Quitting my job last summer made me face my real life, or should I say lack of a real life here in Mekelle.Greg had started a business, he had employees and friends and was getting a hang of the language. It had been tons of work for him, but it was paying off. He was blossoming and I was sinking in to the shadows.
Looking for inspiration on how you can do more with less in your home? When I was young, I was embarrassed when my mother went to thrift stores and bought things second hand. Then I had a house of my own and I stood wide-eyed, mouth gaping at the price of new hand-towels, much less a set of plates. My mom’s shopping habits suddenly made more sense. My mom’s whole home is from thrifting, repurposing what she already has to make a space and create peace. Isn’t that the point of a home anyway? For more inspiration for thrift store decorating visit my mom’s Etsy page called the Refurbished Farmhouse. Originally posted on Upper Barn Blog.
There are very few of us that can live off of our passion or our craft. Most of us work to pay the bills or we stay at home to keep the kids and then by the light of a candle or in minutes stolen from an early morning we do what we are passionate about. Maybe it is because it is in stolen-time that we dream, craft, and create that keeps the passion aflame. My stolen time on the elliptical at the gym; no husband, no cooking, no housework, just me and my music and words. Luisa Ellis, my friend of 27 years, is a candle light creator. She calls herself the paper piper. Photo contributions by Elisa Bricker & myself. Originally posted on the Upper Barn Blog.
In Ethiopia, the Melse is part two of the Ethiopia wedding celebration. The bride and groom wear the traditional Ethiopian clothes and partake in traditional dancing and food with a smaller group of closer friends and family. The word Melse means, ‘a return,’ and in this case ‘a changed return’. The significance is that the man and woman were recognized as single individuals before, but now they are welcomed as a married couple to the community by the Melse. Our Ethiopian friends and family wanted to welcome us as a married couple to Mekelle as we entered this new chapter of life with a Melse.
Quitting my job last summer made me face my real life, or should I say lack of a real life here in Mekelle.Greg had started a business, he had employees and friends and was getting a hang of the language. It had been tons of work for him, but it was paying off. He was blossoming and I was sinking in to the shadows.
For Easter I had my hair done in the traditional Ethiopian style. My friend owns a local hair salon. I went at 11am and was finished at 3pm. #4hourslater I will have to be honest that it was hard to sleep the first few nights, but by the fourth night I slept like a baby.
In Ethiopia, the Melse is part two of the Ethiopia wedding celebration. The bride and groom wear the traditional Ethiopian clothes and partake in traditional dancing and food with a smaller group of closer friends and family. The word Melse means, ‘a return,’ and in this case ‘a changed return’. The significance is that the man and woman were recognized as single individuals before, but now they are welcomed as a married couple to the community by the Melse. Our Ethiopian friends and family wanted to welcome us as a married couple to Mekelle as we entered this new chapter of life with a Melse.
If you were born in the Western world the concept of a wood-burning cookstove doesn’t make any sense unless maybe you are camping. Isn’t the point of the stove to be gas-burning or electric? This might come as a shock, but 3 billion people in the world, half of the planet’s population, still cook over an open fire.
My husband Greg & I live in a town called Mekelle, in the arid highlands of Northern Ethiopia. Greg manages a clean energy company called EzyLife that manufactures wood-burning cook-stoves. I wanted to share more about why we live here in Mekelle and how we are making this place our home in a #MakingMekelleOurHomeBlog Series.
Since I was small, I sat in my Grandma Walt’s library and gazed at photos of my grandmother in an elegant wedding dress and dreamed that one day I would wear that same dress. But the dress was forgotten and many of my childhood dreams buried in reality. Read more about why I will never regret wearing her grandmother's wedding dress as well as her great-grandmother's veil on the Upper Barn Blog.
It was a redemptive day for me as my family and friends pooled their joy in a celebration of the hope of Jesus Christ. I think everyone was astounded at what the Lord can do with so little in such a short amount of time, but no one was as astounded as me.
There he was, towering over the crowd. Short blonde hair. My heart leaped into my stomach the moment our eyes met. I knew he was my husband, but I had no idea how it would ever happen. We were both such a mess.
I love tradition, symbolism and meaning. They help me feel tethered and give me purpose. It was only fitting that my wedding would be full of the past as we celebrated the present, looking forward to the future.
I was inspired by a friend's resolutions to give away 30 things for her 30th birthday. I am looking for ways to live more generously this year without necessarily giving away more money. Check out my 8 Ideas on the Upper Barn Blog.
“If there was ever a meeting of broken-equals, redeemed and renewed partners and assured futures, this was the meeting.”
It was a redemptive day for me as my family and friends pooled their joy in a celebration of the hope of Jesus Christ. I think everyone was astounded at what the Lord can do with so little in such a short amount of time, but no one was as astounded as me.
There he was, towering over the crowd. Short blonde hair. My heart leaped into my stomach the moment our eyes met. I knew he was my husband, but I had no idea how it would ever happen. We were both such a mess.
I love tradition, symbolism and meaning. They help me feel tethered and give me purpose. It was only fitting that my wedding would be full of the past as we celebrated the present, looking forward to the future.
I forgot about the coming of Our Savior and Easter and Good Friday in the busyness of nothing.
The importance of embracing our stories is a concept emerging in mainstream culture, but the first place I ever read or heard about the role of story in our lives was in this book by Madeline L’Engle written in the 1990s.
I have a theory: you can recover from all kinds of calamities, mistakes, misjudgments, losses, and heartaches as long as you are able to walk out from under the cloud of shame into the redeeming light of day.
I had been carrying that precious cross of promise around with me the whole time. I never lost it or my faith; the Lord was keeping them both safe.
Faith has to co-exist with doubt. Faith is born at the delta of doubt.
In reality, none of us are in control. We can only create the semblance of control.
In my own life, I watched my plans and hopes catch fire, incinerating to the ground. At the beginning of 2015, I stood in a desolate, burned forest with no idea where to turn next and the Lord slowly led me out of the smoky haze.
Forgiveness is hard. I wanted to have my day in court, my vengeance in this life. Instead, I folded the card and tied a ribbon around it and attached it to a hot pink balloon. I did this ten more times, then I went to bed.
But when you come to the end of your rope and realize that you can't save yourself, you must turn to the one who saves and redeems through the most unorthodox means: like finding in a fog, going from weak to strong, sink to float, let go to receive, sacrifice to save.
As the Fourth of July approaches, some of you Americans out there living overseas might already be a little bummed to be missing the annual family backyard BBQ or that epic weekend at the beach with your best girlfriends. For other Americans living abroad, it might not hit you until you are scrolling through Instagram on July 4th. Well, you aren’t the only one missing home. Unfortunately, it is our holiday routine that we are trying to change. Here are 7 Ideas to Celebrate without Fireworks on the Taking Route Blog.
The first time I spent 2 months in Ethiopia by myself, I returned to America and announced to my parents that I wouldn’t go overseas for an extended period of time until I was married because it was just too isolating. But life has a way of making me do things that I vowed to never to do. I graduated from college and got my first real job as an executive assistant. Before long, my boss was asking me to move to Malawi. Those 3 years living in Malawi, single, were some of the most complicated years of my life. It was the best of times and the worst of times. Read my 8 lessons learned the hard way on the A Life Overseas Blog.
In my current pregnant state it is easy to rattle off 10 things I miss about America. What is much harder right now is to remember why we came here and remind myself why I chose to stay in this place. I am not forced to be here. My husband did not drag me here. God did not twist my arm. This was my decision and my husband and I continue to make that decision with each passing month. Check out the Top 10 Things I Miss as well as the Top 10 Reasons We Keep Making This Place Home on the Velvet Ashes Blog.
I have just visited my new favorite European city for the first time. To be perfectly honest, I didn’t know it existed until three months ago when we starting looking at cities to visit along the Dalmatian Coast. The moment we rounded the bend along the coastal road from Montenegro, it was clear why Game of Thrones had picked Dubrovnik as King’s Landing. The city juts into the sea surrounded by ancient walls dating back to the 7th century. Read the rest of my post on the We Are Travel Girls Blog.
Sometimes we just need a little inspiration to get in the kitchen after a long day. Here are the cookbooks and guides inspiring me to find my way to the kitchen every day, multiple times a day, to create and spread my table with sweet and savory goodness. Check out these five cookbooks on the Upper Barn Blog.
Sometimes we just need a little inspiration to get in the kitchen after a long day. Here are the cookbooks and guides inspiring me to find my way to the kitchen every day, multiple times a day, to create and spread my table with sweet and savory goodness. Check out these five cookbooks on the Upper Barn Blog.
Did you ever wonder where the idea of serving chicken noodle soup when someone is sick came from? It’s not just because it is easy on stomach and warm. Chicken soup started as home remedy because of the nutritional value of chicken stock (broth) to repair and calm the lining of the small intestines, bringing healing to the body. Read more about the how and why of chicken broth on the Upper Barn Blog.
I will have to admit that thinking about my breakfast routine at my house in Mekelle, on a cold morning, brings me tons of peace while sitting in a hotel in the middle of nowhere Ethiopia. I can almost feel the fur in the bottom of my slippers as I shuffle around the kitchen in my bathrobe. I yawn as I pour oil on a hot pan and watch it sizzle. I breathe in through my nose to smell the freshly roasted coffee beans as I pour them into the grinder. I watch the blender hum with frozen bananas, canned coconut milk, peanut butter, dates, and almonds. Its more like a breakfast milkshake than a smoothie, but before you get too excited you will need frozen bananas for all these recipes.
We all love coffee, but know what will take your brew to the next level? Roasting it by hand. It doesn't take much time and is guaranteed to make your house smell amazing. Join the Upper Barn Blog as I take you on a tour of Ethiopia and hand roasted coffee.
These are the lessons I am learning about community and cooking here is land called Ethiopia.
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Thank you for supporting me a few weeks ago when I accidentally killed one of my mom’s chickens. I was grieved to report the situation has got far worse and the chickens are taking over my life. Literally.