Elizabeth Sands Wise

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BIG NEWS!

March 7, 2017March 7, 2017 / Elizabeth

book announcement

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amazon, daughters, first fifty letters, mothers, my book, this sacramental life, wisdom

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← The Sixty-Third Letter: How the Whole30 Confirms What I Know to Be True About Myself

The Sixty-Fourth Letter: All Y’all Be Perfect →

The next 50 letters! Now available as a paperback on Amazon. (Click the image to purchase.)

Thanks for visiting, friends.

You can find some free digital print downloads under the “Sharing & Freebies” tab.

A great gift idea! This collection is coauthored with my husband. (Click on the photo to purchase on Amazon.)

Purchase the First 50 Letters as a paperback or Kindle book on Amazon!

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Recently, I had an opportunity to open my front door, and I didn’t want to. Like really didn’t want to. Didn’t want to say, sure, come on in and have a cup of tea. Didn’t want to say, you are welcome here in my space. I was feeling kind of grumpy about it, to be honest. Bitter, even. I had things I wanted to do with my time, but you know what? The gospel doesn’t care. Here is the truth: every time we choose self over other, we are not choosing the gospel. Every time. Weren’t you taught the acronym JOY for Jesus, Others, Yourself back when you were little? There is so much truth in that simple ordering of gospel priorities. JOY. I know you know this, but a recurring metaphor for the kingdom of God is the table. The feast. The banquet. And at that table, Jesus himself said, this is my body, broken for you. That “you” is all y’all. That you is on both sides of your front door. Both sides of the aisle. Both sides of the tracks. Both sides of the border. Y’all, wherever there are sides, grace is there, too, right in the messy middle. #openyourdoor #lovewins #longertable #handlettering

It’s possible to do all the right things to get your bulbs to grow and still not end up with any blooms. See those beautiful greens on that shelf above our desk? Two gorgeous amaryllis bulbs and a pot of paperwhites. All full of stored energy. All happily perched in front of the sunshine that grew gorgeous blooms last year. But none bloomed this year. Not even a sign of a bloom. Just the gorgeous, firm green leaves stretching up their arms, yawning toward the sleepy sun of an ordinary Tuesday. And I’m okay with that. I’m doing the right things. And I’m still nourishing the bulbs, still letting them enjoy the sunshine, still enjoying the life they represent. Because that’s enough for this season. Do the right thing, friends. Do the next right thing, and it will be enough, whether you get any blooms or not. #itssimplytuesday #itsnotabouttheblooms #sacredordinarydays

I mean, it’s Friday, and we might even get a wee bit of snow. 👊🏼👊🏼👊🏼

Sunshine and wind and a surprise rainbow on the way to school. Handpainted church banners and old-school Jennifer Knapp on the boom box. Italian Renaissance art history lessons and girls climbing across the top of the swingset. Neighbors who worry about your children. Children who love centipedes. The prayer of examen. WiFi in the backyard. #itssimplytuesday #thepaceofgrace #handlettering #home #yesisaidboombox #sacredordinarydays

Real life: Because we were running late for piano today, I sent a quick “on our way—sorry!!!” text to the teacher as we sped down the driveway. Halfway down our street I got a reply text: “Lessons start next week.” Sigh. So we came home and used our extra 30 minutes of the morning to “paint” with our watercolor pencils the female cardinal we saw at our bird feeder this morning. Happy New Year. #howweroll #raisingartists #happynewyear

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