August always is a doozy when you have school-aged kids in your house. The excitement of the new school year often transitions into complete exhaustion by the time Labor Day blessedly rolls around. At least that’s the case in our house most years. Here are the things that kept us sane, happy, and chilled in the crazy days of August.
Favorite Podcast
Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast – I found this one in early August and it is fantastic. Each episode is about 20-minutes long making it an easy one to consume in the time I have in the mornings to listen. And don’t let 20-minutes fool you. He packs a lot into each episode. The schedule is for a monthly release, but this one has been around a while, so there is plenty to catch up on. I started with January 2019 and the ones on managing energy have been my favorites so far.
Favorite Podcast Episode
Annie Downs with Mike Donehey – It is no secret I love Annie Downs. She is down to earth, my kind of funny, loves Jesus to her core, and I think she is one of the best podcast interviewers out there. Her recent podcast with Mike Donehey from Tenth Avenue North is incredible. I have always loved their music, but man alive. Mike Donehey is the real deal and theologically dropped all the mics on this episode. I’ve listened to it twice if that tells you anything. Highly recommend this one.
Favorite Book
Chaos Beneath the Shade – This is a great book by Tracey Bickle about how to combat bitterness. Her story flows from life after her marriage fell apart, but she does a good job of not focusing solely on that category of disappointment. If you’ve had anything in life that was a disappointment, bitterness can creep in potentially wrecking your future relationships and self. Tracey does a good job of finding nuggets of Biblical truth. Easy read even though it can be a hard topic.
Favorite App
Chick-fil-A – Who am I kidding? With school starting, parents nights, play rehearsals, karate classes, and piano lessons, this place fed my family with ridiculous frequency in recent weeks. And, I must be the last person on the planet to discover their app. Hello free chicken! This is nothing new, friends, but it is new to me and it has rocked my world. The end.
