Connecting with family members in the time of Covid takes creativity.
We have a monthly Zoom game night. It provides good laugh for all ages and allows us to meet with the kids in different states.
Here are some ideas when connecting with different age groups:
-Dice games
-Bingo
-Trivia
-Scattergories
-Heads up (ap on phone)
Keep connecting. Get creative. Enjoy the time spent together.
-Elle
Last year, I led a group of friends in creating a vision board. Little did we know what the year would hold. We laughed and said we should talk about what we planned and show each other the 2020 vision boards.
What are you hoping for this new year?
May this year be a fresh start. May you learn about yourself. May you accept yourself.
I hope this year I am better than I was in 2020. Better than who I planned to be in January 2020.
Wishing you a Happy New Year.
-Elle
Wishing you a Merry Christmas.
“Tears are falling, hearts are breaking
How we need to hear from God
You’ve been promised, we’ve been waiting
Welcome Holy Child”- Chris Rice (Welcome to Our World)
Christmas is my favorite time of year. This year, I haven’t put up my tree. I have no Christmas lights up. I brought up an armload of Christmas decorations and put them in my livingroom to have ‘enough’ spirit. Without hosting people, it wasn’t worth the effort for me to fully decorate.
This year I dropped off food for my mom and mother-in-law and will have a family Zoom game night. New traditions. But the first Christmas wasn’t perfect. A child was born in meager circumstances.
“Hope that You don’t mind our manger
How I wish we could have known
But long-awaited Holy Stranger
Make Yourself at home
Please make Yourself at home.” – Chris Rice
May we be reminded of the first Christmas as we figure out our own Christmas celebrations. I’m showing up as I am. I’m celebrating a simple Christmas. I’m feeling peace.
May you find peace and joy this Christmas.
-Elle
I bought myself a Reese’s advent calendar this year. I grew up with Advent calendars as a child and looked forward to the treat each day.
Advent meaning ‘coming’ in Latin. We celebrate advent to celebrate Jesus’ coming. It is a marker for a special event. I’ve been attending church on-line so the traditional markers for the season are not there this year.
Maybe you are hoping for a different arrival. Preparing your life, your schedule, your home for a special delivery. How are you marking changes? How are you feeling?
Take each day as it comes. Try to find some joy in each day.
If you are in the season of advent, I pray you find contentment. Maybe some joy. Look at the little things, the details. Sometimes the big picture is too big.
Wishing you joy this season.
-Elle
This is the year to start something new. Because the old isn’t possible.
We didn’t have anyone over on Thanksgiving but made sure our family had Thanksgiving dinner plates dropped off.
Looks like Christmas will be much the same. And, Christmas is my time. I look forward to it all year.
I haven’t put up many decorations. I put up enough lights and decorations to look festive. But, I’m not hosting any gatherings so why put so much effort into this time? Instead, I’m taking advantage of this time to get my house in order. I polished the wood floors. I have organized closets. I have donated in rounds of purging.
So, this year looks like new traditions of drive through light shows, outside dining in plastic igloos (which I have wanted to do in years past), and a time to truly pause. Pausing in the midst of Christmas has always seemed hard – gatherings, end of year work projects, concerts, gift buying, exchanges, get together, family events. This year I am taking advantage of the pause. The Selah.
Selah is a biblical term used 71 times in the Psalms at the end of a verse. It is a pause. Pause to reflect. Pause to praise.
What is a pause in your life this season?
Wishing you a healthy and reflective season.
-Elle
“You’ve got the words to change a nation
But you’re biting your tongue
You’ve spent a life time stuck in silence
Afraid you’ll say something wrong
If no one ever hears it how we gonna learn your song?” Read all About It, Pt. III- Emeli Sande
If you’ve read my posts, you know I listen to music lyrics. Really listen. I google what they mean to the writer. I enjoy danceable beats. But, I appreciate meaningful lyrics.
This song reminds me of the John Donne poem, “For Whom the Bell Tolls.” In the poem, it details that we are all a part of the whole. If someone dies, we all feel the loss. The song is more of a silence of certain voices than of a physical loss. But, the whole is impacted unless everyone participates.
Are you singing your song? Are you vocal?
I tend to be quiet. I am an awkward introvert. But, my voice is just as important as the rest of the community. We all have a purpose and a message to give.
Sing your song.
-Elle
“There is no better way to thank God for your sight than by giving a helping hand to someone in the dark.” —Helen Keller
Thanksgiving in the U.S. is filled with decadent dishes and family. This year, we will be celebrating separately. It will be quieter but no less thankful. We will porch drop a Thanksgiving meal for both my mother in law and mom. Then, we will have a Zoom family game night to ‘gather together’.
Last year, I made breakfast for a homeless shelter with a group of friends. This year, I will look at ways to give back to those without.
How will you celebrate Thanksgiving this year?
Wishing you a wonderful day filled with both thanks and giving.
-Elle
One week from Thanksgiving and it is looking different than in years past. I’m ordering from a local, independent restaurant. My husband will work Thanksgiving morning (as usual, he works retail). I will get the cooked and refrigerated meal home and divvy it up for us and for our moms. I will drive to meet my mom and give her a portion of the feast which we will all enjoy separately. When my husband gets home, we will drive to his mom’s house and porch drop her feast. It will be the first Thanksgiving she is not making Thanksgiving- a meal his mom enjoys cooking and takes pride in. Then, we will go home and heat up our own Thanksgiving meal- just the two of us.
“Don’t let the sun go down without saying thank you to someone, and without admitting to yourself that absolutely no one gets this far alone.” –Stephen King
The Bible says to not let the sun go down on anger. I like this take on not letting the sun go down- on saying thank you. I am thankful for my mom for making me the strong, independent woman I am today. I am thankful for my mother-in-law for helping me navigate through infertility and never asking when we were going to have kids (my husband was adopted when his parents were married 18 years and she knew the pain first hand of people’s questions/expectations). I am thankful for pastors, teachers, neighbors who taught me so many lessons and imprinted on me an inquisitive love for so many things. I am thankful for friends and family who have touched my heart, supported me, and loved me through many seasons. And I am thankful for you, reader- in whatever season you are in.
Don’t let the sun go down today without saying thank you. How will you celebrate Thanksgiving? What are you thankful for?
-Elle
I’m reading through Proverbs before bed.
Proverbs 30: 15-16 “The leech has two suckers that cry out, ‘more, more!’” There are three things that are never satisfied- no, four that never say, “Enough!”; the grave, the barren womb, the thirsty desert, the blazing fire.
I felt like I was reading this for the first time. I was thinking- where was this before? I was one of 4 siblings. My mom and my dad were both one of 4 siblings. I grew up wanting a large family. When I didn’t get married until 30, I was going to ‘settle’ for 2. But that wasn’t to be.
Not being able to conceive can be all consuming. I grieved, was angry, withdrawn, and felt betrayed by my own body.
In the US, there are paths to having children: birth, adoption, surrogacy, fertility treatments, foster care. We have options and you can choose. After a foster care placement didn’t work, I closed that chapter and it has been enough.
I am satisfied with my life. I am trying to be like Paul in the Bible. Philippians 4:11-13: “Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”
I am working on being content in all situations. I’m a work in progress. Aren’t we all?
-Elle
Starbucks gave away holiday cups with the purchase of a holiday drink. I love free give aways. I love the taste of holiday drinks. I love Christmas most of all. So on this Friday that is 70 degrees in November, I’m working from home, drinking a peppermint mocha, and listening to Christmas music.
I’m remembering when I could taste. I lost my sense of taste and smell about 3 weeks ago. I’m remembering holiday gatherings and hosting parties of friends and family. I’m remembering the magic of greeting a friend with a hug or shaking hands with an acquaintance without thinking twice.
These days, I am reading lighter story lines, watching comedies, and checking in on friends. How are you doing?
I hope you find your happiness this weekend.
-Elle
Marriage Without The Carriage 