Books:
I requested all of the following from Santa Ed (Dad) and have eagerly skim read them this week.
Freefall to Fly by Rebekah Lyons
This is a memoir written by a woman who moved from Atlanta to New York City with her husband to pursue dreams in ministry. She has a special needs son and during her transition from safe suburbia to chaotic urban life, she began experience extreme anxiety attacks. I heard her speak at women's conference (dotMom) this fall and was hooked upon hearing her point of view. I can very much relate to her story. Much of what I've read deals with opening up the "box" of dreams we've packed away and labelled in a box named "Responsibility" or "Motherhood" specifically for women. She talks of birthright gifts we are born with that we spend half our life denying and the other half, if we are lucky, reclaiming. I'm eager to set aside time to read this properly. I saw on twitter that Lifeway All Access Women is doing an online bible study that accompanies this book if you're looking for something in that vein.
The Best Yes by Lysa Terkurst I've read this author's book Unglued and I appreciate how she breaks down a concept to make it "liveable" in the day to day. This is a book on decision making. Looks promising.
The Nesting Place: It Doesn't Have to Be Perfect To Be Beautiful by Myquillin Smith
I am brimming with ideas after skimming this gorgeous book. We conveniently replaced our torn and tattered "leatherish" couches and I've stripped the family room walls to reevaluate. I'm the first one to say "oh, I'm not creative" when it comes to interior design. I can appreciate a pretty room (say Joanna Gaines' work from HGTV) but I'd love to have the work done for me. That ain't gonna happen in the foreseeable future, but as this book suggests, the beauty is in the mistakes. Who cares if the wall gets painted an off color? Paint isn't that expensive. It's more risky to do nothing than to take the small risk. I'm so excited to re imagine the possibilities of our home. When we moved in, we had LOTS of wall space to fill. So I slapped up some large couch-sized "art" and called 'er a day. But now that I have walking & talking little people that can entertain themselves safely for small increments without bodily harm (though not without lots of loud shrieking from the females), I have a little mental space to think about such luxuries as aesthetics. Truth is, I *am* creative. One, I'm a woman and I want my home to be pretty. Two, I believe in a Creative God that made an awe-inspiring world and gave me a desire to reflect His beauty. Three, I'm kinda good with words and imagery and tying ideas together. So maybe I could learn how to do that with tangible objects. I've pulled out a large dresser mirror that's been sitting in a closet, poured over all my beautiful photo treasures of my favorite faces and thought about meaningful items that could be given new life. I had hand imprints made of my older two a few Mother's Day that sit in a glass cabinet. Wouldn't it be prettier to see them hanging by a black and white picture of the owners of the hand prints at the age the prints were made? I say yes. If a book can make me want to tackle re imagining my rooms, it'll work for you.
Podcast:
The Phil Vischer Podcast
So, Phil Vischer of Veggie Tales and What's in the Bible is kinda my new Christian hero.
He's incredibly smart, creative, funny, relatable, and authentic. I'm fascinated by his story. He has a culture podcast that I've just subscribed to (or "to which I just subscribed" because hey, I went to graduate school for English Education, and there's my $15,000 takeaway. Kidding.)
Fashion (Seriously. "Fashion".)
Y'all. Again with the aesthetics. I suffer from "False Humility-itis" that I think some other women battle. It's not vain or frivolous to make an effort in your appearance or (gasp) feel good about the way you look. So when Santa Ed requested a "list" from me besides books, I went to the only fashion outlet I really follow (BigMama's Fashion Friday) and clicked on the first cute top I found. It took me to ModCloth, a women's fashion site that has a vintage vibe. It's a bit of a treat to order from (I like to stay in the $19.99 range if I'm shopping for myself, so hello, TJMaxx!) but it was a treat to let Santa order me a few gorgeous peasant blouses and tunics in wine, royal blue, and a jewel tone green.
Lastly, in Goals/Vision/The BEST YOU NOW! I am embarking on a year of Scripture memory. I was successful in 2011 and petered out in 2013 (but can you fail at attempting anything in God's Word?) but I can think of nothing simpler or more profitable than to pick a Scripture twice a month that is applicable to my present situation on which to actively mediate. Plus, my Sis is moving to Houston next year, so I'll have a built in reason to motivate me to attend the celebration for completing the exercise. Interested? Check out the Living Proof blog. You can jump in anytime, but it kicks off January 1. All you need are some note cards and a willing attitude!
All that's left to say is Happy New Year! If you are reading this, you are dear to me and I wish you a wonderful, adventurous, phenomenal 2015.
