there & back again

hello! it’s been quiet in this space for the past month, & i’m eager to begin writing again with some regularity!

our family has been in the UK (england, scotland, & wales) for the past month. many of you know my husband is a musician, so our trip was part tour, part family holiday, & it turned out to be a perfect balance of the two. it was restorative on so many levels, & we’re already planning our next trip!

because many of you first heard about me or evangeline through my husband, & have listened to his music, i was able to connect with a few of you at his shows, & even make arrangements ahead of time to get together. what joy! i was able to have tea with mollie in her home in west sussex while we were in town playing a festival. i met up with karis from northern ireland (& the cutest baby in the world, i’m fairly certain, eden) at josh’s show in edinburgh. ari, a missionary from france was at josh’s york show (& we enjoyed a full half hour to chat beforehand!), & our family had the privilege of spending a whole week experiencing the beautiful cornish seaside with julianne & her homeschooling family while being hosted by her parents in the countryside. the body of Christ is truly such a glorious thing…that we can show up in a new town or country, even, & make such fast friends, is such a gift, & our whole family was refreshed through the depth of spiritual fellowship we encountered along the way.

the week before leaving for the UK i shared a discipleship course on this site. much of my writing time & energy this summer went towards writing & editing that content, & so this journal was slightly neglected! i return from this trip with renewed vision for this online space as well as our life here in michigan, & i’m so thankful that the Lord gave me the grace to push that big project through to completion beforehand, leaving me free to pour directly into discipleship posts again now. it’s truly one of my favorite things!

we arrived home on the night of the 14th, & the kids & i spent our first week home easing back into school, taking time to reflect on & record our journey through painting & writing.

(here they’re recording in watercolor some of our favorite memories from photos)

thankfully, some of this “school” can be done at the beach (lake michigan, currently in the 70s & 80s!), where i’m writing from right now, a draft with ink on paper. how lovely!

josh & i find that with each new experience we need adequate time to reflect, discern, & assimilate. & so i find : there’s much to eventually share, but i’m still mid-process.

for now i’ll sign off with this photo of me & my quiet time buddies in wales, where we continued our delightful daily morning ritual of prayer, hurlbut’s, & falling back to sleep together curled in a cozy quilt 🤎.

*wallpaper is “pemberton” by painted paper.