Plot Points #44 💌
Settling in, book recs, the lost art of babysitting, and…Good Enough: The Audiobook!
Hi friends! Happy Friday to you all.
Well, if you saw my last post you know that we finally moved into our house! We are now officially suburbanites, which we always said we’d never be (so don’t say “always” or “never” because God will laugh at you and reply “Lol, guess what?”) There were too many hiccups to count this week, even post-closing, but things are finally beginning to settle down and we are thrilled to be here. The house still feels a bit like a vacation home—we don’t yet have a washer or dryer, nothing is where it’s supposed to be, where are the cleaning supplies???—but it’s beautiful and fresh and ours. Lucy loves her new school, the kids and I got new library cards, and my friend Rosalie brought us a homemade dinner.
It’s all just so good.
In different-but-equally-as-awesome news, my book Good Enough: Learning to Let Go of Perfect for the Sake of Holy is finally being released as an audiobook! It’s only 4 years late, but better than never, right? I was originally supposed to fly to Cape Cod on March 29, 2020 to record it, but I bet you can imagine what happened instead. I’ll share more details about the release date soon 📚❤️.
Thanks for sharing some of your time with me today, friends.
Have a lovely weekend!
Point #1: Long live the babysitters.
I really loved this thoughtful piece on how we have commercialized what used to be a caregiving opportunity for teenagers, as well as a community-building practice for families. I know people have legitimate horror stories about babysitters, too, but I remember fondly the one we had growing up, as well as my own first babysitting experience and it was as much a rite of passage for me as getting a car. I hope Lucy gets to experience the lost art of teenage babysitting one day!
Point #2: Get thee to a library.
My friend
shared a lovely list of book recommendations perfect for a variety of occasions, and since Rachel has never steered me wrong I figured I would share. She doesn’t call herself All the RAD Reads for nothing!Point #3: We need what is good, true, and beautiful.
This piece in Christianity Today almost made me tear up. Creatives and artists often have to justify their work and this is even more true in the Church. But we need beauty! We need truth the way it can only be expressed in art. As the author writes, “Humans will satisfy this hunger for beauty one way or another. As God’s people, we should host the feast.” I couldn’t have said it better.
Point #4: Oh, yes, we will!
Word of the Week ✍🏻
Crepuscular: (adj.) of, resembling, or relating to twilight.
Receipts from a No-Buy Year 🧾
Coffee: $9.12
Considering the chaos of the move and the fact that we didn’t have a fridge until yesterday, the fact that I only bought coffee one time outside my limit is pretty impressive. Did I also use lukewarm creamer that had been on the counter for two days to compensate? Yes. Yes, I did.
Clothes: $0.00
Books: $0.00
House Stuff: $0.00
The fridge does not count. Since we downsized, our garage is stuffed with boxes that we need to go through, so I’m pretty sure I have a whole Home Goods out there to pick from. (Lol, jk. It’s more like an entire Goodwill.)
Total: $9.12
Reading in The Nook
Haven’t had much reading time, but I am working on a delightfully funny romance called The Bookshop of Second Chances by Jackie Fraser. It’s about a woman who loses her job and discovers her husband is cheating on her the very same week she finds out her uncle has left her a cottage in a tiny Scottish village. (We love a trope with Scottish locales!) She begins work at a local bookshop where romance and chaos ensue, and it’s just super sweet. The writing is dry and quirky, and Fraser’s voice reads almost like diary entries, with all the fits and starts of real dialogue and stream-of-consciousness. Love it!
What are you reading right now? 👇🏻
(All book links are affiliates.)
When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.
—Jane Austen—