Summer has started for one of my children and the other has one more week left of kindergarten (my goodness, time flies). We celebrated the long Memorial Day weekend with an overnight trip to the mountains, hiking in the rain, and enjoying some time together. My son got to spend his first week of summer break in the house (it rained all week) while my car was at the mechanic getting the air conditioner replaced! I am thankful that the air broke on what was a perfect spring week, though, and we’re looking forward to grandparents visiting, a work trip for my husband and me, and a few weeks off before school starts again (our oldest is in year-round school and gets 5 weeks off for summer).

Here are this month’s reads and other random tidbits:

Reads

Books

Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth. I began reading this book in the Libby (library) app, but just a couple pages in, I decided I needed to purchase it as it will be a book I need to revist time and again.

Articles

Overcoming Fear in the Waiting Room

Jen Oshman
Jen Oshman

Fear can be so gripping, particularly when a scary situation involves our children–no matter how old they are. Jen Oshman processes how the only true antidote to fear is faith, trust, and hope in the Almighty, sovereign, and good God.

How Can We Measure Spiritual Progress?

Tim Challies
Challies.com

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a meter, tape measure, or some other kind of measuring stick to determine the exact level of spiritual progress we have made? Challies writes about the challenge of determining just how much we have grown in Christ, but gives some helpful benchmarks to look for at least an idea of the growth we have (hopefully) made over the years.

Small Tenneesee church sees missions offering boom after connecting with missionaries

Sue Sprenkle
Baptist Press

My husband recently asked me if I’d read any good articles about missions lately and I immediately thought of this one. What a great testimony of how small churches and members from all generations can support missions through creative means using the gifts, talents, and resources they have.

The Sound of Respect: How a Wife Honors Her Husband

Tanner Kay Swanson
Desiring God

At first glance, I have to admit that I thought I probably didn’t need to read this article. However, I’m glad I did and I was humbled by these needed reminders on how to respect my husband on a daily basis.

Why I Don’t Read Through the Bible Every Year

Trevin Wax
TGC

Trevin Wax makes some good points about why he doesn’t typically read through the Bible. I’m a fan of reading through the Bible in a year, but after reading this article, I may change my usual rhythm and slow it down a bit.

The Pour Over

Though not the ideal source, I used to get all of my news from social media. However, I stopped using most social media sources almost a year ago. When I realized that I was no longer aware of major world events, I decided that should change and I’ve been testing out The Pour Over newsletter. The Pour Over is a summary of major headlines that comes to my inbox 3 times per week. It’s enough to help me feel aware, but not inundated with the 24 hour news cycle. Additionally, the Pour Over is a Christian-run outlet that seeks to provide a Christian perspective on each headline, which is a needed encouragement for this particular industry.

Things I’m Loving

We recently discovered that the cherry blossom trees that line our driveway are actually fruit-bearing trees. I have always wanted fruit trees and was thrilled. Unfortunately, the cherries on them are tiny and bitter but I have hope that they will one day be good!
My daughter’s dance recital happened the Saturday before Mother’s Day, which means we had no less than five vases of flowers sitting on our kitchen counter for days.
Year-round school. I’ve probably mentioned this before, but I have really grown to love the schedule of year-round school. Just as everyone starts to get weary of rushing through the morning, carpool, and homework, we get a multi-week break. Summer is the longest break, but not so long that I’ll be scrounging for things to do with the kids in the heat. Wins all around!
Mountain trip with the family. This one was a particularly fun one, without much whining from the kids, perfect temperatures for hiking, and the added fun of hiking in the rain. We also drove past a house-less roof with amusing graffiti (see pic below).

Sea