The Circle link-up // coffee date

Happy Saturday, friends! I am excited for today! First off, I had a wonderful Skype w/tea chat session with one of my favorite bloggers, Natalie Grimm from Heart Stirrings, followed by a long jog (well, "long" for me at least), and now am finally getting around to joining the fab ladies of The Circle (hosted by two of my faves: Kiki and Amy) for this month's link-up which is a blog coffee date. The task: grab a cup o' joe at your favorite coffee shop and answer the posted questions to help other bloggers from The Circle community get to know you better. I loved the idea and look forward to checking out some of the other gals' coffee date posts to dive a bit deeper into their lives over a cup of something yummy. 

Grab a mug, tea cup, or glass of something delish and let's chat!

1. Where are you seated (near the counter, near the window, near the door, against the wall)? 

Well I have a confession to make before we start; I didn't bring you to my favorite  coffee shop. Nope. And really, that mug in front of you? It's not coffee (oops!). Call me a rebel (especially since I've lived in the two coffee capitals of USA), but I prefer a cup of tea to calm me down and help me open up with a friend rather than coffee (it gets my hyped up and anxious; nobody's got time for dat!). And after spending a majority of my master's program borrowing wi-fi from various coffee shops in Seattle a few years ago, I have taken a long pause from them altogether. Honestly, I don't miss the noise (I could never focus on what a friend was saying anyway because I get distracted easily by all the people around us) or the smell (it lingers on my clothes all day). So instead, my favorite place to bring a friend to catch-up is the comfort of my very own dining nook in my apartment. Ever since I moved in 1.5 years ago, I hoped that this apartment would be a safe place where friends can open up, be encouraged, and leave more joyful than when they arrived. It is my hope that in 2014 I strive harder to make this a reality by inviting more friends over. So, to start the year off right, here YOU are, friend! :)

2. What are you sipping/munching on? 

I am sipping on Paris tea by Harney & Sons, which I paired up with my favorite French mug.

3. What do you want to get off your chest first (can be as deep as you want)?

I am excited for a new year. I have never taken this kind of introspective approach to setting goals like I have in the past weeks through Lara Casey's goal-setting series [see the posts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6], but it has truly planted a joyful expectation for 2014. I do not know what this year has in store for me or the ones around me, but I am determined to delight in it regardless of what may come or how different it may look compared to how I would like it to look. 

4. If you could choose anyone (besides us of course) who would you have a coffee with?  

Elisabeth Elliot. I absolutely love the way she teaches women Biblical truths and applies them to various areas such as femininity, careers, purity, marriage, rearing and education children, mission work, and grieving lost ones. She has spent her whole adult life serving others whether in Ecuador (where she worked with the very tribe that killed her husband, Jim Elliot), writing over twenty books, speaking at conferences and schools internationally, and being a mom and grandma. Whenever I read her books or hear her speak through podcasts, I am encouraged by her life and legacy. She defines Christian femininity by example.

[My favorite books Elisabeth Elliot: Keep a Quiet Heart; Let Me Be A Woman; These Strange Ashes; Passion & Purity; Discipline: The Glad Surrender; Be Still My Soul; The Path of Loneliness; A Chance to Die: The Life & Legacy of Amy Carmichael And check here for some of her teachings and here for some of her quote on pinterest]

5. What is inspiring you lately?

Other bloggers sharing their prayerfully planned-out goals, stories of women who make a mark on their community for Jesus' glory and to the good of those around them, French cottage furnishings, running longer than I have been able to for several months, bloggers who post heart-stirring and thought-provoking posts, beautiful photography [especially of beautiful nature or historic architecture]

6. What are your plans after coffee?

Put away laundry, transfer my journaled goals onto the Lara Casey powersheets that recently arrived (they're so pretty and get me pumped for goal-setting in an unashamingly dorky way), and then heading to one my my brothers' basketball games and taking him out to dinner afterwards for some brother-sister time together!

Alright, it's your turn! How would you answer these questions? Consider joining The Circle this month for a coffee date!