End of the month, end of the year, and I'm still trying to decide whether 2023 lasted for-stinkin-ever or flew by. I think I've experienced both sensations. Anyway, whenever we get to the end of a month, there's a group of bloggers that get together to Share Four Somethings with each other. At least four! I'm not the only one that overshares a bit! For December I've collected thoughts on Something I Loved, Something I Read, Something I Learned and Something I Ate.
Obviously I loved everything Christmas! We went to see holiday light displays here in Columbus and did holiday things with the kids here, including a Cookie Walk where my chorus sang Christmas carols. I loved having Veronica run up and join us at one stop, and I loved that our first caroling stop was at a barber shop! Couldn't be more fitting!
We went to Maryland for an extended long weekend to celebrate Christmas with our kids, and had a great time. We were able to attend our old church and to get together with a few friends, but mostly it was about spending time with the family. The highlight of family time was our sweet granddaughter Aubrey!
She got this little sofa for Christmas and it was so hilarious to see her just chillin and watching Bluey on TV like the cutest and cuddliest little couch potato ever!
I love all the gifts I've received, but I especially love this one, which is actually a birthday gift. It's so special to me because my daughter-in-law painted it for me.
Something Read
We were almost finished packing the car for our Christmas trip to Maryland when it occurred to me that I hadn't yet checked the mail. I ran over to do that, and my John Cooper book had arrived! Then when we got back, I found my next review book in the mailbox - the Pepper Basham novel I've been anticipating. So I have those I'm just cracking the covers on, and I have a review/launch team book on my Kindle that I've been reading, called The Crumbs Off Heaven's Table.
I've just
wrapped up my 2023 Reading Challenges, and I did fairly well, considering how much I've struggled with finding time and motivation to read over the past year. I'm planning to take on the 2024 editions of The 52 Book Club Reading Challenge and the European Reading Challenge.
Here are the books I'm currently reading:
I particularly want to highlight this one because I'm on the launch team! I love historical fiction, and historical novels based on Biblical stories are especially interesting to me. This one explores the brief account in the Gospels of Jesus responding to a Gentile woman's request for healing for her demon-possessed daughter. I'm partway through and getting to know the characters that the author has created.
Here's the publisher's summary: A life targeted by the forces of evil since the beginning but protected within the fold of a love she was afraid to embrace and couldn't fully understand. Not as a Gentile at least. Separated from her parents, Serene became a servant who learned not to expect much out of life. Constant fear kept her in hiding, satisfied with the little provisions that her master allowed.
Yet she couldn't hide from love forever. When a certain man from Rome came into her life, Serene's heart began to open in love. Divine intervention mingled with circumstance until Serene was introduced not only to the love between a man and woman, but the love between her and her Creator.
With this powerful love also came an enemy. Would Serene's fragile faith and low self-esteem be able to battle the forces that were beyond herself? Would desperation drive her to seek the One who could truly send the demon possessing her daughter back to the Abyss? How would one encounter with the Son of God test her faith and reveal her true identity as a daughter of the King?
You can also visit the author's website to find out more:
Devoted Steps
There's more reading news at
Just A Second if you're interested, and my post introducing the 2024 Reading Challenges will be up on Tuesday.
Something Learned
I'm in the process of learning or re-learning the importance of scheduling and managing my time. I've never been all that good at it, but I've found a few tricks to help me. I just need to use them! I'm hoping to start working full time hours sometime in the new year, and when that happens, I will really have to stay organized and efficient! Everything from meal planning to household responsibilities and even laundry. And definitely managing my computer time. I love to "waste" time on the internet, and I won't have much time to waste any more. I love spending time here in blog-world, but I'll have to plan ahead and be efficient in order to truly enjoy writing and sharing and interacting with others. I have two link-ups that I'll be hosting on Tuesdays in 2024 and I'll have to plan ahead a bit to stay on top of those.
Everyday Images is how I share my photos every other Tuesday, and the 2024 edition continues starting January 2nd. I choose prompts for every two week period and open it as a link-up for photos, and you can use my prompts if you like, but you sure don't have to!
Twenty-Six Lists will be on the alternate Tuesdays and begins on January 9th. It's a simple link-up with a prompt of a list theme and you can share a very simple bullet list or give lots of background with an essay style list. Find out more at Introducing Twenty-Six Lists and I'd love to have you join!
And I've been hosting
Scripture and a Snapshot every weekend for a long time, and will continue that as well. Just a Bible verse and a photo to share with friends.
And related . . . in my ongoing learning about the Bible and all God's wisdom found in it (I particularly love The Bible Project to teach me and get me thinking), I've been drawn again and again to the theme of Sabbath over the past couple months. Sabbath is a rhythm of experiencing rest and freedom, and I think I need to practice it more intentionally. I'm actually considering something related to Sabbath as my Word for 2024, and am still thinking and praying about the specifics of what God wants me to learn and do.
Something On My Plate
We enjoyed family dinners out with the family.
Went out for lunch with friends and had this good sweet potato biscuit with sausage gravy and applesauce. Comfort food.
Enjoyed an excellent Christmas dinner of deep-fried turkey and some other other very good meals prepared by Meaghan when we were home last weekend. Had my favorite Jets Pizza on Wednesday night this past week, since there was no Dinner + Discipleship.
This week I also celebrated a birthday, and we really didn't do much other than go out for dinner one night. I picked a local restaurant that we liked because I knew they had good fish n chips, only to get there and find they'd changed the menu! I had the brisket grilled cheese instead which I like almost as much, so it's all good.
The interns at my husband's work sent this panettone for us to enjoy, saying it is a tradition to have it at Christmas in Brazil. We had some with our coffee last night and it is really good. Chocolatey but light and not too sweet.
I'm about to zip out to the grocery store to pick up supplies for our New Year's Eve with our son and his family. It's getting late, so I'd better get a move on!
What's Been On My Calendar? #WBOYC
At the beginning of the month, there were a couple of Scioto Valley Chorus events - some Christmas performances, and our Christmas dinner and party.
As mentioned, we went to see some of the light displays in the area. Dawes Arboretum is becoming a favorite spot.
I visited my husband's greenhouse to see all the poinsettias and to pick out a wreath and planter for our outdoor decor.
Oh, and this ivy wreath!
So far we've had one snowfall, and it didn't stick around long.
I went with the kids to the Christmas Eve service when we were in Maryland.
On our drive back to Ohio, we were treated to this beautiful rainbow about an hour before we got home.
And we brought a visitor back with us. We'll see how Merida likes it here - so far she seems very content!
What's Coming Up Soon?
Well, tomorrow we're having the kids over for New Year's Eve and to finish doing Christmas presents, since they didn't come along to Maryland this time. They plan to stay the night, so we'll have breakfast together on Monday morning too.
At some point in January, I'm hoping to finalize the details and up my work hours to full time.
In about three weeks, Scioto Valley Chorus will be performing at a Regional event back in Louisville.
Share something in the comments, or share four somethings with the rest of us in the link party!
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