Logan Wolfram

Enjoying Life for Dessert

What if You Don’t Even Have the Choice….

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Hey ya’ll.  Today I wanted to share something with you that has been on my heart for awhile.  It’s also something that I’m joining in a team of other bloggers to promote awareness and opportunities for us all to impact the globe.

Back in October when I went to the Relevant Conference, I met some of the most amazing people!  I also was exposed to some groups and companies that I hadn’t been aware of prior to attending the conference.  One of these groups is called OneVerse.  OneVerse is a program of The Seed Company (a part of Wycliffe Bible Translators) that enables you to support local Bible translators as they make God’s message available in the language of their people.

I learned some really staggering facts from the OneVerse team…and honestly they’re things that bother me.

  • Did you know that today, nearly one-third of the world’s language groups representing 340 million people are still waiting for God’s Word in a language that they can understand clearly?
  • There are more people without a single verse of Scripture in their language than the entire population of the U.S
  • In fact, more people live without a complete Bible in their language than without enough food and clean water combined.

And you know what…I’m not ok with that.

If you’ve come around here for any length of time, you know that my relationship with the Lord is tops on my list of important things.  I don’t talk about it every day with ya’ll here, but it is a part of my daily life.  Reading scripture is a part of my daily life.  In fact, one of my favorite ways to read it is to pull out the Logos app on my husband’s ipad and read the same scripture in multiple translations.  See the way it strikes me differently ya know.  And as I think about my hunger for and enjoyment of multiple translations of God’s word…I’m struck by the thought that there are millions of people….MILLIONS who don’t have even one verse of the Bible in their own language.

Millions of people who can’t even read the word of God for themselves….people who can’t even choose to read it or let it collect dust on a shelf.  Our society is one rich with choices…and whether or not time in God’s word is a choice you make for yourself….you at least have the opportunity to make that choice.  There is literally a crisis of Bible poverty…and it affects one-third of the world.  That’s a lot of people.

So…here’s what you can do if this bothers you too.  I’ve placed a button for OneVerse on the bottom right hand side of my blog that you can click on to support Bible translation.  You can sign up for a monthly sponsorship, you can make one time gifts, and if you’re like me and want to know where your money actually goes and how it’s spent, then rest assured that OneVerse works hard to keep costs low through partnerships, efficiency of scale and organizational capacity. 81% of OneVerse gifts are used for translation projects and activities directly related to the process of Bible translation, with 19% being used for administration, operations and communication.  It takes $26 to translate just one verse of the Bible.

You can go online and pick a group of people, but I’d ask that you join me and the other bloggers on our team to work hard to translate for the Vidunda people of Africa.  The goal really is to unite our resources, our reach of people, and make a difference with a people group by giving them a whole Bible.

Would you consider joining me….and doing what we can to end Bible poverty?

“Right now you have plenty and can help those in need. Later, they will have plenty and can share with you when you need it. In this way, things will be equal.” -2 Corinthians 8:14, NLT

If you’d like to get more involved or to hear what some of the other members of our team are saying about this amazing opportunity, you can check out our OneVerse Bloggers page HERE.

What’s Cooking?! Incredible Sugar Cookies

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Happy couple of days after Christmas everyone!  I hope that your holiday was filled with wonder.

We watched the Nativity Story on Christmas Eve afternoon before our service at church and I loved how it set the scene for my heart for worship even more.  If you’ve never seen that movie…go watch it.  It is such a neat look at what it must have really been like back in that time and place when Christ was born.  Gives you a new perspective on it all.

I’ve been enjoying the last few days with nothing on our agenda as well.  Since my oldest is out of school this week, I plan on doing more of the same…a whole lotta “nothing major.”  Today though, we’re going to make some sugar cookies.  My littlest one is turning TWO in just a couple of weeks, so I figure we’ll do what we can to get started on some preparations for his party.  Last year, these sugar cookies were a great hit when I made them at his Very Hungry Caterpillar  birthday party, and again in the shape of musical notes at Tid Bit’s bluegrass themed party.  This year we’re going to be doing a dog theme because the child LOVES dogs.  I think I’m going to go simple on the cookies though and make them in the shape of bones.  I have shared this recipe before, but realized since it was ages ago and I was just learning about blogging, I didn’t tag it properly and it’s hard to find on the blog.  So here it is again for ya!

It uses powdered sugar instead of regular granulated, resulting in a really shortbready tasting cookie…DELISH!  I scoured the internet and cookbooks to find the perfect recipe, and this one is about as perfect as I have ever had! It makes really good thick cookies, which I love.  I guess if you’re a thin cookie person though, that’s just all up to you and your rolling pin!  To make the icing just mix powdered sugar,  a dash of vanilla, and milk (or soymilk) til it’s the consistency you want.

Amazing Sugar Cookies
yield: about 75 medium cookies

Directions:
  1. With paddle attachment, mix butter for 30 seconds. Add a 1/3 of the powdered sugar, mix on first speed for 1 minute. Add another 1/3 of the powdered sugar, mix another minute. Finally, add the last 1/3 of sugar, mix 1 minute.
  2. Combine eggs, vanilla, and almond extract together, add to butter/sugar mixture. Mix for 30 seconds.
  3. Add a 1/3 of the flour, mix 1 minute.
  4. Scrape.
  5. Add the next 1/3 of the flour, mix 2 minutes.
  6. Scrape.
  7. Add the final 1/3 of the flour, mix 3 minutes.
  8. Refrigerate until able to be rolled out and cut into desired shapes. (if you’re using the dairy free version i told above,  I’d refrigerate it AT LEAST 24 hrs before rolling out to make sure it really sets up.) Bake at 350 for 9-15 minutes depending on the size you cut them!)

(As a side note for my friends who have food allergies, you can make this recipe dairy free.  To do so, I substituted 1/2 the amount of butter with Fleishman’s Unsalted Margarine, and 1/2 with Earth Balance Buttery Sticks which I buy at Whole foods.  You really need to mix the two to get it right.  The margarine makes a flavorful, but super soft and sticky dough by itself, and the buttery sticks sometimes have a slightly oily taste but have a harder consistency…by mixing the 2, you’ll keep a good buttery flavor from the margarine and keep the texture right from the buttery sticks.)

I hope you are enjoying some relaxing time with your family too!  Makes me long for the days of summer for sure!

Own It!….A Big, Bad Tattoo….

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I am a stay at home mom of 2 little boys in suburban America.

I drive a minivan that I swore I’d never drive.

I live in a really pretty neighborhood with lots of nice people.

I lead Bible studies.

I love Jesus.

I’m a decorator and a creative person.

I’m girly.

And now…I have a big ass tattoo on my arm.

And if I’m being honest with you, which I always am…I’m freaking out just a little bit right now.  Ok…maybe a lot.

It’s not so much “buyers remorse” or anything…but as the tattoo artist said to me yesterday “That’s a badass tattoo.”  And as I left and looked down at the big ol bandage on my arm, I thought to myself….”and it’s a big ass tattoo too!”

It’s bigger than I was originally thinking…almost twice as big (that’s the truth of it that I’ll tell you if I’m not trying to convince myself that it’s only 1/3 bigger than the original plan.)  And it is absolutely beautiful.  But like I said…I’m a mini-van driving, carpooling, conservative who’s now sporting a big honking tattoo in a really obvious place.  And here’s what I’m having trouble coming to terms with after permanence is already in place….

What will people think of me?

 

I wish I could say that I really don’t care…but that’d be a lie.  I care.  And I’m realizing as I’ve got a big spot of amazingly beautiful and deeply meaningful ink on my arm, that I’m challenged by the meaning of the tattoo for me…even in the existence of the tattoo.

Where do I find my identity?

 

The story of the tattoo goes something like this:

A little over 4 years ago I had my first miscarriage.  After we lost the baby and I struggled with what that meant and all that was going on at that time, we had dinner with some friends of ours.  They prayed for us, and as our friend Chad was praying, he stopped and said “The Lord just told me that you are going to be the mother of warriors.”  Warriors….plural.  And warriors….for the Kingdom of God.

I’m good with that.  I love that.  I want to raise my boys to be mighty men of God…willing to fight to see the Kingdom of Heaven advance here on earth.  So that’s what the Hebrew written there means.  Technically, it means “Mother of Conquerers”…but honestly I like that even better…a greater implication of a battle already won.  And I’ve wanted that phrase tattooed on me ever since then.  Part of my identity.

Then, about a year and a half ago, we were standing in church one day during worship and I was thinking about getting the tattoo and praying about it.  Then I had this strong impression that “mother of warriors” wasn’t my only identity…it’d be an incomplete tattoo.  I’m a wife too….to a great man, who I know God wants to use for great things.  And I heard the Lord say to me…”you are also the wife of a general….a general in my army.”  So that’s what the 4 stars represent….a 4 star general….that my husband is… and is becoming in the army of the Lord.

I have to tell you a funny aside about this part though.  At first I was thinking… “Am I suppossed to put 5 stars here?…because a 5 star general is pretty hard-core…pretty awesome.”  I kept having this impression though that it was just suppossed to be 4 stars, but I didn’t want to offend my husband by somehow making him feel demoted or like I didn’t think he was capable of top level awesomeness.  So I told him my dilemna…hoping that I wasn’t offending him with the dilemna.   He got really quiet and said “Would you like my input on this?”  I was hesitant, but said yes.  Then he said to me “it’s supposed to be 4 stars.  Some guys spoke the very thing over me before you ever said it…you confirmed what had already been spoken.  I just haven’t told you before now because I didn’t want it to sound arrogant or anything to you.”  Then he went on to tell me that the office of a 4 star general is given for a specific purpose…for a specific need.  The appointment goes hand-in-hand with the position of office to which they are linked.  Pretty cool huh?  So….that’s what the 4 stars on the crown are about.

About 6-8 months ago, I was in church again and thinking about identity….and my own identity…and the tattoo…when I heard clear as a bell… “You ARE a mother of warriors, and you ARE the wife of a general….but never forget that above all of those things, you are a daughter of THE KING.”  Hence the crown.

My identity….written on my arm…most importantly to remind me, and now I guess…that other people see too.  So here’s my challenge now as I look at this big ass, bad ass, amazing word from the Lord for me on who I am to Him, and who I am on this earth….

OWN IT.

 

Own the big, bad tattoo on my arm….but more importantly…MOST importantly….own the meaning behind it all.  Own the identity…and be defined by the identity given to me by the Most High….not by one I seek from other people.

 

When Ladybugs Look Like Cockroaches….Tattoo Musings….

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I interrupt this regularly scheduled holiday season with an announcement….and a little tid bit that you may or may not already know about me.

I have tattoos.

Yep.  I do. Gasp!

Two of them to be exact.  And the reason I’m telling you this now is because I’m about to increase that number to three.

Yes…seriously.

If you’re currently still catching your breath from the realization that I have tattoos at all…sorry to knock the wind back out of you again with the realization that they weren’t just a rash moment of foolishness in my youth.  Well…at least not one of them.

The first one actually was a moment of foolishness.  Call it 16-year-old stupidity…or peer pressure…or whatever you want…but here’s what I call it now…”the ladybug that looks more like a cockroach.”  Yes friends…I once had a ladybug…that was supposed to be on my toe.  But somehow in the dead of winter, where wearing shoes could have supposedly harmed a tattoo on my toe…some man with a perpetual cigarette hanging out of his mouth named Earl (or something like that) talked me out of the toe and into anywhere else.  That “anywhere else” ended up being on my pelvic bone…and thank heavens you can’t see it in even a bathing suit.  Two kids and 20 pounds past age 16….it’s just not that cute anymore.  My ladybug looks like a cockroach.  And to this day, I still can’t come up with any significant thing to say about why I chose a ladybug in the first place.

The second one was well thought through.  Essentially, I decided that if I was going to be inked anywhere, I should have made it count for something the first time.  But, since I didn’t…I figured I should give it another shot at making it matter.  That was when I was 22.  And I still really love everything about the second tattoo…well, except that I later learned that having a lower back tattoo is sometimes referred to as a “tramp stamp.”  I’m not really down with the whole “tramp stamp” thing…but I do love the tattoo…and I like that it’s on my back.

It looks like this….

If I had it to do over again…I’d do the same thing but maybe make it look more like this (without the text around it)…. —–>

All to say…I like it well enough that I’d do it all over again.

And in case you’re familiar…yes, this is Martin Luther’s seal.  No…I’m not Lutheran …never have been. (and just to clarify…Martin Luther is an entirely different person from Martin Luther King…who was likely named after the original Martin Luther.)

Here’s a quick run down of what this seal means though (from Martin Luther himself.)

First, there should be a black cross set in a heart, which should keep its natural colour. This will remind me that faith in the Crucified Christ saves us.  Now, although the cross is black, it does not tend to change the colour of the heart, does not destroy nature, i.e., does not kill, but keeps alive. “For the just shall live by faith,” – by faith in the saviour.  But this heart is fixed upon the center of a white rose, to show that faith causes joy, consolation and peace. The rose is white, not red, because white is the ideal colour of the angels.  The rose, moreover, is fixed on a sky-coloured ground, to denote that such joy of faith in the spirit is but an earnest yearning and beginning of heavenly joy to come.  Around all of this is a golden ring, to signify that such bliss in heaven is endless, and more precious than all joys and treasures, since gold is the best and most treasured metal. Christ, our dear Lord, He will give us grace unto eternal life. – Martin Luther

I like that meaning.  That it doesn’t just seem cute, but that it really MEANS something.

And that’s what’s gonna happen with this third tatoo…a meaningful little mark on my personal docket of things that will happen here pretty soon.  No…I haven’t told my mom.  So….”Hi mom!  Just fyi….I’m getting another tatoo.”  (Ok…so I kinda told her before now…but I think secretly she hopes maybe I won’t actually do it.)

Anyhooo….I just had to tell you all.  I’m not going to tell you what I’m getting yet though.  Where’s the suspense in that?!  I’ve known at least part of what it’d be for a few years…and the rest has come to me over the past 2 years.  So, this one has been in the making since December of 2007.  I love it.  It means something to me.  It’s got quite a lot to do with my true identity…which is a whole lot greater than I naturally tend to think of it.

And while we’re on it, my friend Laura wrote a really interesting post recently HERE asking the question…”Could tatoos be a modern-day form of baptism?”  I don’t really personally think it should replace traditional baptism, but she brings up some really interesting thoughts about our culture…this generation…and the ways we express ourselves.  It’s worth a read…whether you’re into ink or not.  (By the way…I’m not trying to open a whole big theological can of worms about tattoos and baptism here either.  Not really my bag, you know.  If you have opinions on it though, I invite you to leave those comments on Laura’s post….she is definitely into cultivating that sort of discussion.)

So…have I made you curious?!  Don’t you know I’ll write a post about the whole tatoo experience too?!  They say that the third time is a charm….I wonder if “they” were talking about things like tattoos?!  Hmmm….probably not.

Drop-bys…and a Recipe for Savory Cracker Snack Mix

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Do you know that I got 4 Christmas cards in the mail yesterday?!  And do you have any idea how happy that made me?!  Just like I was talking about yesterday…times FOUR!  Pure awesomeness!

Today, I’m busting my tail editing pictures of my house to show you tomorrow, making invitations for my sister’s baby shower (which I’ll share with you probably Thursday,) trying to catch up on laundry since I’ve fluffed the load in the dryer no less than 4 times here lately, and at some point, I really need to think of something great to make for dinner.  Or at least something decent…

I was thinking though this morning about another thing I really love about the holidays…and that is that people drop by randomly more often.  A lot of the time it’s to bring goodies, or to sing carols, or just because they were in the neighborhood…and I love it!  For many of you though, the thought of random drop-bys honestly makes you cringe.  And I get it…but here’s what I have to say to you about that….DON’T WORRY!  Whoever it is….they’re coming to see YOU!  And so what if your house isn’t party ready?!  They are coming to see YOU!  And if they’ve never been in your home before…well, just think that your willingness to invite them in for a little snack or a cup of coffee may just be the very thing they needed that day…no pretense, just a person who cares more about them than about some illusion of perfection.  You never know what difference you’ll make just by being real enough to just let someone in to your real home…to your real life.

Hebrews 13:2 says… “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.” And the way I figure it, is if you aren’t suppossed to neglect being hospitable to strangers….then you sure as heck shouldn’t neglect being hospitable to friends!

So today I wanted to share a SUPER easy recipe for a little snack mix that’s great to keep around the house in case you do have drop-bys and need a quick little munchie to pull out.

This is SO easy to make and keeps for quite awhile…that is, if you can keep from eating it all the time!

Savory Cracker Snack Mix

You’ll need:

  • 1 box Cheez-it Duoz (I like the cheddar and parmesan mix)
  • 1 box Premium Saltine Cracker Minis
  • 1 packet Ranch Dressing Seasoning
  • 2/3 cup Canola Oil
  • red pepper flakes (to taste…if you don’t like spicy, then skip this one…if you do, I’d start with about 1 tsp or so.)

Dump all of this stuff together and mix well in a large bowl.  About every 15 minutes for an hour, give it a quick stir.

That’s it.  Seriously…that’s it.

It tastes so savory and good…the crackers get super flaky because of the oil, it makes a ton, and it keeps for ages.  Just one of those things that’s great to have around in case you need a little bitty something to pull out and snack on while you enjoy company you may or may not have been expecting!  And let me encourage you….DO make a point to enjoy the company you weren’t expecting…you’ll be glad you did!

**How do you feel when people drop by unexpectedly?  Glad for the break in your day, or mortified about what they might be thinking?  Would love to know your thoughts on extending random acts of hospitality…

Good Mail

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Card from Tiny Prints

What is it about good mail that just makes your day?

You know what I’m talking about, right?  When you open your mailbox and go about the normal sorting through of bills, flyers, magazines, and more bills…and then there it is…a piece of “good mail.”  In a colored or different sized envelope…an actual stamp in the top corner instead of the “presorted bulk mail” inked up there….and the best part…the handwriting.  Evidence that an actual person has spent time on something…for you.  Isn’t that just the best feeling when the fast rifling through slows to a stop and the anticipation of what happiness is inside that envelope builds?  It’s like Charlie finding the golden ticket to visit Wonka Land.  I love good mail.

And Christmas is my most favorite time of year for mail.  Almost every day brings at least one piece of good mail.

Tis the season for Christmas cards…

I LOVE Christmas cards.  Any card will do, but I have to be honest and say that my most favorite ones are the ones with pictures.  Pictures of family, pictures of friends, pictures of old friends I haven’t seen in ages with children I’ve never had the chance to meet.  I LOVE it.  I love the connection of past and present all jumbled together…all hung from a string around my doorway…visible to me multiple times per day.  I love the memories of each friend that come flooding back as I look at the cards….fun times, life shared, connections made.

They don’t come without a cost either…Christmas cards.  There’s the cost of printing them… which isn’t so bad as the cost of mailing them.  And to stuff them and address them takes quite a bit of time.  But what really takes time is keeping up with all the addresses.  Going back through the previous years list, emailing, calling, collecting addresses of the friends who have moved, or new people to whom you’d like to send a card this year.  And for me…it’s time well spent.  It’s a little thing…a little time….that brings joy and says “I care about you.”  And I love to send them…and I love to get them!

I’ve been working on our family’s Christmas card today.  I designed them and uploaded pictures, agonized over text and word placement and paper quality, and waited on a painfully slow internet connection to upload them to the printer.  I even paid for faster shipping so that I have them and send them in time for Christmas.

Not that Jesus really cares one iota that I get a card in the mail in time for his birthday.  I mean, he’s the reason behind it all.  But I wonder what he thinks about the whole card thing?

I think He loves it too.  I think He loves the extra time that people take to pour into one another and to say “I care.”  Because no matter how commercialized Hallmark, and Walmart, and every mall in America want to make His birthday…how un-Christ centered our culture dares to make Christmas….still, I think He loves that during this season more than any other, people take time for connection and community and life together more than any other time of year.  When Jesus walked the earth, He was all about loving people…and taking time to let them know how much.  And He’s still about the business of loving people…and pouring out…and telling them.

I’m not trying to over spiritualize Christmas cards, but I do love that they are significant of effort made to connect and reconnect with one another…to build community and keep ties to special people in our lives open…to not close some doors of our past…and to make room for new doors in our future.  Jesus was all about open doors…and I think he’d have sent cards to people too….just to say he cared.

But that’s just me.  What do you think?

Happy Thanksgiving Friends!

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Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

I just love that we have an entire calendar day devoted to cultivating and celebrating an attitude of gratitude.  Really, I should do that every day…because boy do I have SO MUCH to be thankful for!  I love this card that I found.

via Pinterest

I found this old hymn page too, and since you all know I’ve had a thing going with hymnals lately, and since the words of this song pretty much sum it all up…I thought I’d share it.  Because even in the valleys, I can still see that “his goodness doth abound.”

And, because you all know that I just can’t celebrate really anything without a little dose of humor….

via Pinterest

Guess that answers the question of what I’ll be wearing to join my family in the feast!  Boy did I love celebrating holidays in maternity clothes…oh well….at least leggings are in!

I hope your day is filled with family, friendship, laughter, and most of all…a pondering of life’s many blessings.

Might I recommend also while we’re talking about cultivating an attitude of thankfulness, a book….by my new friend Ann Voskamp…called “One Thousand Gifts.”  If it’s not on your Christmas list…it should be.  If you need a good gift idea for anyone else…this is a great one.  There have rarely been words I’ve read that inspire and transport my heart the way that Ann’s words do.  Find thankfulness in everything…live fully where you are…find a new way to think about it all… in this book.  I highly…highly recommend!

Spend time being thankful today dear ones.  And so you all know, of all the things I count as blessings in my life, please know that you, my friends, are among them.

The Hazards of Being Crafty….

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I’ve been doing some crafting here lately.  I picked up 2 old hymnals from an estate sale this past weekend for just 75 cents each, and even though something in me cringed when I started tearing them apart, that’s exactly what I’ve been doing.  I’ve made a wreath, some Christmas ornaments, some flowers, and I have a plan to make some paper feathers too.  I’ll show you all about that tomorrow, but today I have to tell you about a little known pitfall of this much crafting, that you may want to be aware of should you find yourself on a crafting binge too.

I was unloading the dishwasher just a couple of mornings ago, and since I have small children, we’re still in the sippy cup phase.  Typically I unload the sippy cup parts and leave them on the counter until I finish unloading everything else and can go back to them to reassemble all the parts.  When I was unloading, I dropped a couple of the straws onto the floor and raced to grab them before my 5-second-rule time limit expired.  I finished unloading everything to the tune of “Mommy…juice, juice…cuppy…cuppy” over and over again.  I hurried to get my littlest one a cup of juice.  The cup I selected has a real fault though.  Something happens when you screw the lid on and the pressure inside forces some liquid up the straw every time, causing an overflow.  “I’ll solve this,” I thought to myself.  “I’ll just sip some of the juice off the top while I screw the lid on.”

And that’s just what I set out to do.

Something is wrong though….in my haste to get all of this done, I must have inserted the bottom portion of the straw incorrectly because no liquid would come out.  I remove the lid and push the straw up farther into the mouthpiece…then another sip.  This time I take a good long pull to make sure it’s working.  My cheeks suck inward and nothing comes out.  So I remove the lid again…certain that I’ve just pushed the straw too far up this time.  I pull the straw back out partways and again…suck on the straw really hard to make sure it’s working properly this time….

Nothing.

“Screw this,” I think to myself…I’ll just use this other straw.  Somehow I ended up with an extra at the end of my assembly process anyhow.  I put that straw in and Voila…drinking just fine.  I sip the top amount off of the straw and hand it to my little guy.

“What in the heck is wrong with that straw though?!”  Maybe something clogged it while it was in the dishwasher.  I pick up the straw to inspect it only to immediately see my problem is not the straw….

it’s that the “straw” is….

image source

a gluestick!!!

Yes ladies and gentlemen….a little known hazard of crafting in your kitchen….the gluestick is mistaken for a sippy cup straw.  Now that you know this, you can be aware when you are crafting.  Maybe this should be a label on the package of gluesticks when you buy them.  “Buyer Beware:  Gluesticks are not intended for liquid consumption.”  You know those ridiculous warnings happen because someone has done the stupid thing and then tried to sue the company for it.  Well not to worry hot glue stick company out there…no law suit here.  Just a little wiser…and a little more aware of the many hazards of being crafty.

You need to know about….Lily Pottery

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Swoon….

image from Lily Pottery

That’s the feeling I had when I first saw Lily’s amazing ceramic pottery jewelry.  To put it plainly…it’s just totally rad looking stuff.  It’s classic, and funky, and artsy, and feminine, and hardcore, and original all at the same time.  I love it, and I think you will too!

I’m a fan of celebrating hometown flavor anyways, and my hometown of Greenville, SC seriously has loads of flavor to sink your teeth into.  I was so stinking excited when Greenville was featured in the September issue of a fantastic magazine called Garden and Gun this fall too.  (I’ll tell you more about Garden and Gun soon….but for now, just know that it’s a must have on your Christmas list.)  Anyhow, in the magazine I was especially thrilled to see mentions of some of my favorite local places as well as features on some fantabulous artists in the area such as my friend Barb from Knack Studios and Lily from Lily Pottery.  Lily even got some full-page love and let me tell you what… this girl deserves it.  Her creations are gorgeous!

Here’s what G&G had to say about Lily:

Lily Wikoff
Design Star

Twenty-seven-year-old potter and jewelry designer Lily Wikoff expected to spend just four short years in Greenville, getting her degree in studio art at Bob Jones University before heading to New York, where she had the occasional modeling gig. But sometimes smaller really is better. “I just love this city,” Wikoff says. “It’s a smaller city, but it’s such a melting pot. I’ve been able to surround myself with so many other creative types.” From her Pendleton Street studio, Lily Pottery, Wikoff crafts ceramic jewelry painted in vibrant hues and stamped with her intricate organic designs. But it’s her housewares that have lately caught the eye of national purveyors. She’s in talks with the Urban Outfitters–owned Terrain and with home-goods company Shabby Chic to create outdoor and home lines. “I could not have made all this happen as quickly in another city,” Wikoff says. “The support in Greenville is just amazing.”

image from Lily Pottery

image from Lily Pottery

Did ya’ll catch that?!  Yep…the girl is going places!  I’m so excited for her!  And I’m even more excited to be hosting a show for her on Tuesday, November 29th from 6-9pm!

Now ya’ll have to understand something about me.  I quit doing the home show circuit awhile back.  I’ll go these days to support a friend, and maybe I need another Pampered Chef spatula since I do love those….or if I’m jonesing for some Tastefully Simple beer bread, then I might hit up one of those parties…but I have to be honest and say I’m not big on hosting home shows anymore.  It’s not that I don’t want to support friends’ businesses, but if I threw a home show for everyone that asked, I’d burn out myself and all the friends I’d be inviting to come.

Here’s the thing about Lily though….I ASKED HER if I could host a show.  Her stuff is that awesome, and I wanted to offer friends and readers an opportunity to buy from her in a warm and fun environment.  I do love a reason to have a party, so of course I’ll be whipping up some bites to eat and pouring hot cider and wine….but mostly I think Lily is making some pretty amazing stuff that’ll make the people on your Christmas list feel awfully special this year!  My own list of presents to buy will be considerably shorter after the show…so if you’re related to me and are reading….sorry….I just spoiled your surprise!

image from Lily Pottery

I don’t know about you…but most of the time, I don’t want exactly what everyone else out there has.  And the things I have that are showstoppers….that random people comment on when I’m in the line at the store or grabbing a coffee….it’s typically not the stuff I found at Target.  It’s something really original, like the pieces that I have from Lily Pottery.  Wearable art ya’ll.

If you’re far away, don’t worry….you can still order online HERE!  AND, between now and December 1st, enter the coupon code LIFEFORDESSERT at the checkout when you purchase from Lily Pottery online to get FREE Shipping!  If you’re in town (Greenville, SC), and would like to come to the show, then shoot an email to Logan @LifeForDessert dot com, and I’ll send you the address.  Bring a sister, a friend, a neighbor…and I’ll look forward to seeing ya’ll Tuesday November 29th from 6-9pm.  You’ll also be entered to win a Lily Pottery gift certificate just for showing up!  (And yes…in case you’re wondering, that’s the Tuesday AFTER Thanksgiving.  Forget black Friday…save your pennies and your sanity for the Tuesday afterwards.  You’ll be glad you did…

 

Bewilder….Be Wilder….

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Image Credit Thomas Moran Painting "The Wilds of Lake Superior"

I got an email early this morning (I’ve gotten several since yesterday’s post in fact and I thank you all so much) and in the email the person said that she was praying for me to feel the Lord’s “peace that passes all understanding” as I’m walking in this altogether familiar and unfamiliar place again.  I say familiar because I have been here before…the loss of a pregnancy…of a life yet to be lived.  But unfamiliar because this time it is SO different my friends.  In my email back to her I said “I am sad, but I can say in all bewildered honesty that the Lord has given me a peace that does indeed pass all understanding.”  And after I wrote it, I thought on my own words for a bit….”bewildered by the gentleness of the Lord.”

I’m into word studies lately.  I’ve been studying lots of words and am finding that the more I get back to the definition of them, the more clearly they jump off of the page and into the function of my life.  So don’t you know that after I found myself thinking more on my own words, I had to look up “bewildered” this morning?  It means “to be completely puzzled, confused, or perplexed.”  And then I found the origin of the word… dating back to the 1680s, from be- “thoroughly” + archaic wilder “lead astray, lure into the wilds,” probably a back-formation of wilderness.  The word is often used in conjunction with a notion of becoming almost lost.

And I’m struck by a thought….that I can be completely puzzled and confused and lost in the peace of the Lord.

I’ve been in seasons of actual wilderness before.  I think most of us have at some time or another.  Mine happened to coincide with my first couple of miscarriages.  There were other factors at play during that time, including leaving a beloved church that had played a huge part in shaping my adult faith….but I’ll never forget our exit meeting with the teaching pastor there being a sweet time.  We knew the Lord was calling us into a new place and after 11 years in that body, it was hard to leave.  And the pastor asked us where we were going and my husband plainly replied “the wilderness.”

And that’s exactly where we landed….wilderness.  Months of feeling lost and confused and “bewildered” at all that was going on around us.  Nothing made sense…I felt puzzled, confused, perplexed, and lost.

And this morning, as I’m thinking back on that time and thinking on this current place where I’m sitting in my life, I find myself again bewildered….but bewildered by goodness and peace.  It’s a good place…this twirling around in a peace that makes absolutely no sense by the standards of this world.  I am literally imagining myself twirling in a field of peace…and I’m no ballerina.  I don’t know how to do the spot trick where you twirl across a stage and don’t get dizzy.  Heck, I don’t really even know how to twirl gracefully if we’re being honest.  But somehow I find myself twirling and spotting afterall.  Twirling and spotting…twirling and seeing….twirling and….Jesus.

My dear friend Erin and I went to the Relevant conference together a couple of weekends ago.  And on the much delayed plane ride home we both sat there in a state of bewildered amusement of all the insanely good things that the Lord used us to do and to be a part of.  Truly…we were almost laughing at the blessings that the Lord poured out on us separately that we hadn’t even dared to dream…much less expect.  But these things happened.  Crazy things that made absolutely no sense.  Good things that honestly knocked our socks off.  Relationships made, truths etched, opportunities opened, that I’m not kidding you…even if I’d been sitting around with a list of completely unreal expectations for things that’d happen while I was gone, that list couldn’t begin to even touch the realities of things that actually happened.  And so we sat…bewildered by the syrup of God’s favor oozing over us both.

So this morning, I’m thinking on that word.  And I wonder why in my infinite humanity I think that I actually can try to understand that “peace that passes all understanding?”  The very phrase itself states my inability to actually understand it….it says it will pass all understanding….be beyond it….be beyond my wildest dreams.  And I can’t help but notice that breaking that word…bewilder… down into parts leaves the words Be and Wilder. And I find myself thinking…and asking the Lord to “Be Wilder.”  More beyond my understanding, more wild than even my wildest dreams, more peace that I can’t begin to comprehend, more gentleness that I don’t deserve, and more goodness that makes no sense.

I want to remove the lid and cut open the sides of the box that I dare to put the Creator of the Universe in…Bewilder me Lord….Be wilder with me Lord….knock my socks off….I know you will.