June's Books

 

I love summer. We have been having the most glorious weather and I am loving it. 

This month I made up for only reading one complete book in May. Instead of my goal of four books, I read (or listened to) seven! Here they are, in no particular order and minimal comments. 

1. The Speed of Trust by Stephen M. R. Covey

This was a short but very fascinating book on the subject of trust. It was geared toward trust in the business world, but totally applicable to any other relationship! I listened to it on Audible.

2. Until Unity by Francis Chan

I should turn right around and read this one again. A lot to chew on. 

3. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Wells

An unbelievable but true story about the author's family who, as the back of the book says, was at once deeply dysfunctional and uniquely vibrant. 

4. Tied Up In Knotts by Karen Knotts

Karen tells the story of her father, Don Knotts (or as many of us know him better, "Barney Fife"). 

5. Letters to the Church by Fancis Chan

Another thought provoking book that will make you grapple with the way you think of church. I listened to this one on Libby.

6. The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate

 A novel based on actual "lost friends" advertisements that appeared in Southern newspapers after the Civil War. It was a good book, but her earlier bestseller Before We Were Yours is better, in my opinion. 

7.Carry On Mr Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham

My daughter left this one laying around and it was a fun, quick read. 

* * * *

What else has happened this month?

I jerry-rigged my coffee pot to do one cup of coffee more efficiently. 

Jasmine has been to Boston and back for Sattler's high-school week. We turned picking her up at the airport into a family affair and all went disc golfing afterward,  much to the oldest child's delight. 

I resurrected my old scrapbooking supplies and am finally working on putting last year's pictures of our trip out west into a photo album. I forgot how much I enjoyed that old hobby. 

Isaac left Monday for five weeks at Faith Builders in preparation for teaching at our church school this fall. This is a new experience but a long held dream of his (the teaching, that is, not so much the going to Faith Builders.) 

The girls cleaned up their spot in the woods and hung up our hammocks. I commandeer one every chance I get. 

* * * *

This is, of course, only the surface things that have gone on this month. It looks quite nice up top, but underneath there's been a lot of furious paddling. I don't feel led to talk about the churning waters, so I'll just leave you with the surface and hope that you are at least comforted to know that I am quite normal and human and that's not all of the picture.

Cheers to July and squeezing every last drop of goodness out of my favorite season!

Twenty-One Years

Our 21st anniversary was June 2. Chris planned an anniversary getaway months ago, and spoiled me with five whole nights away from home, just me and him. He chose our cabin specifically because he knew I love woods and hills and nature. 

He nailed it.

I feel so ridiculously spoiled/ blessed, I almost feel guilty to even mention it. I am so forevermore grateful for the man I am married to. 

Chris is not a polished, well dressed, soft spoken, gentlemanly kind of man. He's not the well mannered, genteel kind, who people immediately think well of and fall in love with. But anyone who knows Chris very well at all knows that underneath the unpolished surface, is a heart of gold. 

Chris is the first person that any family member would call if they needed help. Partly because he often has the best common sense advice for a situation, but mostly because they know that, day or night, he will drop what he's doing and help them out if he can. Chris is the person who will always, always, always look out for the underdog. He is the person who will call out the sin/ the wrong, and love the people in the situation anyway. There aren't many people Chris is vulnerable with, but he is staunchly loyal to his inner circle. 

As his wife, I am the recipient of the full measure of that heart of gold. 

The longer we do life together, the more sure I am that I would not want to trade the heart underneath for the polish on the outside. God knew what He was doing when He plopped the two of us together (with our vastly different personalities), and turned our terrible first impressions into friendship. He knew we would be good for each other. If you've never read the story of how we met, you can find it here. 

We had an absolutely lovely time just hanging out together. 

We took our bikes along and biked two different bike trails. We took a little day trip and toured the Rod And Staff facilities, where Chris spent many hours as a young boy because of his dad's editorial job. (This is where you're allowed to laugh at the odd things we do for fun. I laughed too.) 

We hiked a trail and discovered wild strawberries and beautiful scenery...

And these people...

Me: We look like... 

Chris: An old married couple! 

There you have it. 

We went canoeing on a slow, lazy river and reveled in the gorgeous day. 

And we talked and we talked and we talked.

And - my personal highlight - every night around 9:00, the whippoorwills would serenade us in the dim twilight.... Oh, my heart. Their song will always make my heart ache a little with memories of childhood and growing up in the hills of Arkansas!

Now it's home to the real world, where there are problems and schedules and things to be done. But I'm hanging on to that deep, deep gratefulness I felt in our oasis of time together. 

   ***********

PS. I did not read four books in the month of May. I finished one, and started three others... I have a feeling my goal is going to be a lot harder to meet in the summer months! But I'll keep working at it...

This was the book that I listened to and completed. Very interesting!

And now I must go tackle my work in the real world....