Hello Friends, it’s February!
First, a Poll:
Christmas is over and the remnants of decorations are gone (except for you, yes YOU, procrastinator! Ok, I do need to get the lights off of my porch. But I’m not plugging them in any longer.)
New Year’s Resolutions have now bitten the dust and you are already over the guilt of that. (John, the gym will let you pay for the rest of your life whether you go or not. Now get with it.)
Winter is here. In North Louisiana, we had a few warm days and I thought maybe… but no. The reality has set in - it’s going to be cold and wet for a while yet. My sympathy to the plants that started blooming out in false hope that Spring had arrived.
And it’s FEBRUARY ALREADY. I mean, February means that January has already done its 2023 gig. You’ve already passed up 1/12th of the year and what did you do with it? Stop lollygagging and make some progress and do something important. For heaven’s sake, do you think when March comes you’re going to feel any different? (Who needs a life coach, I’ve got that inner voice after me all the time!)
February is Black History Month, Groundhog Day, Presidents Day, Valentine’s Day, and national half-priced chocolate day. It’s my favorite grandson’s birthday this month. Joshua will be 16. So there’s a lot going on in February.
So February is when reality sets in. It really is 2023 (you can stop writing 2022 now, surely). At my age, it’s going to be 2024 next week. How’s your year been so far?
A couple of thoughts for this new-ish year:
In my quest to read 12 classics this year I’m doing good. I read Dracula by Bram Stoker in January (fantastic!) and now I’m reading H. G. Wells’ The Invisible Man. It is a gripping story, for sure! Not sure yet what I’ll read in March, but I have 30 minutes to decide (February is really short.) Do you have a suggestion?
If you are someone who struggles in prayer, get Pete Grieg’s How To Pray: A Simple Guide for Normal People. I am loving something on every page. Have you read a book about prayer that was helpful?
Today I received my new Legacy Standard Bible. This is the update of the New American Standard Bible. I have never enjoyed reading that translation (no offense!), but they have smoothed it out and made some interesting translation choices in the LSB. I really do enjoy new and updated translations of the Bible and this one is excellent so far. I will do a full review at some point. If you use YouVersion or Bible Gateway, it is available there. What’s your favorite Bible translation?
My friend Dr. Bob Turner’s new book released today. Zone Leader: 7 Tactics for Leading in the Zones. Bob is brilliant and a such a passionate leader. It’s my blessing to call him a friend and someone I’ve leaned on when I couldn’t see the path ahead. I look forward to reading his book.
My favorite moment this year so far was helping my friends Jonathan and Hannah make some next steps in their faith journey when they were baptized.
Anyone else watch Lockwood & Co. on Netflix? We enjoyed that and hope they make another season. It’s kind of like if Harry Potter and Ghostbusters had a baby. What are you watching?
Our church is renovating about half the building, so we are constricted and unable to have classes. But our worship times have been enhanced by the presence of new faces and friends, so we thank God for this. We’ll have to wade through this for the next few months.
Well, I better call a halt to this or it’ll be April. (Yes, that joke has run its course. I’m sorry.) I have a devotional lined up for Monday morning on Hope Remains. I hope you enjoy it. As always, I’ll share a few links on my way out the door. Have a great weekend, friends.
Linkage
Do you feel like you have to finish every book you start? Joel J. Miller ruminates on this and more: When Your TBR is LOL, Try DNF!
The Woman With the Hemmorhage - Jenny DuBay’s striking reflections on this amazing story.
Wade Hodges reflects on turning 50 and accumulates 50 Nuggets of Wisdom for my 50th Birthday! I found several that helped me redirect my thoughts on a few things.
Must check out the LSB - I tend to rock with a hot five or six translations in YouVersion and love the “Compare” function where you can select a verse or passage and show it side my side in different translations. I’ve been enjoying the depth of AMP and the emotion of TPT in my reading.
I’m with you. And the AMP is sooo rich. I love it (especially the classic edition). Thanks!