Happy Go Stuckey

Tethering Grace & Togetherness

Welcome Wounds & True Friendship

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friendship

“Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.”
“Oil and perfume make the heart glad and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.” Proverbs 27:5- 6, 9

As my tires rolled over her smooth driveway, I smiled to again see the house of my friend. She opened the door and we both laughed loudly to see the other had changed into pajamas for the occasion.

We used to get dressed up and paint the town some shade of respectable red, but life and kids and jobs happened, so now we just steal an hour here and there. We cover the highs and lows on her comfy couch in our bare feet. Though we have lived apart for more than thirteen years, the closeness remains. Every visit is a brief and beautiful gift.

And really, it isn’t even the years we have invested that has deepened our friendship. It is the amount of the REAL US that we allow to show that keeps us close. She knows I get cranky when I need to eat. I know she has little sympathy for complaining.

We both see one another’s true self. She has called me out more than once when I needed it. Lovingly, sure— but without allowing me to hide inside my sin and self.

And I need more of that in my life. Don’t you?

In a world fascinated by excellent appearances, we need friends that care deeply for our inner selves, the part most people never see. We need close relationships that grow in the soil of real life, bearing the roots of honesty and heart. We need to earn the right to.. read more over here at the Women of Warren Moment in the Word. 

Taking Care of Teachers: Free Teacher Printable

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Around here we still have one full week until school begins. (All the Double High-Fives in the world.)

We are soaking up days in the pool, breathing deep the smells of warm slathered sunscreen and late meals on the front porch.

We languish in the afternoon slump that results from a morning in the sun and wish we had just a couple more weeks of freedom.

Pretty soon, we will have to put our responsible pants back on. Locate those lunch boxes that were hopefully cleaned out properly in May. Check off those school supply lists. Sign all the forms and try to force ourselves back into routine even though the temperatures will remain sweltering for a couple more months.

Still I enjoy a good routine. I like a loosey-goosey routine, but I need a little structure.

I know that while we are soaking up a smidge more summer, many teachers are already back at work. Making things ready for our kids and preparing to welcome them to another year.

Throughout the year, there are many opportunities to bless a teacher and this printable gives you the tools and information you need to bless your teachers well.  I hope this will make taking care of your teachers easier.

Hello!

 

Just click here to download: Hello Teacher Printable

Save as a PDF and print at home or at your local print shop then pass out to your teachers and then save for future reference!

Enjoy and please link back or give proper credit.

 

 

Green Onions and Quiet Growth

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I am strangely attached to the green onions in the orange pots out back.

They first came from my Grandfather’s sandy lake-front yard. After he passed away, they made their way to me through my Dad’s own hot garden. He offered them to me with gas money and a grin as I left their house one day. A five gallon bucket of pungent spring bumped along in the back seat on the drive home. For five hours of interstate I just hoped I could keep them alive.

We planted, watered, and waited. For weeks they sprung up and we cut them. They graced scrambled eggs and Green Jacket Salad and everything but ice cream.
Then one day I bounced outside with my herb shears and gasped.
Dead as a doornail, my onions were brown, withered, and mostly gone. I had killed them. I killed my sweet grandfather’s scallions. Shoulders slumped, I turned to go inside– resigned to buy them like a commoner in the produce section from then on.

After several weeks of avoiding all things garden with my Dad, he said — “Hey, I forgot to tell you. The onions might die. But don’t worry, they always come back. Even when it looks like they’re long gone— just wait. They’ll be back.”

He was right. A couple months later, they sprang up again. Tiny tender sprigs of green from black soil.

That was more than a year ago and I’ve watched those same green onions die a sudden death multiple times. Each time, I wait for them and it seems they’re finally gone. But they always come back. Small and green and hopeful. No amount of time spent forgotten keeps them from coming back.
It’s what they do, they live.

And every time they shoot up overnight, I remember.
I remember that growth often happens in the forgotten darkness. In the quiet places where no one sees. It may happen slowly and an inch at a time, but it happens just the same.
Because slow can often look like death to us. A failure to produce much can look like a failure to thrive at all. Slow progress is easy to ignore, and when we ignore it— we despise the quiet growth.

This is the growth we have as the created ones, created by One much bigger than ourselves. Our very need to grow and make things and learn and get better reflects our need for Him.

But we often disdain the slow for the immediate. We snarl at the tiny group for thousands of ears. We sigh at the “we didn’t do today” list and completely disregard the progress that was made– even if that progress was melting popsicles and belly laughs with our people.

May we be content– you and I, with where we are today. May we be happy with what we have to offer, with the very best we can do– And remember that underground, in the dark? That’s where the roots are. That’s where the real growth happens. 

What I Learned and Loved in June

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Hi friends! This is when we look back at all we learned in the month, both the silly and the serious. This June was our first real month of summery fun so my list is certainly influenced by that, slightly more silly than serious.

learnedinJune

What I Learned:

I learned what people are really saying when they use the word, BAE. So I have a deep-down passion for great words. I have an equally visceral reaction for a growing list of words I cannot stand. No, I won’t tell you what they are because chances are you hate them too and me typing them and you reading them would just be painful for the both of us. Some of the words have been on the list for years and there are a few recent hipster slang additions like bae and bestie. It’s ok if you use them, I just could never ever. But. I did recently learn that the word bae actually stands for before anyone else. I still kinda loathe it, but at least I can almost understand where it came from and that it wasn’t just a result of someone being too lazy to actually add one more consonant and say something tricky like, baBe.

I discovered Audible via a free trial and WOW. Game-Changing. One of my main goals this summer was to read a ton of fiction. Because of our homeschool schedule, I’m not that great at reading the genre during the year. However, I believe that reading good quality fiction is important to refill the tank– and it’s just plain fun! If you’re going on any road-trips or have a commute ahead, you might love to give it a try! The free trial includes your first book at no cost, and you get to keep your books even if you decide not to continue your subscription.  If you do continue, you get at least one free book per month. (But, psst. When I went in to cancel after the trial, they actually offered me a lower price which made it completely doable for now!)

What I Loved: 

  • Longer days
  • Less To-do’s
  • This quick & easy Pico de gallo recipe
  • Visiting the Lane Peach Orchard and finding fresh peaches to bake this Blackberry Peach Cobbler for Father’s Day.
  • Visiting my friend Amanda over at The Homemade Fig to chat about Disney World not once, but twice! I had the chance to share two posts on Loving Disney World with Little Ones and you can find them here: Part One & Part Two.
  • Gathering on the Blue House front porch to celebrate summer and support the Noonday Collection with our purchases. The night was so sticky hot and quite perfect. We ate brownies and drank coffee and tried on every single piece of Noonday we could. Just Lovely.

Favorite Quote of the Month, from Joshua Becker on a podcast with Tsh Oxenreider.

“Minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things I most value, and the intentional removal of anything that distracts from it.” –Joshua Becker, author of The More of Less

So what about you? What did you learn or love last month? I do sincerely hope you are basking in slower schedules and more time to just soak and refresh, whatever your life stage.

 

P.S. The audible/ amazon link is an affiliate link. These and other affiliate links to help support this little online space at no extra cost to you. Some of my most trusted companies like to say thank you when I spread the love on to you. 

Peach Blackberry Cobbler in a Cast Iron Skillet

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When I was fifteen, my parents moved out to the edge of the city in which they lived. They bought a house with a stretching yard and massive hydrangea bushes. They planted rows of blueberry bushes and waited for them to grow. Other produce graced the garden, but the blueberries were the real crowd pleaser. In the middle of the summer they produce more than a gallon a day and they freeze like a dream providing fruit all year round.

Sunday lunch almost always took place around my parents table, and more often than not a piping blueberry cobbler sat waiting for us in the kitchen. A scoop of vanilla ice cream dropped on a bowl of warm cobbler was the sweetest ending to our time together.

Once I moved away, I had a rule against ordering cobbler in any restaurant because it was never the same.
Over the years, I made my own tweaks to my Mom’s recipe, but she definitely gets all the credit. Same thing here. And also here. This Peach Blackberry Cobbler is a classic southern dessert. It is the perfect last minute summer addition to a meal and it feeds a crowd. The cobbler batter is quite liquid, but it bakes into a cake-like topping that gets in all the grooves of the fruit. Let it bake until it’s golden brown and serve it with spoons and ice cream. Yum!

peachcobbler

Print
Peach Blackberry Cobbler in a Cast Iron Skillet
Author: 
 
Ingredients
  • 6 cups of fruit, I use mostly peaches with 1 cup of berries
  • 1 tbs. cornstarch
  • 1 stick of unsalted butter
  • 1 cup of milk
  • 1 cup of self-rising flour
  • 1 cup of sugar, plus 1 tbs. sugar
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
Method
  1. Preheat oven to 325' F.
  2. In a large cast iron skillet-- (I use a 12-inch skillet or a 9x13 baking dish,) Mix together the fruit and cornstarch.
  3. In a separate bowl, melt the butter and combine with the flour, cup of sugar, cup of milk, and cinnamon. Mix well until no large lumps remain.
  4. Pour batter over the fruit and top with remaining tbsp sugar.
  5. Bake at 325' for 60-75 minutes until bubbly and golden brown on top.
  6. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

What We Can Do In The Aftermath.

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When morning breaks grey with tragedy– we stare at the horrible truth and wish it to be a lie. For years, we’ve been periodically shocked at the evil & malice. That shock fits like a leather glove.

We can gasp in disbelief. We can shake our heads.

We can look over and notice our children mid belly-laugh and long to tuck them safely back in the womb for awhile.

When hateful words in the aftermath seem just as bad as evil actions in the night, let us be set apart for loving speech, hope filled truth, and nothing more. We can stand alone. We can choose to not be muddy-speech slingers.

candoWhen those who claim to know Him use their voice for hatred and vitriol–

We can remain a light. We can say it’s not okay. We can stand up for the hurting.

We can remember that we needed mercy, free of charge and completely covering us over.

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” –I Peter 2: 9, 10

We can be the ones who remain humble. The ones who don’t claim to understand the fear and the pain. The ones who are fully aware of who we are without Christ. 

We can keep our conduct honorable, loving, and true.

We can be the ones who don’t proclaim to know.  Who often don’t know what to say. Who don’t proclaim to have everything in common.

Who only proclaim what we know.

And if we’re proclaiming something, it needs to be the hope of Him who called us out of darkness–  Who called us into light.

We can stop pretending to be experts on anything else but the fact that we needed Him– and we need Him still.

Let us be the ones flocking to serve and help and give. Let our voices be clearer than evil.

 

 

What Grown-Ups Get to Do (and a free printable.)

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When I was eight years old I wore purple unicorn sneakers and yarn ribbons in my hair. I scraped my knobby knees jumping off the front steps to escape a lizard. I fashioned a reading nook with my Lady Lovely Locks sleeping bag and a stack of books from the school library. The minute we came home from school, I dropped my backpack and found my quiet spot to crack open Spunky’s Diary for the fifth time.

My mom headed straight for the kitchen and began to make dinner. She sang hymns under her breath and I heard her when the electric can opener stopped abruptly. She seemed to be in her happy place, stepping from refrigerator to counter and back to stove top, humming and stirring dinner for six other people. Even after being at work for hours, she still seemed happy to be where she was. Happy to be doing what she had to do.
What she “got” to do.

grownups

I have clear memories of thinking I would just call out for pizza every night when I was a mom— you know, so I could read more books. (Nerd alert.)

I thought that grown-ups could do whatever they wanted because no one was bossing them around.
I thought my parents both worked so hard because they enjoyed it, when it was actually more like– they had five hungry guppies eating everything in sight and needing new shoes every four months.

Now I know.
Now I know that what grown-ups really get to do, is clean cold scrambled eggs out of the sink drain and be thankful for mouths to feed.
Grown-ups get to peel themselves from a warm duvet at midnight when a tiny person needs a hug and not really mind.
Grown-ups get to buy each other ceiling fans and small appliances and know that the experience of building a life together is really where it’s at.
Grown-ups get to catch baby spit-up with their bare hands, and then laugh about it.
Grown-ups get to be the former generation of big kids who do the things they have to do with joy.

AnneQuote1I want for my children to see that. I want them to hear me humming at the end of a long day. For them to see me smile when the hours till bedtime are stretching and so is my patience. I want them to notice me delighting in my life– all of it.

Because once upon a time, this reality was more or less exactly what I dreamed of.

There is so much more that we could say on this topic, but let’s leave it in the hands of the very wise Anne with an E.

I made a printable with a lovely quote from Anne of Green Gables for you and I. There are two font options, so just pick the one you like the most and download below.

AnneQuote2-3

Hang it near your desk or washing machine or kitchen sink so that we may remember– We may not choose the task, but we may certainly choose the perspective. 

Anne Printable, Script Font

Anne Quote, Caps Font

Download either PDF by clicking the link above & save it to your computer. Then either print out your 8×10 print at home, or email to your local print shop or office supply. I would suggest Cardstock or a high quality paper. Then just frame it and hang it!

Be kind, and please always give proper credit. © Cynthia M. Stuckey. For personal use only, not to be altered or sold. https://www.happygostuckey.com

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