Friday Favorites {edition eleven}

Happy Friday, Friends! 

I'm linking up with Andrea from Momfessionals, and her friends Erika and Narci, for this blog post. 

WHAT A CRAZY WEEK. 

The world has lost its mind, it seems, and I'm officially over it all.  I've banned myself from watching the news, getting on Facebook too often (mainly, I'm checking notifications because I'm selling some books), and talking about it too much at home.  I'm not scared and fearful like most of the people the media keeps talking about, but hearing about all the panic and seeing how bare the shelves are at grocery stores is actually causing me anxiety.  Anxiety cannot be helped, let me remind you, and it's something I have no control over.  The weirdest things set it off in me, and apparently, the panic in others is one of the things. 

Drew has an extra week of spring break and his classes will be online until mid-April, so this virus might be his favorite thing ever. 

Here is a look back at the week of crazy that we've had here, what with the three birthdays we've had in our house. 

The Revive Our Hearts ministries app is my current favorite thing.  I've been listening to the podcasts for these two topics for the second full week in a row, and they are all so good.  If you don't, you should download the free app and start listening.  It's easy to navigate, and who doesn't love Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth?  The app is Revive Our Hearts.

These cuties turned seventeen on Tuesday!  They're definitely a couple of my favorites.  I love celebrating their birthdays, even if the things they get are much more boring than they used to be.  Jonah wanted money, and Noah wanted a nice bottle of cologne.  (Who knew that stuff was so expensive?!)  My pastor's wife helped me with this, because she's an expert in this department.  He tried what she suggested, and that's what he wanted.  I was glad that she gave me the suggestion.

Then, on Wednesday, my oldest favorite son turned 21.  We celebrated at home Monday night with a really good dinner (steak and baked potatoes), then had the family over for the three of them on Tuesday night.  So on Wednesday, since we didn't have plans, he went to his friend's house to help him with something on his truck, then he and a couple of guys went out and celebrated last night.  I cannot BELIEVE he is 21.

I listened to this on Audible this week, and was reminded of why she is my favorite author and blogger.  She narrated the book, which made it even more funny.

I started reading in one of my favorite books of the Bible yesterday.  I'm reading along in chronological order this year, and that's when we started here. 

Bookshelves are my favorite pieces of furniture.  For two years now, this set of shelves has been arranged in rainbow color order, and I'd had enough as of yesterday.  Basically I did this so that I can bury my nose in books for the next few weeks, and I needed to find all my favorites.  I pulled off every book and dusted it, and arranged them according to genre (fiction/nonfiction) and author.  I have a whole shelf of Karen Kingsbury, almsot a whole shelf of Robin Jones Gunn, and the same for Neta Jackson.  I decided to re-read all of my favorite books of all time, which is the Sisterchicks series by Robin Jones Gunn.  And then, I may just go ahead and read them all again, starting with the Christy Miller series. 

Yesterday, Todd came home early from work to meet with someone about treating our yard, and just stayed home the rest of the day.  We proceeded to watch The Lion King and Aladdin (the remake) together and had a little home version of a date night.  All the boys were gone so it was the two of us for hours on end, and we ate and enjoyed quality time together as we watched those movies and a couple of other shows.  It was a good night, and helped soothe my anxious soul. 

All I can say is about all of this paranoia right now is one thing: do you know Jesus?  When you know Him and walk with Him, He is the giver of peace.  I'm not anxious about this virus, it's like any other virus and will eventually run its course.  We should take some precaution as we usually do, like washing our hands often and staying home if we're sick, but I'm not freaking out about this.  But I cannot imagine walking through these crazy times without Jesus.  If you don't know Him, reach out to me or to anyone you know and trust, and make today the day of your salvation.  You will never regret living a life with Jesus as your Savior. 

Thanks for reading, friends.  Love to all. 

a post of random things

This week has been busy!  This week always wears me out and I usually need two or three days to recover.  I'm such an introvert, and I realize that as I write that sentence out.  Being around people really does drain me, and I need days after to recharge.  And, in usual introvert style, my batteries are recharged by alone time.  This is both good and bad.  Good, because with older sons, I'm alone a lot.  Bad, because though my hubby does work a lot at night, lately he hasn't been, and well...we're getting to the verge of too much time together and alone.

I'll move on from that now.

I saw this on social media earlier in the week and cracked up.

Welcome to my childhood.  This waterpark existed in Memphis in the eighties, and I spent many a day here with friends.  The words that someone had posted with this picture are what made me laugh.  Someone said about this place: If you can survive the eighties swimming in this, chances are, you can survive the corona virus.

I feel this to be so true, because back then, nobody knew about all the sanitary issues that come with a waterpark as the breeding ground for germs galore.  And I think I like the thought of going to this way of thinking, when all the information in the world wasn't at their fingertips.  Not that we will ever go back in time like this, but can I just say one other thing about the stupidity that is our world right now in America?  And I'll say this and then I'm not talking about it anymore.  This virus is not the end of the world.  Yes, it may take some lives, and that is always sad, but most people who catch it will get it and then they'll heal.  No big deal. 

And also, my husband just tried for the THIRD TIME to buy toilet paper from Costco, and finally succeeded.  Not because we're paranoid and stockpiling, but because by the end of the weekend, we will legitimately be out of it and will need it for our family. 

And do you know how many cases of toilet paper he just bought at Costco?  One.  One case or package, or whatever you call it.  LIKE ALWAYS.

People need to chill out.

I'm moving on, once again.

If you're a woman reading this, you need to read this book.  Or buy it on Audible and try out Audible for free for thirty days if you don't already have a subscription.  To hear Melanie Shankle narrate this encouraging and hilarious book is even better than reading it.  I finished it yesterday afternoon and promptly downloaded my next free book.  You know I love to read and lately, nothing has been good to me.  I had two library books left to read, and I had Noah take them back for me this week because I couldn't get into either one. 

I got onto Audible the other day and saw this one and downloaded it and started it right away.  That was on Monday, and I finished it yesterday afternoon.  Depending on the length of the book, it usually takes around fifteen hours to listen to it be narrated.  You can adjust the speed of the narration, but I don't listen too fast, or it'll just go into one ear and out the other. 

In lieu of watching the news each day, I've been listening to podcasts.  This week, Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth started this new series on the Revive Our Hearts app.  This day was so good and is always something I need to be encouraged in.  I just finished day two, and will listen to day three after I read in my Bible.

And finally, also in lieu of social media and/or the news, when I saw that two of my favorite bloggers/authors had a new podcast out, I started listening right away.  (Sophie Hudson and Melanie Shankle.)  They're so funny, and it's like you're having a conversation with your best friend.  If you want to listen for yourself, you can go here to do that. 

Well, that's about all I've got.  I hope you have a great day!  Thanks for reading, and love to all. 

a walk down memory lane and Graham

Today is Graham's 21st birthday!  I can't believe that, even as I write that.  It seems like yesterday he was in the fifth grade, and living his best life.  (Although he's still living his best life.)

I posted on Instagram this morning that the years between sixth grade and now are just a blur.  I've heard so many people say this, but it's so true, that once they get to middle school, you blink and it's graduation or after graduation.  I am so glad for all the memories we have made with our sons in our family, I can honestly say that I don't feel like we wished the years away.  We were busy, and though we may not have traveled extensively, they have gotten to do some pretty amazing things.

I thought I'd share some stand-out moments from years gone by, both for him and his brothers.

I'll never forget the night my neighbor Beth called me and asked me to check if her oven was turned off.  I don't remember how it went from that request to Graham being the one checking, like as he'd been walking by her house, but when he passed by, he saw smoke in her house and called 911.  Her oven was turned off, but there was eye on the stove that had been left on by one of her boys with noodles in it.  Needless to say, it was a good thing Beth called me and asked us to check.  He was out there talking with the firefighters when they came, and they wanted to talk to him, since he'd been the one to make the call.  He has never been intimidated around adults, not since he was two years old.

I remember these years and thinking they would never grow up.  They were all so good, really, I just had my hands full with all those active boys.  If one didn't do it, the other one thought it and convinced them all to participate.  (Usually the instigator was Drew.)  My hands may have been full, but my heart was even more so.  We used to go out to eat pretty often (hello, kids eat free nights), and we could hardly even finish a meal without someone stopping by and complimenting how well behaved they all were.  And they were!  Out in the public, as I always said.  They saved their crazy for home, which was a good thing, but man, they ran me ragged.  I really wanted people to like us all and I wanted to be invited over to friend's houses; I was afraid once we found out that we would have four boys, that people would be scared of us.  (I didn't want my boys to be known for how obnoxious and mean they were, which are how people think of boys.)  I remember crying about this and Todd telling me that we would just make sure we raised them to be polite and kind.

I got my drill sergeant tendencies from them, because I had to be like one.  I was pretty strict when they were this little, and there were several things I never stood for, a few of them being meanness, hitting/punching, saying the words "I hate you", tattle taling, and whining.  They all knew what all those things meant by the time they'd reached the age of two.

I like to think that all that paid off, because these days, they all get along great.  (Mostly.)  They're all very close to one another, and that's something  I always prayed for.  I would always tell them as they sat around the kitchen table, that friends would come and friends would go, but that their relationship with one another would be something they would have for life.  Plus, between Jonah and Noah and Graham, there were only four years, so of course they would be close.

This will always be one of my favorite memories.  These boys were all obsessed with the Fab Five gymnast stars from the Summer Olympics (and Makayla Maroney), and we surprised them with tickets to see them perform on this night.  We never told them what we were doing until we pulled into this garage, and they all guessed.  That excitement you see on their faces was genuine.

I share these, because Graham loves our friend Marissa.  We never guessed when we went on a family mission trip to the Navajo reservation that we would gain a lifetime friend in her.  She and Graham clicked instantly, and she is like the big sister to him he never knew he wanted.  He is such a great and loyal friend, but for some reason, he's never had a ton of friends.  He's always preferred adults or people who were years older than him, so maybe that's why.  He's also always had a lot of friends who were girls, since he was in elementary school.  The friends he did have in elementary school are friendships that are no longer a thing, but he's okay with that, because I think he realizes that sometimes those types of relationships are just for a season.  I did get excited when he told me one friend from elementary school that would always come over is living here in Memphis again.  Brayden moved away when they were young, and Graham actually ran into him as he was leaving work a couple of weeks ago.  He stopped and they both recognized each other and made plans to get together.  The guys he hangs out with now are friends he's made in the last couple of years.

These days, Graham works full time and volunteers as a first responder with the Shelby County Sheriff's Office.  He is constantly stopping and assisting people when he drives by, and thanks to his constant smile and personable ways, they're always so thankful.  He works as a part of the tech team at church and is occasionally paid for doing things like running the sound for weddings or funerals.  He loves his truck more than anything else, pretty much, and he loves going to and participating in truck meets.  He loves life and enjoys it all to the fullest, and it's evident when you talk to him.  He's a pretty great big brother, too, except for when he initiates arguments with them.  (He can aggravate like no other.)

I'm so proud of him, though, and for the godly man he's grown into.  I know he's not reading this, but happy birthday, Graham.  I love you more.

(And again, if you're still around, thanks for reading!  Love to all.)

all about Jonah and Noah

I cannot believe that today my twins are seventeen years old.  I used to refer to them as the babies, and then later on, the littles.  They'll always be that to me.

I thought I'd share seventeen things I love about them both, and though I'll stop at seventeen, there are a million more small and little things.

Jonah:

I love how hard he works; he is JUST like his dad.
I love that he enjoys life to the fullest.
I love that he is dependable.
I love that he loves to talk to us.
I love that he still grabs my hand when he talks to me.
I love that he will sometimes dance with me in the kitchen.
I love to hear him sing, he has a beautiful voice and listens to songs while he showers.
I love how much he loves shoes.
I love that he is a neat freak.
I love that he is so smart with all things tech.
I love that he knows how to communicate.
I love how much he loves to drive.
I love that he loves to work, and that he has had his own business for two years now.
I love that he loves our animals so much.
I love that he knows how to make decisions and will, when no one else does.
I love that though he can be stubborn, he's humble enough to own up to when he makes a mistake.
I love that he loves Jesus and that he will always stand up for what is right.

Noah:

I love that he is so dependable.
I love that he could be described as faithful.
I love that he thanks me for and compliments dinner every single night, even if it was bad.
I love that he is loyal.
I love how great of a friend he is.
I love that he always initiates a hug.
I love that he is so thoughtful.
I love that he laughs easily.
I love that he understands all of Drew's inside jokes.  (He is Drew's favorite.)
I love that he is always thinking ahead.
I love that he communicates so well.
I love that he will come downstairs and talk to us.
I love that he feels deeply and won't sit back and take someone being mean to one of his brothers.
I love how much he still loves animals.
I love that he is very quick to forgive.
I love that he enjoys life to the fullest.
I love that he loves Jesus and will always do what is right.

These young men make me proud every single day.  They love others well and are full of integrity.  They tell us everything, and I do mean that, because some of the things they say to us are not necessarily the things we want to hear.  They're honest and hard-working and are smart and kind beyond their years. 

They may not be the ones who in the spotlight at church, they are not in what I would consider part of the "popular" crowd, and they've had their hearts hurt over the last year and a half to two years, but through it all, they stood strong together and just changed up a lot of the relationships in their lives.  One thing is sure-they sure do stand out and look different than a lot of the people around them.  I wouldn't want things any other way.

My greatest prayer for them is that they would always love the Lord their God with all their hearts, with all their souls, with all their minds, and with all their strength and that they would love others as they love themselves.  I also pray that as God has been faithful to them, that they would be faithful to Him, and that they would always do what is right, especially when nobody is watching.  It's been one of the biggest blessings in my life to raise all these boys God gave to us, and they're not mine-they're His.  I know He has big plans for all of them, and it's been a joy to watch it all play out.  I trust Him with the next years in their life as they live this last year of their "childhood" (though in my mind, eighteen years of age is not an adult).  Happy birthday to you both, Jonah and Noah.  I love you so much.

(If you're still around, thanks for reading.  Love to all.)

Friday Favorites {edition ten}

Happy Friday, friends!  I think I'm literally limping into the weekend.  (I'm having an issue with pain in my heel, and Toddley thinks it's arthritis.)

Boo.  Getting older is not my favorite.

I'm linking up with Andrea from Momfessionals, and her friends, for this blog post. 

I love a new month!  One of my favorite things in a new month is starting over with a new Scripture writing plan, and Shannon from www.swtblessings.com puts out a great one. 

This month is all about perseverance, which is ironic because of life right now.  I limped through all of yesterday, as I sat at my kitchen table and drowned out life in general as I wrote for several hours, but I got it done, with the Lord's help.  I don't say that lightly, and most of you know that.  I went upstairs to get dressed after I'd finished the portion I needed to finish, and I just went straight to my knees to humbly thank the Lord for providing me with exactly what I needed.  I had to do that, I was so grateful to Him.

Speaking of gratitude...

I've been listening to this podcast all week on the Revive Our Hearts ministries app on my phone.  This has been such a blessing!  And even if you think you already know this, consider listening to it for yourself.  I promise, you will learn something new.  She is one of my very favorite speakers of all time, and you can know that every thing she puts out is gold.  I love her heart, and it's evident that she loves the Lord so much. 

And, speaking of Revive Our Hearts, at our women's conference last weekend, Leslie Bennett from there came and spoke to us about Titus 2.

(That's her, the second from the right.)  It was so, so good!  I was encouraged, challenged, and hopeful for the ladies in our church to start living this out. 

I met several new friends, too, which is alway a favorite, like this dear lady, Ann.

We had assigned seats this year, which was different, but I am so glad we did.  It forced us out of our little circle of friends, and after each of the three sessions, Leslie provided some table hosts with questions to go over for table talk.  That was a blessing, and again, I am so glad for how things were.  My friend Amy did a great job with the whole thing. 

The rest of my week looked like this...

This was me with a portion of the materials I needed to work on a writing project.  I was also catching up on reading in my chronological Bible, Scripture writing, and then marking things in my calendar. 

Studying is one of my favorite things to do, and this felt good.

And believe it or not, but who knew Numbers would be some of my favorite passages this week?  I got so much out of the life of Caleb that I wrote an article about it that will (hopefully) be published soon for the online magazine I write for.  Well... I take that back, I forgot how to submit an article and I need my husband to show me again.  My brain is not working at the moment, and all the things I knew just marched their way back out.

This felt good this week, too.  I love to take my time and just pour over the word of God.  I don't always get so much out of it, but when I make the time, this does seem to happen frequently. 

Well, I'm going to go sit and put my feet up, because everything hurts from sitting here at my kitchen table all day.  (It's 7 pm Thursday night as I write, and Mama's tired.)

Thanks for reading!  Love to all. 

simply Tuesday

I love this graphic above; thanks to Emily P. Freeman for this, and for the idea of Simply Tuesday.  I love the reminder of what it says, though, that all things begin small in the kingdom of God.  Someone probably needs to read that again, for when life can be overwhelming.  Start small and go from there, and if you're a believer, saturate everything in prayer.

If you know me and my morning routine, you know that when I first wake up, I let the dogs out, make my coffee in the Keurig, make everyone else's coffee in the pot, then I take it in the living room and watch the local news, and then The Today Show.  (I love all The Today Show people and want to be friends with them!)  But between the politics and all the corona virus (or however it's spelled), I can't take it right now.  After more than five minutes of watching it on mute, I have decided to try something new this week.

I am going to start listening to this podcast during the time in the morning when I make lunches and to-go coffees from Todd and Graham.  Each episode is about thirty minutes, and the timing of it all is perfect.  I'm listening via the app on my phone, and the app is Revive Our Hearts.  From there, you click on 'podcasts' then 'Revive Our Hearts', but all the stuff on the app is great and you can read blog posts by other women.  Most of the podcasts are by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, though, and I LOVE her.  I also want to be friends with her, but I definitely consider her as one who pours into my life as someone older in the faith than me.

I'll continue watching my local news in the hours before seven, but as for the national news, I just can't right now.  For someone who is quick to be anxious over things, I have found that for now at least, this is better for me.  I will depend on other outlets for national news for the time being, like the many emails I receive each day.  My dad gets his news that way, so that idea came from him. 

I thought I would share this with you, in case there is anyone out there who is a little bit like me.  Other things on my agenda for this day are things I am grateful to be doing-Bible study homework and a couple of writing projects that are on the horizon.  I pray the Lord helps me today with all of this, and that He guides me as I study, read, then write.  I would say that there's more I'd like to do, but I don't want to set myself up to let my own self down.  Yes, that happens, when I put too many things on my to-do list.  I need to do what is the priority first, then all else can be done on a later day.

Well, I am going to end this here.  Thanks for reading!  I hope you have a great day.  Love to all! 

Hello Monday {linkup} & weekending

It was such a good weekend!  Every year the women's ministry at my church puts on a two day conference for the women, and each year it just gets better and better.  It's always a sweet time of worship and fellowship, and I always come away refreshed and challenged.  But this year was my favorite to date.  Leslie Bennett from Revive Our Hearts was there, and I loved everything she taught.  The theme of the conference was based on Titus 2, about women mentoring women, which is something very near and dear to my heart, and something that isn't much talked about at a lot of churches these days.

I actually got emotional at several times in the two days, as I thought about my dear friend Eileen, who was this to me a year ago.  She suffered a stroke, though, and had to be moved away to be cared for by and to be closer to her family.  A few of us are making a plan to take a day trip there sometime soon, though, and I am looking forward to seeing her.

I helped lead worship with a really sweet team of ladies, and I am so thankful that they were willing to step up.  We sang some really sweet and worshipful songs, but here are two of my current favorites.

This first one is He Will Hold Me Fast, and this is the version that Selah sings.

I could listen to this over and over again.  We're learning a different version of it in choir.

The other song that I love so much right now is King of Kings.

It was a really sweet weekend.

This was a panel of ladies who are living examples of the Titus 2 woman, and they shared some questions and answers as they walk through these daily relationships.  I loved this portion.

Leslie shared three different times, and then we would have a "table talk" time when we would discuss things she'd gone over with the ladies at our tables.  That being said, it was best that we had assigned seats, because had we not, we would have all just sat with our friends.  I enjoyed getting to know some new ladies at my table, and I'm so glad we had those assigned seats!

And this sweet lady is someone I've known about for a long time, but who I just officially met this weekend.  Her late husband was a man that my dad worked with for years, and who meant so much to me and to my dad.  I so enjoyed getting to share some stories with her about him and how I remembered him being a larger-than-life presence in the room, and whose smile would light up his whole face.  I asked her to take this picture with me so I could share it with my dad.

Sunday is always a great day at church, though sometimes hard, but I am thankful for my faith family.  I love spending time with them and will always be so grateful to God for bringing my family to our place of worship almost ten years ago.  My youngest two sons no longer remember our old church nowadays, with most of their memories tied up with times here at CFBC.

That is definitely not something I'm complaining about.

How was your weekend?  I'd love to hear!  Thanks for reading my blog...be sure and hop over to Tanya's blog over at The Other Side of the Road, and check out all the other people who have linked up with her.

Love to all!