The Saturday Six

One.

I was reading an article about the ten most popular houses for sale on realtor.com throughout this past year, and I found THIS ONE which is actually still for sale. If you have a spare eighteen million burning a hole in your bank account, you could actually get it. I had missed this one when they featured it originally. An underground paradise? INTERESTING!!!!!

Two.

Some minimalist Christmas décor (proving that it doesn't have to be over the top to be beautiful and festive)!

Three.

One of the best parts of this past year has been slowly studying my way through the four Gospels. I have loved the pace and learning more in-depth about the life of Christ. I thought that throughout the next year, I would share my monthly reading plan with you in case you want to make that your focus in study for the coming year. I tried to link to the January plan, but it wouldn't take the link, so I'm adding it here as a picture. My scanning options aren't working at the moment, but I'll try to fix that and add it back in as a better quality piece. Meanwhile, this page gives the rundown, including little check boxes for you to mark off after you've done the daily reading. If you do this, you'll be in the book of Matthew the entire month, and if you want to study a commentary alongside, I can recommend the one I studied, which was called Matthew by Charles Spurgeon. (I would also recommend the series by Chuck Swindoll, but his volumes on Matthew don't release until partway through 2020.)

Four.

Ryan wants to try this footlong crunchy taco challenge. (Hey, we haven't done this county yet, so...)

Five.

I remember, as a kid, making paper snowflakes at school. It was one of those projects teachers would keep on hand to occupy the kids who finished their work first. (If math was involved, I was never that student. But reading or writing? Oh yes.) I saw this post this week - now these are some fancy snowflakes!

Six.

One of you asked about Ryan's new pillow, so I asked him to give me the details. Until about a week or two ago, Ryan hadn't had a new pillow since 2004. (WHAT?!) The 2004 pillow was a latex pillow that he really loved, but over time it had started to break down and he'd begun having neck pain. He decided to get a new version of the pillow in hopes that it would help, and he said so far, he really likes it - AND his neck feels better! The new pillow has similar features to his old one, but it's a bit different in style. His old pillow was solid latex, and this one is made of shredded latex. This new one was created for back, side, and stomach sleepers. (Or as Ryan has labeled himself, "an a.d.d. sleeper." It really is true. He sleeps hard, but he changes positions often throughout the night.)

He said one thing he really liked about his old (solid latex) pillow was that it never lost its shape. It never went flat. (And that is true! Even all broken down, it looked exactly the same as my much newer version when it just sat in its pillowcase.) The newer one, filled with shredded latex, forms around his head as he sleeps, no matter what position he's in. It doesn't sit up quite as tall as mine, but that really doesn't matter. We have shams over our pillows during the day anyway.

These pillows are pricey compared to what you'd grab off the shelf at the store, but as you can see, they do have a remarkable life span, so if you calculate that out over time, it's worth the extra money. And Ryan, the former mattress maker, is of the firm resolve that the two things you should never skimp on are your sleeping tools (mattresses and pillows) and your walking tools (shoes). If you invest well in those two departments, he says life just goes better across the board.

Here is a link to the one he got...and if you have any questions, just ask! I'll pass them right along to him!