Christmas Letter 2017

Dec. 24, 2017


Dear Friends,

Here I am again, writing this letter at the last minute and will have to send online at this point. My mind has been on too many other projects and for awhile, I thought maybe it would not hurt to miss a year doing this letter. But I’ve been writing a Christmas letter since 1991 and I guess for me alone, it’s an annual summary journal of sorts - why stop now, right?  Heck, I might make a book out of these sometime.

To summarize the year, well, if you’re on Facebook,  you know my big focus this year as been “the bakery.”  I bought a building...more than five years ago now...in downtown Carterville for lots of reasons, one of them being that I just thought our town needed a bakery and cafe.  I also wanted the challenge of designing and renovating a bakery.

Rise Above It Bakery & Cafe is what I call “the tiny building that could.”  We have jumped so many hurdles, for those helping me with this venue.  We’ve also endured so many challenges along the way that were discouraging and sometimes knock the breath out you, honestly.  So many times this year, I thought to myself, “Why on Earth are you still pursuing this project and did I make a wrong turn somewhere?”

But for all those challenges and doubt, I have received twice as much encouragement and enthusiasm from the community.  Likely because I am taking so long in getting it done, so the teaser effect builds excitement...unintentionally.  I think it is mainly because I love to repurpose and for everything to tell a story, so I’ve incorporated architectural salvage from Carterville schools that are no longer in existence, multiple barns from the area, unique items like the glass case from Hampton Drug Store that everyone loved back in the day, etc.  Then, like I am the host of a History Channel show, I have fun with promoting these things on the bakery’s Facebook page, telling the history of it and engaging the community.

Much like Stone Soup, the children’s book, I find that there is not much to this building without the contributions of unique items like this, much of which was offered to me from the community.  And the more I seem to use repurposed items, the more I get responses such as, “You know, I have some hardwood flooring from Heckel’s Furniture Store if you could use it” or someone else might say, “Hey, I bought one of the doors at the high school because I couldn’t see it being destroyed, I’ll send you a photo if you can use it.”

One day, a former Carterville resident that grew up in town and was here visiting, simply knocked on the front door and handed me a $100 bill to go towards my renovation project, telling me he appreciated the improvements that I was making to downtown.  Wow, I was so taken a back by his kindness and how he insisted that I take his gift towards my efforts.

The challenge, of course, is doing all of this while having a full-time, busy job and also wanting to do so much of it myself.  So often, people ask, “When are you opening?” which is fine,  but it reminds

me of parents driving to a vacation spot, taking a scenic back road and kids in the back asking, “Are we there yet?”  For me, I’ve suffered through the non-creative part - structure improvements, plumbing, insulating, concrete (no offense, brother), electrical, etc.  The design part has been in my head for a long time - this is the discovery of the back roads journey before getting to the destination for me.  While I’m ready more than anyone to get this bakery open, I do love this stage of the renovation process.

In addition to the design, for me what I love is the branding of this space.  I had the name, “Rise Above It” a long time ago and it was inspired from a situation where I really feel like God was telling me to not worry about the current circumstance, you can rise above this, I have something better planned.  The name plays well with, of course, bakery/yeast items rising and also the repurpose element that things can rise again to another purpose. 

Which leads me to this - and eventually the Christmas point.  My sister will be running this bakery, as she is gifted for this sort of thing.  Most of you know, she also has a successful catering business and a salad dressing that we bottled this year, which seems to create an addiction for people.

The bakery will be the perfect venue for her creativity and for people to purchase her dressing (and future products).  But we both hope that it is more than just a little bakery.  We hope people are inspired not just by the design or food, but by a positive experience and energy that we hope to present.  For example, I’m working on the wall hangings which will be old photos that stir up fond memories, but also quotes that remind us all of what is important.

And I find that I continue to choose quotes with the words to “be kind” in it.  It is unintentional, but when I lay them all out, I was sort of amused of how many times I had the word “kind” in the quote.  And honestly, most of us don’t even want to pay attention to the news anymore; it really has become a crazy world.  Yet I noticed that I have also probably heard the word “kind” the most this year than any other, because there are efforts in schools, communities, social networks, etc. that are trying to promote the positive, of doing good and to encourage people to be kind to one another (you can even hear Ellen say it when I type this)...because let’s face it - the world needs it.  It reminds me, also, of the kind gesture during this renovation process, when I found this shirt and note on my windshield after working another night at the bakery and after losing my Uncle Kay (one of the coolest men that I will ever know and one that I really wish could be here to enjoy this bakery).  A friend had a shirt made with a quote that I mentioned on Facebook and it was a random act of kindness the fueled my energy once more.

Now the Christmas part...Titus 3; 1 - “Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to slander no one, to avoid fighting, AND TO BE KIND, always showing gentleness to all people.”  Then he reminds us that basically - we have not been perfect and were once foolish, then goes on to say, “But when the KINDNESS of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us - not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to His mercy - through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit.  He poured out this Spirit on us abundantly through Jesus Christ Our Savior so that, having been justified by His grace, we may become heirs with the hope of eternal life.”  Rest of the chapter is good also, by the way.

The point - Christmas may mean many things to us, but ultimately, it is about one thing - God’s gift to us, his ultimate act of kindness, by giving us His son Jesus, born to us and later would die for us.

Christmas also reminds me that God’s gift to me was also providing each of you into my life.  Distance and busy schedules can make it inconvenient and sometimes even impossible; but we can’t let that keep us for continuing to make memories together.  I hope your path leads to our bakery sometime when it opens and I’ll make a tour itinerary for any of you, because after all, I have experience in finding a trail to some hidden, backroad gems. :)  Heck, maybe I need to brand a Rise Above It Trail - lol.

Kindness keeps the fuel going for more kindness by others.  It’s a good reminder for us all in 2018.

Merry Christmas and hope to see you guys soon; over a donut and coffee. :)


Jennifer