Out my Window: amazingly gorgeous day, feels like early fall with the look, sounds, and smells of late fall
Enjoying: beautiful fall weather, morning sky out my window, moon, apple pumpkin candle, twinkle lights, laughter of kids, kindness of others, curbside pickup at the grocery store
Listening to/Watching: Listened to the last two episodes of the Holy Post Podcast. https://www.holypost.com/podcasts I am towards the end of Lord of the Rings Trilogy: Return of the King, https://www.amazon.com/The-Return-of-King-J-R-R-Tolkien-audiobook/dp/B009NOT66S/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=return+of+the+king&qid=1603561457&s=audible&sr=1-1 I have had Brique a Braq on in the background on Spotify. Towards the end of the week I switched it up with John Coltrane.
Reading: I finished The Pursuit of the Holy: A Divine Invitation by Simon Ponsonby. There is much to process in this read. I have many parts underlined and question marks by other parts. It has definitely increased my desire to understand and pursue holiness. I also finished Jill Briscoe’s Faith Enough to Finish on the life of Jeremiah. It was very encouraging and helpful in fine tuning my perspective during a season of finishing certain things I felt God had asked me to do. As always her way with words are simple and straight forward.
Beside my bed: Still reading Jen Pollock Michel’s book Surprised by Paradox: The Promise of And in an Either-Or World. Also reading Dallas Willard’s Life Without Lack: living in the fullness of Psalm 23, after being on my list to read for so long, I finally dove in and was captured by Willard’s writing. His angle is very interesting and definitely different than other books I have read on Psalm 23.
I was in the mood for good story so I pulled Emma by Jane Austen off my shelf. It wasn’t quite what I was looking for. Someone shared a quote from C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters that made me want to pull it out and re-read this classic. So I am back in C.S. Lewis’s world. It was the right fit for me for this moment. I shall give Emma a try again another day.
I am reviewing a study on Habakkuk from Dannah Gresh for Moody Publishing. Hopefully I will have a review up for it this week.
Rambling Thoughts: So many thoughts… election and the heart of the church, Christians who are acting like their salvation is based on who is the leader, deeply saddened by older saints that are sharing things that are disrespectful or gossip, or extreme. I am so thankful for the Christian voices that I have stumbled upon over the last bunch of months that have refreshed my soul in knowing there are still Christians out there that identify first and foremost as Jesus followers. They believe we are to be involved in community and civics, but our role is to love God and love others. It is about Thy (God’s) Kingdom come, Thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. I am baffled by how narrowly focused so many Christians are in interpreting the Bible through an American lens. I saw posts this week that looked at Revelation in terms of America-centric focus. I do not understand. God’s kingdom has never been small, or narrow. I am reminded of his covenant with Abraham to bless all the nations through his descendants. For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son… We are to walk after God and seek His heart. I am praying for what that looks like in this moment. It is too easy to villainize others and write them off, but that is not the Kingdom way. He asks us to love our brothers and sisters, to love our neighbors, to love our enemies. That pretty much covers everyone. Praying for wisdom as to how this looks when I see so much hate and heartache. I am reminded that it starts with looking in the mirror. I am not more righteous or virtuous than others. I am saved by the same grace, so I pray and ask for forgiveness for judging motives and hearts. I am asking what it looks like to interact and challenge my brothers and sisters in their actions, but first letting God convict my heart for my wrong motives, convictions, and actions that need to go. God wants to do a new work. Streams in the desert and paths in the forest… May we be about the Father’s business and not lose sight of His heart.
Fitness and Mental Health: Getting some walks in and still doing Pilates with The Balanced Life Sisterhood https://thebalancedlifeonline.com/ Mental Health: being intentional with my daily gratitude journal, exercise, and continuing to look for beauty are key. Trying to add more veggies into my days. Writing the date and day and a brief list of the events of day has been very helpful for my mental health. Numbering my days…
Home: Keeping up with basics. Deep cleaned bathrooms and kitchen, washed all throw blankets this week
Giving Thanks For: our voting process and freedom, God’s mercies being new every morning, people who challenge and encourage me to think deeper and bigger about ideas and life, getting together with friends, school, more beautiful fall days, game night with extended family through technology, my home, provisions, rest, so much beauty in this world, praying friends, good books, challenging thoughts, community, grace, getting to work with kids and some wonderful people, God ordering my days, His protection against the unseen
Inkblot Life 