Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

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Where we're building a kingdom (and sometimes I forget)

Across the street from our house, where the Costco, the Best Buy and the Lowe’s live, something new is moving in. We’ve watched the construction with interest, our 4-year-old son, especially, as he watches the equipment move in, the workers gather and the frame take shape.

Since the early stages of its construction, when it was little more than a cleared piece of land, we’ve speculated about what it will be. We’re hoping for a restaurant.

We’ve seen it take shape, just a shell of a building without much definition. We can still see through the sides and it still lacks a roof. But driving by, we watch with expectation.

Those workers, they’re building something, and we’re waiting to see what it will be. 

Photo by bschwehn/freeimages.com

Photo by bschwehn/freeimages.com

—

They complained about the coffee. Again.

These sweet older ladies of the church who’ve probably been in the faith longer than I’ve been alive. God love ’em because it’s hard for me to when they turn up their noses at the weekly offering of snacks and drinks after the service.

I shouldn’t take it personally but I do. I’m angry just thinking about it because for the love of all that is holy these are just snacks, not a gourmet meal. I fear I’m reaching my limit for holding my tongue and I’ll say something I’ll regret. After all, who am I? We’ve only been attending this church for a year. I should be more mature about this, but some days, it’s just frustrating.

And not just because I want them to like me and appreciate the effort.

But also because there are bigger things to complain about in this world. I’m finding it hard to care about the quality of our snacks when people are literally dying from lack of water. How did we become so spoiled?

—

Many centuries ago, a man named Nehemiah attempted a lofty task. He wanted to build a wall, repair it really, as an act of obedience and worship to God.  He left his prestigious job in the king’s court to assemble a crew to build the wall.

In the midst of their building, they faced ridicule, enough that I would have given up.

What are these feeble Jews doing? Are they going to restore it for themselves? … Can they revive the stones from the dusty rubble even the burned ones? … Even what they are building–if a fox should jump on it, he would  break their stone wall down! (Nehemiah 4:2-3, NASB)

That last one? Ouch. If I heard that day after day, I’d begin to wonder, too. What are we doing here? This is a ridiculous idea! There’s no way we can finish this!

Discouragement. It’s ugly and mean and destructive yet oh, so easy to speak. It tears down walls, literal and figurative, demolishes dreams, and sinks projects. I wish I could tell you that I’d never done any of those things to someone else, but I am the guiltiest among the guilty. Because sometimes I believe that destroying someone else’s dream will ensure the success of mine.

How foolish.

—

This man, Nehemiah, he didn’t give up, though. Instead, he fought harder.

He prayed. And set up guards for protection. He encouraged the workers.

When I saw their fear, I rose and spoke: Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your houses. (Nehemiah 4:14, NASB)

And they continued the work.

I imagine they drew a crowd, not just of hecklers but of interested onlookers. I can almost hear the whispers of hope.

Can they really do it?

I never dreamed …

Photo by Paul Segal/freeimages.com

Photo by Paul Segal/freeimages.com

—

When I was a journalist what feels like a lifetime ago, I was always on the lookout for new construction or “sold” signs on businesses. Because a new building or a formerly empty space being filled was news for a small town. Jobs, taxes, income, entertainment. We’re a curious bunch and anything out of the ordinary gets our attention. It doesn’t always hold it, but for a short time, we’re interested.

—

The church should be getting people’s attention.

Have we forgotten that we, too, are building something and it’s not just happening someday but now?

I’ve been reading N.T. Wright’s impressive Surprised by Hope and I’m ruined for it because of calls to action such as this:

The church, because it is a family that believes in hope for new creation, should be the place in every town and village where new creativity bursts forth for the whole community, pointing to the hope that, like all beauty, always comes as a surprise. (232)

And,

What we all need from time to time is for someone (a friend, a spiritual director, a stranger, a sermon, a verse of scripture, or simply the inner prompting of the Spirit) to say “It’s time to wake up! You’ve been asleep long enough! The sun is shining and there’s a wonderful day out there! Wake up and get a life!” (252)

Also,

People who believe that God will turn the world upside down … are not going to be backward in getting on with some world-changing activities in the present. … It is, rather, that people who believe in the resurrection, in God making a whole new world in which everything will be set right at last, are unstoppably motivated to work for that new world in the present. (214)

Unstoppably motivated. I wish. Instead I linger in a place of drowsiness, lulled by meaningless work and survival. I shrink at the first sign of discouragement and convince myself that I didn’t really have any dreams anyway so it’s okay if no one catches a vision.

And I am wrong.

It is time to wake up. It is time to stop bitching about food and drinks offered to us free of charge and start being ridiculously grateful for our stupid lives. And the sooner we quit thinking about ourselves and whether all of our needs are met to our satisfaction, the sooner we can start building the kingdom right where we are.

Because I don’t know about you, but I’m not nearly as excited about a crew of construction workers taking an extra long lunch break when there’s work to be done as I am about seeing progress on the work they’re doing.

If we are serious about the world seeing Jesus, then we need to start working. And if we can’t do the work ourselves then we need to encourage the ones who can and protect them from discouragement.

Friends, I am preaching to myself. Those coffee ladies don’t deserve my wrath anymore than I feel like I deserve their complaints. Neither of those actions is particularly loving nor is it particularly surprising or unique to the world we live in.

If we want to do something that draws attention, we should love when we want to hate, bless when we want to curse, encourage when we want to complain, restore when we want to destroy.

It’s big, terrifying, seems-impossible work. But if we all work together, we can attract the right kind of attention for a time.

I’m in for that kind of life. Are you?

5 on Friday: what I need to thrive

The past year has given me more opportunity to consider what I need in my life to thrive. For so long, it was just about survival and getting through the day; anything more seemed like a luxury or too far out of reach.

As our family has moved into our first full summer in our new community, I’ve had time to think about, and experience, those elements I need to be the best me.

Have you ever thought about that?

If not, I totally understand that sometimes there isn’t time or energy to do more than survive. But if you can, try to think about the things that give you life and make you a better person no matter what else you’re doing.

Here are five (and a half) things I’ve discovered I need to thrive:

1. Access to nature. I grew up in a house that was nothing special structurally but it had a creek in the backyard with a towering weeping willow tree and a screened in back porch and some days I loved nothing more than to cross the creek and curl up underneath the willow tree and listen to the creek gurgle. My hometown had a river flowing through it and parks aplenty and even when I was working a full-time job, I still sought out nature to center me and give me space to breathe. Some days, it’s harder to find, but the colors and sounds and fragrance of the natural world refresh my soul. I’ve yet to find a favorite spot in our new community, but that doesn’t stop me from trying. windchime

1.5 In the same way nature refreshes me, so does beauty. I used to spurn beautiful things as unnecessary. I’m a practical, task-oriented girl who likes things to have purpose and meaning. Until recently, I didn’t know the purpose of surrounding yourself with beauty, and maybe I still can’t explain it but finding the beauty in our ordinary days feels like a quiet revolution. A protest against the ugly and the evil and the mundane. It’s one of the reasons I drive the back roads whenever I can, to discover what’s just off the path everyone else is treading. My in-laws bought me this wind chime for my birthday, and I wish I could describe the calming effect its song has on me. Is it functional? Not in the way I would normally think, but its sound is a song I have to tune my ear to hear above the noise of the everyday.

2. Planned solitude. Last week I had most of a day to myself. I drove back roads with the windows down, went to a library, chatted with a friend, spent a little time writing. The day was mostly quiet and uneventful but it was exactly what I needed in the midst of my busy-with-kids life. Sometimes it feels selfish to get away from it all and be alone, but it restored something inside of me and equipped to face the rest of the days ahead. I’m not sure yet how often I need this, but I need it more often than I’ve had it.

3. Participation in creative work. I do love to write and that is creative but occasionally I need to color a page with my kids or paint a piece of furniture or dabble in an artistic project that I normally wouldn’t. (I’m contemplating a couple while the kids are away next week.) I haven’t played my guitar in almost a year. That’s too long. I can appreciate beauty, but sometimes I need to be part of its creation.

4. Friends. I’m an introvert, and yes, I enjoy solitude, but if the last year has taught me anything it’s how much I need friends. For years, I was lacking, surviving on a few really great friendships. And then the floodgates opened and I have friends in abundance, which is often overwhelming because I like to invest in people but only have so much to give. I’ve had the opportunity over the past months to deepen a writing friendship that transcends our mutual talent, and when I think about the last year and all the people who have loved us despite knowing our history and not having any blood relation to us, I almost cry. I’ve taken friendships for granted in the past, and I will still cultivate them poorly, but oh, how I need friends.

5. Books. (And time to read them.) My love for books is  becoming almost legendary on Facebook. It’s almost as well-known as my love for coffee. But I’m sure I could survive and even thrive in this life without coffee. I could not without books. On a deserted island, I think I’d rather have books than food. We fill our house with books and when books arrive in the mail I am giddy for days. And when I read a book that wows me, I almost walk around dazed until its effect wears off. (And sometimes the effect doesn’t wear off.)

I could keep going, I think, but these are the basics. If I have these five (and a half) things in my life, I will be more of who I am meant to be.

What about you? What gives you life and keeps you going and makes you more of your truer self?

To the mom at the grocery store trying to make ends meet

I used to love grocery shopping, especially in the early days of my relationship with my husband when we planned meals together and had oodles of time to wander the aisles dreaming of dishes to create together in the kitchen or daring to try something completely new.

Photo by Jenny Rollo, courtesy of www.freeimages.com

Photo by Jenny Rollo, courtesy of www.freeimages.com

Then we had kids. And we made decisions that affected our finances and before long grocery shopping was a necessary evil. A stress-inducing, let’s-get-this-over-with errand. Even then, though, we had flexibility to shop during the daytime hours. On rare occasions we’d find ourselves in a pinch for dinner at the end of a long week and we’d be in the store scanning the aisles for something quick and not too expensive. Because take-out or pizza delivery wasn’t an option. That’s where we first saw you. Maybe you were a working single mom in the same boat as us, looking for a quick meal at the end of a long week. Or maybe your situation was otherwise. But here’s what I want you to know: I see you. And not in the oh-look-at-her-can-you-believe-some-people-are-like-that kind of way. I. See. You. I know you think people are staring at you and judging your decisions and coming up with all kinds of neat and tidy solutions for your life that they know nothing about. I know this because I’ve done that, to my regret, and I’ve felt that unseen pressure to hide what’s in my cart, to shush my children so they don’t say anything that would draw attention our way. I’ve fumbled with my money and my WIC checks and my SNAP card at the register, certain that everyone in line is both staring and trying not to stare at the circus act that is our family. If you catch me looking at you, it’s not to judge or stare. It’s because I want to see you. I want to look at your face and smile. I want to tell you you’re doing fine and you’ll get through this. I want to. But I probably won’t because my courage leaves me the moment I open my mouth. I see you. And I hear you. Ridiculous, right? Because who doesn’t hear you snapping at your kids asking them to just make a frickin decision? It’s hard not to notice the frustrated words that come out of your mouth. Maybe other people can tune them out, but I don’t do that because the words I hear from your mouth are the same ones I’m thinking and sometimes saying. I’ve wandered the aisles muttering, speaking forcefully to my kids when they’re misbehaving. I’ve threatened and yelled and sighed with exasperation. So, I hear you, but I don’t blame you. I know that it’s hard to make one more decision in a long line of decisions you make every day and hour to keep your family afloat. And the grocery store isn’t exactly peaceful. I see you. I hear you. And I know you. I know you’d love nothing more than to fill your grocery cart with fresh fruits and vegetables but when it’s a choice between eating for a week or eating for a day, eating for a week, even when it’s not the food you want to eat, wins every time. And I know you feel like a bad mom when your kids ask for grapes and you have to say “no” because when you get home the grapes will be gone faster than a snowball in July and you know that the $5 or $6 you spent on grapes could have bought five boxes of pasta instead. I know that some days you’d rather have anything else than peanut butter and jelly, and that you know ramen noodles aren’t healthy but cheap and filling. I know you aren’t ignorant and I know you want what’s best for your kids, but sometimes, the best is too far out of reach. I know. And I’m sorry. It’s a battle our family is still fighting as we emerge from our lowest point, financially. But can I also tell you this? Your kids see you, too. I know you feel unappreciated and like all they do is take and you have nothing left to give. But someday, they will know, too. They’ll remember all the days you did your best with what you had. They’ll remember what a treat it was to have ice cream. They’ll see how you sacrificed yourself for their good. They’ll see, and I hope they’ll thank you. In the meantime, keep the faith. Do what you have to and don’t worry about the people who think you should be doing something else. And if a strange woman gives you a smile and gushes nonsense in the grocery aisle, just know she’s trying to help you feel noticed.

The best books I read in the last 3 months

So, here we are, nearly at the halfway point of the year, and I’m trying to sum up the best books I read in the second three months of 2014. (For a look at first quarter’s best books, check out this post.)

Why is this so hard?!?!

I’m sorry if you think me dramatic, but I’m reading great books this year, and if you can’t find a good book to read, ask me for a recommendation! Because I’m super picky about the books I read and review, and if I don’t think they’re amazing, I’ll let you know. Here’s an attempt at the best books I read in the April-June range (in no particular order). And if you want to see what all I’ve read this year, find me on Goodreads. I track all my reading there. broken kind of beautiful

  • Just missing the date cutoff for the first quarter was Katie Ganshert’s A Broken Kind of Beautiful. This novel features one of my favorite fictional heroes. Possibly of  all time. Ganshert writes contemporary romance but it’s not light reading. I compared this book to Francine Rivers’ Redeeming Love, which is on my all-time best books list.
  • Next up is The Waiting by Cathy LaGrow. Non-fiction that reads like fiction, and it is a tear-jerker, heart-breaking, hope-filled story of family reunion.
  • Jennie Allen’s Restless was a book that took me almost the entire quarter to read, and I still need to return to it and flesh out more of the questions it raises. If you’re lacking purpose or vision or wonder how and if God can use your life, this book will help.girl at end of world
  • I was surprised by how much I identified with the story in Girl at the End of the World by Elizabeth Esther. This is a memoir of the author’s years growing up in a fundamentalist cult. Her experiences are heartbreaking and her insights are challenging.daisies
  • I’m going to give this last one to a category of books: war novels. Daisies Are Forever by Liz Tolsma and The Sentinels of Andersonville by Tracy Groot have renewed my interest in history. Tolsma’s book is set during World War II. Groot’s is a Civil War novel. Both are based on historical events and places, and both I would consider must-reads for any history buff out there.

Seriously, these lists pain me, so why I keep trying to pick favorites, I don’t know. But, if you’re in need of a summer read yet this year, check out one of these.

And tell me, what are the best books you’ve read so far this year?

When it's getting harder to pick a favorite: Review of Full Steam Ahead by Karen Witemeyer

I’ve been a fan of Karen Witemeyer’s books since the first ones I read last year before meeting her at a writers conference. And while those were enjoyable reads, each new book she’s released has been better than the last one!

full steam aheadHer newest release, Full Steam Ahead, might be my new favorite of hers. And I really liked her last book, Stealing the Preacher. (Disclaimer: I received a free e-copy of Full Steam Ahead from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for my review.)

Witemeyer sets her books in 19th century Texas, generally. In this one, she focuses on Nicole Renard, only child of Anton Renard of Renard Shipping, who because of her gender is not a suitable heir to the company (despite her knowledge of the business). With her father ailing and the company’s future at stake, Nicole sets out to find a man to marry who can carry on her father’s shipping legacy.

Her plans are diverted from the beginning as a rival family waits to take a valuable possession from the Renard family, so Nicole finds herself in the small town of Liberty, Texas, instead of New Orleans, where her prospects for a partner would have been plentiful. She seeks a job from Darius Thornton, the town’s recluse and a man obsessed with preventing boiler explosions on steam ships. Haunted by his past, he reluctantly hires Nicole when she shows she’s able to understand his notes.

Witemeyer sets this relationship up cleverly. Both are determined to avoid each other in favor of a greater, nobler pursuit, but as they work together, they’re drawn to each other. I love that Nicole shows ability in a field normally reserved for a man and how she’s able to surprise Darius with her knowledge. (Hint: This is a good book for smart girls. She’s more than a pretty face!) And Darius, though obsessed with a past he can never correct, has a vision for what the future can be. Nicole’s presence reminds him that he needs other people in his life.

If you’re in need of a beach book or story to read while traveling to your summer destination, I recommend this new one by Witemeyer (or any of her books). I keep saying I have a favorite of hers, but each new one that she writes becomes my new favorite.

 

When it's Father's Day and I remember

When Throwback Thursday comes around each week, I find myself thumbing through a bin of photos looking for just the right one to capture that week’s sentiment. More often than not, I spend a whole morning looking and remembering.

A few weeks ago I found a bunch from a family vacation we took out West to Utah and Arizona in 1993. The one where we drove through the desert and saw awe-inspiring rock formations and stood at the edge of the Grand Canyon breathless and speechless.

My brother is that white speck at the bottom.

My brother is that white speck at the bottom.

Later that week, I was thinking about all the places I want my kids to see in their life. How I want to take them to Niagara Falls because it’s closer than it ever was from where I grew up. How I want them to experience people and places all over the world. How I want them to remember road trips as fun and exciting, not torturous boredom. (Our daughter just agreed that traveling U.S. Route 30 from here to our hometown sounded like fun. Parenting win!)

I want them to see beyond the small slice of the world we live in. And I have my dad to thank for that.

Last year, I wrote a little bit about my dad, but recently I’ve discovered another way he has quietly shaped my life: He planted in us–my brother and me–a sense of adventure.

My dad showing us how tall this tall cactus really was!

My dad showing us how tall this tall cactus really was!

I was not what you would call a risky child. Constantly worried about doing the wrong thing or getting in trouble, I was a stick-to-the-rules-and-nobody-gets-hurt kind of girl. And trying new things was not high on my list any day of the week.

But I remember loving the idea of seeing new places.

I couldn’t tell you from memory what our first family vacation was, but I can tell you that I remember taking them.

The one that probably stands out the most is the one I mentioned earlier. It was our longest trip by car, spanning two weeks, and we packed a lot of sightseeing into those weeks. (And remember this was before the days of Google and GPS, so we planned our trip with maps and travel brochures. Old school!) Arches National Park. Zion National Park. The Grand Canyon. Utah. Arizona. And lots of places between there and our home state, Illinois.

What I always remember from those trips, imperfect as they were, is my dad. He made sure we experienced things in our childhood that were missing from his. When he saw the Grand Canyon, it was his first time also. Sharing that awe gave me a greater appreciation for whatever we were experiencing. No matter what we were doing, Dad made it an adventure.

We had this sort of unofficial rule that we couldn’t eat at places we could eat at if we weren’t on vacation. We avoided McDonald’s and Wendy’s whenever possible so we had to try new things.

Confession: This terrified me. I was so insecure in my growing up years that I didn’t know what I liked, including what I liked to eat. Ordering at a familiar restaurant was easy because I would usually just get the same thing every time. New places, though. I could hardly make up my mind and would usually just panic at the last minute and order the first thing I saw. I also had an overactive imagination (serves me well as a writer though!) so I’d imagine all the trouble we’d find by visiting a new place.

For my dad, though, it was part of the adventure. And a necessary part of the adventure. I don’t remember every off-the-beaten-path place we’ve been to, but I know my husband once found his new favorite barbecue sauce at a joint attached to a gas station. If we’d been traveling alone, we might have missed it, but my dad pulled in ready to try something new. We’ve eaten at family restaurants and new-to-us fast food places.

And I survived every single one of them.

With two young kids who I’d only call picky about when they eat not what they eat, we don’t do this enough on our travels, but my husband has a similar sense of adventure to my dad, and he builds on my childhood experiences by taking me places I’d never venture into alone. (And trust me, I’m not sorry he does it. I’d have missed out on a bacon milkshake if not for my husband.)

I’m still less of an adventurer than some people I know. I won’t be the first to volunteer for something new and even when trying something new, I’m still hesitant sometimes. I still crave the familiar and comfortable but my life is so often enriched by the unfamiliar that I’m learning to embrace those times.

I don’t know if my dad knew that’s what he was doing all those years we went on vacation or if he just brought us along on trips he thought would be fun. But I can definitely say that my increasing love of travel, of seeing new places, of visiting local eateries, started with him.

So, even though it’s hard beyond words sometimes that our family lives 800 miles from our families and hometown, our living in Pennsylvania is part of a lifelong adventure we’re passing on to our kids.

My dad took us across the country on vacation. That led me to take a trip across the ocean for a semester of college. Then it was a trip across the eastern states to make a life with my husband. Where it will lead next, I don’t know, but I’m so very thankful for a father who challenged us to see a world outside our hometown.

I’ve heard said that the best things parents can give their children is roots and wings. Because of mine, I have both. And so, I hope, will my kids.

Happy Father’s Day to my dad and all the dads out there!

What is one thing you’ve learned from your father?

The only way to thrive

I’m not much of a flower person, but when I met my husband, he was working for a landscaping company. The first flower he ever brought me was a pink Gerbera daisy plant. We weren’t dating yet, but I was hooked. On him and the flowers. In our seven years of marriage, we’ve yet to have a place to call our own, so I haven’t given much thought to lawn care and landscaping and gardens and flowers.

Until last year when we moved to a 19th century farmhouse now surrounded by commercial properties. For me, it’s a tiny bit of Eden (the name of a nearby township) in the midst of a business district, and our landlord has given us license with the yard.

Spring has been fun this year as we watch the yard burst with color. First, daffodils, then lilacs, now roses and some kind of dogwood, soon hyndrageas. Long before we lived here, someone thought to fill this space with beauty. rose bud

And I am grateful.

At the house we moved from, our landlord neighbors tended the flowers and the yard, sometimes with drastic measures. A few trees and bushes that graced the yard when we moved in gradually were removed completely until all we were left with was a towering conifer in the backyard that was sometimes stingy with its shade.

Still, it was something. But it also reflected that season of our lives.

Read the rest of my monthly post at Putting on the New here.

Two kinds of heart-pumping action: Review of Raptor 6 by Ronie Kendig

From page one, Ronie Kendig’s latest story takes off and doesn’t look back. In Raptor 6, the first in her new Quiet Professionals series about the Special Forces, we’re immediately thrust into the volatile world of  international conflict. (Disclaimer: I received an e-copy of the book from Litfuse Publicity Group in exchange for my review.)

Raptor-6-252x384Kendig drops us into the action, then takes us back a few months to where the story begins. I like this method of storytelling because it gives me a hint of where we’re going. Although after a few chapters, I forgot what I’d read in the beginning because I was so caught up in the plot.

Here’s a summary:

His mission.

His team.

Captain Dean Watters keeps these parts of his life in laser-like focus. So when hackers threaten both his mission and his team, Dean’s Special Forces training kicks into high gear. Ten military super-secure computers are missing-which if opened, would give America’s enemies a blueprint of US military intelligence. Failing to stop the hackers isn’t an option.

Zahrah Zarrick is a missionary teacher to Afghan children in Mazar-e Sharif. She’s also a target. Her expertise in quantum cryptology makes her an unwitting pawn in the hackers’ deadly game. They’re coming for her, and Dean and his team must stop them.

Before the team can get to Zahrah, she disappears. Now Dean must race to rescue her and stop the hackers from unleashing terror on millions across the globe. But to do so, Dean will be forced to crack open the steel box around his heart-a move that might come at the highest cost.

I’m a newish fan of Kendig’s writing. She’s well-versed in military acronyms and jargon, which can take some time getting used to but which move the story along at her trademark rapid-fire pace. The action never lets up, and as the stakes increase, so do the feelings Watters and Zarrick have for each other. It’s not your typical inspirational romance, but for that, I’m glad. I enjoy a change of pace, and Raptor 6 delivers. I look forward to more in this series.

And to celebrate the book’s release, check out the giveaway taking place! You have a few more days to enter!

Don’t miss the first book, Raptor 6, in Ronie Kendig‘s new Quiet Professionals series. Ronie combines a dangerous romance and explosive action for a thrilling and satisfying ride. “Lock and load for this Spec Op, fighting under God’s ‘rules of engagement.'” —Bob Hamer, veteran FBI undercover agent and award-winning author



Ronie is celebrating with a Kindle HDX Giveaway!

raptor6-400-click

One winner will receive:

  • A Kindle Fire HDX
  • Raptor 6 by Ronie Kendig

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on June 15th. Winner will be announced June 16th on Ronie’s blog.

Don’t miss a moment of the fun; enter today and be sure to stop by Ronie’s blog on June 16th to see if you won.

 

What the next few months might look like {otherwise known as summer!}

Today marks the first day of summer break, which also means it’s the beginning of the first summer of two children home all day after having one in school all day all year long.

Pray for me.

I joke. A little. But I’m determined to make our summer fun and relaxing since last summer was full of stress and moving and settling in and all kinds of new things and did I mention stress?

So, the kids and I are going to have fun. And sometimes my husband will be with us. And I might be able to pause to tell you about the things we’re doing.

And I might not.

So if things get a little quiet around here, just imagine us having all kinds of summer fun. Or me tearing my hair out. Or children fighting because they of so much togetherness. Because all of that and more is what’s in store for us this summer.

I can’t commit to blogging regularly while keeping the kids entertained, or at least occupied, for the whole summer. So, I’m giving myself the freedom to walk away, if  necessary. You’ll still see some book reviews here because for me, summer is about TONS of reading. And some of you will be ecstatic to know that one of my book-related goals this summer is to finally read all–yes, ALL!–of the Harry Potter books. A dear friend is loaning me the ones from her personal collection. The first two wait patiently on my bookshelf. I’ll let you know how it goes. If you want to see all of what I’m reading (all the time, not just in summer) you can find me on Goodreads. There’s a link to my profile on the right side of the blog.

And I doubt I’ll be able to give up Facebook and Twitter or Instagram for the summer, so feel free to look me up there, too.

I hope you have a wildly fun summer. And a relaxing one. And that you find joy whatever the months ahead bring.

Thanks for reading! I’ll see you around!

When this is joy

 

psalm97

Today, I’m linking up with (in)courage on the topic of “the Joy of the Lord is our strength.” You can too. Click here for details and to see what others are saying.

The rose pictured above bloomed in our seen-better-days yard of our rental home this week. Yet its beauty drew me in, and I found it impossible not to smile or stop and admire or take a sniff.

Joy is like that. It’s noticeable. Unavoidable. Worthy of pause.

And it’s only because I have seen it blooming in the most unlikely places that I believe it is supernatural and available to me no matter the circumstances.

When I surround myself with joyful people, it rubs off over time. When I take time to notice joy, it changes me. And when I stop to consider joy, the fragrant aroma lingers.

I was tempted to cut the flowers and bring them inside the house. But I left them outside for others to enjoy.

Maybe I need to do the same with my joy.