Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

5 on Friday

5 on Friday: Words I can't escape

I love words. Maybe that’s obvious. Maybe not. words with glasses

And every now and then, I see or hear words recurring in different books or settings and I can’t get them out of my mind.

Maybe that’s why I liked the idea of picking One Word for the whole year. And “release” has definitely been a word I can’t escape this year.

But lately, I’ve been noticing some other words that speak to me.

  1. Cadence. I noticed it in a book series I’ve loved. And then I read it in another book. And though it’s similar to “rhythm,” another word I’m pondering, there’s something almost musical about the word itself.
  2. Mystic. When my husband and I shopped at the used book sale last week, I picked up more than one book about Christian mystics and personal spiritual retreats and other stuff I would have thought weird in my early Christian days. The word “mystic” is mysterious to me but again, there’s something about it that speaks to me.
  3. Story. Yes, I’m a writer and I love to read, but lately I’ve been seeing the word “story” used to describe life and relationship to God and Christianity. I can’t get over how prevalent it is. And again, I’m drawn to it. This idea that life is a story being written and we have some say in how it turns out.
  4. Broken/brokenness. So many books and blogs have this theme right now. That we’re all broken in some way. That God can repair and restore. I used to cringe at the thought that I might be broken, in any way. Now, I’m starting to see the beauty in it.
  5. Slow. This one is more of an internal word, one that I have to repeat to myself. I always seem to be in a rush to get to the next thing, to get through the day, to finish what I’ve started. But I’m trying to slow down. My thoughts. My words. My worries. My driving speed. I’m not sure I’ll ever adapt to the Amish-style slow I see daily, but it is a good reminder that life doesn’t have to be lived in the fast lane to be fulfilling.

5 on Friday: A few of my favorite things

Months ago I started this feature on the blog, mostly because I like lists. (I write stuff on lists just so I can cross them off.)

This week: five of my (current) favorite things.

1. Nutella. Or the knock-off Aldi brand of Nutella. I’m not a Nutella expert but the generic stuff is good. And maybe, just maybe, I’ve been eating it off a spoon while I wait for the bread to toast.

2. Cutthroat Kitchen. I’ve only seen one episode on Food Network, starring Alton Brown’s evil twin (not really, but the look he’s got going for this show makes him look less food-nerd and more evil mastermind), but I’m hooked. We have access to Food Network right now thanks to a cable deal we got when we moved, and it. is. dangerous.

3. Church. We’re having so much fun connecting with our new church community, and the kids are super comfortable with the teachers and other people they meet. This week, after watching a baptism at church, they baptized all their stuffed animals in a tub full of “baptist water.” (Not real water.) And at least once a week, they “play church.”

4. Aldi. I’ve sort of rediscovered this grocery store. Not only do they sell food cheap, they sell good food cheap, and they have a lot of variety. I can get orange crackers (think goldfish only in penguin shapes) that don’t have any artificial colors in them. And the aforementioned chocolate hazelnut spread. And goat cheese (don’t ask). I’m always amazed at the total bill. A cart load of groceries for half the cost of other grocery stores. Okay, Aldi endorsement done.

5. Country roads. I’ve never really considered myself a country girl. I grew up in town. It was a smallish town, but still in town as opposed to in the country. Where we live now is borderline: used to be country but now it’s developed. When traveling around, we have options–we can take the highway or we can take back roads through residential areas. About 90 percent of the time, I’m on the back roads, avoiding the highway and its stress, even if I could get somewhere 5 or 10 minutes faster. Maybe I’m really a country girl at heart. Or maybe I’m just getting old. (No offense, of course, to any “old” people I know. I’m embracing my inner geezer.)