I can’t believe I haven’t checked in since June! It feels like the last few months have been a bit of a time warp. I don’t even think I’ll attempt a detailed recap, but the intervening months included: grocery store sushi, puzzles, exploring streams and rivers, smoothies, books on tape, Minecraft, library books, bike riding, cartoons, attempts at gardening, lots of Hamilton listening, daily naps (for me), and just one emergency dental appointment (which turned out well).

My kids started virtual school on Tuesday after what seems like the longest summer ever. As I write, my kindergartner is coloring at the little desk I set up in my office. My other two are set up at others spots around the house.

I don’t know what the semester ahead holds, but my little shop will carry on and I will show up here in this space the best I can and share as the Lord gives me strength and inspiration!

In addition to the other summer happenings, I was able to do a series of bird paintings. I had so much fun expiramenting with a combination of watercolor + Nupastels and oils pastels + pencil on vintage music and gardening encyclopedia pages. I got to display the originals, which I mounted on cradle board and coated in cold wax, at a local gift shop for August.

I made two sets of prints from the collection available in the shop! I hope to list some of the remaining originals soon.

RECENT READS

Compassion (&) Conviction: The AND Campaign’s Guide to Faithful Civic Engagement by Justin Giboney, Michael Wear, Chris Butler* is a great read if you’re struggling to know how to engage in politics, especially in this polarized culture. This book won’t tell you who to vote for, but argues for a way to engage in politics in a Christian way rooted in both biblical justice and moral order. The AND Campaign is doing great things and just launched a prayer and action justice initiative.

Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.* is the last book Dr. King wrote before his death in 1968. I’ve really appreciated getting any extended explanation of his ideas (as opposed to little sounds bites or quotes) and the way he felt about the various movements going on around him. His vision is completely applicable today.

Try Softer: A Fresh Approach to Move Us out of Anxiety, Stress, and Survival Mode–and into a Life of Connection and Joy by Aundi Kolber* has been really helpful in understand how my brain and body work together along with strategies for dealing with difficult emotions in healthy ways. I don’t know about you, but I definitely have difficult emotions!

The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile.* I am late to the ennegram conversation, but here I am now, and I love it as a tool for self-examination and growth. I think I am a nine, wing 1 if that means anything to you.

The Drama of Scripture: Finding Our Place in the Biblical Story by Craig G. Bartholomew and Michael W. Goheen.* We are reading this as part of a women’s discipleship group at church. It’s a basic and accessible overview of the story of Scripture, and the idea that we are all called to enter into this narrative.

I also recommend . . .

A Biblical Critique of Secular Justice and Critical Theory By Timothy Keller. For the record, I find some of the concepts of critical race theory helpful, but they don’t form my worldview. What I found particularly helpful in this article was Keller’s outline of what Biblical justice IS.

Be The Bridge’s statement on Critical Race Theory.

In This Fraught Racial Moment, We Need a Refresher on Human Depravity
We also need a reminder of God’s radical grace. by Tish Harrison Warren

“American evangelicals often view sin primarily as the sum of individual, conscious, immoral choices. Historically, however, the church has viewed sin not merely in terms of volitional decisions but also as the disordered state of our hearts: the subtle idolatry that we bear often without noticing it, the way we love the wrong things and fail to love what is most lovely, and the way we worship ourselves and set ourselves up as God. Like all sin, racism is fundamentally a disordered orientation toward the world. In this way, it isn’t chiefly chosen but is habituated and practiced in ways that are as subtle as they are destructive.”

–Tish Harrison Warren

I’ve also enjoyed the Disrupters podcast by Christianity Today and IV Press.

A prayer for this season

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