Good, True, Beautiful: Week 19

To Read: Articles

The Quiet Revolution in Evangelical Christian Publishing // Kathryn Watson // “Alia Joy’s Glorious Weakness, a book of essays that charts the difficulties of grief, poverty, and living as a Christian woman with a mental health condition, is about as far from Girl, Wash Your Face and its ilk as a reader can get.”

An Honest Look at Why I Work from Home // Haley Stewart // “While I wish that two incomes just weren’t necessary for families to make it, I think that for a lot of parents working from home is the best answer we’ve got right now.”

Where Are the Socially Conservative Women in This Fight? // Helen Andrews // “There is interesting work being done on what it would mean to make the happiness and stability of America’s families a policy goal on par with G.D.P. growth…. If, historically, two-parent families could support themselves with only one parent working outside the home, then something is wrong with ‘growth’ that imposes a de facto need for two incomes.”

Don’t Look Down // Aarik Danielsen // “I bear witness as online friends decry the self-absorption, spiritual flatness, and supposed ignorance of millennials; rarely do they identify the sins of their generation with equal fervor—the white flight, the dissolution of families, the waste made of God’s creation. Perhaps these sins hold a more respectable ring…. The generation that examines itself critically earns the right to turn to its neighbor and say, ‘Now let’s talk about you.'”

Enough Beauty To Go Around // Lore Ferguson Wilbert // “This takes sacrifice of time, finances, and food, but we think it is a slice of how the New Earth will be and is how New Testament Christians are to live until then…. Don’t wait for special somedays, begin today to see how the Maker of all beauty has made enough beauty to go around to remind you heaven is coming soon.”

The Big Carrots Meal Planning/Prep Post: How We Do It // Haley Stewart // “Maybe 4:30pm hits and you’re in a panic everyday because you didn’t plan ahead and small children are literally climbing up your body as your look through the pantry and screaming that they are HANGRY. Maybe your grocery budget is astronomical and you want to figure out a better way. Maybe you don’t have any system in place for figuring out reasonably healthy meals for your family and it’s stressing you out. You’re going to have to start meal planning but first…don’t panic. This is going to be a baby steps kind of thing.”

C.S. Lewis helped me understand my grief—and reminded me why I write // Jessica Mesman // “The rubber has met the road, and he has found that all the theology in his world cannot fix a blown out tire.”

To Read: Books

There There // Tommy Orange // Audiobook // This book is an immersion into modern Native American life, in addition to an intricately woven story that was quite enveloping by the end.

Being Mortal: Medicine And What Matters In The End // Atul Gawande // Audiobook // This was a fascinating, research-filled, and story-driven book that blew me away with the author’s honesty and wisdom as a surgeon, but also as a fellow human.

To Watch

Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors — Family // They made this great video with a montage of a bunch of their musician pals. You may recognize so many great people in this!

How To Dad — Youtube Channel // Me and Jakob’s new favorite channel to watch from time to time, for a fix of New Zealand accents and funny dad stuff.

To Listen: Music

Andrew Bird — I Want To See Pulaski At Night // This one is a great display of his instrumental wizardry.

Joy Williams — Front Porch // She can never disappoint, really.

Josh Garrels — Closer Than A Brother // He can’t disappoint, either. It’s so exciting he’s got a new album in the works.

Strahan — Vulnerability // What a heartbreakingly lovely experience this album is.

Blue Water Highway — Best Friend, Evangeline // Jakob and I listened to Blue Water Highway the first time we dated, and have gotten back into them a bit. In particular, I love the track Best Friend, because it’s a good bop for your spouse. And then he shared the song Evangeline with me, and it’s just too pure.

To Listen: Audio

Good Enough: Intro Episode // “Influencers aplenty, memes a dime a dozen, self-help books lining the shelves of bookstores, and YouTube tutorials for every tip under the sun and it’s still never enough.” I’ve enjoyed following the writing of these ladies, and now these long-time friends have teamed up for some wise and winsome conversations.

To Make

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheerios (and other sugary cereals) // I’m happy to announce I went down the dry cereal aisle and bought some for the first time in…. years? Did you know Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheerios exist? Combined with soymilk, they are HITTIN THE FREAKIN SPOT.

Green Salads // From my favorite local place for a salad bar, Lucky’s Market, and also Panera has some good ones for days when you need it and are willing to splurge.

Chicken Broth Soup // All I did was cook wild rice in chicken broth, and add carrots and celery. It’s perfect and I made enough for an army (me, eating it for literal days).

To Cultivate

Appreciation Of Our Finite Boundaries

This week has been quite rough, physically. This piece of wisdom below, from Lore Ferguson Wilbert, can be applied to any boundary we encounter in our limited, human, and finite lives. It’s a good reminder for my current physical state, feeling held back by my own body.

“We think true freedom comes when we get out of the “pleasant boundaries” in which God has set for us. But true freedom is living within them knowing they are God’s best limitations for us. We don’t own the pasture, he does.”

Soaking In, Feasting On, Studying Together, Lingering With God’s Word

I need Scripture more than I realize. It’s life and light. It points away from darkness and lies and towards freedom and joy. It leads me to prayer and repentance and trust and dependence on the Holy Spirit. It brings together His people as we study and search. It teaches the next, little generation the threads of His redemption story.

I need the words of my Rock more than my fickle and shallow heart realizes. Trying to feed on it more, to love Him and others more.