Head of the Class: The Weekly Digest

Looking out the window....

I went to a luncheon/training on campus Friday.  These are some of the lovelies I found:

A pretty planter of Dianthus ("Pinks"), Lantana, and Marigolds.

Quickfire Hydrangeas

"Bluebeard" 

Favorite quote(s) of the week... 

 

Lord, if You send me wealth like broad rivers, do not let the galley with oars come up in the shape of worldliness or pride. If You grant me abundant health and a happy outlook, do not let the gallant ship of carnal ease come sailing up the flowing flood. If I have success in holy service as broad as the German Rhine, let me never find the ship of self-conceit and self-confidence floating on the waves of my usefulness. If I would be so supremely happy as to enjoy the light of Your countenance year after year, let me never despise Your feeble saints nor allow the vain notion of my own perfection to sail up the broad rivers of my full assurance. Lord, give me that blessing that makes rich and neither adds sorrow nor aids sin.- Charles Spurgeon, Faith's Checkbook, p. 278. 

 

When many are not ashamed to revile them [pastors] in public, some ought to be ashamed not to remember them in private.  - John Owen, Rules for Walking in Fellowship, Chapter 3. 

 

I'm thinking about...

 

My next class starts October 6th.  I've got the students on my mind and in my prayers.  I've got the preparations I want to make for the course on my mind.  I always want to facilitate my courses well, but as always, I want my students to grow in faith in, understanding of, and fellowship with Christ.  I never want my courses to just be another class students HAVE to take for a grade.  I want them to learn and grow in the process of completing their assignments.

   

What I've read since the last digest...

• Persuasion by Jane Austen ✮1/2
• Rules for Walking in Fellowship by John Owen ✮✮✮✮  

I'm currently reading...

• Finding the Groove by Robert Gelinas
• Gospel Evidences of Saving Faith by John Owen
• Mansions of the Heart by R. Thomas Ashbrook 
• Streams of Living Water by Richard J. Foster 
• On Reading Well by Karen Swallow Prior
• Faith's Checkbook by Charles Spurgeon

Recent blog posts...

• My previous digest, "Party Hats'" is here.
  
• Puppy Power:  The Weekly Hodgepodge is here. 
• My "25 for 2025" challenge is here. (Updated regularly)
• My "I Can Only Blame MyShelf" reading challenge is here.  (Updated regularly). 

From the Workshop... 

I'm trying something new in Auntie's Workshop. It's not quite finished, but here's a hint:

I am thankful for...

• Friends who can't behave in a store any better than I can.
• Fat quarters.
• Dreams that God won't let die. 
• Signing another year's lease at my apartment.   
• Rain to wash the ick out of the air.
• Pinterest. 
• The safety button on my rotary cutter so I don't cut the snot out of myself.
• Anti-slip grips for quilting rulers (so I don't cut the snot out of myself). 
• Sticky notes--the real ones (the computer version is pain in the booty to use). 
   

 

 

 

 

Party Hats: The Weekly Digest and Hodgepodge

Note:  Once again, I'm combining the digest with the hodgepodge (don't be mad Miss Joyce).  Enjoy! 

Looking out the window....

The shrub roses at the church are still blooming

I made a run to the Target in Belmar and saw these lovelies in the planters around the parking lot: 

Dahlia

This is a variety of Coleus I've not seen before.

I have a loop around our block that I walk during work breaks when the weather is nice.  These are from my most recent jaunt:

Another variety of hibiscus

These are called Autumn Joy Sedum

Favorite quote(s) of the week...

Jazz--an institution?  Perhaps it is.  After all, the Latin root for institution is statuer, which means "to put in place," or "to stand."  And in some sense that's what jazz is to me--a place to be, a place from which I can see and hear, be seen and heard. - Pastor Robert Gelinas, Finding the Groove, p. 10.

 

Lord, let me go where You lead. Let me go on Your errands, under Your command, and in the power of Your Spirit. Lord Jesus, come in with me and be my guest, and then walk out with me and cause my heart to burn while You speak with me along the way.- Charles Spurgeon, Faith's Checkbook, p. 266.

 

In addition, one of the greatest boundaries you can create to stay healthy in the digital world is to have a full life. A full life is one in which you are investing your time and energy in relationships and activities that are meaningful, enjoyable, and worth engaging in. - Cloud and Townsend, Boundaries, p. 236. 

 

And that's what social media has become: people being f*ing stupid! - Robert Welsh, make-up artist and YouTuber.

 

There are two kinds of sermons that are bad: 1) the sermon that has nothing of the preacher's personality in it... and 2) the sermon that has nothing else. - Jesse Duplantis

 

I'm thinking about...

Join the fun! 

Come on over to 

From This Side of the Pond 

for the Hodgepodge link-up!

Are you more life of the party or more party pooper? If your answer is somewhere in the middle which side of the middle do you lean towards more? 

I lean more toward "life of the party" but not to the place where I become an attention whore.  I've seen both extremes (party pooper and attention whore) and they are quite hurtful to everyone attending.

Birthday party, beach party, cocktail party, dinner party, charity fundraiser, surprise party, costume party, garden party, Christmas party, reunion...what's your favorite kind of party? 

Any gathering where all are loved and celebrated is fine with me.  I've not attended many of these types of parties, but they sure sound fun. 

Cheese, wine, and balsamic vinegar all improve with age. What would you personally add to the list? 

I believe that a well-loved book improves with age.  I have many books, both fiction and non-fiction, that I've read multiple times (and will read again), yet the stories or information within them never gets stale but instead get better, more exciting, and/or more salient.  Some examples include:  the Bible, C. S. Lewis' The Great Divorce, and Jan Karon's Shepherd's Abiding.

How do you feel about your birthday? How do you want to be celebrated? Or don't you? 

May I be selfish here?  I enjoy getting older and don't dread birthdays.  However, traditionally my birthday celebrations have not turned out well.  The exception was the 50th birthday party that Diana threw for me three years ago, which was great. If I never have another celebration, I will relish that one for the rest of my life.

May I be practically selfish here?  I would like my birthday celebrated, but not by my own request.  What I mean is, I know that throwing my own birthday celebration will either be a crap show or incredibly lonely (Who wants to eat cake and ice cream alone and open a gift you bought for yourself?).  However, I'd like for people to want to celebrate, not feel guilted into it.

Photo from my DC trip in 1990.

What remarkable feat, interesting piece of trivia, or historical event occurred on your birthday and month? Not necessarily your same birth year, just the same date/month. 

The Lincoln Memorial was dedicated on May 30, 1922.  

Share two good things about your life right now. 

See the "I am thankful for..." section below.  

What I've read since the last digest...

• The Oxford Inklings by Colin Duriez ✮✮✮✮  
• The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan ✮✮✮1/2
• Dorothy L. Sayers by Colin Duriez  ✮✮✮✮  

I'm currently reading...

• Finding the Groove by Robert Gelinas
• Persuasion by Jane Austen
• Mansions of the Heart by R. Thomas Ashbrook 
• Streams of Living Water by Richard J. Foster 
• On Reading Well by Karen Swallow Prior
• Faith's Checkbook by Charles Spurgeon

Recent blog posts...

• My previous digest, "Let's Groove Tonight'" is here. 
• My previous hodgepodge, "Puppy Power" is here. 
• My "25 for 2025" challenge is here. (Updated regularly)
• My "I Can Only Blame MyShelf" reading challenge is here.  (Updated regularly). 

From the Workshop...

Speaking of celebrations...

 

I completed my 25 for 2025 goal of creating 100 cards for Cards for Kindness.

I am thankful for...

• All the beautiful flowers I've seen this spring and summer.  I'm hoping we have a real fall with all the colors here in Colorado this year.
• Air-popped popcorn.  
• My beta fish, Freddi, is still hanging in there.  I've had him for three years and he's nearly at the end, but still kicking...slowly, but kicking.
• Good insurance. 
• The great sermons our church leaders have been presenting while our lead pastor has been on sabbatical.  I'm also thankful that our lead pastor can take such a rest.  He's going to be shucking the corn when he gets back in October.    

Puppy Power: The Weekly Hodgepodge

Join the fun! 

Come on over to 

From This Side of the Pond 

for the Hodgepodge link-up!

  

What gives you energy? What takes it away? 

What gives me energy (not an exhaustive list and in no particular order): 

• 
  Spending time with God
• Caffeine 
• Laughter - laughing myself or hearing others (especially children) laugh
• Creativity
• Music (whether I'm listening to it or playing it)
• A good mix of people time and solitude (I'm an ambivert)
• The sight, smell, and feel of craft or school supplies
• Morning showers
• Rest/naps

What zaps my energy (again not an exhaustive list and in no particular order): 

• Toxic people
• Too much junk food
• Winter
• Meetings that serve no purpose
• Depression
• Big crowds at the store where no one moves and every aisle is blocked
• Dehydration
• Being too hot or too cold
• Headaches
• Too much screen time 

How often do you shop for clothes? What accessory do you always wear? 

I don't buy clothes on a set schedule.  Because I still losing weight (hallelujah), I'm slowly replacing items as needed.  The end of this month, I'll most likely hit the thrift store and other familiar haunts to hunt for cold weather clothes and shoes.  The accessory I always wear is earrings.  I know, it's not really a clothing accessory, but I don't wear belts at all and only wear scarves or hats when it's cold (unless it's Easter). 

What's something free that you feel grateful for? 

My salvation in Christ, for one (free, but definitely not cheap).  That makes the other free things like fresh air, clean water, library books, and living in a free country all the more precious.

Breakfast, lunch, dinner...which meal of the day do you enjoy most? What's your go-to comfort food? 

I'm working to enjoy each meal rather than seeing eating as a necessary evil or cooking for one as a wasteful chore. Right now, I think breakfast is my favorite because I can have it any time (not just the breakfast hour).  Can cereal be considered a comfort food even if it's grown up good-for-you cereal?

Insert your own random thought here. 

n case you missed it:  

• My previous Hodgepodge post "Scraps and Such 04" is here.
• My latest Weekly Digest "Let's Groove Tonight" is here.
  
• My latest First Line Friday post: #38:  The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard is here. Note: I have completed the volume, so this post also contains the "last thoughts" section.
• My "25 for 2025" challenge is here.  (Updated regularly)
• My "2025 I Can Only Blame MyShelf Reading Challenge" is here. (Updated regularly)