Things I Enjoy These Days #4

I recently started this class from The Bible Project, and love it so far. I’m about half way done with session 3. It’s free and self paced. It’s taught by Tim Mackie (he’s one of the co-founders of The Bible Project and a former pastor). I kept seeing The Bible Project pop up online a lot, and one day, while searching for self paced Bible classes, it popped up yet again. I’m sure I don’t agree with everything Tim Mackie believes and teaches, but so far his demeanor is humble, his love for the Lord and scripture are evident (he’s so excited about what he’s teaching), he’s a born again Christian, and his former church’s statement of faith is aligned with my beliefs. I’m a hands on learner and sitting silently through a lecture is not a good fit for me. I took A&P in college and struggled so much with the lecture class whereas the lab class was much easier because it’s hands on (although I barely passed either). I enjoy this class because even though it’s lecture style, the students can ask questions and I can pause the class to google things I don’t understand and write notes without missing anything. 

I began listening to this podcast over the weekend, and have loved it. I listened to 4 episodes in two days which is a record for me. In this episode Jessica talks a bit about growing up as both a pastor’s and missionary’s kid, being a pastor’s wife as an adult, having a life time of personal Bible reading, and having 3 various Bible degrees (including a Masters in Divinity). And yet she had never heard of many of the women in the Bible, and the ones she had heard of, were mostly viewed with a negative bias. I relate to this so much!! There have been times, in the past couple of years, when I’ve felt shamefully stupid for not seeing large chunks of the Bible for so many years, particularly regarding women of the Bible, and I’ve wondered if I’ve just had my brain turned off for my entire life. She gives some personal experiences for why she believes this happened, and I really enjoyed, and felt some relief in, hearing her perspective.

In this episode, she interviews author Ingrid Faro. Ingrid mentions a period of life where she stopped believing in God due to some hard circumstances in her life. But later, she began to study women in the Bible, and God’s view of them, and over time her faith was restored. It was very similar to my personal experience, and was wonderful for me to hear someone else speak of losing and regaining faith in God. 

Related side quest: One day recently, I bought a book called Redeeming Eden. I had never heard of the book or the author. I saw the word Eden in the title, while searching for a completely different book, and impulsively bought it because I love anything about the garden of Eden. The very next day I listened to this interview with Ingrid and cried quite a bit listening to her story. And then realized, she is the author of Redeeming Eden! This is no coincidence. God loves me, period. Even on the days I doubt it.

I love Quince for basic clothing, and occasionally save up and get one or two things from them. They almost always enter my favorites rotation. They aren’t inexpensive, but are more affordable for nicer quality items. This fall I bought three Quince sweaters that have been on my wishlist for two years. Here and here.

Why did I wait?!! They’re so comfortable! Nothing itchy to irritate me all day and no snug armholes which are the WORST. I’ve worn them over and over for the last couple weeks. 

Wearing my favorite Berry colored sweater.

Every day, Daphne takes the cats into our garage and plays by herself. Daphne, like me, needs some alone time to recharge. We can hear her in the house loudly singing her made up songs to the cats. She takes her tea set out there, and uses up our left over bottles of water from camping for pretend tea. She runs in every now and then to cry about a kitty scratch, then goes right back out to hold her beloved “titties” (that is all we call cats now, but we whisper it since we’re Christians). Anytime I go out to check on her, she hollers,”Ugh!! Mama!! Go way!!” as though she is 16 years old and on the phone with an unsanctioned boyfriend. We get such a kick out of her inner crotchety, old man self.

The Great British Bake Off has a new season up on Netflix, and I’m so excited. I hate to cook or bake, but I love this show. I swear, every time the bakers help each other, I tearfully say,”This is the Lord’s way,” haha! Uncharted, a Gordon Ramsey cooking show, is my other favorite cooking show. I don’t typically care for Ramsey’s shows because he’s always yelling at everyone. But Uncharted is different and feels a little more documentary style. It’s a Nat Geo production, and has incredible scenery. All the cooking is outdoors in various countries.

My best friend got engaged recently, at the Renaissance Faire while dressed in costumes. If that is not the nerdiest thing ever, I don’t know what is! These photos kill me every time I look at them. Hilarious! How are they so cute?!! I’ve happily looked at all the Lord of the Rings themed wedding dresses on earth, and have had a similarly themed Pinterest board made for years for such a time as this.

We went to Birds of Prey Northwest this weekend. Oh my gosh, guys!! We intended it to be for Luna’s bird watching book, and it was, but that experience was definitely for Aaron and I, too. 

Luna’s little drawings are so adorable.

It’s all outdoors, a little run down (they are funded thru donations and their own personal money), and has a very Idaho vibe. We saw around 20 eagles, falcons, hawks, and owls. Plus two corvids: A raven and a crow. The little Saw-Whet owl made me want to commit criminal activity by stealing it and bringing it home for myself to have. It was cuter than any puppy or kitten I have ever seen. It looked right into my eyes and said,”Toot toot toot”. I kid not. My cute aggression was very real in that moment. The Gyrfalcon was so beautiful, my eyes were compelled to sting with tears.

Aaron and I sometimes talk about how God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden to steward creation. We have zero skills for it, but love to see husbandry work in gardening, farming, and animal care. I have a strong love for nature documentaries, conservation programs, National Parks, etc. As we walked through Birds of Prey, listening to the owners speak so passionately of the birds they have rescued in their many years of this work, I could only think of how they are stewarding God’s creation in such an incredible way.