Happy spring. I wrote this prayer in early March, and it has been on repeat every morning this month.
Jesus, open my eyes to see your will and holy work being done in this home today. Let me not miss your Spirit, your presence, your power in the simple motions of a regular Wednesday. Enable me to pull from the abundant grace you’ve given. Help me replace fear and lies with your boldness and truth. Refresh our souls today with laughter and kindness, basking in your goodness, and being sustained by your promises.
Hello again. I’m glad you’re here.
Reading
Chasing Vines by my beloved Beth Moore: My favorite thing about Beth’s writing is the way she mixes head knowledge with heart work. I walked away from this book with greater insight into the Bible, Jewish culture, and viniculture. Vines, vineyards, and grapes are a reoccurring metaphor throughout the Bible. Beth teaches how this theme was certainly not by accident. In fact, get that—grape vines actually need rocky soil in order to grow into healthy, fruit-bearing trees. You can imagine how that metaphor plays out.
I also read The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory (I liked Party of Two much better!), Writers & Lovers by Lily King (I’d heard such good things about this one and wanted to like it more than I did.), and The Middle Place by Kelly Corigan (Ugh. I’m in a slump with Kelly. I loved Tell Me More but am having trouble getting into some of her other books.).
Reading with My Darlings
This is How We Do It by Matt Lamothe: This is such a unique book that follows the everyday lives of 7 children from 7 different countries. Each page takes us into an aspect of their day—this is how I get to school, this is what I wear to school, this is what I eat for dinner, etc. The illustrations are lovely, but the best surprise comes on the last page when you see actual photographs of the 7 families followed throughout the book. My kids were astonished! “Those were real people?!” We read through this book dozens of times, each read finding something new to talk about.
I cannot say enough good things about Bravery Magazine! Each issues features a brave woman and focuses on a character trait like optimism, perseverance, and courage. The issues are filled with information and activities that my kids and I find equally engaging. This month we studied architecture during our Artists unit in school, so we pulled out an older issue about Zaha Hadid and had a blast studying this Queen of Curves.
Listening To
I’ve been eagerly awaiting The Office Ladies episode about The Dinner Party. It did not disappoint. Snip, snap, snip, snap.
Just Ingredients is one of my favorites to follow on IG. She has a lot of good information without overwhelming me or terrifying me. Her new podcast just dropped this month, and although there are moments that felt a bit whoa-slow-down-I’m-not-a-biology-major, I still really enjoyed it and would recommend it for anyone who wants to keep learning about how what we put in and on our bodies deeply impacts our physical and mental health. And bonus—you might start casually talking about gut biome one evening which will totally freak your family out.
Eating
I mentioned last month that we are intentionally eating vegetarian meals 3-4 days a week. A new win this month were these rice and bean burritos.
This crock pot Honey Garlic Chicken and Instant Pot Hawaiian Tacos are two easy, long-time favorites that cause my children to verbally express enthusiasm for dinner. *Note* For the Honey Garlic Chicken I use boneless, skins thighs and coconut aminos instead of soy sauce.
I also posted a recipe for this Lemon Almond Cake that I’ll be making for Easter morning. Cake. Breakfast. Lemon. Almond. These are all my favorite words.
What’s Making Me Smile
I mentioned last month that home design is not my strength. I usually need to do deep breathing exercises as I walk around HomeGoods, suffocated by all the choices. Ulta and Sephora have the same effect—hives, sweaty palms, headache. Why are there so many products for my body? Makeup falls into this same stress inducing category. In January of 2007, my-sister-in law took me into a bareMinerals store where they sat me in a tall chair and used a giant brush to swirl, tap, and buff by face until I looked airbrushed. I loved it. I bought a couple starter kits and haven’t changed by ways since. Maybe 2021 has bought on a midlife crisis, or maybe it’s a need to refresh my face after 12 long months of introverting. Either way, I decided to spend my birthday money on some new makeup. I understand that many people find it creepy the way phones track our every desire and cater ads to play on our weaknesses. Those people are correct; it is creepy. However, it is also very convenient for those of us who hate shopping. Case in point: I did a Goggle search for best eyeshadow, didn’t even look at the results, and instead let Instagram’s algorithms take it from there. Two minutes later, ads filled my feed, and I was just a click, click away from my new favorite eyeshadow. And this is how FINE FLEKK came into my life. Thank you, Instagram. I have no regrets.
We’ve slowed down on our normal homeschool curriculum the past two weeks to focus on our Gather ‘Round Easter Study. Conversations about the Bible with my kids are my favorite. They ask hilarious and thought provoking questions that most often prompt me to say “I have no idea.” (Were tigers carnivores in the Garden of Eden? When God told Adam and Eve they would did if they ate from the tree, how did they even know what death meant?) Easter has a way of sneaking up on me, and as much as I want to both grieve and revel in the Easter season, I find myself shocked by its sudden arrival every dog-gone year. This 10 day study has provided much needed time to slow down and remember the truth of Easter. You do not need to be a homeschooling family to use this. The digital version comes with all age levels, and I plan to use this over and over again as the kids grow. Some of it was a bit much for my 6 and 8 year old, but I’m glad we can go back to it in future years.
And the biggest smile of the month (and a few emotional tears) came from the COVID-19 vaccine! Stephen and I are both one shot in, and I cannot stop thanking God for the brilliant minds He created that were able to pull this off so quickly. Bring on the hugs!
Because One Day You Won’t: A Shortened Version of This Series
Because one day you won’t flag down cars to stop and buy the artwork you’re selling at the end of the driveway.
Because one day you won’t be so willing to go along with the ridiculous holidays your dad makes up to celebrate things like the one year anniversary of a pandemic. Happy Springsgiving! (The gist of this holiday is to decorate your house with toilet paper, gather with your vaccinated neighbors, and eat the frozen turkey you didn’t use at Thanksgiving because you stayed home. Mark your calendars. Stephen intends to make this pandemic celebration an annual event.)
Until next time,
