We’re a few days before the end of the month, but with Thanksgiving tomorrow and other posts scheduled, this seems the best time to reflect.

November has been a fairly quiet month. We enjoyed going to a play–actually a free dress rehearsal–at our church’s Christian school, then going out to eat afterwards. We enjoyed doing some Thanksgiving crafts with Tim.

Jim finished his shed, winterized the camper, and cleaned out all the dead stuff in the flower beds and planters.

I sorted through boxes from the shed as well as some parts of the house and have a pile set aside for the thrift store.

I am still dealing with an elevated heart rate, but my devices aren’t showing signs of atrial fibrillation. It may be atrial flutter. When I had that in July and August, it went on for several weeks and turned into atrial fibrillation, resulting in a cardioversion. I’m praying God will intervene and set my heart right so we don’t have to go that route again. I feel okay except I have to take breaks in-between doing things.

I only made one card this month, but it hasn’t reached its recipient yet, so I’ll share it next month.

Watching

We watched one season (six episodes) of Crossroad Springs, about a pastor in Chicago who comes home to help his father after the latter is injured. There are hard feelings because the father wanted his kids to take over the farm, which has been in the family for several generations. But one child became a pastor and the other a doctor. When the pastor gets reacquainted with a girl he used to know, he’s torn between going back to his church or staying. Meanwhile, there’s trouble brewing with a neighbor who may be up to no good. The show was clean and the story was good, but something was lacking. It had the same vibe as a lot of early Christian movies. One negative aspect: they equate salvation with baptism.

Where the Lilies Bloom was based on a book by the same name, written by Bill and Vera Cleaver. A poor family consisting of an ailing father and his four children live in the mountains of North Carolina. They used to own their home but sharecrop it now, fully believing that neighbor Kiser Pease stole it out from under them by paying the back taxes. Kiser wants to court the oldest daughter, but the father will not allow it. When the father knows he is dying, he makes fourteen-year-old Mary Call, the practical one, promise to keep the family together and not let Kiser date her sister. The children don’t let anyone know when the father dies, believing they’ll be taken from the farm. The oldest sister is kind of dreamy, and the other two children too young to understand what needs to be done, leaving the major burden to Mary Call until things come to a head. This was also a good, clean movie but also lacked something. I have a feeling the book is much better and want to read it some time.

We also watched the second season of House of David. It picks up right where the first left off, with the slaying of Goliath and the ensuing battle between the Israelites and Philistines. The series portrays David as not a skilled warrior at first, having to be taught by Jonathan and protected until he gains his footing. Saul thinks he has recovered from his madness, but he hasn’t. Intrigue arises from a couple of different fronts. This season ends with Saul discovering David has been anointed by Samuel, and David runs for his life. My understanding is there’s supposed to be one more season, culminating in David being crowned king.

As usual, some parts are in line with the Bible, some are not. I’ve read that a lot of material is drawn from the Talmud and other Jewish writing.

One episode that I especially liked showed everyone going to the tabernacle for the day of atonement. We had just been studying the tabernacle in our Exodus Bible study, so it was interesting to see a limited portrayal of the Day of Atonement portrayed and the solemnity of those looking on.

Reading

Since last time I have completed:

• Bloom In Your Winter Season by Deborah Malone and others. A collection of essays on various women of the Bible, showing that God can be trusted to take care of us and can use us at any age. Very good.
• Raising the Perfectly Imperfect Child: Facing Challenges with Strength, Courage, and Hope by Boris Vujicic, father of Nick Vijicic, who was born without arms and legs. Very good.
• The Language of Sycamores by Lisa Wingate. A woman’s put-together life comes crashing down with the loss of her job and a bad report from the doctor. She goes to visit her sister, trying to set aside old rivalries. The neighbor, Dell’s grandmother is ailing, leaving Dell in the foster care system.
• Drenched in Light by Lisa Wingate. Dell has been adopted. Being something of a musical prodigy, she’s enrolled in a performing arts magnet school. But her vastly different background gives her trouble fitting in. Meanwhile, her guidance counselor is at a crossroads in her life. Good.
• A Thousand Voices by Lisa Wingate.These last three book finish Lisa’s Tending Roses series. Dell is an adult, but still struggles with wondering about her birth father. She drives to the Choctaw festival in Oklahoma to seek answers. An okay story but had some elements that troubled me.
• The Man Behind the Patch: Ron Hamilton by Shelly Garlock Hamilton. Biography of musician and vocalist Ron Hamilton, aka Patch the Pirate. Very good.

I’m currently reading:

• Exodus for You by Tim Chester with the ladies’ Bible study at church
• James for You by Sam Allberry. Haven’t made much progress with this due to Bible study and Sunday School reading. But I hope to catch up over the holidays.
• The Gospel Comes with a House Key by Rosaria Butterfield
• Amy Snow by Tracy Rees, audiobook
• My Beloved by Jan Karon

Blogging

Besides the weekly Friday Fave Fives, Saturday Laudable Linkage, and book reviews, I’ve posted these since last time:

• Why Do We Need Wisdom? Not just for big decisions, but for everyday life.
• Inconvenient Holiness. Sometimes opportunities to serve the Lord or do the right thing don’t come at the most convenient times. But when we think of hows Jesus was inconvenienced for us, it inspires us to go the extra mile for Him.
• When Spiritual Disciplines Seem Dull. Praying, reading the Bible, taking communion are not always exciting or inspiring. But even while we pray God will revive our hearts, we obey, knowing that God works through those means.
• Thanksgiving Is Not a Feeling, it’s an action. But it can lead to feelings of gratefulness.

I hope those of you in the States have a wonderful Thanksgiving tomorrow!

Thou that hast giv’n so much to me,
Give one thing more, a gratefull heart:
See how Thy beggar works on Thee
                                              By art:

Not thankfull when it pleaseth me,
As if Thy blessings had spare days;
But such a heart whose pulse may be
                                            Thy praise.

From “Gratefulnesse” by George Herbert

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Many of our spring and summer flowers are still in bloom. That’s not only nice in itself, but it has helped since fall foliage color was late coming in. But it finally did. It’s so nice to have that beautiful color before the landscape goes barren in the winter.

This has been a month for dying appliances. First our dishwasher, which wasn’t unexpected. Then our microwave, which we just got last November. Because it was still under warranty, the company we bought it from sent out a repairman. We’re waiting on the needed part to arrive. In the meantime, Jim had brought over the little microwave in his office, which we had originally bought years ago when his mom was in assisted living. Then it went kaput as well.

Jim refurbished my dresser, making it look wonderful. And he’s been putting walls and a ceiling in our shed. Lights and a ceiling fan are next.

We enjoyed dinners both planned and impromptu with the family, as well as a couple of Sunday lunches with them and friends.

Our Connect Four group got together to work on paint-by-number projects. I hadn’t done that since maybe sixth grade. It was relaxing and fun to visit while painting.

The guys had a camping trip with other men and boys from church one weekend.

We had our annual pumpkin carving event last week. Here are the results:

The one on the bottom left was Jim’s–Luigi, I think, from the Mario games. The “classic” jack-o-lantern was Tim’s. He did all the carving himself! The light in his rotated through different colors. Mine, on the right, has a Pac Man theme. Mittu drilled the holes for me when my carving knife wasn’t working for them. Hers is the cross and heart on the table. And Jason’s is the one on the right side of the table. He made a template from this photo of Timothy and Jim fishing to carve:

I’m amazed at the detail, even the waves. I had a hard enough time cutting out my two small images!

We had no birthdays or anniversaries this month, so I didn’t make any cards.

Watching

When Jim was away camping, I watched the 1985 film The Trip to Bountiful, starring Geraldine Page. It was recommended by Hope. Based on a play, it’s the story of elderly Carrie Watts, who lives in a busy Houston apartment building with her son, Ludie, and controlling daughter-in-law, Jessie Mae. Carrie dreams of visiting the small town she came from, Bountiful. But Ludie, somewhat henpecked and weak-willed, doesn’t have time to take her. Carrie schemes to cash her pension check and take the train to Bountiful. We learn then that she has attempted this several times and has always been caught. But not this time. The story is comical at the beginning, but poignant and wistful at the end. There was one use of God’s name taken in vain (which, oddly, I saw in the subtitles but didn’t hear). But otherwise, it was clean.

Reading

Since last time I finished (titles link to my reviews):

• Titus for You by Tim Chester, not reviewed
• Van Gogh Has a Broken Heart: What Art Teaches Us About the Wonder and Struggle of Being Alive by Russ Ramsey. Spiritual lessons from art and artists. Very good.
• 100 Ways to Improve Your Writing by Gary Provost. Very good.
• The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens, audiobook. This was his last novel, left unfinished.
• North! or Be Eaten, the second in the Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson. Good.
• The Collector of Burned Books by Roseanna M. White, audiobook. Very good. Set during WWII, a professor who sends covert messages via codes in books has a run-in with the Nazi officer who is responsible to take over the libraries in Paris.
• The Women of Oak Ridge by Michelle Shocklee, audiobook. Good. A novel of a young woman who takes a job in Oak Ridge, the “Secret City” built during WWII to enrich uranium.

I’m currently reading:

• Exodus for You by Tim Chester with the ladies’ Bible study at church
• James for You by Sam Allberry
• Raising the Perfectly Imperfect Child: Facing Challenges with Strength, Courage, and Hope by Boris Vujicic, father of Nick Vujicic
• The Gospel Comes with a House Key by Rosaria Butterfield
• Bloom In Your Winter Season by Deborah Malone
• The Language of Sycamores by Lisa Wingate, audiobook

Blogging

Besides the weekly Friday Fave Fives, Saturday Laudable Linkage, and book reviews, I’ve posted these since last time:

• Look to Jesus. “How can we look to Jesus when He is not physically on Earth any more? He wasn’t when Hebrews was written, either, so the author did not have a physical view in mind. Where do we see Him these days? In His Word. What would that look like in everyday life?”
• What Complaining Does. “Before we’re too hard on the children of Israel, we need to look at ourselves. How often do I complain at the first minor inconvenience? I don’t stop to ask God if He has something for me to learn from the problem. I might get convicted about that later, but all too often my first response is to grouse.”
• How Can a Wife Help Her Husband? “It’s easy to depend on a husband’s help in myriad ways. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Ephesians 5:25 instructs husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church, and Jesus certainly helps us. But sometimes I’m reminded of Genesis 2:18, where God said He made woman a helper fit for or suitable for the man. And I wonder, am I being a help to my husband? And how do I do that?”
• Back Burner Dreams. “Certain intellectual and creative pursuits have to be put on the back burner because there are only so many hours in the day.” But sometimes they’re better for their time simmering.
• Stray Thoughts. Sometimes I write a hodgepodge post of disconnected things I’ve been pondering.

November looks like a pretty low-key month until Thanksgiving. It’s nice to have a lull before holiday season.

How was your October? Is there anything you’re looking forward to in November?

I know I comment way too often on how fast time passes–but, wow, August sure went by in a blur.

Regular readers know I spent about three weeks in atrial flutter and then three days in atrial fibrillation, resulting in a cardioversion in the ER when my cardiologist didn’t have a cardioversion slot open for another two and a half weeks. I’m not at full capacity when my heart is beating too fast and out of rhythm, so that time involved a lot of resting and support from my wonderful family.

The latter half of the month was much happier, though. My oldest son came in from RI on August 13th and just left on the 24th. My youngest took a few days off as well, so we had lots of enjoyable family time together. My oldest son and I both celebrated birthdays during that time, and the guys had a few days’ camping trip with swimming, kayaking, fishing, and food.

Jason and Mittu celebrated their sixteenth anniversary this month. Timothy started sixth grade and a newly-formed Sunday School class for middle schoolers. He’s growing up way too fast!

Creating

This was for Jason and Mittu’s anniversary. The Cricut machine did all the heavy lifting, including the words:

This was for a baby shower, also done by the Cricut:

And this was for Jeremy’s birthday. He likes foxes, and I found this design looking through fox images on the Cricut. The “Happy Birthday” is a sticker.

Reading

Since last time, I have finished (titles link to my reviews):

• Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Thessalonians (Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary) by Mark Howell, not reviewed. I gleaned a few nuggets from it, but it was not my favorite commentary.
• Wildwood Creek by Lisa Wingate, audiobook. The last and best of her Shores of Moses Lake series. A college student majoring in film gets a prime opportunity working on a reality show based on a community that disappeared in the 1860s. But there are some surprising parallels between the two timelines.
• Where We Belong by Lynn Austin, audiobook. Two Victorian women defy convention by traveling extensively, even by camel in Egypt. They find a codex of the gospels in an old monastery. Based on a true story.

I’m currently reading:

• 1 and 2 Timothy for You by Phillip Jensen.
• Van Gogh Has a Broken Heart: What Art Teaches Us About the Wonder and Struggle of Being Alive by Russ Ramsey
• North! or Be Eaten, the second in the Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson. I should be done with this now, but I keep picking up other things instead. I enjoy it while reading it but I’m not driven to keep going.
• A Face Illumined by Edward Payson Roe
• The Island Bookshop by Roseanna M. White
• The Bitter End Birding Society, audiobook, hot off the press by Amanda Cox

Blogging

Besides the weekly Friday Fave Fives, Saturday Laudable Linkage, and book reviews, I’ve posted these since last time:

• Do You Need a Fresh Word from the Lord? “We don’t need something new and fresh from God. What He has given us is more than sufficient for our spiritual needs. Why doesn’t it always feel that way?”
• What I Learned from a Traumatic Illness. “I’ve been jotting down several things I have learned through this experience, and I thought I’d share them with you. I know many of you are going through physical trials or have in the past. Though our details might vary, I hope you’ll find camaraderie and encouragement here.”
• When People Are Late to Church. “We just don’t know what it takes for some people to get to church. While we don’t want to have a casual attitude about arriving at church (or anywhere else) on time, we shouldn’t have an overly judgmental attitude, either.”
• Is Your Testimony Dramatic? “Such exciting accounts can make some of us feel our testimonies are a little lacking. But consider what salvation is: a new birth. . . . Every birth is a miracle to those involved. Parents greet their newborns with love and joy no matter what details led to the baby’s arrival.” Similarly, Jesus said, “Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Writing

Not much besides the blog. But our writing critique group just started up again after a few weeks’ hiatus, and my submission is due in a few weeks.

Looking ahead to September, we plan to enjoy Labor Day with the family, Jesse’s birthday later in the month, and a 50th anniversary with friends . . . and hopefully more fall-like weather.

Do you have any highlights from August?

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

July has been a hot and relatively quiet month. Regular readers know I was diagnosed with atrial flutter a couple of weeks ago. We’ve tried different medications without success. Then I was advised to have a cardioversion. But they don’t have any openings for that until late August.

We’re trying to keep things low-stress to keep my heart rate down, so we’ve mostly stayed home.

But one productive quiet activity has been going through boxes from the shed. Jim has brought in about three at a time. It’s been fun to discover old notes and drawings from the kids, letters from our moms and my grandmother, high school and college notebooks. We’ve thrown a lot away. Part of me wanted to go through some of the notebooks in more detail, but that would take up so much time. And many of them were yucky with age and moisture and who knows what else. So I have to figure they accomplished their purposes. I’m sure most of the information in them is readily online now.

I’m at the age where I am trying to look at things as “Would I want my kids to have to deal with this when I am gone? Would they have any interest in it?” In most cases, the answer is no, except for personal things.

I’m kind of embarrassed and dismayed that we’ve dragged some of these boxes around for so many years! But at least we’re dealing with them now.

When the weather is cooler, we want to do the same thing with boxes in the attic. Cleaning out the whole attic sound overwhelming, but a few pieces at a time is doable.

I mentioned on a Friday’s Fave Five finding an old sock monkey I had as a child. It had been patched up even then but was in sad shape now. I soaked it in the washer a few times, but I think he, as well, has served his purpose and should go to his rest. 🙂

When I get sentimental about such things, I remember this old commercial from IKEA:

🙂

A couple of months ago, while culling some of Timothy’s old preschool toys, I rediscovered a couple of smaller sock monkeys. I thought at first that we had given them to him, but they have our names on them. So they must have given them to us in memory of my old one. It was neat to have some of his distant relatives. 🙂

Also this month, we enjoyed burgers on July 4 and Jason’s birthday later in the month. One of my dearest friends from early married days stopped in for an overnight visit while traveling.

Creating

I made just one card this month, for Jason’s birthday, using the Cricut.

Watching

The Princess Bride is an old favorite of mine and was on regular TV one night this month. It’s not Jim’s cup of tea, but he watched it with me, remarking that this was the first time he stayed awake through the whole film. 🙂 A few days later I saw a “things you didn’t know about The Princess Bride” video on YouTube and enjoyed that.

We also saw a movie titled The Love Letter, about a man who buys an antique desk, discovers an old letter in it, and answers it–only to have the woman who owned the desk in Civil War times answer him back. The plot was implausible, and I can’t say this will go down as a favorite, but it was clean and not a bad way to spend an hour and a half.

We’ve been working our way through Heartland, a series set on a ranch in Canada. In the first episode, a teenage girl and her mom rescue an abused horse in a storm. On the way back to their ranch, the horse panics and kicks, causing their truck and trailer to go off the road and crash. The mom is killed. The girl has a long recovery. The older sister comes home from the city to help, but her take-charge ways offend the others. The grumpy but kindly grandpa tries to care for everyone. None of them knew that the mom had arranged for a troubled teenage boy to work on the ranch during his probation, so he’s in the mix. Throughout the first season, they all get used to their new situation and each other. The teen girl, Amy, finds healing and solace in working with the abused horse.

The show has eighteen seasons, so it will take us a while. Overall, it’s pretty good and emphasizes family values. I have a few issues with it. The characters could be a little more modest. There haven’t been any explicit scenes so far, but there are hints of things like the older sister going away for the weekend with her boyfriend. Native American spiritualism comes into a few episodes. In one, a young girl is trying to tell everyone’s futures with tarot cards–thankfully, those have not made a reappearance.

Reading

Since last time, I have completed (titles link to my reviews):

• The Collected Letters of C. S. Lewis, Volume 3, compiled by Walter Hooper
• Rembrandt Is in the Wind: Learning to Love Art Through the Eyes of Faith by Russ Ramsey *Loved* this.
• Larkspur Cove by Lisa Wingate
• Blue Moon Bay by Lisa Wingate
• Firefly Island by Lisa Wingate

I’m currently reading:

• Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Thessalonians (Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary) by Mark Howell
• A Face Illumined by Edward Payson Roe
• North! or Be Eaten, the second in the Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson
• Wildwood Creek by Lisa Wingate

Blogging

Besides the weekly Friday Fave Fives, Saturday Laudable Linkage, and book reviews, I’ve posted these since last time:

• Irritating or Irritable?
• Sharing Our Struggles, not Our Perfection
• Stray Thoughts–assorted odds and ends
• When “Should” Irritates
• Does God Know You?
• How to Find Good Christian Fiction
• When You’re not Number 1

WordPress reminded me that June 27 was my 19th blogging anniversary. I had thought about doing something special for it ahead of time but then forgot about it when the time came. I’ll definitely have to come up with something for the 20th anniversary next year!

Thank YOU all so much for being here, for reading, and for your kind comments. I didn’t know when I started that I would make such good friends across the miles.

If April showers bring May flowers, I don’t know what May rain is supposed to do–keep the flowers growing and make the grass greener, I guess. 🙂 We’ve had lots of rain this month, along with a medium-sized earthquake one morning and tornado warnings one night. We’re still loving the moderate temperatures of the season.

We enjoyed cookouts on Mother’s Day and Memorial Day, planted wildflowers, and got some medical appointments out of the way.

Creating

I made this for Mittu for Mother’s Day, cutting the flowers and vase out with the Cricut.

I had the tag in a scrapbooking collection I bought a long time ago.

This was for Timothy’s finishing fifth grade:

I looked for free emoji clip art and printed these out.

Reading

Since last time I have finished:

• Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell, classic novel about a naive young women taken in and then forsaken by a well-to-do cad. She’s rescued by a preacher and his sister and turns her life around. Very good.
• Crimson Roses by Grace Livingston Hill. A 1920s-era novel about a young woman on her own since her father died, who is pursued by a secret admirer. Very sweet.
• This Promised Land by Cathy Gohlke, Christian fiction set in the 1990s. A woman had run away to marry her boyfriend, then was disowned by her family. Fifty years later, she discovers that her mother had left the farm to her after all. But it’s riddled in debt. She can’t keep it, but doesn’t want to turn her brother’s sons and their families out. Very good.
• On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson, the first in his Wingfeather Saga for children. Very good.

I’m currently reading:

• Minor Prophets 1 by the Navigators
• The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume 3: Narnia, Cambridge, and Joy, 1950 – 1963, compiled by Walter Hooper
• Rembrandt Is in the Wind: Learning to Love Art through the Eyes of Faith by Russ Ramsey
• Code Name Edelweiss by Stephanie Landsem
• Every Hour Until Then by Gabrielle Meyer

Blogging

Besides the weekly Friday Fave Fives, Saturday Laudable Linkage, and book reviews, I’ve posted these since last time:

• Not When, but How. Jesus doesn’t tell us when He is coming again, but He does tell us how to wait.
• The Joys and Sorrows of Mother’s Day.
• Testing. Some lab tests are diagnostic; other prove that a product is ready to be used. God often tests us, not as a clinician, but as a loving Father.
• When People Say Thoughtless Things. Most of us have spoken without thinking at some point and unwittingly offended someone. When others do the same to us, we can show them grace.

Writing

I told my husband that I need to finish this manuscript before I die, if for no other reason, because I would be embarrassed for anyone to see it at this stage! It’s a mess. But I dug into a recent chapter to submit to my writing critique group, whose feedback is always immensely helpful.

I do enjoy working on the book when I get to it. I just need to find make more time to focus on it.

Looking ahead

June looks like it might be a pretty quiet month, which is fine with me. All I have on the schedule so far is lunch with a friend, Father’s Day, a routine cardiologist appointment, and the appointment to renew my driver’s license and get my Real ID.

How was your May?

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Spring has finally settled in, and I am enjoying the “in-between” weather–not too hot or cold.

Highlights in April include Easter, Timothy’s birthday, and the guys’ first camping trip in Jim’s new camper van.

Watching

We finished up The House of David. This first season ended with David’s confrontation with Goliath. Though the filmmakers embellished the story in ways they didn’t need to, we still got the truth that David met Goliath in faith. It seemed miraculous that David even got the chance, since his brothers as well as the other soldiers would not have let an untrained teenager on the battle field.

When Jim was camping, I watched Wicked, a retelling of the “Wicked Witch’s” story from The Wizard of Oz. I had seen a few clips but wasn’t sure what else to expect. I ended up liking it a lot more than I thought I would. I’ve mentioned before that I used to avoid any story with witches or “magic” until I realized that “fairy tale magic” is a different thing that the occult (more thoughts on that here).

Creating

I don’t do a lot of freehand work when I make cards: neither my handwriting nor my drawing skills are great, so I rely on my tools. A couple of Timothy’s main interests are balloon men (also called tube men or air dancers) and tornado sirens. I wanted to incorporate both in his birthday card, but couldn’t find Cricut images or stickers of either. In fact, when I searched for “tornado sirens,” most of the results were mermaids–I guess they were thinking of the sirens of Greek mythology, which are different from mermaids, but, oh well.

I wanted to have a tube man looking like he was using a tornado siren as a megaphone. So here’s what I came up with.

I thought of adding a few other touches but decided to quit while I was ahead.

This card was meant for a baby shower, but I ended up not using it, for a couple of reasons.

I’d seen a similar idea on Pinterest, which often leads back to the maker’s website with instructions. This one didn’t, so I was figuring it out on my own. I didn’t realize the cross piece was too long until I already had it glued down. Plus, I thought it would look neat to use real twine. Although it wasn’t very thick, it was enough that it left a bump under each of the bears. I wasn’t up to redoing this one from scratch, so I went with a simpler idea.

The onesie and bears were done with the Cricut.

The following two were simple variations on the same idea. These were for friends, one recovering from an accident and the other recovering from surgery.

The blue card is one of my all-time favorites. The words were done with a stamp. The rosy corners on the second card were done with a punch. The lacy strips across the bottom of both were from a set of stickers.

Reading

Since last time, I have finished (titles link to my reviews):

• Hebrews for You by Michael J. Kruger, a helpful commentary on the biblical book of Hebrews.
• An Ocean of Grace by Tim Chester, a Lenten devotional compiled of writings of many Christians of the past.
• The Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien, the last of his Lord of the Rings series.
• The Story She Left Behind by Patti Callahan Henry. Though the main story was good, I had some problems and mixed emotions with this one.
• Wild Swan by Patti Callahan Henry, a novella of Florence Nightingale’s difficulties in convincing her family that she was called to be a nurse.
• He Should Have Told the Bees, another winner by Amanda Cox. Two young women who don’t know each other are named in the same trust, which leaves them co-owners of the one’s farm and apiary. In trying to find out why, they discover each other’s history and more about themselves. Excellent.

I’m currently reading:

• Minor Prophets 1 by the Navigators
• The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume 3: Narnia, Cambridge, and Joy, 1950 – 1963, compiled by Walter Hooper
• On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, Volume 1 of the Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson
• Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell

Blogging

Besides the weekly Friday Fave Fives, Saturday Laudable Linkage, and book reviews, I’ve posted these since last time:

• The First Step to Murder. Just as lust is the first step to adultery, and is a sin in itself, contempt and dehumanizing others is the first step to murder.
• Redeemed Regrets. Regrets can haunt us even when we know we’re forgiven. But God can redeem them and use them for good.
• The Cross Is the Measure, both of the awfulness of sin and the depths of God’s love.
• When Stones Speak. Jesus said if people were silenced from acknowledging Him, the very stones would cry out. It turns out stones have testified of Him many times.
• If Jesus Had Not Been Resurrected, how bleak and horrible our outlook would be.
• What Does Jesus Pray for Us? I knew that Jesus prayed for us but never considered what He prayed for us until a book I was reading inspired a study of Jesus’ prayers.

As we change the calendar to May, we look forward to Mother’s Day, a ladies’ luncheon at church, the resuming of our writing critique group, and a long-awaited appointment.

How was your April? What do you look forward to in May?

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Though we still have a few days left in March, this seemed like a good time for my monthly wrap-up.

Like many of you are experiencing, spring has come in fits and spurts. We’re still having some cold nights and mornings, but the trend is toward warmer weather. I love this in-between season of not being too hot or cold.

Much of March has been taken up with healing from cellulitis. Like the change of seasons, and growth of any kind, and so many other things, healing seems to be an up and down endeavor. My spirits have risen and fallen multiple times a day, depending on how my leg looked at any given moment. But I think we’ve turned a corner. The area is looking better rather than worse most of the time now.

Family activities

We celebrated Jim’s birthday early in the month, and then “Pi Day” on 3.14. He, Jason, and Timothy stayed up late to watch the lunar eclipse. Otherwise, it’s been a fairly quiet month.

Creating

I just made one card this month, for Jim’s birthday.

This was done on the Cricut. It looks black, but it’s actually dark green card stock. That’s not quite Jim’s hair style. 🙂 I didn’t think to trim it. After I got this all done, I thought of ways I could have dressed it up a bit–but I didn’t have time to go back to it.

Watching

British period dramas are not Jim’s favorite viewing genre, but he’ll watch one with me occasionally. We both enjoyed North and South, based on Elizabeth Gaskell’s classic novel of the same title. A vicar has a crisis of conscience, causing him to step down from his ministry. A friend finds him a teaching position in a northern English town, which is an industrial area with a busy, dirty, harsher feel to it. His daughter, Margaret, has a negative run-in with the head of the local textile mill, Mr. Thornton. She also becomes friend with a girl whose lungs are diseased from working in the mill and her father, leader of the local labor union. There’s a bit of Pride and Prejudice vibe–not in balls and match-making mothers, but in the interactions and misunderstandings of the main characters. Jim had worked in textiles for much of his career, so the history of the textile industry was interesting to both of us. Watching the story has me wanting to read the book again.

Reagan was a 2024 movie about our 40th president, starring Dennis Quaid. Reagan was the first president I voted for and my favorite president of my lifetime, though of course he was not perfect. So much of this was history I lived through and remember. I especially loved the “Tear down this wall” scene before the Berlin wall. I thought Quaid portrayed him well. Oddly, the story is told from the viewpoint of a Soviet spy telling a younger spy how Reagan kept communism from spreading. The film may have leaned a little toward hero worship, but overall it was very good.

The Long Game was based on a book about a true story. In 1955 Texas, a group of Mexican-American young men worked as caddies at the local country club. They built their own golf course to play among themselves. A new principle, friends with a local golf pro (Dennis Quaid again), forms them into a high school team and struggles to get them accepted into tournaments. The prejudice they faced was maddening. I won’t spoil the ending, but it was very good. There are some mild language issues and some crude interactions, especially at the beginning.

House of David is a current series based on David of the Bible. There is a screen at the beginning of every episode saying the show creators are not attempting to be historically or biblically accurate, but have taken creative liberties for storytelling purposes. I was dismayed that they portrayed David as an illegitimate son and showed Saul’s wife consorting with a witch or sorceress. Then Susanne told me about a video interview with the show’s creator and his reasoning. Evidently some Jewish people do believe David was illegitimate. I researched the reasoning for this, and I disagree with it. But I was glad to know the show’s creator wasn’t just inserting that idea for drama. I don’t usually watch Bible-based shows because they’re not always biblically accurate. I think when we say, “The Bible doesn’t say it happened this way, but it doesn’t say it didn’t,” we open ourselves up for just about anything. But keeping an eye open for inaccuracies, this has had some good features. I particularly liked the scene where David was anointed king by Samuel, and all the brothers looked at each other like, “What is going on?” Plus, I knew David was anointed long before he actually became king, but I don’t think I ever really caught the tension of being in Saul’s house as a musician, knowing David as been anointed as the next king but having to keep it a secret.

Do you have any good, clean, program recommendations?

Reading

Since last time, I finished (linked to my reviews):

• Daniel for You by David Helm
• What’s a Disorganized Person to Do? by Stacey Platt
• The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien, his epic history of the world before The Lord of the Rings.
• Good Hope Road by Lisa Wingate. A tornado rips through a small town, wreaking havoc but also bringing people together. Very good.
• Up from the Sea by Amanda Dykes, prequel to one of my all-time favorite novels, Whose Waves These Are. Sweet story of exploring an old legend and making new discoveries.
• All the Lost Places by Amanda Dykes. Stories from 1807 Venice have impact on a reformed thief in 1904. Excellent.

I’m currently reading:

• Hebrews for You by Michael Kruger with the ladies’ Bible study group
• The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume 3: Narnia, Cambridge, and Joy, 1950 – 1963, compiled by Walter Hooper.
• The Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien
• He Should Have Told the Bees by Amanda Cox
• On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, Volume 1 of the Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson.

Blogging

Besides the weekly Friday Fave Fives, Saturday Laudable Linkage, and book reviews, I’ve posted these since last time:

• Defeating the Devil
• Let the Humbleness of Jesus Deflate Our Pride
• Why Doesn’t God Heal Everyone?
• Tending the Soil of Your Heart

Writing

My latest chapter was up for critique this month with our writing group. As always, I received great advice from the other women in the group. I always leave those sessions energized and wishing I could do nothing else but write for a few days.

Next month, we have Timothy’s birthday and Easter to look forward to–as well as more consistent nice temperatures!

How was your March? Are you looking forward to anything in April?

February is an odd month that seems both long and short. With fewer days, it flies by even more quickly than the other months. But it also contains the worst of winter weather, making us eager for the month to get over.

Two bright spots in February are Valentine’s Day and my daughter-in-law’s birthday. We also enjoyed a mission’s emphasis at church over three Sundays rather than cramming it into a single week with extra services.

Jim spent much of the last several weeks painting the interior of the house–family room, small living room, kitchen/dining area, two hallways, the master bedroom, many of the ceilings, and an extra coat in the master bathroom (which is the first room he painted a few years ago). Along the way, he repaired cracks, thoroughly dusted everything on the walls, washed windows, and cleaned or replaced window blinds. I washed the curtains and helped with some of the dusting, but he usually had most of that done before I knew about it. The house looks so nice, and it feels good to know all the nooks and crannies have had a thorough cleaning.

It worked out nicely that he could get a room done during the first part of a week and then have a few days to rest or attend to other things before starting the next one.

Though I think he still wants to paint a couple of ceilings, the main part of the house is done. He’s taking a break before doing smaller areas like the laundry room, pantry, and closets. The pantry and closets will require taking everything off shelves, so it will be a good time to sort through things before putting them away again. That will be a big job, but I should be up for it in a couple of weeks.

Creating

February is a busy card month. I make Valentines for the immediate family plus a card for my daughter-in-law’s birthday.

This was Jim’s. I would normally choose more masculine colors for his, but this came from a pack of Valentine-themed paper and expressed what I wanted to say.

This was for Jeremy, my oldest son, who likes foxes.

The fox is a sticker, and I added the heart with a foam square so it stands out from the card.

This was Jason’s. I looked through Valentine images on the Cricut machine, and this caught my eye. He’s not into gnomes, but he does have a long brown beard. 🙂

This was Mittu’s.

I used a lacy corner punch on the bottom of the heart.

This was the outside of Timothy’s.

And the inside:

I had seen this idea on a reel on Instagram and had to watch it several times to see what to do.

This was Jesse’s.

And this was for Mittu’s birthday, with the image done on the Cricut.

Watching

We really enjoy the new version of All Creatures Great and Small, which just finished its latest season. Its seasons are two short!

We watched the end of the second season of The Rings of Power, based on Tolkien’s stories which take place before the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Two of my favorite things from it are the Old Tom Bombadil song with Tolkien’s lyrics and this quote from Celebrimbor, the elven smith. In the penultimate episode, in a moment where almost all hope is lost, Celebrimbor and Galadriel lament that Sauron deceived and used them. Galadriel says she wished she had been stronger. Celebrimbor says: “It is not strength that overcomes darkness, but light. Armies may rise, hearts may fail, yet still, light endures, and is mightier than strength. For in its presence, all darkness must flee.” That almost made me cry. I don’t know if the quote is taken from Tolkien’s writings or if the screenwriter came up with it, but it’s so true.

The actor that played Celebrimbor, Charles Edwards, did an excellent job (others did as well, but he stood out to me). When he is deceived by Sauron and not in his right mind, and then comes back to himself and realizes what Sauron has been up to–such a range of emotions!

Another good one was The Last Rifleman, about an Irish WWII vet who escapes his nursing home to attend a D-Day celebration in France. It’s based on a true story of Bernard Jordan, but apparently only in a broad sense. It was still moving, though. On the negative side, there were a few instances of taking Jesus’ name in vain.

We also enjoyed Mr. Malcolm’s List, which seemed Jane Austen-ish. When a wealthy suitor doesn’t call on a young woman any more, she is indignant to learn that she hasn’t met the qualifications on his list for a potential bride. She ropes her friend into a scheme of revenge, but the plan doesn’t work out as hoped. The only objectionable thing here is that some of the dresses are low-cut.

Reading

Since last time I have finished:

• Ezekiel: The God of Glory by Tim Chester, a six-week Bible study. Though I did gain some benefit from the book, I didn’t really like the format. It was meant to be just a “whistle-stop tour” of Ezekiel. But I’m not sure Ezekiel is best studied that way.
• The Librarian of Saint-Malo by Mario Escobar, fiction. A librarian’s assistant in Saint-Milo, France, tries to hide and protect books while suffering the effects of a Nazi takeover during WWII. I didn’t really connect with the main character, and the ending fell flat to me.
• Between the Sound and the Sea by Amanda Cox, fiction, audiobook. A young woman is hired to restore an old lighthouse. She finds lighthouse keeper’s logs which don’t match up with the official ones, inspiring her to find out where they came from. Very good, with multiple layers.
• The Tiny Crown by Susan Barnett Braun, fiction. A teenager discontent with her mundane life gets to go on an unexpected trip to England, the land of her dreams. While there, she tumbles through a wall into another realm and finds out royal life isn’t quite what she thought. Though this is a YA book, I enjoyed it a lot.

I also finished an audiobook recommended by a blog friend, but it had numerous problems. I haven’t decided whether to review it.

I’m currently reading:

• Hebrews for You by Michael Kruger with the ladies’ Bible study group.
• Daniel for You by David Helm.
• What’s a Disorganized Person to Do? by Stacey Platt. I’m still slogging away at this, but I’ve made progress.
• The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume 3: Narnia, Cambridge, and Joy, 1950 – 1963, compiled by Walter Hooper. My Kindle app says I am only 26% through this book though I read from it often. The hardback is over 1800 pages.
• The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien, which I was inspired to read by The Rings of Power series since I wasn’t familiar with much of the lore The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings was based on.
• Good Hope Road by Lisa Wingate
• On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, Volume 1 of the Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson. This is a children’s or teen’s series, but I’ve heard it’s good. It’s been made into an animated series, so I want to check into the both the books and animation to see if I’d recommend them for my grandson.

Blogging

Besides the weekly Friday Fave Fives, Saturday Laudable Linkage, and book reviews, I’ve posted these since last time:

• Time Alone with God.
• Do You Know How Much God Loves You?
• He Knows My Name.
• When We’re Shaken.

Writing

My next chapter is due for presentation to our critique group mid-March. I’m combining what was originally two chapters. I got a good running start at it but it still needs work.

Looking ahead

One good thing about the end of February is that we’re one step closer to spring! We have my husband’s birthday to look forward to the first week of March and “Pi/Pie Day” on the 14th. And a lot of cleaning and sorting when Jim starts painting closets and the pantry. 🙂

How was your February?

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)