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So recently, due to obvious limitations in our life and because I want to try to reduce the load that my husband is carrying (uphill, I might add), I have a new interest… all things that can be delivered to your front door without breaking the bank. I am crazy-order-things-online girl these days, and I’ve gotta be honest - I’m addicted. Stephen is a little worried, I think (smile). Seriously though, you can save so much money if you shop around and compare prices… and for non-perishable things, buy in bulk (which is just smart in these here times we are livin’ in anyway). And it saves time and energy as well — so money, time, energy… these are things that need a savin’, yes?
So all that to say, I discovered something new that we are trying out, and I am very excited so I had to share – especially if you are in the Kansas City area. It’s called Door to Door Organics. They deliver (without charge, I might add) locally grown organic fruits and vegetables right to your door (here in Kansas City). You can sign up for different size boxes and the week before each delivery, they send you a list of the fruits and/or veggies in season that will be delivered to you that week. You can go online or call and change things out if you don’t like something too, and you can cancel or suspend your orders at any time. The prices are very competitive — around 50% less than buying the same things at Whole Foods – plus, you are supporting our local farmers.
Anyway, we are starting small and only every other week, so I’ll keep you updated on how we like it. So far, we are very impressed.
Please pray for us this week if you think of it. I’ve been very sick all week, and today (probably because of the weather) my body kind of freaked out too. My joints are barely movable and my neck is severely bad (I can’t move it back or side to side, and I have to have it stabilized by a neck brace to even stand the pain). So far, neither Stephen nor Noah have shown any signs of sickness – Praise God – so we are praying that they don’t get sick at all. For our family, it is really hard if Noah gets sick and almost impossible if Stephen does… just because of all the other circumstances.
Also, keep praying for baby Stellan and for Jennifer (MckMama) — they really need our prayers right now.
Okay so my beautiful – and way too far away, might I add – friend, Marla B, tagged me to write about a few of my husband’s favorite things… which will probably NOT include raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. Although, Stephen was basically born with an insatiable curiosity and wonder in creation and the Who behind it. From the stories both his mom and dad have told and even some of Stephen’s own memories, it seems as if he came from the womb with Romans 1:20 upon his lips.
So a few of Stephen’s favorite things. Okay, let’s see how well I know my husband’s heart…
Jesus.
When I met Stephen, he was pretty much tucked away and hidden in a corner of the prayer room. No one knew much about him… and, well, that was okay with him. He wasn’t the type to jockey for a position or search for a platform. (Oh how I loved that about him. I still do… he hasn’t changed at all.) Stephen had one agenda – to sit at His feet, to hear His voice, and to behold the beauty of the Lord found in the face of Christ. Since then, he may be a little more “known” and those days (good days - treasured days) of being hidden in the corner of the prayer room from dusk til dawn, with no one tapping him on the shoulder, no phone vibrating in his pocket, no emails to answer or sermons to prepare for… yeah, those days are a bit of a faint memory, but the man in the corner setting his heart on nothing less than the fullness of God found in Christ still remains. Jesus is most assuredly Stephen’s first love. There is no question about that. In secret when no one else is looking and even in the dry and barren wildernesses, I have beheld a man utterly undone by Love and a heart undeniably won by the reality and beauty of the God-man. Jesus is truly Stephen’s beginning and end. And that is why my heart is his.
By the way, that is really a picture of Jim Caviezel (the actor in the Passion of the Christ) pretending to be Jesus, but I figured maybe you’d be okay with it since I don’t have any current pictures of Jesus on my laptop.
So, after his first love, there is us:
Yup, me and Noah-bear. He kinda has a crush on me… truth be told. Seriously, Stephen loves me well (oh, books could be written about the truth of what I just wrote) - in just four (almost five) short years, he has had to love me through things that most people don’t experience until the end of their lives together. And he’s loved me like none of those things are even happening, but with the same desire and conviction (yet a much deeper knowing and love) that we had standing face to face on that glorious day when our lives became one before the Lord… “I choose you, I choose us… on the mountaintops and in the valleys, in prison and in freedom, in darkness and in the full light of day… until we see His face, and not by my own will but by His grace alone.”
And then there’s Noah…
From the minute Noah was born, he was Daddy’s boy. Noah cries when Stephen leaves the room and waits by the front door saying “Da da… Da da… Da da” over and over again when he knows he’s coming home. He wants Daddy to kiss his head if he gets hurt, and he memorizes and mimics everything that Daddy does. And never has there been a man so in love with his baby boy than Stephen is with Noah. And it was true from the moment he saw Noah’s little face. I have a hundred pictures just like the one above. The highlights of Stephen’s day are when Noah is in his arms… and when he was really little, he was in Daddy’s arms or on his chest or in his lap… A LOT. He still is, actually. We discovered when Noah was born that Stephen really loves brand new babies when they are all tiny and little and sweet (which is kind of rare, apparently, for the men-folk, but he does) — I think we would’ve started trying for number two right after Noah was born if it was only up to Stephen. Anyway, he loves pretty much everything Noah does… and he notices everything too. He takes it all in one day at a time, missing nothing about our little miracle growing up before our eyes. It’s beautiful really. Yep, just another reason WHY Stephen has my heart.
And then in third place there is:
Night and day prayer. It was at a conference in New York almost ten years ago, when Stephen first heard about a phenomenon where people were actually uprooting their lives and giving themselves to worship and prayer… night and day and day and night… on earth as it is in heaven. And I think he knew then – at least part of him did – that this was who he was and this was what he’d do while he was on the earth… and for all eternity actually. Stephen is an incredible teacher and a powerful preacher too… but at his very core, he’s an intercessor and a worshipper.
Hmmm, what’s next?
The mountains. We got engaged in the mountains of Colorado… married there too… and we go back almost every year. Stephen loves nature – I think it’s that Romans 1 thing I mentioned earlier. Before the Lord really got a hold of him, what he really wanted to do was become a park ranger. He did Outward Bound in high school, and most of you know he was a rock climber… before falling off the cliff, that is 
He’ll climb again though. Anyway, the beauty of creation moves his heart, whether mountains or rivers or oceans or meadows… he finds the Lord there.
And then there are the final four:
The Bible… of course. And especially his Bible, because it is marked by a very special color-coded highlighting system proving that my husband may in fact be a “mad Bible scientist.” So if you know of anyone that does book binding, let us know — because I have a feeling we will be re-binding this Bible for many years to come.
And books, books and more books. Especially books about Jesus (Christology) or really good and/or old mystical/devotional books, but really any theology book will do. We will soon be building an addition to our house just to store the fruit of this particular “love.” Um, that’s actually not a joke… ten more years and we will definitely have to a have a special room with lots and LOTS of built in shelves from the floor to the ceiling.
I am not a coffee drinker, so I sometimes don’t fully comprehend the depth of this love. But oh, it’s deep. And it’s real. And it’s here to stay, friends. And it must be the good kind in a whole bean – and the grinder must be good, the coffee pot (which he always wants to take with us on trips… coffee is serious business folks), the espresso machine, the barista – all must be the best because he’s all about the “superior” of the “lesser pleasures.”
Writing. Stephen loves to write. I think he was born to write. Some people are good writers and some people were made to write – this is where they find life. That’s Stephen. This is how he won my heart, actually. A story for another time. But if Stephen could do anything, I think he’d tuck himself away in the woods on a mountain somewhere with the Word, the Holy Three, some good coffee, and a pen.
And I should probably give a shout out to candles. It’s all about atmosphere. Lighting, fragrance, fire… it matters. It does. Very important. This is how ‘I really knew.’
I think it’s also very important to remember his favorite people like Matt and Bret and Allen… without whom, well… I can’t imagine he’d be the same. And of course, Mike.
Okay – I’m done. That was kinda fun. I like my husband a lot, so it was fun to write about him. It reminded me of all the wonderful-ness that is my Stephen. So THANKS Marla… and Magen (from whom this tag first originated, I believe).
Let’s see, I think I will tag the following people (but I won’t be offended if you don’t do it – just so you know):
CARRIE GANOVSKI, MARCI LEWELLEN, LAINIE MARTINEZ, AMY THOENNES, STEPHANIE EVANS, and RACHAEL NEAGLE
And whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens… brown paper packages tied up with string, these are a few of my favorite things!
You do know the song, right? Because if you don’t, you need to run, not walk, to your nearest dvd rental store and get yourself some “Sound of Music.” (I really do love brown paper packages tied up with string by the way… don’t you?)
So anyway, I was low on options with my own shower gel today (which is usually in abundant supply – don’t know what happened) so I grabbed Stephen’s Irish Spring stuff instead… and OH, the sheer wonder of it all. When the fragrance of Irish Spring with all its leafy minty Irish freshness hit the air around me, my affections were stirred and I was taken back to somewhere in my childhood where the Irish Springs were apparently plentiful. I suddenly remembered that I LOVED me some Irish Spring soap when I was a kid. Don’t ask me why? I have no idea… but you have to admit, if you have ever used it, that it is quite refreshing… kinda like “the fresh, clean feeling of the Irish countryside?”
Isn’t it weird how smells can stir up memories and affect your emotions like they do?
Anyway, for those of you who know me well, you know that I am the queen of fragrance. And for those of you who don’t know me well… well, I LOVE the fragrances. I LOVE them. I love candles and lotions and soaps and body sprays and plug-ins and anything that makes the world around me smell yummy.
So my Irish morning made me think of some of my favorite fragrant things (which I am now going to share with you whether you are interested or not):
There is nothing like the smell of a fresh rose… even better a walk through a rose garden after a spring rain…
and the smell of pine trees, the mountains, or a fresh cut Christmas tree standing in your living room…
the smell of rain in the mountains (truly nothing better)…
By the way, the above photo is by Gene Younger (who I do not know at all… I just “borrowed” this photo since it was online, so I am going to be sure to give this stranger credit so no one gets mad at me)
And then there are the things that come in packages (hopefully brown and tied up with string) like:
Yankee Candles. Oh, how I love thee. Let me count the ways… let’s see there’s lemon lavender, cherry lemonade, autumn wreath, fireside, greenhouse, midsummer’s night, sun and sand, harvest, mistletoe, jack frost, beach walk, dune grass, midnight cove… and my oh so glorious winter favorite, Christmas Eve. And if I’ve forgotten some (and I know I have), I do apologize, my dear, sweet Yankee friendlies.
The Henri Bendel FIREWOOD candle is simply AMAZING. ‘Nuf said.
We also love the Woodwicks… Amber Woods, Fireside and Redwood are recipients of our distinguished “fragrance of the Venable year” awards.
Okay, I could truly go on and on with wonderful fragrances. I haven’t even gotten to the smell-good lotions and such. But this post has taken way too long for a post about nothing that important, and I can no longer justify the time this is taking.
But if you have any fragrance suggestions or favorites to mention, I always love to know about yummy smell-goodness.
Okay… I need some opinions for those of you who like or use biodegradable cleaners in your home.
What are your favorite products (that aren’t insanely expensive)???
We use Method Tub-n-Tile for our bathroom and I really like it. It has a eucalyptus mint scent, which is my favorite part I think. (I’m such a smell person!) I don’t think it’s that great on the tub grime, but I am intense on things being really clean, so that may just be me. It’s not that much more than regular bathroom cleaners either.
We’ve also used some Seventh Generation stuff – dish soap and dishwasher detergent etc - which has been great, but haven’t ever tried their household cleaners.
Anyway, I’d love you guys’ input if you have any because I’m caring more and more each year about being earth friendly and of course, really care about being “kid friendly”… as well as just a lifestyle of simplicity (meaning don’t want it to cost a million dollars or have to drive 50 miles to purchase or have to squeeze 35 lemons to make my own household cleaner).
So favorites?
Yep, if you’ve seen the news, we had several tornadoes in KC last night. Around 7:30pm, several thunderstorms started popping up all over KC area… followed by tornado warnings. Our friends Matt and Dana were downtown for the National Day of Prayer and they made everyone go into a lower room without windows because of the warnings… but they were eventually able to get home safely in between storms. Stephen was putting Noah to bed upstairs and I was watching the weather when another tornado appeared pretty close to us… I was trying to decide whether or not I should go get the boys and head to the basement when the meteorologist showed a map and said, “right about here between Grandview and Belton around 71 and 150 highway intersection, you should take cover.” “Right about there” happens to be exactly where we live and then the sirens sounded so we went ahead and headed to the basement. There were some reports of a tornado that touched down but nothing was damaged in our neighborhood. Then at around 1-2am another ginormous storm came through. The winds were up to 80mph and it sounded like a freight train was driving through our house and we had lots of hail. It was crazy, but we were fortunate not to have any damage to home or trees or power lines… others in the city were not as fortunate. Up north, very close to my parents, there were several tornadoes and a lot of damage.
Anyway, just posting a blanket report that all is totally fine at the Venable homestead (and at my parents), because some have emailed and called.
Help the BITE BACK campaign to provide insecticide-treated bed nets to children enrolled in Compassion’s programs.
Children are hit the hardest by malaria – a disease that can keep them from school several weeks a year and weaken their bodies in the process. If untreated, malaria can spread to the brain and quickly kill a child. Right now, malaria kills 3,000 children a day, and nearly every child in sub-Saharan Africa will contract malaria once this year.
Biting back is easy. Just $10 will purchase one insecticide-treated bed net and distribute it to someone who needs it and teach that person how to use it
You can save a life!
Hey All -
This Friday, April 25, is World Malaria Day. Through the Bite Back campaign with Compassion, you can give a one-time donation of just $10 and provide a mosquito net for a child or an entire family who might otherwise have no protection from this completely preventable disease. That $10 will also provide education and treatment for people who are already sick with malaria. I just wanted to let you all know about this opportunity to give… wouldn’t it be awesome if even a few Venable blog readers clicked on the link above and made a difference in a child’s life?!
And while you’re at it… I would encourage you to consider sponsoring a child with Compassion. We have committed financially and prayerfully to a young boy named Kanyike for many years (most of his life) and it has been such an honor to know him, to pray for him and support him, to watch him grow up and to be able to sow into his life in such a simple yet profound way as a family.
– Karli
I was tagged by my friend Marla to tell 7 random or weird facts about me… as my sweet husband said, “it is going to be hard to narrow it down to seven,” but I’ll try my best.
1) I am really still a 5-year-old little girl in my heart. I’m not sure I ever really grew up. Examples… let’s see… When Stephen and I were in California, we walked into a candy store filled with everything from cotton candy to caramel apples to salt water taffy, just every kind of candy you can imagine (walls and walls of it). We walked in the door and my eyes got very big, my jaw dropped, and with every fiber of my being I released a “WOW! This is the most amazing place I’ve ever been!” That place really was amazing! When I am sick, I want all the things I wanted when I was five… from food to medicine (like vapor rub) to drinks. When I’m well, for that matter, I like all the same things as I did as a five-year old. I REALLY, really love presents – when I get a present, like on Christmas morning, I don’t feel any different than I did when I was five… it’s still the most exciting thing ever (although now I feel more grateful AND giving a present evokes the same feelings in me). I love lots and lots of Christmas decorations… even those silly blow up things that make lots of noise in people’s yards (I wouldn’t have one in my yard, but secretly I think they’re cool.) When I go to buy a toy for Noah or one of my friends’ children, I must first spend time playing with all the toys in the toy aisle… you know, you gotta see if they will actually be fun. The list could go on and on… maybe this should have been all seven?
2) I wake up with a different song in my head EVERY morning, and I have for as long as I can remember. Today it was “Servant of All” by my friend Misty. But sometimes it’s a random song like for some reason the other day it was “Surfin USA” by the Beach Boys – now tell me WHERE DID THAT COME FROM? I know not. But as faithful as the sunrise, there will be a random song in my head when I wake up tomorrow.
3) When I was little, I used to think that EVERYTHING had feelings… including things like doors or cabinets… e.g. I would say “I’m sorry” if I slammed a door too hard. I definitely thought all my toys were alive… (TOY STORY was totally stolen from my childhood experience, by the way). And to be very honest (this kind of goes with #1 above), I still sometimes feel bad if I pick up a stuffed animal or something like that at the store and then put it back on the shelf… as if I’ve rejected it. I really have to think, “Ok, Karli, this is just a stuffed animal… it’s not real.” Usually, I just end up buying it anyway
4) I like to make up songs for random experiences of the day. Before I got married, only the Lord got to enjoy these little spontaneous diddies. Then Stephen discovered my odd habit while we were dating (hopefully after we were engaged) when a song accidentally slipped out while we were driving down the road together. Noah enjoys this quirk very much – it’s the kind of thing that works for one year olds. By the way, every so often, Stephen does it now too (sorry babe, I spilled the beans!)
5) I can’t listen to an entire CD or really even an entire song at one time… and I usually read random chapters in no particular order of multiple books that interest me instead of reading one book front to back (I sometimes even read the ending first). This one drives Stephen crazy – he is the exact opposite. One time, Stephen, Shane B. and I were driving from Austin to KC together and Shane is a lot like me in this way. So the whole way to KC (which is a lot of hours), I’m pretty sure we NEVER listened to an entire song start to finish AND we even switched cd’s after each half-song too… and then, of course, put all the cd’s in the wrong cases. Stephen thought he was going to lose his mind
By the way – the above is why I think the ipod is the best invention ever.
6) If I could do anything (that I can’t do now), I would want to be a runner (in the Olympics or just run in marathons or even across the country like Forrest Gump) and/or I’d want to be a member of a really amazing Black Gospel Choir. I LOVE choirs.
7) Last but not least… I never get idioms right. You’ll have to ask Stephen for stories. An example is “half of one and a dozen of the other.” I know that’s not right, though I couldn’t tell you how it really goes. I really do try to get them right in my head before I speak them, but that usually makes it worse. In my defense, my mom does the same thing… so I either inherited it (some sort of idiom malfunction gene) OR I just heard them said the wrong way my whole life so how would I know?
So there you have it. Now you know how quirky I really am… well, I only had to list seven things, so you don’t really know.
