On the Precipice

03/24/2011

Have you ever been on the brink of something huge and felt simultaneously excited and inadequate? A couple weeks ago Jason and I made an important decision about our future. I feel without a doubt that it’s the direction God is leading us — it’s something that’s been in our hearts for a long time but lately has been stirred up to the point that we can’t ignore it. Immediately after the decision was vocalized and we were in unity about it, I started getting overwhelmed with fears about my shortcomings and worrying whether or not this is something we’d be able to pull off. As Christ-followers, we recognize this as a spiritual attack. Obedience with passion and excitement to move forward is met with resistance in the form of fears and concerns. I tossed and turned that night, wrestling with my thoughts.

The next morning, I cracked open my short daily devotional book, Jesus Calling. It is a 2 minute read of encouraging words from the prayer journal of missionary Sarah Young. What it said on March 11 is exactly what I needed to hear that morning to squelch the burning feelings of inadequacy that had plagued me the night before:

“Walk by faith, not by sight. As you take steps of faith, depending on Me, I will show you how much I can do for you. If you live your life too safely, you will never know the thrill of seeing Me work through you. When I gave you My spirit, I empowered you to live beyond your natural ability and strength. Thats why it is wrong to measure your energy level against the challenges ahead of you. The issue is not your strength but Mine, which is limitless. By walking close to Me, you can accomplish My purposes in My strength.” (based on 2 Cor 5:7 and Gal 5:25)

I’m sharing this hoping it will encourage someone else as much as it did me (not just to make you wonder what’s going on with us.) I can’t reveal what it is yet; for now we’re still holding it close as we figure out the next steps. (Hint: I’m not pregnant. I know some of you were thinking that.) If God has put you on a precipice with a view of what’s ahead, be strong and courageous! Though I may not be capable of what will be required of me, I know that He is with me and He will make me able.

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Radio Silence

03/03/2011

I am still here. Or back, rather. It’s been a whirlwind week and family emergencies have taken priority over blogging, work, paying bills, doing laundry, etc.—as they should. The dust is settling now but it’ll take me a few days to get back to normal. Thanks for checking in here everyday. I will be back next week!

A brief synopsis of the past 7 days if you’re interested:

Found out niece would be born by emergency C-section. Hurried to the hospital to wait. Delighted in amazing new addition to our family! Crazy storm. Tired. Irritable. Home late after swerving around many downed trees. Dog had accident while we were gone. Grocery store run. Grocery store closed due to power outage. Sneak into my parents house to steal their laundry detergent. Wake up after a few hours of sleep to a phone call that Jason’s grandmother passed away. Go to work like a zombie. Visit new parents and baby with dinner. (Yay!) Sleep hard. Scramble around to get errands and obligations done on Saturday so we could head out of town. Drive 10 hours up to Erie, PA (our former hometown) with Jason’s parents. Visit family. Attend funeral. Eat funeral food (including homemade ranch dressing … I call it “funeral ranch”. It’s good.) Visit family. Sort through grandma’s house. Scan lots of old family pictures. Buy sponge candy and prenzels at Wegmans. Visit our dear friends for yummy dinner. Wish they would move to Nashville. More family visiting, including a stop to visit Jason’s other grandma, our last remaining grandparent. Let her know that we intend to name our daughter after her one day. She laughs and says she never liked her name. (Also my grandmother’s name. She never liked it either!) Drive 10+ hours back to Nashville. It’s so good to be home. It’s sunny and 70º outside today. I have a lot of work to catch up on and much to be thankful for today.

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Posted by mahlbrandt

January Spring

01/31/2011

This weekend was January Spring! What’s January Spring, you ask? That’s what Jason and I call the weekend we seem to get every winter, usually in January, where we get a preview of spring and a respite from winter. This past Saturday and Sunday were sunny with highs of 65º. A glorious change from all the snow we’ve had in Nashville this year. (We had 4.5 inches in December and I think it’s been more than that in January.) I left the doors hanging open hoping to lure the warm sunshine into the house!

Here’s a little weekend recap:

Friday night I had dinner with my parents and we saw 127 Hours. It was intense and disturbing so be forewarned if you go. It is inspiring to see how Aron Ralston went through what he did and survived. Talk about a will to live.

Saturday I had the privilege of snapping some last minute maternity pictures of my brother- and sister-in-law. More on that later this week. After that: grocery shopping, lunch outside, a Vanderbilt – University of Arkansas basketball game, and a movie with friends.

Sunday Jason got home—if you’ve been reading this blog for the past 6 months you know how much I love homecomings!—and we enjoyed the warm weather with breakfast outside, weeding the garden (Jason) and a walk with Lucy. After that his family came over to hang out for the evening. We ate tortilla soup and berry delight and played Apples to Apples. Jason and I topped the night off with catching up on the past couple episodes of Modern Family. It was a wonderful weekend!

—–

By the way… sorry for the unannounced blog hiatus the past couple weeks. I was feeling uninspired after weeks of cold, snowy winter and decided I needed a break. Five posts a week is a big time commitment and though I enjoy it, sometimes I feel like I put too much pressure on myself. So I’m back. I’m not sure if I’m 5-days-a-week back, but I’m here.

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Snow Day

01/10/2011

Nashville got hit with another major snow storm — the third this winter. And by major snow storm, I mean we got about 2 inches. Thankfully, my office was closed today. I am fully equipped to work from home but since they only allow me to work from home one day a week, I figured, ah screw it. Instead I’ve been cleaning the house, doing laundry and dishes, watching TV,  sketching ideas for the garden and home, and soon I’m going to tackle a sewing project I’ve been putting off for months. Maybe I’ll even cook dinner. It’s been a very nice snow day. 🙂

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Posted by mahlbrandt

I Can’t Find My Phone

01/06/2011

When I read what Rachel (my fellow Watkins alum) over at Benign Objects, wrote about I Can’t Find My Phone, I added it to my Bookmarks Bar. I figured I’d never make use of it since I rarely lose my phone, but lo and behold, the night of the Nashville Christmas Parade I hopped in the car and realized I didn’t have my phone. In the process of putting on warm layers for the cold night, it had been buried in a heap of clothes on my bed. I was in a hurry so I popped open my laptop, clicked on the link, typed my number and hit “HELLO?” Problem solved! Now, I must do my duty to pass this useful link on to you: ICantFindMyPhone.com

Save it. You never know when you’ll need it!

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Posted by mahlbrandt

2011 Annual Goals

01/05/2011

On December 30th, Jason and I were driving to Branson for a weekend getaway. (Actually, J was working: playing for Guy Penrod; but to me, it was a mini vacation!) Eight hours in the car gave us plenty of time to reflect on 2010, our goals met and unmet; and to dream and plan for 2011. Instead of starting out with a list of home projects like last year, we decided to start with a list of financial goals. In 2010 we filtered most of our nonessential income toward home projects and saved what we could. In 2011, we plan to filter a lot of our nonessential income into savings and investments, and keep a lower, specific amount set aside each month for home projects and repairs.

Our financial goals include a target annual income, retirement savings milestones, general savings targets, getting both of our old cars in good working condition and saving a certain amount toward new replacements and saving for a vacation.

We did, of course, make a list of projects for our home for 2011:

– fence around garden – carried over from 2010’s list

– pergola roof – carried over from 2010’s list

– replace the galvanized steel plumbing pipe from the house to the street (to improve our water pressure)

– get gas run into our house (if the gas company will do it), get a gas range and fireplace

– get 3-5 more fruit trees for our back yard (we’re leaning toward pear, date, cherry … any suggestions?)

– build 1 or 2 more 4′ x 8′ garden beds for vegetables and strawberries

And then, I decided we needed to make another list for big picture goals. Things like:

– read more books

– take more risks

– give more money away

– smile more and make it authentic

What about you? Do you make goals for the year? Resolutions? Do you write them down or just make 1 or 2 decisions that are easy to remember? I’m curious to hear what others do. If you have any great ideas or special goals/resolutions, please share!

Oh, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Yearly Goals

01/04/2011

We’re 4 days into the new year and many people have already made resolutions … and some may have already broken their self-vows. A few years ago Jason and I heard about a successful couple from our neighborhood who write out their goals and a gameplan together every year, rather than New Years Resolutions.

At the start of 2010, Jason and I decided to give this a try. He’s very goal oriented and I’m very visual so together we sat down with a little hardback journal and wrote out goals. Our goals for 2010 included a list of home projects and repairs we wanted to complete:

– finish master bathroom renovation – check!

– pergola roof – moved to 2011’s list

– fence around garden – moved to 2011’s list

– install garbage disposal – fell off the priority wagon

– get new tires for our car – check!

– fix car windows that won’t stay up – check!

– refinish nightstand table – fell off the priority wagon

A second list included 2010 financial goals. We listed 4 areas and target amounts we wanted to save for each purpose. We hit 2 of the goals and came halfway to the other 2 goals.

I also made some goals for myself in four personal areas: home, career, family and spiritual. My goals included things like rework my home office, expand the number of designs in my Etsy shop, help more with the gardening and composting more, and stop obsessively planning (AKA worrying).

We’re really pleased how things have turned out this past year, both in terms of meeting goals and in unexpected, unplanned blessings. It has not been an easy year for many people and I know a lot of our Nashville friends are more than ready to forget 2010.

I love the start of a new year and the excitement and potential of a fresh start! Last weekend while Jason and I were driving to Branson, Missouri for New Years (where he was playing), we wrote our goals for 2011. I’ll tell you about them tomorrow.

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Christmas 2010

12/30/2010

My last post on our mid-century modern Christmas 2010 is a recap through photos. (I’m still in vacation mentality so most of these are staight-out-of-camera shots.) First, we got together with Jason’s parents, his brother and our sister-in-law (who is 7.5 months pregnant with our niece) at our house for an early, laid-back celebration. We played dominos, ate pizza, opened presents and watched a movie.

Then, for Christmas weekend, we drove with my parents to my brother and sister-in-law’s house in Pennsylvania. We had great weather the whole way. Clear roads and snow on the ground in some places.

Lucy came along. She sat on my lap most of the way. Jason gave me a new camera for Christmas so I was still trying to learn it over the holiday. It’s a Nikon Coolpix. (I got him rain boots and a drill bit & driver set, in case anyone cares.)

This is Lucy’s cousin Queso. She’s wearing a Penn State sweater.

Hi Mama!

My brother-in-law Jeff and my brother Aaron

Jason and I accidentally matched our black and white striped shirts on Christmas Eve.

SISTERS! 🙂

Our Swedish meatballs on Christmas Eve tradition. Jessica, mama and me.

My sister-in-law Laura gave Aaron a pair of thrifted cowboy boots as a joke. The joke is on her when he starts wearing them for real!

Queso got a new toy from Aunt Martina and Uncle Jason.

Jason enjoying his new subscription to Money magazine.

Dad spent a lot of time playing with is new iPad.

Lucy is very tolerant.

Aaron, Laura, my parents.

Jeff’s sister Megan, his dad, Jess and Jeff.

Neko got a new bone from Aunt Martina and Uncle Jason.

Me, Jason, Jessica on Christmas Day 2010

A major snow storm was forecasted to hit Eastern Pennsylvania on Sunday night so we left a day ahead of schedule and headed home a different route, which led us right through Cincinnati were our dear friends live. They generously offered to host us overnight. It was a great Christmas gift to get to see them again this year!

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Phone Photo Friday

12/03/2010

Two cameras at one time.

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Our Little Focus

12/01/2010

I took a picture of our car. While we were in Pigeon Forge in October amidst the beautiful trees I had an impulse to take a photo of our car. We’re not car people and we’re not in love with our car; it just needs to get us where we’re going. So, we didn’t really have any intentional pictures of it.

This little green Ford Focus has taken us on a lot of journeys; about 150,000 miles worth. She was Jason’s and my first big purchase (read: first big loan), six months after we got married. This car drove us from Erie to Nashville and back many times before our move in 2004. It drove us up to my parents house in Pennsylvania for holidays, to my sister’s wedding reception in Philadelphia, on vacations to Virginia Beach, Hilton Head Island, Cincinnati and many a day trip to Atlanta. The weekend of this photo it took me halfway across the state to spend a much needed 3-day weekend with my husband. It has carted many friends and family members around to work, to church, to homes, to stores, to the airport and back. It’s carried amps and guitars, groceries, lumber, straw bales, 100s of pounds of rocks, loads of IKEA purchases, packages, luggage, dogs and moving boxes. It’s had it’s share of problems through the past seven years but our little vehicle has been good to us.

In the season of thankfulness, I’m extending some gratitude to our little engine that could:

Dear Green Meanie,

Thanks for running strong these seven years, for carrying us and our treasures all over the place, for stopping on a dime and taking off fast, for not quitting us even after two hit-and-runs, for turning sharply enough to parallel park in one try, for chugging along despite your bolted-up rather than truly fixed back windows, missing lug nut cover, cracked and dented front fender, dashboard stickiness from many a drink spill, and overdue oil changes. You’ve been the setting for many kisses and fights and important conversations. You’ve been sung in, slept in, kicked, washed infrequently, snowed on, rained on and hailed on. You’ve been worth ever payment we made, the chili cheese fries we ate in celebration of paying you off, and for every dollar we’ve paid for repairs and maintenance. Yes, you’ve been a good little car.

This year you got a new battery, a new alternator, a new driver’s side mirror, a new fender, new tires, new brakes and some other new parts I can’t remember the names of. Now, please accept this long overdue tune up as a token of our appreciation … and continue on for the next seven years!

Sincerely,

Your Drivers

 

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