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All of August…and Grace and Truth Link Up

August 28, 2020 by Lauren 20 Comments

August = weird and hot.  The highest of highs (temperatures and times) and the lowest of lows (definitely not temperatures).

 

The company my husband supports eliminated his job right before the month started.  They promised, however, that this massive restructure created other positions available for him to apply.  And they generously made his pay and benefits whole for a period of time for him to land internally or somewhere else.  We thank God and the retail giant for this.  But we also weary of this process.  Four jobs have come and gone in 3 and a half years.  So in the waiting, we praise the Lord for His provision and ask for more stability going forward.

 

Without the tethering of those little job things, we headed to the hill country of Texas to my in-law’s lake house.  And we invited my BFF and her family along.  Since they live in Alabama, we never get enough time together and I soaked in every minute!  Our Allie brought a friend and Chuck drove the boat and taught kids to ski for long, scorching hours every day of our vacay.  And he loved every minute of it.  My now suntanned, lake-loving spouse came home daydreaming about how he could make a living there.  Alas, it wouldn’t be easy – especially in a Covid environment.

 

We also did a fair amount of sitting and visiting.  That’s much more my speed.  We even survived a malfunctioning air conditioner (working one minute and not the next) and the boat briefly taking on water in the dog days of summer.  Playing Balderdash brought us to fits of laughter.  If I could, I would go back now – as long as I had the same people with me.  But since all good things must come to an end, Chuck and Allie flew to Illinois to see Chuck’s son and grandkids while Shelby and I went to spend a couple of nights with my parents and grandad.  While seeing family is good, it sometimes creates challenges which we are still dealing with and would appreciate your prayers for.

 

Once all back at home, I decided to see a physical therapist for dry needling.  Achilles tendonosis, left unchecked creates lots of discomfort.  My doctor suggested I might try this, but speaking of discomfort!  Have you ever done dry needling?  The PT, bless her, put needles into the tender spots of my feet and surrounding areas about 1/2 inch deep.  She then attaches what I can only describe as “jumper cables” to the needles, increasing the electrical stimulation until I can hardly stand it.  Then she starts a 10 minute timer.  Ouch!  And I’ll continue this treatment.  Pray for me in this too!

 

I read Well, Girl:  An Inside-Out Journey to Wellness by Jami Amerine.  I love this author and God placed this book in my hands for such a time as this.  He had already prompted me to work on a healthier version of myself and placed this little gem before me to compliment the journey.  I served on Jami’s launch team and even got a personal zoom meeting with her.  This was thrilling for me.  Out of all the launch teams I have been on, this was a first!  Take note, authors and hopeful authors.  Nice touch.

 

Gay Girl, Good God:  The Story of Who I Was and Who God Has Always Been by Jackie Hill Perry came next.  This book checked three boxes for me.  I needed more exposure to this topic, I have heard great things about the author, and she’s a woman of color (as I work to expand the perspective of the authors I’m reading.

 

Between vacation and getting ready for school and other family issues, we cut our TV time down tremendously from last month.  The hubs and I started the series Monk – an oldie but a goody.  Highly recommend.  And as we are oft to do when I visit my parents, I watched an old musical called The Wonder Man starring Danny Kaye and Vera Ellen.  Pure silly distraction.  Just what I needed.  Then my dad turned on a Baylor bowl game from 2014!  I laughed and then got sucked in as I bite my nails and wait to see if my Baylor football is really coming back.  (I’d ask you to pray about this too, but that might be a bit much.)

Last week my kids went back to school – sort of.  The girls are doing classes, but virtually from home.  This creates lots of challenges for everyone involved, but the teachers and school administrators have worked hard to create plans and systems to make this time meaningful.  We have tried to make lemonade for my very social daughters.  Allie had a sleepover with her besties the night before the first day (only in 2020) so they could all tackle classes together at the kitchen table.  Choir is awkward, Shelby misses the structure terribly (I am no treacher, folks), and the high schoolers had to stand in line for 2 hours for textbook pickup.  This too shall pass.  We hope. 

I long to hear what and how you are doing during these uncertain times.  Drop me a comment below.  And I’ll close with this:  I love you, I thank you, and I hope September treats you well.

 

And now for this week’s featured post!

 

Michele Morin of Living Our Days is an avid reader and keeps me stocked on recommendations.  This review of Soul Care in African American Practice caught my attention since, as mentioned above, I am also working to expand the circle that influences me.  If this is a goal for you, check out Michele’s review.

 

Also, I would like to announce that the winner of the drawing for a copy of Prayer:  Approaching the Throne of Grace is Glynda Reed.  Glynda, thank you for subscribing and please check the email you signed up with for more information on getting your book!

 

Now for this week’s link-up! Let’s bless and encourage one another in our walk with the Lord.

Grace & Truth : A Weekly Christian Link Up

Grace & Truth exists to point people to Jesus! We hope this link-up will be a source of encouragement every week. If you’re a blogger, we hope you’ll use this space as a way to meet new friends within the Christian blogging community. If you’re a reader, we hope that you’ll encounter new bloggers that love Jesus as much as you do! Most of all, we hope you’ll meet Jesus here.

Join us each Friday for the Grace and Truth Link-Up!

To receive a weekly reminder of when the link-up goes live subscribe to laurensparks.net in the right hand column of this page.

Heather Hart & Valerie Riese

 

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
 

 

Maree Dee

 

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
 

 

Lauren Sparks

 

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
 

 

Lisa Burgess

 

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
1.)  Following your hosts via their blog and social media channels is not mandatory, but appreciated!

 

To receive a weekly reminder of when the link-up goes live subscribe to laurensparks.net in the right hand column of this page.

2.) Leave 1-2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. Please do not link DIY, Crafts, Recipes, etc. We will delete these links. We also reserve the right to remove articles that don’t align with the theme or are deemed by the hostesses to be inappropriate.

3.) Visit 1-2 other links and leave a meaningful comment! We want to encourage community among us, so please don’t link and run!

4.) We sort all links randomly – feel free to link as early or as late as you’d like. The playing field is even!

Featured Post Requirements

5.) Grab a button or link back to encourage new linkers. It is not mandatory, but it is required to be featured.

6.) Each host will choose one link to emphasize and promote via their social media channels next week.

Grab a Badge and Link Back to this Post

And now let’s link up!

 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Sharing is caring! If you liked this post, do me the huge honor of using the buttons below to share it to your favorite social media accounts. And if you want to get these essays emailed to you once a week, subscribe!  Lastly, my posts may contain affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy anything from one of these links, I will receive a few pennies to help offset the cost of this website at no additional charge to you. Thank you in advance for your help.

 

To find some great places where I might be sharing this post, click here.

 

 

 

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Farewell to February…and Grace and Truth Link Up

February 28, 2020 by Lauren 32 Comments

Photo by madeleine ragsdale on Unsplash

Our shortest month is one day longer this year, but it still flew by for me.  Some real stuff happened in the midst of the red and pink, the hearts and flowers.  We dabbled in a little of that.  I gave my beloved some candy and a card and he reciprocated with a card and some roses.  We didn’t do anything special, but even staying in is better when he’s with me.

 

I had an MRI of one foot to get a diagnosis of achilles tendonosis in both.  The doctor prescribed cushier shoes and heel lift inserts as well as changing my exercise to biking or swimming to stay off my feet as much as possible.  I’m trying to be very compliant as I pray for the best.  I tweaked my lower back as well, so I’m feeling about a hundred years old right now.  Soft violin music and prayers appreciated.

 

I had a day date with my younger sister to see Little Women.  If it’s long gone from your theater, make yourself a reminder to watch it at home as soon as it becomes available.  Seeing this beautiful adaptation of a sister story with my sister made it all the more perfect.  I also enjoyed a couple of lunch dates with girlfriends – always a treat.  And the socializing peaked with a trip to a gorgeous ranch in Round Top, Texas with two long time friends and one brand new!  We slept late, stayed in our pajamas, read, scrapbooked (Not me.  No talent for that here.  My kids will have to search through my Facebook account to piece together their childhood.), and watched movies.  I can’t remember a time when I’ve done so little.  And it was much needed.

 

In addition to my usual yoga classes, I got to teach a couple of indoor cycling classes this month.  I also attended a funeral after a family near and dear to us unexpectedly lost their husband and father.

 

Shelby won a gold medal in the State Special Olympics Bowling Tournament.  She loves to ramp bowl and due to a lack of volunteers, I got to assist her this year!  Then the very next day, she attended Tim Tebow’s Night to Shine special needs prom.  It makes me cry every year to see the lengths all these local churches go to so that my girl and others like her experience a special, magical night.  And it means all the more to me that my best friend and her whole family volunteered at the same event in Alabama.  We experience it together, but apart.

 

Thanks to a generous gift from her Nana and Papa, Allie started voice lessons.  Her instructor holds a doctoral degree in music and sang with the London opera before moving to Texas.  What a blessing for her to pour into Allie.  Our girl also keeps busy as a member of Hope Squad – an organization of students selected by their peers working to prevent teen suicide.  And now she has been invited to help build a student worship team at church.  Yay!

 

Two of my people celebrate birthdays in February.  Allie turned 15 on the 23rd.  She hosted a small sleepover with some girls from church and as this is published is still trying to get her school friends together for a “hang”.  Chuck turned…a little older than 15 on the 22nd, and for the past 15 years has been birthday overshadowed by a pretty blonde.  We did, however take him out to eat and I made a batch of his favorite cookies.

 

To entertain ourselves we tried two new network TV shows.  I would skip Indebted if I were you.  As a youth I loved The Nanny and Wings, so I wanted to see these stars, but the show is pretty dumb and poorly acted.  We will continue to watch Zooey’s Extraordinary Playlist, which is weird but fun.  And we finally started the Mandalorian and season 3 of The Crown.  We have finished neither but remain optimistic about both.

 

I would love to hear the highlights of your month.  And as always, I love you, I thank you, and I hope March treats you well.

 

And now for this week’s featured post!

Responding to Your Teenager’s Attitude by Angie Johnson of keepingthetiethatbinds.com.  

Although don’t necessarily think I have “earned” my children’s respect, God certainly demands it.  So I couldn’t resist piggy-backing on this post since I wrote about the same types of issues just last week with this post.  Hope over and give Angie’s take a once over.

 

Now for this week’s link-up! Let’s bless and encourage one another in our walk with the Lord.Grace & Truth : A Weekly Christian Link Up

Grace & Truth exists to point people to Jesus! We hope this link-up will be a source of encouragement every week. If you’re a blogger, we hope you’ll use this space as a way to meet new friends within the Christian blogging community. If you’re a reader, we hope that you’ll encounter new bloggers that love Jesus as much as you do! Most of all, we hope you’ll meet Jesus here.

Join us each Friday for the Grace and Truth Link-Up!

To receive a weekly reminder of when the link-up goes live subscribe to laurensparks.net in the right hand column of this page.

 

 

Maree Dee

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
 

Lauren Sparks

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
 

Heather Hart & Valerie Riese

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
 

Lisa Burgess

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
1.)  Following your hosts via their blog and social media channels is not mandatory, but appreciated!

To receive a weekly reminder of when the link-up goes live subscribe to laurensparks.net in the right hand column of this page.

2.) Leave 1-2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. Please do not link DIY, Crafts, Recipes, etc. We will delete these links. We also reserve the right to remove articles that don’t align with the theme or are deemed by the hostesses to be inappropriate.

3.) Visit 1-2 other links and leave a meaningful comment! We want to encourage community among us, so please don’t link and run!

4.) We sort all links randomly – feel free to link as early or as late as you’d like. The playing field is even!

Featured Post Requirements

5.) Grab a button or link back to encourage new linkers. It is not mandatory, but it is required to be featured.

6.) Each host will choose one link to emphasize and promote via their social media channels next week.

Grab a Badge and Link Back to this Post.

 

And now, let’s link up!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Sharing is caring! If you liked this post, do me the huge honor of using the buttons below to share it to your favorite social media accounts. And if you want to get these essays emailed to you once a week, subscribe!  Lastly, my posts may contain affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy anything from one of these links, I will receive a few pennies to help offset the cost of this website at no additional charge to you. Thank you in advance for your help.

 

To find some great places where I might be sharing this post, click here.

 

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About Me

I love Jesus, my husband and caffeine. The order of these can change depending on how tired I am. When my two daughters, stepson, and 4 grandchildren get to be too much, I practice yoga. God graciously allows me to share our adventures, victories and flub-ups from my laptop. May He be glorified here.
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