Listening Lately

When I am in the kitchen (which is a good chunk of my day) I really enjoy listening to different podcasts on the computer. I like that they keep me thinking and learning and, since Wilbert listens to several of the same ones as I do, it give us something to talk about.

Here are some of my favourites as of late.

The Allusionist: This one appeals to the word geek in me. It looks at the history of words and the stories behind words and why we say the things we do in the crazy English language. Bonus: host is British and has a fantastic dry sense of humor. Lots of fun, though some episodes are a little less family friendly than others.

Radiolab: This is one of Wilbert and my favorites. The loose description is it stories from science and technology, but you almost always learn something new. Like "blow-your-mind, I-never-knew-that, God-is-amazing-something" new.

The Memory Palace: A short podcast. Each episode is a little story that the writer tells in a masterful way. Think "The Rest of the Story" with Paul Harvey, but not just about people, but also events and inventions and all sorts of things like that. Great when you just need something short.

99 % Invisible: A show about design and why things are the way they are. Another really interesting one and Wilbert and my other top pick. It is so interesting to learn about the little things in the world around you that we often over look.

The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey: I know I have talked about this one before, but I can't say enough good about it. I have almost listened to the entire archive. My "to-read" list is through the roof and I am so encouraged by each person she talks to. It is great!

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A Perspective

I have already mentioned my "Word of the Day" screen saver that I have on my laptop that is hooked up to the projector in my room. I am learning that the words go in cycles a bit, so the same word will pop up in several classes during the day. Today's popular word was "entitlement." A fantastic word to share with teenagers who often think they are entitled to a whole lot of stuff. In fact, we as humans often think we are entitled to a whole lot of stuff when really we are fallen people who deserve nothing but death. We so often miss how wonderful and blessed our life really is and we get caught up on the little things. This video sort of puts that in perspective in a rather humorous way. I am by no means promoting this comedian, but if you take what he says to heart, it is so true. We live in an amazing world, created by an amazing God. We really should be happy with the blessing we have been given.

The Best Summer of Our Lives by Rachel Hauck

Twenty years ago, the summer of '77 was supposed to be the best summer of Summer Wilde's life. She and her best friends, Spring, Autumn, and Snow--the Four Seasons--had big plans. But those plans never had a chance. After a teenage prank gone awry, the Seasons found themselves on a bus to Tumbleweed, "Nowhere," Oklahoma, to spend eight weeks as camp counselors. All four of them arrived with hidden secrets and buried fears, and the events that unfolded in those two months forever altered their friendships, their lives, and their futures. Now, thirtysomething, Summer is at a crossroads. When her latest girl band leaves her in a motel outside Tulsa, she is forced to face the shadows of her past. Returning to the place where everything changed, she soon learns Tumbleweed is more than a town she never wanted to see again. It's a place for healing, for reconciling the past with the present, and for finally listening to love's voice. This was an enjoyable book to r...

Birthday Fun

It was my birthday on Saturday, so Wilbert asked me what I wanted to do. Since it was nice weather, I decided to have a picnic in the park. We opted for the easy picnic and picked up Subway and headed to the Elliot River Dream Park. It was a lovely day. After our lunch, Wilbert and Joash explored the park. They found musical instruments... played a bit of hide and seek... and tried out the slides. Joash did pretty good in the park, but he is still pretty timid and cautious over all. He never really dared to go down a slide by himself, but he was running around on his own by the end. After we were finished at the park, we stopped for dessert at Cows Ice Cream since we didn't get an ice cream cone we went earlier in the week. It was very tasty! In the evening, we had a bonfire and invited lots of people over. At 5 in the afternoon, we had a crazy thundershower pop up right over us and it rained like crazy. But by 7, the weather was great and once it got dark...

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