pensieve.me

(in)RL, irony and I'm kinda an idiot

Chances are, if you come to my house for a party, I'm going to put you to work.

 

Everyone gathering around to add their personal contributions
for our (in)RL Recipe Book; scroll down to see the end result.

Saturday evening, a dozen friends in my house joined 1,700 around the world as incourage launched its first ever...

(in)RL.

(in)RL might be difficult to grasp at first, but once you understand its premise, you'll see its BRILLIANCE:

It's a global initiative by (in)courage (DaySpring's website for encouraging women) to encourage women to engage in their community and, with great intention, to strengethen and nurture friendship.  

Once hosts registered a meet-up, it was up to them whether to have a large function at a central venue, meet friends for coffee or something in between.  On the day we announced the (un)conference, two local women immediately signed up to host! My plan all along was to attend both of THEIR meet-ups.

Until one of them had to back out because of a personal conflict.

Long story short, the remaining meet-up host (and a sweet friend of mine), Megan (Life Together blog) and I decided to join forces and have a party at my house.  

I am so thankful to Megan and (in)courage for prompting me to do something I've wanted to do often and forever!  They gave me that little nudge to just DO IT!

Two weeks after returning home from Germany, I opened my doors for this gathering of girlfriends.  And it was good.

Because I knew I'd be tied up getting my house in order after being gone for two months, I asked everyone to bring their favorite sweet or savory appetizer along with a stack of recipe cards to share; for a little surcie, we made recipe books for everyone to take home featuring the items we made!

Our meet-up was planned for 5:30-8:30 and my favorite part of that was friends stayed until 11!  

 The first irony is we never got to ANY of the (in)RL content of the "planned" activities--

After guests filled their plates FULL of the wonderful food they brought, we sat around my den and played a version of Six Degrees of Separation--introducing ourselves and explaining who we knew in the room and how we knew 'em.  THAT TOOK THREE HOURS!  

And because we're all g.i.r.l.s., there were plenty of bunny trails during our informal meet and greet; like when we got to cancer survivor Keena, and the way she shared about her life-long friendship with Stephanie and how God had worked in and through hard circumstances, well, it was beautiful.  

But here's where I feel like an idiot:  I'm a long-time blogger; everyone knows I take pictures OF EVERYTHING and ANYTHING could end up on PENSIEVE.

But that night, in addition to not sharing the wonderful content (in)courage had available for us, I FORGOT TO TAKE PICTURES!  Now, don't get me wrong, I took a few, but never did it cross my mind to take a group shot, never once did I think "Oh, THAT'S the kinda picture I need for a post," etc.  I got lots of blurry photos of food, but way too few of my FRIENDS.

It was so much fun (at least for me), I was in the moment and just.  not.  thinkin'.  

I KNOW the countless hours Lisa-Jo and the DaySpring team have spent shooting video and writing content for this weekend; and it's wonderful, heartfelt, sometimes tear-jerking content about relationships and love and friendship and community and how Jesus makes us sisters.  

But here's the irony, the beauty:

Though Megan and I never felt like it was "right" to interrupt the flow of conversation to share the (in)RL videos (and we had watched several, so we KNEW they were great), we accomplished the very thing (in)RL hoped to accomplish:

We loved, we learned, we built, we engaged, we cared, we listened, we talked.

And even if that makes me an idiot, despite the irony of "not doing what we were supposed to," I think maybe, just maybe...

that's just fine.

:)

p.s.  Whew!  Lisa-Jo commented and I'm not in the doghouse :).  In fact, I think she might send me chocolate!! 

Simple mom ≠ simple parenting (especially when we're talking about teens!)

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day;
teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
~ Unattributed Chinese proverb

As is often the case, one of the best things a parent can give their teenager is hardly a thing at all: it's room.

Room...

• to make their own decisions and to enjoy the sense of accomplishment associated with wise choices—or—to endure the consequences or poor choices;
• to learn life lessons never taught in a class or between pages in a book; and
• to grow.

Parenting is tricky; time doesn't play fair.

Days are long, years are short—before we know it, our pre-pubescent grade-schooler is learning to drive! There are no defining lines to mark seasons in development; they rarely occur overnight. Sometimes shift is so subtle you don't even realize it when you've left one stage and entered the next.

My point?

 

* * * * * *

Continue reading at Simple Mom by clicking this link; I'm eager and curious to hear your responses...!

Ain't too proud to beg, sweet darlin'

A wonderful, local restaurant, The Public House, asked Chattanoogans to honor a mom in their life by writing a poem about her.  In response, I wrote a short tribute to my mother-in-law (for newer readers who might not know, I lost my mom to cancer when I was a little girl and my MIL has been a God-gift).  At stake is a family meal to celebrate! 

Would you take 30 seconds to vote for us (just click the logo)?  My submission is titled "A Tribute to Sarah."  You don't have to live in Chattanooga ~ or even the U.S., my German co-ex-patriots!! With Tad out of town that weekend, this might just be the only way I'll get out of cooking my own Mother's Day lunch; mostly, it would be a delicious way to surprise my sweet mother-in-love.  (No registration required but Public House would appreciate a Facebook "like".) 

With all my heart (and a growling stomach) I offer my undying thanks!

 

She was born to be wild...

...and she's the one that got away.

 

April, 2012.  Near Regensburg, Bavaria, in a centuries-old park.  Ellie and Walter were kind enough to share details of their visit there in words and pictures.  Walter captured a delightful story in this image...it made me smile as soon as I saw it.  Be sure to click on the picture to see it larger--you can better see the large tulip bed from which this little maverick escaped!

 

Why do YOU love where you live? (And two reasons to visit Chattanooga!)

I'm in town only a few months before heading back to the other side of the planet to continue my year of adventure, but the timing couldn't be better to be in Chattanooga.  There's something fun on tap every weekend between now and "then," and weekdays offer their reasons to love being here.

This weekend two of my favorite events take place; I plan to be at both--

Chatty Crafty is a local juried DIY/indie craft show taking place at the Chattanooga Green at Ross’s Landing today and tomorrow (April 21 & 22, 2012) from 10-6.  I'm hoping the rain steers clear.  

And on Sunday only, guess who kicks off their 2012 season?

Chattanooga Market is back!  In celebration of Earth Day, Freedom Tree Farms will be giving away 100 fruit tree saplings and Possum Creek Herb Farm will offer 100 herb plants to market goers.  Music and vendors and great food, oh my!  

Being away from Chattanooga for a few months made me appreciate it even more; who knew that absence would make my heart grow fonder for this place I call home?

Your turn:   Spring is a season when communities seem to offer festivals and events that define "who" they are.  Tell me something special or unique about your hometown and why I might want to visit someday!   

And then there's that third reason to love Chattanooga.... ~ wink ~ 

Chick-fil-A + Chattanooga: 3 things

[1]  When I arrived home from two months in Germany, my body, still on CEU time, felt like it was 2:00 am (it was 8:00 pm EST).  And despite Lufthansa's Thai chicken airplane feast eaten earlier in the day, I'm pretty sure I missed a meal between Munich and Chattanooga.  

I was hungry!  

And you know what I found myself craving?  What my first meal back in the States happened to be?  

I'd say that's quite the honor for Chick-fil-A.  

My insider track tells me Truett, Dan and all the Cathys *might* be lookin' at international destinations for the best fast food quick service franchise in the world, so I'm gonna ramp up my powers of persuasion to beg Mr. Cathy to fast track one for Germany.  Girlfriend's got NEEDS.   

[2]  Chick-fil-A's Leadercast is quickly approaching, and if you live within driving distance, I'm personally inviting YOU to attend our local simulcast in Chattanooga! Julie Baumgardner and her team at First Things First are co-sponsoring our local event, making registration very easy for you (<-- you'll find additional details about the event by clicking the registration link, too).

Please help me get word out to our community--THIS is a wonderfully inspiring one-day event, and you will leave feeling like you CAN change the world!  

Friday, May 4, 2012  
Brainerd Crossroads/The BX 
4011 Austin Street ~ Chattanooga, TN 37411 
9:00 AM to 4:30 PM (ET) 
Doors open at 8:00 AM

Limited seating ~ lunch included

[3]  Out with the old, in with the new!

While I was away, Chick-fil-A rolled out a pile of new desserts--have you seen 'em?

Oh...my...

A warm Chocolate Chunk Cookie, Fudge Brownies (sans the nuts) and Sundaes.  If they look this good, imagine how they taste!  They might have said good-bye to cheesecake, lemon pie and brownies with nuts but me thinks no one will care. 

Have you tried any of these?  Do you have a favorite yet?  

DO share your kindred affections for Chick-fil-A with me!  

 

When Jesus went to Starbucks {a guest post}

{Shared with me by my daughter, published with permission from her kindred.}

* * * * * *

RE:  If I had a blog, I would post this....

 

The man behind me in line at Starbucks just bought my drink.

After telling the barista to put my drink on his card, he explained with a smile—a smile very much at home on his kind, round face—that someone in the drive thru covered his meal the other day. He wanted to extend the kind deed to me.

He has short brown hair, he works at Carmax, and every morning he gets a grande bold coffee with a toasted multi grain bagel. He rarely orders anything other than his usual for the same reasons I will order nothing but a white chocolate mocha. Whenever he orders a white chocolate mocha he gets three shots of espresso in it.

I didn’t get his name.

I saw Jesus in his eyes.

I wish I would have told him that.

* * * * * *

I fiercely love my daughter's friend, Maddie.  Her friendship (together with Abbie's) was oxygen to my daughter when she transferred schools as a junior.  She's a senior this year and, oh, how I've missed seeing these girls in my kitchen, almost as much as I miss my own daughter, now away at college.  

Passionate and confident in so many ways, after attending a weekend event I can't recall now, Maddie recently made me crush all over again when she made this declaration:

[It = deleting her Facebook page] "It was great!  I actually lived life instead of feeling the pressure to fake-live it on Facebook."

Did I mention she's also wise and mature beyond her years?

When I read her gorgeous email to my daughter, when I noticed the subject line, I thought "You DO have a blog you can post it on...."  

Nothing would make me happier than for YOU to share your thoughts and responses to encourage this burgeoning writer as she approaches the end of high school.  Can't you sense her potential?! ~ smile ~

Love {mother}letters

Divine providence brought them into my life 3½ years ago; they entered through love's door.  

Shannon, a favorite blogging friend of mine, thought I might be interested in and able to help "Danny" on a project-gift he was creating: a compilation of letters of encouragement from moms across the blogosphere to encourage his wife. In short, after a life-changing trip to Africa, "Danny" and his wife had agreed to simplify gift giving by making gifts for one another, and his gift to her was this Mother Letters Project.

Fast forward to now, and what began as

an idea...

a gift...

a seed...

has now full blossom-flourished into Mother Letters {Sharing the Mess and Glory}.  It's a bonus for me that Amber and Danny/Seth became real life friends, cherries on the frosting of a very tasty cake.  

A tapestry woven in words wise and warm, the Mothering Life is proclaimed from 48 contributors who've been there, done that, all who are STILL there and doing.  Some mamas to littles, some mamas to bigs, and some mamas to babies they've had to let go of much too soon; yet somehow they manage to see goodness and grace in spite of shattered hearts.  You'll find NYT best-selling authors to anonymous mamas you'll never have chance to meet...but ALL bring life and light and love and beauty to the high calling of motherhood, and you're bound to leave its reading encouraged and inspired.

I'm beyond thrilled to be included in this edition.  

Help Amber and Seth help you:  don't think about buying their book, BUY IT!!  I feel strongly about supporting the hard work of writers, whether their words are published online or in print.  And, really, you shouldn't wait--launch price is 30% off!  

Click the image below and within a minute or two you can be reading.  And because I want to do everything to help Amber and Seth get this book into the hands of as many as possible, would you please share among your spheres of influence?  Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest--I'd be grateful if you'd pass along this post to as many friends as possible!!

Affiliate links used and any commission earned through the sale of Mother Letters will be donated to The Mercy House.

 

Two boys and a mom

I like to car dance.

It's not like I set out to shake-my-groove-thang when I get in the car; it's more a subconscious respond to happy tunes jammin' on the radio (closet fellow car dancers HOLLA!).  

My heart spins merry to see someone else at a redlight having a dance-y moment!  I can't help but think we ARE the world....

My boys don't mind so much as long as none of their friends are riding along, but sometimes I forget The Rules.  Like the other day.  

Remember, I've been out of the country a few months, so songs that have been playing a while are new to me.  

So we're driving down the road and the youngest is channel surfing (MY HEART I love it when he and his friends break into song!) when he stops at one.  I'm barely paying attention, and without realizing it, I'm acting out the song--

"...the way you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed..." and I flip my hair.  

Stephen picks up on this immediately and I'm thinking he's laughing AT me when he informs the back seat, "My mom just flipped her hair...." 

but instead of responding to him I demand, "WHO'S SINGING THIS SONG?  I LOVE IT!" and he can't remember their name.

Beyond the flipping the hair line I miss most of the lyrics, but I can't help but catch the tune, 'cause, you know, it's catchy.

* * * * * * *

Same day, I'm talking to the older brother about their sister.  I say, "She has no idea she's beautiful SHE HAS NO IDEA HOW BEAUTIFUL SHE IS!" and he says, "You just quoted the lyrics from a song almost word for word.

I'm like What song? and he educates me about the boy band phenom One Direction.

So I do what you do at time like this and I searched You Tube and clicked the first response What Makes You Beautiful...99,490,681 page views, people.  

Understandably, my Hip Mom card has been revoked.

My philosophy is better late than never to the party, so if you haven't heard of One Direction, I am both happy to introduce you and give you reason to Happy Dance today; while driving in your car is optional. 

Enjoy ~

the beauty of all mothers

~ Click to embiggen. ~