share 4 somethings- November edition

 

Happy Tuesday, friends! I'm linking up with Heather G over at her blog for this monthly post that I love. A bunch of us are sharing things we've loved, gleaned, braved and achieved. 

Loved

I always struggle with what to tell you that I love, because I love a LOT of things. I'll try to make this quick and give a little synopsis of each picture.

I loved the cold snap we had! It was FREEZING for a few days, literally, and I took full advantage and wore all the sweaters, fuzzy jackets and layers I could manage while it lasted. 

I loved seeing all the Christmas decorations coming to life on our town square as I walked into work on the days that I worked. I REALLY love our little town! 

I loved wearing all the fall colored nail polishes this month. I was squeezing in as many as I could! 

I loved all the Hallmark, Great American Family and Lifetime Christmas movies that I watched while my husband worked. 

I loved seeing so many family members this month. Each picture of me with a younger person is me with a great niece. ❤❤ I love being Auntie Jen. 

Gleaned

I gleaned a lot of information last week as I began studying the book of Judges. That is not an easy to book to read and study, but it's what we're writing on as a writing team for the women in our church for the fall of 2023. It's a hard book, but I love the glimpses of Jesus that is pictured throughout—the judges were the ones who redeemed Israel from the sin cycle that they were trapped in. As I read and studied and began to dig deeper into this dark book, it reminded me so much of the world that we're currently living in, where everyone is doing what seems right in their own eyes. 

The thing I love about the book of Judges is the reminder that the heritage of faith handed down through the generations is of the utmost importance. As Judges begins, Joshua was about to die and he is the one God had told would lead the people of Israel into the promised land. He died and the next generation that was born and lived had forgotten all of the things that God had done for their people. He had led them out of the wilderness of Egypt, He provided food for them when they were hungry and He protected them, guided them and guarded them time and again. The next generation, however, did not know God or all that He had done for them. How heartbreaking is that? I am loving studying this dark book and seeing the bright spots throughout that time in the lives of some of the judges. (There was no king at that time, God was supposed to be their King, but they were so evil that they had to have judges who helped them out. Eventually they would cry out for a king like their surrounding nations and God would give them their first king in the form of wicked Saul.) 

Braved

Well, on a much lighter note, I braved the black Friday crowds with my mom and sister. I met them and my nephew for lunch, then us girls went into a couple of shops. I could only take so much, though and called it a day as the crowds grew. And that, my friends brings me to this.

Achieved

I achieved another month of working part-time, managing time and home, leading a small group at Bible study at church and completing another study that I helped write. Those may sound like small things, but they are each things that I take seriously and that take a big chunk of my time as a commitment that I've promised. If I am one thing, it's diligent and I try to be faithful to what God has called me to do. Life definitely has some beautiful moments. 

These two pictures above were me as I waited on my small group ladies to get there and of me at work. I love getting to our room at church early and spend time praying before they start coming in. This was a rare morning at work when I was the first one there. I was getting my little space all set up for my morning of work. I still love our historical building and office. I am such a sucker for details like brick walls and imperfections. 

Thanks for reading my blog! If you're new here, I blog five days a week unless it's a break that I've scheduled like last week during the Thanksgiving holiday when I took two days off. It's a sweet community here and I try to always be encouraging and uplifting, so I hope you come back and visit often! Love to all.