THE POWER OF GATHERING + WHY I LOVE IT

“This is the power of gathering: it inspires us delightfully, to be more hopeful, more joyful, more thoughtful: in a word, more alive. ”

— Alice Waters

I've always loved coming together and bringing new and old friends around the table. I really don't think I could have said it any better than Alice Waters. She truly, in the above quote, encapsulates why coming around the table with others means so much to me.  

It's something I have always and will forever hold near and dear to my heart. 

Being raised by a grandmother who modeled the heart of gathering on a daily basis and being surrounded by the quintessential Southern woman taught me many things but one of the most important is that people matter and serving them matters even more. 

Of course, this is the perfect season to share recipes and tablescapes and all sorts of amazing inspiration. 

But, gathering is more for me than just sitting at a pretty table and enjoying a meal or even laughs. 

It's more than offering pretty napkins or plates and giving those around the table something interesting to look at. While I obviously enjoy all those things, that can't be the end of the story. 

When we gather, we offer others an opportunity to tell their stories and to hear our own. 

We give life to hope and all of sudden those that didn't have place or purpose are once again fulfilled and connected. 

It's a beautiful thing. 

At the table, we are reconnected, revived and restored.

There is power in your connection. There is power in your story. 

So gather. Explore. Tell your story around the table. 

xo, 
Kennesha

Photography | Tiarra Sorte Photography

Styling | Restoration House

Monday Musings: A YEAR OF OCTOBERS

(DISCLAIMER: I originally posted via my old RH blog in 2016 but it so applies to today, I HAD to repost here. I think someone out there needed this reminder just as much as I do today.)

So, yesterday I was driving along, minding my business when all of a sudden I realized that it was October 1. Now, I know that fall officially began a couple of weeks ago but for some reason, in my mind, it's really not fall until I see change in the seasons. The trees begin to fade into beautiful hues of red and golden browns and yellows and the temps truly begin. Around here, that's usually right around October. 

As I thought about all the things that come along with the adventures of fall, I thought to myself, "Wait, why is October called 'October'?" Knowing that 'oct' means eight, I was baffled by the thought of the tenth month of the year having the name of the eighth. After parking, I  decided to do a little online research. 

Photo | Carly Bish Photography

Turns out that years ago (like a bazillion years ago) the Julian calendar actually held October as the 8th month but when we switched over to the Gregorian calendar (the one we all use today), the month kept it's original name but changed its place. In the back of my brain amidst the cobwebs I'm sure I learned this somewhere but it was a fun refresher for the nerd in me. 

It became more and more apparent to me that this whole thought process was more the leading of the Holy Spirit and less me. 

As I continued 'thinking' I remembered that in relation to the biblical representation of numbers, 8 holds a pretty significant meaning. It's the number that represents resurrection, regeneration, a commencement and new beginning. 

SIDENOTE: 

Sliding in here to say please don't get freaked out. I am no numerologist and don't believe that numbers hold any strange power. I do, however, believe that God created them and over and over again in scripture we can find God's use of them to show and put on display how infinitely powerful and awesome He is. Just  the thought of it all makes my heart sing.

So, new beginnings...that was it! That's what He wanted me to think about and, of course, just be in awe of just how awesome He is to us and how good He is but we can talk about the details of that in another post. 

I was reminded in that moment that God is not just in our moments or certain seasons of life but that He is in it all. He IS the beginning and seeing as how yesterday was October 1, well it was essentially the beginning of the beginning. You know, with October being the eighth month and eight representing the beginning and it being the first day of the month of beginnings. Confused yet? It's okay. I will clear things up in just a bit. 

Simply put, we look at seasons with our human eyes and can appreciate them all for what each of them bring visually a lot of the time. With each season we have hope, we lose things, life becomes more full, we see the beauty in things we never really saw before, etc. But God, He is in them all. He is in every season-the beginning and end of them all. Literally and figuratively. Naturally and supernaturally.

“John 1:1 says, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. ”

He hasn't just been here or with us since the beginning it is WHO HE IS.  He is the God of NEW BEGINNINGS. The God of Octobers. The beginning of the beginning. He is in the details of it all and he really cares about it all. Every single moment, minute and second of our Octobers and pretty much our entire lives.

Months have gone by and I've struggled, ya'll. A lot. Mostly in my mind with feeling defeated, displaced and sometimes as hard as it is to admit-worthless. The days of summer seemed to pass by with little hope of catching my breath or finding purpose and meaning in many of the days. 

But, He is faithful. 

In this season of fall that we, with our human eyes many times, see as a season of dormancy and death, He is alive. He is doing a new thing. He is still breathing life into dreams and bringing visions, heart cries and passions to life in me and in you. 

photography | Carly BIsh Photography

So, my question to you is this: Where are you? I mean, emotionally speaking. Where have you been? Have you been in a place that needs some life breathed into it? Have you been angry about some things that haven't come to pass or some prayers you prayed that you haven't seen answered? Or, are you on the other side? Are things going amazingly well for you and you couldn't possibly imagine them getting better? Either way, He will do more. 

 Isaiah 43:18-19 Forget the former things, do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing! Not it springs up, do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland." 

Truth is no matter what your season may look like whether you're in fall or winter or spring, He's at the beginning, middle and end of them all and He promises to make a way even when there seems to be none. Let's,together, look forward to a year full of Octobers.  A year of the end of some harder seasons and the beginning of others that will amaze us with His love for us and His infinite power, grace, mercy in our lives. 

XO,

Kennesha

SHE LAUGHS | THE IMPERFECTIONS

photography | tiarra sorte

The thing is, I don't always. 

You know, laugh without fear of the future as the title suggests.

I worry. 

I doubt. 

I second guess. 

I compare my gifts, my talents, my desires. 

I wonder if I am good enough. 

Smart enough. 

If people like me enough. 

If they really genuinely care or love me enough to see my heart when I am not saying or doing what I should or what they expect from me...

I'd love to say that I am completely free of my human-ness. I am not. 

As a matter of fact if there was any power that I possess it's the power of being SUPER HUMAN. 

I am flawed. Imperfect. Needy, even. 

I am frequently late. 

I yell at my kids from time to time. 

I am impatient and sometimes not so kind. 

I promise I am going somewhere with all of this. Stick with me. 

2 Corinthians 12:9-11

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

All that stuff that I just listed above really doesn't matter much in comparison to the amazing power that comes in acknowledging God in it all. In the light of His glory, His grace, His infinite power and wisdom He takes all of my worries, my weaknesses and dims the light on them to magnify all of the wonderful gifts He has placed in me {and you}. And in that, there is power. 

Honestly, this summer has flown by for me. Most of the things I thought I would accomplish still lie waiting to be completed and let's not even talk about the schedule with my kids. Nope, we won't talk about that. Today. 

While most of my plans have fallen to the wayside, His plans have prevailed in my life and particularly in the area of His calling for me and the direction of RHB. 

This coming fall will hold many new ventures that I am so excited to share with you over the next few months. In these  new ventures we will delve into what true freedom looks like in a series that I've mentioned to you a few times here on the blog-SHE LAUGHS.  

Are you like me from time to time? 

Worried? Challenged? Fearful? 

Unsure of the future and what it holds or not so confident in your gifts? 

There is hope. 

His name is Jesus. 

He comes alongside you to remind you of who you are. He reminds you of what He has placed inside you and gives you all power to accomplish every good work in His name, for His glory. 

As an added bonus, along with His power, you get an extra dose and helping of peace, joy, strength, courage just because it's who HE is. 

Honest truth...I have no idea how all of this is gonna turn out in the next few months, in detail, but what I do know is that He promises it will be good. Super good. Like, for real. 

And that promise, well, it's the same for you, friends.

Ready to dive right in with each of you,

Kennesha