We have a few days of March left, but this was the best time for me to post my monthly recap.

Spring and winter are still going back and forth, as they always do. Even though we’re past the first day of spring, we’re still having cold nights. I’ve been tempted to update our front planters, but thankfully I resisted.

Family

We enjoyed celebrating my husband’s birthday and Pi Day. We got Jesse moved into his new house, and he’s planning to have us all over for dinner soon. We got his fairly new washer and dryer since his new house had stackable units in a closet. That entailed Jim having to put in an electrical line since our previous dryer was gas, but he did a great job.

We had a couple of lovely quiet weeks, with no appointments or activities. It was nice to catch our breath after the last couple of months.

Creating

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

The “Happy Birthday” and drawing were on the Cricut–evidently people can submit their designs to the Cricut Design Space. This was one sent in by a user. The Cricut sends the drawing part to the computer and then cuts around it. The original card was just the size of the drawing, with the “Happy Birthday” in the white space. But I wanted it a little bigger. I was happy to find the “camping” scrapbook paper in my files.

Then Mittu and Jason (mostly Mittu, he said) drew this card for Jim, which I thought was so cute.

We didn’t know the other was going with a fishing theme, so it was fun to find out we both did.

Watching

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit was a nice film, even though it was in another language and we had to rely on subtitles. I didn’t know til the end that it was based on a book which was based on a true situation. Judith Kerr wrote the book for children, telling about her family’s experiences as refugees from Germany from her viewpoint as a child. The title comes from a beloved stuffed bunny she had to leave behind. Then she learned later that the Nazis took everything left in their house. I want to read the book itself some day.

While looking up the trailer on YouTube, I also found this video with Kerr talking about this book as well as another she was working on for children about widowhood.

Reading

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

• Be Skillful (Proverbs): God’s Guidebook to Wise Living by Warren Wiersbe.
• Proverbs for Life for Women compiled by Lila Empson. A little lightweight, but it had some good spots.
• Life Without Limits: Inspiration for a Ridiculously Good Life by Nick Vujicic, who was born without arms and legs. Very good, inspirational.
• Dandelion Summer by Lisa Wingate, fiction, audiobook. An unlikely friendship forms between a retired, conservative, curmudgeonly white man and a streetwise black teenage girl. Very good.
• It Had to Be You by Susan May Warren, fiction, audiobook. The second in Susan’s Christiansen family series. In this one. oldest sister Eden has been on the sidelines cheering everyone else’s accomplishments. But her dream of being a reporter hasn’t materialized: she’s stuck in the obits department. She clashes with Jace, her brother’s hockey team captain, for not being a better example. But she doesn’t know Jace has his own struggles between his health and what the team owners want from him.
• When I Fall in Love by Susan May Warren, fiction, audiobook, the third Christiansen family story. Middle sister Grace is a homebody who loves cooking and wants to go to culinary school one day. Her family surprises her with a cooking school vacation in Hawaii. Besides all the fears involved with that, she’s humiliated that they’ve arranged for their brother’s hockey teammate, who is going to the same school, to help her out. She doesn’t want him to “babysit” her. He doesn’t want to, either. But when they meet, they hit it off. However, he’s promised not to get involved with anyone due to a health issue he doesn’t want to discuss.

I also finished rereading Adorning the Dark: Thoughts on Community, Calling, and the Mystery of Making by Andrew Peterson. I immediately started reading it again after finishing it earlier this year.

I’m currently reading:

• Be Comforted (Isaiah): Feeling Secure in the Arms of God by Warren W. Wiersbe, nonfiction
• Isaiah for You by Tim Chester, nonfiction
• Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross: Experiencing the Passion and Power of Easter compiled by Nancy Guthrie, nonfiction, a reread
• Whose Waves These Are by Amanda Dykes, fiction
• A Noble Scheme by Roseanna M. White, fiction, audiobook

Blogging

• Do You Have Access? The Old Testament emphasized how great a divide there was between the holy God and sinful people. But when Jesus died on the cross, the veil into the holiest part of the temple was torn in two, signifying that we can have access to God through Christ.
• The Power of Words. Some say we don’t need words to show love or share the gospel. We do need actions as well as words, but not instead of words.
• We Won’t Understand All, But We’ll Trust More. “I don’t know if we’ll ever understand all the mystery of God, even in heaven. But when we see Him, we’ll be ‘lost in wonder, love, and praise,’ as the hymn says. When we see Him, whatever doesn’t make sense to us here won’t matter. Our faith will be sight. Our trust will be perfect.”
• What Did Jesus’ Death on the Cross Accomplish? We know He died for our sins, and that’s huge. But His death accomplished a number of wonderful things.

We’re looking forward to Easter this weekend and my grandson Timothy’s birthday next month.

How was your March?

February has been a much better month that January. It’s gone by awfully fast, though, even with an extra day.

As a family, we enjoyed Valentine’s Day and my daughter-in-law’s birthday, as well as a visit from her mom and an excursion to the Ark Encounter, which I told about here.

Toward the end of last month, we watched Timothy early one morning while his parents went to a parenting seminar at church. That happened to be the day Jim takes the garbage and recycling out (we don’t have city pick-up where we live). He asked Timothy if he wanted to go with him to the recycling center, and he did. And he’s gone every week since then. 🙂 I don’t know if he liked watching the big machines that crush the garbage, or what. I imagine he’ll get tired of it pretty soon, but Jim has been enjoying the time with him.

Jesse, my youngest son, has had everything finally fall into place for his first house purchase. He’ closed yesterday after a couple of hiccups in the process. Shakespeare said, “The course of true love never did run smooth.” I think that could apply to house purchasing as well. Jesse is due to move in this weekend, so we’ll be helping with that.

Watching

We enjoyed the rest of All Creatures Great and Small, though the season seemed much too short.

The only other noteworthy program we saw was a movie based on a true story, The Hill. Rickey Hill had a degenerative spinal disease and wore leg braces as a child. But he loved baseball and was something of a batting phenom. His pastor father (wonderfully played by Dennis Quaid) wanted him to go into the ministry. He tried to discourage him away from baseball so he wouldn’t be injured. Rickey eventually signed with the Montreal Expos.

Creating

February was a busy month for card-making.

This was Jim’s Valentine card:

This turned out to be one of my favorite cards that I’ve made. The “To my Valentine” was done with the Cricut.

This was Jeremy’s:

He likes foxes, so I try to incorporate them.

This was Jason’s:

I had seen this design on the Cricut while looking for the wording for Jim’s and liked it. With this one, the Cricut sends the design to our prtinter, then calibrates how to cut out around it.

This was Mittu’s:

When I try to decide what to make, I might peruse Pinterest or the Cricut files, or I might just start looking through my supplies to see what materializes. I came up with Mittu’s card the latter way. The background paper and “Happy Valentine’s Day” were in a package of scrapbooking paper. I had the purple trim for the top and bottom in my supplies.

This was Timothy’s:

The heart is made of multiple layers of felt. I think I got the idea for this card fairly soon after finding a package of these hearts at Hobby Lobby.

This was Jesse’s:

I got the idea for this and Jim’s on Pinterest, but I try not to copy the cards there exactly.

I don’t think I have ever made one for my friend Melanie before, but as I was sorting through my supplies to make Mittu’s card, I thought Melanie would like this. They both like purple.

Then this card was for Mittu’s birthday:

Mittu likes sunflowers as well. The ones at the corners were multi-layered stickers. The greeting was done on the computer.

Then this time I wanted to share the cards I received.

The 3D card was from Jim. Cute!

For a closer look at the cards made by Timothy and Mittu:

I loved them all, but I am especially in awe of the one Mittu drew. I can’t draw much at all without it looking pre-schoolish, so I admire people who can. Jim looks a little like the older man in the movie “Up.” 🙂

Reading

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

• Adorning the Dark: Thoughts on Community, Calling, and the Mystery of Making by Andrew Peterson. I loved this book. It both inspired me and brought me to tears. I immediately started reading it again after I finished.
• When I Close My Eyes by Elizabeth Musser, fiction, audiobook. A desperate father takes on a hit job to get extra money for his son’s major heart surgery. But he succeeds only in putting his target in a coma. Then he finds out she is a best-selling author. So he starts reading her books. Meanwhile, the woman remembers her past while in a coma and eventually decides she needs to tell her family her secrets. Mostly good.
• The Winter Rose by Melanie Dobson, fiction. An American woman who helps smuggle Jewish children out of Vichy France takes two of them to raise as her own. But the children’s trauma isn’t over just because they’re on American soil. Very good.
• Dear Henry, Love Edith by Becca Kinzer, fiction. A romantic comedy of errors ensues when a man opens his upstairs to board what he thinks is an elderly widowed missionary lady. They keep missing each other, sustaining their mistaken impressions of the other. They leave notes for each other, which sets off their relationship. Not my usual fare, but it was okay.
• Take a Chance on Me by Susan May Warren. Ivy Madison moves to Deep Haven, Minnesota as the new assistant county attorney. She unexpectedly falls in love with Darek, a single dad who helps his parents run a resort. But then she realizes she is the one who crafted a plea deal for the man responsible for Darek’s wife’s death, before she knew any of the people involved. Good..
• Organizing for the Rest of Us: 100 Realistic Strategies for Keeping Your House Under Control by Dana K. White. nonfiction. Lots of good, practical tips.

I only listened to a bit of Susan Meissner’s A Bridge Across the Ocean, then I returned the audiobook. The story opened with a woman’s ghost roaming the deck of a ship just before it launches, and one woman senses her presence and speaks to her. I’ve enjoyed several of Susan ‘s books and was astonished to hear this. It’s not just that I don’t care for ghost stories. But Christian fiction (which I assume this was as everything else I’ve read from Susan has been) generally wouldn’t promote the idea of dead spirits on earth because that’s not what the Bible says happens to the dead.

I’m currently reading:

• Be Skillful (Proverbs): God’s Guidebook to Wise Living by Warren Wiersbe, nonfiction
• Be Comforted (Isaiah): Feeling Secure in the Arms of God by Warren W. Wiersbe, nonfiction
• Isaiah for You by Tim Chester, nonfiction
• Proverbs for Life for Women, nonfiction
• Life Without Limits: Inspiration for a Ridiculously Good Life by Nick Vulicic, nonfiction
• Dandelion Summer by Lisa Wingate, fiction, audiobook

Blogging

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

• When Small Frustrations Boil Over
• How Can we Love Like God Loves Us?
• Everyday Worship
• Assorted Stray Thoughts
• But I Did Everything Right

As we turn the Calendar page to March tomorrow, I’m looking forward to my husband’s birthday, “Pi Day” on the 14th, the official beginning of spring as well as more signs of it, and Easter.

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

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

January has never been my favorite month. But, over the years, I’ve come to appreciate it as a rest month after the busy December holiday activities.

This year, however, it seems like much of January was lost to sickness, being snowed in, and having no hot water for a couple of weeks. I wrote about all of that in a family update, so I won’t repeat it all here.

October is a similar rest month between our “birthday season” and the fall and winter holidays. But Jim’s surgery was schedule last October, so it seemed we missed out on that rest month as well.

We had to rest both months, but recovery rest is not the same as regular rest.

Nevertheless, I am glad those procedures and illnesses did happen during quiet months and not in the middle of Christmas or family celebrations.

The third week of January, we felt we were coming out of a fog and starting to get back to normal. We’ve been steadily improving.

With all of that, we haven’t really had many family activities or outings. Jesse, our youngest, is looking for a house since his apartment rent went up. He and Jim have had some house-hunting excursions. Until this last weekend, either the houses weren’t suitable or went under contract before Jesse could get an offer in. But it looks like we have a good possibility just now, pending inspection and such. We’re praying for God’s leading in this (and rejoicing that looking for a house here means not moving to Washington or Canada, as he had considered doing).

Our church held a parenting seminar last weekend. Thankfully, snow melted and illnesses abated so that Jason and Mittu could go while we watched Timothy. He’s comfortable with us, but had never been away from his parents that long before. But he did well.

Jim retired at the end of last year. But we’re not really sure what our new normal is yet. 🙂 It was nice, through all we dealt with in January, that he didn’t have work on top of everything else. As he has had time, he’s been cleaning out and organizing his office and the garage. At some point he’s going to finish painting the inside of the house. He had done one bathroom and two bedrooms before deciding to save the rest for retirement. When the weather gets warmer, but before it turns hot, we want to sort through our attic and shed and get rid of some things, hopefully sparing our children that task when we’re gone. There’s no shortage of projects, and it’s nice to take them at our own pace.

Watching

We’re very much enjoying the return of All Creatures Great and Small on PBS Masterpiece Theatre.

The only other thing we watched worth mentioning was the old movie Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey while Timothy was here. That was a family favorite as our boys were growing up, and it was fun not only to see it again but to share it with him.

I didn’t make any cards this month.

Reading

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

• I Can Only Imagine by Bart Millard, nonfiction. The story behind the song of the change in an abusive father when he comes to know the Lord.
• Being Elisabeth Elliot by Ellen Vaughn, the second of a two-part authorized biography.
• How to Write a Sentence and How to Read One by Stanley Fish, nonfiction. I like to read a few writing books each year to keep learning and refining my own writing.
• Beneath a Golden Veil by Melanie Dobson, fiction, audiobook. A slave-owner’s son cannot follow in his father’s footsteps as a plantation owner, and in fact helps a young slave escape. They end up in Sacramento during the gold rush era with a hotel owner who also surreptitiously helps slaves escape.Even though CA is a “free” state, they all still find themselves in danger. Very good.
• By Way of the Moonlight by Elizabeth Musser, fiction, audiobook. A young woman’s plans to turn her grandmother’s estate into an equine therapy center fall through when a developer tricks her grandmother into selling the property. Following clues in a cryptic letter the woman learns about her grandmother’s first love and time with a coastal mounted patrol during WWII. Good.
• The Lies of Saints by Sigmund Brouward, fiction. Third in the Nick Barrett series, Nick helps a detective friend with a mystery involving a two-decade old hazing and apparent suicide of a Citadel cadet and the disappearance of a debutante. Good.
• The Cost of Betrayal by Dee Henderson, Dani Pettrey, and Lynette Eason, audiobook. Just finished yesterday; review coming tomorrow.

I’m currently reading:

• Be Skillful (Proverbs): God’s Guidebook to Wise Living by Warren Wiersbe, nonfiction
• Be Comforted (Isaiah): Feeling Secure in the Arms of God by Warren W. Wiersbe
• Isaiah for You by Tim Chester
• Proverbs for Life for Women
• Adorning the Dark: Thoughts on Community, Calling, and the Mystery of Making by Andrew Peterson
• Organizing for the Rest of Us by Dana K. White
• The Winter Rose by Melanie Dobson
• When I Close My Eyes by Elizabeth Musser

I don’t usually have two of Wiersbe’s “Be” commentaries going at the same time. I’m in Proverbs for my own devotions, and our Bible study group just started Isaiah using the Tim Chester book. I wasn’t going to use Wiersbe’s book on Isaiah since we’re using another. But Isaiah is so long that Wiersbe’s comments are shorter, so it looks like it will be doable.

Blogging

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

• The Dark Side of Christmas. After all the peace, joy, and goodwill of the first Christmas in the Bible, we have the horrifying event of Herod’s killing all the baby boys in the region to try to snuff out the new king he heard about. How do we think about that?
• Books Read in 2023.
• Favorite Books of 2023.
• When You Don’t Like Change. Change is inevitable. Think what we’d miss if nothing ever changed. But some changes are unpleasant, even jarring. Yet God promises to be with us and to never change His character.
• When I Deny the Calling I Am Trying to Fulfill. It’s easy to miss the point even in the middle of doing what we think we’re supposed to.
• Family Update.
• You Can Throw Your Weight on God’s Testimony. Deeper understanding of what it means that God’s Word is sure.

Writing

Our critique group resumed after taking an extended break. We thought, instead of starting a new round of critiques and then breaking for Christmas, we’d just wait to start again til January. I think we all appreciated having more time available to prepare for the holidays.

I happened to be the first one up this time. As always, the comments, corrections, and suggestions were very helpful and left me raring to go and get back into my book project.

I was just telling another friend that I want to be more regular in working on the book. But it would be difficult to just stake out certain times or days to write. We’re in a period of never knowing what a day will bring forth. 🙂 Usually in the afternoons, I read and comment on a few blogs before going to my own writing. But I’m thinking i need to switch that order.

We’ve added another feature to the critique group. We meet for an hour to discuss the presenter of the week’s work. But now we have an extra fifteen minutes for those who can stay to discuss or pick each other’s brains about some aspect of writing or publishing. That’s been both fun and informative.

Looking ahead

I’m eager to turn the calendar page to the next month and leave January behind. I love Valentine’s Day, and my daughter-in-law’s birthday comes in February as well. We’re discussing a possible outing for her birthday which will be fun. And if Jesse’s house offer goes through, we’ll be helping him move.

But one of the best things I like about a new month is we’re that much closer to spring. 🙂

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

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

The end of November finds us in a cold snap transitioning to the Christmas season. Since Thanksgiving was the earliest it can be, it feels like we have a bonus week to get ready for Christmas.

Jim spent most of this month continuing to recover from his surgery in October. He saw both surgeons for post-op visits plus had his yearly physical. He can pretty much do all his usual things, but still tires easily and still has some abdominal pain.

I had my yearly physical and eye exam this month, thankfully with no new issues cropping up except an easily fixed vitamin deficiency.

We enjoyed our annual family costume party at my son and daughter-in-law’s house and Thanksgiving at ours, and everyone pitched in to help us decorate for Christmas last weekend.

Creating

I made one card this month for my friend Melanie‘s birthday.

The “Happy Birthday” was printed from the computer, then I used a rose corner punch on opposing corners. I was going to do all four corners, but the punch was bigger than I had thought. I liked how it turned out, though.

Watching and Listening

As much as I enjoy Elisabeth Elliot, I don’t always hear her radio programs, which now are being re-aired by BBN Radio. However, they do have links to the week’s episodes on their web site, plus a lot of the episodes are on the Elisabeth Elliot web site here. I bypass the ones that don’t apply to me any more, like how to make children mind. 🙂 But last week she had a series on Preparing for Old Age which I enjoyed.

We didn’t watch much of interest this month except one movie called Storming Juno. It’s not the best made film I’ve ever seen, but it was interesting. It’s about Canadian troops that were first to arrive at Normandy on D-Day and first to achieve their objective. At the end they showed actual footage as well as interviews with several of the soldiers who were there.

Reading

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

• Be Exultant (Psalms 90-150): Praising God for His Mighty Works by Warren W. Wiersbe, nonfiction. His commentary on the last sixty psalms.
• As Dawn Breaks by Kate Breslin, fiction. A young woman about to be forced into an unwanted marriage by her guardian survives an explosion in the munitions factory where she works in 1918. She takes on the identity of her friend who died and leaves the country, with unexpected consequences.
• The Wings of Poppy Pendleton by Melanie Dobson, fiction, audiobook. The young daughter of a Gilded Age couple is abducted from their castle and not heard from again. Decades later, the daughter of the castle’s caretaker first tries to avoid, and then helps a reporter trying to uncover what happened.
• The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate, fiction, audiobook. Dual timeline novel set in 1875, where two half-sisters and a slave set out to find the missing master of the house, and 1987, where a first-year teacher tries to motivate her students to get interested in reading by sharing their families’ stories.
• Someday Is Today: 22 Simple, Actionable Ways to Propel Your Creative Life by Matthew Dicks, nonfiction. I didn’t review it here but left a few thoughts on GoodReads.
• Elisabeth Elliot: A Life by Lucy S. R. Austen, nonfiction.Just finished, hope to review next week.

Last time, I had finished but had not reviewed yet The Rose of Winslow Street by Elizabeth Camden and Made for More: An Invitation to Live in God’s Image by Hannah Anderson, so I reviewed them both this month.

I’m currently reading:

• Be Skillful (Proverbs): God’s Guidebook to Wise Living by Warren Wiersbe, nonfiction
• Adorning the Dark: Thoughts on Community, Calling, and the Mystery of Making by Andrew Peterson, nonfiction
• Being Elisabeth Elliot by Ellen Vaughn
• How to Write a Sentence and How to Read One by Stanley Fish, fiction
• Secrets She Kept by Cathy Gohlke, fiction
• Crown of Thorns by Sigmund Brouwer, fiction

I’ve completed the workbook and videos in Jen Wilkin’s Abide Bible study course on 1, 2, and 3 John for the ladies’ Bible study at church. I’ve read many of her books but this is the first of her Bible studies I’ve done. It was quite good.

I still haven’t chosen and advent devotional book to read for December . . . which I need to do before tomorrow!

Blogging

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

• My Nest Is Empty, but My Heart Is Full
• When You’re Not the Chosen One
• A Thanksgiving Lifestyle
• Content Even When in Need?
• Recommended Christmas Devotional Books

Writing

Things will probably be light on that front until December, though I’ve jotted some notes for a couple of articles.

Turning the corner into December, I’m sure we’ll be busy about the same things as many of you: wrapping presents, sending Christmas cards, attending Christmas events, and looking forward to time with the family. My oldest son flies in later in the month, so we have a lot to look forward to.

I hope you had a great November and I wish you a blessed Christmas season!

October has gone by in a blur. The last half was taken up with Jim’s surgery and recuperation. Much of the first half involved getting ready for it.

I mentioned on a couple of Friday’s Fave Fives that he went in for one surgery, but was discovered to have an undiagnosed hernia in his abdominal wall with some of his intestines poking through. Thankfully they weren’t in there tightly, so his digestion wasn’t affected. But, by God’s grace, another surgeon was available and willing to repair it while they had him open. Plus she was familiar with and a great fan of the robotic “arms” the original surgeon was using. We were incredibly thankful everything was able to be taken care of in the same operation.

Recovery has been a good days-bad days experience. But that’s probably how it usually goes.

This recovery time takes me back to pandemic loneliness, with not seeing anyone and watching church via Facebook Live. It had taken me a while to get used to socializing in person again after restrictions were lifted. And to get used to our current church being a bit busier than we’re used to. But I find I do miss people after all. 🙂 Thankfully we do have texts and emails and Facebook, and we have had people checking in with us and asking if we need anything.

Since the Covid pandemic began, we started having a family costume party on Halloween night. All of Timothy’s usual trick-or-treating places (the zoo, the mall) were closed then. But we enjoyed it so much, we’ve kept up the tradition ever since. We won’t be able to have it this year yet, with Jim not feeling up to it and Timothy being sick. But we going to try to in the next couple of weeks.

Our fall color finally came in, I think a bit later than usual. I have not been out much, but I’ve seen enough to be “filled up” and ready for the drabness of winter.

We’ve had a few cold days, but it’s been unseasonably warm lately. However, we’re due to have nights in the 20s this week.

Creating

I don’t usually make cards in October, since we’re past “birthday season.” But I did this year for Pastor’s Appreciation month as well as a few friends going through various trials.

These were for the two pastors. I ended up making a similar design for both.

The “Thank you” message was embossed with the Cuttlebug, and the bigger leaves were cut out with the Cuttlebug as well.

(Don’t tell anyone, but just between us, the smaller leaves on the corners of the “Thank you” on the second card were put there to cover up a decorative corner-cutting punch that didn’t turn out right. 🙂 )

And these were for a couple of friends who lost a loved one.

I made these four the same day, so I kept them relatively simple.The wording on these was made with a stamp.

This last one was for a friend recovering from surgery (his was the same day as Jim’s). I had time to play with it a little more.

I ended up liking this one the best. I wished I could have gone back and touched up the others a little more—but I had already mailed them.

And I liked the little leaves (made with punches) on the corners so much that I used them again, even without a mistake to cover up. 🙂

Watching

We’re trying out a couple of new TV shows that seem pretty good so far. It seems like every time I mention a TV series, though, something objectionable comes up on them right after.

One movie we saw that was pretty good was Return to the Hiding Place. It was based on rue events during WWII. One of the young men hiding out at Corrie ten Boom’s place was a teenager named Hans Poley. He was a student who had defied an order of the Nazis, and Corrie was his mother’s friend. He got false identity papers and joined the Dutch resistance, sneaking out at times to help them.

Reading

Since last time I completed:

• Aftermath by Terri Blackstock, fiction, audiobook. An explosion at a concert kills a young girl’s friends and traumatizes her. Meanwhile, police are tipped off to pick up Dustin Webb, and they find explosives in his trunk. But he didn’t put them there. He calls a long-ago neighbor who is now a lawyer for help. Very good!
• Chasing Shadows by Lynn Austin, fiction, audiobook and print. This book follows the lives of three women in the Netherlands in three different venues of WWII: a young Jewess, a Resistance fighter, and a farm wife on the home front. Excellent.
• Made for More: An Invitation to Live in God’s Image by Hannah Anderson, nonfiction, Kindle. Excellent! Just finished this weekend, not reviewed yet.
• The Rose of Winslow Street by Elizabeth Camden, fiction, audiobook, also just finished and not reviewed yet.

I’m currently reading:

• Be Exultant (Psalms 90-150): Praising God for His Mighty Works by Warren Wiersbe
• Elisabeth Elliot: A Life by Lucy S. R. Austen
• How to Write a Sentence and How to Read One by Stanley Fish—though I have not really read this lately, having gotten distracted by the next one.
• Someday Is Today: 22 Simple, Actionable Ways to Propel Your Creative Life by Matthew Dicks
• Far Side of the Sea by Kate Breslin

I’m also going through Jen Wilkin’s Abide Bible study course on 1, 2, and 3 John with a ladies’ Bible study at church.

Blogging

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

• When You Can’t Set Everything Right.
• How Can We Share God with a World that Doesn’t Want to Hear?
• Writing Pet Peeves.
• When You Feel Like a Failure.
• Are You Troubled?
• What Are You Stirred Up About?

Writing

This month has not lent itself to much writing. But I did send an entry to Lois‘s Remembering Our Parents site about my mother-in-law, here.

Our writing critique group decided that, instead of starting a new round of presentations and critiques and then stopping for the holidays, we’d go ahead and take a hiatus now through the end of the year. And though I’m grateful for the extra time, I’m missing our bi-weekly meetings already. We still keep in touch via text, though.

Looking ahead

Hopefully Jim’s recovery will progress through the next few weeks. I need to schedule some medical appointments for myself before the end of the year. But I don’t think there’s much else on the horizon until Thanksgiving. Hopefully November will be a restful month.

How was your October?

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

The long-awaited fall breezes are finally here! We still get warm in the afternoons, but I love evenings and mornings.

Besides the first day of autumn, September held several pleasant happenings. We enjoyed Jim’s grilled burgers with the family on Labor Day. Jason, Mittu, and Timothy had us over for Grandparent’s Day. We had a lovely meal, some cute cards in which Timothy told what he liked about us, and a couple of thoughtful gifts. Then Jesse, my youngest, turned 30, so we had fun celebrating him together.

I had mentioned earlier in the year that we were visiting churches. We’ve been at the same one for several weeks now and just finished their class for potential members. This church is a little busier than we’re used to. Of course, we don’t have to go to everything, and I’m somewhat limited due to physical issues. But we really like the preaching and are enjoying getting to know folks.

Jim changed his mind about retirement several times, but finally told his company he’ll retire at the end of the year. We’ve had many discussions about what he’ll do afterward. He likes to keep busy, so I’m sure he won’t occupy a rocking chair for long. It’s nice to have options.

Creating

I only made one card this month, for Jesse’s birthday. I did it on the computer, as I didn’t have any ideas for a “handmade” card for a 30th birthday. I found free clip art site with birthday candles in a set of five, so I copied and pasted it enough times to fill up the page.

Watching

One movie Jim and I enjoyed together was Little Boy, about an eight-year-old boy whose father goes off to WWII. Being told that “faith can move mountains,” he sets out to exert all the faith he can to bring his father home. I would not take my theology from the movie. But it was sweet in places, touching and heart-wrenching in others, and did some interesting things with cinematography.

Another was Walking with the Enemy, “based on” a true story about a young Jewish Hungarian man who takes the uniform from a dead German Nazi officer to impersonate him to rescue a friend being held prisoner. But he can’t leave others to die, so he impersonates the officer more often in more daring situations.

We also watched Hanna’s War, based on Hannah Szenes (sometimes written as Senesh). She was a Hungarian Jew who immigrated to Israel during WWII. She was recruited and trained as a paratrooper with the British Special Operations Executive to parachute into Yugoslavia and help rescue Hungarian Jews facing deportation. She was arrested in Hungary, jailed, tortured, and executed. Wikipedia says she is regarded as a national hero is Israel. Though we didn’t do this on purpose, it was helpful that we watched Walking With the Enemy previous to this and knew the situation with Germany’s takeover of Hungary.

Another “based on true events” film I watched by myself when Jim was away was Belle. Dido Elizabeth Belle, the biracial daughter of a Navy sea captain, was brought to his estate to be raised as his daughter and heir, even though by society’s standards she’s not permitted in certain gatherings. Her grandfather was the Lord Chief Justice who has to rule on a case involving slaves thrown overboard from a ship, whose owners then sought to be compensated by insurance. But the details of the film vary from history. You might know of Dido from a famous painting she and her cousin were the subjects of.

Another I watched myself was Dear Viola, where Kellie Martin plays Katie, a spinsterish accountant for a newspaper who submits a reply for the recently vacated “Dear Viola” advice column. Her editor likes it so well, he hires her to take on the column, but she wants to do so secretly. Soon she’s sparring with a male writer who laments his lack of social life since his wife died. The small town eagerly awaits what the next letter will say. But in such a small town, she figures out who the letter-writer is. This was a predictable but sweet romance. It’s clean except for Katie’s friend saying she had hoped Katie would stay overnight during her date.

I’ve not watched The Chosen. I’m wary of biblical fiction in books or films, because invariably the writers have to fill in with extra-biblical details. I think they can help visualize happenings in the Bible if we keep in mind that anything extra is the author’s speculation. For instance, some years ago I saw a film about the crucifixion (not The Passion of the Christ, but I don’t remember what it was). I was struck by the noise of the crowd and the realization of having to bear that along with everything else. The Bible says people taunted Jesus and jeered, but I tended to think of them doing that only when someone was quoted.

However, I usually abstain because I don’t want the non-biblical parts confused in my mind with the real parts, and I don’t want those actors in my mind as I read the Bible.

Recently Adam Blumer shared a video of how the director of The Chosen filmed the scene of Jesus waking on the water. I was intrigued, so I watched the episode containing that scene (Season 3, Episode 8, “Sustenance“). There were some, “Hmm, I wonder why the filmmakers did it that way or threw that in” moments. But that particular scene was very powerful, as was the reading of Psalm 77 at the end in a flashback of Asaph debuting before King David a psalm he wrote. Hearing the last stanza, especially, dealing with water and such verses as “Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen” (Psalm 77:19) just after seeing Jesus walk on the water was really something.

Reading

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

• Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry, audiobook. This was my third of Berry’s books and my favorite so far. An older woman reflects on her life in Kentucky.
• A Fool and His Monet by Sandra Orchard was a fun whodunnit about stolen art, but had some poignant moments as well.
• A Beautiful Disguise by Roseanna M. White, audiobook. Two Edwardian-era siblings whose father spent all their money on entertainment become a private investigation firm called The Imposters to support themselves and their dependents. Excellent!
• Bleak Landing by Terrie Todd. An Irish girl is abused by her drunken father and bullied by classmates in her small town in Canada. She runs away as soon as possible. Coming back to claim her father’s property, no one recognizes her except her arch enemy. Very good.
• Far Side of the Sea by Kate Breslin, audio and print. A British man who lost his hand and confidence on the front lines in WWI receives word that the French woman who helped him, who he thought dead, needs his help. He travels to France to find the woman’s sister sent the message but thinks her sister needs them. Excellent.
• What She Left for Me by Tracie Peterson, audio and print. A pastor’s wife returns home from a mission trip to find her husband has left her for his secretary and cleaned out their accounts. Her only option is to go to her mother, with whom she has not had a good relationship. Very good.
• Lament for a Father: The Journey to Understanding and Forgiveness by Marvin Olasky, nonfiction. Marvin’s father was closed off during his lifetime, so Marvin uses his investigative journalism skills to learn more about and come to terms with him. Very good.

I’m currently reading:

• Be Exultant (Psalms 90-150): Praising God for His Mighty Works by Warren Wiersbe
• Made for More: An Invitation to Live in God’s Image by Hannah Anderson
• Elisabeth Elliot: A Life by Lucy S. R. Austen
• How to Write a Sentence and How to Read One by Stanley Fish
• The Phantom of the Organ, a Kindle Vella series by Susan Braun
• Aftermath by Terri Blackstock, audiobook

I’m also going through Jen Wilkin’s Abide Bible study course on 1, 2, and 3 John with a ladies’ Bible study at church. It combines a workbook, group discussion, and video series.

Blogging

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

• When Everything Goes Wrong
• Influencing Our Grandchildren for God
• How Can I Be Nice When My Hormones Are Raging?
• Is It More Important to Read the Bible Together or Alone?

Writing

I haven’t done anything on the book project lately, I’m sorry to say. But I submitted a devotion for Christian Devotions which was accepted. It won’t appear until next August. And I am working on a piece about my mother-in-law for Remembering Our Parents.

Looking ahead

October is usually a pretty quiet month, a nice respite between “birthday season” and Thanksgiving and Christmas. Jim will be having surgery mid-month, which will keep him out of commission for a couple of weeks, at least.

We’ve had a family dress-up party at the end of October since Covid closed down Timothy’s trick-or-treat options a few years ago. I already have a costume in mind! 🙂

How was your September? What are you looking forward to in October?

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

August has been a full but very hot month. I’m looking forward to crisp autumn breezes.

The highlight of this month was my oldest son visiting for ten days. My husband was off and the other kids were here more often, so we had kind of a stay-cation. We celebrated my oldest son’s birthday and mine in that time period. We visited the country’s largest Buc-cee’s, Seven Islands State Birding Park, and the Lost Sea Adventure, which contains the USA’s largest underground lake. We played lots of games, took turns cooking or eating out, laughed, chatted, and had some quiet times in-between all the activities.

This last weekend, we went with Jason, Mittu, and Timothy to the Knoxville Asian Festival. I’ll say more about that in tomorrow’s Friday’s Fave Five.

Timothy started fourth grade at home with an online program. He seems to be enjoying it so far.

With Jim being off most Fridays now, he, Timothy, and Jason sometimes hang out when Timothy gets done with school. Sometimes they go fishing, and they went kayaking once. Sometimes they meet for ice cream.

Jim has bought and sold microscopes online for years. Often someone will be cleaning out a father or grandfather’s attic and find an old microscope and list it for sale. Jim will clean it up, replace parts, and recalibrate it and then sell it. He does it mainly as a hobby, but it also helped put our kids through Christian schools.

A few weeks ago, he found a listing for dozens, maybe scores of microscopes. Two van-loads of them. He got them for a good price and has already sold several. He’s remade what he spent and says he may have overestimated the used microscope market. But he enjoys working on them in his spare time.

Jim’s early career was in labs, but promotions had him managing other people in the labs. Then he was moved to sales because customers needed salespeople with the technical background who could tell them what the company would be able to do. I think he’s been good at every phase, but I think he sometimes misses the hands-on work. So working on these microscopes is his happy place.

Creating

This card was for Jason and Mittu’s fourteenth anniversary.

And this was for Jeremy’s birthday.

This is the first time I’ve tried using an embossing folder on darker paper. I was glad the embossing showed up well. I searched for free clip art to find the fox in the party hat, then printed him out.

Watching

We saw a few interesting movies this month.

One was The Viceroy’s House, starring Hugh Bonneville (Lord Grantham in Downton Abbey) as Lord Mountbatten, who was tasked with overseeing Britain’s withdrawal from India and the setting up of a new government. Unfortunately, I think he was in a no-win situation. The Moslem and Hindu factions would be displeased no matter what was done. Some wanted to divide India and create Pakistan; some wanted to keep the country together. I knew very little about all this, so it was interesting to learn about.

Denial was another good movie based on a true story. David Irving has written and spoken extensively, saying the Holocaust never happened. Writer and historian Deborah E. Lipstadt disagreed with him in her book, and he sued her for libel. In Britain, the burden of proof is on the defendant. I don’t want to spoil the story by sharing the lawyer’s strategy, but it was fascinating.

Unfortunately, there was one occurrence of one of the worst bad words. I had thought this particular word was reserved for R-rated movies, and this is PG-13. My son said he thought the rule was PG-13 movies were allowed one use of it. So it’s almost like they have to toss it in because they can. Frustrating.

Sadly, we ran into the same thing with an otherwise excellent movie called Woman in Gold, another true story about a woman whose family paintings, including a very famous one of her aunt, was stolen by Nazis. She embarks on a lawsuit to have them returned, using a very young and not very experienced lawyer.

Reading

Since last time I have completed:

• Be Worshipful (Psalms 1-89): Glorifying God for Who He Is by Warren W. Wiersbe
• Humble Roots: How Humility Grounds and Nourishes Your Soul by Hannah Anderson. I finished it in June but felt like I needed to go through it again.
• Dreams of Savannah by Roseanna M. White, audiobook. A Civil War-era book about two people coming to realize their assumptions about slavery and Black people are wrong–but then they have to decide what to do about it. Despite how that sounds, it’s not at all preachy. It’s wonderfully layered.
• The Words We Lost by Nicole Deese. Ingrid Erikson is an acquisition editor for a publishing company, but she’s been under-performing due to grief over the death of her father, best friend, and romance. Her boss gives her an ultimatum: find the lost manuscript that her friend, a best-selling author, was reported to have been working on before she died. But that would require her to go back to the place and people she planned never to see again. Excellent.
• Yesterday’s Tides by Roseanna M. White, audiobook. Two related story lines taking place in 1914 and 1942 on Ocracoke Island in North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Excellent.
• Ladies of the Lake by Cathy Gohlke, audiobook. Four friends in boarding school in the early 1900s vow to be friends forever. But trouble brews when two of the girls fall for the same young man. He comes from a German family, which alienates one of the girls whose brother died in the sinking of the Lusitania. Deceit and betrayal cause severe ramifications for years to come. Excellent.
• The Second Half by Lauraine Snelling. A couple just about to enter retirement are asked to keep their grandchildren while their son is deployed. Very good.
• Elderberry Croft and Elderberry Days by Becky Doughty. A series of short stories about individuals in a trailer park and the unusual young woman who comes to live among them. Very good.
• Nathan Coulter by Wendell Berry, audiobook. A boy comes of age on a small Kentucky farm.

I’m currently reading:

• Be Exultant (Psalms 90-150): Praising God for His Mighty Works by Warren Wiersbe
• Made for More: An Invitation to Live in God’s Image by Hannah Anderson
• Elisabeth Elliot: A Life by Lucy S. R. Austen
• How to Write a Sentence and How to Read One by Stanley Fish
• The Phantom of the Organ by Susan Braun
• A Beautiful Disguise by Roseanna M. White, audiobook
• A Fool and His Monet by Sandra Orchard

Blogging

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

• Criticism Can Be a Blessing (even when it hurts)
• When You’re at Your Lowest. Psalm 88 is the only one that does not end in hope. But the psalmist still expresses faith.
• When Do We Need to Look to Jesus?
• Birthday Meditations on Aging
• Trusting God When Our Children Leave the Nest

Writing

I haven’t done much work on the book manuscript, but spent more time on a couple of smaller articles.

I loved much of August, but I am eagerly awaiting September. It probably won’t feel and look like fall til near the end of the month, but every day is one day closer! We’re looking forward to Labor Day burgers Monday, my youngest son’s birthday later in the month, and the everyday joys and get-togethers in-between.

How was your August? Are you ready for fall?

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

I was just telling a friend that I’m usually longing for fall by the end of summer, but that yearning is already upon me. July has had some fun spots, but it’s been hot and muggy. I’m glad it’s about over.

One of the highlights of July was celebrating Independence Day with the family, with the usual burgers, hot dogs, and fireworks. Another was my middle son’s birthday.

The rest of the month was made up of enjoyable everyday activities.

Creating

This card was for Jason’s birthday:

The “happy birthday” was embossed with the Cuttlebug. The letters in “son” were puffy stickers. The blue squares were cut from a thick cardstock with a chevron pattern, though that doesn’t show up here.

These two were for ladies in the church who had surgeries with long recovery times.

The words were made with a stamp.

Watching

We haven’t really seen much I would recommend except Another Mother’s Son. It’s based on the true story of a mom in the Island of Jersey during WWII. The Germans occupied the area and brought in Russian POWs to work. One escaped, and this mom took him in because she would want someone to do the same for her son.

Reading

Since last time I completed (linked to my reviews):

• Every Ocean Has a Shore by Jamie Langston Turner. Three people who happened to be together during a crisis continue to play a part in each other’s lives.
• When the Day Comes by Gabrielle Meyer, audiobook. Libby Conant is a time crosser who lives in 1774 Williamsburg and 1914 New York. She’ll have to decide by her twenty-first birthday which timeline to live the rest of her life in. Excellent, and a unique twist.
• In This Moment by Gabrielle Meyer, sequel to When the Day Comes, audiobook. Maggie is a time crosser, but because both her parents were as well, she has three timelines instead of two: 1861, 1941, and 2001. Excellent.
• Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachan. I’d seen the film with Glenn Close years ago but had not read the book til now. Excellent writing and story.
• Blogging for God’s Glory in a Clickbait World by Benjamin Vrbicek and John Beeson. Very good.

I’m currently reading:

• Be Worshipful (Psalms 1-89): Glorifying God for Who He Is by Warren W. Wiersbe
• Humble Roots: How Humility Grounds and Nourishes Your Soul by Hannah Anderson. I finished it in June but felt like I needed to go through it again.
• Dreams of Savannah by Roseanna M. White, audiobook
• The Words We Lost by Nicole Deese

Blogging

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

• Do You Want to Be Free? The world thinks freedom is being able to do whatever one wants. They don’t realize they’re in bondage because their chains are so pleasurable. But the pleasures of sin only last for a short season.
• Devotional Time in Different Seasons of Life. It’s okay if our Bible reading and prayer time looks different in different stages of life.
• How to Return to Your First Love. We can get a little stale in both our romantic and spiritual lives, and some of the same advice can apply to each.
• The Most Important Way to Change. We like self-help articles and blog posts, but we overlook the primary means God uses to work change in our hearts.

I need to forewarn you that I’m going to have to change themes sometime soon. I’ve had some behind-the-scenes trouble with my blog and have been advised that my current theme (blog layout) is an old one which isn’t implementing all of WordPress’s newer programming. I’ve just started looking at other themes and none has grabbed me right off the bat. But I wanted to let you know why things might suddenly look different here in the future.

I didn’t realize it until yesterday, but today is my 17th blogging anniversary! Thank you for reading, responding, and making blogging such a blessing.

Writing

I’ve been able to incorporate the edits from my critique group in my manuscript. I’ve also worked on a devotional that I think is almost ready to submit to an online site.

Looking forward

August is a big month for us with two birthdays and my oldest son’s visit from RI. We usually work some family outings in during that time and enjoy a lot of time together.

How was your July? Are you looking forward to anything in August?

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

I don’t know how a month can simultaneously feel long and yet seem to have sped by, but June was like that to me.

I count summer from June 1, though summer only officially began last week. Heat and humidity keep me mostly inside with the AC on and a cold drink at hand.

But we had a couple of outings involving a picnic lunch. We went with Jason, Mittu, and Timothy to a park at Douglas Dam and enjoyed some games as well as exploring the tailwater area with Timothy.

Then last week we went to a different park to eat lunch and shoot model rockets, something we did when our boys were small. More on that at this week’s Friday’s Fave Five.

We enjoyed Father’s Day and other family dinners and quiet evenings in-between.

Creating

Somehow Father’s Day caught me off guard—I thought I had another week. So I ended up using stickers I had on hand to make Jim’s and Jason’s cards.

The card I was trying to make for my step-father didn’t come out like I had hoped. His had to be sent early through the mail, so I ended up buying one for him.

Here is Jim’s with a camping theme:

This is Jason’s:

Jason used to make cards or notes divided into four, and that seemed like a good layout for this one. Fun fact: I accidentally had the card upside-down and didn’t realize it til the front was finished. I’ve done that once or twice before and rectified it by cutting off the whole front and gluing it to another card. I decided to leave it this time, figuring it would give the family a laugh. I wrote “OOPS!” on the inside front cover.

Watching

There’s not much on in the summer, so we’ve streamed a few more programs than usual.

We watched the four-part Shiny Happy People on Amazon Prime. The subtitle is “Duggar Family Secrets,” but it’s about more than the Duggars: it’s a kind of exposé of Bill Gothard and his teachings. I already knew much of the information from reading Jill Duggar Vuolo’s book, Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith from Fear (linked to my review).

Though there were serious problems with Gothard’s teachings and practices that needed to come to light, the series grouped all fundamentalists and almost all homeschoolers and conservative Christians under the same umbrella, which was not correct. This article from WORLD magazine, Shiny Happy People is Both True and False, delineates some of the faulty conflation.

One night when Jim was away, I watched Babette’s Feast, a1987 film based on a short story by Isak Dinesen. That led to reading the story and discussing both the story and film here.

We watched Jesus Revolution together with mixed emotions.

We watched The Battle of Britain, a WWII film made in 1969. We were expecting it to be good since it had an all-star cast, but we were disappointed.

Another pretty bad movie was God and Spies. It was a poorly written, mostly poorly acted Christian film, but it was based on a true story Operation Ivy Bells during the Cold War. The Navy, CIA, and NSA worked together to tap the USSR’s underwater cables. Garry Matheny, one of the divers, is the main character (and I think writer/producer). A few slides with photos and more information at the end made me wonder if this would have been better done as a documentary.

Finally, we saw a good one called Greater:The Brandon Burlsworth Story, also based on a true story. Brandon was an unlikely football player who was a walk-on for the Arkansas Razorbacks, but then excelled, became an All-American, and was signed to the Indianapolis Colts shorty before he died in a car accident. This was not presented as a Christian film, but Brandon’s faith was a big part of his life and was well-displayed here. We’re not big into sports films, but we enjoyed this.

Reading

Since last time I completed (linked to my reviews):

• The Two Mrs. Abbots by D. E. Stevenson, audiobook. This is the third Barbara Buncle book, though Barbara is Mrs. Abbot now. The other Mrs. Abbott is a young woman who married Barbara’s husband’s nephew, who was like a son to them. This story takes place during WWII, with a number of subplots intertwining, including a runaway girl, an incognito author, and a spy.
• The Four Graces by D. E. Stevenson, audiobook. The four Graces are adult daughters of the village vicar. This story continues with some of the characters from The Two Mrs. Abbotts, though Barbara is only in the first chapter. This was a sweet story as the young women face various trials.
• A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus, audiobook. I dearly loved this book. Three orphaned children are included by their family’s solicitor with child evacuees sent from London to the countryside during WWII. The hope was that their foster family might be willing to keep them permanently. Though this book was written a few years ago, it reads like a classic children’s novel–and references many classic children’s novels.
• The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner, audiobook. I didn’t review it here, but did at GoodReads. Set during the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, this was an intriguing story about an immigrant who answers an ad for essentially a mail-order bride. Everything goes well until she finds he is married to someone else as well as her. Though the writing was well-done, some objectionable elements turned me off.
• Humble Roots: How Humility Grounds and Nourishes Your Soul by Hannah Anderson. Excellent. I’m rereading it, after just finishing it, to try to soak in more of it.
• Gay Girl, Good God: The Story of Who I Was and Who God Has Always Been by Jackie Hill Perry, audiobook and Kindle. Jackie’s remarkable story of becoming a Christian out of a life of drug addiction and homosexuality.

I’m currently reading:

• Be Worshipful (Psalms 1-89): Glorifying God for Who He Is by Warren W. Wiersbe
• Blogging for God’s Glory in a Clickbait World by Benjamin Vrbicek and John Beeson
• The Dwelling Place by Elizabeth Musser
• When the Day Comes by Gabrielle Meyer
• Every Ocean Has a Shore by Jamie Langston Turner

Blogging

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

• Unseen Hurts. Parallels between wounds of the flesh and spirit.
• Why Doesn’t God Make Everything Clear? It seems like that would prevent a lot of debating. But perhaps God wants our hearts and dependence and grace in ways we might not yield them otherwise.
• Fathers and Children. We’re not doomed by a bad father or saved by a good father.
• A Steady Soul. Just as a firm handrail helps me when I feel unsteady, God’s Word is a firm guide and aide to keep us steady spiritually.

Writing

I completed my first draft some time ago, so now I am revising chapters. I just completed my third one–actually combining the next two chapters— for our critique group. I received helpful and encouraging feedback.

As I told the group, whenever it is my turn to present, I am excited to get back into it—but then real life kicks in, and I don’t get as much done until my next turn.

However, I discovered something that I think will be helpful. I keep thinking I need a big block of time before I can even get started writing. But in this revising stage, I can only think through so much about arranging and rearranging and whether I need to add here or cut there before my brain can’t process any more. So, realizing I can make a dent in a shorter time period will hopefully help me do so more often. Plus, the more often I work on my draft, the less time I need to reorient myself from where I left off.

Looking ahead

I’m always glad to get past the summer solstice and know the days will start shortening from here on. I like having more light in the evenings this time of year . . . but maybe not quite as late. We’re looking forward to the Fourth of July with the family next week, Jason’s birthday later, and lots of everyday life throughout.

How was your June? Looking forward to anything in July?