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Hi friends! Happy Friday to you all and thanks for being here.
I didn’t post last week because we were all neck-deep in cooing over the newest addition to our family: my new baby niece! My little sister had her first child and I think I’ve died and gone to heaven at least five times since she was born. I’m so proud of my sister and can’t wait to watch her be a mom 💕.
In other news, my family and I went on our church’s spring retreat to SharpTop Cove a couple weeks ago and had a blast. I’ve said it before, but the thing that sets our church apart from any other I’ve attended is the deep sense of intimacy and family that permeates all we do, from worship and meal times, to ziplining and gathering to chat. At every session, there were kids tumbling around making noise, parents rocking babies, and families holding each other close. Our attention was on the pastor’s message, but this euphony of God’s people together was just as holy. It was a wonderful weekend for us and I’m really glad we went.
Finally, I want to say thank you so much to everyone who has commented on, liked, and shared my most recent post! I had no idea it would get so much traction, but in less than a week it has become my most-viewed essay and I’m thankful for the way it has encouraged readers. Welcome to all my new subscribers and I hope you’ll enjoy being here!
That’s it for now. Thanks for sharing some of your time with me today.
Have a beautiful weekend!
Point #1: “Remember what I did for you.”
I have a tattoo on my left forearm of the word “remember” in my husband’s handwriting. I got it in 2017 as a monument to what God has done in the hardest seasons of my life, and this beautiful essay from is a stunning testimony to her own experience of God’s goodness in impossible situations. Read it all the way to the end. Oh, and grab a tissue.
Point #2: Anti-mother bias affects us all.
We see it everywhere, from the Left to the Right and back again. Mothers are mythological creatures who have “the hardest job in the world,” yet we’re also irrelevant automatons who can’t think for ourselves or add anything important to the discussion. Feminism, it seems, has a motherhood problem.
Point #3: “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.”
Apple’s atrocious new ad deserves this scathing review and more.
Point #4: Grammar nerds for the win!
When I tell you I CACKLED at this it is not hyperbole.
Bonus Point: Writers have different ABCs.
Print this out and tape it to your wall.
Word of the Week ✍🏻
Sloomy: (adj.) Feeling sleepy and lethargic from the heat.
Receipts from a No-Buy Year 🧾
Clothes: $48
I do all our grocery shopping at Lidl, which is basically Aldi but bigger and better. They, like their friends at Costco, even have random items of clothing for sale—sweatsuits, leggings, Harry Potter socks, and mom jeans. (Surprisingly awesome mom jeans, tbh.) I confess I bought a pair for $9.99 and immediately was like, “This was one of my wiser choices.” I also grabbed some black leggings because I only have a single pair that slides down every time I run during our softball games and I’m tired of pulling at them like a toddler who can’t get her pants on right.
This pair of shorts was another purchase I made recently due to the fact that 1) all I have for summer are tight jean cutoffs that I can’t wear for two long or I want to crawl out of my skin, and 2) because they’re basically elevated Soffe shorts. (#IYKYK) I’m obsessed. They’re so freakin’ soft and comfortable I wore them two days in a row.
I’ve been continuing to donate items as they come in, but I’ll admit the reason I’ve spent more money on clothes lately is because my body has changed and some pieces just don’t fit well anymore. It’s hard to let go of a dress or pair of jeans you love because it also represents a body you no longer have. My spending here is an attempt to love myself right now, as I am, and that’s worth the cost.
Coffee: $0.00
I’ve only been buying coffee on Mondays, as planned, and with points. Yay me!
Books: $0.00
Again, we love our local library!!!
Total: $48
Reading in The Nook 📚
Do you really want to know what I’m reading right now? Because it’s—wait for it—another spicy historical romance. Gasp! I know. Completely unlike my usual fare.
This is truly the best series of them all, I will say. I can’t get enough. India Holton can take all my money. (Via the library, of course.)
What are you reading right now? 👇🏻
“The most extraordinary thing in the world is an ordinary man and his ordinary wife and their ordinary children.”
—G.K. Chesterton—
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