3 Things I’m Loving Right Now {2} (and an update about 25/25/25)

From gadgets to books, practices to products, here are a few things that, somehow, someway, are assisting me in my continued pursuit of a well-balanced life

Number One:  This candle.

It’s from Anthropologie and the scent is “Volcano.”  (If this is how volcanos smell, then I want to smell all the volcanos all the time!)  It was a gift from my friend Laurie from Bible study.  When she gave it to me, she said she liked the way the light shows through the cracks in the design when it’s burning.  And then she said, “It reminded me of you…the way you let God shine through all your cracks and brokenness.”  YOU GUYS!  I don’t deserve such lovely and insightful friends.  I burn this candle all the time, simply because of what Laurie said.  It makes me cry daily…in a good way.

Now, here’s a funny story about the candle.  I liked it so much, I decided to go to Anthropologie and get another one.  When I got there, I discovered a plethora of delicious-smelling candles.  So, I set out to smell each and every one, and get the one I loved the most.  I settled in on “Bougie Parfumee.”

I brought it home and compared the smell to my other candle.  They smelled exactly the same!  Weird! Then I looked a little closer at my new candle and saw this:

So, the moral of the story is Volcano is the best scent, “Bougie Parfumee” means “Fragranced Candle” in French, and I am a dork.

Number Two:  Cardigan Sweaters.

You will rarely receive fashion advice from me, unless it involves yoga pants.  But, dude, I am obsessed.  When I’m not wearing workout clothes, I’m wearing a cardigan sweater.  Some of them are just blankets, disguised as sweaters.  I’ll take any excuse I can to wear a blanket in January. (I actually have more than this, but I had to stop taking pictures.  It’s excessive.)

Number Three:  The Christy Nockels Podcast.

Actually, I’m loving a lot of podcasts right now, but I can tell you about them one at a time.  Today, I’ll focus on Christy Nockels.  If you are not familiar with her, she’s a worship leader, singer/songwriter.  I fell in love with her in the 90s when she and her husband Nathan were the contemporary Christian duo, Watermark.  Watermark CDs were the soundtrack of my life during the birth and death of my son Noah, and the years of healing that followed.  Incidentally, their oldest son’s name is also Noah.  Years later, when I was listening to a song written for their daughter, Elliana, I said to Jon, “If we ever have another girl, I want to name her Elliana.”  We did.  And I did.

A few years ago, I had the privilege of seeing her and Nathan in concert.  We had front row seats and got to meet her afterwards.  I was able to share with her how much her music meant to me while I was grieving Noah’s death. It was cool.

She’s one of those artists who has had a finger on my pulse for two decades, and doesn’t even know me.

Well, now, Christy has a podcast!!!  And her podcast is consistently the most spiritually nurturing and soul-settling podcast on my playlist.  She sometimes has guests (Chris Tomlin, Bob Goff, Angie Smith…) and sometimes just talks.  It doesn’t matter. When her new podcasts come out, I stop everything, put in my ear buds and head out for an hour-long walk.  I usually cry.  It’s that good.  This interview with Beth Moore was my favorite.  I’d start there, if I were you…and then go back and listen to all of them.

What are you loving right now?

*********************************
ATTENTION! ATTENTION! ATTENTION!!!!

An update about the February Fitness Group 25/25/25!!!

Due a combination of technical difficulties and life-circumstances, I’m going to postpone the 25/25/25 group for now.  I’ll let you know when/if I open it back up at a later date.  Sorry for the inconvenience.

Thanks for understanding!  You all are the best.