Last night at IKEA, we succumbed to the lure of inexpensive Scandinavian merchandise, and I picked up one of their smaller ENEBY Bluetooth speakers to try out in our kitchen. We use AirPlay primarily throughout the house for playing music, but our kitchen is one area where the sound doesn’t reach as well and where I often would like to listen to something like a podcast while working (e.g. doing dishes). Plus, the speaker looks cool and has received some pretty good ratings online.

Tonight was date night, and after dinner at a Mexican restaurant, my wife and I decided that a drive to our local IKEA was in order. We thought their dining area would be a great place to sit down and play a board game together. The idea was a good one; we got some free coffee thanks to the IKEA Family Membership and then battled it out with a game of Lost Cities. After losing the first three rounds, I squeaked out a victory.

I’m a bit of a productivity and task-management nerd. Unfortunately, this means lots of change and experimentation with new systems, programs, plans, etc. Over the years I’ve waffled between various systems, but for 2018, I decided to stick with one system and try to use it as long as possible. Instead of becoming a purist for one specific productivity method, I’ve instead combined the best elements of a few different systems and tips that I picked up over the years, and mashed them all into something I like to call my “daily pages”.

God’s love helps us receive and interpret our circumstances instead of having our hearts controlled by them. Rather than looking at our schedules and hoping for a good day, or creating a plan to make a good day, we look to the satisfying love of God that he generously offers each morning. – Matthew Westerholm, Evaluate Your Day Before It Begins on desiringGod.org

We took our kids to the Children’s Museum of Denver today; all four had lots of fun in the Art Studio with paint.