What's Up Wednesday

 

Happy Wednesday! I'm linking up with Shay from Mix & Match Mama for today's blog post. 

What we're eating this week:

I've been hit or miss with dinners this week. Monday night was Bible study night for me, so I made chicken wings from Costco for my guys, but I didn't buy enough. I'm rolling my eyes at myself. Last night we had cheese tortellini, salad and garlic bread. That was a hit. Tonight will be something easy for everyone to do on their own, because I'll be at church. Tomorrow night may be soup.

What I'm reminiscing about:

When everything was normal. We didn't have to wear masks, social distancing was not a thing, when I could watch The Today Show without dying over every single episode. You know, all those things. To say I am over all of this is a huge understatement. I'm so done with masks and have been rebelling about them and taking them off or pulling them down to my chin when I'm shopping.

What I'm loving:

I'm not the only one loving this new set up. All the guys have been outside since Todd put the tv up on Saturday. They watched games on Saturday and Monday nights and last night they invited friends over for a presidential debate watch party. Maybe one night over the weekend, I'll get my turn out here for a Hallmark movie. 

What we've been up to:

All the usual things. Work, school, hanging out with friends.

What I'm dreading:

As the election draws nearer, people get nastier. I don't know how I'll survive the actual day of the election and the weeks to come, possibly, as votes are counted and processed. I may never leave my house while that goes on. (Kidding....kinda.)

What I'm working on:

I'm still working on a little more of the current Bible study I'm helping write with the writing team from my church. I am finished with most of my portion, I'll just be going back and making edits.

What I'm excited about:

Our 24th anniversary is Sunday! I love reminiscing about all our years together and I always love our date nights. I'm also looking forward to mid-October, when my sister Trish and I fly to Denver to see our sisters and family. Colorado is always beautiful, but fall is the best time of year to be there, in my opinion! 

What I'm watching/reading:

I'm watching Gilmore Girls and Grey's Anatomy on Netflix (always), but I've been loving Hallmark movies too. I've been on movie kicks lately as well, and I devoted one weekend to the eighties and one weekend to the nineties. I finally picked up my last book of the series I've been reading all summer and am about halfway through with it; I'm so ready to move on to the books I have waiting on me. I am moving on to a mystery series next, by Terri Blackstock and I've got them waiting for me on my bookshelf upstairs.

What I'm listening to:

Oh, Spotify, how I love thee. I have all the playlists! I have several fall playlists I'm following and listening to, with people like Ben Rector, The Cranberries, Steve Tyrell and Harry Connick Jr. just to name a few. I'm also loving eighties love songs right now and love listening while I cook dinner. I always have worship music on, too, so if you were to walk in and hear music, who knows what you'd hear? 

What I'm wearing:

This new poncho will be on repeat in the coming days for sure, with all the cool weather. Also, my old favorites: lots of jeans, darker colored tops, cute Dansko clogs, a dress or two with a jean jacket thrown on top, big earrings, dark nail polish...the fall is my very favorite season! I don't wear a lot of sweaters/sweatshirts/long sleeves, because though the weather does permit those, I am hot all the time. I saw a fall meme that made me laugh that sums it up: It's officially wear a sweater in the morning, die in the afternoon weather.

What I'm doing this weekend:

I will probably go out with my mom and Trish on Saturday and Todd and I will celebrate our anniversary either Saturday or Sunday night. 

What I'm looking forward to next month:

Our anniversary, traveling, just the whole season in general. 

What else is new:

I think I covered it all! Thanks for reading along; love to all. 

weekending/Hello Monday Linkup

 

Happy Monday, friends. I'm linking up with Tanya from The Other Side of the Road for this blog post.

The weekend had its highs and lows. I won't get into the lows, but it put a definite damper on the days that should have been mostly fun and relaxing. I did some grocery shopping for our church on Friday night and on Saturday, my sisters came and picked me up at ten fifteen. I am so glad I was with them for the whole day—I needed time with them and they helped me feel better about a situation I'm going through. We had the best day ever and had so much fun together. We ate lunch, we went to a bakery that Lisa loves and misses, we went to several little boutique type shops and just had a really good day. The weather was cool and a little overcast, so we never even got hot, which made it so nice. 

I came home to boys working on trucks and a hubby that was missing. He'd gone to buy a new little toy and this is what I came home to later on after having eaten dinner at my mom's.

I foresee many a night spent out here. I can't wait to watch Hallmark Christmas movies out here with a fire in the fire pit. 

Todd sat out there all evening with a variation of the boys, watching college football.

I went to Mom's for dinner (football isn't my fav), so when I got home I watched a Hallmark movie in the living room while they sat outside. I was in bed pretty early, though, because I had to be at church at 8:30 for praise team rehearsal.

I came home for lunch and to rest my eyes for a bit, then was back there at three for choir practice. Todd made a sushi run for us when I got home, and then we sat and started watching The Challenger documentary on Netflix afterward. Most of the weekend was great. I could use some prayer, though—I'm feeling a little discouraged right now. 

Even with Jesus, life is hard, friends. I can't imagine life without Him. I am not seeking pity, I promise...but I would sure appreciate a prayer or two to get me through the week. I need to have a clear mind and heart all week, but especially on Wednesday and next Sunday, when I'm helping lead women in worship. God is good all the time and all the time, God is good. 

I hope you have a great day! Thanks for reading my blog, I'll see you back here tomorrow, hopefully. Love to all. 

Friday Favorites

 

Happy Friday, friends! I'm linking up with Andrea from Momfessionals for this blog post. 

I'm starting all the way back at last weekend. I went to Mom's and Bill's for dinner that night and we were talking about fall smells and candles and pecan pie got mentioned. Then we had the bright idea to make one, so Mom and I ran to the store near their house for flour and she made the filling while I made the crust. This was so good! Pecan pie is one of my very favorite pies of all time. It screams fall to me.

This may be my newest favorite outfit for the next who knows how long. I'll have to trade out those cute wedges for some flats eventually, but I wore this to church on Sunday and received so many compliments on it—they affirmed me in my choice of clothing for that day and that helped me lay aside any insecurities I had when I walked in the church building that morning. Dresses usually aren't my thing. 

Bonfires are our favorites. I came home early Monday night from Bible study so that I could spend some quality time with my husband. He'd been gone all weekend long for work with the sheriff's department and we hadn't really seen each other since Thursday. Fall weather is also my favorite.

Speaking of my husband and working, one thing he did all weekend was help search for a missing elderly man. The man was in great shape and they found him alive, he'd fallen into a ravine and just couldn't climb back out. But y'all. They found him by tracking him through Google. That is both VERY creepy and also reassuring, in case we ever get kidnapped and end up missing. I had a picture I was going to post, but I don't know if there is sensitive information on it, so I'll just explain that they had a map from his Google whereabouts and they did an overlay of a map on top of his Google information and found him very shortly after. 

Isn't that incredible? AND SO CREEPY???

Todd showed me how you can even go back in time to weeks ago and see where someone was on a certain day and showed me by changing his date to a day back in August. 😨

A friend of mine has some pewter pieces she was getting rid of and gave them to me to try to help her sell them or keep them. I love this tray/serving piece! I moved some things around in order to put it there, but did you know that you can heat this up and then put food on it to keep its temperature? I had no idea. You can even cook or bake in certain pieces. You can do the same with this with chilling things. This may end up being one of my new most favorite things.

My nephew Cole took this picture of my oldest son Graham with his beloved truck in Daytona Beach. This is my favorite picture! I told Graham he needs to print this one and have it matted and framed so that he will always have it to remember his truck. Isn't this a great picture?

I was up so early Thursday morning, so much so that I had showered by seven fifteen. That's highly unusual for me, I usually take my showers at night. My hair was very cooperative on that day, so I took this picture to show that and how happy I was to have an entire day to spend at home. 

Surprise sister visits are always my favorite. Lisa flew in very unexpectedly this week and showed up at my house Tuesday night. I turned over dinner to my guys to finish up and I went out to eat with her, her son Tyler, Trish, Mom and Bill. I'm glad my husband rolled with the changes! 

We're spending Saturday together, us girls. I'm excited and always have fun when we're together.

So, the hubs and I finished watching Cobra Kai on Netflix the other night and thanks to that great and amazing show, I'm now on an 80's love songs kick with my Spotify. This was me living my best life on Thursday afternoon as I made dinner and did things in the kitchen getting ready for dinner. Y'all. Eighties love songs are my new favorite thing to listen to right now. You should go and try the same thing on your music outlet of choice.

I shared this last week, but it bears repeating. This is so true! As I already said, fall is my favorite and I've been living the good life all week long in celebration. 

How was your week? I'd love to hear from you. Thanks for reading along! Love to all. 

Life Lately

 

Happy Thursday! I get to stay home ALL DAY LONG today, so that makes this day glorious, rain and all. I love to have at least one day at home all day every week, but it hasn't been like that lately. I am so happy that it's turning out this way today! I will not take it for granted and have LOTS to do to keep me busy.

I had to get out on Monday this week, to run a couple of errands and to do a little bit of grocery shopping. I usually try to avoid getting out on that day, but it's been this way for a few weeks. That night I went to Bible study to help get dinner ready and set up, then I cut out early so that I could come back home and spend time with my husband. He worked all weekend and for two nights in a row, he didn't get home until after five a.m. the next morning. He was gone all day Sunday and Monday as well, so because the weather was nice, we enjoyed the rest of the evening doing this.

It was so nice. He was so tired and just glad to be home for a night. We were going to do a repeat of this on Tuesday, but it rained. On Tuesday, I spent the first part of the day with my mom. We got our nails done, ate lunch and she needed to make a couple of stops in Germantown. I was back home by two and making dinner by five. My sister Trish called me and asked if I wanted to go eat with her, but because we still hadn't really been home as a family to eat dinner together, I turned her down. Forty five minutes later she showed up at my front door with my nephew and my sister Lisa, who came in from Denver on a whim!

So, thankfully my husband was grilling the meat for us that night and Trish helped me finish peeling potatoes for mashed potatoes, then Graham took over with those and I left with them to go eat dinner out. I'm so glad my husband is so go-with-the-flow! He always encourages me to do these kinds of things. 

Wednesday found me at our church for Bible study, which I love. Our Bible study always starts with small group time when we discuss our homework from the week prior. I'm always so thankful for ladies who talk during this time, because I am not a teacher. I can lead a discussion and fascilitate a group of ladies, but teaching is not my thing. I really count on them for this time each week and they always add such wonderful thoughts and things they got from the week. After this time, we have a short time of worship in which my friend Meagan and I lead the ladies, then we have the teaching portion. None of this is in within my comfort zone, but I can honestly say that the Lord has helped me tremendously during all of this, so much so that I rarely get nervous anymore. I am so thankful to Him for this.

I was back there again Wednesday night for the condensed version of Bible study (we only have one hour, so we have a devo, then spend the rest of the 45 minutes in small groups). 

Other goings-on and ramblings: 

I cannot seem to catch up on laundry. It's a big problem this week.

I cannot seem to get it together for a proper grocery trip and list. I'm rolling my eyes at myself.

Things are fairly clean and picked up in my house, which is nice, so at least there is that. My time-management skills need to be improved upon here lately. 

Graham started a part time job for the next several weeks, working tech for a nearby performing arts center three nights every week. He's a busy young man.

It's 2020 still, so yesterday I signed up for a free seven day trial of Frndly tv. This is a streaming channel where I can consistently watch Hallmark movies and this is Autumn Harvest time, so think Christmas movies, but instead of Christmas tree farms, it's pumpkin patches, apple cider and beautiful towns with brightly colored foliage. (I do plan on us keeping this channel, at only $8 a month, we can afford it.)

(I'm watching one such movie now as I write this on Wednesday afternoon.)

On my full day at home, I plan on doing all the laundry, housework, organizing and straightening that I can in just that one day. I also plan on doing all of next week's Bible study homework and hopefully come up with a song for us to sing for worship next week and I hope to work some on the writing project I'm working on with the ladies from the writing team at church. I realize these are grand plans and I make chuck them all and sit down and watch Hallmark all day long, who knows? I am really going to try and get some things crossed off that list, though.

Either tonight or tomorrow night, my friend and I are going shopping for a food drive my church is having. 

I was trying to think of something to share about my sons. I shared about Graham, my oldest son who works full time and will be working another part time job for the next few weeks. Drew, my middle son also works (almost) full time at a daycare in our commmunity. His school is on hold right now—he will transferring schools to continue on with nursing school. He's in the process of figuring it all out right now. Jonah and Noah, my twins that are seventeen, are doing school as usual in the daytime and also working part time in the middle of the school work. Jonah details cars and is looking for some more to do right now and he cuts grass for several people. Noah also cuts grass and sometimes makes deliveries for a local bakery. Jonah and Noah are going to the beach again in a couple of weeks for fall break—their friend invited them to go with his family, so I know they'll have fun. 

I'm looking forward to going to Denver also around that same time to see my sisters who live there. I get to meet and see my newest little twin great nieces and their big sisters (also twins) and do some fun things while we're there. 

I think that's all I've got since last week, friends. I'll see you back here tomorrow for Friday Favorites. Thanks for reading! Love to all. 

Take it to the Lord in prayer. (What a Friend We Have in Jesus.)

 Do you remember that old hymn? I'm going to share the lyrics below, in case you need refreshing.

What a friend we have in Jesus

All our sins and grieves to bear

What a priveledge it is to carry

Everything to God in prayer

Have we trials and temptations

Is there trouble anywhere

Our precious Savior

He is still our refuge

Take it to the Lord in prayer

Some things we have not

Because we ask not

When we have a friend who's there

When we're weak and heavy laden

Cumbered with a load of care

We should never be discouraged

When we take it to the Lord in prayer

Some things we have not

Because we ask not

When we have a friend who cares

Oh what peace we often forfeit

Oh what needless pain we bear

Oh what peace we often forfeit

Oh what needless we bear

Oh what peace we often forfeit

Oh what needless pain

Oh what needless pain

Oh what needless pain we bear

We should never be discouraged when we

Take it to the Lord in prayer

I love reading the words to old songs and hymns, particularly hymns. They were packed with meaning and written during very troubling times, usually. This particular one is so rich with meaning and has truth in it that we can use today. I suppose that's what got me to thinking on this post—a prayer I prayed on Sunday. I thought I'd share it with you today.

We all have struggles. Maybe it's because my top spiritual gift is faith, maybe not, but I like to live a very open and transparent life. I am a mess most days of my life with bits of really good times sprinkled in between the bad. I don't deny that and I don't claim to be perfect. None of us are, in fact—the only perfect One to have ever walked on this earth was Jesus. My friend and I talk about this all the time and we both agree on this: we live pretty transparently. I know that one reason why I live like this is because of James 5:16.

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect.

There is power in prayer, friends. I believe with every fiber of my being and I have experienced that power too many times to even count. One reason I live transparently is so that I can share my struggles with those that I'm closest with. None of us are without issues and lead perfectly tidy lives; I believe that when we share our lives with others it helps to encourage those around us. Without even meaning to, people watch when a believer goes through a trying itme. 

I think of people like Lysa Terkeurst whose marriage fell apart a few years ago and her husband packed up and left her, then I look at her now and am blown away by the power of the Holy Spirit as they worked to restore the damage that occurred within their marital covenant. Even as recently as this weekend, she shared something about this on Instagram to encourage someone else who might be walking through that same situation.

I don't know about you, but I take comfort in knowing that Jesus faced His own share of struggles while He walked on this earth. He knew what it was like to have a friend betray Him, He faced the enemy and temptation that he brought while Jesus was fasting, He knew what it was like to not want to have to face a situation that He knew would be painful and would result in His death. (He didn't stay dead, though; three days later He came back to life and walked the earth for short while once again before ascending to heaven to sit down at the right hand of God the Father.) Jesus knew what it was like to be sad too, because when His friend Lazarus died, we're told by Luke that He wept.

He knows what it's like to struggle—far more so than we do. That's why it's so important to surrender things to Him in prayer. He wants to bear our burdens, because He cares for us. If this resonates with you, don't wait to surrender your needs to Jesus and to share your life with others; the enemy thrives when we go through times of being discouraged and he likes for us to think we are alone and without friends. If you have friends around you that care for you, thank God for them, because it's rare these days. And if you're struggling and keeping it inside, reach out to someone. Reach out to a trusted friend and ask them to pray for you. It is so very good to share it with someone when you struggle—sometimes even just talking through it with someone helps.

I pray you're encouraged by this, friend. Thanks for reading my blog; love to all. 

Welcome, fall.

Happy Fall! It's officially official. At least when the world is going mad, there is still the magic and cozy that comes with this beautifully colorful season. More than ever before, my heart is the happiest when I am at home. I love making the inside an inviting haven for anyone who enters. Sometimes the dogs drive me crazy, but even they are celebrating the cooler weather because I put their favorite blankets back on the couch.

I can't get enough of a few things right now, so I thought it'd be fun to share.

I love these magazine I subscribed to over the summer. It was one of those amazing deals that cost about $14 for three magazine subscriptions; these two and Better Home and Garden. I love being inspired to decorate and change things around in my house.

Give me all the fall candles, please. This one came from At Home and smells so good! It makes me want to bake something. 

I've been enjoying the stuff I put out for fall since September one. I never tire of these fall touches I have all over the downstairs—even my dad commented on them Friday while he was here. I will never stop loving to decorate my home for the seasons, and I do decorate for the seasons. My favorites are fall and winter, though.

My husband will never understand my need for comfort movies and tv shows. Fall screams Gilmore Girls to me and no matter how many times I've watched the show, as soon as I'm finished with the last episode of season 7, I start all over again. So does my friend Kim and we laugh about this all the time. Missy started watching this recently too, so I love that I can add her to my list of people to talk to about this show! By the way, this episode is one of my favorite episodes, when Luke and Lorelai finally get together.

This made me smile. If I'm home, my fall candles are lit. Just ask the people who live in my home.

I want to read all the fall books. I have several on my to be read list that are waiting on me upstairs. I don't know why, but I love suspenseful books when it's cool out at night. I have some by Terri Blackstock and Dee Henderson waiting on me to pick them up. I also sort of want to read all the Harry Potter books because I haven't ever. Drew has most of them, so at least I won't have to go hunt them down.

Other things that I'm loving right now are fall music playlists. There are several on Spotify that I listen to daily, but my current favorites are This is Steve Tyrell and Steve Tyrell radio. Think You've Got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle, When Harry Met Sally and Father of the Bride. I could listen to those crooners all day long and some that are on the radio version are Harry Connick, Jr. and Michael Buble.

I love the cozy feeling that comes with fall and I love all the warm drinks. It's my favorite time of year to cook, because I am always cooking up something warm and soothing or soup. I love being outside without wheezing because of the humidity and I love all the beautiful hues of the season. I don't typically decorate with earthy tones, but I love to wear them. I feel like fall is giving me something to look forward to and that is something we all need right now.

Tell me what you love about fall, I'd love to hear! Thanks for reading my blog. Love to all! 

weekending/Hello Monday

 

Happy Monday, friends. I'm linking up with Tanya from The Other Side of the Road for today's blog post.

This weekend was wonderful! Cooler temperatures have arrived in Memphis and I couldn't be happier. But also, does anyone else feel this with me??

Without the fur and boots, though. Truth be told, I start to feel this every year in September. I feel like the month should be celebrated because it ushers in fall. That's why I put out all my fall decor that month—pumpkin, fall candles, Halloween and all. 

Anyway, back to the weekend. Todd worked Friday night and the boys were gone most of the night, so it was just me at home all alone. (Shucks.;)) I watched Sabrina, a movie from 1995, the year I graduated from high school. We ordered pizza for dinner and the boys all went to a park to play some flag football with a bunch of guys. The mornings nad evenings have been cool all weekend, so when that happens they are outside somewhere all day on the weekends and until late on weeknights.

Some things never change.

My poor hubby had a very busy and eventful night at work Friday night (thanks, Mem) and didn't get home until about five thirty Saturday morning. I was kinda worried about him all night and slept on and off most of the night hoping he'd be home soon. I know he loves being busy like that on a shift, but I know it's also hard on him the next day. He was able to sleep in Saturday morning, though. I went shopping with Trish and Mom. The high was only 79, so I took full advantage of that cool weather and breeze! We hit up our favorite spots and had lunch and just had a good time together, as usual. 

Todd and Graham worked on Saturday night and the boys had plans with friends, so I went to Mom's and Bill's. While we were there, Trish, Mom and I started talking about fall scented candles and before we knew it someone mentioned pumpkin pecan waffles and Mom and I were driving to get all-purpose flour and making a pecan pie.

Mom made the pie filling and I made the crust. It was really good! It was worth the last minute trip to Dollar General (in pajamas and slippers!) and making a mess in the kitchen while Bill was finishing up dinner. 

Todd had a repeat Saturday night and their shift ended at three something Sunday morning as they searched for a missing person. They slept in a bit and went back out while we were at church to resume the search and when they got home around seven thirty, they had still not found the person.

Sunday was for church and I was there bright and early. I take my own coffee up and k-cup and a book on these days so that I can read and have another cup of coffee after praise team rehearsal since I don't attend a Bible fellowship class. I had choir that afternoon and I ended the weekend with a Kroger trip and making dinner for my people. It was glorious. Like I said—I love this cooler weather. I look forward to sitting outside on the deck Tuesday night when we're all home at the same time. 

What'd you do all weekend? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog, love to all.

Friday Favorites

 

Happy Friday, friends! I'm linking up with Andrea from Momfessionals for this blog post.

Monday was a day that has come to be one of my favorite week days. I go to a high school Bible study each week at my friend Shawn's house from about 5:30-9:30. I was hoping Jonah and Noah would join me for this, but they haven't yet. Maybe someday. I help with dinner each week. Shawn opens her home, feeds them and then they sit and have Bible study. It's a really sweet time, but this week has been my favorite to date. She taught on Acts 4 this week, and during the worship, the Lord gave them a demonstration of what that chapter talks about—His Holy Spirit came in and took over. I know that may sound weird to some of you, and that's okay, but I could feel Him near. It's hard to explain other than that, so I won't try, but if you ever want to talk about what this is like, reach out and I'll share more. I love the students that go each week, they're all so sweet and hungry for the Word of God. I've never quite seen anything like it.

Tuesday was a favorite day because I got to stay home. I love any and every day that I get to be at home all day. I cleaned, I did laundry, I watched tv and enjoyed my fall scented candles. It was lovely. I also ended up alone at home that night and had a good dinner.

I love roasted sweet potatoes. They're possibly my new favorite thing to eat.

This night was a favorite because I got to spend it with my best friend and her sweet aunt. 

These friends below have become some of my favorite ladies on the planet.

We met for lunch on Thursday and had so much fun together. We make up 5/6 of the ladies who are on the writing team at our church. Our friend Amy Barron couldn't be with us either day. We laughed and laughed at lunch on Thursday. Left to right are Lynn, Barbee, Amy, DeDee and me. I love these friends so much and feel like I always learn so much from them after I've been with them.

Speaking of lunch on Thursday—

I went to the wrong restaurant! I do this all the time, unfortunately, think I hear one thing and it's another different thing. I was late, needless to say, so imagine my delight when this train showed up as my escort almost the whole way there. I took this as a little kiss from the King. Looking for those moments in time is one of my favorite things. I do believe God is in every little detail, so I made sure and thanked Him for this as I was driving. 

My dad is coming over today, so that's always a favorite, as are my Saturdays out with Mom and Trish. Hopefully. Hint, hint. Quality time is my love language, in case you were unable to tell. I hope you have a great weekend! Thanks for reading. Love to all! 

Life Lately

Apparently I am in a busy season of life right now and have been neglecting this blog. This is what happens when we have months of nothing to do and nowhere to go and then having things start to open up again. I am not complaining about this, I promise you, because I am so thankful that for us here in Tennessee at least, things are somewhat normal. I just need to manage my time better, but hopefully this will change in a few weeks. 

I thought I'd play a little catch up and share some thoughts of life lately.

I had this yummy bowl of food for dinner last night. Somehow I ended up at home, alone on a Tuesday night. I wasn't mad about this, most of you know I recharge by being alone. I had a clean(ish) house, clean floors, a fall candle burning and Gilmore Girls on my tv. I decided to dice up a sweet potato and tossed it with olive oil, salt and pepper. I baked it for thirty minutes, then added part of a diced up turkey sausage. It was delicious and I ate the entire thing by myself.

This stopped me in my tracks last week. I loved, loved, loved The Karate Kid when I was young. Todd and I have been watching Cobra Kai on Netflix (don't kill me for still having Netflix) and Daniel is the age now that Mr. Miyagi was in the first movie! 

Bible study started has started back for three weeks now. I am so glad we're able to do this! But it's so weird. People wear masks, we have to social distance and be respectful of how others feel and it's just a strange time. This is the study that I helped to write; it's so neat to gather together and discuss this with women. It's really good and though I've read it all and taken part of it on my own, I am still getting so much out of it. Hosea is very relevant for today and where we are in our country and in this world. The week of homework we just completed reminded me of this over and over. 

Part of what makes me love my Wednesdays at Bible study is the fact that my mom is in my group and we go eat afterward. One week we got our nails done and last week we got pedicures. I could get used to this Wednesday life. 

I go back to Bible study on Wednesday nights to lead another group of ladies. It works like this: in the mornings we start at 9:30 and talk about the homework for about an hour. We have a small break, then a short time of worship and then one of three ladies teaches for about 45 minutes. In the p.m. time, we start promptly at 6:30 and hear a short ten minute devotion, then have small group for the remaining fifty minutes. The teaching video gets emailed out each Thursday and posted to our women's group page so that other women can hear the teaching and do the study alongside us. Another option is that we have a Zoom meeting for ladies who prefer to participate in that way. We sit at tables and start that way, and then we either move the tables or our chairs so that we can accomodate each other for our small group time.

It's a lot and things could change at the drop of a hat, but for now this is how it is. I'm just so thankful that I have ladies in my groups that contribute to the conversation, because I am not a teacher. I can lead a discussion and fascilitate conversations, but teaching is not my spiritual gift.

I've been struggling with reading books lately. I read a lot, normally, but the book I'm reading now is the last in a series and it's not my favorite. It's good, it's just not my favorite. I really want to finish it, though, so I can move on. I don't feel like I can move on with other books until I am done with this one.

I've been following a lady on Instagram (imagine that) whose account is Clean Mama and her cleaning method is so good. I implement a lot of what she does already and have for years, but she breaks the cleaning up in day segments. For instance on Mondays, she cleans bathrooms; Tuesdays are for dusting; Wednesdays are for vacuuming and mopping and so forth. I don't know why this works, but it works and I've been more on top of things at my house lately. Things I do everyday are laundry, vacuuming, using a feather duster (hello, dog hair), wiping down bathroom and kitchen counters and straightening up. If I do those things everyday, I'm never overwhelmed with housework. Now, don't go looking at my windows and dustboards. I'm not great at those. Or fans...I always forget to dust them.

Apparently, I need motivation for this kind of thing.

I am helping write our next Bible study for the ladies at our church and we need to be mostly done with it by the end of this month. I'm almost done with my part, but I am setting aside some days next week to finish. I don't love things looming over my head and I lose sleep over it, so I need to finish it for my own sanity. 

I also have been trying to keep my days somewhat free, except for this week. I like to do all of my Bible study homework on one day so that I can figure out a song for us to sing for the Wednesday a.m. worship. Even though I do this, it doesn't always work and when Sunday gets here, I am still usualy at a blank. I did find out yesterday from a friend who does the lyrics and screens for us each week that as long as I get the song to her by Monday, she is all good. That is good to know. I try to really set aside some time each day to pray over the ladies in my small groups on Wednesdays and on my daily list of thngs to do, I have that on there. I try to just text them once a week, usually on Mondays. 

I live by lists, in case you didn't know that. Speaking of...I need to move on and finish this so that I can jump into my day. I'm leaving home in about an hour for a writing team meeting and lunch out with my friends. I have a lot to do before then. I hope to see you back here tomorrow, but no promises. (I'm rolling my eyes at myself.) 

Thanks for reading, love to all! 

weekending/Hello Monday linkup

 

Happy Monday! I'm linking up with Tanya from The Other Side of the Road for today's blog post.

It was a good weekend, except for how it got started, but it all turned out fine. I'll start with Friday morning at six thirty when my oldest son left for a truck meet in Branson, Missouri for the weekend. He'd hoped to arrive there by noon to sign up to be in the parade of trucks that would be driving through Branson Landing, but the Lord had other plans for Graham and halted the whole trip. Seriously, I do believe that—I do not believe in coincidence.

Anyway, Graham's truck lost all power and he was able to pull over at an Auto Zone to take a look at it and it started running okay again after about an hour and a half, so he left again. He called me and asked me to pray and before we hung up, he was losing power again. He called my husband and pulled over and then sat there for the rest of the day. The kind people at the closest Chick Fil A delivered him some food for lunch, but after that he didn't have anything else to drink all day! I ended up calling the State Trooper office for that stretch of interstate and they came and picked him up and took him to buy something to drink and eat. He was so thirsty from being outside all day in the hot weather. Todd ended up borrowing a trailer from a friend and Graham's friend Chase has a truck that would be able to tow him back, so he and Todd drove to Maumelle, Arkansas to pick him up and bring him back home. 

He learned some very important lessons that I don't think he'll forget anytime soon: one, never leave home without all your tools (he accidentally left them here) and two, never leave home without a case of water.

They got home around nine p.m. and they were all beat. I was too, emotionally and mentally—I hated the thought of him sitting on the side of a very busy interstate in a remote place. I really, really hated that he was so very thirsty and without water. It's all fine now, though and I am so thankful that my husband is not only a wonderful husband, but the greatest dad on the planet. Graham's truck is back in the shop, needless to say, though he did threaten to drive if off the Memphis bridge and be done with it. (Kidding, kidding.)

Here they were once the truck was in place on the trailer. I was so glad when they arrived safely at home!

While they were gone, I met my mom, stepdad and sister for dinner at Chili's and came home and watched one of my favorite movies from when I was young.

I had just finished watching Footloose (the 80's version) from a few nights before Friday, then I moved on to St. Elmo's Fire. The music alone is so good! 

On Saturday morning, I went out with my mom and sister Trish. We shopped and ate lunch and then perused the aisles of Target, where I finally found my favorite fall scent of Mrs. Meyer's all-purpose cleaner. (Acorn Spice.) I like to have two bottles—one upstairs and one downstairs. I also have the handsoap in two bathrooms; I'm telling you, it's that good.

I came back home for a few minutes, then left again to go pick up my best friend and her aunt for Sherrye's surprise birthday party. It was a fun night and everything is always better with friends. Missy and her family were having a car issue with one of their cars, so she needed a ride at the last minute. While we were there, a huge tree branch fell on her husband's truck and shattered his windshield in two places, busting up his dash and steering column as well. Thankfully the truck was parked and nobody was hurt.

See? 

In the meantime, the rest of the party and evening was great. We always have fun together, my best friend and me.

Hanging with Queen Elizabeth. (Sherrye loves all things English and has been there several times.)

And then here we are with the real queen, the birthday queen! Her actual birthday is Wednesday. 

I ended up watching church from home yesterday and my husband worked a shift last night. I continued on with watching movies. I am never mad about being alone! It's how I recharge my batteries. I have a full day today, so I'll be ready for another day at home by Tuesday. How was your weekend? I'd love to hear!

Thanks for reading my blog, friends. Love to all. 

Friday Favorites

 

Happy Friday, friends! I'm linking up with Andrea from Momfessionals for this blog post.

I cannot believe today marks the nineteenth anniversary of 9/11. I'll never forget where I was on that day...I was getting dressed for work at the mom's day out program I worked at in my old church, and getting Graham and Drew dressed. They were two and a half and one and a half, and Trish called me to tell me to turn on the news. I did and we sat on the phone and watched together in horror as the second tower was struck. I'll never forget that day or the days that followed...and I will take some time today to pray for the people whose lives were forever changed because of that day.

This is part of the foundation of the buildings in the 9/11 Memorial Museum in NYC. I'm so glad we got to see this four years ago. 

These fall candles in my home are my current favorite smells. I listened to a really great podcast this week on creating a cozy and inviting home and The Nester suggested using the senses—starting with smells, then sounds and ending with sight. This candle packs a punch with its lovely smell. I have two more that I take turns burning.

Hair day was Saturday and those are always my favorite days! I asked for lighter and brighter and Ginger delivered. She's so good to me! 

Monday was a favorite day of this week, because my best friend and I spent most of it together. We had so much fun! We ate, we shopped, we laughed...it was good for my soul.

Wednesday was another favorite day, because it was Bible study day! I've said it a hundred times—I'm so glad we're back and in person.

I found two new and favorite shows on Netflix—Cobra Kai and Get Organized with the Home Edit. I finished GOWTHE and Todd and I are working on finishing Cobra Kai. (Heads up, the language is terrible.)

How was your week? I'd love to hear! Thanks for reading! 

Love to all.