Navigating Difficult Times.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

 (James 1:2-4, NIV)

……..

There is a lot of hurting in our community right now.

Many people we know are suffering--

some from loss, 

some from sudden deaths,

some from illness,

some from uncertainty.

I've been thinking about it a lot this week.

Life on this earth can be very hard some times.

Things happen that are impossible to understand.

God doesn't explain to us why these things have to happen,

He only promises us that they will.

We will all experience difficult times at some point in our lives.

How will we handle it when it comes?

……..

Our family had the opportunity to help out at a special 5K race this weekend.

It took place at the State Botanical Gardens,

A beautiful place to be anytime,

but especially nice today.

This race benefits the Small Dreams Foundation,

created to honor the memory of Brittney Fox Watts.

Brittney was 26, full of life, happy and free spirited.

She and her husband had just moved back to Atlanta

(where both of them grew up) in June 2011.

She was documenting their journey on her blog, 

Small Dreams.

Brittney's last entry was on July 10, 2011, about a trip to

 Scott's Antique Mart

buying things for their new house.

Five days later she was shot and killed in an Atlanta parking deck 

on her lunch break.

A senseless, random, terrible tragedy.

It's impossible to comprehend.

………

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil by doing good."

Romans 12:21, NIV

……..

I did not know Brittney personally.

I came to know about her because of how her loved ones

 chose to deal with this devastating loss.

They decided to funnel their energy into supporting

causes that Brittney loved--

travel, community and the environment.

One thing that Small Dreams Foundation has done

is start a scholarship for UGA students wishing to study

abroad in some area of sustainability,

which takes place through my husband's office at UGA.

Kevin and I have had the privilege of being with Brittney's 

family and friends on several occasions.

Each time it is incredibly inspiring to see them continuing to choose

 love over the hate that could so easily consume them,

doing good to conquer the evil that happened to them.

They are great examples to us all.

……..

Another amazing story of overcoming incredible hardship

is found at Hope Heals.

It is the ongoing story of Katherine, Jay and James Wolf

and their journey after Katherine's brain aneurysm

in 2008 at the age of 26.

We have known Katherine's parents for years.

I remember being in Sunday school one morning

and Jay and Katherine were there,

freshly married and about to move to L.A. for Jay to attend 

law school at Pepperdine.

Both beautiful and vibrant--

full of love for the Lord and each other.

A wonderful future in front of them.

Then, the unthinkable happened.

Ann Voskamp recently mentioned Katherine's blog

on her site, so you may have seen this.

If not, PLEASE

grab some tissues and watch their short film.

You will be so glad you did.

……..

We live in a fallen world.

Things are not as they should be.

This life is temporary.

But we are here now and each of us has a purpose.

We each play a part in God's unfolding story.

Let's lean hard into Him,
choose love,

offer grace,

 and live at peace,

knowing that each bump in the road is a part of perseverence 

finishing its work.

love to you all,

Jackie

Weekend Update.

I hope that each of you mothers out there had a wonderful Mother's Day!

I sure did. :)

Instagram helped me document it, since my camera battery was dead.

(Do you Instagram? You can find me at JACKIEKIRSCHE.)

……..

My family took me to Fresh Market after church,

where we picked up some special things

(and a few staples).

 Then we came home and had a picnic in our backyard.

Berkley played a bit for us on his birthday present.

I just love the sound of a mandolin!

Simple and wonderful.

My heart was full.

I'm so blessed to call these three my children.

……..

We also worked on the front porch this weekend.

I'm so excited about our progress!!

Here's what it looked like on Friday:

Here's what it looks like this morning:

Isn't it amazing what painting the front door can do

to change the feel of the whole house?

I just love it!

I hung a grapevine wreath on the door and

moved our mudroom rug out here, too.

I love the texture of it and I think this may be the decision

that prevents me from doing that questionable thing 

I was considering in my last post.

(Painting the tile. There. I admitted it.)

We decided to hold off on painting the steps too until

the next phase is completed...

 Installing the cedar shutters that Kevin built over the weekend.

I'm very excited to see what these will look like!

We have ordered the hardware and now have to decide on the stain.

We are also replacing the light fixture with one of these:

and adding the screweyes and wire up the columns for the 

Confederate jamine to climb on.

I'll post pictures again and list all the sources when we have eveything finished.

 These little changes make a nice impact

and personalize a house in a big way.

And these little things are taking 61 from being a house we love

into being a house that feels like our home.

And that makes me happy.

What little things do you do to make your house 

feel like your home?

Our Front Porch and Mother's Day Thoughts.

Warm weather is here, school's almost out

and I've got home projects on my mind!

(anyone else already making their list?)

Last week when I was walking to our front door

from the mailbox, I noticed how sterile 

our front porch looked.

No wreath on the door

(not since Christmas!),

no flowers in the window boxes

and the ones in the urn 

had definitely seen better days.

Our front porch was in need of attention, big time.

 (At least the Gerber daisies are happy!)

So I visited our local nursery for some new life.

It was a nice start.

And now we're motivated to do a little more up here 

this weekend.

Kevin is going to build us some new shutters 

that look like this (minus the cutouts):

source

I think we'd like to stain them instead of painting them.

We're also going to paint the front door like this

(though maybe a shade or two darker):

source

And finally we're planning to plant a vine to creep around 

the columns on the porch.

We loved this native wisteria over our old front porch!

I'm not sure if we'll choose it again, only because it's deciduous

and I think we want something evergreen.

But I just love the character it creates!

To be honest, I'd love to paint the exterior brick

on our house.

source

(Isn't this dreamy?)

I adore the look of painted brick, though

it's considered a no-no by many.

Something about the brick being able to breathe

or once you commit, 

there's no going back.

But we're the kind of people who put our couch

directly in front of the fireplace, remember?

We're rule breakers.

Decorating rebels.

Maybe it will happen someday,

but it's expensive and we've got college to pay for.

And besides, we do like our brick as is.

 I've got another rule-breaking idea up my sleeve, anyway.

I'll show you the after photos,

if I get the nerve to actually do it. :)

What are your weekend plans?

And Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there!!

Here are a couple of Mother's Day thoughts that I found encouraging

and wanted to pass along--

Carissa talks about redeeming motherhood and

the ever eloquent Ann talks about why Mother's Day is for the birds.

I hope they are an encouragement to you, too.

xoxo,

Jackie

Reflections.

{source}

Last Friday was a milestone in my blogging career--

I reached the one year mark.

I knew it was coming up and was curious about the exact date,

so I went to the archives to find it.

And of course I reread my first post.

I found it interesting and thought-provoking--

a testiment to God's goodness and faithfulness.

Here it is, in case you're interested:

……..

“The times, they are a’changin...” Bob Dylan

Our family is currently in a place of much transition. 

Aspects of life as we’ve known it for many years are or will soon be changing. 

Our firstborn will be a senior in high school.

 It seems like just last week he was reaching up to me and asking me to “hold you”.

Our girls, who have home schooled for 8 years, will both be entering school this fall.

 It is bittersweet to see this time come to an end, yet we know that the timing is right and they are ready. 

My role as their teacher will be giving way to a new role that is not yet defined. 

I want to fill this time wisely and productively.

We are, for the first time in over 11 years, visitors at new places of worship,

 as we seek God’s direction for our family. 

This is both exciting and somewhat overwhelming.

Our house is on the market as we pursue an opportunity that we have dreamed of for many years. 

It came to us and we knew we would wonder for the rest of lives if we didn’t try. 

Roots of certainty giving way to wings of change. 

So much of our lives is found in who we are as parents, 

how we spend our time each day, even where we live or go to church.

 Friendships and relationships are developed through these things.

 To see so many areas of life being stirred at once can be unsettling. 

Sometimes I feel like a plant that has just been pulled out of the ground, with my roots all exposed.

But there is a steadfast One who will never change. 

One who I trust to guide these areas and all areas of our lives. 

There is a plan. I just can’t see it all yet.

And isn’t that the point of faith?

 To choose to trust in what we cannot see? 

To step out of our safe place and into new things? 

To follow, knowing that where we’re being lead is part of His best plan for us?

So as time marches on, I want to be mindful of what I’m learning in the midst of all this change. Learning to let go, to listen, to be at peace regardless of my circumstances.

 I want to grow and that can’t happen when everything stays the same. 

I’m ready. Bring it on.

……..

{source}

So, where has God brought our family in a year's time?

Our senior is about to graduate.

Our girls have had a fantastic year in school.

My role was clearly defined as the art teacher at my kids' school,

and I almost have the first year under my belt.

We are settled and loving the church home where God led us.

Our house sold, and we are still pinching ourselves to actually be at 61.

Many unknowns of a year ago have been answered;

there are more on the horizon.

Life will always bring change; it's inevitable.

but if a year has taught me anything,

it's this.

Embrace it. Embrace the change.

It's part of the journey that we're on,

part of what God is using to shape our lives.

Even when it's hard,

I want my life to bring honor and glory to Him.

I want to trust Him with every detail

and every unknown.

{source}

He has proven Himself faithful again and again.

I want to always know this. 

And rest in it.

Happy weekend, dear ones.

Playing Catch Up.

In the midst of my need to mourn the ending

of baseball last week,

I neglected to fill you in on my mother/daughter getaway with Hadley 

from a couple of weekends ago.

We had a terrific time!

We stayed at the Artmore Hotel in Midtown Atlanta.

I bought a deal through LivingSocial and though

I checked it out online beforehand, there was still

an element of suspense.

Thankfully, it did not disappoint.

Check out this courtyard!

The top of the fountain that Hadley is standing by 

turns into a fire bowl at night--very dramatic!

I'd love to come back with Kevin sometime.

Hadley and I had some great heart to hearts about growing up

and all the challenges and changes that the next few years will bring.

Being a teenager is not easy.

(I wouldn't want to do it again. Would you?)

We had some fun activities planned for the weekend, too.

The thing that Hadley requested was going to the Georgia Aquarium,

a place neither of us had been before.

 It was amazing!

God's underworld creation is breathtaking!

How amazing that we can experience it like this.

We did some shopping, too.

I introduced Hadley to the wonderful world of Anthropologie,

Hadley found a bathing suit and

I took Edie's advice and invested in a good pair of jeans.

I also found a great pair of wedges 

that won't leave any doubt I'm taller than five feet

(but just barely). :)

I think I'm feeling the need for height since I'm looking my youngest 

in the eyes now.

And that's not all…

after we got home, Kevin and I joined some friends

at a fundraiser featuring Tim Hawkins.

I laughed till I cried.

For your viewing pleasure:

(Being fans of Dave and the Bobs, 

I found this quite hilarious!)

……..

Also, here are a few more shots from this past weekend's dance.

I shared some of Berkley with you already,

but I can't resist showing you how cute Sierra looked in her dress. :)

Love my Sierra!

(And glad that she's taller than me.)

……..

I'm seeing the light at the end of the schoolyear tunnel…

are you as excited as I am?!

Time is a Jet Plane...

…it moves too fast. -Bob Dylan
……..

There are lots of things that I'd like to say to you.

Like I've missed you.
(It's been another crazy week!)

And thank you for all your input about the furniture arrangement
in our family room.
(It's staying like it is, at least for now. :) )

And my one year blog anniversary was Friday!
(I had planned a post about this,
but it will have to wait until next time.)

Because today I must talk about my boy.

Today is his 18th birthday!

This caps off a very monumental week for him.
His cap and gown arrived for graduation.
He found out that he got into his top two choices for college.
He went to his last high school dance Saturday night.

 It was a more casual dance than a prom,
held at a really cool old cotton gin.
Berk and his friends went as a group and we took pictures
at a bed and breakfast in town beforehand.

 Berkley and his friend Madi.
(Don't ask about the headband. He loves it!
I quit fighting the hair and clean room battles a long time ago.
There are bigger fish to fry!)

Berk and his best buds. What hams! :)
The tall one on the left--that's Ian.
He and Berkley have been best friends since they were 3.
Good times.
……..

But that's not all.

The biggest last happened Friday night,
when Berkley played in his last baseball game.

He has played baseball since he was four.

Every spring, many falls,

even a travel season (which is basically all year long)

we have spent all the ball park.

There's no telling how many hours we have logged,

watching him pitch, hit and field.

 One of the first seasons.

Little League champions 2004 (age 9)

Birthday party at a UGA baseball game (there's Ian on the right).

Majors (age 12)

Player of the Week, last year (age 16).

It's a game that he absolutely loves.

And now it's over.

I've shed more tears over this milestone than any other ending so far.
It's the strangest feeling,
watching that last at-bat, seeing him run off the field one last time.
It was hard for him, too.

I'm having a difficult time finding the words,
but I need to document this,
because it's been so important to him for so long.

Chapters end.
But new ones begin.

Berkley loves life, loves people,
wants to travel and try new things.
He's adventurous.
He loves kids.
He loves music and singing at the top of his lungs.
God's using all of these things to
form him into the person He created Berkley to be.

Kevin and I are taking him to dinner tonight for his birthday,
to celebrate him and the future that's before him
as this page is turning.

The future is bright,
full of promise.

*Update--he made his decision tonight.
He's going to be a second generation Bulldog!
I'm one happy mama. :)

We love you forever, Berkley!!

*thanks, Signs and Wonders Photography, for documenting this baseball season so well!