intimacy

Saturday Snuggle 03.05.16

Posted on by Chadwick and Amy

IMG_0377

Michigan… oh Michigan… How bipolar are you?

Three times in the past two weeks, we have gazed out into our yard and seen all of the sticks on the ground from all of the high winds we got this winter… and then a snow covered landscape… and then all of the sticks on the ground from all of the high winds we got this winter… and then a snow covered landscape… and then all of the sticks on the ground from all of the high winds we got this winter… and then a snow covered landscape…

They say next week is going to be pretty warm… lets hope it sticks.

Not that it should make a big difference to us this weekend, anyways.  We are sick as dogs, and will be spending most of today undercover… either sleeping… or consuming fruits, veggies, juices, and media…

Let’s get started with a video:

This guys name is Randolph Arriola.  Found this video recently, and was like, ‘hell yeah…’ by the skill.  Then got interested in what kind of guitar he was playing.  Stopped by Quinn’s and they helped us identify it as a Godin.  Wheels started turning.  We plan on selling the Martin soon so that Chadwick can get his hands on one of these.

 

With spring approaching, now is a good time to start planning out that spring cleaning.  Check out this great post to get those wheels turning.

If you are in love… or hope to be… and you still read things called books… we highly recommend ZimZum by Rob and Kristen Bell.  Amy ordered this one for us last year and we cruised through it in a weekend.  Over the past couple weeks, it’s landed next to the coffee pot on the night stand, and will be picked up again.

 

And for those of you in between marriages… or into your second one… we know that many folks out there are already filling your head with the, ‘don’t you know that second marriages have a higher divorce rate than first ones?’  It’s one of those things you hear, but don’t really challenge.  Somewhere in the back of your mind can be all the tapes of what went wrong in the first marriage, and you have learned that you don’t want to go through that again.  But your friends… bless their hearts… don’t know what it was like to walk in your shoes in the first place.  Go ahead an politely tune them out… and then move forward.  Here is a nice short read to keep you encouraged as you look for love in all the right places.

To nurture some poetic culture into your life… we’ve taken a liking to Miss Sarah Kay as of late.  Here is a sample:

Also Michigan related this week: it’s time to vote in the presidential primaries on March 8.  Here are a few things you’ll need to know to be educated enough to get to your polling center.  How educated you are beyond that about the candidates or the process… that’s up to you.

Ok… it’s quite possible that climbing out of bed for a turkey sub from Maikes could be in order.  Peace…

 

She sets the pace…

Posted on by Chadwick and Amy

slowdownBefore every meal that Amy and I sit down to, we lean into each other to express our gratitude and appreciation for each other… and to offer a kiss.  This is a prayerful moment for me as I express these parts of my love for her… to her.  While being able to enter into that space with her is wonderful enough… there are also moments leading up to that which are just as special.

There is often a tug of war over who gets to put food on their plate first.  Often times we will pile the food on our plate at the stove and then move to the table.  I always insist that she get hers first… and she returns the insisting that I go first… I tend to give in most of the time.

She likes it that way.

From the stove, I will move my plate to the dinner table where I will put it down, and anxiously wait for Amy to arrive with hers.  I don’t sit down yet… because my heart is longing for her arrival (even though it is usually just a few feet of distance between us).  Sometimes, I need to remind the kiddos (who are already seated) not to take a bite until she arrives.  She is worth the wait.

Finally… Amy will arrive with her food, and I will time out my sitting down with her… so that I can lean in for that kiss… and the expression of gratitude and appreciation.

This is only one example of one of the greatest lessons I have learned in my life from Amy… the importance of a woman being able to set the pace.

As a man… with many ideas… I have had the double edged sword experience of having the ability to jet off in many directions… satisfying the ideas and ambitions within me.  But have burned out trying… or been too afraid to actually move any of those ideas into reality.

I had no sense of pace.

A woman has a natural way about her that feels her way into waiting.  As a man… I can suggest any number of directions that we could head… all of them may be good… but not all of them may be the way that we should go.  And so I need her…

I need her to set the pace… so that the good ideas drop off… and the great ideas remain.

I need her to set the pace… so that as a man, I can appreciate more that natural intuition she has to feel her way through life with me.

I need her to set the pace… because sometimes, as a man… I miss the urgency of a situation where action is needed… now.

I need her to set the pace… because in my ability to move from point A… to B… to C… sometimes I miss the opportunities to pause at point A.1… A.2…. A.3…

Men tend to miss out on a lot of life… because we haven’t learned to slow our pace down long enough to smell the roses.  We get pace wrong… a lot.

… and so I need her…

To teach me how to to trust… and to find God in the places that move slower in life… to breath in all of the graces I would have missed… had I set off on my own… and expected her to keep up.