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.
Happy Friday! How's everybody doing? I love this time of year. I love the houses in the neighborhood lit up. I love the church decorated. I love peppermint every thing. I love reading the story of the birth of Jesus in Luke in Bible Study. I love cracking open a new Advent devotional. I am a stickler for waiting on all of this mayhem until Thanksgiving is over, but once it's December 1st, I am here for it. We've starting shopping and honestly, I've had zero issues with shipping delays. Especially from Amazon, but actually from others as well. Could it be that the media causes a teeny-tiny bit more panic than it should?
I have been shopping and decorating and planning for the arrival of my WHOLE DARN FAMILY from Texas and California in a few weeks and I am DELIGHTED. I can't wait. Have I had too much coffee this morning? Perhaps. Did my husband describe me as "shot out of a cannon" today? Why, yes, he did. But I'm in a good mood and ain't nobody from the TV news gonna mess that up today. How about some favorites?
1. Back and Neck Massager
Let's start with this. I mentioned it a couple of months ago, but I had not bought it yet. PEOPLE. I need you to know that this little early Christmas gift that I gave myself this week has saved me. I've been at the laptop a ton - writing, online shopping, writing, online shopping, and writing again. Which means my shoulders are scrunched up to my ears and my neck can barely hold up my big, fat head. This Neck Massager is a dream. It's less than $40.00 and can also be used on your lower back. I think this is a great gift for anyone in your life who has reached the age when just going about your regular ol' life somehow manages to give you a back or neck ache. Maybe you just "slept wrong". I don't know how I just suddenly forgot how to "sleep right", but here we are. HIGHLY RECOMMEND. 5 stars and 2 thumbs up.
2. A Couple of Gifts for Teen/Young Adult Girls/Sister/Mom - Actually All the Women
The devotional book, Grace Upon Grace by Sophie Hudson, is another repeat here on my Friday Favorites. I bought this awhile back, but just started reading it. It is so good - so funny, so relatable, so charming, and so sweet. It is aimed at teen girls, but goodness, have I already gotten a lot out of it on Day 3. Sophie Hudson is a gem of a writer. Her humor is a gift and her insight is so valuable. Again: 5 Stars and 2 thumbs up.
Also, those of you who are friends with me in real life, probably know that I just started selling Park Lane Jewelry. I've been at it for about a month and I really, really like the variety and quality of the jewelry. I think these Truth Earrings from their collection would be the perfect gift to go along with this devotional. They are beautiful and sparkly and so sweet. These will ship in time for Christmas if ordered by the 13th.
Or if your gal is more of a bracelet wearer, this Miracle Bracelet is great and fully adjustable to fit any wrist.
3. Lillie's Q Ivory Barbeque Sauce
My brother-in-law introduced us to this Ivory Barbeque Sauce and we cannot get enough of it. I had never heard of such a thing in all my life. And it has no sugar. What kind of madness is white bbq sauce with zero sugar? I'll tell you what it is. It's magic.
4. Isn't it Grande Avenue by OPI
I got a manicure and pedicure this week and chose this dark navy color and I love it. I think I mentioned it awhile ago and I was so happy to see they had it my salon. It's a great color for winter and the holidays.
5. More Gift Ideas for the Gals: Skincare Stuff
I've become pretty preoccupied with skin care in the past five or six (or maybe ten) or so years. Admittedly, it would have been a good idea to be more preoccupied with sunscreen in my teens and twenties and likely would have resulted in less preoccupation now. (*Sigh* How I loved you, Hawaiin Tropic Suntan Oil. You just didn't love me back.)
I've been testing all kinds of stuff lately and no matter how much you spend, I'm not sure there is a magic potion that will make us look like JLo. I have, however, found that keeping a pretty strict routine makes my skin look somewhat better - even if I'm using products that don't require JLo's salary.
This little fridge was introduced to me by a friend's daughter who is in her twenties. According to her and her dewey young skin, lots of products are more effective when they're cold. (I don't know if this is science. I'm just going with it.) Facial Toner, gel masks, sheet masks, night creams, and eye patches are allegedly better when they're refrigerated. Anyway this cute little fridge can hold all the jars and potions so that you don't have to store them next to the broccoli. Plus, you can add an emergency Diet Coke if need be.
Also, lately, these are my go-to products that I keep ordering again and again:
Timeless Vitamin C Serum : This is already much less expensive than many Vitamin C Serums and now is 27% off!
Clarins V-Facial Intensive Mask : This is out of stock almost all the time. In stock today. Pricey, but really de-puffs after a night of wine. (Not that I would know about that.)
Peter Thomas Roth Gel Mask: Actually, I do not have this Cucumber one. I have a PTR Rose Stem Cell one, but they discontinued it. I think I'll get the Cucumber when this runs out.
Kleem Organics Advanced Retinol Moisturizer: I love this stuff and to be honest, it might be mostly because of the citrusy scent. It makes me really happy.
Cera Ve Hydrating Cleanser with Hylauronic Acid My dermatologist recommended this one.
Elta MD Facial Sunscreen This stuff is great and is perfect under make-up.
Laniege Lip Sleeping Mask It's on the more expensive side, but it's awesome.
PS Shockingly, with all that stuff, I still don't look like JLo. Anyday now, though. Anyday now.
Bonus: Frederick Buechner on Advent
I know. I'm quoting Buechner AGAIN. It's just that everything he writes just gets me right in the gut and I want to shout all of his words to everyone. I have read Listening to Your Life every year for many years, but for some reason this year, it seems even more special to me. Just buy the book. It's so worth it. In the meantime, I will practice my high school typing skills and share with you what took my breath away this week when I read it. How does he do that? Here he is in selected verses from Listening to Your Life on Advent:
Advent means "coming" of course, and the promise of Advent is that what is coming is an unimaginable invasion. The mythology of our age has to do with flying saucers and invasions from outer space, and that is unimaginable enough. But what is upon us now is even more so - a close encounter - not of the third kind, but of a different kind altogether. An invasion of holiness. That is what Advent is about.
It was thousands of years ago and thousands of miles away, but it is a vist that for all our madnss and cynicism and indifference and despair, we have never quite forgotten. The oxen in their stalls. The smell of hay. The shepherds standing around. The child and that place are somehow the closest of close encounters, the one we are closest to, the one that brings us closest to something that cannot be told in any other way. The story that faith tells in the fairytale language of faith is not just that God is, which God knows is a lot to swallow in itself most of the time, but that God comes. Comes here. And to us came. For us came. Is it true - Almighty God, are you true?
When you are standing up to your neck in darkness, how do you say yes to that question? You say yes, I suppose, the only way faith can ever say it if it is honest with itself. You say yes with your fingers crossed. You say it with your heart in your mouth. Maybe that way, we can say yes. He visited us.
The world has never been quite the same since. It is still a very dark world, in some ways darker than ever before, but the darkness is different because He keeps getting born into it. Anyone who has ever known Him has known Him perhaps better in the dark than anywhere else because it is in the dark where He seems to visit most often. - Frederick Buechner, Listening to Your Life
I will be thinking about the "invasion of holiness" to come all month long. And I'll also be more grateful than maybe I've ever been that all the darkness I've seen this year "is different because He keeps getting born into it." My prayer for the rest of this crapshow year will be the same: Keep coming to us, Lord. Keep coming for us, Lord. Be born into this darkness again, Lord.
With fingers crossed and heart in my mouth, I'll believe that He'll keep coming. He has yet to be late.
Have a blessed weekend, Friends.
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2 comments:
Happy Holidays to the Skinner family from the Murphy fam!
Hi. Sydney! Happy Holidays to y’all, too!!!!
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