In Case You Missed It: A Summer Round Up
“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time." -John Lubbock
How has your summer been going? I’ve been seeing lots of adorable “back to school” pictures on Facebook lately. Here in Seattle, we still have a couple of week’s left before the kids go back.
As a work from home mom, with both and tween and a teen, summer has been a season where I’ve needed to exercise extra creativity in the way I manage my time. I know many of you have been right there, too, doing your best to balance work with the rest of life. I love the work I do and I love spending time with my kids. It’s all, good, even with the pull and tension between the two.
I’ve taken a more relaxed schedule with writing in this season. A couple of posts I published this summer were pieces that I wrote back in the spring- and a couple more posts were re-worked versions of previously written pieces from long ago. This seemed to work well for me, so I believe I’ll follow a similar format next summer. I’m rested, now, and excited about returning to a heavier writing schedule this fall.
With only two weeks left before my oldest starts her senior year of high school and my youngest goes into seventh grade, I believe it’s a good time to step back, even more, to fully focus on enjoying some relaxed family time during these final days of summer. I’ve already pre-scheduled the Grace and Truth link-ups, but other than that, it will be quiet around here, throughout the rest of August, as I step back from the computer. The monthly newsletter will also be on hiatus. For the next two weeks, the one place, online, where I'll still be is Instagram.
I know I’m not the only one who takes a step back in the summer, so I’ll leave you with @@a round up of some posts you may have missed@@….
“When I have learnt to love God better than my earthly dearest, I shall love my earthly dearest better than I do now.” -C.S. Lewis
The more we love God, the better we are at loving people. Our individual relationship with God needs to take priority over our relationships with each other- even our spouse....read more
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Unknowns often make us uncomfortable. Yet they’re a big part of life. Learning to accept that we can’t control and plan everything that happens to us or to those we love, is necessary if we want to experience the peace that God has for us....Read more
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“I don’t really care if I get it or not. I just want to see what happens.”
How many times have you heard this phrase (or a variation of it) from someone you know? Maybe that someone was you. Did you believe it? Sometimes indifference is a mask for fear....read more
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I could hear my seven-year-old happily singing from the bathroom as I loaded the dishwasher. It was almost time to leave for school. His big sister pointed out that he’d been in there a long time, and that he was probably getting into stuff. It was the same suspicion I had. His bathroom shenanigans were usually no more harmful than the occasional overzealous application of his Daddy’s cologne- and sometimes, he used way too much toilet paper, causing the toilet to overflow. I’m an expert with the toilet plunger. I have a lot of practice....read more
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Instagram is one of my favorite places to be on social media. I have a lot of fun there and I'm often inspired by the creativity, the beauty, and the inspirational words. I also love the behind the scenes peeks I get into other people's lives (I love the cute kids and animals).
There are many different types of Instagram accounts that I enjoy following. One particular group that I wanted to highlight today are faith writers....read more
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They walk very slowly up the aisle of the church, wrinkled hands clasped, and take their places together every week, front and center. Always together, softly swaying to the music, lifting hands in prayer, never letting go with the other set of hands. They are one. When the music turns lively, their hands swing together to the beat and the man’s feet start a little jig....read more
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I never thought of myself as a fierce woman until I had kids. The depth and ferocity of my feelings, when I perceive something as a threat to my children, came as a surprise to me....read more
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Look to Jesus: How to Let Go of Worry and Trust God, is the title of my book that came out in January. It has been exciting to see how God has been using this little book. I love hearing from people who've read it, who've shared with me how it has served as an encouragement to them....read more
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I was raised in a Christian home. My mom was a children’s pastor. I felt like I was always at church. But when I got to high school, I started having doubts about my faith. I was no longer interested in taking everything my parents said at face value. I had to figure it out for myself. More importantly, I needed the Holy Spirit to help me…to change my heart. I could no longer rely on my parent’s faith. It had to be my own....read more
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It wasn’t a particularly useful skill, but it was something that I loved doing. It was my “claim to fame” as a kid, my one impressive trick. For a while, I was good at diving. I had a friend, Carrie, who did back flips off the diving board like it was the easiest thing in the world. One summer day, between fourth and fifth grade, I asked her to teach me how to do what she did....read more
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Enjoy the rest of your summer! I'll be back soon!
