What I Learned in June

I’m joining up today with Emily, and many others, to recount what we learned in June.  It’s a fun practice that I enjoy each month.  Sometimes I have deep lessons to share, other times it’s just a mixture of some random thoughts.  But, I think they are all worth remembering.

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1. The blueberry plant is in the same family as the azalea.  I discovered this while researching the health benefits of blueberries, trying to justify my desire to eat an entire blueberry pie.  I ended up making this recipe and wouldn’t you know?  On the cover of my Bon Appetit magazine was a rustic blueberry pie!  This would make a great dessert for July 4th.

2. Roly poly bugs might look disgusting, especially when you see hundreds of them crawling around, but they are not harmless to humans.  They are land-living crustaceans, live in dark damp places and eat stink bug eggs.  In addition to these scientific facts, my girls enjoy catching roly polys and creating homes for them in our backyard.  A year ago, these same two girls screamed at the sight of any crawling thing.  While I’d rather not have roly polys in my house, or on my arms, I’m glad to see that they are becoming braver in this regard.

3. People who seem quiet, even perfect strangers,  will most likely open up to you when asked a simple question.  Four mornings a week I sit in two different waiting rooms while Mason (my son with Down syndrome) has therapy.  The same Moms and Dads are there each time.  Some come in and sit glued to their phones, and others are wrangling kids just like I am.  After a few weeks, I finally struck up conversation with different ones.  I’ve been amazed at how much of their lives they are willing to share just because I ask one question.  We’ve shared grocery tips, book recommendations, kid woes, life stories.  I’m rubbing shoulders with people who come from vastly different backgrounds and we’re living life together in a waiting room.  Our common bond?  We have a child with special needs.

4. We’ve lived away from Pennsylvania for eight years now, but summertime there is still one of my favorites.  I get nostalgic when I visit my in-laws, and I love driving down old roads where Bradley and I would go while we were dating, engaged, and then newly married.  I met my husband in PA during the summer, we dreamed of our lives together, and that place will always have a piece of my heart.

5. Reading a book before it’s actually published is a privilege that I thoroughly enjoy.  I’m currently reading Emily P. Freeman’s soon-to-be-released latest book Simply Tuesday, Small-Moment Living in a Fast-Moving World.  Friends, this is a book that I will read over and over again.  I’ll be sharing more as the release date approaches, but for now, I’ll just say that you need to read this book.  And I don’t say that flippantly.  Emily is challenging me to live small, but at the same time recognize that I’m living as part of God’s Kingdom–which is a big deal.  After each chapter I read I have found myself in deeper conversation with the Lord, searching my soul for what God is doing, and being changed.  Typically, I underline quotes in a book, but with this one I’m using it post-it notes.  I have used so many!  I can’t choose one favorite quote, but I’ll leave you with this one:

“…learning to live well in ordinary time isn’t a call to elevate moments; it’s a call to draw close to Christ.  What gives moments meaning is not the moments themselves but the presence of Christ with us in the midst of them.  To learn to live well in ordinary time is to keep company with Christ on our simple Tuesdays and remember how he delights in keeping company with us.”

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed me using the hashtag #itssimplytuesday
This is a community of others who are trying to see the ordinary as not so ordinary, knowing that God is with us in each moment.  Sometimes life is nothing but ‘ordinary’, but if I can see it as more than that, I can see Christ in a bigger way.  Join us there; I think you’ll be encouraged.

Happy July, friends!

What did you learn in June?