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    Wednesday Wisdom: New Year, More "No's"

    Wednesday Wisdom: New Year, More

    Cape House | Home & Hospitality Boutique | Amelia Island, FL Happy New Year, friends! Today is officially my first day back to work after a week full of Christmas celebrations and new year prep. As much as I love to decorate for Christmas early (November 11th this year, to be exact), I think it’s safe to say I love getting an early start on taking them down even more. By 5pm on Christmas day, I am antsy to start stripping away all the extra layers of clutter in my home in preparation for a fresh start to the new year. It doesn’t just end with garland and lights - every drawer, every closet, and every cabinet gets the de-clutter treatment. Year after year, I ask myself, “How do I accumulate this much junk in one year? Didn’t I just clean these closets and cabinets last year at this same time?" It’s amazing how much disorder 365 days of build up can create! And then, as I was dragging out the 4 millionth trash bag to the donate pile, it hit me: in the same way we clean and purge the things in our home to start fresh with motivation for the new year, we have to do the same within ourselves. Don’t get me wrong, the quest for a settled and uncluttered soul has been top priority and topic of study for the past five years for me. This was not a new revelation - that "donate" pile was just a tangible representation of creating order and room in my home for rest that I knew needed to be done (AGAIN) in my soul. ‬‬ I want to hold on to the good and eternal things and clear out the clutter. I want to maintain order and daily routines and disciplines that will keep me from being in the same place next year in my home and in my my soul - to let each morning feel like a new year, like anything is possible - a fresh start! So, my goal for 2018: say no to more things and yes to more important things. Easy enough, right?! No to the 47 string art projects and yes to the handprints and "Mommy, I love you" cards. No to another evening of commitments and yes to a night at home. No to another episode of Fuller House and yes to reading a book or meaningful conversations. “Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you.” ‭‭1 John‬ ‭2:15‬ ‭NLT If I’m not alone in this, I would encourage you to look into the books below! And if this is just me, thank you in advance for holding me accountable this year. Cheers! Cape House | Home & Hospitality Boutique | Amelia Island, FL Present Over Perfect - Shauna Nequeist The Best Yes - Lisa Teurkurst For The Love - Jen Hatmaker Grace, Not Perfection & A Simplified Life - Emily Ley Rhythms of Grace - Kerri Weems Cultivate What Matters - Lara Casey

    Wednesday Wisdom: A Little More Mary, A Little Less Martha

    Wednesday Wisdom: A Little More Mary, A Little Less Martha

    Cape House | Home & Hospitality Boutique | Amelia Island, FL This is my absolute favorite time of year! I love the smells in the air, the lights, and decorations. I love holiday parties, hot cocoa, and yummy homemade goodies. I love extra time with family and friends - and I love that it gets a little bit colder (even in Florida!), which means I can wear my boots and jackets. While my husband loves this time of year for Jesus and my Christmas morning cinnamon rolls (which he discussed in last week’s Wednesday Wisdom), for me, Jesus and chocolate balls make this season most special! Christmas is not complete without chocolate balls. My favorite family tradition. The Little family makes them every year, and they are SO DELICIOUS. I have 2 for breakfast with milk (it’s just like a peanut butter and chocolate granola bar right?!) and 2 before bed every day, all season long. For those of you who don’t know, my husband is the chef of the family. I am a very good sous chef and love to help in the kitchen, but I cannot throw something together like he can. It drives me crazy! He can make something out of nothing, it is never the same, and his version of a recipe is in pinches, dashes, and handfuls. I, however, love to bake - it is a science with a recipe that you HAVE to follow. The ingredient amounts and order of the steps are essential for success. I am a scientist by training and love details – I’ll read a recipe over and over again before I start just to be sure (one of the reasons the chocolate balls always turn out perfectly). I pride myself on being detail-oriented and a great planner. Every step of every day is carefully crafted for the most efficient and most effective day possible. BUT this is also my biggest downfall. Particularly in this season, this fault comes to an ugly head if I let it. I admit I am absolutely 100% Martha! Any other Martha’s out there sympathize with me?! Jesus, don’t you see ALL the things I am doing while Mary is just hanging out and being LAZY!!!! Accomplishing nothing off the to-do list! If you are unfamiliar with the story of Mary & Martha, read it here. Jesus speaks to Martha in Luke 10:41-42 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one.[a] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” The NLT translation says Martha was “upset over all these details!” Can you imagine if Jesus stopped by for a visit?! My problem is the same as Martha’s. Too often, I get caught up in all the planning and preparation and never stop to be still and be present. Too often, I let small details and perfection interfere with what matters most - God and people - the only two things that will last forever. I can carefully plan and execute a recipe or a strategy beautifully - and still miss it all. Christmas is all about Jesus: a time we stop to celebrate the birth of our Savior. It is not about the parties and the presents and the jolly old man in a red suit. We HAVE to stop all the madness! For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And He will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 (NLT) Jesus came to earth not only to save us from our sin but to be our Prince of Peace! How many of us could use a little more peace in our lives during the craziness of the holiday season?  Our lives are too busy and too crowded to resemble anything close to peace. And even worse, we see busyness as a badge of honor. Kara, at The Journey Church, recently preached on this very subject and hit the nail on the head when she said, “If Satan can’t make you bad, he will make you busy doing things that don’t matter.” This is EXACTLY his tactic for keeping me distracted from what matters most and keeping me from fulfilling the plan God has for me. But Jesus says, Martha, Martha, you are worried about too much! Martha, only one thing is needed, Mary has discovered it and it will not be taken away from her. It’s all about Jesus. Stop. Slow down. Listen. Be still. Come to me. Focus on what matters most. It’s all about people and relationships, not things. Fix your eyes on me! Martha had become distracted by all the details and had taken her eyes off of Jesus. We truly are all just as busy as we choose to be. We are in complete control of where we fix our thoughts and what we say yes to. Jesus, help us to keep our eyes on you and away from all the distractions of this world and of the holidays. Help us all to be a little more “Mary” this season. Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 (NLT) 3 You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Isaiah 26:3 (NLT) Cape House | Home & Hospitality Boutique | Amelia Island, FL

    Wednesday Wisdom: Baby Jesus and Cinnamon Rolls

    Wednesday Wisdom: Baby Jesus and Cinnamon Rolls

    Cape House | Home & Hospitality Boutique | Amelia Island, FL ’Tis the season indeed. With less than two weeks before Christmas I have a confession to make - I’m not going to miss Mariah Carey or Michael Bublé on December 26th! Please don’t take this the wrong way Mariah or Michael, I have much love for you both, but our Christmas playlist is disproportionally in your favor. Considering our countdown at Cape House started after Halloween, it’s been a long couple of months. What I am looking forward to is a celebration of baby Jesus and my wife’s AMAZING homemade cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning, a recent tradition that I look forward to every year: the story of Christmas accompanied by a heavenly bite of fresh baked dough, cinnamon, and icing. If you have had the privilege of experiencing her cinnamon rolls (yes, it is an experience), you know exactly what I’m talking about! I realize with the days leading up to the 25th “anticipation” is what fills the air. In a season mixed with a variety of emotions ranging from hope and joy to anxiety and depression, we are all anticipating something around Christmas. Our approach and our attitude should not be based on a feeling though. If we allow our feelings to dictate our attitude we will inevitably be disappointed or worse, disappoint others. Our attitude should resemble an appreciation of a precious gift we already received on the first Christmas through the birth of Jesus. This year my wife and I wanted to make sure our attitudes were in check so we introduced our daughter to “R.A.C.K.” Rack is a stuffed reindeer that appears every morning with a note on his collar of a Random Act of Christmas Kindness attached. It encourages Addi to be intentional with an act of kindness and provide a little hope and encouragement to someone during the day. It’s a reminder for us as well. The simplicity is beautiful. “Smile at everyone you see today.” “Leave dollar bills in the toy section at the dollar store.” “Return someone’s shopping cart for them at the grocery store.” Nothing complicated. A simple opportunity to focus on others. In the midst of this Christmas season, the frantic countdown, we need to pause and recognize that the greatest act of kindness, a willingness to be sacrificed on a cross for our salvation, began with the birth of a baby in a manger. A humble beginning to the most amazing story ever. It should humble us to do more random acts of kindness for others. Merry Christmas! Cape House | Home & Hospitality Boutique | Amelia Island, FL

    Wednesday Wisdom: A Story Within A Story

    Wednesday Wisdom: A Story Within A Story

    Cape House | Home & Hospitality Boutique | Amelia Island, FL If you have young children (or nephews and nieces), you know how entertaining – and challenging – it can be on a daily basis. Our three-and-a-half-year-old has an imagination that is expanding wildly and story time is something we look forward to with anticipation. Her mind races to add new characters (or dinosaurs) to each story, and she laughs at our reactions as the story unfolds. As we grow up, we lose our childlike sense of imagination. Maybe not in its entirety, but we tend to become more practical and more aware of the life’s realities. The narrative of our story changes. But there is one story that allows each and every one of us to become heirs of an eternal kingdom - forever. It’s the story of adoption. I had the privilege of growing up in a home with an adopted sibling. I didn’t think anything different about my “brother” or my “sister”. I loved (and hated) them both like a brother and sister. Over the years, I developed a deeper appreciation of adoption. After walking through the process of adopting our daughter, the depth of my love and perspective will never be the same. The desire to adopt has always been there for me, and the more I grow in my faith and relationship with Christ, the more it grows. Adoption is all over the Bible. The more you read, the more you see God’s heart for loving and caring for the orphans. Countless times God is described as a father to the fatherless (Psalms 68:5-6) and a defender of orphans (Psalm 10:14).  Jesus promises to rescue the orphan (John 14:18), to bring justice and hope to the hopeless (Psalm 10: 17–18). He commands us to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves (Proverbs 31:8–9) and even describes perfect religion as this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress (James 1:27). The reality is that we were orphans before God adopted us; adoption was created by God and modeled for us in the Gospel story (Eph 1:4-11). When we come to Christ, we not only receive salvation through God’s mercy and love, but He chooses to give us so much more: a new name, a new family, and a new life. We become sons and daughters of the most High King with a hope, a future, AND an inheritance.  We didn’t just get a pass out of hell, we get to call Him “Abba Father” and are HEIRS to His kingdom (Romans 8:14-17). Just let that sink in.  Walking through an adoption process is not easy, but God never promised easy. It is difficult and messy, but at the same time lovely and beautiful – and has allowed me to more fully understand my salvation and depth of God’s love more than anything else I have experienced. I pray often that God would help me to be more like Him, to give me a heart like His. The closer I get to Him, the more I see His great love and am thankful that He loved me enough to visit me in my distress and rescue me. Most of all, I love that the story doesn’t end. God allows us to be a continuation of the story, a living example of His redemption plan. Adoption is a beautiful, physical display of heaven of which we get to be a part. For National Adoption Month, my hope is that everyone will see adoption as the norm – a blessing for me as I grew up. That everywhere you look, you will see families representing Jesus and redemption, across all churches and neighborhoods composed of different races, genders, and nations: little glimpses of heaven. Cape House | Home & Hospitality Boutique | Amelia Island, FL

    Wednesday Wisdom: Adopted by God

    Wednesday Wisdom: Adopted by God

    Cape House | Home & Hospitality Boutique | Amelia Island, FL In the aftermath of Team T-Rex (yes, our 3 1/2 year old daughter wanted to be a T-Rex dinosaur for Halloween so we all ended up in dinosaur costumes) and the sugar coma, we shift into November and a month full of significance. The obvious is Thanksgiving, featuring an extended weekend full of turkey and arguably some of the best leftovers, followed by the ever popular Black Friday and Cyber Monday. November is packed full of awareness initiatives for a number of worthy causes. Did you know National Peanut Butter Lovers Month is in November? It looks like we’ll be appreciating the Reese’s Peanut Butter Pumpkins all month long. On a serious note, from Alzheimer’s Disease, diabetes, pancreatic cancer, long-term health care, National Stress Awareness (November 1), World Diabetes (November 14) to “Movember” an initiative designed to create positive change for men’s health, there is a lot to take in this month. One cause that can often get overlooked is National Adoption Awareness Month. With a goal to increase national awareness and bring attention to the need for permanent families for children and youth in the U.S. foster care system, it can seem daunting to know where to begin. You can start by marking your calendar with a couple of dates - Sunday, November 12 is Orphan Sunday and Saturday, November 18 is National Adoption Day.  If the word adoption brings an immediate reservation or hesitation don't worry, you’re in good company. In November 2013 my wife and I were blessed to be a part of a group of people who stood beside us, prayed with us and believed we would soon be adding a new addition to our family. Little did we know at the time, our new addition would come through the adoption process. This post could easily be the first in a series of dozens (if not hundreds) about the incredible journey we have experienced by saying “yes” to adoption. Our little T-Rex is one of the most incredible blessings I’ve experienced and a beautiful reminder to me as a father what unconditional love is. As much as I love my daughter, it pales in comparison to the love my heavenly Father has for me. When you put that in perspective it changes everything. The fact that we were each chosen before the creation of the world and predestined for adoption by God is mind-blowing. Despite our flaws and imperfections, God loved us enough to give his son so that we could become his sons and daughters. The opportunity we have to extend the hand of adoption to a child in need of a forever family should cause us to pause - not react based on our emotions, but respond in a way to make a difference. The statistics are staggering and right now more than 100,000 children are waiting to be adopted. Every story is different. If you wait to figure out where your perfect fit is you will continue to wait. My prayer this month is you will open your eyes, ears and heart to see, hear and feel how you can become part of a child’s story. Cape House | Home & Hospitality Boutique | Amelia Island, FL Cape House | Home & Hospitality Boutique | Amelia Island, FL | Photo by Jess Henderson Photo Cape House | Home & Hospitality Boutique | Amelia Island, FL | Photo by Jess Henderson PhotoCape House | Home & Hospitality Boutique | Amelia Island, FL