Out my Window: Brighter mornings as I head into school early. The morning star, I love when it is clear enough to see it come up over our back hill.
Enjoying: A new candle, lemon sugar cookie. Also my grocery store has beautiful bouquets of flowers for $4. They last for a long time and add the right amount of brightness to the kitchen to hopefully take me through this last section of winter.
Listening to: Re-listened to Jill Briscoe’s If:Gathering Talk from 2017 (she starts 7:45ish minutes in) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqjNGcU6k7s&t=1054s I love this woman so much. She just speaks my heart language and with the bonus British accent.
Reading: Placemaker: Cultivating Places of Comfort, Beauty, and Peace by Christie Purifoy. Finished this beautiful book. Written from a different angle than expected, but gave me much to think about. I will be writing a full review soon. It is available for pre-order right now https://amzn.to/2E5NpXg It is due out March 12. #WearePlacemakers
If peace is a state of harmony, if it is a kind of wholeness or completeness, then peaceful places are spacious places where our whole selves can abide. (13)
Every place made by God is loved by God, and that includes every place where his people dwell. If we are willing to look through the lens of his love, then we will see that every place has some particular magic. (39)
Pulling out books I like to have around for Lent:
40 Days of Decrease by Alicia Chloe https://amzn.to/2Tog8PO is my main one this year. Going through this with a group of ladies at my church.
Bread and Wine: Readings for Lent and Easter https://amzn.to/2H2HMew this is one of my favorites to have around that I pick up and read throughout the season, every year. So much to digest.
Eastertide: Prayers for Lent through Easter for the Divine Hours Phyllis Tickle https://amzn.to/2Vgk16q I use the morning prayers to give me some focus to get the day going.
Devotions for Lent from Mosaic Bible https://amzn.to/2GLar8C
Others I have used: Margaret Feinberg always has a Lent reading through scripture. Last year I used her one on Mark: https://www.margaretfeinbergstore.com/collections/all/products/remarkable-a-40-day-journey-through-the-book-of-mark.
John Piper has a few, I used The Passion of Jesus Christ.
Pondering: Christie Purifoy wrote “I hope I’m a little more open to receiving from a place rather than simply imposing my will on it.” That wording is challenging to me. As much as I want to add good things to a place, especially whatever church we are serving at, am I more about imposing what I think the kingdom should look like there? Am I willing to receive what that place has for me to learn and be changed and challenged by it? Really thinking about what that looks like in this context.
Learning: Learning what kind of placemaker I am in the homes we have lived in and what kind I am not, or have not been. I feel like that is changing for me as my life stage is transitioning. As I read Placemaker certain friends came to mind right away as so like the author, adding their touches to the inside and outside of their home. I love their homes because they are so inviting and so are those people. I am learning mine looks different than that, and that is okay.
Home: Swapping out the evergreens and snowmen for Spring and Lent items. So thankful to live in age of washers/dryers, dishwashers, crockpots, and insta-pots… if not, my family would be hungry and dirty most of the time.
Fitness and Mental Health: Fitness… not much to report. Mental health lighting candles, buying some flowers, reading good books, and writing are all keeping me above water during this last hurrah of winter.
Giving Thanks: For friends who pray and care. For the ladies that are eager to go through this Lent study. For people who are willing to go out of their way for others. For shamrock shakes being back. For lighter days, actual light, and emotionally lighter.
Disclaimer: the Amazon links do link to my personal account and give me a small incentive for sharing from their page. The rest of the links are purely because I enjoy them and thought you might too.
Inkblot Life 