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Happy Go Stuckey

Tethering Grace & Togetherness

What I learned in October.

November 3, 2014 by HappyGoStuckey 7 Comments

#Write31Days in October is O-V-E-R and though I really loved it, I’m joining in the collective sigh that October is completed. To celebrate that November has arrived, I’m linking up with one of my favorite people and writers, Emily P. Freeman over at Chatting at the Sky for What I Learned in October

1. I learned that someone else’s mistake can be my hidden gift. When we took a long weekend in the Blue Ridge Mountains earlier in October, we were excited about the rest, the quiet and the family time. Secretly, I was also planning to get a lot of writing work done while there. I was completely banking on the daily rest time the girls would have, and the early mornings I planned to sneak out of bed and power up the computer and tap away in the quiet. When the listing of the cabin we rented turned out to be a little incorrect, with absolutely no internet and very little cell service, I was pretty frustrated. Naturally, a few minutes of standing out on the deck, breathing the mountain air and looking out into nothing but layers upon layers of brightly colored trees– and I found the calm I was seeking. It was a weekend of deep breaths and rest– and thankfully God knew exactly the form of rest I needed.
IMG_17412. Yellow Jackets REALLY love fresh Mountain Apples. Stuckey Girls really love fresh Mountain Apples. Stuckey Girls do NOT love Yellow Jackets. I learned that you can be smack dab in a picturesque, mountain memory -making moment of Apple picking, and a few stray yellow jackets can really change the mood of those aforementioned little girls and their apples. Add in a little bit of slippery mud, one mommy and her eldest daughter sliding down in the mud and the mood gets even more dicey. Then you take that and raise it with a sudden, and certainly unexpected torrential downpour in the middle of said picturesque Apple orchard– and everything falls apart. You might just find yourself trying to stuff your BetterLife Bag INSIDE your husband’s backpack to save it from being ruined, and then holding your really emotionally charged children under one teeny-tiny cheapo umbrella and trying not to make direct eye contact with your husband so the two of you don’t offend the children by laughing at their extreme hysterics. You might just give up on not laughing and stand in a group hug, in the driving rain and laughing uncontrollably while your children look at you as though you must be either crazy or cruel to take them on such a catastrophic outing. At that moment you will probably take note as to why exactly you married such a ridiculously fun man. 

IMG_1768
the before picture– so serene. 

3. I learned that fresh Apples obtained in such a ridiculous way really do make the best apple pie. And that there is something really magical about standing in your kitchen in a sweater and cozy socks, making the same apple pie for your own family the way the two generations of women before you made it, and knowing Fall has finally arrived– and some things never change. 
IMG_1810

 

4. I learned that I need to throw more candy. Really. Shauna Niequist spoke at Allume on the topic of True Hospitality and though I wrote down practically every little thing she said– because, well, Shauna Niequist– but I wrote these words in my journal in big fat letters, THROW MORE CANDY. She told this personal story about her own realization that she had become someone who was less warm, loving, and giving and more efficient, busy and productive. And wow. I have to be honest and say that it hit me right between the eyes. In an effort to manage all the areas of our family, home and life well– I have easily forgotten how to play. How to laugh on a daily basis. To just enjoy the moments, all of the moments. If you want to hear the entire beautiful keynote, and hear her explain the part about throwing candy– and trust me you do– Go here and listen.  Also, I wrote about my Allume highlights here. 

Allume Moments (2014)
Gerunds & Lately

Comments

  1. Victoria says

    November 4, 2014 at 10:27 am

    I’m here for the link up! 🙂

    That first picture is gorgeous!!! And I love that God had better plans for your vacation and that you were able to stop and enjoy them! 🙂 That sounds like the perfect getaway.

    Your poor girls!!! I can just hear the squeals.

    What a legacy with the pie making! These little things are some of my favorites.

    I just read my first Shauna Niequist book (Cold Tangerines). I’ll be back for more!

    Reply
  2. Karrilee Aggett says

    November 4, 2014 at 9:44 pm

    I love this so much! I love this glimpse into what you have learned and hallelujah for no more daily posting, right? I still need to write my wrap up and now you have me thinking… I may do it What I Learned style, too! 😉

    Reply
  3. Karrilee Aggett says

    November 4, 2014 at 9:44 pm

    I love this so much! I love this glimpse into what you have learned and hallelujah for no more daily posting, right? I still need to write my wrap up and now you have me thinking… I may do it What I Learned style, too! 😉

    Reply
  4. Lauren Metzler Washer says

    November 5, 2014 at 3:41 pm

    I love it when God gives us what we need 🙂 And, that apple pie looks fantastic! I could definitely use some more throwing candy in my life. I tend to get wrapped up in the busyness of taking care of what has to be done, that I don’t stop to enjoy and let my family see the fun side of me. Thanks for the reminder!

    Reply
  5. Lauren Metzler Washer says

    November 5, 2014 at 3:41 pm

    I love it when God gives us what we need 🙂 And, that apple pie looks fantastic! I could definitely use some more throwing candy in my life. I tend to get wrapped up in the busyness of taking care of what has to be done, that I don’t stop to enjoy and let my family see the fun side of me. Thanks for the reminder!

    Reply
  6. Teresa says

    November 6, 2014 at 9:47 pm

    Don’t you just love it when #1 happens – God always know just what we need! Can’t wait to take some time and catch up on the Allume speakers and see what I missed by not going! Maybe next year. Loved catching up with what you learned in October.

    Reply
  7. Teresa says

    November 6, 2014 at 9:47 pm

    Don’t you just love it when #1 happens – God always know just what we need! Can’t wait to take some time and catch up on the Allume speakers and see what I missed by not going! Maybe next year. Loved catching up with what you learned in October.

    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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Joy is the courage of people who don’t have all Joy is the courage of people who don’t have all the answers, yet.

While you sit in a season of waiting,
the calendar can often be a cruel companion, reminding you that days go by, weeks, months— with what feels like very little change in the right direction.

Perhaps you can easily assent to: 
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick,

but you strain to see just how it will be when: “...a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” (Proverbs 13:12)

Wherever you and I are today— whether we wander, wait, stand firmly planted, or some pressed together combination of all three — we can take heart.

We are not alone.
And this will not be wasted.
What seems to be an unending blank space, an indefinite pause, is a space for new things.

Long before all is made right, and whether or not it all is tied up neatly with a perfectly crafted bow— we can know this:

We do not have to know the outcome to be faithful today.

✨Joy is not disregard for reality as much as it is obstinacy against despair.✨
Hi 👋🏻 I’m Cynthia and I’m a bit weary. T Hi 👋🏻 I’m Cynthia and I’m a bit weary. There. I said it. These days I’m gravitating to the true & the beautiful as rest for my weary self... and I wonder if you are too.

So much so, that I’m starting a new little offering, it’s called “The Feast: Wonder for the Weary” and the first issue goes out this weekend. It’s a bit more personal (okay this first one is WAY more personal. 🤭) It will be a little bit of everything, all with the goal of offering REST to both the feasters & foragers alike. If you’re already a subscriber— no need to do anything, if not— click through my bio to “keep in touch” and join the feast.✨
We are a people of both lament and praise. We hol We are a people of both lament and praise.

We hold questions without answers— yet we hold them in hands already full of good things.

We hold our daily bread, our daily gifts, and we hold the daily closeness of the God Who Sees.

The God who is no stranger to our lament, and Who Is the reason for our every hope.
He does not grow weary of our asking. Of our need to be told again, He will. 

You friend, are not invisible.
You are seen and cared for by the God who does all things well. (Even when they feel anything but.)
Married love ambition: making the kids roll their Married love ambition: making the kids roll their eyes at our “gushy-ness” as often as possible. 

President & CEO of the Lance Stuckey Fan Club— in every season, but especially on days like today.
Rainy day Mocha date, courtesy of our own toasty k Rainy day Mocha date, courtesy of our own toasty kitchen.😍🌧📚

On this chilly Saturday, we spent entirely too long browsing for books at our library and then all came home to a fire, mochas, and cocoa, respectively. Of all the things we do not know at this very moment, we know the gifts abound, and are worth counting.

PS, if you haven’t spread whipped cream on a foil-lined baking sheet to freeze, and then cut out cute shapes with cookie cutters to top your coffee or hot cocoa, may I suggest you get thee on that at once.
“If God sends us on strong paths, we are provide “If God sends us on strong paths, we are provided strong shoes.” — Corrie Ten Boom

✨File under, things to save in a fire.✨

The prayer journal pictured here contains six months of the hard & the sweet.
Six months of prayers asked & answered for ourselves and for others.
Six months of seeing through prayer, not how it changed our circumstances necessarily but how it changed us.

I always appreciate a record like this— being able to clearly see the paths we are led down, rocky though they may be? Priceless.

The ways God has come near us & drawn us to Himself again and again are written on these pages and I’ll treasure it forever.

Also pictured: Psalms Illuminated Scripture Journal. Highly recommend. Thank you always, @allifarnell
“The world is indeed full of peril, and in it th “The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.”
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

While scrolling through my photos today, my heart was heavy to realize how far back “before” was.

Before masks and distancing, before loss, before other, more personal bits of hard. Multitudinous change, neither all bad nor all good.

With our free time, we’ve introduced our girls to Tolkien, Bilbo, Frodo, and especially Samwise the Brave. They are officially hooked and we are delighted to watch them discover another world where evil doesn’t win, and the courage of the small matters much. {they close their eyes at the Orcs and we haven’t had a nightmare yet!}🤞🏻😂😬
I’m leaning increasingly more into the analog th I’m leaning increasingly more into the analog these days.

It started with the Sourdough and a dozen different kinds of jam last year.
I suddenly find great calm in activities that stand in direction opposition to hurry, the textbook definition of ✨work in progress.✨ And really, if you could see the other side of this piece, you would believe me. 🙃

Thank you to @thebarmyfox for making embroidery so accessible!
@thenester says, “It doesn’t have to be perfec @thenester says, “It doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful,” and I believe that the weeknight meal equivalent is, “Just because it’s easy— doesn’t make it a second-tier supper!”

Thank you, Spaghetti with Meat sauce for being both a ministry to mom AND a crowd pleaser. Especially on a dreary January-ish day. It is ✨quite alright✨ to make something we’ve made a million times just because we know it makes the people happy.🍝
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