Out my Window: warm rainy Sunday
Enjoying: beautiful weather, goldfish (the snack, I can’t stop eating them), baseball, spring flowers everywhere, trees swollen buds, grilling
Listening to/Watching: Listening and watching lessons on Techniques in Addiction Counseling and Integration of Spirituality and Counseling. Holy Post Podcast Holy Post Podcast. Added another book to my booklist after last week’s podcast, The Sum of Us. I finished listening to Infinite Game I highly recommend this book, so much wisdom for pretty much any area of life. The audio is read by the author and is a very enjoyable listen. (PSA: some language). Even though I picked up a hard copy of Adam Grant’s Think Again, I decided to go the Audible path. So far it is interesting, but think I would have enjoyed book format better. Lots of baseball viewing and some Psych.
Reading: By my bedside: I am slowly reading Anatomy of the Soul: Surprising Connections between Neuroscience and Spiritual Practices That Can Transform Your Life and Relationships by Curt Thompson. It has slowed down with much more discussion on brain science. It is fascinating how physiologically we are wired, but makes reading a bit slower, particularly before bed. I may have to rotate books.
I finished The Wounded Healer by Henri Nouwen. It is a small book with so many nuggets to pull out. Although dated, it is worth the perspective on our relationships and helping one another.
Through this common search, hospitality becomes community. Hospitality becomes community as it creates a unity based on the shared confession of our basic brokenness and on a shared hope.
Henri Nouwen
Book Launch World: I signed up to pre-read Singing in the Dark: Finding Hope in the Songs of Scripture by Ginny Owens Home | Ginny Owens. We had the privilege of hosting her at our church a few years ago to sing and share some of her story and life. I am looking forward to this read and sharing more on my FB and IG pages.
Sadly, I only read one chapter of Fredrik Backman’s book Britt-Marie Was Here. So far it is enjoyable, but reality of classes took over. (Debating about spending the rest of the day reading it or starting on this week’s schoolwork.)
Rambling Thoughts: When I first heard it, and then saw so many people’s reactions that Dr. Seuss was cancelled, I like many was outraged. I decided I needed to see what happened and why he was cancelled. What I found were headlines that were misleading because… outrage sells. What I found as I read further in was the organization that oversees the Dr. Seuss collection and legacy took time before the outrage to look at their books. They re-evaluated some books and decided not to keep printing the ones that promoted stereotypes. Wow! That is mature and possible costly, but I applaud this self monitoring. I do not know whether their motives were pure or not, but this is something we can all learn from. What things in our life no longer work? What things do not promote our values anymore? What do we need to remove so we can make space for what we do value? It may be part because it has always been a huge part of who we have been but in the long run weeding out and dealing with that which does not promote what is good, pure, lovely, and true is always a good move. It leaves more space for things that are and invites others to do the same. So thank you Dr. Seuss Foundation for stepping up and letting go of what is no longer good and lovely… As Maya Angelou says,
Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.
Maya Angelou
Home: Catching up and cleaning up. Loving grilling weather and having fresh spring flowers. Someone brought me daffodil plants that are almost ready to bloom. I got them right in the ground and can’t wait for them to bloom.
Giving Thanks For: generous provisions, starting another job that allows me to work with kids, baseball season starting on time, people able to go to games, coffee/tea date with a friend, laughter, time, teenagers, people who are wrestling forward, candles, beautiful moon, nature, opportunities to learn, God’s comfort for my friends who have to walk with hard stories, technology, God’s mercies, people who challenge and encourage me to think deeper and bigger about ideas and life, well cared for, my home, provisions, rest, so much beauty in this world, good books, poetry, challenging thoughts, community, grace, God ordering my days, His provisions and reminder of His heart for me, forgiveness, refining
Inkblot Life 