5 Friday Favorites: August 29, 2025
It's time for my Friday link up with A Little Bit of Everything and Momfessionals.
On Fridays I share things that made me happy from the week - a photo, a song, a quote, a beauty product, a recipe, a pair of cute shoes, etc. If it's a product, sometimes it's something I actually own and sometimes something I just saw online that gave me a smile. Sometimes it's serious and sometimes it's silly. I suppose I believe that God is in the simple details of life and yes, I can even find Him in a tube of lipstick.
Hello.
I know you think I’m talking about Taylor and Travis and that’s very exciting, but no. I’m talking about this:
Young Arch Manning is about to take the #1 Texas Longhorns to Columbus to face the defending champion Ohio State Buckeyes - also the team we lost to in the semi-finals of the play-offs last year. If you would like to pray for the family and friends that will be participating in the football-watching festivities with me on Saturday afternoon, they will definitely be needed because it could be a bit intense.
I’m sure it will be fine. I’m a mature, dignified woman with self-control.
Next week I’m hoping that my #1 Friday Favorite will begin with Texas and end with Victory, but until then let’s look at some favorites from this week.
1. Jesus Won Apparel
If you’re a sports fan you might have noticed a number of college and professional athletes wearing “Jesus Won” shirts to share the message of John 16:33: “I have told you these things so that you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
My son Drew, who plays college baseball, recently partnered with Jesus Won Apparel as a brand ambassador. When you go to Jesuswonapparel.com you can shop for tees, sweatshirts, hats and other accessories. At checkout you can use the code SKINNER15 to get 15% off any purchase. Drew does not receive payment as a result of your purchase. Proceeds from any purchases using his code will be donated to Nations Church - a new church plant in Aldie, Virginia.
2. A Recipe for Nutmeal
I found this recipe saved in my phone recently and I have no idea where it came from, but I gave it a shot. The idea is that it’s a substitute for oatmeal, but what I’m going to tell you is that this is like a healthy berry cobbler. YOU ARE WELCOME!
2 cups walnuts
1 cup almonds
1 cup pecans
1 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup of hemp seeds (I subbed chia seeds, just because that’s what I had.)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
Mix all ingredients in food processor and store in the fridge. To serve, add 1/2 cup of frozen berries and a 1/3 cup of coconut milk (I was out of coconut milk, so used a big scoop of vanilla Greek yogurt) to a couple of good sized scoops (I know this is not specific. Just depends on how much you want.) of the nutmeal. Heat in the microwave for 2 minutes.
3. Princess Necklace
This Princess necklace from Park Lane is adorable. The necklace is simple, but the cut out heart and the pave crystals add some subtle sparkle. I think it’s a great gift for any age and for any style.
4. PrettyGarden Vest/Short Set
I’ve seen this set numerous times on the ol’ world wide web. My sister has it in black and really likes it. It comes in every color you can imagine, so I think it would be so cute in your school’s color if you’re attending a football game in the next several weeks since it will be quite some time before we get college football weather. I would wear this with a pair of cowboy boots if I was going to be attending the game where the Texas Longhorns beat all the way up on the Buckeyes.
5. The Lord will be with them wherever they go
The weather blessedly cooled off this week and all the kids in our area are back in school. I can hear the high school band practicing when I’m on my back porch. The traffic gets pretty dicey around 4:00 pm coming out of my neighborhood. The Chick Fil A line is a little less crowded at lunch time.
I love the beginning of the school year. It is certainly different for me now with only one of three kids still “schooling” and doing so four hours away from me. And yet, somehow I still feel all the excitement, hope and even the trepidation that this season brings. It’s like it’s floating in the air.
I went back to the very first year I was writing this blog and found a post I wrote on the first day of school. (I can tell it was a long time ago because back then I was still typing two spaces after a period.) The middle schoolers and the 2nd grader I wrote about then are now 26, 24 and 20 years old and somehow all of this still resonates with me.
From August 2012:
It's the first day of school. I tend to take on multiple personalities on the first day of school, so that what should be a relaxing day sometimes ends up an exhausting day. Today I've got one boy beginning his last year in middle school, one boy beginning his first year in middle school and one boy venturing off to his third year of elementary school, but it will be his first year without a big brother's hand to hold on the way in the door. I will drop them off and then make my annual phone call to my mom. She will answer and we will sing the "Alleluia" chorus and she will know that all of my people are up and out.
I will look around my empty house and I will find myself in a state of lonely euphoria. I will sit still and listen to the silence and then it will get too quiet. One minute I will be giddy and singing aloud to myself and the next I will be frantically trying to figure out how I can make time slam on the brakes, back up and let me start this motherhood thing all over again. One minute I'll grab a newly sharpened #2 pencil to start making a list of all the projects that I'll get done this year, all the while imagining the perfectly organized and clean house I'm about to have. The next minute I'll decide that I should just get in bed and watch talk shows for awhile or sit on the porch and read a book. I know that I'll end up driving by the playground to see if I can catch a glimpse of a little red-haired boy. I know I will picture my newest middle schooler being swallowed up in the hallway by a river of giant adolescents and for a few minutes I will contemplate homeschooling. I know that I will pray for my children and for their teachers and will try to use some kind of mama-telepathic-mind-power to send calm and confidence and compassion down the street, through the school doors and into the hearts of my boys.
Then I'll realize that all the regular life stuff still needs to be done and doing all that regular life stuff will focus me for a bit: laundry, school forms, banking, emails, carpool scheduling, doctor appointment changing, dry cleaning runs, grocery store shopping, ironing, birthday present buying, toilet cleaning, etc. But, before any of that, I will make sure that I read the following...maybe a few times today...especially when I start looking at the clock and tapping the table waiting to hear the doorknob turn and the backpacks slam to the floor and the voices yell, "Mom, I'm home and I'm starving!"
Entrust your loved ones to Me; release them into My protective care. They are much safer with Me than in your clinging hands. If you let a loved one become an idol in your heart, you endanger that one - as well as yourself. Remember the extreme measures I used with Abraham and Isaac. I took Isaac to the very point of death to free Abraham from son-worship. Both Abraham and Isaac suffered terribly because of the father's undisciplined emotions. I detest idolatry, even in the form of parental love.
When you release loved ones to Me, you are free to cling to My hand. As you entrust others into My care, I am free to shower blessings on them. My Presence will go with them wherever they go, and I will give them rest. This same Presence stays with you, as you relax and place your trust in Me. Watch to see what I will do.
-from Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence by Sarah Young
Happy School Year, Moms and Dads . . . whether they are going away to Kindergarten, middle School, high School, college, out adulting in the big, wide world or even if they are staying at home with you, let's take a deep breath. Our God holds their hands even when we don't...even when we can't. That is some really great news for us, so let's just lean into Him today and then go ahead and do a little happy dance.
Have a great weekend.
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