Working at Working Out

I was the kid picked last for kickball. My one and only year of softball was a total failure, since I was scared of the ball. I tried team sports in junior high, and was not good. At all. 

Even so, I enjoy working out. Or, more accurately, I enjoy the way working out makes me feel. And I like to eat food with carbs and sugar. So I work out.

When my girls were younger, I realized that going somewhere to workout would cost me more time and money than working out at home. So I bought videos and weights. We even bought an exercise bike. 

We recently decided that an elliptical machine would be better for working out than the old exercise bike. It was delivered today, and Paul put it together! If I'm sore tomorrow, I'll know why!

So my glimpse of grace today is a way become healthier. (And eat more carbs!)

Freedom to Speak

Since today is a day of rest, I will keep this one short. 

I am so glad today to have daughters that share what's going on in their hearts and minds with me. I know that not all daughters feel comfortable sharing with their moms, so I do not ever want to take that for granted. I had a great conversation with one of my girls about how to deal with people with differing convictions. I am so glad she feels I am a safe place to work out these difficult issues.

Fall and Football

For many people, fall means football and cool weather. While we on the Gulf Coast have certainly been enjoying some football, summer has been hanging on tightly. Today fall paid us a little visit. I know it won't stay permanently yet, but I am sure enjoying it while it is here.

Even after a late start to my day, I was able to go running. And then I brought my Bible and my Seamless Bible study book outside for my time with God. I feel a little closer to God when I spend time in the Word in the midst of God's creation (even if it's a suburban neighborhood).

And to top it off, Baylor won a decisive victory over Tech. And while watching my alma mater win a game may not be in the same category as the beauty of the changing seasons, it was still a lot of fun. Sic 'em Bears!

Road Trip!

Of course, the day after I begin a blog series about seeing grace and beauty in the dailiness of life, I get an extraordinary day!

Yesterday Paul and I took 3 of our girls to a concert in Houston. The day was filled with fun and glimpses of God. 

*Stopping at Buc-ees, the Disney World of convenience stores. The store is huge and clean with friendly staff and the cleanest public bathrooms I've ever seen! And they have yummy but pricey snacks! And they both have rodents as mascots!

*Finding an amazing dancewear store, where two of my dancers had the best point shoe fitting ever. 

*Sometimes memories will be more fun as stories than they were when we experienced them. We discovered The Worst Walmart We've Ever Seen last night. After the concert we decided to replenish our stock of Blue Bell and get a cold snack to soothe our throats. (The Great Blue Bell Famine of 2015 hit our household hard!) We even brought a cooler to be filled with the yummy goodness that is Homemade Vanilla. We found a single half gallon of ice cream. And a line that would have taken at least 15 minutes. (At 12:30!! A.M.!!) After discovering the McDonald's in the Walmart had no ice cream, a closed convenience store, and a second McDonald's with a long wait, Buc-ees came to the rescue! We found pints of Blue Bell!!

The highlight of the day, however, was Toby Mac!

He raised the banner of Jesus high with a concert filled with worship, fun, showmanship, and funkiness!

We worshiped. We danced. We had a great time! I'm so glad Jesus is fun!

Everyday Grace: Taking the Time to Notice

Welcome to 31 Days of Everyday Grace. Please scroll down to view the post from Day 1.

Day 2: Road Trip

Day 3: Fall and Football

Day 4: Freedom to Speak

Day 5: Working at Working Out

Day 6: Delayed Date Night

Day 7: Reading Is Fundamental

Day 8: Donation Day

Day 9: TGIF

Day 10: Lessons from an Unusual Play

Day 11: Playing with Fire

Day 12: A Great Deal

Day 13: Houston Means That I'm One Step Closer to Great Tex-Mex (and Blue Bell)

Day 14: Girls' Night Out

Day 15: A Winning Game

Day 16: Saturdays Are For Relaxing

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Day 17: Simple Joys

Day 18: Dinnertime

Day 19: Valley Days

Day 20: Witty Banter Must Cost Extra

Day 21: Waffles and a Movie

Day 22: Saturday Night Worship

Day 23: Sunday Afternoon Nap

Day 24: A Story Worth Watching

Day 25: Cattitude 

Day 26: Pinterest for the Win

Day 27: More Waffling

Day 28: Great Pumpkins

Day 29: The Rain Rain Rain Came Down Down Down

When the weather is cool enough for a morning walk/run, I like to run/walk down this long sidewalk near our home. I like not having to worry about traffic, and Callie is free to smell all the smells. Part of the sidewalk borders fields, a wooded area fringes the rest. From a distance the trees and plants all look varying shades of green.

But as I passed by the greenery, I noticed colors I never saw from a distance. White flowers bloom near the sidewalk.

Clusters of red berries adorn the green leaves.

Yellow flowers bestow their pollen on the world.

My life so often looks like that monotonous row of trees I pass on cool mornings. In my car, I would never notice anything but green. But when I pass by on foot, I am able to see the colorful details that add so much beauty and interest to the scene. My days so often look the same, one big swath of ordinary. And if I pass by too quickly or don't take time to notice, I will miss the loveliness that is already there. 

This month, I want to document to lovely and interesting bits of my days that I so often overlook. I want to see the everyday grace that God bestows upon me.

You Don't Have to Be in School to Learn in September

September has flown by.  Having such a late Labor Day made the month seem about a week shorter. But it was still plenty of time to learn new things. Here are some of the things September has taught me:

1.  I still don't like my hair unless I flat iron it. We spent Labor Day weekend at the beach, so I just let my hair air dry (after using some of Hannah's mousse for curly hair). It still curled funny and was frizzy. And I didn't like the way my head felt! My love for the flat iron was proven once again.

2.  Blindspot lived up to my expectations. The first two episodes have been gripping and intriguing. It may become my new favorite!

3.  I love my new FitBit. The external motivation of seeing how many steps I take makes me walk more. (No more trying to bring in all the groceries in the house in one trips because more trips = MORE STEPS!) I even started tracking my food, which is helping me make better decisions about what I eat.  

4.  Simply Tuesday is beautiful and amazing and true. I'm only on chapter 4, because I am savoring it. It feels restful and lovely when I read it.

5. I like whole wheat hamburger buns.  I've been eating whole wheat bread since college, but the time or two I had tried whole wheat buns, I was not a fan. I don't know if my tastes changed or I found a better tasting brand of buns, but I like them now.

6. For the Love by Jen Hatmaker is fun and funny and simply a great read!

7. Some people bring cats on leashes to the pet store.

Excuse the picture quality, but I was trying to sneak a picture when I was returning my cart. 

School May Be Out, but the Learning Doesn't Stop

June flew by this year! I can't believe 2015 is halfway over! I began the month at High School Camp with Hannah and Rebecca, and later in the month, each of them flew on an airplane for the first time.  Abigail & Elisabeth went to camp without me for the first time and had a great time. 

With so many new experiences, I have learned many things this month. Here are a few of them:

1.  Suitcase manufacturers and airlines measure luggage differently.  I am I did not learn this lesson the hard (meaning expensive!) way, but figured it out via the internet. Luggage makers measure only the body of the luggage, but airlines include wheels and handles. I'm really glad I knew this before buying new luggage for our travels this summer.

2.  Dove Chocolate Covered Blueberries are delicious. And I can convince myself that eating chocolate is healthy! Win/win!

3.  An introverted child will blossom when she is in an environment full of people who share her interests and passions. I sent Rebecca to the One Year Adventure Novel Summer Workshop, and she had such a fabulous time that sometimes she didn't even call home because she was spending time with her new friends. I so enjoyed hearing her tell me of her incredible adventures (which included her first flight, accompanied only by a friend of hers.)

4.  The Crowder Neon Steeple concert is as good the fourth time as it is the first. (Maybe even better because we were only a few rows back.) It was super fun for our church to host Crowder, and I also learned how to take tickets using an app on my phone.

5.  Abigail & Elisabeth love emojis! We gave them access to Hannah's old phone for camp, and they had the most fun sending me emojis (and asking for pictures of our cats!).  

**I tried to insert some emojis, but Blogger can't do that. :( 

6.  I have really missed doing in-depth workbook Bible studies. After a couple of seasons of doing different kinds of Bible studies, I am doing Kelly Minter's What Love Is study this summer and am so enjoying studying the Word this way again.