Christmas at our house is not simple. Or quiet.

A Comer Christmas is loud… everyone talking at once because there’s so much to say and so many questions to ask and so much we didn’t know.

A Comer Christmas is chaotic… Moses making the rounds of laps, Duke wrestling with the cousins, Scarlet telling everyone they’re “gorgeous”, Sunday grinning big, Jude commanding the troupes.

A Comer Christmas is presents, piles and piles of presents.

And I know that’s not in vogue right now. I read about the stoics who don’t do gifts, the unselfish who write checks to charities instead, the ones who give it all away in order to give the season more fully to Jesus.

And I love that, it’s beautiful, inspiring, grand— but that’s not our story.

Instead we have lists flying over cyber world, big brown trucks making deliveries, secret texts with ideas and links and let-me-check-with-so-and-so’s.

And I know right now that my daughters are talking about what to get who and where to get it. My sons are planning their morning-of-Christmas-eve coffee klatch. Phil is managing lists and package arrivals and airport runs and who goes to whose house when.

On this Christmas like every other there will be tears, and meltdowns, raised eyebrows, moodiness, teasing… moments.

Our day will be imperfect and messy.

But in the midst of it all there will be a family full of people who are fully present, passionate about each other, building a heritage for each.

And me? I’ll be savoring every moment. Wishing the whole world could have what I have— a family in love with the Savior… and each other.

I’ll sit in my corner of the sofa,

…wishing every mother could know that all she’s doing now will give her this someday. Not ideal or idyllic, but beautiful and good.

… wishing I could tell her that she won’t be sorry she gave up on order and stillness and perfection and gave in to messy, sticky, crazy love.

… wishing she could see that she won’t be sorry she worked so hard or stayed so present or forgave again or decided to decide.

All day, in the midst of my own family’s way of doing Christmas, I’ll be wishing that every mother could know that all those years of busy will come down to one day of enough.

From a heart bursting,

Diane

(image by Maria Lamb)

Notes from my week in Italy:

We are merely moving shadows,

And all our busy rushing ends in nothing…

And so, Lord,

Where do I put my hope?

My only hope is in You.

Psalm 39:7

NLT

One thing I am coming to love about Italians is their seemingly peace-filled coexistence with imperfection.

These are people dedicated to beauty. Artists, creators, storytellers, masterpiece makers. They have spent centuries improving this Eden they call Italy.

And yet… nothing is perfect.

Bricks crumble, houses lean, tiles crack, weeds grow. Life happens.

And instead of scrambling to fix it all and paint it all perfect, these people just settle comfortably into their sun-drenched skin and live.

They raise less-than-perfect children in their less-than-perfect houses where they cook less-than-perfect pasta with freshly picked less-than-perfect tomatoes.

Nothing goes to waste.

Who needs massive box stores when the tiny Farmacia down that twisiting lane will sell you 1 roll of skimpy, scratchy toilet paper at a time? And why bother with wash cloths? Or daily showers? A quick rinse of who-knows-what in that thingy-ma-jig in the bathroom and we’re good to go.

And yet beauty is everywhere. Ancient beauty— worn and lived and survived and thrived and lived-a-little-more kind of loveliness.  So different from this gotta-have-every-scratch-covered-over kind of plasticity that drives my life.

I rest here. Breathe a deep sigh of relief from all my striving, my lists, my worry about getting it all done in time to do more…

And this morning while I sit on a cracked stone bench in an untended garden of imperfect artistry, my soul sinks into silence.

List-less. Sun-filled. Quieted.

Cease striving, He whispers.

All your rushing, fixing, improving, redoing, list making, achieving is simply wearing you down, rendering you useless to Me.

I don’t require perfection...

I make beauty in your brokenness when you simply soak Me in.

Of course.

I forgot.

Again.

And so I’ll spend this day remembering that all this less-than-perfect world I relish is just a backdrop for His beauty.

And I’ll soak… and cease striving… and know Him.

From my heart,

Diane

  We live in a pretty incredible city.

I have a list a mile long of new resturaunts I want to try and places I want to visit and we finally checked two off the list!

Did you know that Portland is home to Bob's Red Mill and Dave's Killer Bread?

Did you know they each have their own store and that they are right across the street from each other?

Can you tell I'm excited about this???

We took a little family trip to Milwaulkie last week to check out the amazingness and it did not disapoint. I highly recommend you pay them both a visit!

BOB'S RED MILL

(Duke is in the left corner... extremely excited)

You may start to feel like you have taken a wrong turn as you drive through a random business park but the big red barn will ensure you that you have indeed come to the right place.

Bob's Red Mill has a restaurant and whole grain store attached to their mill. They give daily mill tours and the store is open to the public Monday - Saturday.

Their resturant has a breakfast and lunch menu full of healthy options for all dietary needs. The breakfast was delicious! Brook had the eggs and potatoes, Duke devoured the vegan french toast, I tried the 5 grain hot cereal and Scarlet took a nap.

Brook and Duke went to a grassy area to play some football while I (with sleeping Scarlet) drooling over all the fun things the store had to offer. I wanted to buy one of everything and may have gotten a bit carried away in the bulk section (their prices for the indiviual bags of flours, grains and mixes were not that great but they do have a great bulk section with a bit better pricing).

DAVE'S KILLER BREAD:

We then ventured across the street to Dave's Healthy Bread Store.

HEAVEN on earth.

They have 4 sections in the store:

Day Olds

Fresh

Imperfect

Frozen

They are all discounted but the best deal are the frozen loaves. They average about $3 a loaf (they are normally $5-$6 each in most stores) but if you buy 12 or more loaves they are about $2 a loaf.

Brook and Duke sampled bread and participated in a taste test for some new recipes they are working on developing.

I deliberated over which 12 loaves to buy.

And Scarlet kept sleeping.

They have every kind you could think of and I love them all! If you are like me and don't do too great with wheat, their Sprouted Wheat Bread is so good and a little easier to digest.

We may have gotten a bit carried away...

Overall it was a wonderful adventure and I would highly recommend you take a trip to the big red barn!

ENJOY!

Elizabeth

What are some of your favorite Bob's Red Mill and Dave's Killer Bread products and how do you use them?