Share Four Somethings: April 2022

It’s late April in Kansas, which means—at least for now—that the dogwoods are blooming, the wind is blowing 28 miles per hour and the birds are chirping loudly outside my open windows.

Here on the blog, it’s once again time for Share Four Somethings. Heather Gerwing, the host of this monthly linkup, has adjusted the categories a bit since we last met. Along with Something Loved, Gleaned and Achieved, she’s added Something Saved as an alternative to Something Braved.

One thing I especially love to save is time, which leads me right into the first category …

• Something loved

Sometimes I veer toward nostalgic or sentimental in this category, but today, it’s all about convenience and practicality. Cleaning the large mirror in my bathroom is one of my least favorite chores. The spray gets everywhere and it just annoys me.

One day, it occurred to me that some company might make glass cleaner wipes—like antibacterial wipes, only for mirrors. Much to my delight (and I mean that wholeheartedly), I found some at our local hardware store.

Now, my bathroom mirror looks much better and gets cleaned a lot more often. I only wish I had thought of this sooner.

• Something gleaned

Can you glean something from a song? I think so, especially a poignant hymn like “Be Still My Soul.” Written by Catharina von Schlegel, the original German lyrics were published in 1752. They were translated into English in 1855 by Jane Borthwick, but remain of particular relevance today.

Here are the lyrics, followed by a link to a moving rendition of the song by Kari Jobe.

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side;
bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
leave to thy God to order and provide;
in ev’ry change He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heav’nly Friend
thro’ thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
to guide the future as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
all now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice, who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart,
and all is darkened in the veil of tears,
then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears.
Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay
from His own fullness all He takes away.

Be still, my soul: the hour is hast’ning on
when we shall be forever with the Lord,
when disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past,
all safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

• Something saved

For our anniversary in March, Randy bought me a new KitchenAid stand mixer. It’s bright red, matches my kitchen perfectly, has a lovely guard that keeps flour from exploding all over the place, and is much lighter than my old one.

I’ve already used it, and I love it.

I suppose I could have used my mixer for the Something Loved category, but here, I’m focusing on my old mixer. The one I bought off Craigslist, maybe eight or nine years ago, for $80.

No flour guard on the old mixer, obviously.

Putting it back on Craigslist is an option. Even though it makes a lot of noise and nudges its way across the countertop when it’s running, I have a feeling I could easily recoup my money. But I’m saving it.

Someday, my daughters will have their own kitchens, and I’ll hand it down to one of them. They’ve both called dibs, but I’m not making any promises. We’ll see who gets it when the time comes.

• Something achieved

I set a goal, at the beginning of April, to write every morning. Not just for 30 minutes here and an hour there, but for three hours each day.

I didn’t usually reach that number, but I kept after it. The more I worked on my project, the more I wanted to work on it. Which helped me to achieve my overall objective—to finish a first rough draft my manuscript this month.

There’s a long way to go with this project, and no certain outcome. But I’m all for celebrating the milestones along the way, so here’s to a whole lot of words on a whole lot of pages.

• • •

Now it’s your turn. Please share your favorite household cleaning shortcuts, hymn lyrics or small kitchen appliance. Or, if you prefer, tell us your own version of Something Loved, Gleaned, Saved or Braved, and Achieved for the last month.

♥ Lois

P.S. I’m linking up this week with Share Four Somethings, #tellhisstory, InstaEncouragements, Recharge Wednesday, Let’s Have Coffee and Grace & Truth