Share Four Somethings: October 2020

I haven’t mentioned a word of this here or anywhere else, but Randy and I have been doing another round of the Whole30 this month. It’s our fourth go-round with this eating plan, and it’s been the most pleasant so far, at least for me.

I think I’ve finally figured out that the best way to plan Whole30 meals is to focus on ingredients, and not pick recipes that include ingredients we don’t like. Seems obvious, but sometimes you have to dig to find entrees that don’t include kale, fish or 16 specialty items that are only available at Whole Foods. (Here’s looking at you, capers.)

Good coffee creamer, like this limited (and now sold-out) edition of Nutpods, also makes a huge difference.

Besides planning and fixing meals that include no sugar, dairy, grains, preservatives or legumes, I’ve also been writing every day in something I’m calling my Whole30 diary. My goal, when I started, was to simply get words down on a screen every single day. Aside from one Sunday when I simply forgot, I’ve achieved that goal.

I’ll probably write more about that later. This week, though, I’m linking up with Heather Gerwing to share something loved, something read, something treasured and something ahead.

• Something Loved

The Nutpods coffee creamer definitely falls into this category, along with something that you probably won’t find on anyone else’s list. I explain in this excerpt from Day 1 of the aforementioned Whole30 diary.

I ran on the trail this morning, hoping to get in one good run before the lack of sugar powers me down for a few weeks. There’s a yard on my route that is full of election signs. The signs pretty much surround the whole house, promoting candidates from every key race in our area.

Further down the sidewalk, a different front yard also is full of signs—promoting every candidate from the opposing side.

I’ve never had a campaign sign in my yard, nor do I intend to start this year. But I love seeing these signs cropping up everywhere. They remind me of my mom, who did put signs in her yard, and worked at the polls for every election.

The signs also remind me of gentler, happier days when yard signs were one of the main ways candidates got the word out about their campaigns. I have no idea if the people who live in the homes I run past know each other, and if they do, if they are friends. If they are, I hope they stay that way.

Politics seems to be the Big Dividing Line between a whole lot of people right now. Especially online, where it’s often hard to see the people behind all the capital letters.

I might be naïve or idealistic, but I feel like there’s more that draws us together than separates us. Like food, for example. And gardening and home-improvement projects and all the other normal stuff that neighbors often talk about when they are outside in their adjacent yards.

Leaf-raking season is upon us, so maybe that will bring us all together once the election is over. I certainly hope so.

• Something Read (and Heard)

I’m currently reading three books about writing, all at once. (This might not be the best or most efficient strategy, but it’s what I’m doing.) Two are about writing memoir, specifically, and the other focuses more on the habits and practices of writers.

The latter book is striking some important chords with me, encouraging me in what I’ve been doing this month to establish and shore up some of my own writing patterns. I may share from one or all of these books later, but for this post, I’m going to concentrate on “Something Heard” rather than “Something Read.”

Last month, I told you how I listen to my favorite podcast, “Unlocking the Bible” with Colin Smith, every morning when I’m making my breakfast. (It takes me a while, so I usually get in half an episode every day.)

I always come away from these episodes encouraged or challenged in some way. The other day, though, I actually took the time to type out, word for word, what Pastor Colin said at the end of a sermon called “Learn to Wait, Part 2” from a series called “Keeping Yourself in Spiritual Shape.”

The very last line of this quote, in particular, really resonated:

“If all your dreams were fulfilled, all your prayers answered, everything in your life as you wanted it to be, how could it ever be known and declared that you truly loved God and not just His gifts?” Pastor Colin asks. “So I want you to think in this last moment of the great disappointments of your life now. I want you to think of the heartfelt prayers not yet answered, the great longings of your soul not yet satisfied, and I want you to see them as an open door into God’s gymnasium. He’s saying to you, ‘You want this to be over; I want this to be useful.’”

Useful? Yes and amen.

• Something Treasured

One of the silver linings of remote schooling during the Covid quarantine is the opportunity it has given to spend a lot more time with my girls. Not always engaged in anything specific, but sometimes.

We’ve baked and picnicked and run outside together. Lately, Molly and I have been chipping away at the 50 hours of driving that Kansas requires before granting a driver’s license.

A few Fridays ago—right before she returned to in-person school in the mornings—we made the longish trek out to a park in the country. We packed a lunch, hiked around a small lake and climbed to the top of the observation tower that Randy’s company recently erected.

The park was lovely and mostly deserted. The weather was perfect. The company was fun. And Molly was able to log another hour and a half on her driving chart.

It was a great day, all around.

• Something Ahead

As I mentioned before, my goal this month has been to write every day. I didn’t have a plan for what to cover; I was mostly hoping to get into the habit of putting words on the screen even if I didn’t feel like it.

It worked, I think. And now I plan to do the same thing next month, but with a very specific focus. (Not to be cryptic, but one thing I’ve learned from my recent reading about writing that it’s better to write, rather than talk about what you’re going to write.)

• • •

Now it’s your turn. What have you loved, read or treasured lately? Do you have any big plans for the holidays? Or, if you’d rather, feel free to share a highlight from the last month that may or may not fall into one of the Four Somethings’ categories.

♥ Lois

P.S. I’m linking up this week with #ShareFourSomethings, Purposeful Faith, #TellHisStory, InstaEncouragements, Recharge Wednesday, Let’s Have Coffee and Grace & Truth.