Monday Ponderings ~ Happy June~ πŸŒ²πŸŒΏπŸŒ±πŸƒ {Day 49}

Starting a bit of a June challenge for myself! June is my birthday month so I want to gift myself health, beauty, relationships, and simple routines. I’m putting this here for additional accountability and encouragement! It’s never too late to start again.

β™₯οΈπŸŒ²πŸŒΏπŸŒ±πŸƒβ™₯️

Preparation {Day 48} πŸŒΈ

Moonshine πŸŒ–

Every day is a preparation for death. By realizing this, it helps somehow, because we each have to die a little each day. Death is nothing except going back to Him, where He is and where we belong. β™₯️

~ Mother Teresa, Do Something Beautiful for God

…at the close of the day… {Day 42} πŸŒ…

…gratitudes…

β€’thankful for the laundry blowing on the line β€’the killdeers and geeseβ€’the smell of pine in the sunβ€’delicious chicken and veggie kebobsβ€’talking with Ricci and many others at graduation partiesβ€’for a hot shower β€’new gratitude journalβ€’for a hubby who works hardβ€’for remodeling β€’for gorgeous storm cloudsβ€’

Joy of loving πŸ’œπŸ€πŸ’š {Day 40}

We should ask ourselves, Have I really experienced the joy of loving? True love is love that causes pain, that hurts, and yet brings joy. This is why we pray asking for courage to love, and love more deeply than ever before.

~ Mother Teresa, Do Something Beautiful for God

Wednesday Wonders {Day 34} πŸŒΏβ™₯️

β€’listeningβ€’

I’ve been mainly listening to two audiobooks when on walks or cooking.

I don’t LOVE revenge stories, but this is very creative so far! Chinese American Math genius is rescued from prison to save a failing company. Can she get revenge on the woman who put her in prison?
Reading the new book out from Bright Eating founder with my friends.

I’ve also listened to a little Booktube and music. I heard an Oriole singing above us when my little boys, daughter’s finance and I where sitting at the campfire. It was beautiful!

β€’watchingβ€’

Spring burst out around us! It’s glorious! My daughter and her relationship! They were able to visit Mother’s Day weekend and it was so good to visit.

β€’readingβ€’

We are finishing up a lot of our school books as we need to be done early this year! My two little boys and I are almost finished with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and we laughed so hard at the preachy Ompaloompa songs. πŸ˜‚ I just finished a raw, realistic historical fiction about a woman’s journey to true faith as she struggles to survive on the Dakota prairies. Spring for Susannah is my second Catherine Richmond and it won’t be my last.

β€’noticingβ€’

I am noticing how much we are asked to trust and let go of as Christ-followers, women, mothers, sisters, and friends! I find myself drowning if I hold on too tight and try to control out of fear. I’m noticing I need to choose to surrender to the Lord.

How about you? What are you listening to, watching, reading, and noticing?

I’m trying to keep going with my 100 Day Project even though my posts aren’t always perfectly consecutive! Life gets life-y! Thanks for commenting and sharing your thoughts with me on this journey!

🌿β™₯️🌲

Encourage = β€œPut Courage In”{Day 33} β™₯️🌿

I invite you to scroll through these beautifully encouraging pieces! I submitted mine awhile back and it was included (last piece, Amy M. Pine) with these others. They really are testimonials of God’s love and faithfulness! Just what I needed to peruse this morning as we are wrapping up our home school year. β™₯️🌿

🩡🀍🩡🀍🩡🀍🩡

Day in the life ofβ€¦πŸŒ²{Day 26}🌲

Today…

Made coffee.

Talked with 18 yo.

Read a few chapters in Luke.

Tried to pray.

Got more coffee.

Snuggled with 6 yo old.

Wrote out homeschool list.

Plugged in dying phone and kindle.

Made my hubby’s breakfast.

Listened to 17 yo’s narrations.

Talked schedule with hubby.

Looked at dinner pool list to decide what I have in cupboard for dinner. Nothing needs thawing.

Made my yogurt bowl for breakfast. Got kids finishing breakfast (fend for themselves) and starting math and piano practice.

Unpacked a few things from car that we left after arriving home late last night.

Texted with daughter at college. She got my card. β™₯️Sent her video she wanted.

Collected cold coffee and yogurt bowl, grocery list, random journals, and pens and took upstairs.

Ran downstairs, washed out and filled water bottle.

Forwarded email someone wanted me to pass on to mom’s group.

Sent recommendations to my daughter’s soon to be MIL.

Ran back upstairs.

Listened to Marco Polo group messages while eating and settling up my journals.

Caught up on some journaling.

Ran downstairs. Printed off book covers for reading journal.

Sat down with four kiddos for our morning time.

Listened to narrations and popped popcorn for snack.

Did reading lessons with little boys. Read them a couple chapters of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Buzzed boy’s hair, helped them with showers, and finger nails.

6 yo and I spread the hair clippings to birds outside .

Texted my best friend, my sister!

Listened to 17 yo narrate again.

Helped 21 yo son with his college paper for 10 minutes.

Got out leftovers for lunch, heated up ham veggie soup for my husband and I! Washed spoons.

Cleaned up while kids outside.

Got out big block of cheese, gallon bags to split and freeze. Can’t find serrated knife?

Went back upstairs and journaled a bit more, started grocery list/menu plan.

Tried to go on walk, super windy and cold. Listened to audiobook. Grabbed my son’s laundry that was on clothesline because it looked like rain. Admired the violets!

17 yo left for extended music lessons.

Call three younger in, work on each child’s history, science, and copy work. Work on some reading with my current dyslexic.

Make more popcorn and cheese and cracker snack.

Send them out to play.

Set up nature outing with friends via Voxer.

My 6 yo and I thoroughly enjoyed this together. β™₯️

I found missing serrated knife. πŸ€ͺ Finished cheese project and I froze some of the cheese.

Sat down and started listening to The Raphael Affair, almost finished.

Watched one Booktube video.

Got kids ready for going with dad and picking up cousins for church. Found socks, shoes, sweatshirts.

Now blogging πŸ˜… and thinking of dinner prep (egg sausage casserole), and which book to read.

Need to finish grocery list/menu plan.

Need to finish unpacking car.

Maybe start packaging up books for an east coast friend or write a pen pal letter?

I could sweep kitchen floor and scrub table too. πŸ€”

Fun 🀩 favorites reads from April!

I love these sort of post as I don’t often realize all that I’m doing while in the midst of it! Also it’s a record and a memory of a wonderful life! I’m so blessed to be a home keeper and home schooling mama. A favorite quote I heard again this past weekend was about β€œa long obedience in the same direction”. May that be so of my faith journey and my relationships. πŸ™πŸ»β™₯️

What did you do today? I bet you’d be surprised if you jotted down the minute details as closely as possible. Happy Wednesday! β™₯️

Monday Ponderings πŸ¦‹ {Day 25}

A few simple things to aim for this spring/summer! Prayerfully asking the Lord to help me focus on relationships and rightly ordering my affections. Do you have anything planned or something on your heart? β™₯️
Journaling brings me so much joy! πŸ₯Ήβ™₯️πŸ₯°

Happy Monday! β™₯οΈπŸŒ²πŸ“š

…in truth Thou art…{Day 24}

We seek the place where Thou art, for there would we also be, for in truth Thou art the end of all the searchings of heart which perplex us.

~ from Scale Howe Meditations

Favorite Blogs and Booktube Channels to check out! {Day 22} πŸ“½οΈπŸ“š

Happy Thursday! I β€˜tried’ to group these by main genre topic. β™₯️ I’m hoping to add more for reference! A few of these don’t regularly update, but there is a TREASURE TROVE of back posts!

Writing/General Memoir/Nature:

Adrienne Morris

Beating the Bounds

Merhling Muse

Words & Herbs

Poetry (among other gems):

Beautiful Messy Life

Dreams from A Pilgrimage

Kourtney Garrison

Leaf and Twig

Tea & Paper

writing in north norfolk

Essays/Articles:

Enthusiastically, Dawn

Dr. Lizzie Rogers

The Marginalian

Home/Domestic/Family:

Fancied Freedom

Gathering Light

Good to Be Home

Haven Hedgerow

Heavens to Betty

Melissa Wiley

Rabbit Patch Diary

Renaissance

Reading/Homeschool:

Sage Parnassus

The Book Worm Chronicles

Woldenburn

Booktube Absolute Favorites:

Kate Howe

Chantel Reads All Day

Miriam Elizabeth Reads

Gloria Z Thompson

Cozy Cottage Chapters

Happy reading/watching! This would be a perfect place to dive into on your next rainy day! So thankful for creativity and words! 🌲β™₯️😍