Happy Friday Eve! I hope your week has been going well, and I hope that today’s and tomorrow’s work days are fast! It’s been quite a long week for me, and this teacher is tired! Report cards go out next week, so we’ve all been making sure our I’s are dotted and our T’s are crossed before everything is set to be submitted. Teachers, you feel me right? Not gonna lie, it’s felt a lot like this lately.
But, the weekend is almost here and so is our fall break, which is really just one day and then a work day. I’ll take what I can get, though.
Happy Friday Eve! I wanted to follow up to my last Thursday Thoughts post. I mentioned that God had been quiet in my life for what seemed like the past two years. And then I was inspired to read my Bible from Matthew to Revelation and to see who Jesus is at the end of it. So far I’ve made it through the book of Matthew and am working on Mark, and if you’re a Bible reader, then you know that you can’t just read the Bible without hearing from God. So much has been revealed to me, and I wanted you to know that God is definitely making Himself known to me again. And as I said in the last post, I’m following the nudges He’s giving me to share these thoughts.
A few weeks ago I was in church, sitting with my parents, and my mom’s friend reached over and handed me a devotion book. I handed it to my mom thinking that it was for her. As it turns out, she was handing it to me. It’s a very small book with a one-page devotion per day. There’s a verse to go along with a story and then a section that is called “Deeper Walk” that gives a few more scriptures to read that go along with the story. Continue reading “Thursday Thoughts: Waiting”
I don’t even know what to say. I have so many thoughts about yesterday’s shooting in Parkland, Florida.
I’d like to preface this post by saying I’m not trying to make this political. I am no political animal, and even though I believe The West Wing was one of the greatest shows ever written, I’ve never thought of myself as someone who was very political. However, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve started to understand more and care more about our government and about how our country is run and who runs it.
With that being said, I’d just like to pour out my thoughts here. I can’t keep them in. I didn’t think about it much today at school because, well, partly because I didn’t have time to think about it, but in a way I feel like maybe I’ve become a little desensitized to it-to mass shootings. I am disgusted with myself for even admitting that, but it’s the truth.
Most of you know I’m a teacher. I have been for nearly 10 years, and though we’ve had lock down situations before, they were all scheduled and not scary. However, these people (from reports that I’ve read) didn’t even have time to follow their lock down procedure. I read there was a fire alarm and then gunfire. They were walking into a trap.
Someone shared a video on Facebook from the Today Show segment with Jenna and Kathie Lee that showed Jenna saying that we expect our children to go to school to be educated by the teachers, and now we’re expecting them to stand in front of our babies when there’s a gunman in the room. And while I totally get it, I promise I do. I don’t know how I would actually react in a situation like that, but I’d like to think that that’s exactly what I’d do. The children who were killed in every school shooting were just that- children. No matter their age. If they were students, they were children. If they were adults, they were still children to someone. And no matter the motive of the gunman, these people were innocent victims. These high schoolers yesterday were innocent. The teachers who have passed away were innocent. Jenna encouraged everyone to thank a teacher. I’d like to do that right now. Thank you to all of the fabulous educators I’ve been privileged to work with or meet or know. We are called to go above and beyond sometimes, and yesterday was an example of some of actually sacrificed themselves to save someone else’s child. So next time you get mad at your child’s teacher or think they don’t know what they’re doing or talking about, remember what could happen to your child if the unthinkable were to happen and who might be the one to save your baby.
And just like everyone else has been saying, my heart hurts for the parents and loved ones of the victims-all of them, dead, injured, shaken up, all of them. My heart hurts for those students. Their lives will never be the same. Some of them watched their friends die. Some of them lost best friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, brothers, sisters, and cousins. My heart hurts for the loved ones of the gunman too. We never think about them. We just think about how evil they are. Of course there was evil there. But maybe there was a family member who is grieving for the pain their loved one caused to so many other people.
I believe this is not just a gun violence issue. Sure, it is. I am not saying that it isn’t at all. I’m a southern girl. I’ve been exposed to guns for the better part of my life, and I’m a supporter of the right to bear arms. But I’ll say that I think it’s ridiculous that I can go and buy these kinds of weapons. I am all for keeping our handguns and shotguns, but maybe we leave the automatic weapons to the professionals (military, law enforcement).
The other issue I believe we are dealing with is mental illness. Most acts of violence are carried out by those who suffer from mental illness. Why isn’t this a bigger priority in our country? I know I’m not alone when I say that I’ve seen mental illness. It’s a common issue on all levels. Some people don’t know how to get help. Or they can’t afford help. Or they are ashamed. This hurts my heart too. I know people who’ve gotten help for their problems. And I know people who haven’t, and it didn’t end well for them or for their families. I’ve seen some really close calls, and I’ve seen some people completely healed. My point is that mental illness is actually an issue worth fixing. It’s an issue worth putting more funding toward.
I know I said this wouldn’t be political, and I don’t think what I’m about to say is politically one-sided at all. But if we ourselves cannot do anything about this, can’t we elect the people who do want to make changes? Can’t we set aside Democratic and Republican status and agree that some changes need to start happening? I don’t know. I don’t have the answers, but I do know that I feel very strongly that something has got to change. I read today there have been 30 mass shootings in 2018. 30. In a month and a half. That’s unthinkable. No wonder I felt desensitized. I don’t want to feel that way again.
In closing, I’d like to say that we can do something. It always comes back to this for me, and it’s the only think I can think of to do right now. I’m not saying I do this on a regular basis. In fact, if I’m being honest, I rarely do this. But I think we need to pray for our government. We need to pray for our leaders, current and future, whether you like them or not. We need to ask God to guide them in the direction He wants us to go. We need to pray for peace; we need to pray for His protection; we need to pray for His will to be done; we need to pray for our leaders-whether you like them or not. Yes, I said it again on purpose. I know so many don’t like our president. We are all so different and have different views and that is part of the beauty of our species, but dang it, he’s in office, we aren’t, and we need to pray for him. I’d like to commit to adding that to my every day prayer list. I hope you do to. Imagine if we all prayed for God to guide our leaders. Miraculously wonderful things could happen.
And while you’re at it, pray for those victims and their loved ones. Pray for teachers. Pray for those with mental illness. PRAY.
I’ve been thinking a lot about where I live. More specifically what I live in.
It hit me today that we’ve been living in our apartment for almost a year and a half. It’s not necessarily where I thought I’d be at this point in my life, but if I’m being honest, I have no idea where I thought I’d actually be. I suppose if you’d have asked me three years ago where I thought I’d be, I would have probably said in our house in Louisiana. We had no intention to move back or any reason to really. But when we got word that it was looking like we both had jobs and a place to live here, well, how could we not at least consider it?
Fast forward to now. We’ve moved to our hometown, we’re still in the apartment we moved into, and we have no real prospects as far as a house goes. Yes, my grandparents’ house is still available, but it just doesn’t feel right. I’ve always felt something when we were looking for a place to live. I just kind of know when it’s the right one, and I feel like someone else is meant to have that house.
That being said. I don’t feel like our time in this apartment is over. I suppose tomorrow someone could show me a house I know we’re meant to have, but today, right now, I don’t think we’re supposed to go anywhere just yet. This little place was meant for us during this season of life, and I’m kind of happy about that.
I wrote a blog post that hasn’t been published yet about my plans to give our guest bathroom a facelift. I started it off talking about living here in Greenville and in this apartment, and when Paul read it he said that it sounded like I was miserable. Like living in the apartment was something I didn’t like. The truth is, it couldn’t be farther from the truth. I actually really like living here. Sure I’d like to have more space, more square footage, really like a pantry, but I don’t need it. The beauty of this apartment is that it’s the home we moved into when we decided to start this chapter of our lives. We came back home. We might not stay here forever. We might not stay here another year. We have no idea what the future holds for us, but the thing I do know and am learning to accept each day is that I have to be authentically me. And if that means living here in a small apartment that I’ve grown to love, why would I do anything but that?
If you’ll allow me to get a little deep here…doesn’t that always happen in Thursday Thoughts posts? Sorry. Well, actually I’m not sorry. And here’s why…I’ve been reading and seeing and hearing a lot of things lately that keep telling me to be me. Be who I am and not who everyone else thinks I should be. And be proud of it. I am finding that to be one of the most difficult things about growing up (I’m a people pleaser.) and one of the most liberating.
I have a family member, well probably a few, that think we need to get out of Greenville. We need to get out of this apartment and move on to a place with more opportunity. So, I bought into that idea initially. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always said I’d never come back to Greenville. I’d never live here again, never raise my kids here. There’s a great big world out there and I haven’t seen enough of it. I need to leave the small town life, move to the big city and not come back.
Never say never. Because here I am. I’ve moved back to the very town I said I’d never come back to. I’m not currently raising any children, but I hope to be one day soon. And it’s looking like I’ll be raising them right here-maybe even in this very apartment. I’ve seen a bit of the world. Louisiana was a whole different world than Greenville, Alabama. It may not have been a big city, but I can get my way around the popular parts of New Orleans, and that’s a pretty decent sized city in my opinion.
My point is that living here in this town and in this apartment is exactly where I want to be right now. And technically I live “in the city”. I live downtown…in a loft apartment. Sounds pretty “city” to me. I can walk to the post office. I can walk to stores to shop. Heck, I’ve done both of those things. I like living here. Sure, there are certain careers that wouldn’t do well here. I can’t shop at certain stores because they aren’t here. I can’t eat at certain restaurants because we don’t have them. But does that really matter when I’m trying to be authentically me? When I know that my husband is happy and wants to be here? When I know that being close to our parents is one of the greatest things because we’ve been away from them for so long? Call me crazy, but what’s so wrong with any of that?
In an effort to just be me and be proud of it, I’m embracing this apartment like never before. I am looking at it with new eyes and fresh ideas, and lucky for me (and you) it should make for some good blog content. Starting with that bathroom makeover. Look for that post in the next few days. I’m just so thankful to be in a place that is unique and fun and in a town that is spectacular and historic and special. Here’s a peek at the before of the bathroom.
The song below is what has triggered this thinking. I’ve yet to see this movie, but I cannot get enough of the music. The first time I heard any of the music was from this particular video, and I was in tears. I’m not a greatly oppressed person. I know people are way worse off than I am, but we all have our struggles and our issues, and this song was like a wake up call saying, “Get over the things that make you feel like you’re less than or weird. You are who you are. Change the things you can make better. And accept the things that you cant. God will take care of those. Be yourself and be proud of it.” So that’s what I’d like to do. And that’s what I hope you do too. Life’s too short to be anyone but you. Live where you want to live and be who you want to be. Don’t let anyone bring you down or tell you otherwise.
As if the video wasn’t enough, I’ll leave you with one last thing. Perhaps my favorite quote of all time. “The things that make you strange are the things that make you powerful.”- Ben Platt.
I love to read. One of my favorite things to do is get lost in a book. I have been in a real reading slump recently. I didn’t read much more than blog posts and a few magazines since summer. I was going to read The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne, but it’s about 150,000,000 pages. That was a tad intimidating to me with a new job that has proven to be time consuming and leaving me no time to read for pleasure. Boyne’s book will be on my summer reading list for sure.
So when my Aunt Sharon told me she was bringing a book for me to read, I was excited but not very hopeful I’d get around to it anytime soon. I read a chapter or two during Thanksgiving break and put it aside during the next few weeks of school until Christmas break. Well, Christmas break was all I needed. Two late nights and I was finished. It was a hook, line, and sinker plot making me not want to put it down. The plot thickened so heartily that I couldn’t have stopped reading had I wanted to.
The book is called Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris. It is a psychological thriller and one of the best ones I’ve ever read. And believe it or not, it’s her debut novel.
I knew fairly early on that something was off with Grace and Jack, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Once the first layer was revealed (pretty early in the story), I was able to understand a bit more what was happening, but I was honestly guessing the rest all the way to the end. Paris writes with just enough mystery to keep you guessing to the very last page.
Behind Closed Doors is a story about a marriage of a seemingly perfect couple, madly in love, newlyweds, successful, living in a dream home, taking extravagant vacations. Jack and Grace truly seem perfect. When things start to take a turn, we learn how Grace can never meet her friends for coffee, even when she doesn’t have a job. Or why she never carries anything in her purse, not even a pen.
After I read this book I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I was so mad at the characters for a while. I couldn’t understand why they would do the things they were doing. How could someone do that? Could this really be how some people live?
Then I started thinking about what it’s like behind our own closed doors. Sometimes we put on a front around others. We do this because we’re insecure, we’re ashamed, we’re scared, we’re too worried what other people will think of us. Sure, there are things that should be kept private, but are we really acting like completely different people in public than we are in the comfort of our own homes?
I think this bothered me so much because I’m totally guilty. We all are to a degree. Maybe we had a crappy day at work, but we have to serve in the nursery at church on Wednesday nights. We put on our big girl pants and walk into that nursery and love on those babies anyway. We show up at those birthday parties with our kiddos when we’ve got 1,000 things to do and our husband ticked us off right before we walked out the door. We go to work even though we’ve got a sick parent who needs round-the-clock care, but in order to afford that care, we have to go to work. We go to baby shower after baby shower with a precious gift even though we’re having trouble getting pregnant ourselves. We RSVP yes (minus a plus one) to yet another wedding because we’re still single. And we do it all with a smile and happy disposition because we don’t want people to see our flaws, our hurts, our disappointments, our shortcomings.
And yes, most of this stuff always stays behind closed doors. Stays in our homes, in the closet, so even if people come over they can’t see it there either. Just like Grace and Jack having dinner parties. There were lots of things going one with them, but when people came over (their friends), no one was the wiser. We do the same thing. Hopefully none of us are experiencing Jack’s and Grace’s troubles (you’ll have to read the book to find out what’s actually going on), but we hide our “crazy” and welcome in our friends to our lovely, seemingly normal homes for a fabulous dinner that nearly drove us mad to cook, in a clean house that just actually got cleaned for the first time in a month because dang it, it’s hard to keep a clean house sometimes. And everything always goes well and our friends leave thinking, how do they do it? How is their life so put together and so perfect? How did she pull off that meal with three kids and 4 dogs and a husband who travels for work? And how did she make it look so dang effortless?
I guess the point is that we all have our secrets behind closed doors. We all have things we’re ashamed to show people in our homes. (I ain’t letting you in my guest room if you come over unexpectedly. I’m going to close the door and you’ll not get permission to enter under any circumstances. Because 9 times out of 10, it’s in total disarray and I’d be mortified if you saw it.) But I’ll put a smile on my face, light my favorite candle, and invite you in like that room was spick and span and perfectly decorated even though I’m not going to open that door for you to go into that room. I’ll hide my secret.
I don’t know if it’s the hope of a new year and the fun of making resolutions, but in an effort to be more authentic, maybe we don’t have to hide our crazy. Maybe some of these flaws or shortcomings can be shared with others. Maybe we have a friend we can trust to actually open up to about the real stuff in our lives. Invite your friend over for coffee or wine and DON’T SHUT THE DOOR! (I’m speaking to myself.) Maybe we tell our friend that comes over that we almost ordered Pizza Hut because the salmon we cooked nearly sent us over the edge.
Things aren’t always what they seem, y’all. And that’s OKAY! We aren’t perfect. No one is. And that’s kind of the best thing about this whole rabbit hole my brain has gone down. When I see a “perfect couple”, eat a “perfect meal” prepared by my friend, or attend a “perfect party”, I know that it’s not actually perfect. It’s actually peppered with imperfections because that’s real life.
So here’s to being perfectly imperfect in 2018. Happily embracing those imperfections and forgiving ourselves and others for not being those perfect people. Because it ain’t ever gonna happen. Real talk, y’all.
Also, here’s to reading more books in 2018. 🙂 Especially those that make us think and reflect on our lives to help make us better people. Don’t forget to pick up Behind Closed Doors. You’ll enjoy the thrilling ride it’ll send you on.
Welcome back to Thursday Thoughts. I should welcome myself back; I haven’t written a TT post in a while. One thing I have done is watch a lot of movies, and I wanted to share my thoughts on two of them.
La La Land
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I remember reading something when this movie was coming to theaters by Tom Hanks that said this is what movies are all about. Someone else told me it was so beautiful and would change your life.
Then, I never made it to the theaters to see it. (womp womp)
I knew that seeing this movie was going on my summer to-do list. So when I stumbled across it at our local library, I picked it up and decided I would watch it that night since Paul was at poker night. (He’s not so much into the musicals.)
It immediately made you feel like you were watching an old movie just because of the way it was shot. The opening musical number set the tone for the film in that there were several song and dance sequences. All were beautiful, and all of them sucked you right into the story and swallowed you whole. I tend to get very lost in musicals. I get caught up in the emotion and the talent and the feeling. There’s nothing like that feeling. It was truly a moving film and deserved every award and nomination it received.
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Ryan Gossling and Emma Stone have so much chemistry together on screen. People have compared them to Fred and Ginger and Bergman and Bogart. Theirs is a believable romance and relationship. There is a scene when they go to the movies, and it is the very beginning of their relationship. They are stealing glances at each other and inching their fingers closer and closer until they are holding hands. It so accurately depicts that new, butterflies-in-your-stomach feeling you get when you’re about to enter that territory with someone new that you really like. I was smiling the whole time from the nostalgia that crept up inside because you know you’ve been there too. Those early, excited feelings with your significant other. That thrill it is to touch their skin in such an intimate yet innocent way for the first time. Like I said, they’ve got chemistry.
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I can’t end this review without talking about the music. The songs are beautiful. Ryan Gossling and Emma Stone have great voices and then they threw in John Legend. So…yeah…winner in my book! And it’s not just the singing that is great, but there’s some amazing piano music, mostly jazz, that is all throughout the movie. Gossling plays a jazz pianist trying to make it, and the piano playing is a huge part of the movie.
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I realize musicals are not for everyone. But I feel that even if it’s not really your speed that you’ll enjoy it. It’s definitely not something being done regularly in Hollywood, and I love that.
Hidden Figures
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I realize I’m much too late to this party, but this was one movie I will not soon forget. I was left completely moved by this film.
These three women were looked over time and time again. They were the best at what they did, so unbelievably smart, witty, strong, and determined. I knew a little about the story just from all of the publicity it got when it came out and during awards season, but I didn’t know everything. I have to say I was truly inspired by this story, by all three women, and by the portrayal of these women by the actresses who played them: Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae, and Taraji P. Henson.
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One of my favorite things about the movie was the backstory they told on all the women. Mary Jackson, played by Janelle Monae, was such a spitfire! There’s a scene where she puts her husband in his place at a church picnic, and I laughed out loud at her assertiveness and how he closed his mouth so fast. And she stayed like that the whole movie. I loved her outspokenness and her determination to never give up and to get into a course she needed even when it wasn’t geared toward women and certainly not African American women. She was smart and capable, and she knew it.
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Dorothy Vaughn, played by Octavia Spencer, was a genius. She got the IBM computer for the space mission up and running correctly and effectively and was later put in charge of that. Another victory for women and African American women. And in the movie she was portrayed as being self-taught in programming. That just blows my mind! I know we live in a digital age and it’s almost expected that each new generation be more technologically inclined, but in the 60s? I was so impressed and inspired by her drive and mental capacity. Smart girls are awesome!
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Katherine Johnson was a math wiz. Taraji P. Henson played her flawlessly. She was a widow with three young daughters trying to make a living. Then she got sent up to the land of white men and had to fight her way to prove that she was worthy of that desk and that her math skills were up to par and even better than they ever expected. She played an integral part in putting John Glenn into space. She is a true roll model for girls of all ages.
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I cried watching this movie. It moved me in ways that made me proud to be a woman. It broke my heart to see how they were degraded for being women and for being black. It didn’t matter that they were wearing skirts or using a “colored restroom”; they were the smartest, most capable people for the jobs at hand. And they proved themselves to be successful and perfect for their jobs. In this modern day wave of women’s liberation, it’s stories like this that make me proud to be a woman. And stories like this one that inspire me to go after what I want and not back down because I may not have the skills or be qualified. It inspires me to take the opportunity to educate myself and acquire those skills to be successful in whatever I want to do. Isn’t there a meme that says, “In a world of Kardashians be a ___________________”? Well, in a world of Kardashians, be a Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughn, or Mary Jackson. Because these are the women you should strive to be.
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Thanks for sticking around for my long post. I get so passionate about movies and entertainment. I hope you have a fabulous rest of your week and a wonderful weekend. Hope to see you back on Sunday for more home decor projects. I’m off to work on more curtains! 🙂
It’s the end of the school year for us teachers and students. I can feel the excitement and the energy absolutely radiating off of the kids. This meme I posted to my Instagram this time last year:
Happy Thursday and welcome back to Thursday Thoughts.
2017 is shaping up to be a good year for movies. I have found some great trailers for some of the upcoming movies and wanted to share the ones I’m most excited about.
First up- The Zookeeper’s Wife. I love a period piece. And Jessica Chastain is such a wonderful actress. I’m looking forward to seeing this movie. It tells the true story of Antonina Zabinska, a Polish zookeeper’s wife, who hides Jewish people from German soldiers in her zoo during WWII.
Next up- The Circle. I think this movie seems intriguing. I stated in an earlier post that I loved movies. All kinds. I know this one in cult-ish, but the cast looks pretty stellar. From the trailer I gather that this is a story of a girl, May, that gets a job at The Circle. Everyone that works there tends to know everything about her and her family, the good and the bad. It seems the people closest to her (family and friends) wonder if her involvement with The Circle is a good thing.
The Shack. I had every intention of reading this book during the month of April and seeing the movie before it left theaters here, but I was lent another book that I really wanted to read too, so I put The Shack on the back burner. I’m excited to pick it up, though, and I intend to before I see the movie. This story is about a man who endures a very difficult and traumatic event in his life and is visited by God. I’m told this book is life-changing and quite beautiful. I’ve talked to people who saw the movie, and I’ve heard nothing but good reviews. I’ll probably grab this one from Redbox, but I’m excited to see it nonetheless.
The Case for Christ. I am a big fan of the movies that the company, Pure Flix, puts out. God’s Not Dead was one of them. I am a Christian and believe in the Bible and the gospel of Jesus Christ, so these movies are always wonderfully thought provoking and inspiring. They are so full of truth, and I always walk away feeling like I have been blessed. God definitely has his hand in these films. I’m feeling like this is true for The Case for Christ as well since I learned that two of the songs on the soundtrack are from the band, The Church Vessel, of The Church in St. Amant. This is the church I attended in Louisiana, and their album, Rekindle, is amazing. It is perfect worship music, and it’s great music to play during your quiet time if you’d really like to take it to another level. The songs are powerful and annointed. I think it is amazing that they will be performed on a platform for so many people to experience. Those people will be blessed, no doubt about it. The movie looks quite interesting.
Wonder Woman. There’s no doubt in my mind that the only reason I want to see this is because it is a woman superhero. I can take or leave all of the other comic book, superhero movies. I haven’t seen any of them, I don’t think. Maybe bits and pieces here and there, but I’m not one that has to go to the theater to see them all. But when I saw the trailer for this one, I thought, I’d like to see this one in the theater. How beautiful does her home land look? And hello, Chris Pine! He’s so dang cute. Paul and I saw the trailer for it when we went to see Beauty and the Beast. When I turned to him and nodded my head and widened my eyes with approval and excitement, he met my expression with a furrowed brow, a shake of the head, and a, “nah, I don’t think so”. (Insert eye roll.) Looks like I’ll be going solo for this one.
The Book of Henry. This movie looks a little dark and scary, but I am very drawn to it. It stars Maddie Ziegler. If there are any other Dance Mom fans out there, you’ll know who I’m talking about. I will say I haven’t watched it in many seasons, but I did watch it for 3 or so seasons. Crazy ladies! No doubt that Maddie is a talented dancer, and I believe we’ll get to see her dance in this one. This movie is about a boy, Henry, who lives with his mom and brother and seems to be gifted in some way. He learns that Maddie’s character, his next door neighbor, is being hurt by her stepfather and decides to do something about it. Looks intense.
Gifted. I have seen this movie advertised lately, and it looks so good! Chris Evans’ character is caring for his niece and people are trying to take her away. She is a very gifted child, but he wants to keep her childhood “normal”. It looks inspiring and uplifting. I’m looking forward to this one.
Ferdinand. I am so excited for this movie. It is one of my very favorite children’s books. There will be more elements added to the story to make it long enough to be a movie, but I love this story overall. I’m so glad that children will get to experience it. In my 9 years of teaching, there hasn’t been one class when the majority of the students had no clue who Ferdinand was and had never heard this beautiful story. It’s a lovely tale of not having to be what everyone thinks you should be. It’s okay to just be you even if you’re the biggest, baddest bull in Spain and all you like to do is just sit and smell the flowers.
Tulip Fever. This was a book I was actually interested in reading. I just haven’t gotten around to that because it’s number 1,927,462,938 on my to-be-read list. However, I’ll watch this one before reading the book. It looks so scandalous. And again, I love a period piece.
Same Kind of Different as Me. This looks like a feel good movie. I really like Greg Kinnear, and this one doesn’t look like it’s going to disappoint. Just the trailer reminds me to look beyond the surface. The title eludes to the notion that people are so complex and deep. It’s good to pay attention to that.
And finally……Pitch Perfect 3!! I was perhaps the last person to jump on board the original Pitch Perfect bandwagon. (Not sure why…but I was.) I watched Pitch Perfect 2 in theaters with my neighbor in Louisiana, Megan, and we laughed our heads off and, remember Megan, we were the only ones in the theater. See…
Photo cred: Megan Reid
Anyway, I always watch the movies when they’re on TV. I even have the Pitch Perfect station on my Pandora. I can’t wait for this new one. There’s no trailer yet, but there’s no doubt in my mind that we’ll be in for lots of laughs and some great tunes.
I’m definitely looking forward to being able to see these movies this year. Are there any others coming out that you’re excited about that you didn’t see here? I kind of want to see The Boss Baby. That one looks pretty funny. How can you not love Alec Baldwin?
I hope that everyone has had a great week. Here’s to tomorrow being Friday and to a great weekend!
Welcome back to Thursday Thoughts! I decided to not post on Sunday since it was Easter. It’s a pretty important day, and I just didn’t feel right about “promoting myself” on such a sacred day. I hope that y’all were able to spend some time with family and with Jesus.
**Note** I started this post with the intention of telling you about several of the books I’ve read lately. This book was first on my list, and I couldn’t stop writing about it. It meant a lot to me and for whatever reason, the words just poured out. Perhaps someone out there needs to know that this book exists. I don’t know. All I do know is that I felt compelled to only share about this particular book. I hope that your week has been better than mine. (Perhaps that’s why I was only able to get words out about this book.) It’s been a tough week for some reason. Anywho, I hope you enjoy today’s post and hope that your Friday is delightful!
Lately I’ve been reading a lot. I have been reading every morning during my quiet time/devotion, and I’ve been listening to audio books like they are about to disappear off of the planet. Since I’ve been reading so much, I thought I’d share in case any of you are looking for something new.
I borrowed this book from my dear friend, Christy. She snapped a picture of a page from the book and sent it to me one day. I told her I hadn’t read that book before, but I do love me some Priscilla (Fevernt and War Room, anybody? That movie was amazing!), so she was kind enough to lend it to me.
Honestly, I didn’t think I needed this book. I felt like I had been hearing from God just fine without a book to tell me how to do it. Wouldn’t you know that as soon as I opened the book, all sorts of “bad” was after me. I kid you not! I read this book during my morning devotion time, which is in the very early, dark hours of the morning. It’s just me and Jesus, and I prefer it that way. But reading this book was an invitation for the devil to make me so stinking tired the moment I cracked open my Bible. There were mornings that I would start reading my Bible and accompanying devotion, and I would nod off to sleep, like instantly! There were days I didn’t even get to Discerning the Voice of God.
But those mornings that I did….y’all… God is so good. If there’s one thing I’ve noticed from moving back to Alabama, it is that my relationship with God has changed. And not necessarily for the good. I left a great church that I really, really liked. I was starting to get involved and had my routine of how my weeks would play out with church now involved in my schedule. So moving here threw everything out of whack. My quiet times weren’t spent in the prayer closet I had made for myself because now I don’t have a closet I can walk into. I don’t even have a spare corner in this apartment. Needless to say, this book couldn’t have come at a better time. God knew I needed it because I couldn’t hear from him like I used to. Because I was falling asleep while he was trying to talk to me! 🙂
I am so thankful for people like Priscilla Shirer (and countless others) who have shared so much in book form about their relationship with God and how to follow him. There’s no better tool than the Bible to help you on that journey, but I know that the Bible seems old fashioned and confusing to some people, so it helps to have a “guide”.
I guess my point in writing this post is to share that God is great. He meets you right where you are and right when you need Him most. We knew moving back to Alabama was for a reason. And unfortunately it’s been a reason that hasn’t necessarily been pleasant. We’ve lost four family members in the short time that we’ve been here. But God knew that our families needed us. God knew that we wouldn’t have been able to attend all of the funerals and family gatherings if we were still in Louisiana. So, maybe not all of the time we’ve been back has been good, but it’s been because of God. I knew He was speaking to us when people told us about possible job openings here in Alabama. I knew that it was God speaking when we were told we could move into this apartment. And I knew it was God speaking when Christy sent me that picture of this book. He spoke to her too to offer it to me, and she listened. I’m so glad she did!
If you need to hear from God, please get this book. It won’t be the answer to your problems, but it will teach you ways to have your ear inclined to Him. To listen with the ears of your heart and not just the ears on your head. It’s chock full of scripture and powerful stories, personal and biblical, that are explained to even the most elementary of Bible students. A warning, though: be prepared to have all kinds of things get in your way. It’ll probably seem like every time you sit down to read a chapter that something will happen to get you to not read. Deal with the situation and go right back to reading. God doesn’t put stuff like this in people’s lives unless they are intended for a good purpose. And the devil don’t like that! But push through and do it anyway; you will be blessed.
