Links, reading, and other things I love – August 2015
AROUND THE WEB
- 4 kinds of introverts
If you’re an introvert, try this quiz. Which are you—social, thinking, anxious, or restrained? I scored as a social introvert. - If there’s a slippery slope, then Jesus may be leading us down it by Ed Cyzewski
Why we need to let go of our fear of the unknown. - What your body knows about God
An interview with author Rob Moll. “Our spiritual lives–especially when we engage Scripture, worship, and prayer with all of our attention–will literally transform our brains.” - The rise of women and the manhood crisis by Carolyn Custis James
Are men and women locked in a zero-sum game? No. - Goodbye good girl by Erin Davis
Because there are no good girls.
ON READING
- Read a classic together
Grab a copy of the modern classic Knowing God by J. I. Packer. Beginning August 20, read a couple short chapters each week, then share or just read comments on Tim Challies’ blog. It’s been a long while since I’ve read this book; I’m looking forward to it. - Books I recommend
I loved reading these in July.
- Stop binge-watching and start binge-reading
I don’t do either. But this is interesting about reading faster. - 4 non-fiction summer reads
I’ve read none of these but I want to. I trust Jennifer’s recommendations. - Which books have you abandoned?
Why do we abandon books? The top 5 most abandoned are: Catch-22, Lord of the Rings, Ulysses, Moby-Dick, and Atlas Shrugged. I’ve abandoned 2 of these myself! (Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged)
- In my daily Bible reading, I just finished Jeremiah 31 in the Old Testament and Acts 25 in the New Testament.
- My current Goodreads list is here.
THINGS I LOVE
- Amy’s Useletters
Great 5 or 6 tips appear every Saturday in my inbox from Amy Andrews on things blog-related, social media, etc. There is always something I click on and use. - Uncle Ellis turns 80
So far, Jeff’s Uncle Ellis has employed Jeff as a teenager to cut his grass, married us in 1992 in Killen, buried our baby in late 1993, and talked theology and life with us for years since. We got to surprise him last week with family at Trowbridges, a long-standing ice cream and sandwich shop in Florence. Such fun!
- Ahhhing and Laughing
Jenna and I have a standing date each week to be amazed at So You Think You Can Dance routines. And Jeff and I watch Last Comic Standing each week to laugh with the newest funny comedians. - Podcasts
I’m a huge podcast fan (a fave this week is #562, This American Life, “The Problem We All Live With”).
So these statistics on podcasts from Copyblogger don’t surprise me. (Via the Infinite Dial 2015 study from Edison Research and Triton Digital)
* 17% of Americans have listened to a podcast in the last month (that’s 36 million people just in the U.S.A.) — a number that keeps growing.
* 10% of Americans have listened to a podcast in the last week — and of this group, the average person listens to six podcast episodes per week. - Loved spending Friday night at Morgan’s this past weekend.
And most of Saturday together, too. My daughters are fun to be with.
- So we could go to our 2nd Auburn graduation of the summer.
Congratulations, Trey!
- I made my first 1 Second Video!
It’s one second from each day in July. Once I figured out how to use the app to smash the seconds together, it was quite easy.
[Click here if you can’t see the video]
ON THE BLOG
- 2 reviews of books I loved:
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
Unoffendable
- Find the weird one
Seek out someone different from you. - Do something small
Everybody can do something. What will you do this week?
LOOKING FORWARD TO
- Meeting the little Kindergarten students in Jenna’s first-ever class!
We had fun getting her room ready.
- A trip to the beach before summer is over? Hopefully one is coming soon.
- Finally getting to meet my newest great-nephew Wallace in person in a few days when he comes into town for a visit with Whitney.
- Listening to the How Can It Be album over and over.
Lauren Daigel has quickly become one of my favorite artists.
The song I have on repeat is track 8, “O’Lord.” “I will stand my ground where hope can be found!”
* * *
What are you into in August? Please share in the comments.
Linking at Leigh Kramer’s
Previous Links
- Everybody can do something. What will you do this week?
- If you don’t see God at work, maybe you’re not looking
What a lovely buffet here today, Lisa! Cool video … and I’ll be back to check out that introvert quizzy!
Hope your week is bringing you a joyful satisfaction …
Would love to hear what you score on the quiz, Linda. Are you an introvert? I’d guess you to be an extravert! 🙂
I am also a Social Introvert! That’s no surprise really, but it was fun taking the quiz. Oh my! Congratulations to Jenna on this first teaching job! She will do amazing! It seems like it was just yesterday that she started at Auburn! Thank you for the recommendation of True Community. I need to pick that one up. Love your one second video!
Have a great remainder of the week, Lisa.
I’m not surprised either that you’re a Social Introvert, Dianna. 🙂 Yes, it seems like Jenna’s time at Auburn just flew by. She did graduate in 3 years, so it was a little faster than normal but it seems even quicker than that. Hope you’re having a wonderful week yourself.
Lots of interesting reading here! I scored as a social introvert, too, but reading the descriptions, I find myself in all of them to some degree.
I usually try to push through books even if I am not enjoying them at first unless they’re immoral or there are lots of bad words. I keep thinking it is going to redeem itself at some point. I can’t even get started in Atlas Shrugged because I’ve never yet found a description of it that interested me. I did enjoy LOTR even though it’s long and a bit tedious in places. I’ve set aside One Day in the Life of One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich for now because it had 3 occurrences of the F word in the first 11 minutes. I know one would hear such things and worse in a Soviet prison camp, so it is realistic, but I just don’t know if I want to fill me mind with it. If I read too much of that kind of thing, those words pop up in my head too often.
I have never read Knowing God and was just thinking I should when I saw Challies was going to start it for his classic reading on his blog, so it seemed like a good time. I don’t know if I will post weekly on it, either, but I’ll enjoy his take along the way, and yours if you post on it. 🙂
I don’t think I have ever listened to a podcast. I usually listen to audiobooks when I have listening time.
Wow, Jenna’s had such a busy summer with an out-of-country mission trip plus getting ready for her first classroom.
The 1 second video is a fun concept!
I relate to your struggle with books. I always want to push through a few more pages, a few more pages, just to make sure that it’s not suddenly going to get better. ha. (It rarely has.) With Atlas Shrugged, I really read deeper into it than necessary looking for interest, but I could never connect with a single character. I kept thinking, “I don’t care” about anything or anybody in the book. So I finally gave up.
I’m glad you’ll be reading Knowing God too. Even if neither of us writes about it, it’s still nice to know someone else is reading along that I “know.” 🙂
If you like audiobooks, you would probably love podcasts too. They are addictive though; I’ll warn you.
Yes, Jenna’s summer has been a super busy one. And once she got home, it’s made mine super busy too. ha. But now that she’s officially in school every day, I hope to get back into my normal routine again too.
Very very cool collection:)! Thanks for sharing! My favorite is “DO SOMETHING”, What a great reminder! Thanks, Have a wonderful day:)
Thanks, Bomi. It’s fun collecting the links and things to share. Hope you have a blessed day yourself!
You. make. me. tired. Not much has changed since last month due to my schedule. my listening has changed somewhat but I don’t expect most to like it. Theocracy. Harmony. Signum Regis. Stryper. Darkwater. Tommy James (always has been my favorite).
Everybody has their favorites. 🙂 You have an eclectic set there. Enjoy!
So much information here, Lisa. 🙂 I love the pic of you and your daughters. Three beautiful women. 🙂 I took the introvert quiz and was actually surprised that it said I’m a social introvert. I thought I’d be an anxious or restrained one. 🙂
It’s funny that so far every one of us here has results of Social Introverts! Maybe that’s a blogger thing. 🙂 I’ll have to get my extroverted husband to take it and see what it says. ha.
What a wonderful collection – I’ll be keeping this on the desktop for revisits. Took the introversion test, and am a social introvert.
I didn’t really abandon “Atlas Shrugged” – I threw it as hard as I could through an open window.
August should be pretty much like every other month – trying to stay focused and alive, and choosing both reading and viewing that help keep up my morale.
For what it may be worth, here are two of my musical ‘themes’ for the month –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDuQp_AfVJk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDuQp_AfVJk
Read what keeps up your morale—yes, that is great advice not only for yourself to follow, but for the rest of us, too. I listened to both of your youtube links–inspiring music to keep on in the background and worthy enough to pay full attention to as well. Thanks for sharing those links, Andrew.
Looks like the second bit of music didn’t get linked – here it is, the third movement of Hanson’s 2nd Symphony (‘Romantic’). It has one of the few successful musical ‘big endings’ I’ve heard.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHE8e3IKz3g
Wow… Jenna’s teaching school… Man oh man… Where has the time gone?
The entire blog was a smash! Uncle Ellis looks young for his age. I decided I’d better not try to read any of those most popular abandoned classics… the old ADD and all. Then when I tried to take the introvert test I realized that I must be the ADD kind… couldn’t get through it… That explains the really bad grades in school. I realized how much you can see and the mind deduce in seconds. Touched by the picture of you and your girls… but blown away your baby is all grown up.
Congrats to you and Jeff! God, you, and Jeff did a great job…
Weird. I’ve been around so long I kinda feel like part of the family…
Thanks, Floyd. Time is definitely moving at warp speed, yes? I know you know that too, having seen one of your baby girls get married not long ago. I know it’s as it should be, but it’s still sobering when we sit back and see all the changes in our families. We’ve been following along with each other’s lives for awhile now! Good stuff.