Bottom o’ the month to ya! I hope everyone is starting to thaw a bit. Spring has pretty much sprung here in Texas. We never really know how to dress this time of year. The morning chill begs a sweater, but the afternoon sun cooks you in it. 75 degrees feels warm and glorious in the sunshine but rather frigid with clouds and wind. I will long for it all, though, in a couple of months when it’s 100 degrees all…the…time.
Allie started this Women’s History Month by treating us to a school choir concert themed Pop Music of the 80’s, 90’s and 00’s. If I closed my eyes I could swear I sat in MY high school auditorium instead of hers! Spiral perm, gravity defying bangs and all. She sang a fun and peppy rendition of Walking on Sunshine by Katrina and the Waves. I love to watch her perform – especially accompanied by Chuck, Shelby, my parents and twin sister. That’s her in front in the green shirt!
My girl left the concert to go straight to our church’s version of Disciple Now weekend. The next week she competed in a classical solo and ensemble contest. We still await results. Shelby started back to school that week as well. I hear the angels singing the Hallelujah chorus now. Her recovery progressed remarkably. However, mom and dad worked hard to care for and entertain her lo those long weeks.
My niece Olivia turned 10 on the 11th and treated family and friends to a private screening of the new Tom and Jerry movie. We enjoyed the company more than the show. That kicked off a week’s Spring Break from school for my kids. Since my husband took off work two weeks previously to help with Shelby’s post op care, we stayed home and kept it low key. He did take one vacation day to take us to the Dallas Zoo with a few thousand other people.
The last weekend of their school holiday, Allie went on a mini-mission trip. Shelby went to stay with my mom, dad and PawPaw. The earth has traveled around the sun quite a few times since Chuck and I have had two nights alone in our house. A good time was had by all.
This week I had a rather frustrating start back to work after nearly two months off. I confess I’ve complained too much. But I also gave thanks on March 23 for 4 years of cancer freedom.
I’ve done a little more reading and a little less TV watching in March. Probably a good thing. After hearing several people I follow talk about Open Book by Jessica Simpson, I gave it a look see. Celebrity memoir isn’t usually my go-to, but I wanted to learn about her transition from Baptist preacher’s kid to Hollywood sexpot alcoholic. Very interesting to see how she weaves her faith in God – even if it’s very different from mine – throughout her life.
Waiting for Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey helped me escape tougher things with a romantic comedy obsessed heroine’s quest for love AND the job of her dreams. I used Prayer: Approaching the Throne of Grace ($3.69 on Kindle as of this post) for my daily time with God and my prayer life did receive a much needed boost! (Full disclosure: I’m a contributing author.) And speaking of being an author, Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon gave me good ideas in a quick and easy read.
Eating Mindfully: How to End Mindless Eating and Enjoy a Balanced Relationship with Food by Susan Albers contained no real new information for me. But my latest read, If I Were You by Lynn Austin, may just be the best novel I’ve devoured in a long time.
My husband and I did watch the short series Defending Jacob on Apple+. I had to limit us to 1 episode a night – and it had to be pretty early – for me to be able to sleep. This peek inside the criminal mind was dark, twisted and pretty fascinating. We also started the new Superman and Lois. If you have recommendations for reading or watching, please do us the favor of leaving them in the comments!
Well, I pray as time is ticking closer to Easter that you take more of that time to turn your mind and heart to Jesus. And as always, I love you, I thank you, and I pray April treats you well.
Now for this week’s featured link up post!
Laurie from Meditations in Motion managed to entertain me, lead me to empathize with her, encourage me and mention one of my favorite authors all in one post! Check out Guilt, Shame, and a Little Grass Skirt!
1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.
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We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.
MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
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LAUREN SPARKS
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It’s National Let’s Laugh Day! Who needs to celebrate? I have a story for you that will make you laugh – most likely at me. But I’m okay with that!
Tired and fully expecting a flop at this point, I squeezed the batter into 8 loaves instead of 10 and cooked them 4 at a time. The first four loaves all stuck to the bottom. The last four looked better. Although a little heavy, they still tasted good. So my crew demolished and froze the ugly ones and I gave the pretty(er) ones away. And then I cleaned up the disaster that was my kitchen. It took two days to get all the glue – I mean dough – off my countertops.
