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.