Giving Thanks

From near & far: the cousins were reunited over turkey and potatoes. Life doesn't get better.

My heart overflows with thanks in this season, when my brothers are home and my family is together. Oh I am so thankful!

This season for: Provision, Protection, and Promises.

Provision: God is always faithful - This year to provide me with a job, forever deepening friendships, a loving family, a [potential] apt in the city with encouraging roomies, and a plan beyond what I can see.

Protection: He is with me, covers me, and keeps me close to His hand.

Promises: I stand upon the truths He has spoken over my life, even when it seems unclear. He is good.

Thank you.

Puzzle Pieces.

my cute little students.

All the questions and wonderings are starting to fit together like a puzzle. He makes it so clear to me that His plans are higher than mine. That I can hope and dream, but He orchestrates and fits. I never could've expected life to look the way it does now.... It almost always looks different from my expectations. And it's always, always better.

Well Done.

Normally I don't open emails from random listserves I've found myself registered on... but today Anthro's email subject read: "for slumber and wonder seekers"....

I guess they know how to get my attention.

{photo via elizabethsarah}

Fall is.

halloween fun.

life on hooks.

dinner parties with friends.

laughing.

decor from outdoors.

warm mugs.

pumpkin treats.

boots + socks.

(pumpkin anything.)

homemade chicken soup.

leaves.

cute couples.

 Soaking up everything fall until December arrives.

Necesito España

What my soul needs.

Reminder.

"He's not safe, but he's good."
:: c.s lewis. (narnia, Aslan.)

What good story is ever about safety&comfort?
Good stories have conflict.
It's not safe. But it's always good.

Mailmen.

I wonder what it would be like…

Knowing you hold either a bit of joy, hope, light…

Or carry a dreaded document, heartbreaking news.

Something life-changing. Something standard.

Being the deliverer of letters and parcels you may never see received.

I wonder what it would feel like to hold a sliver of people’s lives.

Interests revealed. Dreams tucked amidst stacks of paper.

You wouldn’t quite know what it is you carry.

Packages. Invitations. Letters from afar.

Or see it play out in that person’s life.

Because mail is mysterious in that way.

And identifying.

The “paperless” life can’t replace handwriting.

Mail is real.

I want to unravel bundles of life letters,

look back. and remember.

And I am comforted knowing that perhaps the one who delivers it

feels a bit of connection with me, too.

Patchwork.

When my generation looks at our parents we see offices and cubicles, we see lack of adventure and too much stability... We equate "work" to scheduled boredom and a life detached from freedom. So we are pushed to take time off; to explore a myriad of career interests; to "not settle"; to pursue our interests and match them in a career where we feel purposeful, in a community where we feel valued. Our "avoiding the 9-5" generation has somehow found a way to live as freelancers & self-employers, unconventional and creative in our approach to what we deem as "work."


Lately - however - I've noticed that in all my work to make this a reality, I've found myself in athousandmillion exhausting&draining (albeit interesting&career-oriented) jobs.


Is it possible that in all my effort to create some semblance of work schedule via out-of-office jobs, I am actually overworked and underpaid? Endless tasks and to-do lists accompany my day, addictions to GPS and email ensue, a constant flux of phone calls are received at any hour. I almost see a sliver of hope in the 9-5, thinking: that must be nice - to know your work is left at the office, no pressing Urgent Replys to be answered that night...


There exists an overcompensation - a reactive nature - reflected in my approach to work. Afraid to end up miserable in a marked career path, I've gone the opposite extreme, throwing myself into a range of multi-tasked jobs with pieced-together hours. This only serves to mask a deeper desire for more balance.


Hmmmm.


Though I like to think I've got it all figured out, perhaps there's an aspect to value from our parents' regular work schedule. 


But when is all is said&done, I've chosen this pace of living and I like exploring the options. Feeling accomplished on the days it works out makes it worth it. After all, I am learning more and more about what I love and how to make it a lifestyle. I am faced with the truth that the focus is, and always should be Identity. Character. Who am I becoming, what do I want... and using discernment in the process. My career does not define me. Jesus does. Amen.

{image: here}

You Two.

From Baylor to post-college to Chicago life, what a blessing it is to “grow-up” alongside my dear Whitney.  I'm always encouraged by Whit's heart - as big as the world - for other people, combined with her witty, playful, insightful, honest nature. What a beautiful gift in life - to stand beside close friends as they choose the man they will spend forever with. Whit+Jim are the perfect match. Their love is real. It gives and gives and gives...

I had the privilege of accompanying the lovely Aimee Mazzenga on a recent photoshoot with W+J. In an effort to avoid all things cliché wedding, these were a play-in-leaves-celebrating-love photoshoot… soon turned “engagements” ;) 

Here are some of my photos from the shoot. You don’t have to be a professional photog to make these photos look great – it’s hard to go wrong with beautiful subjects!

Stunning, right????! 

5.29.11 will be a day of beauty.

Ever, only.

Take my moments and my days; let them flow in ceaseless praise.

Take my hands, and let them move at the impulse of Thy love.

Take my feet, and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee.

Take myself, and I will be ever, only, all for Thee.

-Frances R. Havergal (1874)

{image: here}

Why Not?

Milwaukee on a work night. Dinner & Donuts.

Reunion sic 'em.

Thank you for friends with fancy business trips that I benefit from ;)

Going Home.

I never thought the sight of the Alico in the distance or the green glow of Pat Neff could ever stir feelings I often relate to home. But somehow, I have a renewed sense of love, safety, and comfort in Waco, TX - and it is good to return.

As my love Suzy would put it: "Baylor is where the magic happened." And it's true. The foundation of the truest friendships, the most precious memories, a solid community, and an ever-adapting worldview happened at Baylor. It started there, and has continued ever since. It's unlike any other place I know, and it's one of my favorites to return to. Among all sorts of life experiences, I know His Faithfulness through the life He gave me during my 4 years (and 3 weeks ;) ) there... above and beyond what I ever could have written for myself.

D+M+R. Embracing Waco life.

And now - my brothers and I share this together. Who ever thought the Goldsteins from Deerfield, IL would all become little Baylor Bears. How crazy special.

Patrick + Candis. Sic 'em.

And the list goes on... What a blessing to stay with my newly-married bestie+hubby in Waco! A home away from home to come back to... (Well, for as long as they stay...)

Friends still in college... friends married... friends with babies or families or pups... Friends who stick around town, traveled back, or brought to mind while there... Returning to Baylor highlights life's seasons: ever-moving, ever-changing, yet springing from a shared experience only you understand. I come back to Chi, but a piece of my home will always be in Waco.