Marching Into Spring
March Newsletter 2025: Cleaning, Eagles, Books and More!
“Cherry Blossoms” painting by Brooke Zoller, acrylic on canvas
Welcome to the FIRST EDITION of my monthly newsletter featuring thoughts, activities, music, books and more with each edition! I’d love to hear what you think about the content and what you’d like to see!
What I’ve Been Pondering Lately…
I don’t clean my house anymore.
And no, I didn’t get a maid, I’ve just stopped cleaning the entire house at the same time.
I simply don’t have the interest or energy anymore. I’m ok with that.
But here is what I do: I clean a room or two at a time. I set an hour timer, crank on some music or a podcast and go to it! Then repeat the process every one to two weeks.
Focusing on a smaller space, I can start at the ceiling and work my way down to the floors, and even the baseboards if I want. I have started being more mindful of our “things” and either purging what we don’t need (or want!) to clean and also being grateful for the many blessings of the home/spaces/items we do have. Attitude and gratitude are everything.
So, even though I don’t clean my house anymore, it still gets clean. Eventually.
Happy Spring Cleaning!
Scottie’s Kid Activities: The Eaglets are here!
YouTube has provided me and my 3- and 1-year old grandchildren with many hours of entertainment, conversation and learning all things EAGLE! Watching Jackie and Shadow, two adult eagles from Big Bear Lake, lay, hatch and raise their eaglets this past month have been such a fun thing to witness! Observing nature always seems to bring about the Godly parallels: feeding the hungry, covering with wings, protecting from harm. Notice how they’re all active?
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him…” Romans 12:20
“He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge…” Psalms 91:4
“But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.” 2 Thessalonians 3:3
The eagles are a great example of how God is active in our lives and loves us. Trust in his care!
Brooke’s Book Nook
Where’s my bookmark? Currently in Dr. Marty Makary’s book, Blind Spots, When Medicine Gets It Wrong, and What It Means for Our Health. As a doctor, he dives into the research and spotlights some current health questions on topics such as the microbiome, hormone replacement therapy, cholesterol, peanut allergies, GLP-1 and more! It’s easy to read, interesting and informative!
To Be Read (TBR) list: it’s a never-ending list, so here’s a couple I’m excited about: Deeper by Dane Ortlund and for fun, The Summer of Yes by Courtney Walsh. Have you read any of these?
Children’s Book Feature: Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco - a delightful picture book telling the true story of how Patricia’s grandma helped her overcome the fear of thunderstorms. This is the perfect book to snuggle up and read with your children on a stormy day or anytime. Patricia Polacco’s illustrations and stories are to be treasured!
The Pondering Scottie’s Playlist
Click here: Poor Bishop Hooper
Have you heard of them? This talented married couple wrote a song for every one of the Psalms. It’s a beautiful project! Here are just a few of my favorites:
Psalm 10, 18, 26, 36, 42, 66, and, well you get the idea!
Give them a listen and let me know what you think!
As we wrap up this month…
Ponder This
Two very positive and hope-filled words: What if…
How would you finish this statement? Don’t let fear, money or age hold you back either! Leave me a comment on how you would finish this sentence.
Don’t miss out on my April Newsletter, consider subscribing today so you won’t miss an issue!
Until next time, sweet friends!
Brooke
Brooke, your painting speaks spring in the most beautiful, calming shades. And your cleaning philosophy is whispering my name. Things are picked up, but I'm not scrubbing and polishing like back in the day. And nobody notices the difference, right?
So good to be here with you this morning. Have a lovely day.
First of all, love your painting. I wish I had that talent - it's beautiful.
I also clean my house like you. I can't do it all at once so it gets done in little bits. I've become a minimalist, meaning I don't have any trinkets, extra things sitting around my house. It keeps my house neater and less to clean and dust.
And love the eagle watching, I've done that in the past too. It's so interesting and inspiring!