Italy Trip (Part 2) - Family of 8, 17 days, 1 backpack each

 

 

 

 

Traveling with all of us is definitely different than trips with just my husband and I.  There are a lot of logistics to work out.  We do a lot of planning beforehand but there are just so many things that we can't know or figure out ahead of time.  So here are some tips.  Some are basic travel tips and some are specific to Italy.

1) Set Expectations - We always try to set expectations before we leave.  For this trip we let the kids know that there were long flights and that they would be experiencing jetlag for the first time.   We showed them the rental apartments ahead of time so they knew what to expect for sleeping arrangements.  We also discussed that we would be walking a lot. 

2) Be Flexible - There were many things we had to figure out and things that were just different.  We did a lot of planning but also left a lot of room for flexibility.

3) Minimize Luggage -  For this trip we each took one backpack. Our reasoning was that it's easier when flying internationally; if you check baggage you have to collect your bags and then recheck them anytime you go through customs.  We also knew we were taking a lot of trains and were going to be walking in the cities, minimizing our use of the Metro.  Backpacks would make navigating this all much easier.  

4) Don't Overschedule - It can be tempting to try to see and do everything.  We knew that the kids would have jetlag and we also knew that our 7 year old would only be able to do so much museum time.  Before leaving we booked or planned one big thing for each city.  Other than travel days we didn't have any set time to be up.  We let the kids sleep in, had slower mornings and then explored more in the afternoons and evenings.  We also had some evenings where some of the kids just wanted down time so a few of us would stay at the apartment and some would go out exploring.  

4b) Plan Some Down Time - Our travel days were down days.  We would enjoy the train ride, do some laundry, grab some groceries but basically just hang out and get settled in the new city.  Often we would go out and wander a bit in the evenings but it was nice for those that wanted to just chill to have the option to just hang out and relax.  While we wanted to see a lot we also wanted this to be a real vacation. 

5) Use Public Transit - We booked all of our fast trains in advance.  These were great as we had assigned seats with a small table so we would grab sandwiches on our way to the station and then eat lunch on our train rides.  For longer trips within the cities;  the metro is also very easy to navigate and you can just buy tickets using the machines at the stations. This makes it very easy to move around and between cities.

6) Use Rental Properties - We booked rental properties for all four cities.  This meant we had access to laundry and a kitchen at each place.  We ate breakfast and most of our dinners in the apartment.  Also, having space to spread out a bit and hang out is also helpful.  

7) Check For Discounts - Italy is very family friendly.  The Frecciarossa trains have a Frecciafamily rate where the kids are discounted.  Most museums are also free for kids under 18 and many other places have discounts for kids.  

**side note, in the US kids are often seen as an inconvenience.  We never felt that in Italy. Everyone was so welcoming and positive about the kids.  Kids are expected to be out late, etc.**

8) Survey The Kids - We asked each of the kids if they had anything specific they wanted to see or do.  Our youngest saw a train with two levels so the next time we were on a regular train we made sure to go up top so she could sit there.  Another one was most excited to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa.  Little things like this add to their enjoyment.

9) Check Sites Again - I had read so much about how you had to book things so far in advance because tickets sold out.  We were able to get last minute or day of tickets to the Castel Nuovo in Naples, the Academia in Florence, Pantheon in Rome and the Doge's Palace in Venice.  As I mentioned before we didn't want to overbook but once we were there and knew we would be up for doing more then we booked them.  So always check again once you're there. 

10) RELAX - There were some stressful moments but I kept reminding myself; God is here, we are all together, we'll figure it out.  There were many more moments when I would just stop and soak it all in.  Watching the younger two girls chase pigeons in St. Peter's Square, holding hands with my husband walking the streets of Florence while our kids ran and laughed ahead of us, listening to a symphony play in a Piazza, looking out over the city of Rome from the top of an ancient castle, going for a midnight walk with three of our girls and grabbing gelato next to the Arno River...and SO many more.

It's a lot more planning and logistics to travel with six kiddos but the memories, lessons, and experiences are always worth the time and effort. 

Italy Trip Report (Part 1)

There's so much that I want to share that I'm going to be breaking this into a few parts. The posts will be long as I want to record things for our own memories too.  This first post will be an overview of the trip.  Later posts will be sharing tips for traveling in Italy as a family of eight and will probably do a picture heavy post of some of the sites we saw...and now on to how we ended up in Italy for twoish weeks. 

 

 

 

More than 20 years ago my husband and I went on a Mediterranean Cruise for our honeymoon.  We made a few stops in Italy and fell in love with the country.  Ever since we have wanted to go back.  

About 5 years ago we started discussing taking the kids on an international trip.  We both feel strongly that travel and exposure to other cultures and people is very important.  The above quote is one that my husband has referenced over the years.  It's easy to see people as "other" or just part of a certain demographic or stereotype; until you walk with them, in their cities, look them in the eyes and interact; then you remember and understand more clearly that we are all made in God's image, all with value and a purpose and those prejudices and preconceived ideas fall away and you find a love for the beauty and diversity of the people and places God has made.

After much saving, planning (and one of our kids deciding to take Italian for all 4 years of high school) we decided that this year was the year. 

We have always traveled with our kids.  We travel in the U.S. quite often, typically on road trips but have flown also.  Our kids are good travelers but we knew this would be much different as they had never experienced jet lag or being in another country.  We still chose to take on all four major tourist areas.  

July 21st - We took an evening flight with a layover in Portugal.  

July 22nd - Arrived in Naples about noon.  Took the Alibus from the airport to the port area.  Our VRBO was about a 15 minute walk from the port.  Our host was gracious to let us in about an hour early as the weather was very hot.  On our way to the apartment we stopped for our first (of the trip) lemonade made with Sorrento lemons. The kids loved it! 

We stayed near Piazza Plebiscito so after settling in we did a bit of exploring and also made a trip to the local grocery store.  We also visited the Umberto Galleria. 

July 23rd - We had left this day pretty open to account for jet lag.  We all got up a bit after 11am. We spent the afternoon exploring the port area a bit and visited castel nuovo (New Castle); a medieval castle.  

July 24th - We had booked a bus tour along the Amalfi Coast that would also stop for a tour of Pompeii.  We met the bus at 8am.  After a ride along the coast with a stop at a limoncello factory we stopped to explore the town of Amalfi for a couple hours.  We had a nice lunch overlooking the sea.  After Amalfi we went to Pompeii for a guided two-hour tour.  It was interesting to see how much more has been excavated since the last time we were there.  It was HOT and there's not a lot of shade.  We had a good time but were ready to get back into the A/C of the van.   

When we got back to Naples we grabbed some groceries and started packing up as we would be leaving Naples the next day.

July 25th - We got up about 8am, had a quick breakfast and then checked out of the VRBO a bit after 10am.  We took the metro to the main train station and then boarded our first fast train (Frecciarossa) that would take us to Rome. 

When we arrived in Rome we hopped on the metro and then had about an 18 min walk from the metro to our next VRBO. We were staying in the Trastevere neighborhood which is known for great restaurants and a nice area to explore.  When we arrived the electronic lock for the outside door didn't work but thankfully there was another guest who was able to let us in (once we checked in and got the physical keys we used those).   We grabbed some groceries and did some laundry and just enjoyed a slower afternoon/evening.

July 26th - We had booked an evening entry to the Colosseum.  The ticket included entry to the Roman Forum ruins and Palantine Hill (the site of Nero's palace).  We could visit these other sites anytime 24 hours before or after our Colosseum time.  We had a slow morning and then made our way to the Forum, enjoying the sites (and lunch) along the way. We spent several hours exploring the Forum and Palantine Hill.  We then made our way to the Colosseum.  Having an evening entry time was perfect.  All of the tour groups were gone for the day and it was a bit cooler.  

On our walk back we stopped into a restaurant called Guenda, it's built in a cave in the side of a hill.  This was probably our favorite meal of the whole trip.  The food, the staff, the atmosphere was amazing.   

July 27th - Our oldest girl had made the comment that it would be fun to go to the Vatican on Sunday.  So we made this day our Vatican visit.  We didn't pay for any of the museum tours; choosing instead to just visit St. Peter's square and St. Peter's Basilica since those are both free to visit.  The building and artwork are impressive and it was interesting to hear the kid's perspectives on being there.  

After visiting the Vatican we decided to go to Castel Sant'Angelo which is just next to the Vatican.  We got there about an hour before they closed but still had plenty of time to explore.  The highlight of this site is getting to the top and having stunning views out over the city of Rome.

On our walk back to the apartment we stopped at a restaurant called Da Gildo.  It was a decent place with some different pizza flavors.  I had a pear and blue cheese pizza that was very good. 

July 28th - This day we did more of just walking around and seeing more sites.  We went to Trevi Fountain, climbed the Spanish Steps and we also were able to snag tickets to the Pantheon at the door.  We also did a bit of shopping. Rome is a place where everywhere you walk there is something old and interesting to see. We went back to the apartment, had dinner and then prepared to leave the next day. We also went out for a late night gelato.  

July 29th - Got up at 8am had breakfast, finished packing/cleanup and then headed back to the metro.  We made it to Roma Termini and got our 2nd fast train that would take us to Florence.  

We arrived in Florence and had a 15 minute walk to our AirBNB.  Our host met us there and gave us all the information for the apartment, he also gave us a bottle of wine to welcome us to Florence; which was a lovely surprise.  

We did some laundry and grocery shopping and then headed out to explore the city at night.  I LOVE Florence and it just becomes more magical when the sun goes down.  It is an amazing city to just walk. 

July 30th - We had booked most of our tours ahead of time but when I tried to get tickets to the Academia the site said they were sold out.  On our last night in Rome (while getting gelato :) ) I decided to check again and found that there was availability for this day (30th).  So we booked for the early afternoon (when it's hottest out) and were able to see Michaelangelo's David.  There are also many other sculptures on display.  I especially found Michaelangelo's The Prisoners to be thought-provoking.  We spent a couple hours here.  We then took an hour train ride to Pisa to see the Leaning Tower; we spent a couple hours here taking the typical funny pictures and then grabbed a train back to Florence.  

July 31st - We had booked tickets for the Uffizi gallery for this day.  We had a slower morning and then headed over in the early afternoon.  We spent about 3 hours here.  It is amazing!  The great thing about our AirBNB is that it was a less than 10 minute walk to all of the major sites.  So our oldest, who loves museums and taking his time, was able to just do his thing and then meet us later; while we and our youngest, who was a trooper but at 7 can only take so much time in a museum, could leave.

August 1st - This day we chose to just explore and shop.  We had wandered the city every night we had been there but hadn't been on the Ponte Vecchio when the shops were open so we chose this day to wander over their, go to a leather shop I had heard about and just walk through more shops.  I think we also got gelato (we got gelato pretty much every day in Florence).  We also tried an affogato which is delicious! 

August 2nd - Another travel day so after checking out of our AirBNB we hopped on the Frecciarossa and headed to Venice.  This was a longer train ride (previous ones had been just over an hour, while this one was a bit over two hours) and we were able to see some of the beautiful Tuscan countryside. 

We arrived in Venice and had a quick 13 minute walk to our AirBNB.  Our host had said we could drop our luggage but requested we not officially check in until after 3pm so we had an hour or so to just wander Venice.  We headed to Piazza San Marco but got caught in a heavy thunderstorm.  It was after 3pm by then so after buying a few umbrellas we headed back to the apartment.  We had a quiet evening doing some laundry and grocery shopping.  The grocery store our host recommended is called Despar; it's very cool because it is in an old Italian Theater building so as you are grocery shopping you can also admire the frescoes on the walls and ceiling. 

August 3rd - The one thing I wanted to do while in Venice was take a water bus over to the island of Murano.  Murano is known for it's glass blowing.  We spent the afternoon exploring the shops, watching a glass blowing demonstration and saw the oldest glass company on Murano, it's been there since 1295!  

August 4th - This was our last day in Venice and the weather was gorgeous so we headed to Piazza San Marco. Both the basilica and Doge's Palace are very impressive.  We were able to get tickets to the Doge's Palace so we grabbed a quick lunch and then toured the palace.  After a few hours there we headed back to the apartment, played some games, had dinner and prepared to leave the next morning.

August 5th - This was our earliest day.  We had booked one of the first trains which left Venice at 6:18am.  The nice part about getting out that early is that the streets were empty.  We were able to get a couple pictures of empty canals and streets before boarding our train.  We took the train to Milan and then made a transfer to a train headed to Zurich, Switzerland.  We had a gorgeous train ride through the Alps!  We chose to fly home from Zurich as the airfare was significantly cheaper than flying home from Italy.  We stayed in a hotel outside the city center for our last night in Europe.

August 6th - We got up, took an Uber to the airport and started our journey home.  Our connecting flight on the way home was in Iceland.  We were a little concerned as we had a short layover time but God worked that all out as our first flight was significantly delayed so the airline made announcements about connecting flights and we were able to make our connection without any problems. 

It was an amazing trip and we returned home with full cameras, full hearts and heads full of priceless memories.   

Stay tuned for some more posts with pictures and some tips on the logistics of traveling as a family of eight... 

 

Mid Year Book Round Up

 

Last year I set a goal of reading 20 books. I did it..just barely.  This year I set the same 20 book goal and last week already hit it.  I'm thankful to be reading more this year. 

I use Goodreads to track and rate the books I read. I also use Storygraph to check content warnings before reading books.  So without further ado....here are the 20 books I have read so far in 2025 (and any reviews that I wrote):

1) Be Faithful by Warren Wiersbe

2)  Gifts by Ursula K. LeGuin

3) The Odyssey by Homer (this was an audio book)

4) Voices by Ursula K. LeGuin

5) When Strivings Cease by Ruth Chou Simons 

There are some books that I read and never really pick up again; and then there are books like this where I underlined so much and will return to over and over again. Ruth's honesty and compassion flows throughout her writing.
 

6) Between the Lines by Melissa Bourbon 

7) Powers by Ursula K. LeGuin

8) Worlds of Exile and Illusion by Ursula K. LeGuin

9) Caught in the Flames by Sara Wright

This is a hard book to review. I have really enjoyed reading The Comstock Chronicles by Vanessa Thurgood so when she mentioned contributing to this anthology I was excited to check it out. Her short story (the last in the book) did not disappoint. I'm really hoping that, in the future, she expands on the story.

Having said that, the rest of the stories were a mixed bag. I also enjoyed Flames of Evolution by Tyler Tarter. The other stories were just okay and one was written so bad that I couldn't even read it; the dialogue, editing, etc. were just awful. I would also say that most of these stories were more middle reader level than YA.

This is on Kindle Unlimited so I'd say check it out for Tyler's story and for Vanessa's story the others would be a skip for me at this point.

10) The Bibliomancer's Daughter by Melissa Bourbon

If you're looking for a light read and willing to suspend reality... It's an okay read. The book magic was fun but the other ways things were revealed had me rolling my eyes. Everything gets neatly tied up at the end which is fine but the author makes huge leaps to make sure everything is revealed and it all fits. Not sure if I'll continue the series.  (At this point I'm not going to finish it; so many other great books to read)

11) The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas by Ursula K. LeGuin

12)  God Knows by Lisa Whittle

This book was full of great reminders about God's omniscience and that it is ALL about and for Him.

I wouldn't say there was much new but several things that are helpful to hear again, as we often get distracted and forgetful. I found myself underlining several quotes.

I was disappointed that this isn't really a study. I found myself really wishing for more Scripture, and that the end of chapter questions and activities were more of a deep dive into the Truths of God. There was nothing wrong with what she said, I was just looking for more. Maybe she'll write a study guide in the future. 

13) All My Knotted Up Life by Beth Moore

I have done a few Beth Moore Bible studies. The depth and heart of those has blessed me. Knowing some of her story, I knew this would be a raw read. Growing up in the church as a PK I'm very aware of the issues in the church and grew up under a lot of the same teachings as Beth. I so appreciate her honesty and care in sharing very personal things.

This was a fast read for me. It had me chuckling at points and crying at others but most of all it had me praising God for His faithfulness in every season of our lives. 

14) The Swiss Nurse by Mario Escobar

15) How to Pray by R.A. Torrey

While this book had some helpful thoughts on prayer; I can't say I'd recommend it. The author often veers into legalism. At one point he cautions against legalism but then tends to go that way in several places. His own pet peeves make it into the book a lot and he goes off on rants at times.

There were some helpful things to think about; making sure your heart and motivations are surrendered to God. I also appreciated his reminder to not rush into prayer. To ask the Holy Spirit to lead and take time when praying to wait on Him.  

16) Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

17) About Grace by Anthony Doerr

I'm still processing this book. I've found that Doerr's books tend to deal with a theme running through a story rather than a fully developed plot line. This book was no different. The themes of grace, of choices being made with limited information, of wanting love and family...belonging. All of these are explored. He has a deep knowledge of the natural world and also explores this a lot.

While I loved the themes I didn't love the characters. Doerr's books are also a slow burn as he uses a lot of descriptive language inviting readers to slow walk through the thoughts and environments of the characters. Knowing this is how he writes kept me reading. However, the main character infuriated me at times.

The main character doesn't pick up on social cues, social boundaries and gets hyperfocused on his interest in his surrounding and the people in his life. He crosses boundaries with stalkerish behavior, disregards the wishes of others, is so focused on wanting grace and forgiveness for himself that he doesn't consider the thoughts and feelings of others.

The more I read the more I didn't like him. The ending is especially infuriating and improbable. It was an okay read but I much preferred his other books; All The Light We Cannot See and Cloud Cuckoo Land. 

18) The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams

Mukesh is close to 80 years old, a recent widower. Aliesha is 17 years old working a summer job at the library...when their worlds cross.

A story of how books connect, heal, and push back loneliness. A story that crosses generations and encourages each of us to step out of our comfort zone and the beautiful things that happen when we do. I loved this book.
 

19) The Art Thief by Michael Finkel

A fast and interesting read about one of the biggest art thieves. Part heist book, part psychological study. Really interesting. 

20) The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern 

 

What are you reading?  I love to get book recommendations! 

Casting your cares on God

 

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God 

so that at the proper time he may exalt you,  

casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

1 Peter 5:6-7 (ESV)

 

If you are a believer, then you know the importance of reading and memorizing Scripture.  Verses that the Holy Spirit can bring to mind just when we need a certain truth.  There are certain verses that seem to come up over and over.  I Peter 5:7 is one of those verses; when we are worried or burdened, often someone will say "cast your cares on God".  We know that we should give everything to God, trusting Him, but practically how does that work?  How do we wrap our minds around this concept.

 

Back in February 2021 I wrote a post titled Context: 4 types and how they've helped me in studying Scripture Context is understanding where and how a verse fits into the overall message of the Bible.  Recently, when studying the verses above I was reminded of how important context really is. 

So much time is spent on verse 7, casting our cares, and we can forget to look at verse 6.  Verse 6 reminds us that we are to humble ourselves under God's mighty hand, trusting His perfect timing.  This is the key to understanding how we can truly cast our cares on Him.  Let's do a quick word study on the key words in these verses to understand how we can practically, daily, moment by moment, cast our cares on God.  The definitions are taken from the biblehub.com lexicon.  

Seven keys to understanding how to cast our cares on God:

 

1) "Humble yourselves" - tapinoó, to make or bring low.  It is recognizing ones dependence on God, being fully dependent on the Lord.  To submit oneself in a lowly spirit to the power and will of God.  

 

To cast our cares we must 

first understand our position 

and utter dependence on 

God and his power and will.

Without God, we can do nothing.

2) "under the mighty hand of God" - krataios, strong, powerful, mighty.  It is seeing the power of God, God's supreme mastery.

To cast our cares we must

believe that God's strength &

power are supreme.  That God

has mastery over everything.

 

3) "so that at the proper time" - kairos, fitting time or season, divinely ordained moment, a fixed definite time.  

To cast our cares we must

trust that God has a fixed,

definite, perfect time planned

for everything He does. 

4) "he may exalt you" - hupsoó, lift up, to raise the spirits by the blessings of salvation. Often seen as a sign of blessing or approval from God. 

To cast our cares we must

focus on the blessings we 

have through salvation. To 

understand we are blessed and

approved by God through Jesus.

 

5) "casting all" -  epiriptó, to throw upon.  The deliberate act of transferring a burden or responsibility to another; to give it up to God.

To cast our cares we must

be deliberate, making a conscious

decision to throw our 

burdens onto God.  

6) "your anxieties on him" - merimna, care, worry, anxiety.  To divide/separate*, implying a distraction that divides attention, dividing and fracturing a person's being into parts. 

To cast our cares we must

understand that our anxieties

distract and divide us from 

wholly living in the purpose and

plan God has for us. They 

literally tear our being apart. 

7) "because he cares for you" - meló, to care, be concerned, take thought, have an active interest or attention to.  to care about, have regard for a person or thing. 

To cast our cares we must

trust and know that God takes 

an active interest in every aspect of

our lives.  He is deeply concerned

about us.  He cares for us!

 

 I recently read an article where John Piper made a couple very succinct statements about these verses.

 

"to the degree that you trust the king's promise to protect you, 

to that degree your burden will be lifted.  

If your trust is small, you will still feel burdened, 

but if your trust is great, your burden will be light."

 

"the casting of our anxieties means trusting his might and 

trusting his care to fulfill specific promises that he 

makes to his children in their various situations in life."

 

Do we trust that God is willing and able to carry all of our anxieties?  

Do we trust that God's timing is perfect? 

Do we trust that He is always faithful to fulfill His promises?

 

*compare this definition with the definition of peace (eiréné) which means wholeness, when all essential parts are joined together.   In John 14:27 Jesus promises this is the peace He gives to us!

 

Alive in Christ

 "For I delivered to you as of the first importance what

I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance

with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on 

the third day in accordance with the Scriptures," 

1 Corinthians 15:3-4

 

As we celebrated Easter yesterday, we remembered that all Jesus did had been foretold by the Scriptures.  In Luke 24 we read how that He explained all of this to the men on the road to Emmaus and to His disciples.  We can have eternal life because Jesus has conquered the grave!  

In his letter to the Colossians, Paul discusses some of what it means to be "alive in Christ".  All that we have is because of His sacrifice and His victory.

 

 These thoughts are taken from Colossians 2:6-15... see the beauty and power of being in Christ and living with Him!

 

- as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him

- rooted and built up in him

- in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily

- you have been filled in him

-  in him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands

- been buried with him in baptism

- raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead

- made alive together with him

- triumphing over them in him 

 

Receive Jesus -> 

Live/walk according to the teachings of Christ -> 

firmly established in your relationship with Christ -> 

building your life on the foundation of Christ's teachings -> 

Jesus is fully God in the flesh -> 

your relationship with Jesus brings completeness & fulfillment to your life -> 

you have been separated from the unclean world and dedicated to God -> 

your sinfulness buried -> 

raised up through faith to a new life devoted to God -> 

living in the reality that we have eternal life with Christ -> 

He has won the victory over all sinful powers.

 

When God doesn't give all the answers - 3 verses, 2 songs, 1 book

Oh, we have so many questions.  We cry out to God asking why? how? when? We want healing, breakthrough, answers.  We see these questions asked over and over in the Bible; we are not alone in our questioning.  Moses and Gideon had these same questions.  Moses even begged God to choose someone else to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Three times we see the questions asked and in each of these places God gives the same answer:

"But I will be with you..." Exodus 3:12

"My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." Exodus 33:14

"But I will be with you..." Judges 6:16

 Do we trust God enough to let His presence be enough?

 I struggle with this.  I know that my perspective is so skewed and that my view of God's greatness can be so limited.  I want answers; God is El Roi; the God who sees me.  He is El Shama, the God who hears me.   So why doesn't he fix it? Ah, but then I read that he is also Adonai, Sovereign God Most High.  He is El De'ot the God of knowledge and wisdom, All-Knowing, Omniscient.  

Do we trust His knowing is enough to rest in His presence?

 

Remind Me You're Here

 

Close

  

 

My oldest daughter gifted me a book from my to-read list.  It's a beautiful book by Lisa Whittle titled God Knows: when your worries and whys need more than temporary relief. It is a book full of reminders that God sees, He knows and He can be fully trusted.  One of the final thoughts she shares is this:

"I've learned not to underestimate God's powerful hand 

in His quiet and still presence.  Just because we cannot see or 

understand does not mean things aren't being done....God is not

far, unaware, unfeeling." 

 

 

"God's intimate knowledge of our lives, combined with His deep

abiding love for us, means that sometimes He chooses to keep things

from us."

March Music Roundup

 I haven't shared any songs in awhile so I thought I'd share some that have been a blessing to me recently.  These are mostly newer to me artists.  

A friend introduced this song by Katy Nichole to me,  

Sarah Reeves is a singer my husband heard on a podcast he follows and shared her music with me.  

Lydia Laird is one of my favorite to listen to; I love her voice and the lyrics to her songs are wonderful.  

Jeremy Rosado is a singer we heard at a festival in the fall and I was so blessed by his testimony, love for others and lyrics.    

We are Messengers isn't new but this song has really blessed me.

 

In Jesus Name by Katy Nichole

 

Details by Sarah Reeves

 

This I know by Lydia Laird

 

Come & See by Jeremy Rosado

 

 Close by We Are Messengers

 

 

Bonus: This song was released by Dolly Parton after the passing of her husband (Carl Dean) of almost 60 years!  What a beautiful tribute and testament to a long-lasting marriage. 

If You Hadn't Been There by Dolly Parton