Midwinter midweek

A few words from Charles Spurgeon about growth and the state of our hearts:

Good growth takes place upwards and downwards at the same time. Am I rooted in sincere fidelity and love to Jesus? If my heart remains unsoftened and unfertilized by grace, the good seed may germinate for a season, but it must ultimately wither, for it cannot flourish on a rocky, unbroken, unsanctified heart.

We're settling into January over here. As I mentioned in a recent post, we're not in "transition-mode" for the first time in a long time. I could call it a routine, but its safe to say that word isn't really a part of our vocabulary these days. Nicholas and I are routine people by nature, but this is a season where every week looks different. And honestly, I think its a good thing for me to be stretched through this—for my sometimes-hard heart to be molded and flexible to the exact circumstances the Lord puts me in each week.

In other words, continually asking myself,

Am I rooted in sincere fidelity and love to Jesus (and not just rooted in routine?)

With that mindset, I feel more freedom to see the beauty in variety in how our life looks and where's He's taking us each week. Lately, these are the bits and pieces of our life:

Enjoying morning sunlight when I'm not sleeping during the day. In the midst of cloudy winter season, I'm excited to be awake during the day, and especially excited when my days off coincide with extra sunshine.

Staying up late (with decaf chai) to do some sewing planning when I can't sleep. Tonight is the first of four nights off for me, so I'm starting a new sewing project! I wanted to try a garment project that was simple enough for me to feel fairly successful, interesting enough to teach me new techniques, and likely to produce something versatile and wearable. The sewn dress from Made By Hand by Lena Corwin, seems perfect. It's a beginner pattern, but I'll learn new techniques (French seams!), and it should be wearable, since I wear dresses with layers all the time. I'll make it with some favorite fabric I've had on hand for awhile, because what use is beautiful fabric if it's never used? Since Felicia started her Stash Less series, I've felt convicted to use what I have. If you're a knitter/seamstress/crafter and feeling overwhelmed by the quantity of materials you have, or by the number of projects you want to make, but don't have time for, I encourage you to read through her series. I plan to document this simple project and share a bit about it on the blog, in case other timid seamstresses (like myself) are in need of encouragement.

Making sauerkraut. I made it more regularly when we lived in Indiana, and it's time to start up again. My scrambled eggs miss their sauerkraut. And (lacto-fermented) sauerkraut is so good for you! Bonus = kitchen time means I get to wear all my cute aprons, including this new one from my mother-in-law :)

Pizza night with friends. Because we love our (gf) pizza. Also, we've decided that suppers are way more fun when they have a title—Taco Night, or Pizza Night—it makes an event of the meal. Lately, I've been making it with the Bob's Red Mill gf pizza crust mix, just for the sake of convenience, and we like it just as much or more than other gf pizza crust recipes we're tried.

Wearing all our hand-knits. Austin surprised me. I packed all my favorite knitted items, hoping I'd have a few days to wear knitted things without looking like a fool, but it's actually been rather chilly here, so they're in frequent rotation.

More knitting...of course. Nicholas and I enjoy spending time together where we both work on our own projects.

And also, I've been:

• Brainstorming about a gallery wall of my brother's photos in our living room
• Sticking to our meal plan
• Wanting to plan out my creative projects for the next few months. I tend to feel overwhelmed by all that I want to make, so this year, I want to prioritize.
• Reading through 1 Thessalonians. I'll write a post about that soon.
• So excited about Sufjan's new album! The album trailer is only a minute and eleven seconds long, but it's on repeat over here. March 31 cannot come soon enough.

P.S.- I've set a personal goal to write three posts this week and mentioning that here puts more pressure healthy accountability on me. :)