Share Four Somethings: February 2024

Inside: I tentatively post my first personal Instagram reel, return to a life-giving habit, write a guest post about God’s involvement in “all the days” of our lives and continue a new QA& feature on the blog. ~

I know there’s an extra day tacked on the end of the month, but doesn’t it seem like February has gone by way too fast?

One highlight for me was Family Weekend at my daughters’ college. This was the first and last time both girls were there for this event as students, so that made it even more special.

In addition to visiting dear friends from our years of living in Arkansas, we also attended a variety of campus activities, including a women’s basketball game. I don’t typically gravitate toward this sport, but since the team is ranked No. 13 in the country, it seemed like a fun option.

One player made eight three-point shots in the game. She kept nailing them, one right after another.

That’s How I Remember It, Anyway

When I looked up her stats, though, it turns out she actually attempted 18 three-pointers, which means she missed more than she made.

That doesn’t detract from her accomplishment, of course. In my mind, it simply reinforces how hard it is to make as many as she did.

As hockey great Wayne Gretzky famously said, “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.”

Such sayings don’t normally impact my motivation levels that much, but Gretzky’s words hit home when I heard someone quote them on the radio earlier this month. They’re inspiring me in my current phase of life, which I’ve affectionately dubbed “knocking season” (see here and here for more on that).

Most of my ideas and plans won’t happen on their own, so I’ve been knocking on some doors and trusting God to open the ones He wants me to go through. While that’s going on, I’ve also been able to complete and/or return to some projects that I’ve had on the backburner for a while.

For this month’s riff on Share Four Somethings, I’m focusing on the blog linkup’s “Something Accomplished” category. Starting with …

• A Guest Post

If I had to list my all-time favorite Bible verses, Psalm 139:16b would be near the top. This scripture—“All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be”—has been a lifeline though some of the most uncertain and sorrowful seasons of my life.

In recent years, I’ve come to understand more fully how God’s sovereignty over “all our days” doesn’t just guide the beginning and the end of our lives, but also all the milestone dates and events in between. I wrote about this for the Sage Forum’s mid-month reflection this month. You can find it here.

• A “Real” Reel

Never have I ever filmed myself for an Instagram reel. I never really had reason to do so on my personal account (other than the requirements of the almighty algorithm, which I tend to ignore).

I’ve been told it would be helpful to share personal messages with the Remembering Our Parents Instagram community, but getting started with that always seemed daunting.

You’ll have to watch the reel to see why I finally decided to do it a few weeks ago. (It involved a promise to a friend that I didn’t really think I would have to keep.)

It took a few (well, more than a few, actually) tries, and there’s a technical issue with the sound that I didn’t notice until it posted. Overall, though, I think it turned out OK (thanks in large part to feedback from my husband and daughter).

Will this become a regular feature on Remembering Our Parents? I guess you’ll have to follow along to find out.

• A Helpful Habit

A few years ago, I started “fasting” from the Internet once a week. Aside from texting family members and playing music on Spotify, I went completely offline every Thursday. No email, social media or Google.

I loved this weekly break and kept it up for many months, maybe a year or two. Eventually, though—and I can’t tell you why—I let the habit go.

Then 2024 rolled around, and with it a variety of growth opportunities. And one day, around the middle of January, I thought, I should start taking a day off the internet again.

I did just that, and I think I’m loving it even more than I did the first time around.

On a recent phone call, I shared how I’d come back to this weekly habit. And get this: The friend I was talking to said she noticed a change in my voice when I started telling her about it.

That just goes to show what a burden these online spaces can become, and how important it is to take regular breaks from them. My friend encouraged me to think about adding in even more space, and I’m doing just that.

We each can come up with what works for us, but I think it’s safe to say that some kind of intentional internet fast—on whatever day or part of a day we choose—can only help.

• A New Blog Feature

When I worked as a newspaper reporter and magazine writer, one of my favorite parts of the job was asking people questions about their lives. Most often, I was writing articles about their businesses or other work-related topics, but it was always fun when the conversations became more personal.

I didn’t write many straight Q&As back then, but recently, I decided to try this genre out on the blog as a way to pick the brains (and hearts) of some of my favorite blogging friends.

We started out with a tender conversation about grief with Linda Stoll in early December. Last week, Michele Morin opened up about how God is using her recent Parkinson’s diagnosis to continue His refining work in her life.

Among other things, these interviews are rekindling my love for telling other people’s stories. I’m not sure about all the forms this may take in the future, but stay tuned for more Q&As here. I have a few planned, and I have a feeling they will be as encouraging as the ones I’ve already shared.

• • •

Now it’s your turn. How has February been for you? What have you learned, noticed, read or accomplished lately? Please share in the comments.

♥ Lois

P.S. I’m linking up this week with sharefoursomethings, #tellhisstory, InstaEncouragements, Let’s Have Coffee and Grace & Truth.