Hello, my friend!
I hope you’re doing great and that, if you’re a fellow American, you had a joyous Thanksgiving last week! And if you’re not an American, I hope last Thursday was just extra terrific ;-).
My family and I spent the holiday a few hours north of us in the charming town of New Braunfels, Texas, home to the “world’s greatest” waterpark, Schlitterbahn. We booked a quaint one-hundred-year-old house smack dab in the middle of downtown and enjoyed three days’ worth of outings to the local museums, a delicious “biergarten” (picking up on the city’s German heritage?), the famous Animal World and Snake Farm Zoo (the mini cows were my favorite!), and a spectacular Christmas lights drive-thru called Santa’s Ranch.
It’s hard to believe we’ve reached the end of another year. It’s even harder to believe my newborn son is already five weeks old and that my daughter is a freshly minted two-year-old (about time for the child to be potty trained, for all our sakes!). My husband and I are truly thankful to God for the blessing of our little family and the big things He’s taught us through the immense honor and responsibility of being their parents. I can’t imagine my life without my children; how focused I once was on temporal things and selfish desires! But I digress…
I suppose it could be a worthwhile digression to write about my former life as a self-focused, child-averse individual, but I feel like it’s a horse I’ve already beaten to death in several podcast episodes, the first of which you can listen to HERE. Let us progress with this week’s Top 4 Thursday! Hope you enjoy!
YOUR BRAIN ON GRATITUDE
“After eight weeks of practice, brain scans of individuals who practice gratitude had stronger brain structure for social cognition and empathy.” – 2018, Good Science Center at UC Berkeley
“Gratitude is the ultimate biohack. It reduces stress, improves sleep, strengthens your immune system, and even aids digestion. The vagus nerve connects your brain and gut – gratitude activates it, calming your system. A grateful heart is essential for health.” – Dr. Mark Hyman
I HEART ART
“Art is the reflection of our time in real time for all time.” – Eric Weinstein
What sort of art do you wish to create “for all time”?
THE CREATIVE PROCESS (via James Clear)
- Discover – Read a lot. Observe the world. Notice.
- Collect – Immediately record anything that strikes you.
- Generate – Build on your notes to brainstorm lots of ideas.
- Combine – Connect previously unconnected ideas.
- Refine – Edit, edit, edit. Select the best.
BOOK RECOMMENDATION
My husband Ben and I both read this fabulous book, The Opt-Out Family, last month and are recommending it to just about every parent we know! Check it out 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)