Wednesday Hodgpodge - Tranquil Thoughts

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A hodgepodge is a jumble or assortment of things that might not appear to belong together. Joyce at From This Side of the Pond hosts a weekly link-up called Wednesday Hodgepodge that is a little collection of questions for bloggers to answer just for fun and to get to know each other. I always look forward to chatting with friends over coffee, so pour a cup of your favorite and let's visit for a few minutes!

Here are this week's questions - and my answers - for this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge.

1. It's National Read A Book Day . . . whatcha reading? What's a book you want to read?

Right now I'm reading The Starlet Spy by Rachel Scott McDaniel and finishing up Composition As Conversation by Heather M. Hoover. I usually have at least a couple of books on the go, and the next one I have ready to start is Voice of the Ancient by Connilyn Cossette. I've been looking forward to it for so long! (For all the details on what I'm reading, see my book blog at Just A Second.)

  

 

2. Which is better . . . having high expectations or low expectations? Explain why.

I think it's better to have high expectations. Not unrealistic! But expectations for myself and others that are something to aspire to and to challenge me to do more and be better. My default attitude is "Expect the best, but prepare for the worst" and that has pretty much always worked out well!  

3. Serenity is _______________________.

 Serenity is the ability to stay settled and at peace in the midst of uncertainty or chaos, and against the odds. It's hard to come by on our own. I'm pretty sure the times that I've experienced it have been only because I had a peace from the Holy Spirit to carry me through.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ~Philippians 4:7 

4. What's the most interesting thing in your purse or pocket right now?

 :pausing to get my purse and rummage through it for something interesting:

Well, I needed to clean out my purse anyway, so now that I've done it, I think the most interesting thing in there was this tiny keychain notebook. It was one of the little souvenirs I bought in Honduras about a dozen years ago. I found it in a box of odds and ends after we moved and thought it would be handy to have in my purse, although I've only jotted something in it once or twice.  

 

5. What helps you calm down?

 

Closing my eyes and taking a few deep breaths, imagining myself in a peaceful and comfortable place ready to go to sleep. At least that's what I do when I need to have blood drawn or an IV put in or any other medical test or procedure that makes me anxious. I have awful veins and getting blood out of me is almost as hard as getting it out of a stone! Likewise with getting an IV into a vein. And of course my anxiety about it doesn't help at all, so this was the first thing that came to mind for me needing to calm myself down. (Laughing gas was also extremely helpful when I had oral surgery a couple weeks ago!)

6. Insert your own random thought here.

The Maryland "kids" were here on the long weekend and what a treat it was to spend time with them! We visited playgrounds, went swimming, and played games.

 

While walking back to the car after visiting our favorite book store, we happened upon Stuart Little's house.

And in keeping with the theme of my hodgepodge, here's a tranquil sunset photo from a couple days ago.

What brings tranquility in your life? Leave a comment and let me know!

I'm sharing in this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge at From This Side of the Pond.

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