Plot Points #23 💌

Tough news, good news, Halloween candy, and, as always, Taylor Swift

Hi there and happy Friday!

Whew, you guys. It has been a week. Actually, it has been a few weeks.

I won’t go into the details, but a difficult situation we could see was going to become even more challenging… did. It’s one of those circumstances where you know the hard thing is also the good thing, but it doesn’t stop the hard thing from pissing you off or making you cry.

We see God’s hand in all of it. We’ve seen it for months. And now we are in the position of not knowing what’s next but choosing to take steps forward in faith that the Lord will lead us where we need to go. He always has, and I know He will again. Would you keep our family in your prayers over these next couple of months? Please ask for wisdom, provision, patience, clarity, and peace. Thanks a million ♥️.

In other, more AMAZING news, my baby sister is pregnant with her first child! 😍

vfdnsjgkenrjh;bnjfdilxbnertk,hnbeijzlxnjtkr,sbnjklzbnjaektlbhueizlb!!!!!!!!

(Me losing my mind with joy, basically 👆🏻.)

Kati is eleven years younger than me, so she’s always felt a little like my kid, too. Which—as I told her a few weeks ago—makes her baby feel sort of like my grandchild? Or something? IDK. I’m over the moon, is what I’m saying.

She and her husband, Luke, were best friends in middle and high school and have been together since their senior year. The whole thing is just too precious for words, and while Kati—who is a bit more stoic than I—will probably roll her eyes at my continued displays of emotion, to that I say WHAT ARE GRANDPARENTS FOR?

And because I am never without a throwback photo, please know this will be my final post, for Kati will surely murder me after this:

Sweet, tiny baby—take a good long look at your mom and dad from Christmas of 2011. They were babies once, too. I know! It’s hard to believe! But there they are, in all their adolescent glory. I can tell you now, kiddo, you’re going to be blessed with good hair.

And now I bid you all adieu!

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Point #1: It’s a girl’s world. (Taylor’s Version)

This dazzling piece of journalism is exactly the sort of writing that makes me stop what I’m doing and sit, enraptured, for half an hour until I realize I’ve got a leg cramp and didn’t even notice. (Big thanks to

Making All Things New

for sharing!) It’s an essay on Taylor’s Eras tour, yes, but it’s more than just your hum-drum review. It’s a lovely, funny, affecting story about the author’s own eras seen through the lenses of both Taylor’s career and her concert. It’s the best kind of human-interest piece, dissecting the phenomenon that is Taylor’s business savvy and music uniquely intertwined with the magical world her fans have created around her. I actually cried when I got to the end, it’s that good: “She cries into the phone, and we let her, me and Taylor — Taylor Swift, who sings the song of us all, who says all of this better than I ever could. I’ll tell you, I like being a woman OK, but long live being a girl.”

Point #2: You don’t have to post about this on Instagram.

I’m an ‘80s baby, we know this. I grew up in a time when news was either printed or broadcast on television at certain times. Then, later, I could find it on the internet if I really wanted. It wasn’t until my twenties that smartphones became ubiquitous and social media, with its 24/7 news cycle, was where we began to spend most of our time. So maybe I’m being idealistic here, but this piece makes a well-rounded point about resisting the demand that we make a public statement on every single tragedy. It’s time to stop conflating all social media silence with violence because, sometimes, people are just trying to take the time to read, think, listen, and pray instead. Sounds like a good idea, right?

Point #3: “The purpose of our reproductive systems is to bear babies, but we are more than our reproductive systems.”

I love—LOVE—it when writers express honor for motherhood and how our bodies were made while ALSO honoring the reality that it isn’t motherhood that makes women worthy of calling and purpose. This thoughtful piece from

Fertile Faith

is definitely worth your time today.

Point #4: Let the kids eat cake. (Or, in this case, candy.)

Trying to reframe for our children toxic messages about food when we’re still often figuring out how to do this for ourselves is a tricky business. It’s so easy to end up swinging the pendulum too far in one direction or another, and I thought this article was super helpful and encouraging. There’s also a link at the end for how to approach Halloween candy hauls and I really appreciated her take on it!

Bonus Points:

The most wholesome woman on the internet, and—in her honor—the millennial playlist I made that can only be turned on when I’m alone in my car 😜.

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Word of the Week:

Apricity: (n.) The warmth of the sun in winter.

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Reading In The Nook

My book selections this week each have a spooky, mysterious, or deadly theme because duh. All the requests I put in at the library came in on the same day, which was faster than expected, so I’ve only finished one so far. But I can’t wait to move down the list!

My first read was the YA novel Anatomy by Dana Schwartz. Just look at that gorgeous cover! 😍

Set in the early 19th century, it’s about a young woman named Hazel living near Edinburgh, Scotland (they had me at Edinburgh, honestly) who wants to become a surgeon but is held back by the societal pressures for women of her time. Eventually, she’s given permission to sit for the official examination, but only if she first trains and studies on her own.

Enter: A young body snatcher named Jack who eeks out a desperate living removing fresh bodies from graves. What follows is a gothic tale full of intrigue that’s both reminiscent of Frankenstein and perfect for the Halloween season. I loved it! Anatomy is also part of a duology, so I’m excited to grab the next one in the series.

Coming up, I’ve got a collection of nonfiction, magical rom-com, thriller, and dystopian young adult on my TBR. Here’s what's on the list if you want to check them out!

All the Living and the Dead: From Embalmers to Executioners, an Exploration of the People Who Have Made Deeath Their Life’s Work by Hayley Campbell

Cackle by Rachel Harrison

They Never Learn by Layne Fargo

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

Have you read any of these books? Tell me what you think! 👇🏼

“I don’t know what lies around the bend, but I’m going to believe that the best does.”

—L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables—