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Happy Go Stuckey

Tethering Grace & Togetherness

Friday Round Up: Only the Good Stuff!

November 11, 2016 by HappyGoStuckey 4 Comments

“Autumn seemed to arrive suddenly that year. The morning of the first September was crisp and golden as an apple.” — J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. 

Just when I was losing patience with the warmth of Fall in Georgia, we crunch on leaves and acorns alike. Hallelujah, it is finally Fall! Granted, our afternoons are still a bit balmy, but that just means we can enjoy that perfect Iced Coffee a little longer, right?

There are so many things to love about Autumn, and I plan to enjoy every last one, cliche or not. (Except the PSL, I confess I am no longer a fan of sweet coffee. I know, sad. I truly love the taste of strong black coffee, even though it is pretty much the khaki pants of the coffee shop menu.)

img_0933Last month we made our third annual pilgrimage to the Blue Ridge Mountains for brisk air and heaps of fresh apples and it did not disappoint. Seventeen members of our family packed into a large cabin with creaky floors and space to rest. For three sublime days we enjoyed big breakfasts, massive cups of coffee, and apple picking in flannel shirts. Nothing brings a deep sigh like the mountains. I may however, have gone a little overboard on the pumpkins, apples, and squashes. As in, our girls don’t even ask what kind of fruit we have anymore, they know– it’s apples. Apples for weeks.

Before we jump in, thank you to all who entered the Simmering in the Kitchen Giveaway. Laura B. was the winner and has been notified. We should do that again sometime, it was fun! 

fridayroundupThis weeks’ good stuff is a hodgepodge of wonderful.

1. The writings of Christine Willard, whom I found when I heard her husband, Timothy Willard speak at Allume a couple of years ago. They both have a rare lyrical way with words which draw me in every time. These are two people who hold both the beauty and pain of life in this world with gentle, reverent hands and it springs forth with a clear picture of just how deep their art goes. Writing like that draws me deeper, to know God more fully and to know what it is He has called me to do.

2. My new favorite Instagram feed: @LifeCreative. A “faith-based community of creatives who passionately blend home, art, and family,” Life Creative is a sunny spot I currently frequent. We all need to be reminded that though mothering and creating can be a tricky juggling act, it is entirely doable. I’m certain you will find a bit of beauty there.

3. The Ann Kroeker, Writing Coach Podcast. Seriously, where has this been all my life? They are short (usually under ten minutes) segments which is a perfect jumpstart to writing time.

4. The #Shoeboxrecipienttakeover hashtag on Twitter. I simply adore the mission and ministry of Operation Christmas Child and all that they do to share love and hope through the OCC boxes each year. If you need to be reminded that these boxes are going to actual faces, check out the fun little party over on twitter featuring stories from past recipients. Also, find some fresh ideas for packing your Operation Christmas Child Shoebox here.

5. Betrayal Hurts and That’s Okay by Caitlin Lieder–  I regularly enjoy the words this dear one writes and this piece on forgiveness and betrayal is no different.

“…forgiveness doesn’t mean trust or reconciliation… it means sacrifice. When I forgive this person, I sacrifice my own desire for compensation and justification. Her sin against me has already been justified on the cross and I cannot hold it over her.”

Friends, I hope you have a refreshing weekend heavy on all that is life-giving and free of anything too soul-sucking, (ahem Facebook, I’m looking at you.)

I would love to hear what your favorite finds were this week!

Did you get your free copy of Simmer: Six Seasonal Soups & the Stories that Inspired them, yet? Get it here!

Simmering in the Kitchen: A Giveaway
Brown Sugar Lattes and Finding Home

Comments

  1. Renee says

    November 11, 2016 at 5:40 pm

    Thank you, Cynthia. We have apples upon apples at our home too. Just yesterday, my pastor’s wife was telling me about this couple in our church whom she thought I’d like to meet – Timothy and Christine Willard. Thank you for sending me to their sites, along with introducing me to @lifecreative and Ann Kroeker. I enjoyed chatting with you for a bit last week. Your writing and your site serve as encouraging examples for me as I try to find my writing way ❤

    Reply
    • HappyGoStuckey says

      November 14, 2016 at 12:30 pm

      Hi Renee, It was so great to see you again last week.
      And I’m glad you said hello here because I forgot to send you that resource from Denise Hughes! http://denisejhughes.com/passport-to-prose/ This has given me several great tools.

      Oh and how neat that the Willards are in your neck of the woods. I’m sure they would love to meet you.

      Reply
  2. Ann Kroeker says

    November 11, 2016 at 6:00 pm

    I’m so happy to be included as part of the good stuff you’ve rounded up–and to know that you and I are connecting on the subject of writing! I hope your writing life flourishes, Cynthia, as you gather and encourage people in this space.

    Reply
    • HappyGoStuckey says

      November 11, 2016 at 8:35 pm

      Of course, Ann! So happy to have found your helpful words, thank you for the encouragement and for stopping by to say hello.

      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.

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happygostuckey

Some of the rhythms we took up in ‘20 we will co Some of the rhythms we took up in ‘20 we will continue to sigh into in ‘21.
Baking sourdough, watching it bubble and rise and fill our BlueHouse with the scent of a good, long, posture of patience— I absolutely need a second serving of this.
While we wait, and whatever it is that we wait for— may the space between be made sweeter by the knowledge that we never wait alone.
You can’t tell by their joy, but the day I snapp You can’t tell by their joy, but the day I snapped this photo was somewhat of a regular day.

What looks like a winter beach vacation was actually the tail-end of a masked lunch stop in the middle of a pandemic road trip.

This sparkling moment of sun-splashed fun was sandwiched between brutal conversations about regular life, especially the hard parts.

And this is how it is. 
These bits of life that we never see coming, they are enveloped between all that makes us tired, weary, sighing pilgrims in a world that was never really meant to be hospitable in the first place.

This photo reminds me to look again at our year, our season, our circumstances.

To look a second and third time.
To keep looking as long as it takes to see that the joy of our right now isn’t gone, it just might be hiding in the shadow of all that’s hard.

Brokenness is never vague. And we don’t have to search very long to see it both within ourselves and around us.
Sometimes the weight of that fact is crushing.
And then, sometimes it reminds us even more clearly of the light shining in darkness.

Joy is an act of defiance against despair and I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling rather defiant at the moment.✨✨✨✨

@hopewriters #hopewriterlife 
#feastingandforaging #hopelenses #getaftergrateful
Endurance can feel like standing still. Especially Endurance can feel like standing still. Especially if what we’re called to be about is the same as yesterday and last month. 
It’s difficult to meet each day with the same fervor and joy for what we are called to do, especially when at present, the progress seems small and immeasurable. 
But even then, perhaps especially so — our faithfulness matters.

When we cannot yet see the other side, the light at the end of this particularly long tunnel, we begin again.

Not because we will always wake with fresh energies and bright, sparkling hope for what comes next, friend. But because the God of Endurance (Romans 15:5) dwells within us.

“It is the grace of endurance granted to you by the God of endurance that provides you with everything you need to continue to be what he calls you to be and do what he calls you to do between this moment and the moment when you cross over to the other side. When difficulty exposes the weakness of your resolve and the limits of your strength, you do not have to panic, because He will endure even in this moments when you don’t feel able to do so yourself.” — Paul David Tripp, New Morning Mercies

#hopewriterlife
Stuckey, party of two. Always ready to run out for Stuckey, party of two. Always ready to run out for paper towels... especially if the store is in convenient proximity to a quick date for croissants and dirty chai for two. Love my forever coffee companion even more at the start of this new year. Wherever he’s going, I’m riding shotgun.
We have learned... The inestimable value of a goo We have learned...

The inestimable value of a good camp chair, for they have been used for everything from soccer benches and coffee dates to theatre seats and church pews.

What our neighborhood streets can offer in the way of an outing—from the colors of spring to the sparkle of Christmas.

To hold plans with the loosest hands possible.

To rejoice in things found. Time. Margin. ...and enough toilet paper to share with a neighbor.

To give grace and accept it for ourselves.

The hilarious joy of a group text complete with “have you seen this meme yet?” 

To pivot. And then pivot again.

To find more joy in candlelight closer to home, instead of the bright lights of traveled cities.

To perfect our pizza dough recipe and truly learn to prefer it over dinner out.

To work with yeast and flour again and again— until the message of waiting for something really good dusted our apron fronts and kitchen floors.

And in our house, we learned how to be unexpectedly unemployed. We learned how to honor that new found space with needed grief and desired hope. How to be grateful for true friends who prayed with us, held questions with us, and hoped with us. We were reminded of our true identity and that it will never rest in a job. 

In a year in which we’ve all lost quite a lot, you and I have been given so much as well. Some of what we’ve lost we have learned to be without. Some, we won’t go looking for again.

In 525,600 minutes and in all the things, found and lost and found again— there is far and away more to be grateful for.

And we choose joy.

✨Happy New Year, dear friends!✨
Not rushing too quickly into a new year over here. Not rushing too quickly into a new year over here. Though the one in our rear view window is one we wouldn’t choose to repeat, still it was one full of God’s nearness.

One day I’ll write it all down.
But for now I’ll just say,
we were not alone. 🕯
“Once in our world, a Stable had something in it “Once in our world, a Stable had something in it that was bigger than our whole world.”
C.S.Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia

Joy to the World, friends.
Behold. The most apropos Christmas Eve 2020 desser Behold. The most apropos Christmas Eve 2020 dessert ever. Made from a wonky gingerbread cake that did not cooperate.
We shall not go quietly into 2021.
We will fight back with beauty and joy and candles... and fresh whipped cream made by an eleven year old with sparkly green eyes. 🎄❤️✨
Merry Christmas from the Fam! { 👉🏻 swipe for Merry Christmas from the Fam! { 👉🏻 swipe for Stuckeys in their natural habitat.) 🎄🕯❤️✨
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