Share Four Somethings: June 2021

Every time I start one of these monthly posts, my first inclination is to go on about how fast the last four weeks have gone. It’s true, every time. Maybe even more so in the summer.

Here in Kansas, we’ve already had one heat wave, followed by a cooler spell. The rain came back last week, but more always makes me happy. (And all the other Midwestern gardeners said “amen.”)

I’ve been spending time at the library almost every day, slowly working my way through all the writing I did over the last several months in hopes that an outline will emerge from all the words. I don’t hate what I’m reading, so that’s encouraging.

Both girls have just left for their restaurant jobs, leaving me with some rare moments at home alone. Seems like a good opportunity to jot down some thoughts for this month’s Share Four Somethings linkup (graciously hosted by Heather Gerwing).

• Something Loved

Last month I told you about my plans to stretch my creative limits and buy more than red impatiens for my flower pots. (I wrote about this so I would actually do it, by the way. Accountability and all that.)

I still bought some red impatiens (seems I just can’t help myself), but that’s not all. I also got verbena and petunias, in red, white and purple. (I have a patriotic friend in Arkansas who always put these colors in her planters, and the result was always very festive.)

I didn’t go all crazy with the spillers and thrillers, but I still branched out. As far as I’m concerned, that’s progress.

I’m loving the results so far, and I’m crossing my fingers that the Japanese beetles I’ve seen here and there focus on other vegetation besides what they might find growing in my flower pots.

• Something Read (or Heard)

I have several books I want to write about in the coming weeks, but this month, I want to share a helpful sermon I heard at my church recently. The passage for the week was Philippians 4:4-9, and the message was titled “Joy in Practicing Joy.”

Speaking as someone who says he has “always dealt with mild depression,” Pastor Nathan Miller offers practical tips about how to develop three “habits of joy”—“tell God what you need” (prayer), “thank Him for what He’s done” (gratitude), and “think about what you’re thinking about.”

If you or someone you know struggles with anxiety or depression—or would simply like to live a more joy-filled life—I have a feeling you might find encouragement in Nathan’s words. Here are a few quotes to pique your interest:

“Fighting anxiety without prayer is like training for a marathon without running. Make a plan this week to build this habit into your life.”

“How much time do we spend filling our minds with that which makes us miserable? What we fill our minds with has a direct impact on our joy. We may not be able to choose joy, but we have some choice over what we think about and over what we allow to enter our minds.”

“You don’t have to know about every bad thing that happens in the world. You don’t have to. That is not your job, that’s actually God’s job. And when we try to take over from His job, it will destroy us. It is His job to know, and it is His job to act.”

The link includes the entire June 6 service at Christ Community Church in Olathe, Kan. The sermon begins at the 25-minute mark and lasts about 35 minutes.

Watch here:

• Something Treasured

My college roommate and her large family came through town a few weekends ago. They stopped at our house for the night, and—like they always do—made themselves right at home.

We ate together—a big bowl of pasta with my mom’s Italian sauce and a pile of chocolate chip cookies from the Magnolia Table cookbook that were (unfortunately) as flat as pancakes but still disappeared in record time.

The kids swam and watched a movie in the home theater, the husbands (who were also roommates in college) caught up in the living room, and my friend and I went outside to talk by the pool when it was light and didn’t make it back inside until the sun went down and the bats were swooping nearby.

Now more than ever, time with friends who are like family is sheer joy.

• Something Ahead

After much thought (and many “dates unavailable” messages at resorts in various tourist destinations), we finally made some plans for a summer vacation. We’re not going far, but we will have a week away before Lilly goes back to college in August.

I’m looking forward to the change of scenery, and the girls? Well, they’re apparently looking forward to the TV dinners.

We were in the frozen food aisle at Wal-Mart the other day, just passing by the individual entree section, when they started exclaiming about how we always get TV dinners on vacation and how much fun it is to go the store and pick them out. Each of us gets our own thing, and of course, no two dinners are ever the same.

We also go out to eat and bring ingredients from home to turn into meals, so it’s not like we only eat TV dinners when we’re away. Apparently, though, this little thing that “we always do” on vacation is a memorable experience for them, so you better believe that our upcoming trip will include at least one supper that consists of TV dinners from Wal-Mart.

• • •

Now it’s your turn. Have you tried something this summer that turned out better than you expected? Watched or read something that made a deep impression on your heart or mind? Or do you have a favorite vacation tradition that seems simple but means a lot? Please share in the comments, along with any other thoughts that might line up with #ShareFourSomethings.

♥ Lois

P.S. I’m linking up this week with Share Four Somethings, #tellhisstory, InstaEncouragements, Recharge Wednesday, Let’s Have Coffee, #HeartEncouragement and Grace & Truth