April Adagio: Share Four Somethings

Waving farewell to another month, I rejoice in a glance back at my April Adagio joining Heather Gerwing as she hosts a monthly feature called, Share Four Somethings, where writers share the fourth Saturday of each month something in each of four categories from the previous month.

For those unfamiliar with the musical term, “adagio” chosen for my title this month, it refers to a piece of music or a manner of playing music in a slower, casual pace. From the Italian, “agio”, it also refers to the slow and leisurely manner of life. Which describes my April on the whole.

Each month the four categories remain the same: something loved, something gleaned, something braved (or saved), and something achieved.

The premise delights me; the new categories falling right in line with my one word 2022 journey with Resilience! Looking back over the previous month through these four categories helps me linger with God’s goodness, and ignites my gratitude.

something loved

My April Adagio: Share Four Somethings starts off with an opportunity for supporting a local summer theater. Gretna Theater is one of the oldest summer theaters in America, established in the same location since 1927. The playhouse located in Mt. Gretna, Pennsylvania was built in 1892, and boasts broadway performances by Bernadette Peters, Charlton Heston, Faith Prince, Laurie Beechman and Sally Struthers.

In addition to summer stock productions, they also provide education for the community in the performing arts, and workshops and theater camps for aspiring young actors. As a full non-profit organization they conduct a number of creative fundraisers throughout the off season.

One creative fundraiser developed during the pandemic, is their Murder Mystery Files Box. An eleborate murder mystery is developed requiring your help to solve! For a set fee you purchase a three box set; mailed to you one at a time over a period of three months. Inside are clues and instructions for your monthly assignment.

Working with friends and family or alone, you attempt solving the mystery.

With the recipt of two boxes so far, we are privy to [staged] crime scene photos, coroner’s reports, eye witness reports, physical evidence and various other documents from a cruise ship massacre taking place in 1994.

We correspond via email with concerned citizen and former cruise participant, Frank Garrick who is conducting a private investigation. We report our findings to him, and he confirms (or redirects) and sends us additional info.

Specifically released over the winter months, it is a fabulous and fun way to support the theater and have a blast right in our own home.

something gleaned

Something gleaned this month comes from John Mark Comer’s newest offering, “Live No Lies: Recognize and Resist the Three Enemies That Sabotage Your Peace”. Not a fan of Comer’s writing style, I pushed through his veiled sarcasm and pseudo-intellectual rabbit trails for a meaningful takeaway.

The main premise of the book, “The problem isn’t so much that we tell lies but that we live them”, intrigued me. Comer moves through the three enemies: the devil, the flesh, and the world, according to their inter-relational existence in the life of the believer.

The devil’s deceitful ideas play to disordered desires normalized in a sinful society, describes the terrible cycle of sin in our lives. Thoughts and desires left unaddressed in our mind, appeal to undisciplined flesh and ultimately the world’s labeling of good as evil, and evil as good, assuages our shame and guilt allowing us to live any way we please.

A clunky read, it left me with the sobering thought of the church’s and my own casual attitude towards sin. We rarely hear sin addressed in churches as the deadly force and weapon of the devil wielded to destroy every Christian and wreak folly within the church itself.

something braved

A new category starting in January 2022, something braved gives opportunity for reflecting on the hard places we often walk or times we step out of our comfort zone.

This month pushed me outside of my comfort zone in participating in an interview for the podcast, “Women Living Courageously”. the brain child of my dear friend, Melanie Redd, her mission is to point women back to Jesus, in every life situation.

Invited a few months ago, Melanie wanted me to explore ways to find Peace in the storms of life. The tagline of my Serenity in Suffering blog, I delightfully accepted the offer. A novice to the interview circuit, I naturally battled anxiety, but Melanie set me at ease from the very beginning.

Recorded in April, the episode will air on May 11th, and I will have plenty of promotional reminders on social media and here on the blog. Stay tuned for a blog post with more information and a link to the podcast!

something achieved

Rounding out my April Adagio: Share Four Somethings, is another new category, dedicated to things achieved. For goal setting geeks, this category offers an opportunity to shine. But even if goal setting makes you squeamish, right here is the place for celebrating even baby steps towards getting things done.

This month all of my winter decor finally found its final resting place. A serial procrastinator, I tend towards Scarlett O’Hara’s penchant for thinking about troublesome things “tomorrow”.

March’s unpredictable weather stalled my enthusiasm for spring decor, but come April I took the plunge. And in so doing, I tackled organizing my decor storage which was in major disarray. I recycled the old and reorganized the new and now come the next seasonal change in autumn, I may actually enjoy what has before seemed unpleasant.

april adagio: share four somethings

As I mentioned at the beginning, my intentional choice of the word, “Adagio” in my post title reflected the slower, reflective pace of April for me. Especially the last two weeks of Lent leading up to Easter this year.

Thank you for taking a leisurely walk back through my April Adagio with me! I am grateful to Heather for creating such a creative way to review the moments of our days which often slip by so quickly. Sharing Four Somethings is a way to savor one more time those things we loved, gleaned, braved and achieved!

But you don’t have to be a writer or blogger to enjoy this practice. Why not take a few moments and think back over YOUR April Adagio and share four somethings with me in the comments! Meet me back here at the end of May for more joyful somethings!