this side of the cross

in his book, for the love of god, d.a. carson highlights the disciples' doubt in mark's account of jesus walking on water. they were astonished, completely amazed, and utterly afraid. and this was after jesus had miraculously fed five thousand men with five loaves of bread and two fish in front of them. (as if that wouldn't be enough to convince someone of jesus' power.) carson writes, "their entire orientation was still too restricted, too focused on the immediacy of their fears, too limited by their ability to penetrate to the full mystery of who jesus is an why he came. this side of the cross and resurrection, we still have less excuse than they."

this side of the cross, i'm just as guilty of letting fear cloud my vision and losing my perspective on the power of christ in my life. when the disciples witnessed jesus preaching and performing miracles, they were still unclear about who he was and why he came--the details of his death and resurrection had not completely unfolded. they were walking by blind faith, and fearing much along the way. on this side of the cross, we know the story. we know why jesus came and what he accomplished, yet it's still difficult to believe at times. my fears compromise my faith and require daily surrender to refocus. my human inclination is to devise plans to combat my fears--like how to succeed in order to control my fear of failure--rather than pulling back the veil that my fears create and trusting in the one who fed, healed, shepherded, and saved the lost the lonely (and walked on water).

carson comments, "if jesus truly is the promised messiah, if he enjoys the powers he has already displayed, can any responsible disciple think that he is losing control? can any responsible member of the twelve [disciples] imagine that this sort of messiah could call disciples to himself, and then lose them all in a boating accident?" trusting in jesus will never fail, but allowing my fears to drive the boat will absolutely end up in a crash. this side of the cross, i have no excuse for not believing that.

this year's new tradition: spontaneous birthdays

within the span of a week falls my birthday, my husband's birthday, and our anniversary.  this makes for far more cakes and meals out than our stomachs can handle in one week (well, i could probably handle the cake part).  in an effort to curb celebration fatigue this year, we decided that we would celebrate just our wedding anniversary on the actual date and would celebrate half birthdays in lieu of real birthdays.  this seemed like a great plan for spacing out the celebration...until we forgot that we made it. (today is josh's half birthday and no cakes have been baked.  in fact, i'm working late and he's going to small group tonight.  our paths won't cross until about 11pm.  happy birthday, honey?).  once we realized that the half birthday thing wasn't going to work out, josh suggested that we celebrate spontaneous birthdays this year.  the theory being that out of the blue one of us would declare any random day as a the other's birthday and would plan some type of celebration/gift.  being the calendar brain that i am, i was initially a bit skeptical about this idea.  but josh did pull off a pretty incredible spontaneous getaway weekend earlier this month (we spun a bottle on the counter, drove two hours in the direction it was pointing, ended up at a beachfront inn on the cape, and loved every moment of the adventure), so i decided to go with it.

glad i did.

on his way back from work on saturday, josh called and announced, "happy birthday!"  and told me to stay in the spare room until he came upstairs.  when he got home, i walked into the kitchen and found this homemade coffee table waiting for me. my brother had found this window on the side of the road and given it to josh a while ago; josh paired it with some pallet board and turned it into a rustic-looking coffee table to fit our vintage theme.

 

and check out these sweet homemade coasters that our friends gave us as a wedding gift.  now i can put them to good use!

now it's my turn to plan a spontaneous birthday for josh.  power tools and i don't get along, so there won't be any more sweet furniture creations, but we'll see what kind of surprises i can muster.

for my valentine:

thanks, etsy.

simple truth.

found this on pinterest today:

no place like home.

i just returned from a quick work trip to colorado. nothing like a long plane ride, a little motion sickness, and a nap-free 22-hour day to shake you up and give you a little perspective. i travel a few times a year for work and while i'm always grateful for the chance to pack my bags and head out on an adventure, i always count the days until i can come home. there is a certain thrill to travel--a sense of adrenaline pumping as the plane takes off and lands, a sense of wanderlust as i scour the area guides looking for mini-adventures to take in between meetings, a sense of freedom and exploration, a sense of awe a new places and faces (like this one).  there's a kind of alter ego that lets loose on the road.  my inner road warrior goes to work setting up shop in the hotel and the rental car--she feeds on to-go meals at whole foods, iced coffee, mini shampoo and conditioner refills, hot coffee, driving one-handed as the other punches new destinations into the gps, and any other form of coffee-induced beverages.  but there truly is no place like home.  there is a certain calm at home--a sense of belonging, a sense of rest and peace as the road warrior goes back into hibernation, a sense of loyalty in making coffee from the same pot each morning and turning the sheets of the same bed each night.  friends, it's good to be home.

i was grateful for the chance to meet up with a good friend while in colorado this time.  we used to work together when she was a student (she has since graduated, moved, married, and landed a great job with lots of potential).  in terms of personality and vision, we are on very similar pages, so i usually leave our conversations filled with inspiration, project ideas, and new thoughts on living and lifestyle.  this time, i'm particularly inspired by her commitment to pursuing creativity, living healthily, and commanding adventure in the every day.  my mind's wheels have been spinning for some time about how to be more committed to things like this, to things that i love (see november's resolutions).  this is my current list...

be more faithful in doing yoga. pilates. back issues have banned yoga for the time being, so i'm pursuing pilates instead.

write at least once a week and do a better job maintaining my blog. still working on this one. the christmas season gave me lots of creative inspiration, but i've been experiencing a drought in my creative juices recently; they have given way to the busyness of life. i started volunteering to write for a local non-profit to help keep me accountable in writing, and my blog continues to be a great avenue for creative expression.

create margins of time to just be. just not part of my personality makeup. augh.

fully embrace the seasons rather than complain my way to summer. winter has been a consistent 50 degrees here, so this resolution hasn't been too tough to keep up with so far! 

read. yes!  as busy as traveling can be, it lends itself to book completion quite seamlessly.

be intentional about investing in the here and now, take advantage of moments to talk with complete strangers, and be a part of where we live.  once again inspired to keep at this one. i'm realizing that this takes lots of patience, time, and perseverance.

given that it's january (at least for one more day), and the season of resolutions is upon us, i have a few other things to add to the list...

live simply and healthily.

train for a half marathon.

there's nothing like leaving home to breathe new life into perspectives and priorities; and there's nothing like coming home to live out the inspiration.

homemade holiday: chai tea concentrate

remember this photo from my homemade body scrub post?

things got a little out of hand after that post and i made about a million of them...

because they are just so cute. what's a girl to do? well, this girl had to figure out a way to use all of these newly-chalkboard-labeled mason jars. 

hello homemade chai tea concentrate! fav holiday bev for sure.

what you need:

1 quart mason jar
4 1/2 c. water
8 bags orange pekoe black tea
1/2 c. coconut sugar, date sugar or raw cane sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
3-inch section of fresh ginger, cut into pieces
10 whole cloves
8 cardamom pods
1/2 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg
2 whole star anise pods
1/2 tsp. whole black peppercorns
1 tsp. fresh orange zest
1 tbsp. honey
1 tbsp. of vanilla extract
1 small 6″ square section of cheesecloth
kitchen twine

what you do:

remove any tags from the tea bags and tie them all together. prepare the spices (cinnamon sticks, ginger, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, anise, peppercorns, and orange zest) by laying them out on the cheesecloth square. pull up the edges of the cheesecloth and tie them shut to make a pouch.  in a saucepan, boil water and sugar over medium heat. once boiling, reduce to simmer and add the tea bag bunch and the spice pouch. simmer for 20 minutes, then remove the bags and pouch. add honey and vanilla extract and stir until dissolved.  allow the mixture to cool completely, then pour into your mason jar.  keep refrigerated and use within one week.  to use, mix one part chai with one part milk and serve warm or iced--both are so tasty!

i tripled this recipe because i had quite a few jars to fill...

 

homemade holiday: vanilla coconut body scrub

thank you pinterest and fellow bloggers for more creative inspiration this holiday season! i found this recipe for warm vanilla brown sugar and coconut body scrub and thought i'd give it a try.  living simply and naturally appeals to me, but i've never been to into the homemade hygiene products; the idea of rubbing food on my skin and in my hair honestly causes a gag reflex. i am fully aware that hair and skin products have all kinds of chemicals in them, and i don't like that. i do like composting, recycling, thifting, crafting, couponing, etc., but i'm still working my way into the all-natural hygiene thing. this recipe was a great introduction. i have a sweet tooth so the idea of scrubbing with sugar and coconut oil sounded much better than scrubbing with lemons and avocados. some day.

the supplies: a 2-cup mason jar, organic unrefined coconut oil, brown sugar or raw sugar, and vanilla fragrance

place 1 1/4 cups of brown or raw sugar in a bowl

coconut oil is rock solid at room temperature, so heat the jar in a pot of water over medium-high heat (warning: this takes forever, so don't do this if you're in a rush)

add 6-8 tablespoons of the liquid coconut oil to the brown sugar and mix well. add 15-20 drops of vanilla fragrance, mixing well after each addition.

pack the scrub into your mason jar.  i ended up having some extra room at the top so i made another mini-batch of scrub and added it in. 

 and now we get to my favorite part--decorating the jar. i tied kitchen twine around the jar (any kind of burlap, vintage lace, etc. would work well) and bought chalkboard paint to create a label on the top of the jar.

paint a circle on the top of the jar (stay away from the rim or you'll paint the lid together). since it's a thin layer, it will dry to the touch quickly, but be sure to let the paint dry for at least four hours before writing on it.

 the finished product! more to come...