five finds friday (ankle boots, shaved ice, another great book)

We’re all doing the “school is almost over” happy dance this week at my house.

Isn’t it always surprising how many other tasks can get accomplished when you remove one large every day item from your schedule?

It’s been a happy week of slow mornings and wrapping up history lessons.  Of finishing our geography studies and tapering off any novels and other books we are reading.

The weather has been most cooperative and the mornings have felt like a true spring and a cup of tea on the deck in the cool of the morning is divine.

funny

I’ve probably already written about this show. You guys, I can hardly remember to set out the beef for meatball subs tomorrow night. I forget which day I have bought tickets to see a play. I write notes to myself to pay the electric bill and to take a walk outside.

How on earth can I recall every thing I write?

Anyway. The funniest show right now is “Single Parents”.

It is hysterically funny.  Get yourself 22 minutes and a bunch of chocolate covered almonds and go crazy.

fashionable

Although, at my age, I have embraced (for the most part) wearing what I want when I want, I still sometimes have my doubts about what is actually considered fashionable.

And, at those moments, I rely on other people to help me make my decisions.

Sometimes the people are my own two teenage daughters or my adult daughter.  Shoot, even my eleven year old has a pretty good fashion sense I wouldn’t mind imitating some days. But when they are not available – I outsource my requests.

And I text my stylish teenager neighbor or my friends and I ask, “Do grown ups wear ankle boots with dresses?”

They all assured me yes.

flavorful

Our favorite shaved ice guys opened a local store front.

Everyone has a favorite shaved ice guy – right?

Well, we have an entire favorite shaved ice family.

Nomadik Few was started maybe five years ago by two guys with long hair and dreads.  Two guys who graduated from college and wanted to know more about Jesus so they grabbed some basic camping supplies and sat out on a trail and stayed there TWO YEARS reading and re-reading the Bible.

We are ecstatic that our favorite team recently opened a TR location and we can’t stop singing their praises.

Peach rings. Mojito. Root beer float. Otto loves one called Happy Accident. (Way too many gummy features in that one for me.) I almost never stray from Snow White Wedding.  

If you’re local – or passing through – you’ve got to try their shaved ice.

faithful

I heard about this book recently.  

It’s so good.  It feels so true.  Like something I have known my entire life, but he just summed it up succinctly and memorably.

It’s a really simple idea. A really simple truth. (And – like lots of simple truths, its implications are far reaching.)

This idea – that you get to where you are going because of the direction you are headed – is a big idea.

We think we can just get something new when the old thing isn’t working like we wanted. A new job. A new marriage. A new friendship. A new house. A new vacation.

But we know (and we know and we know) that THIS is not true. Your new life doesn’t change things. You’re still the same. 

You are still the same.

In a new place.

In a new job.

In a new marriage.

That doesn’t change. You stay the same – in different circumstances.

That’s a mystery.

Except. It isn’t.

Wow. What an idea.

It’s about direction. It’s about sowing and reaping. Cause and effect.

The principle of the path.

The path you are on will always determine the destination you reach.

(Regardless of your “good” intentions.)

feels

I almost always just use the shuffle button on my phone to listen through all of my music.  I like being surprised by songs I liked five years ago.

This week the song “Faithfully Remain” by Ben Harper came on.

Look at these lyrics:

I learned to say
Goodbye, to say goodbye too young
I learned to duck from words
Like bullets from a gun
How long can you pray
How long can you pray
And still not see a change
I faithfully remain
I faithfully remain
Some things
Some things
You have to let be lost
Some battles, some battles
You have to leave unfought
Then the truth just wastes away
In all we dare not say
And in all we can’t explain
But I faithfully remain
I faithfully remain
Now I’m afraid
Once again
It has come to this
When it all goes dark
Nothing stays the same
Now I’m only what I missed
And my memories
They turn to tears
Oh they turn to fire, blood and pain
And I faithfully remain
I faithfully remain
And I faithfully remain
I faithfully remain
I faithfully remain

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