Are you starting to see fall decorations posts all over the Internet? It’s still too hot and humid here to think about fall except in longing for cool breezes—but it will likely be several weeks before we get any.

Though I’m looking forward to fall, I like to savor the last bit of summer. When I was a child, school started right after Labor Day. So this stretch of time involved the last trips to the pool, the last days of sleeping in and freedom from homework.

When my kids were in school, I looked forward to having a bit more structure in our schedule while I simultaneously regretting the full calendar of a busy school year.

One of my favorite activities this time of year was getting new school supplies. Crayons and pencils in elementary school. Choosing just the right notebooks in high school. New clothes. I was in Target the other day with aisles full of college students loading up their carts with dorm and class necessities. There was an air of excitement that I missed.

But I’m also glad in this “empty nest” stage of life that our schedule will remain about the same until December.

Family

August is one of the best family months, because my oldest son comes home for his and my birthdays. My husband takes that week off and the other kids are here as much as they can be. We enjoyed lots of time together, talking and playing games. We had a couple of meals out. We missed having one big outing—bowling, if another else, or sometimes a visit to the Gatlinburg area. This year it was too hot to do much of anything outside, and an uptick in COVID cases here discouraged time in crowded areas. But the time was enjoyable for family togetherness.

I mentioned on a Friday’s Fave Five that we had my oldest son here for a few extra days due to Hurricane Henri’s heading toward his state. We changed his flights because we didn’t want him to get stranded at an airport between here and RI. It was good we did, because the second leg of his flights did indeed get canceled. He worked from our home for a couple of days and then flew back out with no trouble.

The guest room is coming along. I have a couple more things I’d like to do in there. The storage bench I wanted has been out of stock for ages, but I hope it will be available soon.

This week on a family group text, a couple of the guys posted family pictures from an app that converts people in a photo to a cartoon character. Seeing how everyone turned out and the comments along the way were so much fun.

Cards

I made just two this month. The first was for Jason and Mittu’s anniversary.

The little couple was made with the Cricut.

This was for Jeremy’s birthday.

He likes foxes. I got this idea from a Pinterest post about using animal faces and brown paper for gift wrapping. I found this template for a fox face to use for the whiskers.

Watching

My husband and I are going through The Mandalorian an episode or two at a time. Some of our kids have finished it and wanted us to see it. Pretty good so far. We also like watching America’s Got Talent, though we have to fast forward through a couple of the acts. I enjoyed the third season of Making It, a quirky craft competition show, as well as College Bowl.

Reading

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

Nonfiction:

• Anne Morrow Lindbergh: Her Story by Susan Hertog (audiobook). I only knew the names and the barest of facts about the Lindberghs before this book. Their story ended up being a bit depressing.
• Be Equipped (Deuteronomy): Acquiring the Tools for Spiritual Success by Warren Wiersbe.
• Call of a Coward: The God of Moses and the Middle-Class Housewife by Marcia Moston. Marcia’s story of her husband’s unexpected conviction that their family should leave their home and minister in Guatemala. Excellent.
• The Good Portion: Scripture: The Doctrine of Scripture for Every Woman by Keri Folmar. Excellent book about how we can know God through His Word.

Fiction:

• Unconditional by Eva Marie Everson, based on a film by the same name which was based on a true story about Joe Bradford’s helping kids in his neighborhood even though he desperately needed a kidney transplant.
• The Last Year of the War by Susan Meissner (audiobook), historical fiction about German and Japanese teen girls who meet and become friends in an interment camp during WWII. They’re each repatriated to their parents’ countries of birth, lose touch, and then one tries to find the other in her 80s while battling Alzheimer’s. Just finished this over the weekend and hope to review it in a day or two.

It’s unusual for me to read more nonfiction than fiction in a month!

I’m currently reading:

• The Man Who Was Q: the True Story of Charles Fraser-Smith, the ‘Q’ Wizard of World War II by David Porter. I read Fraser-Smith’s memoir about his war-time activities in July. This is a biography covering his whole life.
• Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund
• Be Dynamic (Acts 1-12): Experience the Power of God’s People by Warren Wiersbe
• Tidewater Inn by Collen Coble

Blogging

Besides the weekly Friday’s Fave Fives and almost weekly Laudable Linkages and book reviews, I’ve shared these posts:

• Under His Shadow. Thinking about what a shadow from the heat meant in Biblical times with no AC or fans and how God shelters and shades us.
• Fifteen Favorite Posts from Fifteen Years of Blogging to celebrate my blogging anniversary.
• Strengthening Others, inspired by places in Acts where it says the apostles strengthened people, exploring ways we can strengthen each other.
• Why Aren’t Christians More Loving?
• When the World Weighs Heavy. There’s a lot of hard news on several fronts, and it gets to be too much to bear. But that reminds us to give it all to the only One who can truly help.
• Don’t Forget the Hope. “But this post isn’t primarily about modesty. It’s about remembering to share hope with our children, students, readers, those whom we’re discipling. Sometimes we’re so passionate about whatever we’re warning against that we forget to offer the hope that God extends to His people.”

Writing

Still not much going on there besides blog posts. I sketched out a devotional idea a while back that I want to finish it up and submit. Except for one more birthday and a couple of medical appointments, we have a bit of a lull before the busy holiday season. I’m hoping to carve out some time to work on the book then.

How was your August?

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

Elisabeth Elliot used to say that when she spoke on a certain topic, she would be tested on that topic right before or after she spoke. Boy, have I experienced that since writing about impatience and frustration Monday! One example: Tuesday I was making a card that I wanted to send out that day. It wasn’t essential that I mail it off that day, but that was my desire. After I cut out the scrapbooking paper I wanted to use, I noticed red splotches all over the paper and the blank card. Then I noticed blood on my finger. I must have gotten a paper cut at some point. So I had to go wash my finger, get a bandaid, toss the paper and card, and start all over. That made me late getting done and running my errands, and I came home late and very hot and sweaty. Then I requested getting hamburgers for dinner since I did not feel at all like cooking, and happily, my husband agreed. So it ended up well. 🙂 I don’t even remember what the other issues were, but they were all little things and all tested my desire to be calm and patient.

In other news . . . It’s hot. Very hot.

My fifteenth blogging anniversary passed by forgotten until WordPress reminded me. I’ve very much enjoyed it, especially getting to know many of you.

Family

We enjoyed a long 4th of July weekend and grilled hamburgers here. We celebrated my middle son’s birthday this month at his house with grilled chicken and S’mores cake.

We’re continuing to work on the guest room. My husband painted a desk for me and put new hardware on it. My son and daughter-in-law gave us their queen bed since they wanted a king-sized one. We put curtains and shelves up as well as the main piece of art work over the bed. The room is in a usable state for when my oldest son comes to visit next month, but there are still a few things I’d like to get done in there. I’ve been enjoying the process.

Creating

I made a few more cards than usual for July. This was for Jason’s birthday:

The beard was done on the Cricut.

These two were done for different friends going through various issues:

The “I’m thinking of you” sentiment is a stamp that I’ve had for ages.

This one was for friends who just recently revealed they are expecting a new little one early next year:

The little “onesie” shape was done on the Cricut.

Reading

Since last time, I have finished:

• The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson is a novel that ties together two interesting historical factors: the blue people of Kentucky and the Pack Horse Librarians. Very interesting!
• Heaven Sent Rain by Lauraine Snelling. Christian contemporary fiction about a scientist and entrepreneur who notices a boy with his dog outside her office building. She buys the boy breakfast, beginning a regular habit. Then he calls her when his dog is in an accident, and she is pulled into his family’s life. Very good.
• Three Shall Be One by Francena Arnold. An older Christian fiction book (published in 1953) about a young couple with extreme in-law issues. Neither are believers. Despite a couple of implausible plot twists, it’s a sweet story.
• The Summer Kitchen by Lisa Wingate. Contemporary Christian fiction about a woman getting her uncle’s house ready to sell and who gets involved with several people in the low-income neighborhood.
• Out of the Shadows by Sigmund Brouwer. Excellent mystery or suspense about a man recalled to Charleston, SC, a city he had agreed never to return to. He’s lured by promise of information about the mother who abandoned him as a child.
• A Southern Season: Stories from a Front Porch Swing, four stories set in the South by Eva Marie Everson, Linda W. Yezak, Claire Fullerton, and Ane Mulligan. Very good.
• Ten Words to Live By: Delighting In and Doing What God Commands by Jen Wilkin. Excellent nonfiction about the Ten Commandments.
• The Secret War of Charles Fraser-Smith, the “Q” Gadget Wizard of World War II by Charles Fraser-Smith. Fascinating true story about a man tasked with procuring and hiding supplies to British soldiers and agents during WWII.

I’m currently reading:

• Be Equipped (Deuteronomy): Acquiring the Tools for Spiritual Success by Warren Wiersbe
• The Good Portion—Scripture: The Doctrine of Scripture for Every Woman by Keri Folmar
• Unconditional by Eva Marie Everson
• The Man Who Was Q: the True Story of Charles Fraser-Smith, the ‘Q’ Wizard of World War II by David Porter
• Anne Morrow Lindbergh: Her Life by Susan Hertog (audiobook)

Someone asked me in a comment recently how many books I finish a week. It varies from zero to three, but it’s usually one or two.

I usually finish around 70+ a year. I usually have four going at a time: one on an audiobook that I listen to while driving, dressing, doing housework; one on my Kindle app that I usually read a little while in the evenings until I get too sleepy; one in the bathroom ( 🙂 ); one Christian nonfiction that I read on Saturdays, the day our church Bible reading program doesn’t have anything scheduled. I can only do that if they are all different. If I read more than one contemporary Christian fiction or WWII book or whatever at the same time, I’d get them mixed up. I expanded on this a few years ago in Finding Time to Read.

Blogging

Besides the weekly Friday’s Fave Fives and almost weekly Laudable Linkages and book reviews, I’ve shared these posts:

• 14 Reasons to Read the Old Testament. Many of us gravitate to the NT, but it’s built upon and entwined with the OT.
• Remembering How God Has Led. “My heart was tender thinking back over God’s working in my life. As I opened my Bible reading for the day, I came to Deuteronomy 8:2: ‘And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness.’ It’s amazing how God prepares me for what I am going to encounter in His Word.”
• Don’t-ing or Doing. “The Bible does have a lot to say about what we should not do. . . . But the Bible doesn’t stop with a list of ‘don’ts.’ ‘So flee youthful passions,’ 2 Timothy 2:22 says. But it goes on to say, ‘and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.'”
• Battling Anger, Frustration, and Impatience. “When a flash of anger or frustration or impatience flares up, I pray for forgiveness and try to gain the right perspective. . . . Lately I’ve wondered if there’s a way to head that flare-up off at the pass. ‘Good sense makes one slow to anger’ (Proverbs 19:11). So I sat down one afternoon and sought some good sense ‘to be renewed in the spirit of [my] mind’ (Ephesians 4:23).

Writing

Not much besides the blog.

In August, our oldest son coming for a visit. His time here will include both his birthday and mine. My husband will take that week off, and we’re looking forward to lots of family time with the whole gang together.

How was your July?

(I often link up with some of these bloggers)

Even though we have a few days left before the end of May, I have other posts scheduled until next week. So I figured I’d share my end-of-May wrap-up now.

May feels so different now that we don’t live by school rhythms any more, since all of our kids are grown. May used to be one of the busiest months of our year with end-of-year programs, recitals, etc. I enjoyed all of that at the time, but also felt pressured. I like the quieter pace now.

May is also our transition between spring and summer. Though summer doesn’t officially start until June, we start getting summer temperatures and humidity in May. We’re looking forward to some outings over the long weekend ahead.

Family

Not much going on besides some get-togethers at either our house or Jason and Mittu’s. We enjoyed Mother’s Day together, and Jim and I took the RV for a test drive. I mentioned in a recent Friday’s Fave Five that the Brood X cicadas, the ones with the 17-year life cycle, emerged over at Jason and Mittu’s house. They sounded like Rice Krispies as they molted. They’re in mating season now, so they’re really loud with making noise to attract a mate (though I don’t know how the females can distinguish them from each other with all that noise going on).

We haven’t done much with the sewing room or spare room as we’ve had other things going on the weekends. Jim did put together a couple of over-the-door storage units I had wanted for Mother’s Day. I’m hoping we can get the spare room done before Jeremy, my oldest son, comes to visit in August.

Timothyisms

While at my grandson’s house, he was “playing school” with his Granddad. At one point my husband asked Timothy, “What’s 7 + 7?” Timothy said, “I’m the teacher. You have to guess.”

Creating

I’ve made a few more cards than usual this month.

This was for Jesse’s apartment-warming party.

The building and “Congratulations” were done with the Cricut.

This was for Mittu for Mother’s Day:

I did the wording on the computer, and the flowers are multi-layer stickers.

This was for a baby shower:

The “It’s a Girl” was done on the Cricut.

This was for a young man at church for his high school graduation:

I did the “Congratulations” on the computer.

Reading

Since last month I finished:

• Daughters of Northern Shores by Joanne Bischof, (audiobook) sequel to Sons of Blackbird Mountain that I liked so well a few months ago. Three Norwegian brothers live in Virginia, one of whom is deaf. The youngest one wrongs someone and flees the country to go to sea. He feels he should go back and try to make things right, but he doesn’t know how he’ll be received
• Hungry for God, Starving for Time by Lori Hatcher. Five-minute devotionals for when you need a spiritual protein bar. Very good.
• The Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion by Annette Whipple. A great companion to the Little House books, with lots of interesting background information and related activities to try.
• Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie. Classic tale about the boy who wouldn’t grow up. A bit darker than film versions, but fun.
• Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (audiobook). Classic dystopian novel in which babies are designed in test tubes and everyone is supposed to live for pleasure. But if you’re not happy, then what?
• Animal Farm by George Orwell (audiobook). Classic allegory about the Russian revolution and Stalin’s takeover, but also a fable about throwing off oppression and then becoming oppressors.

I’m currently reading:

• Be Counted (Numbers): Living a Life that Counts for God by Warren Wiersbe
• Ten Words to Live By: Delighting in and Doing What God Commands by Jen Wilkin
• How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren (almost done!)
• The Sign Painter by David Bunn
• A Room With a View by E. M. Forster (audiobook)
• Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi (audiobook)

Blogging

Besides the weekly Friday’s Fave Fives and almost weekly Laudable Linkages and book reviews, I’ve shared these posts:

• Have Mercy on Your Pastor This Mother’s Day. “There are different needs among the congregation. No one sermon will meet them all except as it points us back to the only Savior who can help and heal and provide grace.”
• Faithful in Obscurity. “You may be a busy mom of little ones, a secretary stationed at her desk, a cashier at a counter, a caregiver tucked away in a lonely room, or in any number of occupations where you feel unnoticed. Don’t be concerned if you don’t get as much attention or response as other people. Don’t fret over whether your work seems ‘important.’ Faithfully do what God has called you to do, for His honor and glory.”
• Trusting God for Our Children’s Safety. “It’s one thing to trust God for my needs—it’s another thing to trust Him for my children’s.”
• Faith—not Genes—Determines Our Standing Before God. Korah was killed in one of God’s most severe judgments against rebellion. But his sons went on to serve God in the temple and write psalms.

I also had a guest post at Almost an Author: Sculpting a Masterpiece. Like Michelangelo carved “everything that wasn’t David” to create his famous statue, so we need to chisel anything that would detract and confuse in our writing.

Writing

I’ve just in the last couple of weeks gotten back into working on my book. I keep thinking I need a whole afternoon free to work on it. But I find that my brain feels fried after a couple of hours, at least in this revision stage. So hopefully that will inspire me to work when time is more limited. And the more I work on it, the less time it will take each session to figure out where I am and what I need to do next.

I want to give you a heads-up that I was asked to do a radio interview about my Faithful in Obscurity blog post on Wednesday morning, June 2. I was totally shocked! If all goes as planned, I’ll share the details Tuesday, June 1. The site does have a button to listen live. They have some recordings of past episodes, but I don’t know if my segment will be on the recording. I have not heard back from them since I sent an email accepting the invitation, but maybe that’s normal until the day of the interview. I keep thinking maybe I misunderstood, or they accidentally asked the wrong person, or this isn’t really legit. 🙂 But I clicked on the link to their program and listened to a couple of past episodes to see how the program went, so it’s a legitimate program. I’d appreciate your prayers that I would be calm and say what God wants me to, that I won’t blank out when asked something, that all the connections and logistics will work like they are supposed to.

How was your May? What are you looking forward to in June?

(I often link up with some of these bloggers)

It’s hard to believe the pandemic has gone on for more than a year now. But in some ways, it feels like we’ve lived under pandemic guidelines for ages.

There’s hope on the horizon with vaccine availability. But COVID numbers are still rising in our area.

We still don’t know what’s ahead, whether COVID will ever really go completely away, what kind of “normal” might eventually emerge. But we walk by faith and not by sight, trusting God’s guidance and keeping.

I had mixed emotions about the vaccines. I feared that we hadn’t had enough time to see what long-term effects they might have. But then we figured the negative effects of COVID, with our health issues, probably outweighed the possible negative effects of the vaccine. Plus I don’t think quarantine conditions will lift significantly until the vaccine is more widespread. So when my husband’s workplace sponsored an afternoon of giving out vaccines in conjunction with a local pharmacy, and they had the J&J one that we wanted, we went ahead and got them. We had sore arms for a few days, but no other side effects so far.

Almost two weeks after receiving vacations, we went back to church in person for the first time in a year. Our church is small enough to socially distance inside the building. We’re asked to wear masks except during the service while sitting with our families. They’ve been meeting in person for several months, but left the Zoom option open for those who felt they shouldn’t come in person for health reasons. It was good to see everyone in person again, but it did feel weird. Maybe it will just tak a while to get used to beig around people again. Maybe it won’t really feel normal until COVID ebbs away enough that we can meet without masks.

Family

Our biggest news this month is that my youngest son, Jesse, moved out into his own apartment. He was later to “launch” than usual due to going back to college for a few years, then difficulty finding a job, then COVID. He’s super excited to have his own place and he’s learning how to cook. 🙂

We’re adjusting to being official empty nesters. It will take a while to get over the sensation that he’s right down the hall in his room. We’re learning different daily rhythms in everything from how often we need to do laundry, what groceries to buy, how much to cook, taking on the chores he used to do, etc. Plus we just miss his everyday presence. 🙂 But we’re thankful he’s not far away. And, as we experienced with our other boys, the relationship continues and grows. It’s fun to see him take the next steps on his journey.

March also held my husband and sister’s birthdays, Pi Day, and the first day of spring—all reasons to celebrate!

Creating

We’ve had some discussions about possibly getting an RV. We finally decided maybe we should rent one for a short trip and see how we like it first. But I used an RV theme for Jim’s birthday card.

The RV design was from the Cricut, and the background was from a woodland scrapbooking paper set. I printed out the words via computer, cut them out with decorative scissors, and outlined them with a marker.

The other thing I’m creating this month is a new sewing/craft room! I had all my “stuff” set up in the smallest bedroom. When Jesse moved out, I wanted to move my things to his larger room. But first my husband patched up holes, painted multiple coats, and used a wet-vac to clean the carpet.

The whole house interior is painted beige, and after 11 years, it all need to be redone anyway. We want to switch to a light grey. We’re using the bedrooms and bathrooms to try out different shades. There’s an unbelievably wide variety of light grey shades, from yellowish to bluish to whitish to dull to bright. After a couple of tries, we found one we really like.

I thought it would just be a matter of moving a few bits of furniture and cabinets from one room across the hall to the other. But I forgot how much little stuff I had in there! We got the biggest portion done Saturday, but I have several little things to finish up.

Once I get the old bedroom cleared out, Jim will patch holes, paint, etc., in there, and then we’ll buy a bed and turn that into a guest room.

I am so thankful for my husband’s willing hard work, both with painting plus moving my “stuff.”

Jesse had a pegboard in his room on which he displayed his collection of airsoft guns. When Jim asked me if I wanted to keep the pegboard, I wasn’t terribly excited about it, but I figured it would be more trouble to take down and patch up behind it than it was worth. So we kept it and he painted it for me. Then I found tons of craft room pegboard ideas on Pinterest. And I discovered a whole new world of cute pegboard accessories!

Watching/Listening

We haven’t really watched anything out of the ordinary this month. I’m still working my way through Lark Rise to Candleford on my exercise bike, but I m nearing the end of that.

I’m not a big fan of podcasts—I’d usually rather listen to audiobooks or music. But Hope has mentioned the Literary Life Podcast. When I checked it out, they were discussing Silas Marner, which I was listening to at the time. So I listened to and enjoyed those sessions. Then it took me a while to decide which classic to listen to next, so in the meantime I listened to Literary Life’s discussions of 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff, which I had enjoyed reading a few years ago, and Why Read Old Books. I’d like to listen to Why Read Fairy Tales sometime.

Reading

This month I’ve completed (titles link back to my reviews):

• Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens (audiobook) was actually completed right at the end of February, but reviewed at the beginning of this month. I had never read this Dickens classic, and I enjoyed it. I didn’t like it as well as David Copperfield, but it was good.
• Silas Marner by George Elliot (audiobook). A man is betrayed by his best friend and falsely accused and disappointed by his church. He becomes something of a recluse, suffering another great loss, but taking in an orphaned child that changes his life. Very good.
• Hudson Taylor and Maria: A Match Made in Heaven by John Pollock. A brief biography of the famous missionary who began the China Inland Mission, particularly in relation to his first wife.
• The First Gardener by Denise Hildreth Jones, novel. The Tennessee governor’s family experiences a stunning loss and is helped by the governor’s mansion’s long-time gardener. A good story except for a couple of flaws.
• Do More Better: A Practical Guide to Productivity by Tim Challies. Good perspective and tips.
• The Warden by Anthony Trollope (audiobook), the first in his Chronicles of Barsetshire series. A meek warden of a local hospital is caught between a young reformer who thinks the funds are being mishandled and the staunch archdeacon who takes opposes the reformer. Took a while to get into, but I enjoyed it.
• Be Holy (Leviticus): Becoming Set Apart for God by Warren Wiersbe.

I’m currently reading:

• Barsetshire Towers by Anthony Trollope (audiobook)
• Preparing for Easter: Fifty Devotional Reading from C. S. Lewis.
• The Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion by Annette Whipple
• How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren
• Sons of Blackbird Mountain by Joanne Bischof

Blogging

Besides books reviews, Friday Fave Fives, and Laudable Linkages, I’ve shared on the blog this month:

• Putting Ourselves Forward.
• Rejoice . . . with Trembling?
• How to Quiet Your Soul.
• Disagreeing Like a Christian.
• Easter Teaches Us of New and Better Life.

This is one of my favorite times of year, changing from winter’s gloom and coldness, grass and trees greening up, buds forming, more daylight. Winter is having its (hopefully) last hurrah with temperatures in the twenties again at night this week, but the weather is often delightful during the day. We feel a little like bears coming out of hibernation. Somehow, more warmth and light gives us new energy.

How was your March?

(Sharing with Grace and Truth, Senior Salon, InstaEncouragements)

January is usually a welcome quiet spot after the busyness of the holidays. But this year it’s appointment month for me. Mostly follow-up appointments that just happened to get bunched up together. Today is, thankfully, the last one for now.

Early in the month we helped our son and daughter-in-law move into their first purchased home. It was structurally fine but needed numerous smaller fixes–painting, patching holes, cleaning multitudes of dog hair (even from the dishwasher!), turning a space leading to the attic into a pantry, etc. They’ve just about got the preliminaries done, and then they can take some of the bigger projects one at a time. It’s exciting to see what’s new every time we go over!

We owned the house they had been renting. At one time we thought about using it as rental property or maybe moving there if we ever needed to downsize. But in the end, we decided to sell it. Jim spent a number of evenings and weekends touch-up painting and fixing things, and we all went over for an evening of cleaning. We had a good offer after just a day and a half of it being on the market! We’re waiting on the appraisal and such to be worked out but hope to close in a couple of weeks. Jim will be thrilled not to have the responsibility of two properties any more.

For the first time since about last April, COVID numbers have gone a bit down this month in our city. I hope that trend continues and spreads worldwide. But the newspaper also reported cases of a new strain that is not deadlier but is more contagious. Our church is meeting in person, with people sitting in family groups six feet apart. But a few of us are still using Zoom, mainly those with physical issues. We can’t participate in the discussion times that way like we could when we were all on Zoom, and I miss that. But I am thankful for the option to watch in real time.

Timothyisms

I don’t know if I just haven’t been paying close enough attention, or if he’s getting old enough not to say cute/funny things any more. I hope not the latter. One thing I smiled at privately: when he was packing up items from his room, he named them one by one. One was his “favorite rubber band.” 🙂

Creating

No cards this month! I can’t think of anything creative I have done in a while except hang my winter wreath out front.

Watching

We haven’t really been in movie-watching mode, either. There are a few series we follow, but not many are on now. We’ve enjoyed watching The Weakest Link. I’m still working through Lark Rise to Candleford while riding my exercise bike.

Reading

This month I finished (linked to my reviews):

• The Old Lace Shop by Michelle Griep, the last in the Once Upon a Dickens Christmas trilogy of novellas.
• Mistletoe and Murder, a collection of ten novellas by Christian mystery and suspense writers.
• Be Delivered (Exodus): Finding Freedom by Following God, a commentary on Exodus by Warren Wiersbe.
• Daddy Long Legs, a classic epistolary novel by Jean Webster
• Becoming Elisabeth Elliot by Ellen Vaughn, a brand-new biography.
• Don’t Overthink It: Make Easier Decisions, Stop Second-Guessing, and Bring More Joy to Your Life by Anne Bogel.

I’m currently reading:

• Nicholas Nickleby by Dickens. I’m on a quest to read the Dickens books that I haven’t yet.
• Be Loyal (Matthew): Following the King of Kings by Warren Wiersbe
• Write Better by Andrew Le Peau
• The Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion by Annette Whipple
• Influence: Building a Platform that Elevates Jesus (Not Me) by Kate Motaung and Shannon Popkin
• In Between (A Katie Parker Productions #1) by Jenny B. Jones. I don’t usually read YA, but I found this on a Kindle sale and it looked good.
• Fear and Faith by Trillia Newbell

That looks like a lot. But the Dickens one is an audiobook. I have been reading a chapter a week of Fear and Faith on Saturdays, which our church Bible reading plan schedules as a catch-up day if needed. I read the commentary, which amounts to half a chapter or a chapter at a time, with my morning Bible reading. I’ve been chipping away at the LIW and writing book for a long while–I don’t keep them where I usually read, so I forget about them.

Blogging

Besides books reviews and almost weekly Friday Fave Fives and Laudable Linkages, I’ve shared on the blog this month:

• What’s Normal, Anyway? With all that’s been going on in our country, we often speak of wanting things to “get back to normal.” But what’s normal? If we mean trouble-free, no nation has experienced that for very long at a time.
• Reading Plans for 2021
• When It Looks Like Evil Is Winning.
• The Dreaded Proverbs 31 Woman. Did God put her in the Bible for us to dread and dislike?
• Whatever Happened to These Old Sayings? Some common sense wisdom that seems to have been lost.
• Spiritual Sacrifices. The OT sacrificial system has been fulfilled in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. But the NT speaks of spiritual sacrifices.

We have a few events to look forward to In February. And every day of winter brings us closer to spring, more sunlight, growing things returning. (Winter is not my favorite.Can you tell?) But in general I’m not looking too far ahead. There’s much in Scripture about moving forward a day at a time, a step at a time, in faith and hope and obedience.

How was your January? What are you looking forward to in February?

(Sharing with Grace and Truth, Hearth and Soul, Senior Salon, InstaEncouragements)