the Wednesday hodgepodge

 

Happy Wednesday, friends! I'm here with Joyce again today for the weekly hodgepodge...this is a post that I dearly love; thank you, Joyce, for your inspiring and thought provoking questions each and every week! I'll jump right in!

1. Ice skating, skiing, sledding, snowshoeing, playing in the snow, or a snowy walk...which winter activity do you choose? Have you done any of these activities so far this winter? None of the above! I choose to stay inside and read/watch tv/listen to music when or if it snows this winter. I'll take a cozy day inside my warm home any day of the week! While I would like to see snow this year, I don't want it to stick around too long; preferably it'll be on the ground for a day or two, and then melt quickly. Yes, I realize I'm very specific about my snow and its duration. 

We're predicted to have snow this coming weekend! I'm kind of excited. I'd love to have a snow day next week! I thoroughly enjoyed the Monday that I had off this week, thanks to the day that we honor Martin Luther King, Jr. Speaking of that...

I love this quote by him; it's one I'd never seen before Monday.

2. Everyone is posting pictures from ten years ago on their socials; let's jump on the bandwagon! Share a photo and a thought to go with it from 2016. And maybe everyone isn't doing this, but many are, so let's be part of the fun! 

I actually talked about this very thing in Monday's blog post (click that link if you'd like to read it), so I won't say anything more than what I said earlier in the week. I love a good collage photo, and I talked about my dear friend Abbey in that post, but for today I took it a step further and created this graphic. I would say that we haven't changed that much, except for my hair. 🤣 I will never have dark hair again; if I ever say that I want to dye it like that again, know that it's code for the fact that I've been kidnapped and I need you to call 911.

I guess some things have changed: I'm no longer married and my sons are all grown. She wasn't married at the time of this picture, but now she's married and is a mom to four amazing kiddos. Our roles have changed, and we may not see each other as often as we'd like, but when we do catch up, it's like we were never apart. Abbey is ten years younger than me; we became best friends by being prayer partners. For years, she and I prayed together every week. As she had kids and her life became more busy, we naturally dropped off with this, but we've always said we'll return to it someday. I adore this woman! She's one of the ones who was with me when my friends took me out for dinner when my divorce was final. 

3. What's a trend you hope disappears this year? I had a hard time coming up with an answer to this question. The only thing that came to mind was the "67" thing that is prevalent in schools right now. I would love for that to disappear. When I asked Gemini this question, she had some great things to say as far as trends for 2026. Here are a couple of things she mentioned:

• core styles are being replaced (think cottage core or Barbie core)
• tangible gifts are going out of style and being replaced with life experiences like travel and concerts

I love this! I may not love the "style" of 2026, fashion wise, but I love that people are doing their own things. This feels right and appropriate for us! Or maybe it's just me and I feel it makes sense for my own life. What say you? 

4. They say there's a day for everything and January 21 proves it to be true. It's National Granola Bar Day! Do you like granola bars? How about just regular granola? Do you like bars of other kinds? This made me laugh because there really does seem to be a day for everything under the sun. That kind of reminds me of what King Solomon said in Ecclesiastes, and how there's a season for everything. Anyway, to answer this question, I do like granola bars, granola, and other bars. I don't have a particular kind that I like, but I did recently buy some from Walmart that are like cereal bars. I bought a variety box of strawberry, blueberry, and apple cinnamon. 

5. A frozen lake, a trickling stream, a raging river, or a deep well...which one describes something about your life right now? Elaborate as much or as little as you like. I hesitate to say this in fear of jinxing myself (I'm kidding, I don't believe in that), but at this present date, my life feels like a trickling stream. It feels calm and peaceful in all areas: at home, at work, in my relationships with family, friends, and my Chris. And now I'm going to go pray that it remains that way. 

I thought it'd be fun to include pictures of me by water; this was at the beach with Marilyn last summer, and my more recent trip to Maine on fall break in October 2025. The one of me with the wind whipping my hair cracks me up. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. I loved my Monday morning! I was off work for a holiday, and I spent the morning leisurely reading blogs, writing for my own, I gave myself a pedicure, and I browsed socials. In doing that, I came across my friend Robin's post on FB that she made on Sunday; her husband David died right before Thanksgiving. David was a friend to me from a very young age; I lived on his street briefly and grew up with his younger sister, Rachel. He was one of my favorite people on earth! He always called me Smiley, and later on he became my youth pastor when I was a teenager. He was about eight-ten years older than me, and Robin eventually started dating him. I kept in touch with them over the years, even though I changed to a different church, but David dedicated Graham when he was one year old in the old church I grew up in. Later on down the road, he joined the staff of the church that I went to with my family before I changed to the church I currently attend. How sweet, right? 

I shared all of this to say that in reading a post his wife Robin made, she talked about how much this song helped her through the year and a half that he fought for his life. I'd heard this before but forgotten about it, and when I listened to it Monday morning, I knew I wanted to share it with you. It's called One More Day, and it's by a group called Sons of Sunday.

I hope you enjoy this song as much as I did on Monday. 

I'm excited to read your answers to these questions today on your blog! Thanks for being here to read mind, friends. Love to all. 

Jenn 🖤