(un)wrapped and (in)couraged

In my head, November has a big sign hanging over it with helium-filled balloons, spelling out Welcome to the Crazy! To be fully present and engaged during the holiday season is one of my biggest challenges. There doesn’t seem room to celebrate what is while anticipating what is to come. Things simply have to get done.

The quiet moment

This past year, I have purposed to slow down and notice what is real and true this day: the messy, the lovely and the unexpected.

This Tuesday is a little different, as I’m unwrapping my day over at my favorite online getaway, (in)courage. So when you’re done reading that over there, come back and unwrap yours right here.

If you would like to know more about Tuesdays Unwrapped, simply read this post. It should answer most questions. Otherwise, leave the permalink to your unwrapped post in the links below. As always, I look forward to celebrating the small and the sacred with you.

21 comments

  1.   With Butterfly Wings | Remodeling This Life on November 3, 2009 at 1:07 AM

    [...] for Tuesdays Unwrapped at Chatting at the Sky. Share and [...]

  2.   It Feels Like Chaos on November 3, 2009 at 1:07 AM

    Thank you for hosting Tuesdays Unwrapped!

  3.   Emily@remodelingthislife on November 3, 2009 at 1:11 AM

    link to incourage wasn’t working. maybe i can read it in the morning :) happy unwrapped tuesday!

  4.   janna @ 2Cool4myMinivan on November 3, 2009 at 2:46 AM

    Wow, it seems I’m not alone in the craziness of the holidays. I am resolving to be different this time and am logging my attempts to REMEMBER what Thankgiving and Christmas are all about and how to really GIVE THANKS by slowing down and not becoming a slave to activities and tasks. Thanks for your post and for hosting Tuesdays Unwrapped :)

  5.   dawn on November 3, 2009 at 6:28 AM

    i love your photo. i’d like to skip right on over and sit in your autumn chill and enjoy a cup of hot cider…

    i’m certainly not ready for this holiday season… but i hope that as the blessings of thanksgiving unfold i will be ready for christmas. in my heart. and hopfully that will lead me to dive into the details! happy tuesday… headign over to (in)courage… can’t wait to read more!

  6.   handle « Blog Archive « Adorned Life on November 3, 2009 at 8:11 AM

    [...] down to unwrap Tuesday… [...]

  7.   The Birthday Boy « Sunshine and Shadows on November 3, 2009 at 8:43 AM

    [...] am linking this to Tuesdays Unwrapped at Chatting at the Sky.) Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)My man is [...]

  8.   Corinne on November 3, 2009 at 8:57 AM

    Loved the post. The holidays are so crazy… this year we’ve vowed to simplify it all, but it’s harder than it sounds!

  9.   Melissa on November 3, 2009 at 9:22 AM

    I’m with Dawn…can I come have a warm drink…in that mug…and sit there…in that chair…and take that picture…and ok, i’m not really stalker girl. but that pic totally warms me up all over!

  10.   Richella on November 3, 2009 at 9:55 AM

    I’m always so very, very glad I came here. Just hopped over to incourage and read your post. I love the way you have of helping me to look things through a different lens.

    Off now to do a load a laundry and be reminded how grateful I am that there are healthy boys in this house who produce those piles of dirty clothes. And to be grateful for the upcoming holy days.

    You’re the best.

  11.   Sissy on November 3, 2009 at 11:09 AM

    November is National Adoption Awarness Month and I am going to celebrate. I posted about it, too. Read here: http://silvercircles.blogspot.com/2009/11/national-adoption-awareness-month.html

    Love you, Em.

  12.   Nancy on November 3, 2009 at 11:36 AM

    I love this TUesday Unwrapped business. Sometimes it may be a serious post. Other times, it may be something small and humorous. I am doing a gratitude posting most days this month. Really trying to get in the spirit or as I call it, I’m getting my gratitude on.
    Love love love your blog. So beautiful and uplifting!

  13.   Joy on November 3, 2009 at 2:29 PM

    Oh how bloggers makes me think sometimes! I wrote my post for the day and then hopped on to my Reader, found your post about Unwrapped from (in)courage, and here I am.

    I won’t deny, I am struggling with the craziness. But I have hope! Trying to keep the focus where it belongs…thank you for sharing along your journey too. Such a huge shot in the arm today.

  14.   Devotions For The Deployed Heart » Blog Archive » Holiday Excitement on November 3, 2009 at 2:42 PM

    [...] blog was posted as a part of Chatting at the Sky’s Tuesdays Unwrapped. Category: Uncategorized You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. [...]

  15.   PS~Erin on November 3, 2009 at 3:03 PM

    I love this idea and look forward to joining in.

  16.   Moriah @ Please Pass the Salt on November 3, 2009 at 4:18 PM

    I think this is the first time I’ve linked in!! Perfect timing.

  17.   Cinda on November 3, 2009 at 5:56 PM

    Today I could’ve and shoul’ve been planning menus and shopping lists for the new month. We have only one roll of TP left in this whole house. So I really shoul’ve.

    But instead, I took the time to scrap some old pictures of my precious son. Those pictures reminded me how blessed I am. I have a husband who loves me and a beautiful son that makes me love being his mom everyday. He was barely five in those pictures and now he’s past 10. I’m so glad I took the time then.

    Reminded me of the blessings I have. I’ve been too grumbly lately hoping for a “perfecter” life. I would hate for five more years to pass and I would have missed it all grumbling about the places I wished I were and aren’t.

    I’m glad I unwrapped this Tuesday and the blessing of today and yesterday. I’m resolving this month to cherish each moment, be more thankful and love the life God gave me to day.

    Thanks for this quiet place. I’ll be back again.

  18.   happy 6th birthday wynter » tsj photography on November 3, 2009 at 10:48 PM

    [...] gifts our children really are.  So today, on Wynter’s special day … I’d like to unwrap for you the realization of how precious these little gifts [...]

  19.   ||| laura frantz ||| on November 3, 2009 at 11:34 PM

    The hot dog in a hamburger bun is a metaphor for my entire life, Emily, you do realize that.

  20.   Kelly on November 4, 2009 at 9:39 PM

    reading Kendra’s blog . . . can I just say that I love that you bring a lamp to the hospital! Greatness. Taking note of her list to make my own for a few months from now. :) Kelly

  21.   Bee on November 7, 2009 at 10:08 AM

    It’s been a long time since I unwrapped a Tuesday. Technically, it’s a Saturday, but everday is a good day to unwrap a special moment.

    I’ve always had a bit of problem celebrating “what is” because I’ve been trying to get ready for “what’s to come.” And when “what’s to come” finally gets here, if I haven’t lived up to my expectations, I don’t celebrate it fully, either. Thanks for the very simple, but very good advice to notice the small things so that we can experience great thankfulness.

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