My top 5's

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As a result of my recent DTS class in Italy, I have taken a deep dive into medieval art  and spirituality. This week I am working on my Senior Research paper which deals with the role of medieval art in forming and promoting theology. 

1. On the Devine Images (St John, of Damascus and David Anderson)

2. Artistic Theory in Italy 1450-1600 (Anthony Blunt)

3. Christian Women in the Patristic World (Cohick & Hughes)

4. Storytelling in Christian Art from Giotto to Donatello (Jules Lubbock)

5. Reality Through the Arts 8th Edition (Dennis J. Sporre)

1. 5 — number of months until I meet my new grandson

2. 1.5­ – number of milliseconds between when the light changes green and the car behind me honks

3. 13.1 – number of miles people deliberately run in a half marathon AND number of miles I accidentally walked to buy one thing at IKEA

4. 11 – number of players on a soccer football field (thank you World Cup! It was a blast!!)

5. 12.5 – number of years we have been in Doha. America, we are headed home!!!

1. Trust

2. Pray

3. Go!

4. Release

5. Welcome

These are a few special things I am already missing from my life in Doha as we look forward to repatriating to the US. 

1. Community at Grace Fellowship

2. Brunch at Lamar

3. Concierge at Porto Arabia

4. Smell of Spices at the Souq

5. Sunset from my balcony

1. "He is not here, He is risen." Matthew 28:6

2. "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live." John 11:25

3. "You killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead." Acts 3:15

4. "... that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead."             Philippians 3:10-11

5. "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9

Disclaimer, anyone is welcome to wear whatever-they-want-whenever-they-want. However, as a woman over a "certain age" I have found it helpful to avoid the following:

1. Camo anything!- what or who are you hiding from?

2. All over floral patterns- just makes me feel frumpy

3. Active wear when non active- no comment necessary

4. Plunging necklines- no one deserves to see that 

5. Cropped pants- unless you are over 5'7"

1. Liturgy of the Ordinary- Tish Harrison Warren

2. Spiritual Classics- Richard Foster

3. Emotionally Healthy Discipleship- Peter Scazzero

·4. 5-star Weekend- Elin Hilderbrand

·5. Dementia: Living in the Memories of God- John Swinton

Whether through readings, writings, or podcasts, these are quotes that have made me stop and think. 

1.  “The next hour, the next moment, is as much beyond our grasp and as much in God’s care, as that of a hundred years away.” -George McDonald as quoted in Spiritual Classics by Richard Foster

2.  “We seldom understand the full benefit of high-level reading until long after the fact.”  ­– Ted Goia, The Honest Broker. 

3.  “When approached God’s way, growing older offers a unique opportunity to release old identities of self-importance and learn God’s deep wisdom on how to give away our life, and death, for the sake of the world. ­– Peter Scazzerio, Emotionally Healthy Discipleship

4.  “The modern world is full of old Christian virtues gone mad. The virtues have gone mad because they have been isolated from each other and are wondering alone.” – G.K. Chesterton 

5.  “The thin jellies within you or within me, 

The bones and the marrow in the bones, 

The exquisite realization of health; 

Oh, I say, these are not the parts and poems of the body only. 

but of the soul. 

Oh, I say now, these are the soul!” – Walt Whitman, The Body Electric