Hodgepodge in the driver's seat

 

 It's Wednesday again, and that means it's time for the Hodgepodge -- the linkup where Joyce, at  From This Side of the Pond, asks the questions and bloggers provide the answers on their own blogs.  I've been MIA from the Hodgepodge for a few weeks but am jumping back in today.  This week's Hodgepodge questions are kind of all over the place.   Here goes:

1. What's one thing you're excited about in the coming month? 

Our church's annual Fourth of July celebration at the home of friends.  Always a fun, meaningful and festive time!  

Both photos from previous years' July 4th celebration.

2. What was your life like when you were ten years old? 

It seems it was simpler back then.  Oh, of course I had very few responsibilities at ten, compared to adulthood, but life itself was simpler.  I think, as much as I appreciate and use the internet, we were probably in many ways better off without it.  I think I was around 10 or 11 in the photo below.  Our kitchen and dining area had just been remodeled, and this fireplace was added. 

At 10 I loved reading, paper dolls, bike riding, and exploring the farm fields by myself, enjoying the wildflowers, brook, frogs, and more.  I was also beginning to enjoy cooking and baking.

3. What's something from your childhood you still enjoy today? 

I still enjoy wildflowers, brooks, fields and forests.   Only now I know them to be God's creation and so I know whom to thank.  I still enjoy reading, cooking, and baking, too.

Pink lady's slippers

Painted trillium

4. What state (that you haven't been to) do you most want to visit? Tell us why. 

Oh, that is a difficult one. Not sure I can choose just one.  And I've been to a lot of states I would like to spend more time in and maybe visit a different part of.  Like Idaho, for example.  I've visited south central Idaho a couple of times and enjoyed it very much.  But I would love to visit the far northern part of Idaho, hundreds of miles from where we've been in the past.

Craters of the Moon is near Arco, Idaho and is an amazing place we've visited several times.

The sunset photo was taken in Bliss, Idaho.

5. Do you like to drive? Tell us how you learned to drive. 

I hate to drive.  The story of how I didn't learn is probably better than the story of how I did learn.  The unsuccessful attempt involved younger siblings in the back of a Jeep pickup as my dad tried to teach me to drive a standard.  One pop of the clutch, a crying child, and the lesson was over, never to be continued.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

 I've been thinking a lot lately about spiritual maturity and how important it is.  So many Christians don't seem to even be pursuing it, and I find that discouraging and more than a little troubling.  Our pastor has been doing a series on this topic that I think may continue for awhile yet.  I did a little bit of looking back at my own blog posts on spiritual growth, and one that I really zeroed in on was this one concerning focus, which happens to be my word for 2023.  You might like to read it if you didn't see this one back in January.  Or just click "spiritual growth" in the label cloud for (hopefully) lots more encouragement in this area.

This meaningful graphic by Abby at Little Birdie Blessings is a summertime favorite of mine.

 
And that's the Hodgepodge for today!  Why not go over to  From This Side of the Pond, get the questions, and jump into the Hodgepodge with us?