I recently started teaching Sunday School again and the lesson last month was on the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11. After all I’ve been learning about faithful Bible reading, I knew better than to assume that I understood why the Biblical authors and compilers included that story! I found helpful information in this book by Old Testament scholar, John Walton: “The Bible Story Handbook: A Resource for Teaching 175 Stories from the Bible” (I got the Kindle version...
It’s been a long time since I wrote a “All Good Things” post, but today I’m reviving it! I have gotten back into the swing of reading and I thought I’d share a few books I’ve read recently and what you might learn from them. Everything Sad is Untrue: (A True Story) by Daniel Nayeri* This is the best creative non-fiction I’ve read in such a long time. It’s a hard book to describe because it’s so good for...
Hello and welcome to my “all good things” post for March where I share some of the good things I’ve come across this month. WORKING ON I’m working on a fruit of the Spirit printable Bible verse set! Several of you have asked for this set over the years and I’m finally doing it. I’ve been googling fruits of the Middle East and researching Scriptures to go with each fruit of the Spirit. I may even include a sketch...
I was talking with a friend yesterday who is walking through some very hard things. I said, “I’ve always wondered how people survived things like pandemics and wars and, well, I guess now we know. You just keep living one day at a time.” Here are some pictures from January and February of living life in the middle of the hard. I hope they bring some joy! Sometimes we like the snow; sometimes we don’t. My son created this...
Well hello there to you and a new year! Because I was quite absent here on the blog in the blur of work and school activities, I wanted to do a recap of the end of last year. Just in time for the big Omicron surge, my whole family was able to get vaccinated (and I boosted), for which we are very grateful. We started reading through the Narnia books with the kids. I had the opportunity to display...
Hello friends! Yesterday was the last day of school for my kids are we are . . . ahem . . . adjusting. I typically take the summer off regular blogging and creating to focus on time with the kids. Our summer plans this year include summer school, pool trips, working on a mural for the kids’ elementary school, and preparing for a September artisan festival in town hosted by another local church. The shop will remain open and...
Hello friends! This past month has been a whirlwind of adjustments for our family. All my children are now back in in-person school four days a week! My introverted and creative soul has been revived by the wonderfully quiet hours between 9:30 and 1:30. Two weeks ago, I was at a vaccine clinic at our local university’s basketball stadium getting my second dose of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine (for which I’m so grateful!) . After waiting the requested 15...
Hello and happy April . . . and Holy Week! I have a bunch of happy plant babies growing in my dining room and all kinds of plants waking up in the yard. It’s always a joy to see them faithfully returning each year. My two back-to-in-person-school kids are doing well and adjusting to the new routine. I have even had some mental space to start sketching on the iPad for new coloring pages and cards sets. I’ve been...