Porch #93 * I Think Our Families Need Our Prayers

 THE PORCH
A CHRIST-CENTERED
WEEKEND NEWSLETTER
*
gentle conversation & calming snapshots
uplifting linkage & occasional surprises
for those who delight in doing life
in the company of kindred spirits

Happy end of May to you and yours!

I hear that 42 million Americans are planning to travel 50 miles or more this weekend.  If that's you, I hope you're safe and sound, surrounded by ones you love, and that this respite will recharge your batteries and give you fresh perspective.

And ready you for the madness that we call the month of June.

I've been on a bit of a digital cleanout in recent weeks.  I've deleted thousands of emails, unsubscribed from all kinds of inbox chatter, and am in the final stretch of updating my email address on dozens and dozens of websites.

Tonight finds me sifting through posts from back in the day.  Here's a little something from 2015 and eight years later, I find it fascinating that every line continues to ring true.  I'm guessing you may be nodding your head in agreement.

So yes, I think know our families need our prayers.  Not our tiresome advice, worn-out opinions, or useless hand-wringing.  Just our faithful connection with the Lover of their souls on their behalf.

Thank You, Lord, for the movement of the seasons.

Always going forward.

  

I can't wait to see what You're going to do. 

I sit back with eyes wide open, faith strong and solid, 

 sometimes tinged with fear, those whiffs of anxiety coming to call.
Yet still ringed with joy.

  

For You are good, You answer prayer, 

You care about those I love and our endless neediness.

So, I give You this day, these last days of May, the unfolding future.

 I release my fears and concerns and all those I love into Your keeping.

For, if it is possible, You love them even more than I, 

and You have all power to affect change in their lives,

 to give wisdom and courage and direction,
to bring healing in all the ways that matter. 

You understand the need for hope and faith multiplied.

Where would we go without Jesus?
Who would we be without You, Lord?

These questions have no imaginable answers.

None.

May these final days of May fill you with a sweet kind of anticipation.  May you know boundless peace in uncertainty, a higher love without limits, and more sunny days than you dreamed possible.

Meanwhile, how can we pray for your family?  Please feel free to share your requests ... with no names or specific details.

Linda

*

4 Quirky Somethings + Bonus Read might have gotten lost in the shuffle this week.

subscribe here to get the PORCH weekend newsletter + occasional essays + the monthly BOOKBAG.  All FREE, straight to your inbox, cancel any time 

Paula & Jeanne & Donna & Richella & Lisa - thank you

4 Quirky Somethings + Bonus Read

Hey, all you May lovers!

I don't know about you, but more often than not, life ends up feeling oh so random and weirdly unplanned.  Wonky and unpredictable and a whole lot of quirky.  Kinda like this month's 4 Somethings.  No rhyme, no reason, no hidden theme, no carefully crafted summary of a lovely, sunshiny month. 

But we do have sneakers and lace.  Boundaries.  A to-do list that's breathtakingly simple.  A whole lot of lemons.  And a bonus read.  

Just because we can.

🍋

something loved 

🍋

something read
'If we don't know who we are, we will constantly be manipulated into who others want us to be or become enmeshed in the needs of other people.  

When we know who we are, we are whole and available to love, serve, and give to others from that fullness. 

 If we don't know who we are, then we will love, serve, and give, hoping people will fill our empty places and make us feel whole.  

And in doing so, we will always be defined by how well or how poorly someone else makes us feel.'
Good Boundaries and Goodbyes:
Loving Others Without
Losing the Best of Who You Are
Lysa Terkeurst

🍋

something learned 

create your very own
ENOUGH LIST

🍋

something eaten

squeezed or zested

lovely tart lemons give 

every dish a very unique zing

*

cinnamon coffee cake
roasted veggies

lemon pasta
scones

barbeque sauce

muffins

anything fish-y
lemon bars
iced juices, tea, soda
lemonade (of course)

🍋

BONUS READ: When Life Hands You Lemons
Linda

*  SUBSCRIBE HERE to get the PORCH weekend newsletter + occasional essays + the monthly BOOKBAG.  All FREE, straight to your inbox, cancel any time.

*  Thanks for supporting my work!  Simply click an Amazon link on any post & then shop 'til you drop.  That's it!  A few cents go into my pocket at no extra cost to you ever.

*  Jennifer & Paula & Jeanne & Donna & Richella & Lisa - faithful blog hostesses.

*  Birdhouses by Kamen Atanassov on Unsplash

Porch #92 * On Cultivating Stillness

 THE PORCH
A CHRIST-CENTERED
WEEKEND NEWSLETTER
*
gentle conversation & calming snapshots
uplifting linkage & occasional surprises
for those who delight in doing life
in the company of kindred spirits

*

Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.

Psalm 46:10

And He arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still.  And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

Mark 4:39

Be still my soul

I know You're here

This quiet place

You're drawing near

Speak to my unrest

Lord I lay it at Your feet

Recall Your promises

In the shadow of Your wings

(the autumn)

watch video

Cultivating a quiet soul doesn't come easy.  It is easier to stay in the whirlwind of striving, drama, and expectations that have come to define who we are.

It often takes a crisis in a relationship, our circumstances, or our health to serve as a wake up call.  

Cultivating stillness is not a one and done.  It's a series of ongoing choices.  It requires the removal of our fear of missing out, our obsession with fixing others, our insatiable desire to be heard.  Anything and everything that pushes away the still small voice that is His.

As we invite the Spirit to do His pruning, we wince and squirm and long for the busyness and distractions that held us hostage along the way.  But in purposefully allowing Him to still our hearts and minds, there is great reward.  

Our work, our worship, our witness, our way of life become clarified.  More focused and meaningful, productive and peaceful.  

Space opens up for our grieving.  For comprehending what truly matters.  And our capacity for joy expands.  We are refined.  Energized.

I'm curious to hear what you've removed so you are better able to hear the Savior's voice and the steps you've taken to cultivate that innermost stillness that comes only from Him.  I'm still in learning mode.  Let's talk.

Linda

*

subscribe here to get the PORCH weekend newsletter + occasional essays + the monthly BOOKBAG.  All FREE, straight to your inbox, cancel any time

Paula & Jeanne & Donna & Richella & Lisa - thank you

Desert Island Fiction + Little Library Week + Nightstand Reads

For those of us who simply adore a stack of accumulated books on a table, who find comfort in curling up in a quiet corner with the heft of a volume in eager hands, who greedily inhale that musty fragrance of old favorites, who delight in sagging shelves filled and spilling over, who glory in slowly turning pages mint crisp or those with edges fragile and deckled with time ... well, this one's for you.

*
favorite fiction authors + my little library
must-see links + what's on your nightstand

Welcome to the May edition of THE BOOKBAG!

Last month we talked about our desert island bookshelves.  My list of must-haves ended up being all non-fiction so this month we're going for the fiction, the authors that you'd take along if you were stranded on a desert island.

I've got three.  The midnight oil burns when I'm wrapped up in their works.  Their genres are completely different yet their common thread is stellar character development.  

John Grisham with his top-notch legal thrillers, filled with twists and turns and wry, crisp story-telling

Jan Karon for her cozy, charming Mitford Series, comfort reading at its finest

Susan Meissner who introduced me to the world of richly captivating historical fiction

My reviews ...

John Grisham
A Time for Mercy

Camino Winds

The Whistler

Jan Karon
In Which I Find Comfort
in a Book Series

Susan Meissner
A Fall of Marigolds

Stars Over Sunset Boulevard

The Nature of Fragile Things

*

*

My husband hit it right out of the park when he designed and built this wonderful Log Cabin Road Library for our 47th anniversary.  We've been up and running for about a month and I've been having a ball ferreting out the best books and magazines to share.  The neighbors have been dropping by and seem just as happy about its debut as we are!

If you're on Cape Cod, please drop by, take a peek inside, and help yourself.  You'll spot our Eastham location on the Little Free Library Mobile App, nestled in a fledgling patch of wildflowers ... complete with a comfy Adirondack chair awaiting your bookish visit.

*

MUST-SEE LINKS

A Summer Reading Challenge for you and your kids with reading maps, grids, and trackers

How Oprah's Book Club Came to Be

Beacon Hill Books & Cafe

*

WHAT'S ON YOUR NIGHTSTAND?

NIV Study Bible

Rhythms - Practicing the Unforced Rhythms of Grace
First15

Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands Study Guide: How to Help Others Change
Paul David Tripp

New Morning Mercies: A Daily Gospel Devotional
Paul David Tripp

The Secret Book of Flora Lea
Patti Callahan Henry

Let's talk about your favorite fiction writers, your experience with little libraries, and what's on your nightstand right this very moment ...

Linda

*

subscribe here to get the PORCH weekend newsletter + occasional essays + the monthly BOOKBAG.  All FREE, straight to your inbox, cancel any time.

Anne & Paula & Jeanne & Donna & Richella & Lisa - thank you.

I appreciate all of you who support my work!  Simply click an Amazon link on any post & then shop 'til you drop.  That's it!  A few cents go into my pocket at no extra cost to you ever.

first photo by Sunsetoned from Pexels