Links, Books, and Things I Love – May 2017

Here are favorites from April and what I’m looking forward to in May. We share once a month at Leigh’s.

1 Second Everyday

[If you can’t see the 1 Second Everyday video, click here]

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Around the Web

• How to Be an Encouraging Friend in Times of Pain by Patti Brown
When we want to help our friends, but don’t know how.

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10 Bands Meme
No offense if you’ve done the 10 Bands meme on Facebook. This article by AJ Willingham, CNN, makes me laugh, especially #6.

10 bands

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• Animal Expressions
Who says animals don’t show emotion? These are great pictures from The Big Picture.

orangutan-the-big-picture

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Just Talk to Each Other
It’s amazing what happens when we’ll just talk to each other. This Heineken ad puts sets of strangers together with opposite views.

heineken ad

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• How Is Your Phone Changing You? 
A powerful infographic at Crossway about what are smartphones may be doing to us. Lots of information in this.

smartphone-infographic

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On Books and Reading

 Amazon’s Real Bookstore 
Not the virtual one. A real one. I haven’t been. But my favorite thing? All covers are face forward!

Amazon-Books

 How eBooks Lost Their Shine
‘Kindles now look clunky and unhip.’
Well, I still love my Kindle. But I never gave up on traditional books either. What’s behind the resurgence in real books?

 300 New Words
Dictionary.com has added 300 new words, including:

  • alt-right
  • friendiversary
  • hangry
  • man bun
  • mic drop
  • struggle bus

(Now if we can just get auto-correct to catch up.)

 7 Books I Recommend 
Here are 7 books I enjoyed this month, including Deep Work, some Richard Rohr, and a true life prison story.

Books-Recommend-April-2017_Lisanotes

Books I’m Currently Reading

  1. The Time Traveler’s Wife
    by Audrey Niffenegger
  2. The Power of Off
    The Mindful Way to Stay Sane in a Virtual World
    by Nancy Colier
  3. Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind
    Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice
    by Shunryu Suzuki
  4. A More Beautiful Question
    The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas
    by Warren Berger
  5. The New Jim Crow
    Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
    by Michelle Alexander

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Things I Love

New Memory Challenge
This is week 1 of our new memory challenge. I’m settling into Colossians 3:1-17 for a few months with the Hide His Word community at Do Not Depart. I’m excited to have Katie Orr’s study guide, Everyday Obedience, to go along with it.

Colossians-3-Memory

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60th Anniversary
60 years? That’s a long time. My aunt and uncle recently celebrated their wedding anniversary. What a blessing to honor them on their special day.

60-anniversary

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The Skimm Newsletter
This has been a fun eNewsletter to catch me up on the news each morning.

The-Skimm

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Boy or Girl?
Some of our sweet friends had their gender reveal party yesterday. We’re so excited they’re getting to be parents!

gender-reveal

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We’re REALLY Empty Nesters Now
Even the dog has grown up and left home. Now that Jenna and Trey have a house, Jenna has taken Kandie back to live with her. Kandie is living the dream. It’s a win-win for everyone.

kandie

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On the Blog

When You Want to Pray WITH, Not Just FOR Others
Praying is personal. We often pray for our friends. But how often do we pray WITH them? Free printable.

Who Do You Quote?
Some people quote great poets. What lines do you remember?

Don’t Stop Looking for God
Do you ever look right over the thing you’re looking for? I do that sometimes with God.

Encounter Another Human Being
I feel bad for Joe. He recently lost both neighbors. And he knew them both.

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What was one of your highlights from April? What are you looking forward to in May? Please share in the comments.

previous Links and Books

40 thoughts on “Links, Books, and Things I Love – May 2017

  1. Julie Lefebure

    Wow, I love your compilation post of the many things you appreciate and love! Makes me want to do something like this on my blog each month. Thanks for the suggestions and ideas. I always appreciate a person who is willing to share what’s working for her and what she likes. So glad I’m following you at Lori’s this week! Blessings!

    1. LisaNotes Post author

      Thanks, Julie. These kind of posts are really fun to do (although they usually take me longer to put together than I hope, ha). Hope you enjoy it if you decide to do one, too!

  2. Linda Stoll

    Good Morning, Lisa!

    I’ve been hearing that readers are laying their Kindles aside in favor of real live books. I couldn’t be happier. It never worked for me.

    And maybe if we lay our phones aside, those stats from Crossway might change. A sad wakeup call … especially for our kids and grandkids.

    What have we modeled for them?

    1. LisaNotes Post author

      I never could give up my real books either. Granted, I also can’t give up my Kindle now. 🙂 But fortunately I don’t have to choose between the two. I wonder, too, what kind of example we are setting for those coming behind us with our tethers to our technology? I’m trying to cut loose more but it takes an intentionality that I don’t always want to exercise. Sigh.

  3. Lesley

    This is a great recap of the month with so many interesting links! I loved the animal pictures and the Heineken ad and the stats about smart phone use are really interesting too!

    1. LisaNotes Post author

      I don’t usually look at animal pictures online, but these were SO adorable that I couldn’t help myself once I got started. 🙂 Glad you enjoyed them too, Lesley. It’s fun to see *human* expressions on their faces. 🙂

  4. Michele Morin

    “Hanged” was a thing in this boy-house long before there was a name for it. I like my Kindle for cheap reads, and I should appreciate the storage bonus, but I’ve never bonded with e-books the way I thought I would.

      1. LisaNotes Post author

        Ha. I read “hangry” in your original comment anyway; it’s funny how we see what we expect to see. (And I had to attempt 3 times to get hangry in here; it kept resorting to angry.)

    1. LisaNotes Post author

      The storage bonus – yes. That’s a biggie for me with my Kindle. I have accumulated far more free books on it than I will ever have time to read, but at the moment, it’s not an issue so I just leave them there. But my first love remains with real books. 🙂

  5. Barbara H.

    I always enjoy your second-a-day videos. Did I see a bit of Designated Survivor there? My husband and I really enjoy that show. The animal photos were really cute – I especially liked the lambs and the gorilla baby and its mom.

    I had the same thought as #1 in the 10 Bands Meme article. I’ve seen a few people do it on FB but I don’t think I have clicked through anyone’s list to read the whole thing. I did think the list in #6 was much more enjoyable!

    I’d love a bookstore with the book covers are turned face-out like that! I was familiar with all the new words you listed except struggle bus.

    It’s funny how just a few years ago they were saying that ebooks would be the death of paper books, and now they are reversing that. I still prefer paper books, but I have gotten quite attached to my Kindle app on my iPad mini, too. I like the bargain books I can find for it, the fact that even if I forget to bring a book with me, I can open the Kindle app on my phone, the sheer number of books I can bring along in it, the fact that I can search for a name or word or phrase, plus I can see all my highlighted notes, nice for reviews.

    1. LisaNotes Post author

      Eagle eyes, Barbara! Yes, we have really enjoyed Designated Survivor. I’m sorry it’s about to end for the season. It seems that there are so few shows in a season these days. (I haven’t read anyone’s 10 Bands list all the way through either.) Glad you enjoyed the animal pictures too. The gorillas are always my favorites at the zoo.

      I’m totally with you on the advantages of ereaders. I still prefer paper books too, but I do love the perks of having a book with me wherever I am, multiple books in one small device, getting a book immediately from the library, searching, etc, all things I can’t do with real books. I’m glad we can have things both ways. 🙂

  6. Trudy

    The Animal Expressions were my favorite, Lisa. 🙂 Thank you for the smiles! I hadn’t heard before that ebooks are losing their shine, but I think that’s great. I don’t mind reading books on Kindle, but I’d rather read the live ones. 🙂 Love and hugs to you!

    1. LisaNotes Post author

      It seems to be a consensus that even though we appreciate our Kindles, we still love our real books. 🙂 I’m with you, Trudy. I don’t want to ever give up my Kindle, but I also don’t want to give up my books either. Hope you’re having a blessed day!

  7. Carol

    I love your random compilation. It fits my spirit right now!
    My April has been absolutely CRAZY and May’s not looking much better. Your little monkey picture? Leads me to my theme this month – if it’s not my circus, I’ll not bother the monkeys. 🙂

  8. Mary Geisen

    Love your walk through April. You found some great links to share with us this month. I always love the one second a day video you post. Hope May brings just as many blessings!

    1. LisaNotes Post author

      Thanks, Mary. There are times that I think I’ll stop doing the one-second videos because I often forget until the end of the day to actually do a video, and then I don’t have much to video. ha. But in the end, they’re still fun to do so I’m forging ahead another month anyway. ha.

  9. Anita Ojeda

    Hmmm, I love the idea of a bookstore where all the covers face out :). I’ve never givenup on real books, but man, I sure do love reading on my Kindle app on my phone! So much more convenient!

    1. LisaNotes Post author

      I agree, Anita: it’s definitely more convenient to use a Kindle/app. I especially love it when I want to read in bed, but my husband is asleep. I can turn on my Kindle without having to turn on a lamp, and no noisy pages to turn or heavy book to have to prop up. 🙂

  10. floyd

    Krispy cream, a babbling brook, and a rainbow? That’s a whale of a month! A full one too. You’re a regular Rolling Stone… pun intended…

    1. LisaNotes Post author

      I can’t do Krispy Kreme every month, but I sure am tempted to! It’s a good thing it’s not very close to my house or it’d make every highlight reel.

  11. Dolly

    Lisa,
    I appreciate your list 🙂 Congrats to your aunt and uncle…wow, 60 years!!!

    And I’m glad for your “win win” with Kandie 🙂

    1. LisaNotes Post author

      Yes, I can’t imagine being married for 60 years (although I can begin to imagine living for that long. ha). I appreciate the examples of couples who stick it out through thick and thin.

  12. Ashley Davis

    Finding out my sister is having a girl and witnessing my friend, Kendra, be baptized were some precious moments in April.
    May, I’m looking forward to my birthday. I’m actually not traveling anywhere, except to a wedding, in the month of May. I’ll also find out which team I’ll be on for Tres Dias.

    1. LisaNotes Post author

      Those were some awesome moments in April, Ashley. Both related to new life, always a beautiful thing. 🙂 Hope you have a wonderful birthday on Sunday!!!

    1. LisaNotes Post author

      The 1 Second Everyday is a free app that I’ve been using for a couple of years. It’s very easy and so much fun! I just have to remember to video something each day; that’s the hardest part. ha. I like The Time Traveler’s Wife so far, although I do find it a bit confusing. I’m reading the book and my husband is listening to the audio book on his way to and from work each day, so we get to talk about it at night. I’ve really enjoyed that since we rarely are into the same books. 🙂

  13. Joanne Viola

    Lisa, I so love posts like this. And I agree – – I love that the Amazon store has all the book covers facing forward. I am going to need to search one out 🙂 Have a great weekend!

    1. LisaNotes Post author

      I’d love to visit an Amazon store too. I was in Seattle last fall; I should have gone then because there are none even remotely close to me in Alabama. I just looked to see where they are: https://www.amazon.com/b?node=13270229011. I hope to visit NYC with some friends next year so maybe they’ll have a store open by then. 🙂 Hope you have a great weekend as well, Joanne!

  14. Lois Flowers

    “Hangry” should have been a real word a long time ago. (Don’t ask me how I know that; it’s almost time for lunch!!) Seriously, new words always crack me up. Who at the dictionary company gets to decide which ones make the cut and which ones don’t? I’d like that job, I think! Great roundup (as usual)!

    1. LisaNotes Post author

      I’ve understood about hangry for a long time too. ha. When my stomach gets empty, my mood can get ugly. Sigh. I recently heard a podcast about who gets to decide about new words! What an interesting (yet crazy) job that would be. 🙂

  15. Becky Hastings

    Wow! Great list! I loved the beer ad. It made me think and stayed with me long after seeing it. And I must say, I smiled when I saw that you were reading The Time Travelers Wife. I loved this story. It was beautiful and hard and full of feeling. Happy reading!

    1. LisaNotes Post author

      I thought the beer ad was very thought-provoking too (and okay, I may have cried a little because it was touching too). I’m over halfway finished with The Time Travelers Wife and still enjoying it, but it’s making me work. ha. It can be hard to follow at times. Glad to hear you found it worth reading!

  16. Jean Wise

    I’m enjoying the Skimm too. And I watched that Heineken commercial. Interesting isn’t it? I think I would love to visit an amazon store. – should have bought the stock for all the stuff I ordered from them. Interesting that so many young adults identified the phone having a negative influence with their walk with God and so few of the older adults. I wonder if this reflects the amount of time spent on the phone. Maybe older adults spend less?

    1. LisaNotes Post author

      Glad to know you read the Skimm too, Jean! I don’t always click through on every article, but even if I don’t, I feel like I’m catching up with the morning news anyway.
      I’d guess you’re right about the phone use. Older adults probably use phones less and thus it doesn’t interfere quite as much. I’ve been trying to use mine less as well. (Not sure if I should count myself as an older adult or not. ha)

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