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The Turquoise Table

Kristin Schell

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in Conversations· The Turquoise Table

Queso and God

I really wanted my 2018 Word to be queso. I’ve long contended the answer to world peace must lie in a bowl of queso and salty tortilla chips. Living out a year of queso wouldn’t be easy, but I was fully prepared to surrendered myself to the job.

#bodybyqueso Can I get an amen?

Despite the potential for world peace, and for reasons related to cholesterol and girth, I was forced to reconsider a year of queso quotidian.

I pondered “flawsome.” I love made-up words. Flawsome — part flawed, part awesome — felt well, flawsome. Anna told me the word sounded like something a dentist would say, “floss ’em!” The homophone, which caused me to sit in the sin of my disobedience to the daily oral hygiene routine, was clearly not going to work out for me.

With queso and flawsome off the table, I searched in earnest for a word. I journaled, doodled, looked up roots, studied Latin, Greek, and Hebrew origins of contenders. Old man Webster and I did some serious time together.

All.the.words. My mind was a wordle of possibilities.

Around Christmas, I pondered the word “presence.” Presence is from the old French meaning “being at hand” or “being alongside.” Digging deeper I uncovered synonyms that got me all jazzed up — being, existence, company, related to “people”, nearness, front, proximity, companionship.

Seriously, could there be a better word than presence for the mission of the Turquoise Table?

As hard as it is to give up on the dream of queso and flawsome, I declared my 2018 Word: PRESENCE. I committed to the word by spelling it thoughtfully in turquoise ink across the pages of my 2018 Powersheets and Write the Word journal.

Done. Check. Score one for me!

On New Year’s Day, I woke up stressed. Who does that? Our New Year’s Eve celebration was dreamy. Snow flurries & fireworks ushered in the new year. The house was warm and quiet, I was the first to pitter patter down the stairs in 2018. My head was spinning, sadly not from champagne, but from all.the.things.

I made coffee, cracked open my journal with hope that starting the new year in scripture would help clarify presence, because the last thing I was feeling was present. All I wanted to do was pull the covers back over my head.

I dove in to Day One of New Morning Mercies by Paul David Tripp. {Hint: GET THIS DEVOTIONAL}

The very first words I read got all up under my skin and slapped me wide awake into 2018.

 

At the risk of sounding dim, might I say, “duh.” But, these Godward words gobsmacked me.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.

My word is God.

Yep. Sure is. And, I’m pretty sure it’s the real deal this time. I mean, how else can you explain going from queso to flawsome to God?

As I look back up at the confusion of all.the.words I feel peace and present.

Seriously, could there be a better word than God for the mission of the Turquoise Table?

Pretty sure there will be queso, too.

Happy New Year, friends.

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Filed Under: Conversations, The Turquoise Table Tagged With: conversations, faith, The Turquoise Table; Front Yard People

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Comments

  1. AvatarMary Holloway says

    at

    The theme for United Methodist Women this year is Sacred Spaces – Encounters with God and Neighbor! That’s my theme for the year at The Turquoise Table.

    Reply
    • AvatarKristin says

      at

      Mary — WHA?? Love it! We will have to continue to encourage each other. So grateful for you. Kristin

      Reply

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Meet Kristin

Welcome! I'm so glad you're here.

I'm on a mission to love my neighbors. I put an ordinary picnic table in my front yard, painted it turquoise and invited neighbors, friends, and even strangers to hang out and do life together at the Turquoise Table®.

I hope you'll join us!

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Quick trip to our happy place. #estespark #rockymo Quick trip to our happy place. #estespark #rockymountains
Happy Easter! 🐣🐇 ✝️ Happy Easter! 🐣🐇 ✝️
My little Valentine turns 18!! 🥰💕❄️ Happ My little Valentine turns 18!! 🥰💕❄️ Happy birthday @ellieeschell We love you so much!
Looks like we’ll be snowed in this Valentine’s Looks like we’ll be snowed in this Valentine’s Day! Between quarantine and ice our 💕 plans will feel a bit different this year! 

That won’t keep us from celebrating our #1 Valentine who turns 18 on Sunday! And since I’m feeling nostalgic I’ve rounded up some of our recipes from celebrations past! I bet you find something to make your Valentine’s Day sweet. (Link to recipes in profile)

If you’re in the mood for some serious 💗 inspiration I’d like to introduce you to some extra special and super creative friends! 

@teresa.swanstrom.anderson 
@orangegrovecorner 
@eryn_whalen_online 
@linenandcake 

I’ll be sharing their valentine inspiration in stories through the day! 

In the meantime, I’m grateful for:

grocery store tulips 🌷 
take out 🍱 
upside down pineapple 🍍 birthday cake
homemade valentines 💌
neighbors who bring sweet treats 🍰 

What does your Valentine weekend look like?

#celebratehome #valentinesday #birthday #valentines #chocolatecake #milkshake #celebrate
Have you ever had pashka? A sweet friend from chur Have you ever had pashka? A sweet friend from church — who I haven’t seen in person in ONE solid year— just delivered this traditional Russian dessert. She said she hasn’t hosted a gathering in so long she decided to pull out all her heart molds and make a favorite dessert to surprise her friends.

💕🍰

What a special way to offer hospitality during Covid. I feel sooooo loved and my family will go nuts! 

Now I’m thinking of what I miss making for guests that I can whip up and deliver this weekend. 🚐💌 

What do you miss making? What if we all dropped off some sweet love to someone we miss this Valentine’s Day?!? 💗🥰
💕 Sunday funday making Valentine cards for heal 💕 Sunday funday making Valentine cards for healthcare workers in our community. Our church is collecting Love Letters to send to one of our local hospitals. Such a great idea, right? 

🥰 💌

There’s plenty of time to make some cards and let people in your neighborhood know they are loved! 

#valentines #frontlineworkers #healthcareworkers #love #neighbors #community
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