weekend links
This week has been so full and so exhausting. I have very little collected outside of things I read. And this beautiful sunset that I asked Joanna to try to capture on one of our many drives. So much driving this week. School runs, dance practices, building supplies needing to be picked up. I frequently think back to our life in New York during weeks like this and I long for the walking and biking commutes. But I also wonder how much of it is this stage of life with the girls. It would always be different as our life changes, I know that. And this time is beautiful. Just look at the views of our drives. And all the sheep, with lambs beginning to appear too! I can be content and thankful where we are now as I drive and chat with my girls. And I will always treasure and be nostalgic for the days with my little girls in Manhattan.
THINGS I BOOKMARKED
Let’s Talk Play: A Conversation with Dr. Brian Edgar & Katy Bowser Hutson – Such a fun post listening in on a conversation with Dr. Edgar and Katy about play. I have not thought a lot about this and I really loved what it opened up in my mind. I’ve added Dr. Edgar’s book to my wishlist and hopefully will engage with that again soon.
Conservative Christians Were Right about 1990s/2000s Teen Culture – Appreciated this article by Katelyn Beaty thinking about how things were framed in my teen years and what they potentially got right, but perhaps on accident.
on releasing a book by Kristen LaValley – I really cannot wait to read this book (I pre-ordered, but it always takes longer to reach me in Wales).
using ChatGPT for writing (particularly Christian writing) – Substack thought from Phylicia Masonheimer that I really appreciate. And we have the same policy about screens for our kids and learning to wait. I’ve even be trying to do this more myself instead of turning to my phone when I’m waiting somewhere.
Your AI Sermon Is Showing - Also by Phylicia Masonheimer, a super powerful article about AI and sermons and Christian ministry. I have such strong feelings about AI and continue to get pushback on its uses. Really appreciate Phylicia’s courageous stance about pastors using AI to aid their sermons.
We’re Being Shaped By Smut – So many thoughts about this really bold article. Really spot on by its points and yet this is such a hard topic to broach with friends and society and even myself sometimes.
That’s all for this weekend. I’m tired friends. I’ve struggled to hold it all together this week and not collapse in tears. I was so grateful this morning to read the weekly newsletter from Hannah at My Family Dinner. You might need to read it too.
Hang in there. Spring is coming. A lot is probably coming with it. It’s OK to say it is a lot and to think about making changes. Or just get through. I paused on my walk to the coffee shop this morning in Weobley as I wait for Joanna and her dance classes. I watched a farmer drive this tractor in very slowly and park on the high street of Weobley to get something from a local shop. I snapped a picture for a tractor-obsessed friend. And then I continued to the coffee shop to read and write this. Finding ways to notice and savour any little moments I can.
Happy Saturday wherever this day finds you. 💚