a little bit of honesty

can i be honest?
do you ever feel like something is lacking?
i feel a little of the lacking lately.

see, i have this deep desire and passion for relationships, friendships, community.
like you know, your people.
most people have their people.
and i know who my people are. but i still feel a lacking.
i'm sure that the millions of times that i've moved has A LOT to do with it.
i mean for goodness sake, moving from city to city, state to state, doesn't really allow much time for really cultivating those relationships.

there's another side to this too. food.
i love food. whether its healthy or bad, i love it.
there is something magical that happens around the table when you're with the people that matter most.
i'm convinced that lives change around the table.

when babies are born, we take food.
when people pass away, we take food.
when it's a rough day, we have comfort food.
there is something truly soothing to the soul when gathered with the ones you love.
i think that jesus reveals himself around the table. whether a home cooked meal or take out, the community that happens around the table.....he's there.

i'm going somewhere with this, i promise.
first of all, this love i speak of has been in my heart my whole life.
some of  my favorite memories in the world occurred in the kitchen of either my mother, my aunt or my grandmother. it's where my family congregates. deep, deep conversations around the kitchen table. there's just something so good about that.

well, a few years ago, i read a book called cherries in winter. it was a collection of recipes and the family stories behind them, and it was oh so good. i think this is when i realized how important the "table" was in my own life.


cherries in winter by suzan colon

but then, in december on the way home from paris, i read a book called "a little salty to cut the sweet."
now this, this spoke straight to my heart. literally laughing out loud with one sentence and crying the next.
it was so, so, so, good. i read it in about 2 hours....couldn't stop. and i loved it so much that i bought it for my aunt, grandmother and mother in-law for christmas. it's one of those books that i think everyone in the world should read.....or at least everyone in the south ;) this book is southern family stories that just so happen to have a bit of food. but these stories are so familiar to me. so close to the funny and sad and loving stories of my own family. stories that i want more of in my life. i think sitting with my family and listening to old family stories is one of the greatest things in all of life. i love them. and then i get a little scared as my immediate family gets older, and i have no one to pass those stories on to. what if i forget them?


a little salty to cut the sweet by sophie hudson

then, last week, i started reading "bread & wine", a book that has been on the top of my list since it came out.
and oh my word, it's attacking my heart. shauna niequist is literally taking the thoughts right out of my heart and putting them in a book. i don't understand how these books keep getting better. and it has recipes! all 3 books have recipes!
this book is all about life around the table and how jesus meets us there and heals us there and comforts us there. it's about the importance of having "your people".


bread & wine by shauna niequist

i desire deeper relationships with my family.
i desire deeper relationships with my friends, both old and new.
i DESIRE my people coming over and really living life together.

I long for that handful of people who, when you're having a bad day, come over whether you want them to or not to give you a hug....and maybe some chocolate. ;)
and i long to be that person to my people as well. the one who doesn't give up on them. the one who will just sit and listen. the one who will hug it out.

and i can't help but be convinced that jesus is trying to show me something here.
i can't just wish for more life around the table....i have to act on it.
i feel like god is stirring something big in my heart on this topic.
it's time to cultivate. it's time to harvest.

i want to have more life around the table, and i want to make sure that i am breathing in every moment of it.
even if there's a strand or two of dog hair in the meal. ;)

it's not just about recipes or cooking.
it's about the transformations, big and small, that happen around the table.

do yourself a favor and read these books. i'm telling you....they are good stuff!