WQ - Spiritual Life

The theme we selected is Spirituality, and since there are so many directions that could go, I started by looking up a definition to help me focus.

-the quality or fact of being spiritual

-and spiritual means related to the soul or spirit, as distinguished from physical nature; or related to moral or religious nature

We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience. ~Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Whether we acknowledge it or not, we are all spiritual beings, and our purpose is to know God. Our spirituality cannot be properly satisfied unless and until we come to God our Father through Jesus Christ his Son. It is through Jesus that we can have not just spirituality, but spiritual life!

If God sees that my spiritual life will be furthered by giving the things for which I ask, then He will give them, but that is not the end of prayer. The end of prayer is that I come to know God Himself. ~Oswald Chambers

If we don't have the Word of God as the foundation of what we believe, we will have a faulty footing―it will not stand against the elements that will come against us. God has designed both our physical and spiritual lives to be ordered by one key attribute upon which the fruit of the Spirit is based―that foundation is love. ~David Jeremiah

As you come to him, a living stone―rejected by people but chosen and honored by God―you yourselves, as living stones, a spiritual house, are being built to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

~I Peter 2:4-5~

Bible study is the most essential ingredient in the believer's spiritual life, because it is only in study of the Bible as that is blessed by the Holy Spirit that Christians hear Christ and discover what it means to follow Him. ~James Montgomery Boice

Offer Christ your heart in meditation and personal prayer which is the foundation of the spiritual life. ~Pope John Paul II

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

~Romans 12:1-2~

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Wednesday Quotes is a bi-weekly opportunity for bloggers to share their writing, poetry, photos, or stories inspired by our theme. We've chosen the themes as a starting point for your creativity, and the only requirement is that your post include at least one related quote. Feel free to combine or "double-dip" with other writing or photo challenges as well. Of course, we'd appreciate a link back to us, if you'd be so kind. Add your link and please visit others and leave a comment! The link is open for two weeks.

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Thanks to Marsha at Always Write for introducing us to the Wednesday Quotes challenge, and for passing the hosting duties along so we can continue sharing great quotes! Wednesday Quotes is co-hosted by Kym at A Fresh Cup of Coffee and Sadje at Keep It Alive. 

Quoting reminds me there are other people in the world besides only me. 

And other thoughts besides mine, and other ways of thinking. 

~Gregory Maguire~

Wednesday Quotes 2025 Themes

January 8 - Planning Ahead/Setting Goals

January 22 - Winter Sleep

February 5 - Love Inspires Us

February 19 - Staying Balanced

March 5 - First Impressions

 March 19 - Looking After Yourself

April 2 - Competition

April 16 - Spring Colours

April 30 - Morning Routines

May 14 - Memorable Vacations

May 28 - Telling Your Stories

June 11 - Summer Fun

June 25 - Patriotism

July 9 - Hobbies

July 23 - Being Adventurous

August 6 - Spirituality

August 20 - Writing Letters

September 3 - Chocolate

September 17 - Making and Keeping Promises

October 1 - Autumn/Another Spring

October 15 - Daily Bread

October 29 - Night Skies/Stargazing

November 12 - Good Manners

November 26 - Celebrating Holidays

December 10 - Winter Wonderland

December 24 - Holiday Memories

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 ©2006-2025 HS Coffee Break/Just A Second/A Fresh Cup of Coffee. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. This post was written by a human. https://morecoffeebreaks.blogspot.com/ 

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WOTY and Goals - A Journey Through July

I was on vacation on the last day of July and first couple days of August, and thought I might be able to wrap up the month a few days early, but that didn't go as planned. Much like the entire month of July, I suppose. I thought I'd be able to fit more in or get things done sooner, or have more motivation that I actually did. It was a month of busy full days and a lot of very mundane work days. Looking back in the past few weeks, I'm surprised and a bit disappointed in how disorganized I've been. And rather unmotivated, though I guess the muggy heat has contributed to that and it's not entirely that I've been lazy. Not entirely. It's summer and for us that's always meant we can change our plans at any moment.

My general plan of Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays as the housework days didn't work consistently during the month, so I sure did get behind sometimes. We ate out more often overall, but had more evenings at home overall as well. The problem was often that I lacked the motivation to catch up when I had the opportunities, even if I'd had a valid reason to get behind. 

We opened and closed the month with long weekend vacations, and the chorus was on summer break from rehearsals, so the regular weekly rhythm was certainly different in July!

Here's a brief recap of the month so far, along with some photos.

July 1 - Happy Canada Day! Not much that we did anything really special to celebrate since it was just a regular workday for us. We did have HP sauce for our steak sandwiches, so maybe that counts.

July 2 - Another regular workday, but after a quick bite to eat, we went to Granville for fireworks.

July 3 - We both left work just a little bit early so we could pack up and head to Maryland.

July 4 - Happy Independence Day! Had a relaxed morning with the kids, went out for lunch to celebrate Kennady's birthday, picked up some groceries, and walked around at the duck pond and playground a bit. Instead of going into town, we watched the neighbors' fireworks from the driveway.

July 5 - Another relaxed day of hanging out with the family, but we also did a little shopping and I finally found a new swimsuit top! Something to check off my to-do list. In the evening we went to a small party hosted by Kennady's boyfriend's family, though we didn't stay late. When we got back to the kids' place, we all watched King of Kings together.

July 6 - We were up early this Sunday because we were on the worship team at the kids' church. Afterwards we went to a favourite restaurant, O'Lourdan's, with the whole family, then packed up and drove home. 

So as you can see, the first week of the month had very little of the usual rhythm of our lives, and practicing all the things was a bit of a challenge! But on Monday we were back to work and tried to get back to "normal".

July 9 - Scooted out of work a little bit early again, this time so we could get to the Clippers game on time.

July 12 - in the late afternoon, hubby and I went to serve dinner at Lower Lights, and then were able to fit in a walk in the evening too.

July 13 - After church we had a quick lunch and relax because hockey was early. After hubby got home, we went for a drive to scout one of the areas we're considering moving to when we buy a house. Ended with dinner at a cute little pub in town.

July 14 - hubby went out for dinner with people from work, so I got takeout and had quiet evening at home. It was a nice break.

July 15 - we had a light dinner at home then went into town to watch the free family film at the amphitheater. The Little Mermaid was a favorite of mine, even if I was a grown and married woman when it came out!

July 16 - just an ordinary work day, but in the evening we went for a walk and got to see this spectacular sunset.

July 18 - we met our son and his family at the Franklin County Fair and took in the demolition derby together!

July 19 - I shopped and prepped food for Sunday. We'd planned to go to an air show but it was cancelled.

July 20 - After church we had a very light lunch and then later on we went to our friends' place for dinner. Afterwards, hubby went to hockey while I stayed home and got in some solid chorus rehearsal for  a change.

July 21 - Went straight to chorus from work . . . well, to the Rusty Bucket where we were meeting for dinner before rehearsal.

July 24 - It was Restaurant Week in Columbus, so we met at Milano's with friends.

July 26 - Got my hair cut in the morning, and we met Harrison and family to hike at Char Mar Ridge but it was so hot!! Hiking was not very pleasant, to be honest. We got in on another Restaurant Week deal by eating at Local Cantina. Later on there was a big thunderstorm in the evening!

July 27 - Today was Youth Takeover Sunday so I wasn't on worship team. We had a picnic lunch and hiking planned with the 55+ group, except it stormed so the hike was cut very short and we couldn't go on the canopy walk. I wouldn't have been able to go on the canopy walk anyway, as it turned out, because after lunch I managed to roll my ankle very hard and though I thought I could walk it off, it did swell up and was very painful, so I was back to using a cane.

July 28 - I sat at work, and at chorus I had to sit too, and it was not fun. 

July 29 - A regular workday for me, but my husband had to fit in a pre-op physical before he went to work. We started planning for the surgery he has coming up. He suggested we get dinner from Buffalo Wild Wings since it was National Wing Day, which was a great idea, except I'm not sure the staff at BWW was ready. I waited 45 minutes past the time my order was supposed to be ready to pick up! It was good though, and I didn't have to cook, so there was that.

July 30 - Made the final plans for our weekend trip to Deep Creek.

July 31 - Vacation begins! We slept in, probably later than I should have, packed up and shopped for the trip. We hit the road shortly after lunchtime and arrived at the vacation house at Deep Creek about 5:30. Harrison, Spencer, Landon and their families were already there. We didn't really have dinner, just snacked, enjoyed the hot tub, and had a bonfire. Kennady and her boyfriend arrived around nine, while we were at the fire. And so the month ended and our vacation weekend began!

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Give me understanding and I will obey your instructions;

I will put them into practice with all my heart.

~Psalm 119:34~

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My Word of the Year for 2025 is Practice. Put the things I've learned and that I know into practice. Practice doing what I know I should do and want to do. Practice how I want to perform. Practice―and get better at―the things that are important to me. Make a practice of healthy and beneficial habits and routines. In 2024, my WOTY was Rhythm, and one way I tried to establish a rhythm was by keeping a very brief daily diary, to watch for daily and weekly patterns to develop and to be intentional about keeping the good ones going. In 2025, I'll continue keeping the daily diary, but with a focus on how well I'm meeting my goals in the disciplines I'm practicing. See my WOTY post for 2025 for how I chose this word: Word of the Year 2025 - Practice.

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Scripture and a Snapshot - To Him Be The Glory

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!

How unsearchable his judgments,

and his paths beyond tracing out!

"Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?"

"Who has ever given to God,

that God should repay them?"

For from him and through him and for him are all things.

To him be the glory forever! Amen.

~Romans 11:33-36~

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Everyday Images #67

Welcome to another installment of my challenge and reminder to myself to take photos somewhat regularly. I'm not a photographer, but I enjoy taking everyday photos of things I find interesting or want to remember later, and I find that I notice interesting things when I'm intentionally watching for them. Having some prompts that are open to interpretation has helped me pay a little more attention to what's around me. Every two weeks I have a few words and phrases that I'm focusing on, and I try to find opportunities to take pictures of these things each week.

July Prompts - Everyday Images #67

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at home (monthly)

station

selfie (quarterly)

beginning and/or end

pebbles

scenery

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at home (monthly)

station - I hate it when I stump myself. For some reason I must have thought I might drive by a train station or something? Settling for this photo that kind of shows my desk which might be considered my "work station"

selfie (quarterly)

beginning and/or end - views from my doorstep at the beginning and at the end of Monday

pebbles

scenery - weather that was either muggy and hot or rainy kept us from getting out walking much recently. And walks in the parks would be where I'd likely see scenery, right? So it's fitting that I decided to use this photo of the scene while we waited out the thunderstorm in a picnic shelter on Sunday.

And a few bonus photos:

We went to the county fair demolition derby a couple weekends ago.

I like the neon glow on this photo my hubby took of me and my granddaughter. Haha.

This past Saturday we checked out Char-Mar Ridge park which was very nice, thought it was very hot that day and there was absolutely NO breeze.

I am sharing my photos every other Thursday, along with my prompts for the next two weeks. You can use all or some of the prompts for your own photo posts, or none of the prompts and just link up a post featuring your photos. Simple rules: Your posts must be family-friendly; the photos must be your own; and the post must be mostly photos. If you do share I'd appreciate a mention and link to A Fresh Cup of Coffee on your post.

Everyday Images will continue in 2025, every other Thursday, and the link-up is open for two weeks. 

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August Prompts - Everyday Images #68

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heritage

open and/or closed

yellow

river

middle

corner

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 ©2006-2025 HS Coffee Break/Just A Second/A Fresh Cup of Coffee. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. This post was written by a human.  https://morecoffeebreaks.blogspot.com/ 

This post may contain affiliate links - using affiliate links from A Fresh Cup of Coffee helps continue the coffee breaks and conversation.  We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.