Summer letter of Newsie-things
For starters….wedding pic— cuz how fun is it to get dressed up and celebrate a wedding together:) Congrats Sorelle and Udenze!
So, I decided to do a little update on all the things——The Spacious Place podcast, as well as a little update on this season, especially for those of you who don’t know me up close and personally and who may not have a social media account.
First off, thank you so much for your interest/engagement with the Spacious Place. It means the world to me to have you enter into this space that was hard won and feels so sacred to me. (Listen to some of the beginnings of the Spacious Place Podcast if you’re wondering what the heck that means:). There are quite a few things happening with me, in this space, that I wanted to let you in on.
But first, a little update on us…
We are wrapping up summer here in Central Oregon and have begun to experience all things retirement. The move to Sunriver that we’d been praying through and longing for, are now our current reality.
Hallelujah!!
We set out our dream of retirement in the middle of the world’s shutdown from the Covid-19 virus. This shutdown, (that we thought would probably be a week or two) made it possible for us to spend 5 months of 2020 in our cute little vacation cottage in Central Oregon and it was while we were here, welcoming our family for visits as they too were working from home, that we stopped and sat with the question of what we wanted our lives to look like. This pause, although not how we would have chosen, turned out to be a gift that would be the invitation to something new.
Something different.
This slowing down gave us time to pay attention to ourselves. To notice what was happening in us in a new way, apart from our usual daily routines. We realized that we’d been running at a rapid pace, one without much room for noticing the little gifts of life that sprinkle our days, just waiting to be enjoyed, and knew we wanted to create something different for our lives in the second season of life as 50-somethings.
This, along with a few books that we both decided to read together, led us to the decision to take early retirement and make the move to Central Oregon.
But, as excited as we were for the idea of a looser schedule and a move to a city where the sun truly shines every day, we also knew it was a ‘not yet’ dream. It was something we would have to continue to lay before the Lord and ask for wisdom and guidance on and allow the clock to continue to move on our age. (Mike would need to wait for his 55th birthday in order to step into early retirement).
This time of waiting, although frustrating at times, turned out to be a gift to us. There were a lot of ducks to get in a row, if you will, and this 2 1/2 year waiting period helped as we did that. And at the same time was frustrating. We found ourselves saying more times than we can count, “Man, I just wish it was here already”.
Can you relate???
There’s more to tell to this story, but for now I’ll just say, those dreams that you have in your heart are not ‘too’ anything. They’re pieces of your heart that are worth listening to, and worth writing down. Worth taking to the Throne of Grace and worth sharing with the people in your life who know you and love you. And even if they are ‘not yet’, they still have a way of infusing our mundane days with hope. Dreams remind us that this isn’t all there is—-there’s always more!
Ephesians 3:20 says: Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.
In The Message version it reads like this:
God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.
I just love that! His Spirit working deeply and gently.
**sigh**
So, on top of a big move, so far we have two new grand babes that were born this summer!!! (there’s one more coming the first part of October:)
On July 28 Paige, Matt and Winnie welcomed Bristol Banks to the family!
This is Bristol at 6 weeks. Are you kidding me, right now?!!! So adorable!
Bristol weighed 9 lbs 3 oz and came super fast. Mom and babe are doing great—-she’s absolutely adorable and we love her so much in just the short 6 weeks she’s been here. In August, the 4 of them were able to come down for a visit for a couple of weeks, which gave us time to spend time together and bond with baby girl! We’re just so grateful for that:)
Here’s a pic of Big Sis Winnie, rockin her role well! Check out that precious little hand holding that itty bitty other precious hand.
Winnie also became best friends with our neighbor’s little guy, Griffin. It was so fun watching them play together!
I mean, come on!!! Why are 3 year olds so dang cute?!!
Shortly after Paige and fam headed home, on September 1, Andrew and Courtney welcomed their first little precious babe, Davey June to the family!
Isn’t she absolutely beautiful?!!!
Davey weighed 7lbs 10 oz—— she’s a total combo of Andrew and Court and it’s been so fun to watch them step into this new season as a family of 3! Court did great delivering her first babe and we think she’s perfect! The 3 of them are headed down for an extended stay later this month and we couldn’t be more excited about it!!
We are just loving the additions to our family and look forward to all the times of connection we’ll have in the future. Baby #3 is almost here and we can’t wait to get our hands on him/her. (they decided to keep it a surprise!)
Over the course of the summer, we’ve had lots of back and forth up north and on our last visit we got to spend time with Brooks and Riley, our oldest grand kiddos, and it was SO FUN!!! We went to breakfast together, played at Point Ruston, in Tacoma, and walked and talked, holding hands for hours. My heart was bursting with joy!
How fun is this bike thing?!!!
In addition to all our trips back up north, we’ve had lots of visitors down here this summer, and we’ve just loved sharing our little place with so many loved ones. Now that it’s just the two of us here again, we’re in the middle of a major bathroom remodel. haha
I’m super excited for this next bath to be finished and you can be sure I’ll be showing you pics on social media~
Now for a little update about The Spacious Place…
If you’re a regular listener to TSP Podcast, you know that I announced in June that I’d be taking the summer off from podcasting. This was my first break from the weekly output of podcasting in two years. During this time, I’ve given myself room to navigate all the changes that this transition in our life is ushering in (cue, some tears), as well as time to rest, pray and play! The decision to do this was not an easy one, but as I contemplated it, I realized that rest is an invitation from God and one that I could either press through and pretend that I was stronger than God (who rested), or I could say yes to this invitation and watch for what He would do. Turns out, God knows what He’s talking about:). Just a few short weeks into resting thing I realized how important it would be for me! Not as easy as I thought, but great nonetheless.
I’ve also realized that the rhythm of less, can be hard.
It’s not as easy as it may sound, and it takes time to continue to reenter into this space and allow it to do its sacred work. Needless to say, I’m still figuring this rhythm out and probably will continue to do so til eternity:)
As I have experienced more and more freedom and opportunity to live in the wide open spaces that God makes possible for me, I absolutely love the opportunity to share it with any who will listen. That’s what I love about social media and the podcast, as well as this blog!
And here’s the thing, along with the podcast, I’ve got some new ideas that are rolling around in my heart and mind. Things that are going to push me to new places. Things that are going to stretch me and grow me and encourage me to live by faith in new ways.
And I’m nervous AND excited.
You see, we are usually not living in one space at a time. Life is just not that clean. There are usually multiple things we are holding at the same time. (This, in itself, was a new way of being I had to learn was possible, and have been practicing it ever since.)
So, if you’re interested in what’s coming next, be sure to stay tuned and follow me on Instagram @karilevang or Facebook. And if you haven’t subscribed to my website yet (where this blog is:), I’d love it if you did —and I promise not to inundate you with emails. I would also love prayer for us as we continue to navigate this new season that we chose, and yet has some hard pieces as well. Moving means new everything—-new space, new people, new church,….well, you get the idea. And as much as I love me a new adventure, it can sure be hard at times.
All of this to say, I am so so grateful for all of you! Thanks for hanging in there with me AND, I look forward with anticipation for what this next season will bring for our family and for The Spacious Place podcast and all that God is inviting us into next!
Grace and Peace
xo