Hello my friend!
I hope you’re doing great and having a productive, joy-filled week! It’s Monday evening as I write this; once again, I’m prepping my email in advance of a jam-packed week, so not much to report here yet!
But here’s a “Bump Date,” taken almost two weeks ago! 🙂
We had a terrific weekend hosting two families who visited from San Antonio. We took them to Rockport Beach, which felt, without exaggeration, just like an oven, but the kids were too, well, kid-like, to care (they hit the hermit crab jackpot, which made for hours of creepy-crawly fun…), and we adults were so captivated by their playing that we didn’t care all that much either! We had plenty of shade, thankfully, along with our favorite summertime beverages, namely lime-flavored Topo Chico and Spindrifts of all flavors!
Alrighty, time to dive into this week’s Top 4. I hope you enjoy!
A WORD ON SELF-SABOTAGE
“The problem with smart people is they can come up with a good reason for not doing anything. They are smart enough to find the cracks, to foresee the challenges, and to talk themselves out of the idea. They are experts at justifying their lack of courage or lack of action with an intelligent excuse. But there will always be reasons to not do something, and this is particularly true of anything worth doing. We value those moments in which we overcame challenge, not those in which we avoided it. Ultimately, action is a choice. The choice to emphasize the reasons for doing it despite the reasons you have for avoiding it.” – James Clear
What challenge are you currently avoiding? How can you change your self-talk so that instead of talking yourself out of pursuing it, you remind yourself of how worth it will be to put aside excuses and go for it.
CONQUER COMPLACENCY
“Someday, in years to come, you will be wrestling with the great temptation, or trembling under the great sorrow of your life. But the real struggle is here, now, in these quiet weeks. Now it is being decided whether, in the day of your supreme sorrow or temptation, you shall miserably mail or gloriously conquer.” – Episcopal bishop and clergyman Phillips Brooks
Let’s not allow ourselves to grow complacent in the “quiet weeks” of our lives, for we ought to know that battles and hardships are always around the corner. That’s not pessimistic; it’s life. The more fully we can commit to arming ourselves spiritually, mentally, and physically for whatever may be next, the better off we, and our families, will be.
What are some things you can implement, or eliminate, today to become more proactive in your quest toward “battle readiness”?
BACK TO NARNIA
Over the past couple weeks, I have greatly enjoyed diving back into The Chronicles of Narnia. I’m currently reading The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
Allow me to share a few favorite quotes from the preceding books I’ve just finished, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian:
“Well, sir, if things are real, they’re there all the time.”
“Are they?” said the Professor; and Peter did not quite know what to say.” (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe)
“But as for Aslan himself, the Beavers and the children didn’t know what to do or say when they saw him. People who have not been in Narnia sometimes think that a thing cannot be good and terrible at the same time. If the children had ever thought so, they were cured of it now. For when they tried to look at Aslan’s face they just caught a glimpse of the golden mane and the great, royal, solemn, overwhelming eyes; and then they found they couldn’t look at him and went all trembly.” (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe)
“Things never happen the same way twice.” (Prince Caspian)
“Welcome, Prince,” said Aslan. “Do you feel yourself sufficient to take up the Kingship of Narnia?’
“I – I don’t think I do, Sir,” said Caspian. “I am only a kid.”
“Good,” said Aslan. “If you had felt yourself sufficient, it would have been proof that you were not.” (Prince Caspian)
This one’s for the moms! This episode of “The Inadequate Mom Show” is all about insights on prayer from none other than my five-year-old son. Elaborating on one little phrase he loves to include in nearly all his prayers, I discuss God’s provision, presence, and peace-giving sovereignty and the beloved Psalm 23. Listen HERE!
Thank you as always for your support of my writing!
Fiction:
NEW: Where I Go Night-Night (children’s picture book)
NEW!: The God Next Door (comedic fantasy)
Medusa’s Wish (fantasy)
Moonbow: Prequel to The Petros Chronicles (fantasy)
Age of the Ashers (fantasy)
War of the Ashers (fantasy)
Fate of the Ashers (fantasy)
The Petros Chronicles Boxset
Armor for Orchids (Christian Women’s Contemporary)
Orchid Unshaken (Christian Women’s Contemporary)
Orchid Unbound (Christian Women’s Contemporary)
Orchid Unfading (Christian Women’s Contemporary)
Non-Fiction:
Fit for Faith: A Christian Woman’s Guide to Total Fitness
Perfect Fit Couples Edition: Workouts and Reflections for a Rock-Solid Relationship
Perfect Fit: Weekly Wisdom and Workouts for Women of Faith and Fitness
Perfect Fit No Excuses: 15-Minute Workouts for Life’s Busiest Days
Immeasurable Fitness Challenge: 18 Days of Total Health for Spirit, Soul, and Body
Immeasurable: Diving in the Depths of God’s Love (a memoir)
Pour Me Out: 30 Days to a More Selfless Life
