(xaris and shalom)

Photo by Hannah Domsic on Unsplash I'm not a very serious gardener as of yet, but moving into an actual house this past spring opened up some possibilities for me to invest a little more in dreaming about growing things and cultivating our outdoor space as we do with the indoor.  Between wedding gifts and a church full of avid and generous gardeners, we soon found ourselves well equipped with a variety of containers, happily started plants, and abundant advice.  I set up a row of containers along one side of our yard and we got to enjoy some cucumbers, a few cherry tomatoes, quite a few peppers, and fresh herbs in everything .   My dreams for next year involved rototilling up one side of the yard (conveniently partitioned off by the sidewalk.) We broke down cardboard boxes for a month or two and now have that space pretty well covered with a layer of cardboard weighted down with a motley assortment of heavy junk -- pots, Adirondack chairs, an old shelf that's destined for the

Glory be to God for mundane things -- for Boo hanging from the attic vent; for yeast slowly stretching gluten strands; fun fabric for masks; stairway conversations; the grace of learning a new baby's name; and music streamed in this unsung season. All things small, quiet, discordant, unseen; whatever is sought, crafted (who knows why?) by hands, speech, instinct, need, delight He holds it all together in His joy: Praise Him. (For FVC, with obvious thanks to Gerard Manley Hopkins and Pied Beauty )

Although this blog has been quiet, life has been full (as usual.)  At the beginning of September, I ended my job working at Sheetz.  I really enjoyed my coworkers and many of our regulars, and I was very thankful for the steady income God provided through it (despite me initially saying "No way!" when my dad suggested I apply to a gas station!) and shifting to working from home felt a little bit like stepping out of a nice, solid boat and onto a very uncertain body of water.  Cool?  Foolhardy?  Incredible?  Anyway, it was time -- working overnight shifts was alright while I was single and lived a few blocks away, but it was much less ideal when married and living miles away instead. So I quit, Jason and I went camping with some friends from our small group, and I came home and plunged into new jobs -- working for Uncommon Universes Press and for Write At Home .  It has been a delight to get to deal with books and students and my heart is so happy with that shift.  Not only d