7 Quick Takes Friday - #25

Jumping right in...

1. What a week. This week began, first thing Sunday morning, with the news that a friend's baby had passed away. It was anticipated, as he'd been diagnosed with a rare disease several months ago, but still shocking. I've never seen a casket so small, or a face so very sad. There are no words to speak at times like that, which is a good thing because most of the time, the person grieving doesn't want to hear our words anyhow. "I'm sorry" is all I could find to say; I knew that to say much more would just increase the likelihood of inserting my foot into my mouth.
   
   
   
   I'm reminded of Molly Piper, who has blogged quite a bit about grief, out of her own sorrows. If you have a friend hurting after a miscarriage or the death of a child, her writings may give you some food for thought.
   
   
   
   
2. It doesn't take much to delight our kiddos. Sometimes all we have to do is break out of our "norm". Last week, I found huge pads of construction paper for $1.00 each, and last night, I bought some glue sticks on the cheap in a back-to-school sale. We sat today at the table for nearly an hour, cutting and gluing, drawing and cutting, laughing and imagining, and it was so easy. I'm not a "crafty" type mom... we don't have googly eyes and markers and fuzzy little pom poms in neat little drawers in some craft closet. But just doing that one thing out of our normal m.o. was pretty thrilling for the kids, and gave us a fun, stress-free afternoon. I'm left wondering why I don't do things like that more often.
   
   
   
   
3. Just got a Kindle! Yeah!!! Can't wait to use it.
   
   
   
   
4. I asked Doug to change the passwords to my Facebook and online forums for the present time, so that I will not be able to access them. I've been spending too much time like an idle woman, running from place to place, watching or weighing in on other people's lives, and not engaged fully in my own. So I think until October, I'll limit myself to e-mail and a little bit of blogging.
   
   
   
   
5. My mom and I joined Weight Watchers on Monday, and will be doing it together. I'm enjoying the plan... basically just planning what I put in my mouth a little more carefully, and keeping track of it all. I'm glad to be doing this with my mom.
   
   
   
   
6. I'm planning a shower for my sister-in-law (it'll be their first baby, and my first niece!), and this week, I made centerpieces for the baby shower. I'm kind of excited about them- I used a variety of glass vases like they send with flower arrangements, and then filled them up with fun-colored baby bath toys, pacifiers, onesies, bath products, teethers, etc. A cheerful ribbon tied around each pulls them together. They turned out so cute!
   
   
   
   
7. Today, I read an extremely helpful article for discerning the hidden motivations of our own hearts, and any idols we've erected that we lean on or look to or desire in place of God. It's called, "X-Ray Questions", and it was one of the assigned readings for my class.
   
   
   
   It's about a 10-page article, so you should be prepared to take some time with it, but I'd highly recommend it; I found it heart-probing and helpful. These 35 questions are written in such a way that you can use them to discover what the motivations are in your life, or in a particular situation in your life. It would be a great thing to go through prayerfully with your Bible open, as he suggests certain passages for each question. I hope it will challenge others as it has me.

Have a great weekend!