The Saturday Six

One.

Whether or not you ultimately think this little house is cute, there's no denying its history is pretty sweet. It started as a car dealership, then became a taco stand, and then an Airbnb. WHAT?!?! True!

Two.

I've been doing some brainstorming for Christmas decorating. The last three years, I've had every room decorated in exactly the same way, and I'd like to switch it up a little bit this year. (AKA I want to give themes to some rooms that have had none up to this point.) Since our guest room has red/black/gray themes, I sort of fell in love with the plaid ideas in this post. I think I could make a few of these things for relatively little cost!

Three.

I stumbled upon this site this week and thought it was pretty interesting. You can search for clothes from different decades...20s through 70s. If you like new versions of vintage clothing, this could be a fun place to look! (I've never ordered from them, so I don't know anything about quality or customer service, etc. I just had fun looking at the clothes.)

Four.

Earlier this week, when I told you about our guests who came to stay with us, I mentioned the ice cream game that was a crowd favorite with the kids. I had some questions about it, so I thought I would link to it here! I purchased it from Amazon last fall before a women's retreat, because I used it in an icebreaker game I played with the women. I decided to keep it in the toy stash, and most of the kids who have come over have loved playing with it. The game comes with a plastic cone and 12 scoops of ice cream (as well as a scooper), and the goal is to stack as many of the scoops on top of the cone as possible before it falls over. (It's harder to do than you might think!) I've had some kids enjoy playing it as the game it is and this time it was used for a little ice cream parlor fun. Worth the ten or so bucks we paid for it!

Five.

I've been to exactly...none...of these diners. And even worse? None are close to me, so I can't even run out and try one! But I think they would be fun to put on travel bucket lists. And I do love a good old fashioned diner. I really do. 


Six.

I haven't had much time for reading lately, but I do have a book to tell you about today! Some of you may remember that for my quiet time this year, I'm reading slowly and carefully through all four Gospels. Back at the end of April, I finished Matthew, and the commentary I read alongside my Scripture study had been written by Charles Spurgeon. (My review of that commentary can be found here.) Unfortunately (for me) that commentary on Matthew was the only commentary Spurgeon ever wrote. He actually died before that one was even published. His wife and friends put the finishing touches on it and published it, for which I am grateful!

I say that to say when it came time to study the book of Mark, I had to find a new commentator, and it took me a while to settle on one that I felt comfortable with. I finally landed on Charles Swindoll's Living Insights New Testament Commentary on Mark. Though Spurgeon lived many many years ago, Chuck Swindoll is a contemporary writer. He is still active in teaching and preaching ministry, and I learned, as I read this commentary, that he actually has an entire series on the New Testament books. (So yes, I will eventually own all of those. Skip over that last sentence, Ryan. Ha!)

I will tell you that making the transition from the book of Matthew to the book of Mark was quite an adjustment for me. Matthew was long! It took me four months to get through it. Mark, on the other hand, was like sprinting through the life and ministry of Jesus. Their writing styles were very different, and I found I had a huge, deep connection to the flow of Matthew, so Mark was a challenge for me! Likewise, coming from the older writing style of Spurgeon to the conversational flow of Swindoll was an adjustment....but I really grew to love it.

Swindoll has spent his life and ministry both preaching at churches and teaching in seminaries, so when he set out to write these commentaries, he pulled heavily from research he had done for sermons and classes. Because he's accustomed to relating to congregations and students, his writing holds that same conversational tone, and it was very easy to understand and follow.

The book style was a tiny bit different than Spurgeon's. Though I chose to read from my own Bible as I went, he does include the entire text of Mark in both the NASB and NLT translations, divided into sections, followed by his commentary. He shares words of commentary about each verse or group of verses with occasional maps and photos for further help. At the end of each large section of commentary, he offers sermon-like application to drive home what he just taught. He also includes some word studies from the original language (on important or frequently used words) and sprinkled throughout, he shares additional insights from his own life experiences.

Though I was nervous at first, to move to something beyond my beloved Spurgeon commentary, I absolutely loved Swindoll's teaching, and I learned so much. Scribbled so many notes. Underlined so many passages. If I hadn't already purchased a different commentary for Luke (found one at a used bookstore earlier this year) I would be getting his volume on Luke for my study. I would love to read the entire series eventually. It's well done!