And that’s a wrap on January…some randoms as we bid goodbye to the first month of 2021

As we bid goodbye to January, I wanted to check in with you and do a little recap of the month.

I still have in my heart this vision of a monthly newsletter to subscribers…but it’s not panning out so here is the new idea: a little collection of randoms at the end of each month and maybe at some point I will figure out how to do a monthly newsletter or we will do this.

Let me know what you think <3

So in the true fashion of randoms on the Journey, here we go, in no particular order of importance:

Random #1:

I have actually finished two books in January plus am almost finished with the third. This is a record for me. Sharing about two here:

This one is popping up everywhere and I highly recommend it.

My sister-in-law already purchased and she summed it up nicely by saying it is not someone trying to convince themselves to disprove Christianity and then finding they have no choice but to believe (aka Lee Strobel The Case for Christ).

Instead it is the story of many of us, I would assume, who grew up in the Church and believed but when confronted with false teaching discover that there were little seeds of doubt that were dismissed either by us or by our leaders/mentors in the faith.

Alisa was invited to attend a class to explore her faith more deeply only to find out the pastor leading it was caught up in the Progressive/Emerging Church movement.

As quickly as she realized that she was alone in defending the faith that was the core belief system of her life, she also realized that she had nothing concrete to base it on. She also helped me with a question as to what happened to the Gnostics of the Epistles…they are still thriving in their false teaching in this century.

Thus began a deep journey of study to discover if her long-held beliefs were based on anything solid. Even in her doubts and questions she pursued a variety of sources: Christian, secular, agnostic and atheistic and her findings will strengthen not only your faith but your mind that we do have a solid basis for what we believe.

The book is intelligent but also written from the heart.

The second one is one I shared a little about last week. Here https://www.laurareimer.net/from-the-reading-corner/

I will be sharing a little more about this one tomorrow so tune in <3

Random #2

I have a deep love for Valentine’s Day and have been checking out little Valentine crafts to make with the kiddos.

These were super simple.

Cut a heart (or any shape) out of wax paper.

Water down some Elmer’s type school glue a little bit. Probably about 1/3 water to 2/3 glue. We dumped some on paper plates and just added glue or water til we got right consistency.

Use small paint brushes to coat the wax paper and then stick cut up tissue pieces on. If the paper was dry we painted over with some more glue.

Even Caroline, age 3, could do this by herself.

After they dried, I traced a “frame” out of card stock by tracing the wax paper heart and then cutting it wide enough to allow for taping the tissue art just inside.

Voila!

It was so fun.

You could do shamrocks and Easter eggs or butterflies…flowers…or just stained glass.

Also – I bought a cheap plastic table cloth that we could roll up and throw away.

Well, you could do that if you weren’t raised by a mom who lived through the Great Depression…so yeah…I shook it off and folded it up and packed in the Lola bag for future art days.

Random #3

If you have known me for even just a full year, you know I love to embrace the seasons and not rush them away.

My husband has mentioned a couple times that Christmas is over, but I stubbornly insist that this is official Winter decor. I will hang on until a week or so after Valentine’s Day and then the shamrocks and Irish shenanigans will appear.

I love the mood of winter.

We have been reading more, working puzzles, utilizing blankets and a fire in the fireplace and enjoying the hearty soups and hot teas of the season.

Every season has it’s beauty and while the snowfalls are charming, so are the bleak gray days.

They remind us to rest and let the seeds sown to lie dormant for a while. The rhythm of days, years and seasons is a gift from God.

I encourage you to slow down and enjoy each one.

Which brings me to…

Random #4

Our state is slowly opening up.

The other night a local news team was literally giddy talking about their dreams for travel and where they wanted to go first.

We are coming up on a year since we first left our friends home after having dinner together one evening and realized we were all going in to lockdown for an undermined amount of time.

Since then we have followed a barrage of trends in reporting. We have watched with helplessness as we were coached to flatten the curve, lower the positivity rate, wear our masks, wash our hands, and now we are updated continuously about how many vaccines are available today and where to go to get in line for one.

And in all of that reporting, woven intricately and deeply, are the stories of people we know and people we don’t know, whose lives have changed so drastically.

Governments, economies, health, lives around the world have been altered and changed.

I read a post by someone who mentioned that we must prepare ourselves for a good bit of worldwide PTSD if and when the world resumes some manner of normalcy (whatever that is).

While some may march into the brave new world with confidence and bravado, there are large numbers who have wounds from this time. Some of us carry not only an abundance of our own feelings, but manage to absorb the feelings of all who surround us.

In a pandemic, violent, conflict filled world where even watching protestors in Russia being beaten and dragged through the snow makes some of us weep, there have been far too many emotions for us to take on.

Whoever you voted for, whatever your political stance, the past month in our history should bring all of us to our knees. We have witnessed a complete breakdown in our nation. The images of the past month have been shocking.

And four years ago was no better. Anger and division are growing and it was awful four years ago and it’s awful now. Having an outgoing president leave in shame and with impeachment charges and the events that have led to this important decision is not a great entry into a new president’s term of office.

Our country is diverse with many people who live very differently trying to coexist under a democratic system that is in flux. We are living in unstable times and it takes a toll on us.

This is not to paint a negative picture.

I believe our nation can move forward and we can change and do better. I have hope for tomorrow that God is guiding and leading our leaders as we lift them in prayer. I believe that the Church, by being who we were called to be, can help by serving others in our communities.

But we have been through a lot.

We are fragile.

Even those who think they are invincible are also fragile.

Let’s make every effort to be kind to one another. Listening does not mean we agree or affirm what we disagree with. It just means we value the opinion of others because we value them.

And thus we come to …

Random #5

Yesterday as the praise team was leading us in a song that spoke about how we are free, free, forever we are free…and as I was listening (because mask means no singing for me…too much going on that’s captured in cloth I have to sit in for the next hour)…this thought came to me and I wrote it down in the back page of my Bible because I am pretty sure it wasn’t my thought from my own head.

He set us free – not so we can do as we please, but so that we finally have the strength and power to do what pleases Him.

Have a blessed day… a joyful and hope-filled start to February and I will catch you here tomorrow <3