Small Things - Last Saturday of February 2025

"Life is not, for most of us, a pageant of splendor, but is made up of many small things, rather like an old fashioned piecework quilt. No two people have the same, but we all have our own, whether it be listening to Beethoven's fifth with a beloved friend, or seeing a neighbor at the back door with a basket of white dahlias. Or after a long, hard day, having the family say, "That was a good supper."

- GLADYS TABER

It's hard for me to believe that we are in the final week of February, and that next Wednesday we enter into the holy and somber season of Lent. And while the calendar says it is true, my mind begs to differ. In some ways it feels like we have been on an extended Christmas holiday and that Winter will last forever. We had another round of snow this week with everyone home together again for several days, which I love, but I have to say, it does make for keeping up with routines and rhythms a bit challenging. If there is such a thing as too many pajama days, I think I may be reaching it. With that, I'm **hoping** that with Lent, spring cleaning and de-cluttering, I can regain whatever sense of order and control I naively believe I have, but then again, it's early March, we're still not out of the winter woods in this area for probably six weeks yet. With that, my inspiration this week deeply reflects where my heart is these day, our home. 

Here, in particular order, are six small things that inspired me this week.

1. This Mama's Faith

I first came across Tabitha's Instragram account, which led me to her website, and finally to her You Tube channel, which is probably my favorite of the three! I especially enjoyed Keeper At Home: A Practical Guide to Christian Homemaking as well as Homemaking Is A High Calling. She also has a Proverbs 31 Studay that I'm excited to dive into, probably after Lent.

2. The Legacy of Home

I came across this blog as I was going through some of my bookmarks I have saved on my computer this week. I had saved a post from many years ago (almost 13 years ago, in fact), and was happy to see that in that time Mrs. White has continued to update her blog with more posts! I spent quite a bit of time there one snowy afternoon this week, and enjoyed my time there. I found her most recent post, Lessons on Thrift, inspiring.

3. Joyfully Domestic

Another lovely blog. I particularly enjoyed her Liturgical Living archives.

4. Inspired You: Letting God Breathe New Life Into Your Heart and Home

by Marian Parsons

Free to borrow from the archives. Might try to work this one in prior to beginning my Lenten reading.

5. The Seasonal Reset

I've long been inspired by This Pilgrim Life, and this post in particular is a good one to revisit.

6. Cooking With Karli

One of my favorite places to meet a friend for lunch is a little sandwich shop in our area, Blue Ridge Bagels. My favorite sandwich is The Bully, but they make a pretty good chicken salad, as well. But the thing I probably like best is taking home a bag of my favorite bagels to enjoy another day, my absolute favorites being Asiago Cheese and Jalapeno. I've thought often of trying my hand at making them myself, but as with so many other things in life, just never got around to it. However . . .

This week a recipe for an Asiago Cheese bagel just happened to pop up in my Pinterest feed which swept me away to the world of Cooking With Karli and OH MY! Not only is there a recipe for an asiago cheese bagel, but just about every bagel you could hope for! I even found a recipe for a jalapeno bagel! Not only that, but this Crumbl Sugar Cookie copycat recipe looks divine, and since my daughter LOVES Crumbl, I might have to give this one a try! 

❊

The Dust of the Rabbi:A Journey With Jesus Through Lent

Today I want to direct you to a resource that I've compiled to aide me in my journey through the Lenten Season;

THE DUST OF THE RABBI

A Journey With Jesus Through Lent

Over the years I've used a number of resources to guide me through the 40 days of this season, but in the end what I found what was most meaningful was the simple daily reading of scripture itself, the lectionary readings traditionally used by the church for decades. These are easy enough to find and follow online, but as I didn't want to employ my devices for doing so, I decided to compile a booklet and gather the readings all in one place.

It has also been my practice for several years now to employ the practice of Lectio Divina, which is the practice of reading, meditating upon and praying over the scriptures, when reading the scriptures during Lent.

With that, in this resource you will find pages dedicated to a brief introduction and history of Lent, as well as instructions on how to engage in the practice of Lectio Divina. This, of course, is a completely optional approach, your journey through this season should be personal and to your preference. There is a journal page for each day, providing the daily scriptures as well as space for reflection and response, and to make notes regarding  fasting, prayer and giving, should you choose to engage in those practices.

I've also included pages that further explain the history and meaning of some of the more siginificant days in this season, including Ash Wednesday, as well as Holy Week, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter. 

Additionally, I've provided a worksheet to help to guide you in deciding what you will be fasting or "giving up", as a sacrifice during this season. Again, this is completely optional, and if you are new to observing this season I would encourage you to start small. In years past I've given up things such as sugar, soda and social media, and I find that this yearly practice greatly enhances my spiritual journey.

And finally, I'll be writing several posts here during the Lenten season, with links to additional resources, poems I've found meaningful, and to chronicle my own journey over the forty days until Easter. Though that won't be the full of my posts, and many of them, as I mentioned in my post yesterday, will focus on the home and homekeeping, which has been and remains at the heart of my blog.

If you do download and use this resource, I hope you'll give me some feedback and let me know how you liked, and how I can make improvements in the future.  You'll find the link to the free download below.

THE DUST OF THE RABBI

A Journey With Jesus Through Lent

Small Things - Third Saturday in February 2025

"Life is not, for most of us, a pageant of splendor, but is made up of many small things, rather like an old fashioned piecework quilt. No two people have the same, but we all have our own, whether it be listening to Beethoven's fifth with a beloved friend, or seeing a neighbor at the back door with a basket of white dahlias. Or after a long, hard day, having the family say, "That was a good supper."

- GLADYS TABER

In no particular order, here are six small things that inspired me this week.

1. The Best Reason to Read Aloud Together

There's always been something about the idea of life in the 30's and 40's and the family gathered together around the radio and listening to their favorite shows that appeals to me. And while modern technology makes that possible even today, if you wish, I also love the idea of reading alound together, especially if you have young children. But even as we grow older, the simple idea of sharing a book together in the evening is one that I find very appealing, especially listening to an audio book!

2. N. T. Wright Online

My husband recently introduced me to N. T. Wright, and I've listened to quite a few of his teachings and really enjoyed them.  I'm planning on listening to more through the Lenten season.

3. 24/7 Prayer

Prayer has become a huge focus of my spiritual journey this year, and I've really enjoyed this You Tube channel as I grow in this area of my life.

4. Middle Grade March Reading Challenge

Came across this reading challenge on Instagram this week, and while I have far too many other reading goals during March, this does sound like fun, and thought it was worth passing along!

5. Steeple Chasing: Around Britain By Church (affiliate link)

Great Britain and church buildings, two of my favorite things in one book! I bought the Kindle edition, and plan to look up each of the churches listed online as I read through it.

6. House Cleaning Prayer: A Guide To Blessing Every Room In Your House

I mentioned in my post yesterday , that as I am decluttering, I also plan to do my spring cleaning during the Lenten season. Another idea I have is to do a Home Blessing at the beginning of Holy Week or right before it. A Home Blessing is something I've intended to do ever since we moved into this house, and I've decided it's time to stop just thinking about it but actually do it. Thankfully you can find a lot of ideas and resources on the subject, but typical of me, I want to make it my own. I'll be sharing more about this in the coming weeks, so be sure to stop by again soon!

Until then . . .

❊

We participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, and this post contains affiliate links. When you click through and make a purchase we receive a small commission from Amazon. 

We appreciate your support!

 

Small Things - Second Saturday in February 2025

"Life is not, for most of us, a pageant of splendor, but is made up of many small things, rather like an old fashioned piecework quilt. No two people have the same, but we all have our own, whether it be listening to Beethoven's fifth with a beloved friend, or seeing a neighbor at the back door with a basket of white dahlias. Or after a long, hard day, having the family say, "That was a good supper."

- GLADYS TABER

In no particular order, here are six small things that inspired me this week.

1. I've spent a lot of time this week watching old clips from figure skating from years gone by. My mom and I loved watching figure skating together and even though she is no longer with me, watching it, especially the older clips, makes her feel close.  Peggy Fleming has been and remains my favorite in the sport. Here is a clip of her free skate from the 1968 Olympics, as well as a TV special from the same year, Here's Peggy Fleming, the quality isn't that good, but I still enjoyed watching it and reministing. If you like ice skating, You Tube is packed with years worth of clips and perfomances.

2. And speaking of reminiscing, this week I recalled watching The ABC After School Special, and so I decided to do a little digging. First off, I had no idea that this show aired from 1972 to 1997! You can find a listing of the name of every episode here. In looking through the list I vividly remembered Sara's Summer of the Swans  , Dear Lovey Hart, I Am Desperate and Me And Dad's New Wife with Kristy McNichol. Watching these brought back so many memories! Although I felt that some of the content was geared more to older children, I do have fond memories of watching many of these. I'm planning to span the list to see if anything else sparks a memory.

3. Discovered this account on Instagram this week, Breaking Bread With the Bayna's. Very uplifting and inspiring!

4. I enjoyed listening to this playlist while working on my computer this week, Cozy Winter Piano for A Snowy Day.

5. And speaking of winter, even though we've recently had a few days in the 60's, there is snow in the forecast in our area this coming week, and historically some of our largest snow totals have been in mid-March. So while I've thinking toward Spring, I'm still embracing and enjoying this slower winter season. I particularly enjoy saving things like Winter Remedies To Keep You Warm, Herbs to Forage in Winter, Cozy Winter Home and Cottagecore Winter Routine to save to my Winter Board on Pinterest.

6. When I lived in Texas my all time favorite place to eat was Pappasito's Cantina! I keep hoping that maybe someday, they'll find their way to Virginia, and hopefully not too far away! But since the nearest location at the moment is in Georgia, I've had to rely on copycat recipes over the years to even come close! That's why I was excited to find this copycat queso recipe this week! I remember the taste distinctly, so I'm going to give it a try soon!