Dance

Five Minute Friday: Dance

GO

As soon as I heard the chorus, I knew it was going to be a good one.

And we’re dancing in the minefields
We’re sailing in the storm
This is harder than we dreamed
But I believe that’s what the promise is for

And it was.  Andrew Peterson‘s song, “Dancing in the Minefields” quickly became one of my (many) favourite love songs.  And the video?  Definitely made me cry.

Because it’s all so true.  Especially the metaphor of marriage being like dancing in the minefields.  Delicately and beautifully finding our way together through a place that can be full of danger.  Earlier this week I was thinking about how incredible marriage is.  This relationship between a man and a woman — so rich, so unique, so beautiful, so precious — yet so very strong and fragile at the same time.

It really can leave me without words.  And so that’s when I’m so thankful for those who can say it so much better than I can.

So when I lose my way, find me
When I loose love’s chains, bind me
At the end of all my faith, till the end of all my days
When I forget my name, remind me

‘Cause we bear the light of the Son of Man
So there’s nothing left to fear
So I’ll walk with you in the shadowlands
Till the shadows disappear

‘Cause He promised not to leave us
And His promises are true
So in the face of all this chaos, baby,
I can dance with you

STOP

(All quotes from the song “Dancing in the Minefields”, by Andrew Peterson, from his Counting Stars CD)

Path

Five Minute Friday: Path

(Things have been so crazy busy here lately that I haven’t done a Five Minute Friday for a month and a half…wow!  And today continued the crazy busy trend so I wasn’t sure if I would miss yet another Friday, but this word is actually fits perfectly with all that’s happening our life right now.)

GO

It’s funny the different twists and turns there are in the path of our life.  And so often the changes are so out of the blue and beyond your expectations that you realize anew that you really have no idea what’s around the next “bend in the road”.  And that’s when I learn to rest again in the knowledge that I’m in the care of Someone Who does know, and He is good.

Our life right now is taking a rather drastic turn.  We’re moving to Tennessee.  In less than a month.  Thus the reason behind all the busyness and general upheaval around here lately.  Sorting and purging, packing and boxing.  Aaron and I definitely tend toward minimalism (except when it comes to books), but there’s always stuff you can get rid and so we’re having our first garage sale tomorrow.

This move is an exciting one and such an answer to so many prayers.  Aaron was offered a great job opportunity to be the project manager for a finish carpentry company — a job that’s basically perfect for him since he’s great at organization and efficiency and it will allow him to focus on refining his finish carpentry skills.  The latter is something he’s really wanted to do for a long time, but hasn’t been able to in the dwindling construction market here in our corner of California.

So lots of changes for us in the next months…and we’ll see how much time they leave for blogging!  We’re excited to see where God is going to take us down this path.

STOP (and…I went over time!  I thought that might happen, but I had to get it all out!)

Breast to Bib review and giveaway

Modern Alternative Mama, written by Kate Tietje, is one of my favourite blogs. I frequently share her posts to Facebook — and I’ve probably been guilty of clogging my friends’ feeds from time to time!  But I can’t help it.  So many of her posts are full of information that I think every mama should know…and since most of my friends right now are also young mamas, there you go!

Because I’m so passionate about mamas being informed in the decisions they make about their little ones, I was very excited earlier this year when I heard about Kate’s upcoming eBook entitled Breast to Bib: Modern Alternative Mama’s Guide to Nourishing Your Growing Family.  At the end of February, I wrote a testimonial about it to be included in the book.  It said:

“With a two-year-old and an almost ten-month-old, feeding babies is something I’ve thought about often in the last couple of years. Breast to Bib is full of great information regarding the all-important question of how and what babies should eat. And while when starting solids, our family’s general philosophy is to just feed the baby what we’re eating, the recipes included for babies and toddlers offer great inspiration and ideas to fall back on when what’s on the table isn’t the best for the littlest ones. I would recommend this book to any new mom!”

I’ve posted before about how we’ve gone about introducing our babies to solids and the resources I’ve found helpful — this book would definitely join them!  If it’s a subject that you’ve already researched pretty extensively, there may not be a lot of new information here.  But at the same time, it offers an easy way to brush-up on your knowledge: to be reminded of just what exactly baby-led weaning looks like or what to do if you’re struggling with low milk supply while breastfeeding.  And for someone just starting to research the best way to feed babies and toddlers, this eBook is full of good information.

Like I mentioned in the testimonial, we usually just feed our little ones whatever we’re eating and I’m not a big fan of making special foods for babies, but sometimes what’s on the table isn’t suitable.  This is when the multitude of recipes included in Breast to Bib can come in very handy!  With everything from baby custard to chicken nuggets, and even pate, nothing is very complicated to make and it’s all real food.

Modern Alternative Mama has offered to give away a copy of the eBook Breast to Bib to one Something Simple reader.  All you have to  do is visit Modern Alternative Mama’s store, then come back here and leave a comment telling me which of her eBooks appeal to you the most and why.  The giveaway ends Sunday, June 10th, at midnight PST.

If you want to get a copy of Breast to Bib now, you can get 25% off using the coupon code “SOJOURN25”.  But hurry, the code expires this Friday, June 8th!

This giveaway is now closed.  Congratulations to Brianna Graber for winning!