End-of-June Musings

I was just telling my youngest son that summer doesn’t have the same feel as it did when the kids were young and in school. May was one of the busiest months with end-of-school-year programs, recitals, etc., so June was a welcome respite. Then summer’s more laid-back days were thoroughly enjoyed until near the end, when we decided we really did operate better with a little more structure to our days. But now, with no one in school, even with Jesse taking college classes online the last few years, there’s not that big sense of joy and relief when June comes.

Nevertheless, summer does mark a change of seasons, more time outdoors, lighter foods. Our June has more more temperate than usual so far, much to my delight.

And this month has been filled with mostly everyday activities: mowing (my dear husband), planting flowers (me), family get-togethers, reading. Oddly, I am on my second cold — or something — of the month, marked mainly by a sore throat.

One highlight of the month was Father’s Day.

My only card-making this month was for Father’s Day. This first one was for my step-father:

This was for Jim. I sometimes feel I am “cheating” a little bit when I use all stickers, but my laptop was having trouble connecting to my Cricut machine, and these all ‘fit” Jim. And they were 3-D, layered stickers, which seemed a little snazzier.

And this was for my son, Jason, from our generation encouraging the next :

During the month of June I’ve completed reading (each title is linked back to my review):

• How to Understand and Apply the New Testament by Andrew David Naselli. A great resource, though a bit technical in places.
• Promises to Keep by Ann Tatlock a novel set in the 1960s about a divorced mom fleeing an abusive husband making a new start. The older woman who used to own their home keeps escaping the nursing home and showing up, saying she had planned to stay there til she died. The family ends up “adopting” her.
• The Returning by Ann Tatlock. A husband and father coming home from prison seeks to reintegrate into his family and society.
• Close to Home by Deborah Raney. A family’s daughter-in-law has continued being close to the family after the death of their son. After five years, she starts thinking about dating but doesn’t want to lose her relationship with her in-laws.
• Home at Last by Deborah Raney, the last of her Chicory Inn series. The family’s only remaining son is interested in a biracial girl, but she might not be willing to navigate all that they would need to in order to have a relationship.
• Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. Not my favorite classic. 🙂
• The Other Alcott by Elise Hooper, a fictional treatment of Louisa May Alcott’s youngest artist sister, May. A bit of a disappointment.
• The Inheritance by Louisa May Alcott was her first novel, written when she was seventeen, but it was only recently discovered.
• The Little Women Treasury by Carolyn Strom Collins and Christina Wyss Eriksson, an excellent resource for Little Women fans.
• Buried Dreams, Planted Hope by Katie and Kevin Neufeld, a father-daughter team telling about navigating grief after Katie’s fiance is killed in an accident. Kevin was our former pastor when we lived in GA 20+ years ago.

I say “completed reading” because the first two were mostly read before this month and were just finished the first few days of June. I did get more reading in than usual, though, due to a couple of sick days and lack of much on TV in the evenings.

The Other Alcott, The Inheritance, and The Little Women Treasury were for Tarissa’s Louisa May Alcott Reading Challenge.

I’m currently reading:

• Loving People: How to Love and Be Loved by John Townsend
• Suffering Is Never for Nothing by Elisabeth Elliot with the True Woman Summer Book Club.
• The Mill on the Floss by George Elliot
• A Place Called Morning by Ann Tatlock
• Rorey’s Secret by Leisha Kelly

Around the blog, besides the book reviews, Friday’s Fave Fives, and Laudable Linkage, I’ve posted:

• While We Wait, thoughts from 1 Peter about how we can actively wait for Christ’s return.
• Studying the Parts to Understand the Whole. Though it might seem tedious to break down a Bible passage in pieces and study it, as opposed to just reading, we learn, retain, and love a passage so much more when we’ve dug into it more. With some examples from classical music.
• Bruised Reeds Are We All. God is so tender with us when we fall and fail, that should inspire us to be the same way with others.
• The Lost Art of Forbearance. What the Bible says about “bearing with” each other.

Thanks so much to those of you who graciously answered my question last month about the value of these end-of-month wrap-ups. I enjoy them, but didn’t want to keep posting them if no one else did. I was pleased and encouraged to know you did get something from them and didn’t think they were just rehashes of previous posts.

I hope you enjoyed your June and are ready to turn the calendar page tomorrow!

(Sharing with Shannan, and Linda, and Literary Musing Monday)