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Happy Go Stuckey

Tethering Grace & Togetherness

On Pinky Pledges & Laying Stones

May 14, 2016 by HappyGoStuckey 2 Comments

Amidst plates circling the dinner table and clattering forks following suit— I almost didn’t hear what she said. I might have missed it completely if she had not jabbed her petite pinky finger up toward my face.

She said it again. This time I heard her loud and clear—
“Pinky Pledge, Mommy.”
“Do you pinky pledge that God is real?”
My pinky locked with her own— brown eyes staring into blue. And I just told her.
I told her what I knew to be true. Well, all I could sputter out in 45 seconds.
She smiled, looked away, nodded her head in a satisfied staccato, then continued lining up her tiny ponies.
“Ok–ay!” She Chirped.

pinkypleges

Activity resumed all around us but I froze for several seconds.
All this imperfect struggling to be always funneling truth into their shampoo-scented heads and it sneaks up on us, sharing the Gospel in tiny four-year-old bites.

This time it wasn’t a planned Bible story time. It didn’t have the feel of some sacred moment.
It was just our real life—
Words drifting around the kitchen, floating on the easy fun of a Friday night.

And you and I know it like we know that iced water is the perfect chaser to a hot latte.
That this is a scary and glorious part of parenting and life in general. That we rarely see all that God is doing. Most of what He does, He does in the secret places.

Somehow I still forget that they are always listening. When Joshua told the people of Israel to lay stones in memorial to what God had done to save them– he said the children would see the stones and then they would ask and they would tell them– oh, would they tell them.

They will ask.
They will notice.
They will have questions.
And we hope that if it is really real and true for us, it will be clear enough for them.
But at the end of our hope that we’re doing it right, there is One who does all things well.

I’m still learning that the journey of teaching them is one of constancy. One of every moment an opportunity– not to anxiously squeeze lessons out of every breath we take, but to teach them as we are going. In the joy we have and the life we embrace. In the gratefulness we walk in and in the hope of what is to come.

As we run into waves and slather on sunscreen. As we play silly games and search for illusive socks.
In the Sunday afternoon moments, when preschool papers litter the kitchen table like paper mache’.
When forgotten paper plates blow across the front porch scattering cold pizza crust and scooters zip up & down the driveway.
When night time dance parties fizzle and we settle down under puffy duvets, red-faced and big-haired. In both the bedlam and the quiet– we get to lay our stones.

Even when we are overwhelmed, we get to be the ones. This is a great gift, this mission of parenting.

Even when we feel stomach sick at our not-enough-ness, we can relax a little.
God is the One doing the calling. But lucky us– we get to translate, we get to extend His offer, we get to keep laying the stones of all that He has done to rescue us.
We get to tell them both with our words and with our laughter.

So let’s tell them well.

What I Learned in April
Quick Basil Pesto

Comments

  1. 1

    MaryLou Caskey says

    May 14, 2016 at 11:10 am

    Cynthia, you site is so beautiful and what a gifted writer! Thank you for doing this!

    Reply
    • 2

      HappyGoStuckey says

      May 16, 2016 at 11:56 am

      Thank you Mary Lou! So glad to have met you through the HopeWriters group!

      Reply

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Hey There!

I'm Cynthia and I'm so glad you're here. I am an introvert with an extrovert's love of gathering people together. I love good books and capturing moments. Whether you visit me here or on my own front porch, I'll be the one holding the Iced Coffee for us both.

Instagram

happygostuckey

Instagram post 2191701631330368631_396980240 This year, the 🍋lemon tree🌿 gave fewer lemons than normal. I asked my Dad and he confirmed, just a slow year.

So we picked (still armfuls,) and I’ll love every one.
If you read #feastingandforaging (have I mentioned I wrote a book? Gosh, that is never not awkward.😅) If you read it, then you know how special this tree is to me.

Again this year, I’m reminded all over again that our sweetest gifts are sometimes cloaked in harder things. Often our ‘unexpected ugh’ makes way for what we truly need.

And I just want you to know that if this December is already more than you wanted or less than you hoped, if you’re sitting at the end of a very long year— take courage.
Take peace.
Take hope and as you pass around the gift of the Advent to those beside you, don’t forget to also take some for yourself.

Don’t forget to remember that the Hope of this season (and every other,) cannot be squelched by sickness, pain, or the general ugh of life in a broken world.

We have this Hope and it is one that won’t be diminished by anything that could land in our laps today.
#prepareHimroom
Instagram post 2191016735687527448_396980240 Sometimes I think I could live in New York but I’m low-key afraid I might eat bagels every day. 🥯🍎☕️ (TB to October when @friar_stuck and I took our Pio Bagels to @devocionusa and pretended we were regulars.) ✨What city would you love to live in if it didn’t mean leaving where you are?✨
Instagram post 2189510127085979732_396980240 Home sweet merry little home.🎄This December will be busier than most for our family, so I’m treasuring every single slow moment we are gifted. Starting today with homemade lattes and little white lights.✨ #merrymerrystuckeys
Instagram post 2187513959237917323_396980240 We can all agree the point of the charcuterie platter is to get as many family members into one room at once, right? The cheese is just a bonus. {yes, second charcuterie pic this week. Because holidays. And family. And the sweet full feeling that comes not from eating too much pie, but seeing almost all of your entire family in one day.} ❤️🦃 Happy Thanksgiving, dear friends. 
#feastingandforaging #charcuterieboard #f52byyou #allthecheese #gratefulforhome #savourtheseasonalshift #simplethingsmadebeautiful #merrymerrystuckeys #almondavenuecrew
Instagram post 2185903851697559572_396980240 🍁Maybe she’s born with it.
Maybe it’s Maple Leaves.🍁 I know that when the clock strikes midnight on Thursday, everyone switches to Christmas— but I’m probably going to be here with leaf spam for just a bit longer... 😏
Instagram post 2183058239117455684_396980240 ✨In a world where you can be anything, be the one who volunteers to bring charcuterie. ✨
🧀🥖🍇🌿
Bonus points if your flannel shirt- wearing husband can hold said charcuterie while you take a million photos of cheese in the golden hour.

#feastingandforaging #charcuterieboard #thanksgivingdinner #onthetable #f52byyou #foodie #savourtheseasonalshift #simplethingsmadebeautiful #chasethelight #bluehousekitchen #merrymerrystuckeys #gratefuldays #cheeseboard #gratefulforhome #iwentlookingforbeauty #ofsimplethings
Instagram post 2181659993774021605_396980240 You’re Kale-ing me, smalls.

Listen. Kale is that self-righteous leafy green that everyone feels like they should eat, meanwhile many of us are secretly not enjoying it and I just need to say— yes, but... have you massaged your kale?

No, don’t go. I promise this is not a joke. Kale is packed with vitamins, but it’s kind of bitter and grass-clipping-like. However. 3-5 minutes of prep work and it’s downright tasty. Here’s my three step process—

Remove the stems and rip your kale in large bite sized pieces.
Add it to a bowl with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of kosher salt. 
Massage it. Really. With your hands. For 3-4 minutes. The kale will darken in color and will release that bitter smell.

And... you’re done. Now build your kale salad with the total certainty that you won’t get tired of chewing before the end of your meal. 
Pictured: Kale Caesar Salad with Ten Minute Croutons from #feastingandforaging 🥖🌿
Instagram post 2179451951070532163_396980240 Another fall.
Here in this city we love.
Here in this BlueHouse where we’ve learned to mark our days in falling leaves & saturday morning pancakes.

I’m not sure where you are and how you feel about tomorrow, or next month even. But before the weekend wears the clothes of Monday preparation, here is your friendly reminder—

Even if the future is obscured by foggy uncertainty, the present can still be shimmering with lovely. 
#feastingandforaging #hopewriters #hopelenses #simplethingsmadebeautiful #savourtheseasonalshift #daysofsmallthings #ofsimplethings #beallthere #weareplacemakers 
#nothingisordinary #lifegivinghome #learntolovewhatmustbedone #chasinglight #everydayfaithfulness #gratefulforhome
Instagram post 2175841201919747949_396980240 There is nothing like a blustery, drizzly day to remind you of all the reasons why November is lovely in all its getting-dark-early glory. ✨
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