OUR GATHERING BOOK

A Family Commonplace

For generations, many people have kept a commonplace book. A place for words, ideas, observations, and for memories and moments they did not want to forget. A passage from a story, a recipe passed down, a poem discovered, something noticed in nature, a question asked around a table, or a quotation someone wants to remain close.

Our family has had versions of a commonplace book over the years. Our Gathering Book here grows from this tradition of noticing and keeping.

And what is written down is worth returning to. To remember the gifts God has given. To look back on all that God has done, and to pause to see what He might be doing now. Then to thank God and offer all things back to Him.

Come see what we have gathered. You may find something here to keep as well.
Even If No One Sees
Even If No One Sees
The other day, while walking along a familiar road, I noticed a little gathering of asters growing at the edge of the pavement. They were tucked among dry grasses and... Read more...
November Leaves
November Leaves
One autumn, the weight of the world felt particularly heavy on my shoulders, so in an effort to take back one small inch of ground, I set out to make... Read more...
Gingerbread Goats
Gingerbread Goats
For several years when my children were little, we had the opportunity to spend time on a nearby farm on the central coast of California. The three of us always... Read more...
Pumpkin Apple Day
Pumpkin Apple Day
It began when my husband and I were dating. One autumn day, we chose a local pumpkin patch and each picked out a pumpkin. At my small apartment in Capitola-by-the-Sea,... Read more...
The Penny Pumpkin
The Penny Pumpkin
This memory still delights me after many years. We tried to grow a garden on our property in La Selva Beach, California. This little pumpkin just about made up the... Read more...
Pencil on Paper
Pencil on Paper
There are drawings scattered around our house these days. A pinecone and an evergreen sprig. A milkweed pod. Two little mugs. Grasses growing beside an old fence post. My son... Read more...
Holding Both
Holding Both
Yesterday I noticed one of the crape myrtle trees in our side yard is beginning to show the colors of the season at the door. What struck me though is... Read more...
Back to One
Back to One
We were walking down to the sea when my little boy stopped beside a fallen tree. The trunk had been cut through, leaving its rings in view. He knelt beside... Read more...
The Camera in Her Hands
The Camera in Her Hands
Once upon a time, I was the photographer in our house. For several years, mostly as a hobby, I took family photographs, usually for people I knew, and always, of... Read more...