November Gratitude Challenge | Day 30

from sunrises to sunsets, changed perspectives, frosty leaves, words of encouragement and kindness, reflections literal and otherwise, popcorn, bunting, fall colors, the smell of fresh baked bread, open windows, quiet corners and space to breathe, open windows, and cool air, adventure, the smell of rain, a dog's soft ears, maple syrup and roasted vegetables, the blessings of a life well lived, celebrations and sorrows, hope, grace, learning to listen to ourselves and to those around us, community and magic, music and warm tea... we are grateful. 

thank you for celebrating this month with us... for taking the time to notice what's around you, for looking, for sharing. 

we are so grateful.

 “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.” 
~Melody Beattie

November Gratitude Challenge | Day 29

“If you want to be reminded of the love of the Lord, just watch the sunrise.”

― Jeannette Walls, Half Broke Horses

 
 Moment by moment the sky changed from dark to grays to pastels. And then finally, right on time, the brilliant bright light peeked over the horizon. I suppose that most don't cheer the sunrise, that act which happens every day, whether we are there to watch it or not. But to watch it, really, isn't it a marvelous show?

I'm thankful for:

the wonder of every day,

hot coffee,

those who labor for my comfort,

stories that captivate,

the rhythm of the tide,

good company,

laughing out loud,

a savory salad and a sweet crepe,

my dinner date,

the fan overhead,

sleep.

~image and text by kristy cho | @kristycho7

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We are celebrating the month of November by being grateful. Each weekday, we are posting an image and text from the hello there, friend community. 

November Gratitude Project | November 28

if you would have asked me a year ago, when that

wise old woman was going to start showing up,

i would have told you she was lost. . .

today she is starting to shine a bit, speaking her wisdom

with tenacity and grace. i only have to remind myself to slow down,

take a few deep breaths and give her time to speak her mind.

if i do this, nine times out of ten she has the ability to calm me down

and see things more clearly.

i am grateful for her; grateful that she did not

give up on me and was so patient.

i hope by next year at this time,

we are bosom buddies.

~words + image by Cathy Sly

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We are celebrating the month of November by being grateful. Each weekday, we are posting an image and text from the hello there, friend community. If you'd like to join us, there's still plenty of time! You can sign up on the blog or by using the link in our Instagram profile. We'd love to have you!

November Gratitude Challenge | Day 25

happiness is not the absence of problems but the ability to deal with them resiliently - grateful to have this idea come to me today!

~ image and text by Sarah | @featherwildsarah

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We are celebrating the month of November by being grateful. Each weekday, we are posting an image and text from the hello there, friend community. If you'd like to join us, there's still plenty of time! You can sign up on the blog or by using the link in our Instagram profile. We'd love to have you!

November Gratitude Challenge | Day 24

hello there, friends,

today we've invited our dear friend, kelly ishmael, to write a little something special for us. we were completely blown away with her story and it's connection to gratitude. i hope it resonates with you, too. kelly is a mother, writer and photographer, living in the midwest, blogging at minding my nest. you can connect with kelly there or on instagram @kellyish. thank you, kelly! we are so grateful for you.

b + L

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With a Little Help from my Friends


Two weeks ago at this time, rather than being gathered around a Thanksgiving table with my family, I was, instead, gathered at a women’s photography retreat in northern California. Forty-two women from around the globe met up at Westerbeke Ranch for a three days of inspiration, learning, and creative connection.


It was an incredible experience.


So, in addition to the inspiring classes, as residents at Camp Firefly we were treated to a magical setting, charming cabins, and delicious food. Plus, we also had the opportunity to start each day with either a guided hike through the rolling hills of Sonoma County or a guided yoga practice with our fellow camper, Vanessa. And because staying connected – heart, head, and hands – has been my focus this year, I chose yoga.


I’ve taken a fair amount of yoga classes over the past 15 years, and one of the things that I really appreciate in a yoga instructor is that they don’t take themselves (or yoga for that matter) too seriously. Which is exactly what I loved about Vanessa’s class. Because of her gentle and compassionate spirit, her class was accessible for all levels of students. And I just felt completely at ease.


Near the end of class on Friday, we had worked through a gentle flow series and she was guiding us through some balance postures. Which, in general, just so happen to be what I struggle with the most. But especially on that day… probably because I’d had two cups of coffee. At any rate, as I am unsuccessfully trying to balance on one leg and shine my heart to the sky, Vanessa comes up behind me and gently asked, “Is it OK if I help you?”


Let me pause right here to say that asking for help is not exactly in wheelhouse… just ask my mom. Fiercely independent is more like it. But something about being at camp in that class made me feel safe. So I nodded my head, graciously accepting the support. And as Vanessa gently pulled my torso into hers she whispered, “It’s OK… I’ve got you. Lean into me.”


I’ve been thinking about that lovely exchange off and on for two weeks. Someone to lean on when you’re feeling shaky… isn’t that what friends are for? And more specifically to photography, having a more experienced friend to boost you up… to encourage you and make you feel safe. Support like this can make all of the difference.


I know this from personal experience.


My experience at Camp Firely was small dose of what I have experienced in the past five or so years that I have been practicing this art. This connection to like-minded souls… kindreds on this journey in discovery. It is truly one of the unexpected joys of photography for me. One for which I am so, so grateful.


In closing I would just like to express my thankfulness to Beth and Lindsay for inviting me here today. But also for the special community they have created for us, guiding us with their intentional practice of gratitude. Encouraging us to see our lives differently. And special thanks to all of you for the fellowship and support you have shown me along the way.


Happy Thanksgiving!


Love, Kelly

November Gratitude Challenge | Day 23

for light

for feeling lighter
for flowers brought inside
for meatless monday enjoyed by all four family members
for power hour
for quiet time

~ image and text by Leah McKay | @tinylittleseahorses

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We are celebrating the month of November by being grateful. Each weekday, we are posting an image and text from the hello there, friend community. If you'd like to join us, there's still plenty of time! You can sign up on the blog or by using the link in our Instagram profile. We'd love to have you!

November Gratitude Challenge | Day 22

it can be done. gluten free cinnamon rolls. so grateful for the first cinnamon rolls i've eaten in six and a half years. and after eating them this afternoon with coffee, there are a few left. breakfast is going to be glorious.

~image and text by elizabeth patten | @bits_of_sunshine

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We are celebrating the month of November by being grateful. Each weekday, we are posting an image and text from the hello there, friend community. If you'd like to join us, there's still plenty of time! You can sign up on the blog or by using the link in our Instagram profile. We'd love to have you!

November Gratitude Challenge | Day 21

Grateful for this practice of noticing even though it's dark when I leave work now. It was raining and my hands were full and I had to go to the grocery store, but I stopped when I saw the beautiful leaves on the wet pavement. 

~image and words by Jill McLaughlin | @greenhillstudio

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We are celebrating the month of November by being grateful. Each weekday, we are posting an image and text from the hello there, friend community. If you'd like to join us, there's still plenty of time! You can sign up on the blog or by using the link in our Instagram profile. We'd love to have you!

November Gratitude Challenge | Day 18

Gratitude for open windows, freshly stocked fridges and pantries, playing outside, family, music and paint and kindness. For B. who has been my rock and voice of sanity these past few days and always, but especially today. For faith because God is always God. Thankfully, humans don't decide his/her nature or narrative. For pulling the narratives apart and letting the sunlight catch them when I feel too small and overwhelmed. for twinkle lights on the deck. the smell of roasting veggies. pretty leaves, autumn rising. holding all three of us.

~words and image by Keishua Arthur | @keishua_

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We are celebrating the month of November by being grateful. Each weekday, we are posting an image and text from the hello there, friend community. If you'd like to join us, there's still plenty of time! You can sign up on the blog or by using the link in our Instagram profile. We'd love to have you!

November Gratitude Challenge | Day 17

Thankful to live in a city where Sunday drives in the country are just 20 minutes or so away. Cruising around quiet roads and rolling hills was just the pause we needed after the last week.

~words and image by Shanna Mallon

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We are celebrating the month of November by being grateful. Each weekday, we are posting an image and text from the hello there, friend community. If you'd like to join us, there's still plenty of time! You can sign up on the blog or by using the link in our Instagram profile. We'd love to have you!

November Gratitude Challenge | Day 16

Gratitude for the sweetest moment on my flight to San Francisco. A woman sat next to me on the plane, she must have been in her late 70’s or 80’s, petite and hardly spoke a word of English. After we ate our snacks and drank our ginger ale she looked at me and in broken English asked me where I was going. And I asked her. And then she said "My son pick me up". And then concerned look, “You?” (Who was getting me?) I tried to find out if she had checked bags and started to worry - she said, “I'll go with you.” I took that to mean she would follow me to baggage claim.

Then the flight attendant came by and asked her similar questions. I asked them if she had bags, did she need help getting to ground transportation. They assured me she had someone coming to the gate for her. But then, as we were starting our decent to land (seat backs and tray tables in an upright position!), she unbuckled and started to go! I quickly tugged her back down – “Not yet, not yet!”

Once we touched down and we were getting ready to get off the plane, I told her to sit tight and wait, they had a wheelchair coming for her. She was anxious. She grabbed my hand and said, “You give me kiss.” I nearly burst into tears. Then as I said goodbye and walked away she says loudly "Thank you, love you"! Sutures for a broken heart my friends, tiny human interactions healing my hope, faith and trust in this world.

~ image and text by Vanessa Simpson | @focus_in_photography

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We continue to invite you to look for gratitude this month. Each weekday, we are posting an image and text from the hello there, friend community. If you'd like to join us, there's still plenty of time! You can sign up on the blog or by using the link in our Instagram profile. We'd love to have you!

November Gratitude Challenge | Day 15

Beautiful backlit spiders webs in the church railings. So glad I keep my camera in my handbag for these random moments! My camera makes me notice, but it also makes me stop and notice for a little bit longer whilst I faff around taking a shot, and then I revisit that image, that moment again when I up load to my computer. Grateful for my camera and the way it makes me more present in my day and in my moments and in the world around me.

~image and text by debs209

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We continue to invite you to look for gratitude this month. Each weekday, we are posting an image and text from the hello there, friend community. If you'd like to join us, there's still plenty of time! You can sign up on the blog or by using the link in our Instagram profile. We'd love to have you!

November Gratitude Challenge | Day 14

Grateful tonight for pockets of peace in my day. I was asked, "How do we protect ourselves?" when we are in fearful times. One friend says, just take the next right step. Then we'll figure it out as we go, just as women have always done. Another points to the concerned friends who show up in her life and check in. Another refers to the keepers of light all across the world, all those who we don't know but who step up to do the right thing. I am thankful tonight for all of these folks, plus the peaceful river and the benevolent woods.

~image and text by Lisa Dankers

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We continue to invite you to look for gratitude this month. Each weekday, we are posting an image and text from the hello there, friend community. If you'd like to join us, there's still plenty of time! You can sign up on the blog or by using the link in our Instagram profile. We'd love to have you!

November Gratitude Challenge | Day 11

Grateful for ~ A moment of pure calm watching the sunrise this morning ~ Walking in the cold sunshine and then being able to enjoy the feel of big fat raindrops falling on my skin ~ Rainbows against dark grey skies ~ Seeing buzzards flying so close I felt I could reach out to them ~ Time stitching, once my chores were done ~ Books of gratitudes, my own and others too ~ A velvet dog keeping me company, softly snoring in the quiet ~ A new dress, freshly sewn, hanging on my door.

~words and image by Emily.

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We are celebrating the month of November by being grateful. Each weekday, we are posting an image and text from the hello there, friend community. If you'd like to join us, there's still plenty of time! You can sign up on the blog or by using the link in our Instagram profile. We'd love to have you!

November Gratitude Challenge | Day 10

For a long time I couldn't get behind the gratitude practice. I didn't understand how to be grateful when my world felt upside down and inside out. I knew I should be grateful but actually practicing it was hard when my sights were set on all the negative things I was or had experienced. How could I be grateful when my life felt hard.

 
When I finally leaned into my discomfort and began to face my feelings and thoughts around those feelings, I realized that I had been holding myself back from experiencing joy. I wasn't enjoying my children, my husband, my hobbies, my passions, my food, my life. Once I accepted a few things, took hold of the current stage of my life, I realized that I had done so much and that I was missing out on what was in front of me because I was too busy looking back. In learning to be present I learned to be grateful.

Gratitude is not something you can experience unless you understand that gratitude lives in the present, the present moment of our daily lives, routines, and its idiosyncrasies. I'm grateful for this lesson, and even more grateful to finally participate in a gratitude challenge to help me continue to stay present in my life as it is now.

~words and image by Katiusca Gutman

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We are celebrating the month of November by looking for gratitude. Each weekday, we are posting an image and text from our community. If you'd like to join us, there's still plenty of time! You can sign up on the blog or by using the link in our Instagram profile. We'd love to have you!

November Gratitude Challenge | Day 9

Today I came across Tish Harrison Warren's essay "Courage in the Ordinary," and her words spoke right into the beautiful chaos of my Nashville split-level. Amidst my freelance hours on the laptop, getting up to comfort a toddler, spooning yogurt and blueberries, wiping his nose, putting him down for a nap, going back to my laptop, talking to my husband, washing a dish, answering an email, I read this:

"A prominent New Monasticism community house had a sign on the wall that famously read 'Everyone wants a revolution. No one wants to do the dishes.' My life is really rich in dirty dishes (and diapers) these days and really short in revolutions ... But I’ve come to the point where I’m not sure anymore just what God counts as radical ... this is what I need now: the courage to face an ordinary day — an afternoon with a colicky baby where I’m probably going to snap at my two-year old and get annoyed with my noisy neighbor — without despair, the bravery it takes to believe that a small life is still a meaningful life, and the grace to know that even when I’ve done nothing that is powerful or bold or even interesting that the Lord notices me and is fond of me.

"Whether in Mongolia or Tennessee, the kind of 'giving my life away' that counts starts with how I get up on a gray Tuesday morning. It never sells books. It won’t be remembered. But it’s what makes a life. And who knows? Maybe, at the end of days, a hurried prayer for an enemy, a passing kindness to a neighbor, or budget planning on a boring Thursday will be the revolution stories of God making all things new."

~words and image by Shanna Mallon

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The November Gratitude Challenge is still going strong. Each weekday, we are celebrating the gratitudes in our lives by sharing words and an image from our community. If you'd like to join us, there's still plenty of time! You can sign up on the blog or by using the link in our Instagram profile. We'd love to have you!

November Gratitude Challenge | Day 8

I can't remember her exact words, I'm sure they were beautiful and poetic (years ago from camerashymomma) which is not my forté but they were powerful enough for me to soak them in and then keep them handy in time of need. I even made myself a sign that I attached to my inspiration board as a reminder.

We get so stuck in our ruts, in our perceptions. I know I do. It's so hard to climb out of them and tear them down. It's a conscious, challenging effort to look in from the outside and question your motives, identify them then make the necessary changes to alter your perspective.

A simple one for me - I used to hate rainy days. I'd get depressed and felt like it was a lost day. Two things changed my perspective on rainy days, on a larger scale an event several years ago that made me appreciate every moment of life and on a smaller scale my tall rubber boots. I love to wear them and walk through and jump in puddles. Now I can get excited about a rainy day.

I'm grateful for people who share inspiration so freely. I'm grateful for rain and rubber boots.

~words and image by Rebecca Laflam

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The November Gratitude Challenge is still going strong. Each weekday, we are celebrating the gratitudes in our lives by sharing words and an image from our community. If you'd like to join us, there's still plenty of time! You can sign up on the blog or using the link in our Instagram profile. We'd love to have you!

November Gratitude Challenge | Day 7

Grateful for the ability to exhale as the sun rests and prepares for a new day.

~words and image by fightcf#breathe

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We are continuing the November Gratitude Challenge. Each weekday, we are celebrating the gratitudes in our lives by sharing words and an image from our community. If you'd like to join us, there's still plenty of time! You can sign up on the blog or using the link in our Instagram profile. We'd love to have you!

Get to Know Shanna Mallon

Hello there, friends,

It's always an honor when someone says they like what we're doing here at hello there, friend. But it is truly amazing when someone reaches out to say hello and thank you. This May, Shanna Mallon did just that. We received her email and quickly realized she's embodying so much of what we hold dear. From there, it's been good to get to know her better, read her blog, and follow her on social media. She's a deep thinker, curious and creative, and I'm always blessed by what she shares. We are truly excited to share a bit more about her with you today! 

xo,

L (+b)

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Shanna Mallon is a freelance writer who loves Jesus. She’s been blogging about food and everything else at Food Loves Writing since 2008, and finds everyday beauty arresting enough to still keep at the practice. Based in Nashville, Shanna works from home alongside her husband, Tim, and their toddler, Rocco.  

What does a typical day look like for you?

As self-employed parents of a 16-month-old, a lot of our day revolves around our toddler’s schedule. It starts when we all wake up at 7 a.m., and one of us gets Rocco and takes him to the kitchen for fruit breakfast while the other makes the bed and opens the blinds to launch the new day. Typically, we take turns showering and getting ready, one of us in the bathroom and one of us with Rocco. From there, we’re reading our Bibles and then juggling time on our computers with time chasing him around the house, working while he naps, making him or us food, cleaning up messes, letting the other go into the office with the door closed to focus, etc. Some days, Tim goes to meetings outside the house, and that’s when Rocco and I keep up the routine solo. It’s also when I typically get less done.

If all goes well, I’m done with my main projects for the day by 3 or 4 p.m., at which point I start dinner while Rocco plays nearby or naps, depending on how the day is going. We don’t eat until 6 o’clock, but I’ve discovered that I save myself a lot (!) of stress when dinner and at least some cleanup is taken care of before the bedtime rush. After dinner, Rocco gets a bath, a story and a song. At 7 p.m., he’s down for the night and is truly out until morning.

Weeknights, I meet with some women who are all reading through the Bible together one night, and Tim meets up with some guys who talk and pray another night. At least one other evening is usually spent socializing in some capacity, either with people at our house or one or both of us out, and that gives us two more nights to be at home, spending time together or finishing up work that still needs to be done.

What does gratitude mean to you and how do you incorporate it into your everyday life?

My friend Sarah Kate Branine wrote a post recently, "The Needed Intersection," in which she talked about the value of gratitude, not just for the beautiful, sweet parts of life, but also for the hard, painful bits. It’s been on my mind ever since, reminding me a lot of Ann Voskamp’s idea in One Thousand Gifts. When I start to see everything -- from disappointment in a relationship to the way the light hits the table during dinner prep -- as a gift being given to me, at exactly that moment, with purpose, it changes everything. For me, practicing gratitude has been one of the most joy-producing, life-changing disciplines of my life.

How do you stay connected to those you love?

I love connection, so maybe it’s no surprise to say that, in different seasons of life, I have tried almost everything to stay connected to loved ones -- texts, emails, “let’s hang out” invitations, cards, FaceTime, visits, social media. Sometimes it’s worked, and sometimes it hasn’t. That’s why I’d say one of the most liberating, sobering parts of becoming an adult has been, instead making connection the goal, making love the goal. I have found that I can always seek the other person’s best good, whether or not we’re in the same place or in busy seasons or whatever. So while I still do a lot of those same things to seek connection, my goal is different. I ask the Lord to keep my heart open and soft to the ones I love, whether or not I am talking to them all the time, and in turn I think I am in a better position to truly love, whether or not I get the fulfilling connection I desire. I am seeing that this kind of love, the kind that seeks the best good of the ones I love, without demanding response, gives more freedom and more joy, regardless of results.

What’s inspiring you right now?

I am a big fan of The Rabbit Room and have found many favorite writers through essays published there. I love Lanier Ivester, Rebecca K. Reynolds and Sarah Clarkson, for example. I also just discovered Susan Branch, who started hand-painting cookbooks the year I was born, turning a painful divorce into the start of a new life. Her recent set of dreamy, illustrated memoirs, especially Martha's Vineyard: Isle of Dreams, are unlike anything I’ve ever seen.

What is on your bedside table?

I am almost embarrassed by the mounting stack of books and files by my bed, so maybe instead of listing all of them, I’ll just share what I’m reading right now! I’m currently reading Beyond Loneliness: the Gift of God's Friendship by Trevor Hudson with the Renovare Book Club and, on my own, Elizabeth Goudge’s biography The Joy of the Snow. Elizabeth Goudge is one of my newest favorite writers -- I admire her descriptive language and sweet themes. This biography is answering some of the questions that are always natural when you find work you love -- wanting to know more about the one who made it.

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Shanna will be taking over the hello there, friend instagram feed on Monday to share more with us and respond to your comments. We hope you take the opportunity to check in and say hello to her!

Thanks so much, Shanna, for sharing with us today! We're so grateful for you! xo.