I want my virtual porch to be like my real porch, where we could sit and chat about everything going on – the big things, what we’re loving, and ideas we have. The conversations would probably go from meaningful to practical without notice, which is exactly how I like it. With that in mind, today for #PorchStories, I’m going to share four things I’m loving right now.
1. Faithful Moms Summer Planner
My friend Erika Dawson created this resource that I’m so excited to dive into before I make my first official jump into the pool for the summer. My kids have LESS THAN TWO WEEKS of school left, we couldn’t be any more excited. But there’s a different pace to summer, and I have no doubt this summer planner will help me get everything that’s in my head down onto paper.
Yes, it offers a calendar and place to make plans, but it also offers spaces for moms to discern and reflect on summer priorities while still enjoying summer with their kids. These pages will help me process, prioritize, and document my favorite season that usually passes too quickly.
(You can still order one for yourself.)
2. A gooseneck clamp to hold my Kindle
You guys! Almost every time I read my Kindle in bed I (jokingly) asked Greg if he will hold it above me so I can lay down and read. Then I mention how I should invent a clamp that will hold my Kindle at the appropriate spot. Turns out someone already invented that AND MY HUSBAND SURPRISED ME WITH IT. Now I can stop talking to him about it and just read. Happy birthday and every other day to me!
(If you want to see the kinds of books on my Kindle, I keep an ongoing list of books I’ve loved.)
3. “Keep a Quiet Heart” by Elisabeth Elliot
This book is full of wise essays about following Christ in everyday life. I’ve mentioned before that I’ve been taking a break from most non-fiction books because I couldn’t handle all the noise, but Elisabeth Elliot is like the wise grandma everyone needs in their lives. I’ve sent passages from this book to friends and posted them online. I’m grateful for her words that do quiet my heart and remind me what matters.
4. Slugs & Bugs’ Sing the Bible Vol. 3
This new CD is officially available now! If you have kids or even know a kid, you’ll want this music in your home, car, head, and heart. The songs are full of fun, truth, and sometimes silly voices. But the music is excellent and I sometimes keep listening when my kids have left the room. I will recommend any Slugs & Bugs music because I believe in what Randall Goodgame is doing for families.
What are you loving right now?
*****
There are a couple Amazon affiliate links in there, but I would never recommend anything to my friends that I don’t actually love and use. If you purchase through my Amazon links, the price doesn’t change for you but I get a tiny income for my recommendations. I supported the Slugs & Bugs CD on Kickstarter last year and it’s currently the disc playing in my minivan. I bought the Faithful Moms Summer Planner and have been stalking my mailbox for it to arrive, but I’ve seen it in person because Erika is my friend.
*****
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Such a fun list! It’s always nice to see what’s working for other like-minded people 🙂
Thank you! Hope you can enjoy some of these things too!
It makes me so happy that you have fallen in love with Keep a Quiet Heart. I have a flip calendar (over 20 years old and it looks it!) that came out at the same time as the book, and I’m still loving EE wisdom every single day.
Actually, I’m also reading a book she wrote the forward to: A Leopard Tamed. One of her friends was a missionary to South Sudan, and she wrote a book about the challenge of white North Americans landing with all their stuff and all their strange ways in the middle of a primitive people group and trying to translate biblical values into that culture back in the mid 20th century. The book has the same tone as These Strange Ashes (by EE), and the recently released version adds a new preface by EE’s daughter Valerie Shepard.
I’ve read “These Strange Ashes,” but it’s been awhile and I should break it out again. “Keep A Quiet Heart” has been so good for my soul. It’s quiet but powerful. And that’s exactly what I needed to get through all the noise in this world. I’m always glad to have you here and hear what you’ve read, Michele!
What am I loving right now? I love this blogpost! I love the sunny day out my window. I love my good health. I love my family to the moon and back. I love that we will be moving soon. And, I love you!!!
Well, I love this comment and YOU! And the sunshine. Always the sunshine. 🙂
I love EE and have long considered her my mentor from afar. That book is one of my favorites. Nice to know about that Kindle camp!
Two separate friends recommended the EE book, and I’m so grateful they did. Thanks for being here today, Barbara!
What? I’d love that clamp! Going to check it out as soon as I hit “send” here. 🙂 Thanks, Kristin. Sounds like a game-changer.
Hope you love it too! I was so happy Greg discovered it and surprised me with it! Thanks for being here, Lisa!
That Kindle hook looks really cool. And I will for sure have to check out Elizabeth Elliott’s book!
I’m glad you got some ideas here today, Tara! Thanks for being here.
Oh, I’m loving all of the birds that sing and chatter and tweet all day long now that spring has arrived :). My ‘pets’ (aka hummingbirds) keep things lively at the feeders and give constant reminders of God’s creativity and care.
We’ve been watching the turkeys on our land, and I’m excited to see the babies soon. Their little heads bob up and down among the grass. And they’re all wild turkeys, so I don’t have to take care of them! 🙂 Thanks for being here, Anita!