5 Friday Favorites: April 11, 2025

   

It's time for my Friday link up with  A Little Bit of Everything and Momfessionals. 

On Fridays I share things that made me happy from the week - a photo, a song, a quote, a beauty product, a recipe, a pair of cute shoes, etc. If it's a product, sometimes it's something I actually own and sometimes something I just saw online that gave me a smile. Sometimes it's serious and sometimes it's silly. I suppose I believe that God is in the simple details of life and yes, I can even find Him in a tube of lipstick.

Hello, Friday. I want to say thanks to so many readers who left such kind messages of encouragement and prayer for my friend, Lori, and her family after the passing of her sweet momma. The service was full of joy and beauty as was Momma Sue. Memorial services have a way of nudging us toward a better way of being. I was grateful to be there.

Here are some other favorites from the week.

1. Live Wire by Kelly Ripa

I hate flying so I needed a book to keep me occupied on the flight that was light and would hold my interest. I ordered this book to listen to on audio. I used to watch Live with Regis and Kathie Lee (and then Kelly) all the time, but haven't watched in years. Since Kelly and I are very close to the same age and have children the same age, I was shocked to find many of her stories very relatable. No amount of money or fame can protect you from the emotional roller coaster that is sending your kids out of the house. I really enjoyed this one.

2. Mint Matcha Chip Smoothie

If you are local and can get yourself to a Greenheart Juice Shop, I can highly recommend the Mint Matcha Chip Smoothie. It was as good as a Shamrock Shake with the bonus that my stomach wasn't all jacked up for the next 12 hours after I drank it.

3. Blake Brown All in Wonder Leave In Potion

This is the second appearance by this Leave In Potion because I ran out of it while I was in Dallas and panic set in. Let's just say that my hair has been a WHOLE SITUATION in the past five years and this product has saved me from continued hair trauma. I never want to be without it.

4. Kate Spade Bud Vase

I was being super productive scrolling my phone in the parking lot of the grocery store willing myself to fight the wind and cold to go in when I came across these brightly colored bud vases. I think they are absolutely adorable. They're only $21 a piece and I think they'd make a really sweet gift for someone who needs a pick me up. Especially if it's your own darn self who needs it. (Raises hand)

5.  A Prayer for Knowing Your True Identity

My boys are big Red Sox fans and there is a new documentary out about the team. Yesterday our family text chain was blowing up with their thoughts on the documentary which I haven't watched. They mentioned that Red Sox outfielder, Jarren Duran, had revealed that he had been suicidal in 2022. I don't know the details of what he was going through, but he was apparently having a rough year on the field and wasn't living up to his own expectations or the expectations of the team and its fans. It reminded me that a few years ago, there was a softball player at James Madison University who died by suicide. At that time I read some powerful words from a woman named Sonya Mabry Mongero imploring athletes to remember how deeply cherished and loved they are by their Creator, just by virtue of their very being - not by their doing.

My boys have many friends pursuing their passions in athletics in high pressure situations. It's so fun to watch kids playing at high levels, but this week I was reminded that no one is immune from the emotional toll that the pressure to perform can take. In addition to that, I have witnessed so many kids work their tails off only to have their athletic pursuits ended or suspended by injuries, roster changes, and things out of their control. It is so important that all of us - athlete or not - recognize that our identity simply cannot be in what we do, in how well or how poorly we do it, in how others perceive us or in any one moment of failure or success.  

I am so grateful to have watched the way Drew's faith has grown apart from mine and his dad's. For me in times of struggle and hopelessness, Jesus has been the first and most present help. But no matter how often we tell them, teach them and pray for them, I know that it is ultimately only the work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of my boys that will truly bring them the peace that surpasses understanding. A few weeks ago, I noticed Drew praying on the sideline before his game. I snapped this picture to remind me and him of where our hope lies. Because in my life, I think my biggest struggle is in the forgetting. In times of doubt or pain or fear, we must simply remember the words of Peter in John 6:68, "Lord, where else shall we go?" There is no better option than Him.

These are the words of Sonya Mabry Mongero.

You are more than your skill. You are more than a player. You are more than a position. You are more than a number. You are more than a stat. You are more than a teammate. You are more than an athlete. You are more than a student.  Your athletic ability is a gift from God, which He wants you to use for His glory, so that when others see you, they see Him.

Sports are a metaphor for life, not life itself. Sports are meant to be fun, challenging, competitive, and a lesson in how to work hard and play hard. Sports give you "a brotherhood from another motherhood" - a family that wins and loses together and treats both the same. . . understanding that THE RELATIONSHIPS are greater than THE RECORD and that wins and losses don't define you, but DEVELOP you into all that Christ wants you to be.

The life you live out before others and TO OTHERS, day in and day out, is far greater than the game you play.

You are a CHILD of the KING, fearfully and wonderfully made. You are my son. You are a student-athlete and you are loved beyond measure.

 Have a great weekend, friends.

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