Friday Night Randomness: April Favorites

April!  We finally had some spring-like days--such loveliness!  Here are some of my favorites from the month of April.

Best Reads:  I've had four books going on in April.  Pretty much at the same time.  I'm not sure how or why I'm doing this, as it's very uncharacteristic of me, but it's just what's happening lately.  In addition to trying to finish the Bono biography I talked about last month, I've also been reading:

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Great book so far. I need to finish it and think it all through some more.

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I was needing a fresh parenting perspective.  The title is awful in my opinion, but you can't always judge a book by its cover.  I may do a full review on this later, but this gave some helpful and effective insights.  And it made me laugh out loud several times, too. :)

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This one kind of fills in the gaps left by the other one.  Seriously, the two of them together have helped me look at things I'd never thought of before.


Foodliness:  Spicy Sausage Pasta
Not exactly the healthiest, but my little family loved it.  And it's not very spicy, but still flavorful!



From the Makeup Bag:  Love this eyeshadow palette called Petal Pusher from Wet & Wild.  Only $5 at Walgreens, Meijer, and probably other places, too, but the colors are really pigmented and have some staying power.  I don't use all eight colors.  The lightest pink is my favorite for the lid and the one below it for the crease (in other words, I don't go by how they've labeled the colors).

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Musically Speaking:








Not sure why this video is showing up like this, but it's a Landon Austin and Ellie Swisher cover of this  melodic lullaby.  It haunts me in a lovely way.  Though I'm one of the few Americans who hasn't seen the movie, I've heard Taylor Swift's version of this song and (sorry, Taylor!), this one is so much better! (I'm making a sheepish face right now.)

 


Home Theater:  Didn't have time to watch much in April, but LM and I enjoyed watching  "The Greening of Whitney Brown" on Netflix.

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Candle:  I've been enjoying my Tuscany lilac candle, tiding me over 'til my real lilacs bloom.

Found this at Meijer, but it's not on their website.  Click here to order online via Shopko

App:  Seriously, this is so boring, but the app I used most in April was The Weather Channel one.  Yawn!



Human:  So, it's not my intention to regularly have my Favorite Human of the Month be someone I actually know in person, because I know and love so many wonderful people and would never want to appear to be playing favorites.  But they say there's an exception to every rule, and I can't let this one go by because of some silly, self-imposed rule. ;)  So, April's "Favorite Human" is actually a duo:  My newborn nephew, Jonathan and his mama, Betsy (my sis!).  They're both the bomb in my book.

That Cancer Thing: A Year Later

Like anyone else, I was scared it would happen to me.  But I couldn't imagine it ever would.

That "C-word" is beyond frightening.  To hear it applied to you feels like a dark force trying to drown you, and, for a moment, you feel like you can't breathe or think or move.

You don't want to have to say goodbye yet.

Then you look up.  You have to.  And you see it even in the darkness.  Hope.  Like a rescuing rope.  And you grab onto it.  Sometimes you feel your grip loosening, but you can't let go altogether.  

Lots of faithful prayer warriors and a major surgery were my treatment plan.  It was such a relief to have it gone.  But then you hear the aftercare plan--quarterly re-checks for a year, then every six months for two years, then yearly--and every time that doctor appointment approaches, you start to wonder, just a bit . . .

Last week I had my last quarterly re-check exactly one day after the anniversary of my surgery.  A year already!

I had it really easy compared to some, yet it wasn't easy.  As always, though, the Lord used it for good in ways I could never have imagined it could.  He touched lives besides mine in ways that never would have happened without the suffering.  He touched my life in the lessons I learned, and I find that these principles are true in any difficult situation!

1.  God is in control.  This was solidified in my mind.  I knew it before.  I know it better now.

2.  God uses the prayers of His people to affect lives.  Again, I knew this, but experienced it in a way I hadn't before.  I'm a worrier.  I become easily uptight about things I can't control.  I can't say that I was never afraid, but there was a peace in my soul that was so far beyond what I'm capable of on my own.  There were so many people praying for me, and I knew it the whole time.

3.  Take one day, one moment, at a time.  Everything came at me so quickly--all kinds of tests and possible results and next-step tests based on results. . . oh, my word, it was an overwhelming onslaught of worrisome-sounding procedures.  The only way I could find to cope was to not look beyond the next thing, whatever it was.  I had to stop Googling, too!  It was a matter of facing one thing at a time and not worrying about what came next.

4.  Live in the moment.  This kind of goes along with number three, I guess.  Though it seemed like I was always going to some sort of medical facility for awhile there, and I was going a lot, there were many more moments that I was just living my normal life.  I needed to force my mind and spirit to be present in the moment I was living, not dwelling on what was to come.  If I was playing Monopoly with my son, I made sure to be focused on him (and how badly he was beating me!).  If I was talking with my husband, I gave him my full attention.  If I was doing laundry or dishes, I thanked the Lord that I was able to do them.

5.  It's okay to be the recipient of help.  Oooh, this was a hard one for me!  I love to help people!  But somehow over the years I've become so independently minded that I rarely asked for help with anything.  There was no way, though, that I could be laid up for two months of recovery, not able to do much of anything, and not accept help.  And several people told me that it was a blessing for them to help, which I understood because of how blessed I feel when I get to help someone.  I realized that maybe I had been robbing people of potential blessings because of my hesitancy to ask for help.  Not that I need to go looking for reasons to ask for assistance, but it's okay not to try to do everything on my own.

6.  God is good, no matter how the outcome seems to us.  Self-explanatory.

So, I couldn't let this anniversary go by without giving my Lord a shout-out.  I could definitely be a better student, but I couldn't ask for a better teacher. :)

Home: A Haven of Mercy

Home should be a place of mercy.

If you live alone, show mercy to yourself.

If you live with others, show mercy to them.

The world out there is merciless.

A godly home is a haven of mercy for those who dwell there and those who visit.

Friday Night Randomness: March Favorites

March is almost over!  Here's what I've been loving this month.

Best Reads:  I've been reading two books this month.

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I'm almost done with the Duggar one.  It's a delightful read.  I just love those Duggars!  So encouraging and informative. Bono is a deep person, with a mouth on him. An unorthodox Christian.  It's fascinating to read what makes him tick. I'm borrowing the book, so am trying to get through it quickly, but I'm also putting some thought into what I'm reading, processing what he says through the lens of Scripture, and that takes time.  Bono is a complicated guy.  There's so much I could say, but I think that's a post in and of itself.



Foodliness:  LM and I have been loving us some vanilla Greek yogurt with cut-up strawberries and granola sprinkled over it.  Makes a perfect afternoon snack to tide us over until dinner.

From the Makeup Bag:  I love the L'oreal Naturale True Match Mineral Foundation.  The packaging leaves a lot to be desired, but mineral foundation in general is so much less of a hassle than liquid, in my opinion.  And this particular one does just what I want it to, and no more.  Love it!
 

Skincare:  Witch hazel instead of toner?  Don't mind if I do!  Doesn't smell all floral-y, but does the trick! 

Musically Speaking:  This was the song I was obsessed with during most of the month of March.  I still love it, but have gotten over it, if you know what I mean.



Home Theater:  We haven't had time to watch much of anything this past month, but, when we have a chance, we have been enjoying the Murdoch Mysteries on Netflix.  It's a Canadian show set in the early 1900s, and, though we have skipped an episode here and there, we enjoy the characters and the stories.  Think CSI, but less blood and gore.



Candle:  You know, I really didn't do candles this month!  I'm not sure why.  I love candles.  I'll likely get back into them in April.

App:  Still loving my Motivated Moms app for organizing household chores and anything else I want to add.  Here's a link to a post I did a few years ago that explains more about it.  Love, love.

Human:  This month I'm going to say Michelle Duggar.  She inspires me to try to be a more patient mom.  I've always wondered if her patience comes naturally or if she fights against anger like I do.  Reading the above book about the family, I discovered that she battles anger, too, and that encourages me! :)

Dental Hygiene:  Um, this is not likely to be a regular category, but I soooo love my new toothbrush that I got from the dentist last week.  It works well, but, even more importantly (?), the color is divine!!  I have never loved to look at a toothbrush so much in my life.  The color makes me happy. lol

The shade is actually a little lighter than this, but this is close.

Friday Night Randomness: The 70s/80s Kid Tag

For this week's Friday fun, I chose the 70s/80s Kid Tag, and I tag whoever wants to do it! :)

I was born in 1968, so spent most of my childhood in the 70s and my teenage years in the 80s.

1. What were your favorite TV shows?
Little House on the Prairie, The Waltons, Incredible Hulk.  As a teenager (80s):  Moonlighting, Miami Vice, and the sit-coms like Cosby and Family Ties.

2. What show did you watch when you came home from school?
Brady Bunch, Partridge Family, Munsters--it was always reruns, except when there was an After School Special. :)

3. What was your favorite commercial?
In the 80s, the Michael Jackson Pepsi commercials.

4. What was your favorite clothing store?
I'm trying to remember the names of them:  The Limited, Deb, Lerner, Beneton, Contempo (?)

5. What was the weirdest fashion trend you remember?
70s--gauchos   80s--Probably parachute pants.  It didn't seem weird at the time, though!

6. What was your favorite book?
70s--All the Nancy Drew books;  80s--The Flowers in the Attic series (though, if I'm remembering them correctly, I wouldn't recommend them now.)

7. What was your favorite toy?
The computer punch cards, paper, and file folders my dad brought home from work (the file folders held all the "cases" my detective self was working on) and the leftover dittos my 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Cupp, gave me to play school with.  And Merlin

8. What was your favorite game?
Sorry!, Perfection, Aggravation

9. Who was your favorite music artist?
70s--Donny Osmond and Shaun Cassidy;  80s--Michael Jackson

10. What was your favorite candy and/or snack?
My sisters and/or friends and I would sometimes walk or bike to a deli on 95th St (Oak Lawn, IL) called "Country Kitchen," I believe.  They had penny candy there, and we would get Swedish fish, Bazooka, Smarties, etc.

Almost Time to Let Go

When you create something, it's like your baby.

My "baby" is being prepared now to be made public later this year.

For human consumption.

Open to scrutiny and haters and scoffers.

Oh, my heart!  My heart is in that baby!  My tender heart.  What will it withstand?

All the hours, the tears, the laughter, the sighs, the pain, the mingling of past reality and dreams. . .

I kinda want to hold on.

But, just like when a literal baby grows up and it's time to let go, there's excitement to see what he or she will do!

Maybe, just maybe, my "baby" will entertain someone, or even challenge someone to think about things differently.  Maybe someone will relate.  Maybe someone will change her path.  Maybe someone's heart will be broken, in a good way.  Maybe someone will smile.

Maybe.

Lord, my "baby" is really Yours.  It has been from the start.

Do with it what You will.

The One Thing I Want More Than Spring . . .

This has been a long winter.

But I can't bring myself to complain about it.  There's something I want more than spring, something that can't be procured through any outside source.

It's contentment.

I read an excellent book* on contentment one time (or two times, or three times), and the one thing that has never left my mind is the story of a missionary in Africa, who had to take her outdoor thermometer into her hut when the temperature reached 110 degrees, because any higher temperatures would cause it to start melting.

She had no air conditioning, no fan.  Nothing to comfort her as she tried to sleep at night. 

After she died, her daughter found a journal her mom had kept during her years in those conditions.  One of the entries was about what her missionary mom had learned regarding how to develop and maintain contentment.

The one point I can't ever get out of my mind is, "Never complain.  About Anything.  Not even the weather."

I've been doing my best to practice this ever since.  It just spoke to me!

Today, LM told me his buddy had started a protest against winter.  LM thought it was funny, and I probably would have, too, at his age.  But, though I wouldn't expect a sixth grade boy to be in the same frame of mind as me, and I don't think anything negative toward LM's comrade, it didn't strike me as funny.

"I guess he wasn't thinking about the fact that winter days are what God has given us for now, and He wants us to give thanks instead of complaining," I answered gently, rinsing out a glass in the sink.

"That's true, but it was still kind of funny," LM replied.

I completely understand what he's saying.  He's eleven.

But I've come to understand what that dear missionary woman understood.  I don't live by it perfectly by any means, but it's a part of me now.

Contentment doesn't keep company with complaint.  Gratitude nurtures contentment.  Contentment does not equal getting my own way.

Contentment is far superior to getting my own way.

So, I want contentment more than I want my own way.  Sometimes, anyway.

Therefore, I won't wish winter away.  I will anticipate spring and happily embrace it when it arrives.  But, I'm okay for now! :)

*Click here for purchase info.