on. This is not the first time I have forgotten to put pants on before leaving the house; and I am beginning to wonder what old age will be like for me — and, more importantly, for the people who have to look at me, if this pant trend continues. (Have mercy!).

So I ran back inside to put pants on and grab some carrots for Stella. She was ready and waiting when I returned, as were a number of hungry horses.

This here horse is Jay's twin, with its tan hide and blond hair:

I have named him Barney. Jay is not sure if he is a Barney. (And neither of is sure if he is a "he.")

Do you see the resemblance?!

Once the horses learned we were the sole neighborhood carrot distributors that morning, they were eager for more.

So we kept more carrots comin'.

It was my favorite breakfast of the trip!

I hope you are all having a lovely Thursday!

-Sarah



© by scj

Strength

My Tuesday afternoon doctoral class is so formative, I cry almost every session. My deskmate, who has become my friend, cries as much as I do. Wonderfully, our teacher has normalized crying in public. "This is a sign of the Holy Spirit's movement," he says. "He is breaking through the hardened heart places."

 So we cry, and we learn, and we tell our stories, and we pray for each other, and then we cry some more. These days, a box of Kleenex mysteriously appears between me and my friend before class starts. 

Today before class, my friend, who is carrying many burdens of her own, gave me my very first Giving Keys necklace with a word she thought would be special to me in this new glorious yet trying season: STRENGTH. 

Her thoughtful gesture put wind in my tired sails. And goodness: what would we do without each other?

Hopeful, grace-filled Tuesday, my friends.

I'm cheering for you, Skillets!




-Sj



© by scj

The Discipline of Doodling

My dear friends,

I just tried writing a post about all of the change I'm experiencing in this new season — about how it's thrilling and invigorating and overwhelming all at once — but I couldn't do it. I've not been able to write much about spirituality and discipleship the last two years because I've just been too sick; and now, as I'm healing, I feel like I need time to step back and survey all of the renovative work God has been doing before I do the hard work of writing about it. So instead of finishing my post, I'll just tell you that I am delighted to be stepping into a season of radical change, but I'm also scared. I have to preach truth to myself a lot in order to combat the fear.

Lately, I've embraced what I call "The Discipline of Doodling" as a means of preaching truth to myself.

Here's what I do:

I pick a verse or quote that encourages and challenges me, and then I doodle it.

I carefully write it in fun letters, and I doodle pictures around it, and I spend all the time that takes meditating on the truth on the page.

 
When I'm done, I post the doodle somewhere in my room so I'm regularly reminded of its message.

It's proving to be a wonderfully life-giving spiritual discipline.

If you want to try the spiritual discipline of doodling, HERE are the pens I use.

And if want some doodling inspiration, HERE is a book that may help you.


Happy Sunday (and happy doodling!), sweet friends of mine.

I'm cheering for you.

-Sarah




© by scj

Maple Syrup Snow Candy Recipe

On Wednesday we woke up to over a foot of snow.

We are glorying in all the beauty.

Roo has never seen this much snow before and loves sniffing, digging, and bounding across the yard. The snow is up to her neck, so her bounding looks more like bouncing (she's our Kanga-Roo), and it is just about the cutest thing I've ever seen.

I am also delighted to report that I enjoyed a major limbic system retraining victory after the snow fell:

I went cross country skiing!

We all did, actually.

It was much easier than walking anywhere.

A few months ago I got motion sickness just turning my head, rolling over in bed, or walking across the room, so it was wild to be gliding across the snow and feeling fine.

The second day we skied it was much icier.

Much, much icier.

So icy that I took a hard fall on my tailbone.

The fall seemed to have caused some whiplash, and since then my body has been in a bit of a tizzy that feels like a flare-up in my chronic symptoms. So, I've decided to cozy up with Anne of Green Gables and some maple syrup snow candy for the rest of the afternoon.

If you've ever read the Little House on the Prairie series, then you may remember that in Little House in the Big Woods Laura enjoys maple syrup snow candy at her grandmother's house. I first made this candy after reading the book as a kid and was so excited to make it today.

It's super easy (and delicious!), and I've posted the step-by-step recipe below for those of you with snow outside your window.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of pure maple syrup
2 TB butter (optional)
A pinch of sea or pink Himalayan salt

Instructions:

1. Put the ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium heat.

2. Boil for a few minutes until the mixture reaches the soft ball stage or 235 degrees Fahrenheit for those of you who have a candy thermometer.

I didn't have a thermometer, so after the mixture had boiled for a few minutes, I drizzled a bit of it into a glass of cold water. It formed a soft ball upon hitting the water, so I knew it was ready.

3. Once the mixture is ready, take it outside and pour it into a clean bed of snow. Be sure to wear your boots while you're cookin' so you can make a mad dash outside when the mixture is ready!

I recommend you use a rubber spatula to coax the mixture into the snow in bigger ribbons than the ones I made, since the thin ribbons can be hard to fish out of the snow. 

You could also pack snow into a pie pan and bring it inside for this step.


4. After you've finished pouring your candy, it is ready to eat!

And boy oh boy is it GOOD.


I hope you are all having a lovely Friday!

Cheering for you, Home Skillets,

Sarah





© by scj