Happenings of the Month: June 2016

Whew, can you believe it? Another month has come and gone, and summer is speeding along. Here’s what’s happened this month.

Entertainment of the Month:

• TV/Movies

Wives and Daughters is a BBC miniseries based on the novel by Elizabeth Gaskell. It tells the story of Molly Gibson, whose life is changed forever when her father remarries, giving her a new mother, as well as a sister, Cynthia. The two sisters grow close, but both romance and secrets abound, throwing everything into chaos. I love this story for its main character (Molly is a really sweet, no-nonsense girl), its setting ( the scenery and costumes are all on-par with any BBC Austen production), and its simplicity (despite all the subterfuge, it’s not a complicated story). If you like Jane Austen, I’m sure you’ll enjoy Wives and Daughters.

• Books

If you’ve read many of my book-related posts, you’ve probably realized that I really love author Lynn Austin. I’ve read several of her books, and my latest read is called All Things New. In this story, Josephine Weatherly has survived the Civil War, but at the cost of father, brother, way of life, and faith. Josephine blames God for all the senseless loss. Meanwhile, her mother tries desperately to return life to the way it was, ignoring the fact that they haven’t the money, the servants, or the spirit to do so. For former slave Lizzy, the end of the war brings freedom, but she’s not even sure how to take hold of it. As she and her family continue to work for the Weatherlys, a spiral of events occurs in their lives. Yankee Alexander Chandler, representing the Freedman’s Bureau, seeks to rebuild in the South, but he’s met by resentment and violence. Just because the war is over doesn’t mean that wounds are healed. The question is whether or not, in the wake of tragedy, loss, and pain, all things really can be made new.

• Music

“What You Want” – Tenth Avenue North – In their latest single, the Christian band talks about letting go of the need to be an amazing leader and simply letting God be in control.

“Priceless” – for King and Country – We have infinite worth because God loves us, and this song is heartfelt plea to remember that, no matter what we’ve done or what’s been done to us, God still sees us as priceless.

“Thy Will” – Hillary Scott and the Scott Family – I really like the sound of country band Lady Antebellum, and now their lead singer has done a worship project. This song is a soaring, piano and violin-driven melody about trusting God even when we don’t understand our circumstances.

My Life This Month:

Summer seems like it’s going by so fast. I mean, we all tend to say that about time in general, but, really, the older I get, the faster it seems to go. (Which makes me sound old, and I’m really not…) I’m really trying to learn to live in the moment, and it can be very concerning to see my moments disappearing! Still, that’s life, and, if I’m going to moan about it, then all my time really will fly away!

Sometimes I wish God would quite throwing things at me to strengthen my trust in Him. Which proves that I clearly still need them. But it doesn’t change the feeling. The latest of these “Trust Me” moments is job uncertainty. I found out recently that I may not have my job much longer, not because of anything I’ve done, but because of other things. I was counting on having this job during the summer until I graduate college, and now I may not even have it for the rest of this summer. And I’m a little worried, to be honest. Right now it’s all very tentative, more talk than anything, but that doesn’t stop the flutter in my chest. I love this job. I feel like I’m making an impact here. My brain is still scrambling to figure out the right course of action. What do I do if this really does happen? What happens if I lose this job?

Even though I don’t know what I would do, I do know that I need to trust. God sees. God knows. Everything’s going to be okay.

Last month’s Happenings post was so full of optimism about my writing. I don’t really have updates this month, unfortunately. I haven’t written much since I started working. I have done a bunch of blog work, though, writing posts that will appear over the next few months. I’m happy to finally be doing what I’ve wanted to for a long time: creating a post stockpile. I’m really excited about some of them. As for fiction, though, my burst of enthusiasm has yet to be properly channeled into discipline. I am, however, looking into places to submit articles, which is something I’ve wanted to do for a while. We’ll see how it goes.

Other Web Happenings:

My Favorite Author | Liam Wood – Liam Wood tries to get an autograph from Maggie Stiefvater and gets his perspective shifted instead.

Song Unheard Contest | Go Teen Writers – Roseanna White is giving readers a chance to create a melody for her newest book; how cool is that?!

Purposeful Pages | Scattered Journal Pages – This is the introductory post for a new monthly link-up that’s starting in July, which will explore questions about life and purpose.

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So, how was June for all of ya’ll? I hope you’ve been enjoying your summer! Let me know how it’s going in the comments!