No.800: Last Week at the Farmhouse // Raising My Ebenezer

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There’s a house a short way from us that has recently constructed a large rock tower at the front of their property.  I have no idea if the family had a purpose behind it or if they just thought it looked cool.  But it reminded me of a little story in the Bible and I’ve been reflecting on it all week.  The verse is 1 Samuel 7:12: “Then Samuel took a stone and placed it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it Ebenezer, saying, ‘So far the LORD has helped us.'”  That stone became a physical representation of God’s faithfulness to them.  It would be something to return to and reflect upon when times felt tough, a way to remind them that yes, God is always with them.

This week, my daughter and I unearthed a moving box shoved way back in the coat closet.  Inside held a handful of the 12″x12″ scrapbooks I created when my oldest kids were small.  And what a trip down memory lane!  So many little memories that seemed insignificant to document then, so many little pieces of ephemera that were arguably just trash.  What a precious collection to have now.

Those scrapbooks are my Ebenezers.  My new junk journals are my Ebenezers.  Shoot, this blog, started way back in 2011, has been another little way to count my Ebenezers.  They all document the physical representations of God’s faithfulness to me and my family, even if I don’t see it in the moment.  What a gift.

The Lord has done great things for us and we are filled with joy. – Psalm 126:3

Hoping to document the abundance around me all year long!

Around here, abundance looks like…

+ starting a carnivore(ish) elimination diet on 1/26.  When I broke out in hives and angioedema and it didn’t go away, I knew I would have to do something drastic to feel better.  (I’ve had a whole host of random issues pop up in the past year and this was my breaking point.)  I started by removing all sugar and processed food for a few days, then removed all fruits/vegetables and grains.  I had a few days of the “keto flu” and during the thick of it, I told my husband that natural childbirth was easier than this kind of detoxing!  Thankfully, I’m out of the worst of that!  I’m not out of the woods yet and am still dealing with some flareups, but am hopeful that I’m on the right path.  I’m committed to eating this way at least until Easter before reintroducing things back into my diet.  Consuming only animal products is very different for me, but I’ll do anything at this point to feel well.  And bonus: I get to try some new sauces to change things up!

+ getting Samson and Pete (our Great Pyrenees/Golden Retriever mix and our cat) both neutered on the same day.  The local vets quoted astronomical rates that were completely out of our budget, but we thankfully found a more affordable option with a clinic 30 minutes away.  In and out the same day and both did great!  Pete was pretty loopy for awhile there; they apparently give cats three days worth of pain meds up front!  Sammy is stuck in a cone for 10-14 days and he looks pathetic and hilarious.

+ selling four unneeded items: three books and a kids’ knit hat.  After shipping and fees, I made $13.71!

Reading //

• Septuagesima from Dom Guéranger’s The Liturgical Year // A favorite priest of mine compared these three weeks to the NFL’s pre-season.  We have to get our head in the game now so we can have a fruitful Lent.

Now, the feast of Easter must be prepared for by forty days of recollectedness and penance. Those forty days are one of the principal seasons of the liturgical year, and one of the most powerful means employed by the Church for exciting in the hearts of her children the spirit of their Christian vocation. It is of the utmost importance that such a season of grace should produce its work in our souls—the renovation of the whole spiritual life. The Church, therefore, has instituted a preparation for the holy time of Lent. She gives us the three weeks of Septuagesima, during which she withdraws us, as much as may be, from the noisy distractions of the world, in order that our hearts may be more readily impressed by the solemn warning she is to give us at the commencement of Lent by marking our foreheads with ashes.

• Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives by Siddharth Kara // Getting back to this book after a long break.  It’s a hard read!  This passage made me sad:

The stretch of road from Lubumbashi to Likasi passes through a broad expanse of open terrain and rolling hills…All is shaded in copper and rust…Redbrick huts reach deep into the bush.  Women cook cassava by open fires.  Toddlers make friends of dirt.  Teenage girls line up at the nearest well with yellow plastic containers to fill their supply of water for the day.  Spires of silver smoke rise from deep within the forest where men burn trees to make charcoal, their only source of heat and light.  This land that is home to the world’s largest reserves of an element crucial to the manufacture of the most dominant form of rechargeable energy in the world still awaits the arrival of electricity. (p.72)

• The Wool Brigades of World War I, When Knitting Was a Patriotic Duty // The kids and I learned about this in history.  I dug a little deeper and loved all of the old photographs in this article.

Watching/Listening //

• Peaceful Guitar: The Italian Collection // This week’s background music while I did computer work.
• Come Thou Fount (Official Music Video) from Celtic Worship // A hymn based on the verse in 1 Samuel above.  I liked this version.
• Floriani Sacred Music Chant School // Continuing on with lesson five and Salve Regina.

Loving //

• Woman of the Household course from Life-Craft // Thank you so much for the recommendation, Melisa!  I completed Module 1 and am really enjoying it so far.
• Freddy the Detective, our new read aloud for school // It’s supposedly #3 in a series, but we were okay jumping right in.
• Bread cheese // This is technically a no-no for me (I don’t feel great afterward) but so, so good when cut into strips and air fried.  Tastes like a mozzarella stick!