Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

Archives for August 2015

An invitation to be who you are: Review of Brave Enough by Nicole Unice

“Brave” is not a word I use to describe myself. I’m more of the timid and anxious variety. “Brave” makes me think of warriors and pioneers and go-getters who tackle every challenge that comes their way.

brave enoughSo, I was interested in this book by Nicole Unice, Brave Enough, because of the implication that I might have this bravery thing all wrong. I trust Nicole as a writer. She gently guided me through all my issues a few years ago in her first book, She’s Got Issues, and she speaks as someone who knows what she’s talking about because she’s just like the rest of us. No high horse, here. Nicole shares stories of imperfection and weakness, and for this, I am grateful. (Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the book in exchange for my review.)

Brave Enough calls us to “get over our fears, flaws and failures to live BOLD and FREE.” Who wouldn’t want that? And from page one, she inspires us to imagine what that kind of life would look like.

What if, starting today, starting right now, you weren’t scared anymore? What if that worried energy were gone? …. What would you do? Who would you be? How would you live bigger? (p. xiii)

When I started reading this book, I was in the midst of a situation that had me very worried. And I was weeks away from a 10-day mission trip to Kenya. The words of this book were as applicable on that adventure as I’ve found them in my daily life since then. I need the challenge to live courageously in my day-to-day activities.

Nicole breaks the book down into characteristics or actions of brave-enough women. And each chapter ends with questions for reflection and a prayer related to the chapter’s theme. Most are the kind of questions I need to take more time with. (And definitely grab a notebook before you start this book. Lots of opportunity to journal and reflect.)

There’s also a section at the end for further contemplation about the Scriptures she used throughout the book and a space to think about what section might be the most applicable in this season. (A DVD curriculum is also available if you’re looking for a group study.)

Bottom line: Nicole understands the issues and challenges women face because she faces them too! And her heart for leading women beyond those issues and challenges is evident in her writing. I highly recommend both of her books for spiritual growth.

End-of-summer fun

Earlier this summer, I got into a habit of posting weekly about our summer fun, mostly to remind myself that even on the hot, stinky, crabby days when we all wanted to be somewhere else, we had some good times. And also because my memory is terribly short. And the grandparents like to see pictures. It’s all for us, and if you like it, too, well that’s a bonus.wpid-20150825_081856.jpg

Summer is officially over. My two “babies” headed out the door this morning and got on a bus to go to school. Both of them! When did this happen? I mean, I’ve been looking forward to this day, but I have a lot of sadness and tears, too.

It’s been a while since I posted because we had this little gap in our summer called “time with the grandparents” and “going to Kenya” and while I didn’t have anything much planned for our last two weeks of summer, we managed to make a few final memories for the summer of 2015.

Our first week back together was basically an act of survival and overcoming jet lag (for the parents). But our first full weekend together again, we used the tickets we earned for summer reading to attend the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire–a first for us.

wpid-20150816_144442.jpgAnd while the joust was definitely a highlight and what we spent the most time on, we had a full afternoon and early evening of fun. Next time, the kids want to dress up. It’s not hard to picture yourself in 16th century England, and what I’ve discovered about things like this is it’s way more fun if you play along.

We hit the park a couple of times just to get out of the house and get moving.

wpid-20150818_085525.jpgOur kids love the exercise stations in our parks, even though they’re meant for grown-ups. They put their own spin on them, and it makes them eager to take a walk with me before we play on the playground, so I’m not complaining.

On Sunday, even though I was wiped out tired, Phil suggested we go to one more concert in the park. We attended one earlier in the summer and had a fun time, and this one was going to be a trio from Ireland. Um, it’s hard for me to say no to anything Irish, so we went.

Our little ginger was right at home with Irish music

Our little ginger was right at home with Irish music

It was a toe-tapping party in the park and swept me away to the few short days I spent in Ireland almost 20 years ago. (Ugh. I am so old.)

Our last day of summer we got to spend all together and we decided to use that time to teach the kids to ride their bikes without training wheels. Yeah, I know, we’re probably a little late to this game, but what can you do. Phil took the training wheels off, loaded the bikes into the van and we went to the park. Izzy took to it right away. She needed almost no help. Corban wasn’t sure he even wanted to try, but eventually, we got him on his bike. We took the advice of a friend and sent him down a grassy hill so he would use the momentum to stay balanced. It worked, too. I’ll admit I had low expectations for this endeavor, but it turned out great and now I don’t feel like a deadbeat parent because our kids are still riding with training wheels. (FYI: I don’t think you’re a deadbeat parent if your kids are still riding with training wheels. I’m so much harder on me than I am on you.)

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One highlight of the week for me was the night Phil and I decided not to watch TV and do a puzzle together instead. (I told him we are like minutes away from being middle-aged and put in a nursing home.) We have a collection of puzzles that we’ve mostly not even opened because we had small children in the house almost from the start of our marriage and kids plus puzzle pieces equal an emergency room visit (that never happened but it could have).

We sorted through the ones we thought were doable and found one that’s a picture from Ethiopia. Since we still have all things Africa on the brain, that seemed like a good choice. We sat together at the dining room table putting pieces together and listening to hits from the ’90s on Pandora, laughing and talking about the songs that played.

We didn’t finish the puzzle in a night, which was fine, because then our kids got involved and we were able to work on it together for a couple of days. Sometimes it really is just that simple–making space, creating opportunity to be together.

So, our family fun isn’t over just because the summer is, but this is probably the last post of its kind for a while. Thanks for tuning in to our summer fun!

What were some of your highlights from the summer?