Things I Love May Edition

Celtic harp, cake that makes you cry, new brews, good news

I love Mondays. It is mid-afternoon, and I am at the beautiful home of a friend who offers her house as a meeting place for our homeschool book club. Book club has been a highlight of my older girls’ life for years now, and two of my boys enjoy it this year as well. While the kids are in book club, I get to sit in a beautiful, quiet room and write. It is one of my favorite things.

I want to share a few more things I love:

Celtic Harp: I am sitting at book club now, drinking a cup of good strong chai and listening (with headphones) to one of my new favorite albums, Celtic Harp Traditions by Cynthia Wyatt. It is soothing and sweet, and I am slowly teaching myself some new Irish tunes. I have a Celtic harp, and the last two weekends I have had the pleasure of playing music with my husband, Randy, and two of my daughters, Rosie and Heidi. I am a beginner on the harp, but I was able to jump in and play along on some songs for two little concerts we did—one at our church, and the next at a birthday. It makes me so happy to play music with Randy again. Our love story was built around making music. We were singing together within 5 minutes of meeting. I will have to tell this story soon… We are coming up on 20 years this month!

Eating Bread (and Cake) Again! Some of you know that I have been gluten-free for a couple of years, learning to adjust after a diagnosis of Hashimotos during my eighth pregnancy. I thought I would have to completely give up on ever making a loaf of bread that didn’t taste like cardboard. But, y’all! My friend Susan sent me a link to an amazing site called Gluten Free on a Shoestring. The woman who created this site has the whole process down to a science, and she makes it simpler than I have ever seen before. I have been making her Gluten Free English Muffin Bread every few days, and it is sooooooo good toasted with jam. I had a glorious peanut butter and jelly sandwich yesterday. If you have had to do without bread, you understand what this means.... And then, I made a cake that actually made me cry. (I changed the flavor to almond because that is what I had on hand.) I literally sat at the table and cried while I ate it. I confess, that’s what good food does to me.

Kombucha: I am learning how to brew it! Same friend Susan got me started and over the weekend I got to taste my first batch—Lavender Lemon Kombucha! I can’t wait for Saturday to come around again. Here is a great link for anyone who is interested in starting. Kombucha is going to be perfect for us, since we have re-steeps of teas going all day long every day around here. I can’t wait to try all the flavors…

Books: In April, I read Hannah Coulter, which I absolutely loved and will remember all my life. It is one of the best love stories I have ever read, even though it is quietly told from the point of view of an elderly woman who has lost her husband. Such a beautiful, poignant, story which has shifted the way I think of love and marriage.

I also enjoyed rereading Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis, which is the story of his conversion from atheism to Christianity. I highly recommend it.

(I talked more about both of these books in my last podcast about Hope for Marriage.)

I love Sally Clarkson, and Rosie and I both faithfully listen to her podcasts. She talks a lot about motherhood, about finding rhythms, about making your home a place of beauty and peace, and she is my living mentor. Her book, Teatime Discipleship just came out, and it is such a sweet, beautiful book full of practical wisdom and inspired ideas for connecting with others around the simple act of having tea.

Jasmine Dragon Pheonix Pearls: Speaking of tea, Randy and I have been loving this one. We used to get it at Teavana about 20 years ago, and we recently ordered some from amazon. The flavor is amazing hot or iced. (Don’t oversteep!!!) Really good with a bar of dark chocolate.

And finally, and most of all…

I Love Seeing God Change Hearts: We have had a couple of weeks of some real soul-searching and surrender in our home. God has been speaking to my husband, Randy, and I am seeing a fire in him that is beautiful and inspiring and catching. The flame is reaching out into the way we order our days and how we think about our purpose as parents and as a family. I don’t know exactly what God is doing, but I am so glad He is doing it. This is what I want, more than anything else. The thing I want to teach my children more than anything else—to know God’s voice, to listen, and obey. The gospel meets us where we are. This is such good news. I will be writing and sharing more about this in the weeks ahead as this new season unfolds for us.

Thanks so much for reading these letters! I am so glad you are here. What are some things you are loving right now? I’d love to know in the comments.

Sending love and lovely gusts of wind that moves the trees,

Mackenzie

From the podcast:

From the Family Archives:

Our oldest video on youtube. The music video of my song, Song of Sixpence with weird animation and me with three haircuts. (It took me a really long time to make this video…) You can find this album here.

News:

Drop by and have a cup of coffee with me and pick up my new book on Tuesday, May 9. I will be signing books from 12:00-2:30 at Yonah Coffee in Demorest, Ga.

Can’t make it to the book signing? You can buy a signed copy from me directly on my website.