“What, Mr. Athletic Director?! Haven’t I mentioned that I’m a seasoned twenty-six-year-old?  I’ve lived long and seen much, my discernment know no bounds! I’ll make this program the jewel of the ACC!  NCAA Champions in no time flat!”

I believe it was at this point in my rose-colored personal endorsement that I noticed the A.D. turning over my one-page, triple-spaced resume. Was he hoping to discover something more on the back-side that he might have missed on the front?  Yet, even at that point in the interview, I knew it was God that had placed my rear-end in that red pleather chair, and it could only be God who would be able to turn this water into wine.

I was hired (really folks, it was a miracle), and about two weeks into the daily grind, I realized that God had failed to adequately mention this job he had given was going to be really, really, wildly hard.

A few months later, I was slumping down the hallway muttering grimly to myself and I bumped into my new boss.  I’d already aged five dog years and had developed a nervous twitch and a horrible habit of continuously sighing.  He pulled me aside. “Kim, I’ve been watching you.  It seems as if you have the weight of the world on your shoulders.  Well, for crying out loud, please stop it!  That’s not why we hired you.”

He went on to tell me, rather gruffly if I remember correctly, that what I brought to the program was obviously not experience, or any amount of skill, or savvy (okay, I get it) but enthusiasm and joy.  ”We need someone with hope, energy and determination.  Now please act like that person. Change your attitude, and don’t make me regret hiring you.”

This man was absolutely my favorite boss, ever.  While I gave him plenty of reasons over the years to regret hiring me (I didn’t win very much), he championed the best in me, expected the best, hoped for the best. He reminded me of my own dad.

My father has made finding the good in all circumstances a holy art form.  He is well-trained in finding the joy in all things, no matter how camouflaged in frustration, disappointment and hurt it may be.

One of my dad’s favorite phrases during those years in my first-real-job-that-kicks-your-butt-from here-to-next-week was, “Kimmy, don’t let it steal your joy”.

If I could give you one present this week, it would be a re-gift from my sage father and a good boss.  ”Pick up your heads, saints.  Lift up your eyes.  Circumstances may be daunting and hurtful and confusing, pressing hard at you from every side.  Deep inside you may know you aren’t qualified to sort out all the mess around you – and in you – but don’t be discouraged: don’t let it steal your joy.”

Just as I was hired to bring a shot of energy to a weary volleyball program, we’ve all been given breath to sing hope and encouragement to a discouraged world!

The hope of the righteous brings joy. (Proverbs 10:28)

What is stealing your joy?

What was waiting behind your eyelids before you even opened your eyes this morning?  What is making you feel sour, blue, despairing, turned in towards self?  Whatever it is, it’s not doing you any favors, is it?  Stop right now and think hard.  Where is your hope?  Why do you think you have been granted breath for today?

The hope of the righteous brings joy.

Our hope and joy can’t be stolen by career failings (I’ve had plenty, some epic), relational misunderstandings, personal shortcomings, other people, and even great evil.  Why? Because our joy is not of this world, it is poured into our hearts by God himself to bring hope and beauty into the world he loves.

The joy of the righteous cannot be crushed by any circumstance in this life, even to death.  Why? Because the righteous have hope that they are precious in God’s sight. So precious, in fact, that God’s own son was crushed so that we might be clean and right, and so nothing would ever be able to steal us from him forever.

The hope of the righteous brings joy.

Where is your hope?  Where is your joy?

Go in peace (and go Wolfpack!)

Kim

(Repost with edits)

My head was down as I scraped remnants of beef tacos into the overflowing trash at 9pm on a school night. I know I asked one of those boys to take it out before we sat down?

I didn’t know the camera’s were rolling.

Transcript of June 4 post-dinner-mayhem.

Kim: (after five minutes of exactly nothing being done) “No offense, but I don’t appreciate all the dancing. Get working on the kitchen.”

Kim: (ominously): “Luke…”

Luke: (not in the least bit nervous by ominous tone)  ”I’m exiting.”

Kim: “You’re just going to get me angry.” (Really? Really?  I actually say this?)

Luke: (not even slightly moved by mom’s potential wrath) …dances by with a pepper mill…

David: (from laundry room): “Whose under-shirt is this?  Sorry, I wore this shirt all day, and it kept riding up to my belly-button…it’s a comfort blend… size small…?”

Chase: (co-chairing a Hall summit on white undershirts): “Oh yeah, that’s mine.”

David: (also unaware of rolling cameras)…walks by shirtless… (it’s ok to rewind a little, if you want to catch that part again.)

Kim: (brings out the big guns, and swears) “Luke, you guys are bugging the crap out of me right now…”

Colvin: (age 8, shrieking at top of lungs) “MOM!  YOU SAY CRAP ALOT!”

Titus: (age 12, shouts and points) “You said CRAP!”

Chase: (golden boy) “Mom, I’ve been doing ALL the work…”

Luke: (fearlessly riding the ‘I think mom cracked a smile’ wave) “ABBA’s contagious!”

Luke/Chase: Obnoxious defiance and general annoying behavior continues…

Colvin: (noting that if mom says ‘crap’, then anything goes) “PARTAAAAY!”

Luke: “Mom, you’re going to look back on this and see yourself going ‘LUKE, YOU’RE BUGGING THE CRAP OUT OF ME!’…and we’re all still gonna’ be dancin’!”

Luke: “You’ve got the floor now, Chase…”

Luke: (the first-born, can’t let someone else have the limelight too long) “Chase…exit.”

Kim: When will this song ever end?????

Luke/Chase: Crazy amount of ridiculous dancing “…it’s magic…”

Luke/Chase: (Still with us? We’re almost done.  It’s a rather long song.)…Jazz Hands…!

Luke:  ”ABBA’s contagious!”

Kim: Indeed.

Peace be with you, and yours, this day.

Love from all the Halls

I love everything about summertime, except that inevitable afternoon when I’ll have no choice but to pull down the blue Tupperware storage bin, and cringe through past seasons of stretched-out and see-through bathing suits.  How is it that the seat of every swimsuit suffers pill-balls and snags? Worse, the realization that I actually wore those sad and saggy bottoms poolside and dockside – in plain view of other humans – is especially unpleasant.

Who of you has gone bathing suit shopping already?  Oh you brave, brave souls.

What did you buy?

a)  A sporty Speedo one-piece?
b) A modest, not-too-flashy tankini?
c) An itty-bitty yellow, polka-dot bikini?
d) A muumuu?

We live in Texas, for Pete’s sake!  Swimming (especially if you have a child in your life) is not an optional summer activity ’round these parts: it’s common law.  Perhaps you didn’t know that when the weather gets Lone Star hot, it’s required of all true Austinites to stampede every local water venue within one hundred miles?

And so we float down pretty green rivers, dive off docks, and rope-swing into shady springs. By September, we’ve typically cruised through at least one-hundred days of SPF 95+ heat like it’s nothin’.  It’s just the way we roll.

And yet, in a city of very pretty and outdoorsy people, shopping for a bathing suit can press even the most reasonable of us down, down, ever farther down into a spiral of despair can’t it?  Where did those moles come from?  And what the heck is that, now?  Is hair even supposed to grow there?  It’d be better just to cover up, and lay low…

Here’s the cycle, as I see it.

At worst, we hate our bodies.  At best, we don’t find our bodies especially beautiful:“Does this tankini pull down far enough to hide my muffin top?”

We don’t want other people to note our obvious (to us) inadequacies or flaws: “I sure hope this knee-length swim-skirt hides my monster thighs.”

We don’t like being subject to more attractive, real-life bodies:“Isn’t it enough to see air-brushed perfection in magazines? Do we all really need to see a real-life Barbie prancing about the neighborhood pool in front of my sons?

We don’t think our bodies compare favorably to the one in the next beach chair: “I bet my husband wishes I had her butt. She must work-out all day long!  Must be nice to have all that time – she must not have a job.”

In our own minds, we fall waaaay short: “I wonder what I would need to do, or have done (or buy) to look more desirable?”

And then we might condemn: “I can’t believe she’s wearing that skimpy bikini! Is she really in such need of attention? I’m glad I’m not nearly so shallow.” 

Or try to control: “Tonight, I’ll skip dinner, and then hit the treadmill to burn an extra few hundred calories.”

Or we might just give up and cry: “I’m just not going to undress. I’m disgusting. I’ll never change. Why am I this way?”

Come on girls!!  It’s time to put on our big-girl panties, examine our hearts, and stop circling the drain.  Do you identify with any of the above scenarios?  Which one, in particular? Know this: our thoughts and anxieties about bathing suit shopping are the fruit of a deeper, more pervasive root that grows in the heart.

Stop and listen to your inner conversations. What is the underlying root that is producing your critical spirit, your frantic striving, or your never-ending anxiety?

• Shame?
• Envy?
• Self-righteousness?
• Self-hatred?
• Pride?
• Perfectionism?

Expose it: Be honest and brave. Stand naked and vulnerable before your tender Creator; who calls himself a bridegroom who delights in his bride. His mercies toward us never dry up. He will keep his vow in making all things (us included) beautiful in his time.

Bring it: Bring your pain and shame, and your bitter disappointment to your heavenly Father. Hand it over to his care and safekeeping. He is the only one that can conquer death, create and sustain new life, and make beauty from ashes.

Find it: Find a suit that suits you!  Find the courage not to tear down yourself – or others – in order to feel superior. Find the God-given physical and inner beauty of others.  Don’t let a swimsuit steal your joy: find the joy that plays in ten-thousand places this summer.

Peace (and maybe even a cute suit) to you this summer.

Kim. 

Specifically, “What does it look like to be a friend?”

Much of my life I’ve hoped to do amazing things for God.  By this I mean, I’ve readied myself to do amazing things in amazing ways: all with God’s help (of course).  Please note the emphasis on my amazing amazing-ness, and quite a bit less-so on Gods’ help.

I’ve been willing to be an ambassador for God’s kingdom, to be compelling and courageous, to speak and teach with conviction, and to somehow leave a beautiful mark on the world: all in His name (of course). I’ve even prayed for my life to make a statement, to be distinctly different, and to pave the way (big sigh) so others might know God better.

Right-0, then.

Wow.

Can I just get over myself already?

Just to get the facts straight: I love Jesus, but I can also be an amazing fool (<—Kim).

God doesn’t need me to help him, um, ever.  He doesn’t need me to attract others to himself, to save his souls, to speak on his behalf, or defend him in any way. Big spoiler alert: it doesn’t depend on me at all, and it doesn’t come down to me, or you, in the end. If it did – even a little bit – how could we sleep at night?

The real truth is that it’s God’s amazing and true story. He‘s the hero. He saves the day. He is compelling.  He is beautiful.  It’s His passion and action that has paved the way so that we might be with him in this life and the next.

So what does this have to do with friendship?

Mysteriously, God wraps us all up in his astounding story for the world.  Nothing in life is random, including and especially, the wonder of friendship.  God has carefully planted certain people in our space and time for a reason.  He knits our hearts and lives together so that we will trust him more, enjoy him more, and know him rightly.

Q. Where is the best place to be amazing, saints?
A. Be a friend who puts her trust in the LORD.

Looking back over time, there has been wide range of people who have helped me to believe and trust in a good God, by simply being my friend. I started to make a list of  their most common attributes, only to realize there must be a thousand-and-one ways God shows himself through the bonds of friendship.

I don’t usually ask for feedback on this blog, but would you take a minute and consider your friendships over the years?  Who has God put in your life? What are the common attributes of those particular friends, especially the ones that have caused you trust and enjoy the LORD ever more?

Can you add your friends’ attributes to my starter-list of what it looks like to be a friend?

1. She is generally cheerful.
2. He speaks truth with gentleness and care.
3. She is not demanding.
4. She doesn’t need you-and-a-movie, or you-and-a-party.
5. He gives you the benefit of the doubt.
6. He encourages you to forgive; reminds you of how much you’ve been forgiven.
7. She helps find the good.
8. She doesn’t deny the bad or the ugly; neither does she despair it.
9. She leaves you with fresh hope.
10. He introduces a new perspective.
11. She thinks you’re beautiful.
12. She is not easily offended, alarmed, or provoked.
13. She speaks respectfully of your spouse, and hers.
14. He defends those who aren’t in the room.
15. He is not afraid of tomorrow.
16. Her first response is grace.
17. He likes to laugh.
18. She sees you for the woman you hope to eventually be.
19. She makes you want to be better.
20. ….
21. ….
22. …

I’d love to see what you add to the list.

Peace to you and yours, through the One who has called us ‘friend’,

Kim

It makes me sad to see God so misunderstood, but I hear it often as a reason for why people reject God, the church, and the entire Christian faith.

Friends, God does not send anyone to hell. In fact, the gates to heaven stand wide open for any soul that can stand it.

But the plain fact is that there are some people who just can’t stand God. They want nothing of him in this life, and so God will not force himself upon them in the next.

God doesn’t send people to hell, but he gives us what we desire in our hearts during our years on earth.  Do we want a life with him in it? Or a life without?

Isn’t it foolishness to imagine that we could despise and reject God all this life, only to have him force his intimate presence on us in the next?

If we don’t want God’s presence here and now, if we want to be left to our own devices while on earth, we will absolutely not want to wind up in heaven. Why? Because heaven is an eternity spent discovering ever more the God we loved while we still had breath!

Heaven starts now.  Hell starts now.

Photo by Hannes Pieters

Imagine a land without tenderness, light, or beauty.  Think of a city where justice is a joke, where there is no push-back to violence, no new creation, no new birth, no healing.  Consider a community where there will be no rescue or relief from the wicked impulses of man.

We have earthly images of hell in front of us every day; filthy clinics, dead babies, and damaged women.  We see rape used as power, flies buzzing around festering wounds, children sold into slavery or languishing in orphanages, never to know the love of a family.

This is indeed hell on earth.

And yet, there is also heaven on earth. God’s kingdom has already come, and his spirit is active. It is from God alone that all goodness and beauty flows, now and forever.  Kindness, sacrifice, dignity, joy, delight – it all originates from the same place – and without God in the picture, this goodness dries up fast: and it’s hell.

Life devoid of God is hell, whether it’s now or later.

So let’s be honest and fair, saints. God is intent on saving, not condemning. Heaven and hell are both God’s provision for what we ultimately want. He pursues us to all ends of the earth so we would know Him rightly, and want to be with him forever.

Photo by Hannes – who brings heaven to many!

Do you know who God really is?  Do you find him beautiful, or spiteful?  Do you have hope in this life, or dread?  Can you find the joy in your circumstances, because you have put your trust in the Author of all good?

If so, you are already a citizen of heaven, and will be forever.

So give ‘em heaven, saints!  Radiate hope and beauty, and go out boldly into the world.

“Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”

Kim

This officially qualifies him for sainthood, in everyone’s opinion.  I’ve told him that if I die first, I’d be happy for him to marry someone with a little less (how shall I say it?) intensity. He didn’t immediately disagree.

Before David Hall (B.D.H) I lived with five other men. Growing up with four hungry brothers can make a girl intense, folks!  My dear dad raised me for twenty-three years and then hustled…er…walked me briskly down the aisle while my brothers fist-bumped and cast lots for my bedroom.  

In addition, I have lived intimately with a trio of males over the last eighteen years in very close – and I realize it’s redundant – smelly quarters.  Every time I make breakfast for my three teenage boys, I crack a dozen eggs.  I know men, people.

I am especially blessed to know good men.

I’ve had front-row seats to the daily conduct of faithful men my whole life.  As a woman, this has deeply affected my outlook on others, has informed my thoughts on life, and put joy in my faith. I give thanks for all these men, because they have made it easy for me to trust in a good God.

And this is the point of our lives as men and women, no?  So that we know and enjoy God in this life (and next), and live in such a way that others might do the same?

I started writing the list (below) to help direct my parenting and praying; especially for my boys.  It’s no secret that many of us might have known more bad men than good, and that their actions have shaped us, and wounded us badly. To some of you, my story might sound like a fairy-tale.

But if you have a son, or a brother, or a boyfriend, or a grandson, please know his influence in the world will be immense.  His character will impact the lives of many, especially those most intimate with him.  Will his life show God’s goodness and faithfulness?

There is no greater thing you can do than to pray for your men to be righteous.

No matter your past or current circumstances: mothers and lovers, sisters and grandmothers, we can kneel down and pray for our men.

OK.  Here goes – a list of eleven prayers for our men.  Can you add more?

Prayers for the men we love: so that they might live worthy lives.

1.  Love your wife: be faithful to her in your mind, and also with your body.

*If you are not married, choose to be honorable and praiseworthy in your thoughts and relationships this day.  Be a man – of any age or marital status – who is faithful and true in his inner and outer places.

2. Little things matter: everything – good or bad – starts small.

3. Be an encourager with a capital “E”: pour your best energies into building others up.

4. A man cannot serve two masters: who do you serve?

5. Be stong and gentle: this is a tall task, but the world desperately needs men who are both.

6. Show restraint: just because you know you can, doesn’t mean you should.

7. Defend the outcast and notice the lonely: go out and welcome in.

8. Find the good whenever humanly possible: it is the mark of a happy man.

9. Enter the fray: don’t be afraid to try, or discourage those that do.

10. Bring your whole self with you everywhere you go: it takes much courage!

11. Remember this always: if God is for you, who can be against you?

With God, all things are possible for the men that you love.  Pray to that end.

Grace and peace to you, and your men.

Kim

I’ve been party to situations and conversations that I work hard to never think about, because the memories bring shame.  When I do unwillingly think of them (like now) I am horrified, mortified, and even stupefied at how I ever ended up there in that dark place?

It makes me shudder.

Did you know that there is nothing we have done in the past that makes us a lost cause? There is no thing we have said or done, or that has been done to us, that puts us in the just-too-far-gone-for-any-hope column?

Man may have abused you, for some are terribly wicked.  Mothers and fathers may have abandoned you – shredded you – for some are selfish and cruel.  And, it’s likely you have caused other people to suffer, too. You may have blamed, belittled, aborted, cheated, deceived, looked the other way, or treated your body like garbage – because you are sinful and broken in your humanity – just like me.

But, God is not like us.

Did you know that God has never watched our suffering and wrung his hands in helplessness?  He won’t ever wash his hands of the unwanted and regular trouble that is us.

God is not man.

Our Father hasn’t grown bored with us and moved on to someone else more appealing. His eyes have never left us for a moment – and those eyes have never looked on us with contempt.

God is not man.

God is not disgusted nor weary of our failures, even when we are utterly sick-to-death of ourselves. Our God is never cold or manipulative, harsh or impatient: he has not written us off as damaged goods.

God is not man.

In fact, he has worked tirelessly – since the foundation of the earth – to weave even the worst horrors of our past into eternal, holy, bright-shining beauty.

We are not condemned.

We are loved with an ever-lasting love.

God’s considerable energy and power is working for us to give us new life: both now and forever. Our Maker and Healer intends to re-make us healthy and whole through his holy love.

We are beautiful to God.

The reason we have breath today is to remember that God is for us, not against us. The reason we have breath this moment is for us to remember to choose Life. We are here and now in this place for a reason: to know this God for who he really is.

God is the only one that can set us free – and heal us fully – from the shame in our past that makes us cringe and shudder.

This is the real God I want you to know.

Peace to you, and yours,

Kim

• It’s doing it’s job, and for that I am thankful.
• It’s worn out and stressed out, but I’m just too busy to care for it better.
• It’s a disappointment, and I’m resentful.
• It’s ugly, and if I’m totally honest with you, I hate it.

Father, hear my prayer.

B.  What is the current state of your heart?

• It’s dry, dry, dry – how did it ever get this way?
• It’s scared and always prepared – what if? what then?
• It’s angry and indignant – is it not totally obvious to you I’ve been wronged?
• It’s safe and secure – I feel loved and protected.
• It’s numb  - and I couldn’t care less
• It’s no longer a whole heart – it’s been pulverized into a bloody pulp.

Father, hear my prayer.

C.  What is the usual state of your mind lately?

• Prayerful (I know God is for me)
• Critical (Oh man, I sure wish they were more like me)
• Anxious (Yikes! I think I need to take care of me)
• Wallowing in self-pity (Hey! Can’t you see everything is against me?)
• Shallow (Yay! Eat, drink and be merry for me!).

Father, hear my prayer.

D.  What dominates your inner conversations?

• Will I ever be well?
• How can I get it all done?
• I wonder what she thinks of me?
• How dare he!
• Father, hear my prayer.

So, if you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father in heaven give the holy spirit to those who ask him… 

(Luke 11:13)

My father, who is in heaven, I ask you to give me more of your spirit.  

Please hear our prayer.

Kim

Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

Our Good Shepherd has told us – in terms even a rather slow sheep could understand – that he is sending us straight into a den of wolves.

Did I just wet myself, or was that you?

And what, exactly, are we given to arm our defenseless selves in the upcoming carnage? Our excellent and well-documented sheep wit?

Wisdom and innocence: this will be your protection.

Awesome.

Wisdom is the ability to discern what is good, right, and lasting.  It is using consistent, and good judgment for the benefit of many.  And innocence!  Innocence trusts completely. Call me crazy, but wild wolves eat innocence for lunch, don’t they?  It sure seems like it would be good wisdom to stay right here in the pasture, dontchya’ think?

Why are you sending us out there, to them?  I thought you loved us, Father?  Why do you want to put harm us in harm’s way?  Why do you forsake us?

Who do we trust, saints?

You will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles.

Despite being well-armed with wisdom and innocence, the pack of wolves you’ve been sent out to (by your Father), will still drag you off and put you on trial in a hostile court.  This just gets better and better, doesn’t it?  You can’t ever say that God sugar-coats anything: he is the ultimate Truth Speaker.  And yet, I appreciate how God treats us like we have a brain and a spirit and a will – like we can actually strap in and do our part.

Even so, what’s the point of this questionable plan if we get abused and mauled to death?

So you can bear witness before them.  

So you can tell them who you trust.

God knows we can do it because he is with us wherever he sends us: nothing and no-one can thwart the mission, the wisdom, the beauty-making, life-giving power of God.

When they hand you over, do not be anxious about how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour.

Tell them what you know.

Tell them who you trust.

God will give you the exact words.  He sent you to that exact place so you could tell them something important.

“I trust God.”

For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

“God is for me.  He will no forsake me – even though it looks like he has.”

So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.  

Sing it loud saints!

“Forgive them, Father.”

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

You are in the midst of wolves, fellow sheep.  God has sent you out there on purpose and he is not scared for you, he is working everything – even pain and suffering, evil and injustice – for Good.

“This is my beloved son.”

Do not be afraid.  God is with you – wherever he sends you.  Say in the light who you trust.  God will help you – he is near. Declare where your hope is found.  God will give you the words – his spirit is in you.

True peace to you today, as you say what you know to be true.

Kim

(All scripture from Matthew 10)

I told a friend that I was about to start reading a book with the title ‘How To Be Idle’ and there was a long and highly awkward pause.  ”Kim, why do you want to be an idol?”

Ah yes, why indeed?

I don’t want to be an idol, but I would like to more of an idler; to be leisurely with people, to know how to rest, and to be fully awake to all the world.  Like when we were here doing this…

I would also like my friend to get her hearing checked.

Our family watched this documentary this month.  We each gave it three thumbs up, for a total of eighteen hairy Hall thumbs.  It was riveting, and oh-so-maddening. I’ve rarely been more angry or upset during a whole film. What would you do if this happened to your family?

David and I rented this movie this weekend and have still not recovered.  I don’t know what else to say besides “Come quickly, LORD.”  Our bags are packed for Cambodia and Vietnam.  We cannot be silent, here in the land of the free and the brave.  I can’t shut my eyes without thinking of my own daughter in different circumstances.

Speaking of Asia, our family ate these last week.  Exuberant five stars awarded from me.  Everyone else thought they would rather eat poop.

There is no segue from poop, but David and I gave all Hall kids $2 when we were here to buy something interesting on the streets.  I know, I know, they are totally spoiled brats. Two whole bucks for an afternoon of fun!

This was $.50 worth of the lychees (not leeches) that I’ve already mentioned.  Did I also happen to mention that the inside looks like a human eyeball?

San Francisco on a shoe-string budget can be done, especially with hungry teenage boys and a spunky sister, who love an adventure through skinny back alleys and crowded foreign streets…

Next time you are in the City by the Bay, eat here and here for a cheap treat.

Peace to you, and yours this week as you eat, rest, explore, understand, and enjoy the little things together.  Here’s to being a little more idle, and a little less idol.

Kim and all the Halls