Joy Leanne

May I be like the prophets willing to listen to the voice of God. May I be like John the Baptist, willing to point others to Him. May I be like Mary, willing to accept the Lord’s will. May I be like Joseph, willing to bring other people’s trials into my own home.   May I be like the Shepherds, willing to drop everything to worship the King. May I be like the Wisemen, willing to offer my gifts, no matter what they may be, even if I find Him in the most unlikely place.

One word, over and over, rolling around in my head like a lone sock in the dyer. Enough.  Each time my heart starts pounding, my mind racing, the questions blooming faster than I can answer them, that still small voice echoes.  Enough.   My doubts, my fears, my insecurities all answered in this one question.  A lot has gotten left by the way side this Christmas season. Cookie supplies left in the pantry. Christmas gift fabric left on the sewing table. Activities scratched off the to do list.  Enough. Curbing my tendency toward over doing. The gifts we have already purchased are enough.  Enough. Over and over again I am reminded that our “enough” is someone’s abundance.  Enough. Showing up, in my spit up soaked pants, fully present, not distracted by unrealistic undone to-do lists, just resting in the waiting of Advent. That is enough. That is more than enough. It’s all that is asked of me.  

Meetings, messes, school schedules, homework, dirty floors, dishes to wash, toys to pick up; it doesn’t feel like Christmas. A new girl in town, body swollen with child, doubled over, ready to give birth, young husband by her side; it doesn’t sound like a holy invasion.  Love your neighbor, turn the other cheek, give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, humble yourselves; it didn’t sound like a revolution. Blessed are the meek, the humble, those who hunger and thirst, those who are persecuted and belittled; it doesn’t sound like salvation. They were looking for a Savior. A political hero to rescue them from their oppression. Someone to get them out of the horrible mess they were in.  What they got was the babe in the manger. Emanuel, God with us, not a savior from our circumstances, but God walking beside us, in the middle of our mess.  Emanuel, God, The WORD, The Light of the world, With us….

  Advent so far has been lovely. Simple and slow. Not a ton of rushing around or "have to be there". Last year we had three or four parties, a show every weekend, a pile of custom orders, company in and out of town. This year has been full of last minute activities and engaging in whatever activity strikes our fancy in the moment. Since I wasn't participating in shows I actually got to attend some this year. I had a wonderful time going to Vintage Lynchburg and Arts v. Craft today. Afterwards the girls and I went out to lunch at a favorite local restaurant of mine. I love introducing friends to new favorite places. Other than that we have been staying in, baking cookies, drinking tea, practicing rolling over. Enjoying simple moments of the season. Over and over again I have been reminded of those who are dealing with loss this season. It has made me so thankful for this small little moments with those I love. I am excited for 2014. I'm excited for the projects I am go

This is something I wrote quite a while ago, nine years ago I think. I am re-posting for Josh because it's one of his favorite things that I have written. He often says it's one of the reasons he fell in love with me. Please understand when you read this it is the fictitious musings of a college girl. I am not claiming that anything I wrote was historically or Biblical accurate. It is simply a day dream about what it might have been like to be Mary.  She shifted awkwardly in her seat. She was uncomfortable after sitting so long for so many days in a row. She wanted to ask him to stop. To let her stretch her legs for a bit. But they had already stopped so many times she didn’t want to inconvenience him any more. She let out a small sigh as she reached a hand up to rub at her sore neck. The sigh caught his attention and he turned his head to look at her. He smiled knowingly and looked lovingly at his bride. He didn’t say anything but let his eyes linger on her stomach.  His sile

We are taking a different approach to Christmas this year. It started last year really. When I was curled up on a ball over come with morning sickness and desperately trying to finish custom doll orders in time to ship them before Christmas. I was so sick and overwhelmed that I ended up staying up till all hours of the night before we did Christmas as a family. I was desperately trying to finish gifts I had promised to make my girls and hadn't gotten around to doing yet. "No custom dolls next year," I said. Fast forward to this August... a c-section baby and home from the hospital just 3 days before the school year started. I had wanted to do holiday art/craft shows but I hadn't sewn a single thing yet..."No shows this year." No shows and no custom dolls means less income which means less money for Christmas gifts.  So here we are three days into Advent and things look a little different around here. I am working on a few dolls. A couple special dolls for re

Happy Advent! Welcome to what is, in theory, one of my favorite times of year. I really do love advent. I love that it comes after a season of thanksgiving. I love that it comes at a time when the physical world is still and our hearts are tuned toward gratitude and reflection. My family lost a dear friend last week. Church had just ended and a friend was asking how I was when I got the news. A question I normally might have answered dismissively got a real genuine answer. I was sad, heartbroken for my brother, my sister, my parents all of whom knew this man well. A few days later we gathered at my parents house for Thanksgiving. We sat around the table and ate good food and told stories and reviewed the year. It has been a hard year for many of us. But we were thankful we were together. Thankful for God's protection. Thankful for the memories of sweeter times. Thankful that we were all still here and all together. There was laughter and tears and trips to Dunkin Donuts and introdu