Thursday Things #100

A giveaway (hello one hundred!), a $6 staple, a bunch of books, my current favorite comment and dahlias.

Every other Thursday, I share a handful of things I'm loving, reading, watching, listening to or just discovered. AKA the random good stuff we’d talk about over coffee, or text if we had one another’s phone number. I'm glad you're here!

Oh hello, this is me casually sliding into your inbox with the number 100 and acting like it’s no big deal. Super chill. Nothing to see here.

And the truth is, in many ways, that’s right on the money. It’s one more email of things we’d chat about in person—one more email in a long string of notes we’ve passed back and forth (I love hearing from you via the Comments section, via email, via DM or tags on social). If I were going to be the cheesiest and sappiest, I might say it’s one more building block on the bridge of friendship.

LOL. I’m sorry, I just literally laughed out loud. Good thing I’m sitting at a small table tucked in the corner of my local Starbucks because that was cringe-y.

Except. Well. There is truth in it. Somewhere over the course of actual years and 100 Thursdays, we’ve created something beautiful that goes beyond a book recommendation, a nifty kitchen gadget, or pretty pictures of flowers. And yes, that’s WE. It’s beautiful because it’s community, friendship, a two-way street. Listen, I guard my email inbox. I’m particular about how many emails I’m signed up for and I bet you are too. That you’ve invited me in, that you open these notes and engage with them, that you reply with your own good things or random finds, that you send messages weeks later saying “I bought the book you mentioned… it’s a game changer” or “I got the dress in yellow. It was perfect for the wedding!” or “Okay that’s my new favorite song” etc. It’s just not lost on me.

(This isn’t a plug for All The Things, the paid portion of extras for email subscribers, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t also say how much that support, both financially and in belief of my writing, helps keep this space going. If you’re among that group, I add my heartfelt thank you to this list of “it isn’t lost on me’s” and simply say, thank you.)

We’re gonna GET ON WITH IT and get to the normal random that is Thursday Things. But if you’ll allow me to thirty more seconds before the giveaway (because of course there’s a giveaway) . . .

When I moved from a monthly(ish) newsletter called The Table to Thursday Things, I committed to give it three months and then reassess. Right before TT #1 went out, I put this online:

This week I realized that LO AND BEHOLD I could try something new and not commit to it for the rest of actual forever.⁣ Like, hello self, it’s okay (and brave) to give something your time and energy. And it’s okay (and brave) to one day no longer do that very same thing. Maybe it didn’t work. Maybe it ran its course. Maybe it’s time for something else. Okay, okay, and okay.⁣

I KNEW this in my head and would tell YOU those words in a heartbeat, but somehow I thought I was locked in before I started. So I thought and planned. Hemmed and hawed. But I didn’t start.⁣ This week I gave myself a permission slip to try, give it my best shot, and stop later if that's the next right thing. It’ll be imperfect, that’s for sure. But maybe it’ll be beautiful. Either way, Shame doesn’t get to ride shotgun and Should doesn’t get a say.⁣

It was August 4, 2020.

Not to be the most obvious of obvious, but today is October 5, 2023. This three month experiment is three years old. One day it’ll run its course and there will be something new instead. This year, the new has been All The Things—in addition, not instead. But the point is, I’m glad I started and I hope you will too.

Whatever your “it” is, whatever the idea or dream that you can’t quite shake, whatever the nudge is that keeps showing up—don’t wait until all your ducks are in a row because let’s face it, one is always going to get out of line. As Myquillyn Smith says, “it doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful.”

I hope you’ll take the chance. Try the thing. Give it a go. Take one tiny step. Who knows—maybe three years later you’ll roll your eyes at your own sappy self in the corner of a coffee shop, only to blink back tears ten seconds later because all those weeks of looking for the good, all those months of showing up, all those years of creating a space actually did turn out to be something beautiful. Weird and random, honest and (hopefully) encouraging, beautifully imperfect.

I said it last time: I like us. I write it at the top every time: I’m glad you’re here.

Whether you’ve been here since because TT existed or this is your first TT email and you’re wondering what in the actual world you’ve stumbled into, I really mean it. Thanks for showing up, making this space possible with your support, and joining me in sharing the random & looking for the good. Here’s to many more Thursdays together.

Giveaway!

Okay, let’s not bury the giveaway at the bottom. Shall we move from sappy to celebratory? In the spirit of good things, I picked out five of my favorite items from DaySpring to send to one of you!

How to enter? Use the button below to leave a comment. That’s it! You can literally just say hi. You can share what you’d include in your own Thursday Things list this week. You can tell me what you’re reading or what’s for dinner. Whatever! There are no hoops to jump through—I just want to say thanks for being here and make it as easy as possible to enter. :)

The winner will be selected at random on Monday the 9th and will be announced in the comments. Items include:

It Is Well Ceramic & Cork Coasters (Yes please to making the practical lovely.)

Be Joyful in Hope - Romans 12:12 Puzzle (I absolutely love puzzles and won’t lie, this one proved a little difficult. But just go color by color and it’s fun! It’s my verse for this year so I had to include it here. :))

Hello Fall Soy Candle (It’s so good.)

Swept Away Tote Bag (This bag is so much bigger than I expected! I keep it in my car to collect all the odds and ends.)

Thoughts - Scripture Journal (This is what I use for sermon notes. Simple, clean, plenty of space for note-taking.)

A $6 staple.

Target did what it does best. I rarely go anymore because I KNOW THIS GAME. I know I’m walking in for three things and leaving with ten items I didn’t even know I needed.

They won this round, though. Target got me good with the six dollar price-point. And then I realized how super soft the tee is and magically, wouldn’t you know it, I found myself the happy new owner of a shirt that’s the little sister of the Stars Above pajama line.

You’ve heard me sing the praises of those pajamas so I’ll spare you today and simply say this is six dollars well spent. It’s still a breezy ( ) eighty-seven degrees here, but I’m legitimately went back the next day to get another color and will keep on wearing them with a jacket when fall arrives.

(Here’s the link. There are 11 color options and sizes range from XS-4X.)

In case you wanted more books… 📚

Y’all. August/September had big Book Reading Energy. That’s partly due to reading a bunch of early ebooks to put together the 14 New Books You Don't Want to Miss This Fall list, but I also read a dozen already-published titles . . . and I can’t remember another time that almost everything in a two-month span ended up being 4 or 5 stars. I won’t link them all because that would be a bit much, but if you’re looking for a good read while waiting patiently for the new releases to arrive, I have some (ahem) suggestions.

Current favorite comment.

I think it’s safe to safe there’s no artist I’ve mentioned more over the years than Ben Rector. So please just picture my face when I saw this reply to a comment I left on his “head honchos” reel:

Can’t picture it? Here:

Okay all joking aside, it really was a fun surprise. His music is the soundtrack to my 20s/30s and my easiest concert “yes” every time there’s a new tour. But also his Instagram content? It’s can’t-miss. Two recent examples:

On “head honchos”

On American Airlines (FWIW if you ever want to see me riled up, that’s the phrase to use. In other words, CO-SIGN.)

Because dahlias.

As promised in TT #98, I have yet another flower account for you. #CantStopWontStop

Give it enough time and my feed will just be flowers and funny jingles about airlines. But honestly, beauty and laughter? On the world wide web? More of both, please. (These are from @dahlia.societyy.)

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Okay, this is getting lengthy so I’ll save the rest of the ever-growing Notes app list of Things to Share for next time. Because it’s your turn! What are you loving? Any books we should know about? Maybe a song, a TV show, a recipe or an Instagram account you’d recommend? Share a good thing or two below, or of course just say hello, and you’re entered into the 100 giveaway:

I’m so glad you’re here.