No.738: Five Good Things // Vol.16

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1 // BACK TO MY CHILDHOOD HAIR ACCESSORIES

Back in December, I learned that tying your wet hair back with elastic hair ties was terrible for your hair health.  I was doing that all the time, oops!  Thankfully, my daughter generously let me borrow one of her scrunchies until I can buy more for myself.  And update: it’s hard to explain in words, but I can see new growth and can feel strength in the area where the elastics would normally rest.  Really exciting!  (P.S. The scrunchies we use are from etsy seller, Vivacie, and are such great quality!  They’d make a great Easter basket filler.)

2 // A NEW ADDITION TO THE KITCHEN

My husband is a big fan of cast iron skillets, but wanted something a little lighter.  He recently got a Matfer fry pan and loves it.  It’s made with carbon steel and had to be seasoned just like cast iron.  With proper care, it should last us a long, long time.

3 // THIS PASSAGE FROM MY LENTEN READING

We are now living in a time of faith.  The Holy Spirit writes no more gospels except in our hearts…We, if we are holy, are the paper; our sufferings and our actions are the ink.  The workings of the Holy Spirit are his pen, and with it he writes a living gospel; but it will never be read until that last day of glory when it leaves the printing press of this life.

And what a splendid book it will be – the book the Holy Spirit is still writing!  The book is on press and never a day passes when type is not set, ink applied and pages pulled.  But we remain in the light of faith.  The paper is blacker than the ink and the type is pied; the language is not of this world and we understand nothing.  We shall be able to read it only in heaven.  We could understand something of the complexity of God’s activity if we could see our fellow humans not just as they appear superficially but in their very essence and see, too, how God is working on and within them.  Yet there are difficulties.  How can we read this book when its letters are unknown, of infinite variety and upside down, and its pages smeared with ink?  Just think what an infinite number of different and worthwhile books are produced by the mixing up of twenty-six letters.  We cannot understand this wonder, so how can we comprehend what God is doing in the universe?  How can we read and understand so vast a book, one in which every single letter has its own special meaning and, within its tiny shape, contains the most profound mysteries?  We can neither see nor feel these mysteries.  Only by faith can they be known…

So teach me, Holy Spirit, to read in this book of life!  I long to become your disciple and, like a little child, to believe in what I cannot see.  It is enough for me that my master speaks.  He talks and explains, arranges the letters of the book and makes it comprehensible.  That is all I need.  (Abandonment to Divine Providence, p.45)

4 // AN ADDED-SUGAR FREE SWEET TREAT

Have you ever tried dates in the refrigerator?  I was never a big fan of them at room temperature, but after getting a tip that they tasted incredible chilled, I’ve been converted!  Super sweet and almost a taffy, caramel consistency.  Yum.

5 // A SOLUTION FOR PESKY, ALWAYS MOVING THROW RUGS

We had a throw rug near our side door which never seemed to stay in place.  The kids would accidentally kick it around, the door would catch on a curled corner…it was a first-world problem frustration, ha!  Enter: Gorilla Grip.  It’s a double-sided adhesive strip that you stick to the bottom of the rug and then the floor.  No more movement!  Supposedly, it’s removable and reusable too, but I haven’t tried yet.