AfricanKelli

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Paired with some greens for dinner last night. The new farmer’s market at ASU started yesterday and I spent way too much money on way too little — but the flavors were wonderful. Plus, I’m learning that it is often not cost/time effective to do the best thing for your community (farmer’s markets, carpooling, low energy use electronics) but it is still the better option. And so, we very much enjoyed the $5 tomato — sliced with a bit of salt and savored before scallops and greens.

Today starts lent, and those who’ve been around for a while know that traditionally means the kickoff to Calculated Acts of Kindness (CAOK). I’ve done this for 4 years. This year, with a variety of new challenges in hand, I cannot. I fully believe CAOK is something you do regardless of the season and I hope my excessive efforts of the past have encouraged others. My one hiccup was the jaded feedback I’d misplaced humility to seek praise for good deeds. Noted. This year, my lenten journey will be private.

If you are participating in CAOK, I’m happy to praise you. Keep me posted on what you are doing!

~K

If there is a theme to my closest circle of childhood friends, it’s that we all attended United Methodist churches as youth. We were a part of Methodist Youth Fellowship.  This means we spent our summers playing late-night, sweaty, parking lot volleyball tournaments against each other. We passed our winters curled up in drafty cabins or hunting jackalope on Mingus Mountain. We danced far too close wearing far too much Jovan/Sand and Sable to Boyz II Men at countless dances and lock-ins. We adventured for weeks in vans trekking across the western United States volunteering  in forests, sleeping on hard church floors and eating copious amounts of Taco Bell until we thought we would eventually ring.

And at some point, we became adults and scattered.

It’s funny to think of it now — the Yas — all in this group. As are many of my closest male friends. I spent so much of my teenage awkward years in a church fellowship hall flirting, eating pizza and rolling my jeans, it is amazing I learned anything from my pastor. Most of my friends don’t attend church today. Just as I can’t imagine my life without it, they cannot image theirs with it. To each is own.

On top of a few of the other changes happening around here this week, I’ve accepted a part-time gig at my church to help with children’s ministries. I am really looking forward to creating a MYF group, strengthening Sunday school curriculum, getting more kids and parents involved and making church a fun place for little ones to come spend time.

So — this is where you come in. Do you have any happy memories of church as a child? What and how did you learn that you still remember today? If you are a parent, what types of activities do you like to see your children involved in with church? What seems to work?

I am completely new to this type of ministry and would love any suggestions of books, activities, etc you may have. So, please delurk and leave a comment.

~K

P.S. Get the girls in the car and we’ll still sing any Boyz II Men song at the top of our lungs. Also, we’ve been known recently to still enjoy copious amounts of Taco Bell.

With the 25 citrus trees we planted last Spring and the 50 fruit trees we planted yesterday, our community garden is starting to resemble an orchard.

(That’s Thelma’s date palm! Every time I see it, I smile.)

We had more than 40 volunteers come to the garden to help yesterday morning. Refugees, high school students, retired master gardeners, church members and Sydney — the superpooch. (I’m watching Syd for the weekend. He’s fun to photograph and I have a feeling you’ll be seeing him in a lot of my posts for the next couple of weeks.)

(Proof I don’t just boss people around. I worked! Although there was a good bit of bossing too..)

I cannot belive how rich my life is with community. There is no way I could have ever dreamed I would be a part of such a great group of people. It simply tickles me pink to think one day soon, hungry families in our neighborhood will have fresh fruit thanks to land donated by the church, trees donated by friends and planted by volunteers, and good old reliable Arizona sunshine.

Something magical is happening in this garden. We are planting hope. Miracles will bloom.

~K

May your stocking be full of goodies, your heart full of love, your table surrounded by those who make you your happiest and may peace reign!

~K

Advent begins today, some 26 days before Christmas. I don’t remember ever celebrating advent with any great fanfare as a child, but have coveted intricate and beautiful advent calendar traditions during the last few years. I am particularly fond of this calendar and this homemade version. {How amazing would it be to receive a sweet note each day?}

This season means different things to Christians. For me,  it is a great time to prepare. It provides 26 days to find reasons to be thankful, be mindful in prayer, and to get my heart and home ready for the Christmas season. Cheesy? A bit. Truthful? Definitely. I am a sentimental girl.

I didn’t participate in Black Friday this year and don’t plan on buying a thing for Cyber Monday either. The older I get, the less the stuff seems to matter. I don’t need a thing. Most in my life are equally blessed. And let’s be honest — all you need is a $.50 newspaper to be reminded the most important things in life cannot be purchased or wrapped — love, fidelity, health, sanity, peace. The very last thing I needed this weekend was to sacrifice sleep for the celebration of consumer gluttony. (If I want to celebrate gluttony, I prefer to do so in the comfort of my own home with a piece of pizza in one hand and bottle of wine in the other.)

Instead, my list of handmade items is long and my list of tiny intentional acts of beauty is longer. This year, I’m celebrating Christmas with Christ in mind — He who fed the poor, spent time with the lepers, advocated for love and peace. Needless to say, I’ve got a lot to learn.

I’ll be posting a project each day for the next 26 days. Some take considerable time, while others are conquered within minutes. I hope there will be something included that strikes your fancy. I wish you and your loved ones a holiday season abundant with the very best of life!

Adventathon: 1 Children’s Art Portfolio Tutorial

Supplies needed:

• Exterior fabric 18″ x 11″
• Interior fabric 18″ x 11″
• Interfacing 18″ x 11″
• Interior crayon/marker pocket fabric 7″ x 8″
• Two pieces of ribbon, each 10″ long
• Wax paper
• Art supplies

Directions: Iron all fabrics. Iron/sew interfacing to wrong side of exterior fabric. Set aside.

Take interior pocket material and iron under top (7″) edge, 1/4″.

Repeat, ironing same seam again under another1/4″, hiding raw edge.

Repeat with right-hand (8″) edge of pocket. Top stitch top seam.

Iron center crease on right side of interior fabric. Align the folded under right-hand edge with the center crease of the interior material:

Pin down pocket side edges and bottom. Stitch 1/4″ from edge of pocket material securing pocket to interior fabric. Do not sew down top edge you’ve already hemmed.

Now, pull out your markers, crayons, pencils, paint brushes or whatever art supply you’d like to gift in this porfolio. Measure the width of these items. We are going to create a series of pockets for each of these by running hems from the top of this pocket to the bottom, backstitching at each end.

I created 8 of these lines, measured equally across the pocket, to hold a packet of markers.

Now, measure the drawing pad you’d like to include on the other side of the interior fabric.

Find the center of the right-hand side of your interior fabric, 3-4″ from the top edge. Draw a line measuring the length of your drawing pad, adding 1/2″. This pad was nearly 5″ – so my line was 5.5″.

Very carefully, snip this line open with a pair of scissors.

Tuck the back cardboard edge of your drawing pad into this hole to make sure it fits. If it doesn’t, make the hole a bit bigger on either side.

Now hem a small zigzag stitch in a coordinating thread around the hole (buttonhole stitch) to close the raw edge.

Place the exterior fabric — with interfacing already attached — on top of the interior fabric with right sides matched.

Measure 6.5 inches from the top of the left and right hand sides of the portfolio and tuck your pieces of ribbon between the exterior and interior pieces, leaving at least .5″ outside to pin and later stitch. Sew both sides together with a 1/2″ seam. No need to leave a hole to turn right sides out. Clip the corners, trim any excess including that extra bit of ribbon and then pull the right sides through your drawing pad hole. Iron flat, pushing out the corners carefully. Top stitch in a coordinating thread.

Now, measure several pieces of wax paper to place in the center of the portfolio for stamps/stickers. Carefully run a tight zigzag stitch down the left-hand side of the wax paper to secure to the portfolio. This also creates a center binding for the portfolio because you are stitching through all three layers (make sure your bobbin thread matches your exterior fabric.) This step is entirely optional. Wax paper doesn’t hold up well and if your artist is too old for stickers, skip it.

Add a label if you’d like.

Place the drawing pad in the hole by securing the back cover.

Add your art supplies

And stickers

Voila — a children’s art portfolio.

Other variations may include thank you notes, stamps, stationery, etc.

Tomorrow: a favorite holiday recipe

~K