Sometimes you just need to leave the well beaten path. We could have done morning devotions around the kitchen table as usual but my youngest asked to do devotions at this “really cool spot” she had found. A request and a hesitant “yes” combined to become sacred space. An ordinary country road transformed with whirlpools and roaring white waters. We watched together in awe.

This day has been full of emotions. All kinds of emotions. My husband and I watched with tears as our 16 year old drove herself to school for the first time. Those sweet early morning and afternoon pick ups with her have now been replaced (tears again!) with early morning and afternoon pick ups with our 15 year old who entered public school for the first time ever. I returned home with tears but also joy as I embark on another year homeschooling my oldest and my youngest. It’s so hard to feel it all at once. Anyone else feeling torn today?

We just celebrated my youngest daughter’s birthday and her birthday cake request was one of my all time favorites...Hummingbird Cake! My mother always made it for us growing up and she was famous for it at our church. Everyone always hoped that she would bring it to the church picnics. If you are not familiar with the cake, it is a moist three layer cake with cream cheese frosting (see, I do like cream cheese frosting!) with cinnamon, banana, crushed pineapple and toasted pecans. If that sounds weird to you, trust me, it’s magical. Turns out, it was submitted to Southern Living Magazine in 1978 and has been their most popular cake ever! Are you guys familiar with it? Maybe it's just a southern thing? If you’d like to try this amazingness, here’s the link to the original recipe:https://www.southernliving.com/.../hummingbird-cake-recipe Bonus - you can always make a dad joke and say that actual hummingbirds are in the cake. My husband does... every. single. time. Enjoy!

The women on my mother’s side are quilt makers. Quilts were passed down when my great great grandmother died and when my great grandmother died. They were made into pallets when grandkids spent the night and some were so precious they were displayed on a quilt rack. When I was in elementary school, my grandmother decided it was time to make each of her granddaughters a quilt. Mine was a pastel dream: calico patterns in pale pink, lavender, baby blue and yellow. I LOVED that quilt. When it was time for my oldest daughter to have her own room, I knew just what to do. I painted her room a perfect shell pink and tied it all together with my grandmother's quilt at the foot of her bed. My daughter had a passionate love for black Sharpies. It didn’t matter how well I hid them, she always managed to find them. One day, as I was making her bed, I noticed to my horror long black Sharpie slashes on her quilt. I do not remember if I yelled or not but I do remember being so, so sad. I didn’t want to keep my beautiful quilt hidden but I also didn’t want it marred by Sharpie! I made a choice right then to leave that quilt with her. I straightened it every day, ruefully noticing new additions of pink nail polish and pen. My daughter is 16 now. Yesterday I took her to the DMV to get her driver’s license. She nervously obeyed the instructor’s tasks and she passed. She’s a driver now! When we got home, she excitedly asked if she could drive herself to the beach to meet her friends. Of course I said “yes” but then she just left. Just like that, she drove away without me. The little girl who scribbled on my grandmother’s quilt was not little anymore. She’s a young lady who is gaining independence and will one day become a mother of her own. I look at that quilt now and gosh, I am so thankful for those Sharpie marks! It makes me sick to imagine not having those precious little slashes across the solid pink squares. What caused me such pain is now one of my greatest treasures. What if I had kept that quilt hidden away, safe from harm? Squares that were lovingly pieced and stitched by my grandmother were layered with my little girl’s scribbles. It's such a treasure!

Today is Pentecost! Pentecost is the day that the church celebrates the gift of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the church. It is a major feast day, coming right after Christmas and Easter. Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he instructed his disciples to wait and pray in Jerusalem until they received the gift that they had been promised. A Comforter would come that would bring a baptism of fire and power. The disciples waited and prayed in the upper room for nine days. On the ninth day, the day of Pentecost, a loud noise like a driving wind filled the house. Then tongues of fire appeared which parted and came to rest on each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues. A really cool thing about Pentecost is that it occurred during a Jewish holy day where devout Jews from every nation were staying in Jerusalem. When the people heard the sound of the roaring winds, a large crowd gathered and were confused because they heard the disciples speaking in their own particular language. The people were astounded because they knew that the disciples were Galileans and could not figure out how the Galileans were speaking their language. In the crowd’s own languages, the disciples were speaking of the mighty acts of God. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, many were saved on that day, the followers of Jesus were given understanding of what had happened and what was going to happen. They were also given boldness and direction. In this awesome moment The Church, the Body of Christ was born! Many churches have a Holy Spirit hole in the roof of the church where a dove would be dropped down, red flower petals or flaming straw(!!!!). Celebrate this special day in your own home by putting a red tablecloth on your table or making a red food like red velvet cake.

Today is Ascension Day! It is the day that we remember Jesus’ ascent into heaven. After Jesus’ resurrection, He revealed himself to His disciples over a period of forty days. He ate with them and taught them all about the kingdom of God. One day, while He was eating with them, He told them that they were to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the gift His Father had promised. He told them that they would be baptized by fire and the Holy Spirit and that they would receive power and that they would be His witnesses throughout all the world.On the fortieth day, Jesus brought them out into the countryside. He lifted up His hands and blessed them. As He was blessing them, He was lifted up into the clouds. While the disciples were looking up into the sky, two men dressed in white stood beside them and asked why they were looking into the sky? They explained that Jesus would return in the same way that He went into heaven. The disciples immediately began worshipping the Lord and returned to Jerusalem filled with great joy. There they stayed for nine days, praying and praising God. Together with Mary and the disciples, we marvel at what happened. Jesus defied all earthly laws and ascended up into the clouds to sit at the right hand of the Father. We also wait for a gift that has been promised to us. We don't fully understand what it is but we have been told to wait and pray. Ascension Day is a feast day and is celebrated all over the world. In many countries, there is a “beating of the bounds” where the boundaries of the church property are beaten with bundles of sticks and prayed over. In Portugal, they gather wheat stalks and place them in their homes. In many churches, a statue of the Risen Lord was lifted on wires up through a hole in the ceiling of the church. Then gifts of cookies, fruit, flowers and green branches rained down from the hole and into the church. Celebrate Ascension by going over the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit, sit outside and look at the clouds, fly a kite or make fluffy white meringues. And while you are doing any of those things, rejoice that Jesus did not leave us alone but sent the gift of the Holy Spirit to change us and unite us.

I dropped my youngest off with a group of her friends at a birthday party last week. I had this rare moment, a twenty minute drive with no kids, listening to MY music! Someone cue the heavenly chorus! I am really into Ellie Holcomb right now. If you haven’t listened to her, you should give her a try. The way she writes is so unique and I love it. I was listening to one of her latest releases, “Canyon”, and at the end of the song there’s a bridge that starts I walked into the desert and I found you You set a table for me I knew the passage. You probably know the passage. It’s from Psalm 23, the psalm that talks about the Lord being our shepherd and that we shall not want. I also knew the line that was coming next… In the presence of my enemies I really don’t like that line. It's always bothered me. It’s so BOOM, in your face, enemies! God’s on my side, not yours and you are going to watch as He feeds me! But then the song goes on In the presence of my enemies To share with my enemies No longer my enemies. No longer my enemies The next thing I knew I was crying. Could that bridge be true? I walked into the house stunned. My husband was standing in the kitchen and asked if I was ok. I felt so silly and overly emotional about a couple of lines in a song. Without playing the song for him, I just pulled the words up online and let him read them. His eyes immediately filled with tears. Neither of us could talk. It was one of those things that was so powerful you just couldn’t talk about it right then. Could it be that God is so good, so lavish in His love for all of us that the table He sets for me is also an invitation for you? Maybe the table really is set so that I can share with my enemies who are no longer my enemies because of the blood of Jesus Christ. You set a table for me In the presence of my enemies To share with my enemies No longer my enemies No longer my enemies “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation.” Ephesians 1:13

I write about celebrating the seasons of the church in the home. I share not only my family’s recipes and traditions but recipes and traditions from Christians around the world. One of the things that people often mention to me is that they wish they had known about these faith traditions years ago or that you can only have faith based traditions if you are married or have little kids. There is a sense of sadness about it all like they just don’t qualify to have traditions or it's just too late to start. But traditions are a funny thing. When do traditions actually become traditions? When is it “ok” to start them? Can you even start them or do they have to be passed from generation to generation? This past year, my youngest daughter developed an intense passion for baking. In her search for new recipes, she discovered the famous baker, Richard Bertinet’s Cinnamon Buns. That Sunday, after church, she printed out her recipe and set to work. As the aroma of the buns filled the house, the whole family hovered in the kitchen, wondering what amazing treat awaited us. We all marvelled at the intricate beauty of the braided buns and “oohed and aahed” over the very best cinnamon buns we had ever tasted. Now, every Sunday, we beg my youngest to make her cinnamon buns. In such a short amount of time, those cinnamon buns have become an unexpected and firmly entrenched tradition in our family. Cinnamon buns are suddenly the thing our family looks forward to every Sunday. Our family is so much richer now because of the tradition that she created! No matter if you are single or your kids are grown or your kids are little, there is always room for a new tradition! Start today! Here’s the recipe for the cinnamon buns. I even included my youngest’s conversion chart! : ) For the recipe:https://us.gozney.com/blogs/recipes/cinnamon-buns-recipe

I went for a walk last night. I needed to get away and just be. As I was walking down the road, I saw these two little flowers right past the asphalt, amidst the swirled debris from days of rain. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

We are now in the season of Eastertide! Jesus’ resurrection is so amazing, so pivotal in the life of the Church that an entire season is devoted to it rather than just a single day. Eastertide begins with the Great Vigil of Easter and concludes 50 days later with Christ's Ascension and the birth of the Church on Pentecost Sunday. We celebrate the 50 days of Easter as one enormous feast or one enormous Sunday. There is absolutely no fasting allowed during this season of rejoicing! For 50 full days we feast together, sing together and rejoice together in the resurrection of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Alleluia! Christ is Risen! The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia! The week right after Easter Sunday, we walk through the scriptures that deal with what happened right after the Resurrection. On Easter Monday, we remember the Emmaus walk story. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus has died and two grief stricken followers have left Jerusalem and are walking back to their hometown. A man begins walking with them and asks why they are so sad. The followers explain to the mystery man that a man that they had followed and believed to be the Messiah was killed. The mystery man begins to walk the followers through the scriptures, showing them how Jesus’ death had been foretold and what it had accomplished. The followers pause their journey for a meal, they invite the mystery man to join them, the mystery man takes bread offered to him, offers it up to God, breaks it, blesses it and suddenly, the followers see clearly who the mystery man really is...it is Jesus! But just as they realize who the mystery man really is, Jesus disappears. The followers run all of the way back to Jerusalem, telling everyone that they have seen the Risen Savior! Easter Monday is celebrated by resting and rejoicing. Schools all over the world are out on this day and in many countries, families go on an "Emmaus walk". Take an Emmaus walk today.What must it have been like to have Jesus appear and start walking with you? Why do you think the followers didn’t recognize Jesus? What stories in the bible do you think Jesus pointed out? A blessed Eastertide and a blessed Easter Monday to you!

“For to see your face is like seeing the face of God” - Jacob to Esau, Genesis 33:10 Last week I shared part one of a spiritual practice that really changed how I move through Lent. This week, I am sharing part two. I love part two! Part two is actually the thing I look most forward to! In part one we deal with ourselves. In part two we deal with ourselves and others. Just like in part one, set aside some time, offer the time up to the Lord and be quiet. Listen. Now, here’s the big change - bring one person that is close to you to mind. This could be a spouse, a child, a friend, a co-worker. Give God the space to speak to your heart about this person. Allow God to show you things about your relationship with this person. Maybe you realize you’ve been harsh with them lately or that you have not made time for them or maybe you’ll see things that you missed, signs that they are struggling or in need. Once these things come to your mind, offer them to the Lord. Ask for forgiveness and for strength to do better. Like in part one, continue to sit in silence, listening. When given the space, what always happens to me is that I am given a new love or a feeling of understanding for that person. I get ideas about ways that I can reach out to them and I actually feel excited about doing those things! Through the silence, I am given an opportunity to reconcile with those that I love or am struggling with, to really meaningfully connect. It reminds me of Jacob, late in life, wanting to return to the land of his fathers except there is this huge problem, he will have to face Esau, his brother, whom he cruelly betrayed. Jacob sends all kinds of gifts ahead of him, hoping that Esau might receive him. As Jacob approaches Esau, Esau runs to meet him and embraces him. It is in this moment of reconciliation that Jacob says, “seeing you is like seeing the face of God”. During this season of Lent, let us repent of our thoughtlessness towards others, and let us be RECONCILED one to another so that we might see the face of God.

Lenten Family Activity - Spoons (it’s a card game) One of the things we’re doing this Lent to connect with each other is play a game after dinner. Right now, we’re playing a super easy and fun card game - Spoons. You’ll Need: Deck of cards and spoons Place one less spoon in the middle of the table than people. Dealer deals four cards to every player. Each player tries to make four of a kind. The dealer takes a card off the top of the deck to have five cards in their hand, removes one and passes it face down to the left. Each player discards to the person on their left. The last player places their discard into a trash pile. Cards are picked up and passed quickly around the table until someone gets four of a kind and quietly takes a spoon from the center. Once the player with four of a kind takes a spoon, anyone can take a spoon. The player left without a spoon is out. If at any time the draw cards run out, pause to reshuffle the trash pile and keep going. You can go as fast or as slow as your kids are comfortable with.It’s so much fun!