Hearthfires & Hockey

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“May this hearth be to us a port in the storm,
a cheering beacon, and a place of fellowship
marked by the consolation of your Spirit.”

~ Douglas McKelvey, Every Moment Holy

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Things that were good in January:

A New Year’s Day fire in the hearth

How Esther does sign language to the songs in church

Kiddo sleepover, Bluey, PJ’s, rolling dough for biscuits, and playing cards in front of the fire

How the guys brought their bows and we shot in the cold till dinnertime

Huddy, his boots, and his BB gun

Kingdom Kids field trip to visit the elderly; taking two boys to my grandparents’ doorsteps, delivering scarves and blankets, and one of the boys curling up in front of Papa’s fire

On a day of snow and forceful winds, Papa telling stories in his rocker

Wedding plans and preparation and shopping with Natalie

Building a fire in the hearth

A Saturday for construction projects at Joel’s house, grabbing groceries, making oat balls, and cooking a dinner from scratch

Feeding bananas to Lila

Less screen time, deeper sleep

Heading to the pond in bib overalls, a shovel in one hand, a hockey stick in the other

Pond hockey till dinner

Trudging up the hill at dusk to melt the snow off our clothes in front of Papa’s woodstove, watching Andy Griffith till dark

Stars and snow and lights on in the kitchen windows

Chamomile tea and bone weariness

My students

Jared and my one-year anniversary of togetherness—Table Rock Lake in the snow, reading poems aloud, the tea shop, coffee at Vintage Paris, and a long drive through the Northern hills at sunset

Picking up milkshakes to take to the nursing home

Morning dog greetings

A Saturday morning in Teresa’s kitchen, scooping oats and chopping potatoes

Golden light finding us through the hospital blinds, visiting

Chapters, the bookstore on Main

Playoff football

Kitchen table ping-pong

A winter Sunday morning at Vesta Baptist; talk of the cold and cows and frozen pipes and potluck dishes

Shannon’s kindness

Sunday drive before the winter storm

Waiting room buddies

Soup at La Fiesta

Frothed milk & apple cider tea & honey (a “Catcher Road Fog”)

Fog sitting in the crooks of the hills on the road home

A long, friendly conversation with a lady that landed on the providence of a God who can redeem all things

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