Farewell, Blogger

I've made the switch. I'm over on wordpress now. No hard feelings. It has been a blast, Blogger. Thanks for all the memories.

Here is a soothing video to ease your transition.

Lip Balm Recipe

2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp beeswax
1 small elbow macaroni sized squirt of lanolin
5 or so drops of peppermint oil

Microwave together all of the ingredients except peppermint, until melted.
Swirl.
Add peppermint.
If desired, pour into separate, smaller containers.
Cool in fridge.

Brainstorming a Scripture calendar

January...making all things new
February...Joel 2
March...Luke 24
April...Deuteronomy 32:2-3
May...Song of Solomon 2:11-12
June...
July...
August...
September...
October...
November...
December...Luke 2

Words that keep coming back

2014: mercy
2015: kindness, patience (just wait)

Beyond The Wilds

From the Silo book series by Hugh Howey....isn't Beyond the Wilds a great name for a place to call home?

I'm going through notes on my phone and publishing the ones I want to remember, if you're just tuning in. Of course I will email myself the ones I want to remember yet also keep private. Even if there is just a very small readership of this blog, I would like to keep the lists of passwords, library card numbers, and 20+ favorite baby names to myself, thank you very much! ;)

Book titles that have been recommended, an ongoing list

I add to and subtract from this list frequently.

Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible, E. Randolph Richards & Brandon J. O'Brien

World War Z (zee)

The Gospel and the Catholic Church, Michael Ramsey

David Bentley Hart's Beauty of the Infinite

Christ in the chaos, by Kim Crandall 

Sex, Economy, Freedom, and Community, by Wendell Berry

The Hidden Art of Homemaking by Edith Schaeffer

Crossing the Tiber, by Stephen Ray 

Reaching Out: The Three Movements of the Spiritual Life, Nouwen

Angry conversations with God, Isaacs

This list: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2013/march/my-top-5-books-on-creativity.html

The New Monasticism by Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove

The true story of hansel and gretel: a novel of war and survival

Supper of the Lamb, Fr Robert Capon

Urban Sprawl and Public Health: Designing, Planning, and Building for Healthy Communities by Howard Frumkin

The Art of Neighboring: Building Genuine Relationships Right Outside our Door 

Welcoming the Stranger: Justice, Compassion, & Truth in the Immigration Debate

The Rag and bone shop

The Circle by Dave Eggers

Tattoos on the Heart", by Father Greg Boyle

City of God: Faith in the streets, Sara Miles

When helping hurts

Gary Haugen's #LocustEffect 

Luther's A Simple Way To Pray

Kisses from Katie

A Soldier of the Great War

Saving the appearances: a study in idolatry, by Owen barfield.

24/6, by Matthew Sleeth

R.U.R, by Karel Capek

Evangelical vs liturgical? Defying a dichotomy 

Christopher J.H. Wright’s The Mission of God’s People

Words of Life, by Timothy Ward

Etched in Sand (memoir)

Forgive Us, Rah (and others)

Megan McArdle, The Up Side of Down: Why Failing Well Is the Key to Success (Viking, 2014)

The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien

​The Complete Stories, Flanner O’Connor

Gilead, Marilynne Robinson

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou

The Chosen, Chaim Potok

Absalom, Absalom, William Faulkner

The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne

True Paradox, David Skeel

Slow Church: Cultivating Community in the Patient Way of Jesus, by John Pattison and C. Christopher Smith

All the Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr

The Adventures of Augie March is a 1953 novel by Nobel winner Saul Bellow.

http://www.relevantmagazine.com/culture/books/12-books-were-excited-about-year

Robert Sokolowski's *The God of Faith and Reason* 

I'll give you the sun, by Jandy Nelson

Home Economics, Wendell Berry

The creativity cure: building happiness with your own two hands, brown

The Magicians, Grossman

Alan Turing The Enigma, by Andrew Hodges

The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson

The Fisherman, by Chigozie Obioma

What are people for? By Wendell Berry 

Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission, by David J Bosch

Announcing the Kingdom: The Story of God's Mission in the Bible, by Charles E. Van Engen

Understanding Folk Religion: A Christian Response to Popular Beliefs and Practices, by Paul G. Hiebert

Partners in Marriage and Ministry, by Ron Pierce

A moveable feast: worship for the other six days, by Terry Timm

Fully Engaged: Missional Church in an Anabaptist Voice, edited by Stanley W. Green and James R. Krabill

Snow flower and the secret fan

Malestrom, by Carolyn Custis James

Finding Livelihood: A progress of work and leisure, by Nancy Nordenson

Unapologetic: why, despite everything, Christianity can make surprising emotional sense, by Francis Spufford

Charles Martin water from my heart

Sky Lantern, by Matt Mikolatos

Accidental Saints, by Nadia Bolz-Weber

Rebecca West's Black Lamb and Grey Falcon

The Brain: The Story of You by David Eagleman.

The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country, by Helen Russell

The book of forgiving: the fourfold pattern for healing ourselves and our world, by Desmond Tutu and Mpho Tutu

Christmas Present Ideas

I have a ton of notes I keep on my phone. Mostly ideas or things I would like to remember. I am trying to clear off as much of my phone as possible, to see if it will run less like a 90-year-old. It's nearly 4 years old, which is about 90 in phone years, so this is to be expected. Anyway, many of the notes could just be deleted...but some I would like to remember. So expect an increase in posts in the next coupla days. Probably.

For example, this. Here are some family Christmas present tradition ideas. We did this last Christmas, and I hope to continue the tradition. I am on an anti-too-much-stuff kick, so having categories keeps gift-giving meaningful, yet under control.

Each kid has their presents wrapped in their own different wrapping paper; in order to find out which presents are theirs, they will find a small stocking stuffer wrapped in their paper in their stocking.

Each person gets a present that is or represents:
an indoor activity (puzzles, books, games, tickets to an indoor experience, etc)
an outdoor activity (bikes, sleds, sporting/camping equipment, tickets to an outdoor experience, etc)
a delightful surprise (just how it sounds)
Stocking stuffer (something small in size...and a clementine...and other treats)
and of course, Christmas Eve jammies!

Do you have any Christmas present traditions in your family?