monthly review Archives - Lauren Sparks

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.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate)

We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
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HEATHER HART & VALERIE RIESE – Candidly Christian
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LAUREN SPARKS
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LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
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Now Let’s Link Up!

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Have you seen the social media game that asks you to look up the title of the #1 song on the day you turned 21? That’s how your 2021 is supposed to go. Mine was “I’ll Make Love to You” by Boyz II Men. Uh, love is definitely not the word I use for this year so far.

For the first three days of this month, my husband and I took turns in the hospital with our oldest. Her spinal fusion surgery on January 28 kept her there for several days. (You can read a little more about that here.) And while my husband and I enjoyed hospital food and acting as ships passing in the night (thanks, Covid), we celebrated in being able to come home and be together. The long days of pain meds and recovery since put our nursing skills and patience to the test, but our sweet girl heads around a metaphorical corner as we speak.

Several sweet friends provided meals and gift cards for meals as we settled in back home. One even sent her housekeeper over to clean for us! This completely made up for the week of hospital food. We thank God for His generous people.

Just a week and a half after Shelby’s surgery, our youngest underwent surgery to correct a deviated septum she sustained the day of her leg surgery last year. She passed out and took a nose dive into the tile, breaking her nose. Last March with the leg to deal with, we kind of forgot about the nose after the swelling and bruising went away. The lingering repercussions reminded us months later.

Allie’s turn under the knife wasn’t as serious but did entail a week out of school and a trip to the ER to remove a nasal stent that became unstitched. Once she could feel it poking the back of her throat, she and her dad made the pilgrimage for care – returning home at 2:00am. The stitch came out of the other one the next day. After watching the ER doc, her dad felt sure he could pull this one with jewelry pliers – and did!

For Valentine’s Day we experienced a winter weather catastrophe here in the Dallas area that lasted for a week. 130 car pile up on black ice came first, then temps in the single digits and millions of homes without power and water. For days. And as I write this a week later, the thermometer touched 80 degrees! Please pray for those still trying to get power or water back and those whose homes or businesses sustained damage. Once again, my family thanks God for His generous people who put us up so we could stay warm and entertain my daughter with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

At the beginning of this week, my incredible husband celebrated a low-key birthday, followed by my youngest turning Sweet 16 the next day. We gave her 16 bags with different little gifts instead of one big one. Many of them were gift cards for fast food and coffee shops she likes. Those were probably her favorite. We let her pick out the restaurant for dinner and had a Dairy Queen Blizzard cake waiting until we could sneak her 4 besties in to surprise her. Was a nice day.

In the midst of all this chaos, I indulged in a little low-brow comfort TV. Framing Britney Spears on Hulu (what? I was curious!), and the teeny bopper To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, Always and Forever on Netflix. The Super Bowl, Ted Lasso on Apple+ (entirely too much language for me), WandaVision on Disney+ (part of the Marvel universe), and For All Mankind on Apple+ ( fascinating reimagining of our space program) rounded out viewing for the Sparks brood. My husband and I tried Four Weddings and a Funeral on Hulu, but we turned it off almost immediately. The first 6 words spoken started with an F. We also tried The Mindy Project – on Huluas well. My husband didn’t care for it but I think I may continue it on my own.

Well, I’ll wrap up this 14th month of 2020 by saying, “I love you. I thank you, and I hope March treats you well.

Now, for this week’s featured post!

Did He Really Say…? from Kim Hood of embracethisseason.com brought a recent conversation with a loved one racing back into my heart. I believe this article highlights the number one technique satan uses to place doubt in believers about God’s Word. It’s subtle, it’s slippery and we have to be diligently on the lookout for this weapon in our own lives and the lives of our loved ones. See what Kim has to say.

1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).