Well, another week has gone by and I’m definitely feeling the distance of countries. I let the first tears fall as I heard reports of football games and read about apple picking. Yet, the blessing still abound. I am ever thankful for technology – that allows me to call home with crazy stories of mountain rescues and also to see my best friend’s baby for the first time.

This week – who knows? The Lord is very thoroughly refining me and I have a certain feeling He is not done (and won’t ever be). So, I’ll probably be sharing a bit of this in the course of the week, but it looks like Christina will have some interesting things to share as well. ENJOY!

application to date my girls
Part of Christina’s great new gig is to disciple girls. Recently after a high school dance, her protective nature was appalled at the stories her girls told. So… she decided the next boys wanting to ask her little flock out on a date would have to go through a very intense application process.

occupied with joy
After reading in Ecclesiastes, this verse emerged from all the “vanity” and “chasing the wind” … “For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with the joy in his heart.” (Eccl. 5:20) This is amazing!

feelings of fall
A cool breeze, hot chocolate, sweaters… all these things remind me of fall.

what is a family
Living so far away, my definition of family is expanding. God has a very specific and perfect purpose for the way community is formed and lived. I praise God for the blessing of family (and friends) I grew up in and with. I’m still trying to understand how I can enjoy and bless back if I’m called away.

gRaB bAg
Again – don’t know what this could be, but expect greatness!

Alright, welcome to a new week! We are both continuing in God’s goodness and grace – truly amazed at the kingdom work in which we are invited to participate.

application to date my girls
Part of Christina’s great new gig is to disciple girls. Recently after a high school dance, her protective nature was appalled at the stories her girls told. So… she decided the next boys wanting to ask her little flock out on a date would have to go through a very intense application process.

for the beauty of the earth
Discover with Caroline the joy of being active in God’s creation. She will tell tales of her hike up to La Tigra, one of the best spots in all of Honduras and it’s right up the road.

occupied with joy
After reading in Ecclesiastes, this verse emerged from all the “vanity” and “chasing the wind” … “For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with the joy in his heart.” (Eccl. 5:20) This is amazing!

feelings of fall
A cool breeze, hot chocolate, sweaters… all these things remind me of fall.

grab bag
This could be anything:)

Many blessings to you this week in everything you do!

Hello faithful friends and random readers! It hardly seems a week, but it’s going to start again whether we’re ready or not. You may have noticed last week that Christina was out of commission. I sure did! We kept missing each other… and I hate for our only communication across countries to be me badgering her about putting up a blog post. But, no worries, this week she’s back in action and you’ll find out what was holding things up.

God shows up in the small things
I guess small and large are all relative here, but either way I am amazed when God provides at exactly the right moments. Many times I find myself doubting His provision and filling my mind with back-up plans, but I’m always reminded that He is in control. Here are a few such stories…

For Sale
So, Christina had quite a week, much of it due to the neighborhood garage sale she decided to organize, completely solo, on top of her other mounting responsibilities and her new job.

Going to be aunties!!
You’ve already heard my excitement for Meg and Christina’s for Jared and Tina… there’s no way you can prepare for our excitement over our very own niece/nephew that is on the way! That’s right, our dear bro and sister-in-law are going to have a baby. I’m sure this will be the first of many posts about our prayers, hopes, and joys for our growing family!

Application to date my girls
Part of Christina’s great new gig is to disciple girls. Recently after a high school dance, her protective nature was appalled at the stories her girls told. So… she decided the next boys wanting to ask her little flock out on a date would have to go through a very intense application process.

Teacher vs. friend
I’m sure every teacher goes through the phase (and I don’t even have the technical training), where they try to find the boundary between teacher and friend. I’m finding myself in that place right now. Where I stand in front of my 10th graders and just think how much I would rather meet up with them on a Saturday then hand back a red ‘D’ on the top of their test.

That’s what we’ve got… be looking for an interview with Kathleen in the near future. And once again, if you have ideas, suggestions, questions, or if you have a random urge to be interviewed, let us know!!!

Hello again! I hope you had an amazing week and weekend!

I found the most wonderful rest yesterday, which is why I did not quite get around to sending out the customary lineup. But, how about the random, surprises from last week? I’m even excited to read what shows up on our blog! We’re playing this thing like a duet and it keeps it interesting:)

Well, for this week we want to share some more stories, lessons, and insights.

Interview #2
This time around, we’ll interview Kathleen. I’m so excited to learn more about her – so learn with me about her life as nurse and cake decorator.

When more than miles separate…
So, the due date for my best friend’s baby has come and gone and I am waiting for any sort of word. In all the books and resources I’ve read about missions, culture shock always hits the top 10. Now I’m realizing that being separated from dear ones means more than missing conversations.

A Case of the Mahn-days
Monday or no, I seem to be having frequent days where I get discouraged. That scene from “Office Space” comes to mind, where the main character is trying to focus amidst layers of distractions. When he responds in short to the over-eager, colorful secretary she says, “Oh, does somebody have a case of the mahn-days?” In these discouraging times, I return to what I know and cling my fragile, little mind to the anchor of hope.

Something creative…
I’m not quite sure at this point, but you can count on Christina or I rolling out the creativity this week. It may be lesson plans or wall decorations or bathroom remodel or a clever conversation… but in some way or another the creativity is sure to appear!

Grab bag
Who knows – we’re good at random, so expect it!

That’s the lineup for this week. Hope you enjoy reading as much as we enjoy writing!

Well, if you haven’t noticed, this week is already slightly irregular. Instead of trying to catch up, this week Christina and I will be officially “un-planned” and write whatever, whenever. I just returned from my maiden Honduran excursion with three other co-workers to the north coast. I’m pretty tired, but relaxed and excited to begin work again tomorrow.

THIS WEEK:
Surprises are in store! That’s the lineup, folks. If you don’t normally get excited about routine and hate knowing what to expect, then this week is for YOU!

What a week it’s been! Praise God for the blessings of the past week… Christina is now working in her new position at Valley E. Free and I am falling more in love with Tegus every day. We know God is so good – sometimes we can see His goodness through blessings and other times we just believe His goodness is there by faith. Either way, God continues His remarkable work and we’re glad to be a part! This week, we’re hoping to have some more variety. Enjoy! And, as always, leave comments – we LOVE your comments!

Phase II
Read more about Christina’s transition… After being faithful in pursuing the Lord and receiving what you asked, a lot about life changes. Christina has been realizing that God is still and will always be in the work of refining.

design lemon and limes
Okay, so you’ve probably already figured out that Christina is the design whiz around here (when I say around I mean theoretically, because we’re obviously countries apart). But, that doesn’t mean I don’t try to spin a little creativity every once in awhile. Read about the great and not-so-great results!

‘in’ and not ‘of’
Paul’s charge to be in the world, but not of the world turns out to be a pretty hard fight. We struggle each day to make decisions that shine the light of Christ amidst darkness, yet it’s hard to know how our light best shines. Do I watch that movie or read that book? Do we support that company? So many questions… We’ll ask some this week.

being a woman of discipline
So, I just finished reading Chesterton’s “A Man Who Was Thursday” and I’m still reeling from the resolution. As I process, I’m moving onto a bit of non-fiction in Elizabeth Elliott’s “Discipline.” I have really felt God lay on my heart to seek and desire a more disciplined walk.

what to do at a white party?
If you’ve ever been somewhere and got the sudden urge to be the life of the party – read this! Christina is pretty good about bringing laughter to almost any situation and this recent event was no different!

There might be more, might be less. I am learning that our ‘lineup’ our really mere suggestions and reminders to ourselves of the direction we think we’ll go.

Have a great week!

Hello folks!

We hope you read last week, because we are back at blogging – full force. This week, we won’t disappoint, so anticipate some great posts.

Mystery Revealed
Find out what Christina is all excited about!!!

The Man Who Was Thursday
Take a closer look at this strange nightmare, written by theological great G.K. Chesterton. Maybe you can help me figure it out!

Design Lemons and Limes
Okay, so you’ve probably already figured out that Christina is the design whiz around here (when I say around I mean theoretically, because we’re obviously countries apart). But, that doesn’t mean I don’t try to spin a little creativity every once in awhile. Read about the great and not-so-great results!

Phase II
Read about Christina’s journey into this new territory (see previous post) – I guarantee it will be worth it!

Interview
Oh, yes, remember when we wanted to interview YOU. Well, apparently you don’t want to be interviewed. Well, we can respect that, but that doesn’t mean we have to stop asking. So, anyone? anyone?

Alright, expect some fun things to fill in the gaps. We are so excited and blessed to share the way God is moving and working in our lives. May all the glory be unto Him!

GUESS WHAT?

I know it has been SO long since we have written in any sort of organized way. In fact, I just realized that it might be a good idea to re-introduce ourselves. To save some space (and the eyes of those that know us well) you can just click here and here to read more about us and our blog.

We’re going to try the lineup thing again and see how it goes. We’re thanking the Lord for the blessing of skype… and hoping that we can continue to write together, separately on this little space of the web.

Here’s our lineup for this week:

NM Mission Trip: REcap
Remember when Christina was on a mission trip to New Mexico and you were praying for her? Well, she returned and has much to share! Be sure to check out how the Lord worked and is working in their lives!

Life in Honduras: the things you have to learn for yourself
Read about how Caroline is adjusting to life in Honduras. Some things are easier than others and there are MANY reasons to laugh.

Praying, Believing, Doing
Christina has been deep in transition these past few weeks – ending a job, going on a mission trips, applying for other jobs, interviewing… and through everything the Lord has been Provider and Sustainer. Sometimes, though, it’s hard to find the right balance of praying, believing, and doing.

The Adventures of the Life I Wish I Led
Read part I and part II before you read on. This little series is entirely fictional and based on my heart’s desire at the time I’m writing. We all know if we truly had our way, things wouldn’t be so great, but I think there are desires God has given us that are okay (even good) to dream about.

Dare to Design
Read some marvelous insight into the design world. We’re not all gifted with an eye for color or fabric or artistic elements, but we can all read about people who are! So gain some insight from Christina this week and use what you steal to work for you!

Interview with ______
When we first decided to merge our creativity into this blog, we talked about wanting to do interviews. After our first interviewees fell through, we’re thinking of trying a different tactic. What if we interviewed YOU, our readers! I’m pretty clueless as to how many people read this, but it would be WONDERFUL to start bringing more of you into this creative process. So, make a comment post on this weekly lineup if you’d be interested in an interview – because we’re interested in YOU!

That’s it for this week. Look for little pick-me-up posts during the week as well. Like we said, we’re going to try to be as regular as we can, for two sisters living thousands of miles apart.

Okay, so we made it through this past week. Christina quit her job and I moved out of Austin (deep sigh) … and we made it.

I love the encouragement we find in Joshua 1 where we keep seeing the words “take heart” and “be strong and courageous” and ” wait on the Lord.” Far from our constant demands for quick fixes, we read what it means to be stalwart – a certain strength from only one source.

Well, this week we tarry on, both in Iowa for a short stint. I am actually sitting in Christina’s endearing upper floor apartment for the first time and loving it. I get to see all the things she’s posted on the blog and – let me tell you – the effect is much sweeter in person!

As we enter into a new phase in our lives (mine in Honduras and Christina’s still a bit unknown, but definitely in Des Moines), we are trying to figure out the best way to share our creative experiences on this blog. Lineup? No lineup? Recommendations? Stories? Crafts? Write every day? Multiple times a day?

If you have any sort of advice to this end, please let us know! You can leave your comments here or send us an email… but just let us know your thoughts. More of the same or something different??

For this week, we’ll go ahead and let you know a bit what to expect. I’m just going to come out and say we’re confused about the election. We don’t want to vote for either of the main candidates, so now what do we do? (Please advise!!)

Here are some topics we do claim to know something about…

Adventures of the Life I Wish I Led
Have you read the first two in this series? If not, check here and here. Start looking for this as a regular staple on this post. I’ve heard some people appreciate this side a bit more than all the philosophy (I don’t care what you say, I’m keeping that too!). These short snapshots are just what’s on my heart… you know, if wishes came true.

Living Life in the Minimal
Last week, Caroline wrote about inventory-ing her life as she boxed up all her personal possessions in Austin. This week, read about Christina’s newfound determination to live life simply… as she navigates piles of clothes, boxes of collectibles, and (in short) a lot of clutter.

Nesting
So, when the last of the kids finally leaves, we’ve given parents the affectionate term of ’empty nesters,’ but there’s a lot of nesting that happens in your 20s. When don’t have any kids yet and find yourself ‘on your own,’ you can do a lot to your living space and your life outlook to make yourself feel right at home.

So, we’ll try to hit these topics, but be looking for more. With pictures, of course of our adventures, travels, and surprises.

We hope this week you will delight in the blessings!