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Primitive Pleasures {June}

~ Emily ~ 6 Comments

A day late, but here are some good things from around the interwebs that I found in June!

JuneI have yet to develop a green thumb, so this is only possible in my dreams, but I love Natasha’s guide to growing a backyard herbal tea garden.

Despite my inability to keep my plants alive, I do love flowers! I stumbled on Sarah von Pollaro’s video tutorial on transforming a $10 supermarket bouquet into four beautiful arrangements and then got sucked into the vortex of all her awesome video tutorials. She makes flower arranging seem accessible.

Throwing a dinner party can be stressful, but so also can being a dinner party guest. Shauna Niequist (one of my favorite authors) wrote a superb post about how to be a great dinner guest.

I’ve worked several retail jobs and by far my favorite was my stint at Anthropologie. This is a phenomenal list of DIY Anthropolgie products. However, don’t ever pass up an opportunity to roam an Anthropologie store – they are truly inspirational.

Unfortunately, decisions about motherhood and everything that goes along with it have divisive tendencies in the Christian subculture. Instead of coming alongside women and families, we tend to judge and snub. I deeply appreciate this perspective and call for grace. If you don’t read the whole article, please read the last section!

It’s no secret that I love book lists. The Gospel Coalition has a great column called On My Shelf, “designed to help you get to know various people through providing a behind-the-scences glimpse into their lives as readers.” Kathy Keller, Tim Keller’s wife, had wonderful thoughts on finding Christ in fiction (which is why she’s not likely to have the latests Christian title on her nightstand).

Along the same line, this is a great article on finding God’s truth is literature.

And because this made me smile…

The Power of Prayer

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I’m a journaler. There’s a box in our garage that contains a mismatched pile of diaries, notebooks, and journals from junior high forward. Some of them I’m tempted to throw away because they are so very embarrassing, but then I think about what all those words represent, even the humiliating ones. Those words represent a journey, a mind and heart being molded along the primitive roads of life. All the emotions and thoughts, pain and joy found on those pages are part of a process that never really ends.

Aside from the ocasional embarrassment, I truly enjoy rereading my old journals. More often then not, God uses past struggles or epiphanies to encourage me in the present. This happened recently as I was flipping through my current journal.

prayer

February 12th, 2013 (my momma’s birthday!!)

Sometimes I look at the date and just stare, amazed at how quickly the days progress, making November slide right into February.

I have vastly underestimated the power of prayer. I’m very aware that God answers prayer and that it’s a powerful tool to see change and miracles happen. But prayer goes beyond God’s actions. Prayer isn’t about cause and effect. Prayer is about submission and community, intimacy and surrender to the Lord Almighty. Prayer is less about God moving in our circumstances and more about God moving in our hearts. ( <– Tweet this! )

I was just lost in time for a moment, taken back to the year I was living on the Central Coast of California, working as an innkeeper at The Cass House. I was fresh out of college and the job, living situation and location just fell into my lap – absolutely a God thing. 

After acknowledging how He orchestrated my circumstances, I left Him out of my daily life. I mastered life in Cayucos on my own and then became discontent when things didn’t go my way. I didn’t meet the love of my life, community took effort I wasn’t used to giving, and I missed my family. Instead of brining those feelings to God consistently, I let them stew and grow until the aroma dominated all of my senses.

I was still pursuing God and He did great things in my heart during that time, but I can’t help but wonder what would have happened had I not been so intent on directing my own life. I fI had been bringing my desires to God, maybe heartbreak would have been easier. If I had sought God for comfort and community, maybe I wouldn’t have felt so isolated. If I had been pursuing God’s plan, maybe I would have had more peace about making tough decisions. 

Being a woman dedicated to sharing her heart with her Abba may not have changed my circumstances – and that’s certainly alright when I reflect on what I did experience – but I would have had a heart yielded to God’s will instead of a striving heart trying to manipulate God’s will.

Prayer puts us in a position to be transformed by God. It may not alter our circumstances, but it will alter our hearts. ( <– Tweet this! )

I generally always need to be reminded not to strive or manipulate, but I really needed to be reminded that prayer does more for our hearts than our circumstances. Prayer binds us to our Heavenly Father and brings peace and comfort. I need that.

photo credit: bingbing via photopin cc

Rhythm {Five Minute Friday}

~ Emily ~ 1 Comment

Rhythm

The moonlight made walking easier as we followed single file through the sand. What seemed like hours was only minutes and we had arrived at one of many clearings. The only thing that differentiated this clearing from the others was the group of people beginning to assemble – mostly women with a few kids in tow. The silvery light made everyone glow as I squinted to distinguish features. Seeing the other parishioners, as I guess you’d call them, was far from my mind as they began to sing.

An unrecognizable melody filled the vast space around our moonlit gathering place. Voices  high and strong continued to weave a mesmerizing story as the people formed a tight circle. Though I couldn’t understand any of the words, I could understand the heart behind their songs. Each syllable was in praise of the Creator, the artist behind our surroundings. As voices grew stronger and the tune changed with each new offering of worship, there was a spontaneous movement toward the center of the circle. One person leaned in and leaned out, letting the music sway their body. Even with eyes closed, others let their bodies move along with the instigator and within seconds our gathering was an undulating mass.

These songs and this movement was to an unfamiliar rhythm, but I knew it was all in honor of the Father whose love has stretched far beyond any of the countries and traditions represented in the moonlit clearing.

Not from the night worship gathering, but this gives you an idea of the lovely voices I was talking about.

Five Minute Friday

Twitterature Link Up

~ Emily ~ 7 Comments

RATR

Linking up (again) with Modern Mrs. Darcy for some short, casual book reviews.

Every Body Matters by Gary Thomas

Developing radical spiritual strength by addressing physical fitness? That’s the plot. I may not fully agree with the conclusion, but the book is motivating and thought provoking. #workingonmyfitness #Hesmywitness

Grace In Thine Eyes by Liz Curtis Higgs

Biblical story of Dinah set in the Scottish Lowlands. Continuation of a fantastic series. Some intentional deviations from the original, so don’t skip the author’s notes! #tissuesnecessary #teammcdonald

Epilogue: Visit Liz’s second author website, My Scottish Heart, for a virtual tour of Scotland, etc.

As For Me And My Crazy House by Brian Berry

The best thing for your marriage is a healthy self. The best thing for your family is a healthy marriage. The best thing for your ministry is a healthy family. All of the above addressed with wisdom and humor. #ministrymustread

Composing Amelia by Alison Strobel

I could identify with some of Amelia’s situation -newlywed, twenty-something living in Los Angeles needing to move to a more rural locale when her pastor husband gets a job. Realistic portrayal of marriage, change, mental illness, and different stages in a faith journey. #emotionalrollercoaster

Epilogue: Reinventing Rachel is cued up on my Nook!

The Novelist by L.L. Barkat

No doubt Barkat is a skilled writer. This is a subtle how-to chronicling the main character’s struggles to craft her first novel. It will suck you in and make your scratch your head. Poetry and literary references abound.

Epilogue: An interview with L.L. Barkat via Kindred Grace and 10 Things Every Novelist Needs, a blog post by the aforementioned Liz Curtis Higgs.

You Are A Writer by Jeff Goins

Do you NEED to write? Me too. I’ve never been more inspired to BE a writer and devote hours to my craft. Part personal experience, part advice, part cheering squad, Goins makes it seem possible to make writing an occupation. #startcreating #noteasybutpossible

Epilogue: I’m A Writer – beautiful post written by Kristen of Five In Tow.

DISCLOSURE: I received The Novelist and You Are A Writer for free via Story Cartel in exchange for an honest review. This post contains my affiliate links. Thanks for supporting Primitive Roads!

Primitive Pleasures {May}

~ Emily ~ 6 Comments

MayOne of the very best things about this May is having a mini family reunion this weekend to celebrate the marriage of my cousin. Since not everyone gets to enjoy such a fun gathering, here are some other good things trolled from the interwebs this month.

Simplicity:

People who chronically multitask have lost the ability to focus on one thing – and they’re actually terrible at mutlitasking…. Interesting article on NPR (man I love public radio) about the myth of multitasking.

When -est should be -er and how that gives us the freedom to live simply.

Books:

I’m a book list junkie. Relevant Magazine has a great list of 10 books everyone should read by 25-ish. I think one of them might be our first book club book. Have you read any of them?

I love Heather’s idea to reinvent what classifies as classic literature for her 25 in 25 list.

Michael Hyatt’s podcast about how to read non-fiction was inspiring.

Marriage:

A New Kind of Sexy is honest and we need more of that when talking about marriage.

So we fought for it. We stumbled on redemption in the unlikely sexy acts of taking out the smelly-diaper trash, going to marriage counseling, and texting each other apologies for misspoken harsh words.

Beth of Red and Honey

And more honest reflection from Tyler Ward with 3 Things I Wish I Knew Before We Got Married.

Etc:

I’ve been there – wanting someone to fully understand why I left my heart overseas…

Because I’m a sucker for articles about the twenty-something stage of life – here’s a good one by Anne Bogel.

Hysterical iMessage version of Chapter 5 in Jane Austen’s Persuasion. 

I LOVE McGriddles. Can’t wait to try these.