Plot Points #27 💌

Christmas plays, lost jobs, woobles, and why we still love Jo March

Hi friends and welcome to another Friday email!

One of the ways our new church has been such a blessing to us is how intentional they are about creating community. We have small groups, of course, and we also have monthly potlucks, game nights, and other regular informal get-togethers. There is purposeful intimacy in the community, and it fills my heart with gladness.

Next month, Trinity will be hosting a Christmas pageant, à la every holiday movie from my childhood ♥️. Children from preschool age up to third grade will sing songs and perform the narrative of Jesus’ birth, which promises to be a delightful form of semi-organized chaos. Theo is signed up for the pageant and he will be a star alongside the other preschoolers. When I tell you how this thrills me! What’s better than tiny humans dressed up in costumes, singing songs off-key about the birth of baby Jesus? Nothing. Not a darn thing.

Anyway, despite the loss of Pierce’s job last month, which I shared about here, our family has much to celebrate. This weekend, we find out the sex of my little sister’s first child and then we’re going to put up our Christmas tree. Next week is Lucy’s tenth birthday, followed by Thanksgiving, and then we’ll be fully immersed in all the holiday cheer. It never gets old.

Thank you all for your kind words and prayers for our family right now. We appreciate them more than you know.

Have a beautiful weekend!

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A Collect: For Joy to the World

Almighty, gracious Father, Who is first to give and abundant in doing so, we give thanks to You for this joyous season and ask that You prepare our hearts to meet You, again, as if for the first time, so that we might partake in the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth, in our homes, in our bodies, and in our hearts, to the glory of Your Name and to Your beloved Son Jesus, Who was born as we are born in order that we might live, and to the Holy Spirit, who lives and reigns with You, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

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Point #1: “Jo’s heroism is the normal sort.”

I loved this thoughtful analysis by

Born of Wonder

about why the character of Jo March has been so beloved by so many generations. What makes her so unique that we can all sense a bit of ourselves in her? For me, it’s Jo’s bookish nature and her longing to be a part of something bigger than herself, even if she is frustrated by not knowing what that something might be.

Point #2: Read Charles Dickens if you want a little rebellion this Christmas.

School of the Unconformed

regularly writes on resistance to toxic technologies (that is, not all of them; just how reliant we become on them) in order to maintain our sense of humanity, community, and truth. In this essay on “unmachining for the Christmas season,” she writes, “We gain intellectual nourishment, personal insights, and a deeper understanding of the world around us from tasting, eating, and digesting books.” This year, let’s give ourselves the gift of analog delights.

Point #3: My next creative outlet will be Woobles.

Have y’all heard of these? Am I way behind on the times? My friend Mary Beth just told me about Woobles, which are all-in-one beginner crochet projects in adorable animal patterns and bright colors. They just introduced a new line of Harry Potter characters (The Dumbledore one…I cannot…) aaaaaaand now I know what I want for Christmas.

Point #4: Kids actually don’t need that.

This fantastic piece examines the outrageous environmental cost of all the mostly unnecessary plastic gadgets and toys made and purchased for children, and I think it’s a must-read for every parent, grandparent, caregiver, etc. We’ve got to do better if we actually want our kids to have a future.

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Word of the Week

Vellichor: (n.) The strange wistfulness of a used bookstore.

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Reading in The Nook

You guys, I am so here for snarky, sexy historical fiction with semi-criminal female protagonists. I think the success of Bridgerton has made this a trend, but I’ve always loved both the Regency and Victorian eras, so any book that looks like this 👇🏼 is going to get put in my library bag, stat.

I haven’t started reading A Lady’s Guide to Scandal yet, but I did finish The Wisteria Society for Lady Scoundrels by India Holton and it was just as delicious as it looked. There are two other books in the series—each a standalone that can be read in any order—and I’ve already got them in the queue. I’m also working on a fun book called The League of Lady Poisoners by Lisa Perrin about—yup, you guessed it—famous female poisoners, which is illustrated in a gorgeous gothic Victorian style. It’s chock full of interesting tidbits about feminism, culture, chemistry, botany, and history through the ages, as well as biographies on well-known women killers. It’s like Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls, except longer and more violent 😆.

Here’s to the ladies!

“The only way of deciding whether a novel is good or bad is simply to observe one’s own sensations on reading the last page.”

—Virginia Woolf—

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