The Saturday 7
1. I forgot to mention a highlight from Christmas weekend. My sister Libby suddenly got the idea in her head that she wants me to name this baby Linus. When I told her that wasn't going to happen, she decided to start calling Lena Linus. Of course, as soon as my nephews saw how Lena reacted, they jumped on that train too, and everyone called her Linus during Christmas. Every time, without fail, Lena responded vehemently, "I not Linus! I Lena! L-E-N-A VanderKodde!" I don't know why she felt the need to spell it, but it was adorably hilarious.
2. Here's a random one: I don't like coloring books for adults. I don't have anything against other people using them. I don't feel like it's juvenile and below me. I just have the opposite reaction to coloring than most people. It stresses me out! I feel so much pressure to make my creations look beautiful and perfect that I can't even handle it. No thanks. You can keep your coloring books.
3. I read a couple books this week. One was The Scam by Janet Evanovich. It's the 4th in the series I started and loved during my 30 Before 30. The other 3 could almost be stand-alones because they don't really build on each other, but this one totally ended on a cliff-hanger, and I'm probably going to have to wait another year for her to write the next one!!
4. The other book was Hope for the Weary Mom by Stacey Thacker and Brooke McGlothlin. It was nothing earth shattering, but I appreciated it. One of the big themes was being honest with other mothers and not living behind a mask. You all know that I'm a mess, right? There's very little masking here. I doubt anyone thinks this, but I just want to reassure you once more that I don't have it all together. I was actually thinking recently that I'm kind of a quitter. I quit college, I quit every diet I've ever been on after about 3 days, I've quit Couch to 5K roughly 10 times. When things get hard, I give up. But I can't give up on motherhood. And then I start to feel trapped and panicky. So what do I do? Have another baby! Lol.
I'm getting off track. One of the things I found helpful in the book was the HOPE acronym as an antidote to weary mothering.
H - Honestly admit where you are
O - Openly invite Christ into your mess
P - Pray continually
E - Encourage your heart with God's Word.
I think I've done the first two pretty effectively. I've spent a lot of time over the past year crying, "God, I'm a depressed, angry, weary mess. I need you." So maybe this year will be the year I move beyond the crying and start praying and immersing myself in God's Word!
5. One of the ways I hope to do that is with the "Philippians 4:4-7 Journal Challenge." Pastor Chris brought it up in his sermon last week and it struck me as something that would be really helpful for me. He quoted Philippians 4:4-7 and pointed out that it starts with rejoicing, moves to anxiety, results in prayer, and ends in peace. He challenged us to start a journal this year and every day write down what we're rejoicing about and what we're anxious about, then pray over those things. Right up my alley! I started last night and am going to really try and stick with it throughout the year.
In case you're unaware, ESV stands for "Extra Spiritual Version," and this one in particular is extra, extra spiritual because it is huge! The picture does not capture how big and heavy that thing is. Haha. No, really, ESV just stands for English Standard Version. Pastor Chris has started using ESV in his sermons and it bothers me that my Bible is different than his when I read along, so I asked for this one for Christmas.
I was also inspired by a random comment I saw on a friend's facebook feed recently. Someone said she gets a new Bible every few years and marks it all up with her favorite verses/observations so that she can pass one down to each of her kids. Isn't that an awesome idea? I got my current NIV Bible when I got married 10 years ago, so it seems like a good time to start a new one. I've already started reading through the Psalms and underlining my favorite passages. Hopefully my girls will appreciate it someday. I'm not sure my son will be interested in his mom's marked up Bible, but I'll do one for him in a few years too.
7. That's all I've got for today, so please enjoy this picture. I need to get myself one of these!
2. Here's a random one: I don't like coloring books for adults. I don't have anything against other people using them. I don't feel like it's juvenile and below me. I just have the opposite reaction to coloring than most people. It stresses me out! I feel so much pressure to make my creations look beautiful and perfect that I can't even handle it. No thanks. You can keep your coloring books.
3. I read a couple books this week. One was The Scam by Janet Evanovich. It's the 4th in the series I started and loved during my 30 Before 30. The other 3 could almost be stand-alones because they don't really build on each other, but this one totally ended on a cliff-hanger, and I'm probably going to have to wait another year for her to write the next one!!
4. The other book was Hope for the Weary Mom by Stacey Thacker and Brooke McGlothlin. It was nothing earth shattering, but I appreciated it. One of the big themes was being honest with other mothers and not living behind a mask. You all know that I'm a mess, right? There's very little masking here. I doubt anyone thinks this, but I just want to reassure you once more that I don't have it all together. I was actually thinking recently that I'm kind of a quitter. I quit college, I quit every diet I've ever been on after about 3 days, I've quit Couch to 5K roughly 10 times. When things get hard, I give up. But I can't give up on motherhood. And then I start to feel trapped and panicky. So what do I do? Have another baby! Lol.
I'm getting off track. One of the things I found helpful in the book was the HOPE acronym as an antidote to weary mothering.
H - Honestly admit where you are
O - Openly invite Christ into your mess
P - Pray continually
E - Encourage your heart with God's Word.
I think I've done the first two pretty effectively. I've spent a lot of time over the past year crying, "God, I'm a depressed, angry, weary mess. I need you." So maybe this year will be the year I move beyond the crying and start praying and immersing myself in God's Word!
5. One of the ways I hope to do that is with the "Philippians 4:4-7 Journal Challenge." Pastor Chris brought it up in his sermon last week and it struck me as something that would be really helpful for me. He quoted Philippians 4:4-7 and pointed out that it starts with rejoicing, moves to anxiety, results in prayer, and ends in peace. He challenged us to start a journal this year and every day write down what we're rejoicing about and what we're anxious about, then pray over those things. Right up my alley! I started last night and am going to really try and stick with it throughout the year.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.6. And, as I wrote in my 2015 Recap, I'm also excited to get into this bad boy:
In case you're unaware, ESV stands for "Extra Spiritual Version," and this one in particular is extra, extra spiritual because it is huge! The picture does not capture how big and heavy that thing is. Haha. No, really, ESV just stands for English Standard Version. Pastor Chris has started using ESV in his sermons and it bothers me that my Bible is different than his when I read along, so I asked for this one for Christmas.
I was also inspired by a random comment I saw on a friend's facebook feed recently. Someone said she gets a new Bible every few years and marks it all up with her favorite verses/observations so that she can pass one down to each of her kids. Isn't that an awesome idea? I got my current NIV Bible when I got married 10 years ago, so it seems like a good time to start a new one. I've already started reading through the Psalms and underlining my favorite passages. Hopefully my girls will appreciate it someday. I'm not sure my son will be interested in his mom's marked up Bible, but I'll do one for him in a few years too.
7. That's all I've got for today, so please enjoy this picture. I need to get myself one of these!
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