Thursday Things #84
One of your favorites, four funnies, encouragement for the Saturdays of life, and a birthday giveaway.
Welcome! Every other Thursday, I share a handful of things I'm loving, reading, watching, listening to or just discovered. In other words . . . what I'd text you about if I had your number or mention if we met up for coffee! I'm so glad you're here. :)
It’s official: there are now seven of us! It was a whirlwind week of to-dos and dinners and centerpieces, but my youngest brother is married and the ceremony was beautiful! I’m waiting on my new sister-in-law to post pictures that show her dress (no way I’m sharing that before she does!), but I promised you a few wedding pictures so without further ado . . .
And now I shall return to sitting on my hands while trying not to text “has the photographer sent the pictures yet???”
I’m scrambling to catch up all the work things and, you know, laundry/groceries/all the regularly scheduled programming of life. Honestly, when I sat down to put together Thursday Things, it felt like one more thing in a very long list of to-dos. And yet, as I add this little intro as the final piece before sending it out, it continues to prove true:
Every single time, pausing to take a breath and dwell on good things + good words, sitting with truth coming through the speakers and smiling from funny memes . . . it’s the furthest thing from a waste of time or “just” an item to check off a list. It’s a strange gift in that it reframes, offering a different lens to look through. Everything is the same—the long list, the headache pounding, the full inbox, the friends who are hurting, etc etc etc. It’s all still there, all still real and true and waiting when I click ‘send’, but now I can approach it with a smile from a meme, or with song lyrics playing in the background and reminding me of what’s true, or simply with the lens of abundance instead of lack.
It’s a shift from overwhelmed by XYZ to remembering that yes, here, now, there is goodness all around.
I hope these emails offer a bit of that for you, too. A moment to pause. A smile. An encouraging word. A lyric that finds you at just the right time.
Here’s to looking for the Good Things and realizing that they were there all along.
Hold on.
Am I sharing a song from JJ Heller two Thursdays in a row? Sure am.
There is grace for today
And more than enough for tomorrow
It’s the darkest before the dawn
One of your favorites.
Erin shared this Good Thing in the comments of Thursday Things #83. The cover brought tears to my eyes before the song even began (one of my dearest friends drew a similar picture and gave it to me last year as a reminder that hope will bloom in time), but the song is a beauty, too.
God is turning tears to desert springs . . . 💛
Four funnies.
Because sometimes we just need to laugh, yes?
These recent posts got me . . . and of course I can’t NOT share my favorite typo of all time. My roommate and I quote it every once in a while when one of us is having a bad day. It just never gets old you guys.
(Yes this is a real Ash Wednesday church bulletin.)
Painfully accurate:
So dumb, but yes I’m still laughing.
The God of Saturday.
It was the day between Good Friday & Easter when my phone lit up with the worst text of my life, with news that led to walking hospital hallways, sitting in waiting rooms, wondering. Also on that great In Between day: I wrote about darkness & light, confusion & doubt, longing & waiting & sadness & finding Him to be faithful in the middle of it all.
I thought I was writing a blog post. Turns out I was writing the very first words of a book about trusting God in the in between, a book that wrestles with the question ‘Is God good when life isn’t?’, a book about choosing hope for tomorrow when today feels like a question mark. A book with an unedited “blog post” printed in Chapter 7, titled “Darkness & Light.”
My word, He’s a God of the details… Even down to the day. Even in the unknowns, the storms, the hallways, the ampersands.
Sunday is always and forever coming, but He’s with us in every middle place, too. “Silent Saturday” isn’t actually that quiet. Hope has something to say.
And so you KNOW I amen-ed this post from Hannah Brencher. Click on the preview below and then tap through to see all three slides. While you’re there, you might want to poke around and follow her account. I’ve read her words for years and have been encouraged many, many times.
A birthday giveaway.
And speaking of that book, the one that began on the Saturday of Holy Week? It released into the world seven years ago today!
I wrote a little something about it here—about pills and an experiment, about celebrating even in a long-lasting Lent. There’s a giveaway in the post (no tagging/following necessary) . . . but I held a copy back just for Thursday Things. 😉
To enter, simply leave a comment (click the button below) and share something YOU are loving, reading, watching, listening to or just discovered!
I’m looking forward to reading your Good Things. 😊
I'll randomly select one comment here + one on Instagram tomorrow afternoon, and will drop the signed books by the post office Saturday in hopes that they arrive quickly, in case you need a little encouragement in the In Between of this Lenten season.
When we look back on these pages, we’ll find that He was there all along. Always present, always faithful, always good. Here’s to pausing on a Thursday night to remember, and here’s to the gift of looking through a different lens.
I've been loving watching the miracles being portrayed in The Chosen ... and also the arc of this summer's new release from Katherine Center called "Hello Stranger" ... I finished it on Monday and could start it again right now and be just as delighted by it!
I love the Ash Wednesday graphic!! So my history with Kaitlyn is through a few different book launches and I have truly enjoyed the friendship that has developed! My current read is Seasons of Sorrow by Tim Challies. It is heartbreaking yet healing. Encouraging and full of compassion. I am really enjoying it!!