Re-read The Charmed Life by Jenny B Jones

this week and it was just what I needed.  

Easy, quirky, and cozy.

So much has happened in the past few weeks, but we are finding ourselves, slowly but surely getting back to a semblance of a schedule.  And for that I am so thankful.

Every summer it seems like we have some sort of wildlife show up to our house.  (we have had foxes, opossums, raccoons, turtles, and snakes (ICK)...and the list goes on and on)

Last year a Carolina Wren built a nest in my potted plants right by our front door, a mommy and daddy duck splashed around on our street for about a month, and hawks, an owl, and some turkey vultures made an appearance.  This year the ducks (I am not exactly sure it's the same ducks, but in my mind it is the exact same ducks 😁) made a cameo for one day only and a pair of brown thrasher's are currently living in our front yard area.  I know they are territorial and can be aggressive - but so far ours are just funny.  They haven't chased off any other wildlife or bothered the other birds building nests nearby.  

Hopefully it will stay that way.  

I have been thinking a lot about surrender these past few weeks.  And how hard it is, but how it blankets your soul in only a peace God can give - surrendering to His way - His timing - His outcome. The peace isn't always a feeling or a relief from your grief, anxiety, fear, or sadness, but it is a certainty - that God has you and has this, and somehow, someway it will all be ok.  So although the feeling of peace doesn't always follow obedience, the certainty of it does.

So much of life is mundane, that we seem genuinely shocked when life suddenly changes - at least I am.  Even with our unpredictable days and the chaos hard days can bring, it still jolts me when things suddenly change - and I am (again!) reminded that I do not and can not control anything.  Every moment that I thought I had things under control, it was just an illusion.   

May was horrible...

I am so glad that we are bidding this month good-bye.  We are just now celebrating one of our daughter's birthdays this weekend and it feels good to say "good-bye May".  We hope when you come around again next year, that it is with gentler tidings and better memories.  I am thankful that we survived this month, but I would not want to re-live it.

I re-read/re-listened to two books this week - The Princess Companion by Melanie Cellier and So Not Happening by Jenny B Jones.    I find such comfort in re-reading and re-listening (and re-watching).

I am working my way through a John MacArthur study on the book of James right now, and it is coming at the perfect time.  God is so incredibly faithful.

Hope you guys have a great weekend. 💖

Calm My Anxious Heart

by Linda Dillow

This book was originally published in 1998 and was somewhat hard to find.  I finally found a used copy that someone with a VERY bright yellow highlighter owned.  

Years ago, when we first began homeschooling, a mom shared the following quote on a blog post (and it cited this book as the source, which was what originally drew me to the title) :

Never allow yourself to complain about anything - not even the weather.

Never picture yourself in any other circumstance or someplace else.

Never compare your lot with another's.

Never allow yourself to wish this or that had been otherwise.

Never dwell on tomorrow - remember that (tomorrow) is God's, not ours. 

I was intrigued by these precepts and copied them down.  But then life unfolded, and I forgot about the book.  And then last year, another special needs mom recommended the title again so I pulled it out and put it on my TBR shelf with plans to read it soon.  

This past week was the perfect time for me to read this, and I am so glad that I did.  

I highly recommend tracking down a copy of this book (I just checked and not only is it now available on k!ndle, @m@zon also offers it in paperback - NEW!  I guess it was re-printed in 2020, which is awesome!)  

Lynette Eason

Have you ever read any books from this author?  She is a fantastic Christian suspense author.  I really enjoy (most) of her books.

This week I finished book three A Killer Among Us, from the Women of Justice series.  I did not read book one, book two was a bit too creepy for my liking (but I did push through and finish it), and I am glad I gave book three a chance.  It was much better than book two.

Have a great weekend. 

Two books this year and that shifted everything...

There are two books, the BEST books I have read in a very, very long time (probably since Insanity of God).  Both have been recommended/gifted by the same friend and both have met me right where I needed them to meet me.  

Some people have that gift, they can read a book and just know who should read it next.  

My friend Tiffany has that gift. 

The first book was, of course, Theo of Golden.  

The second book : Even If He Doesn't by Kristen LaValley.  This book is SO, so, SOOOOO good.  

If you are going through a hard season (we seem to be perpetually parked in the middle of hard) or if you know/love/support someone who is - you NEED to read this book.  

This is SUCH an important book on how to suffer well.  How to pray well.  How to live well.  Especially when you do NOT understand why it's so hard.  

If you are only hanging on to your faith by the tips of your fingernails - you HAVE to read this book.  

Or if you simply want to love someone well through their hard, you need to read this book.  

It is so beautiful, so rich, deep, and comforting.  

I cannot recommend this book enough.  

Yummy coffees and good reads

I am normally a hot coffee gal through and through.  But my youngest loves coffee as much (if not more than) I do and she prefers iced coffees.  Lately we have perfected an iced mocha here at home that is SO, SO good. 

I read book two in Lynette Eason's series (Extreme Measures) called Crossfire.  I enjoyed it EVER so much more than book one.  I really liked Julianna and Dottie, the author did a good job of nailing down the creepy aspect of the mystery, while simultaneously capturing the challenges and vulnerabilities those with mental illness face on a daily basis, and the details she provides with her stories are top notch and engaging.

I am reading a book a friend of mine recommended, called Even If He Doesn't by Kristen LaValley.  I am not quite done with it yet, but OH MY GOODNESS, this book is SO, so, SO good.  One of my favorite quotes comes at the very beginning of the book (actually it's in the author's note):

"If you compare your pain to someone else's and find yours to be greater, you diminish their suffering.  If you compare your pain and find theirs to be greater, you diminish your own.  And who can really scale the weight of suffering?  I certainly can't."

I cannot tell you how many times I have shared that we are having a hard day and been told "well at least your girls don't have ____, or at least you don't experience ______..." Nothing feels more isolating than to try and share your hard with those who are closest to you and to be shut down by comparing your load with someone else's.  In the moments when I am struggling I do not want to be compared to someone else.  That does NOT provide perspective, it shuts down communication and sharing.   

As I am reading, I (to my shame) realize how frequently I jump to conclusions on why God is allowing something to unfold and why (or why He doesn't) move in that situation in a certain way.  The truth is, none of us can be 100% sure why God allows what He allows, we can only be 100% of Who He Is.  His character is the anchor, not the outcome.  

I am about halfway through this and so far 100% recommend this book.  You have either walked through suffering, are walking through it, or will walk through it in the future - so this is a book you will want to read and re-read.  💖

random tidbits

First - I read two books this past week - Vow of Justice (book 4 in the Blue Justice series) and Life Flight (book one in Extreme Measures series).  Both of these books are by Lynette Eason.  

I enjoyed the Blue Justice series overall (although I wish I had skipped book two).  However, I did NOT like the main character Penny in Life Flight.  I am giving book two (Crossfire) a try and so far, so good.

Second - I discovered the most delicious way to eat peanut butter toast this week.  Toast your bread, spread the peanut butter while still hot, and top with fresh raspberries.  OH MY - it was SO good.  

Third - have you ever read Psalm 22 all the way through and then gone verse by verse, using an app like Bible Hub to cross reference each verse?  More than likely you recognize the first lines as the lines Jesus utters from the cross ; "My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me?", but the entire Psalm is full of promise and hope.  It is so incredibly beautiful.  

Fourth - I am reading through the Bible chronologically again this year, and I am in the middle of David's story right now.  Have you seen the movie DAVID (the animated 2025 one) ?  I loved it when we watched it, it blew me away with how beautiful of a movie it was.  I love it even more now that I am reading Saul and David's story in 1 Samuel and a handful of the Psalms.  If you haven't had a chance to see this movie, please, as soon as possible see it!