đ„§ Lil Treasures #101: Thunder In The Desert and an Apple Convertible
Plus Leonard Cohen and a great recipe for soup szn.
Welcome to November, errybody! We made it through October! And more importantly, we made it through the Monday-after-Halloween, God be praised.
Itâs the end of Daylight Savings Time this weekend in most states, which means the sun will be not making many daily appearances here in the next few months. Make sure to stock up on your cozy blankets and Vitamin D this weekend!
Before we get started on the treasures, I have a âlil announcement to make:
Advent is coming, you guys! đŻïž The season of Advent officially kicks off on Sunday, November 28th (the Sunday after Thanksgiving) and this year, I have written a study to keep you company on your Advent journey. The study is called Thunder In the Desert and will explore the text of Isaiah 40 during the 4 weeks of Advent (Nov 28-Dec 24). This is my first time writing a study on Advent and I am so thrilled about it! Maybe youâre a liturgical calendar pro, or maybe this will be your first time observing Advent - either way, this study will be a lovely companion for you as we enter the season of expectant waiting and celebration for both the birth of Jesus and His return.
Thunder In The Desert will be structured similarly to the Dis/entangle study, and will only be available if youâre in The Swipe Up+ community (again, just as a reminder -for Lent, the study will also be sold separately from the community as in yearsâ past!) If you want to go ahead and join the community, you can do so below for $6 a month, or you can wait until Advent begins!
Okay letâs do some treasures!
đ± I have never felt so seen than in this video of this cat attempting to dance.
đ€ Amarillo Angels is an organization in West Texas whose goal is to support and empower those in the foster care community. They are doing incredible work to advocate for children in foster care and to create a support system for families who are fostering. This weekend, they are partnering with everyoneâs favorite jeweler Kendra Scott for a Give Back event! The actual event is in person, but you can also shop on the Kendra Scott website and use the code GIVEBACK-AYGOE on Saturday & Sunday for 20% off your order. Christmas is coming, ladies and gents - and this is a golden opportunity to snag your KS jewels and also simultaneously support a good cause! I love Amarillo Angels because they are doing incredible work in one of my favorite places, the Texas Panhandle, and I also happen to love their director at lot (itâs my mom).
đ Chris Arnaud, a former Wall Street banker- turned photojournalist, spent 3 years traveling across the United States exploring places that youâre ânot supposed to go to.â Through his experiences, he became friends with outcasts and those of low socioeconomic status and learned so much about human behavior, faith, and community. He also ate at a lot of McDonaldâs restaurants. He was interviewed in this Plough article called The McDonalds Test and itâs one of the best things Iâve read in a while.
đ Itâs No Move November, which for me means using my crockpot as much as humanly possible. If youâre feeling cozy this weekend and want a good crockpot recipe for soup - this Slow Cooker Loaded Potato Soup looks to meet allllll comfort food needs.
đ Are you brunette? Do you enjoy your career? If so (or honestly if not, itâs funny either way) please watch this video from Dana Schwartz.
Tweets of the week:
Alright pals, enjoy your Friday! Iâm at the beach this weekend, but I canât wait to read all your treasures as I lounge in the heated pool đ See you in the comments!
Can we talk more about that Plough article? Wow. Here I am thinking Iâm a privileged front row person, and he slams my taste for Filet-O-Fish sandwiches. But whatever⊠My first reality check with âthe back rowâ was going on a police ride along in my hometown of Indianapolis. I was 21 and got to sit on an old couch in a filthy apartment in the projects and hold the hand of a woman who had just had a chunk of her forehead bitten out by a prostitute while we waited for the EMT. That was wild! That was when I began to stop fetishizing poverty like he talks about. Since you live in Birmingham, Erin, Iâll tell you that my husband spent 4 years at Christ Episcopal Church in Fairfield, and I lived for awhile in the Ensley neighborhood while we were dating! It was 2008, and we thought Obama would help set the world aright. We eventually left, but my husband kept in touch with some people who are doing pretty well now.
I still struggle with the tension of wanting to live amongst the poor and wanting to live in a safe and well-cared for area. After 5 years of my little ones being in âbad schools,â itâs so exciting to see them finally making strides and having good attitudes when they come home. But then part of me feels guilty. We still live below our means, not the wealthiest part of town, and itâs still a public school, but I still feel guilty because Iâm a complicated person with big feelings. Whew! That felt good to get off my chest, I guess. Anyway, Iâm glad you shared this article. I think it shows that what we make into political issues are much more nuanced than we want to believe.
One of my biggest pet peeves is people rewriting Hallelujah into a worship/Christmas song. A of all, Leonard Cohen was one of the greatest poets of his generation and none of these fools can come close. B of all, see above re: Jew singing about sex, and C of all Cohen himself thought that song was overdone. Maybe give Suzanne a try, which is partly about sex but also has a really beautiful verse actually about Jesus. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.
I've spent most of the day dealing with a propane situation as I woke up in the small hours absolutely freezing and eventually figured out that the heater had not been running overnight and the nights are starting to get pretty brisk here in central TX. Propane is sorted, heater is functional, and the trailer hasn't exploded, so I think we're ok. I really hope I find a job soon so I can find someplace to live with actual insulation before real winter sets in.
I found out recently that two of my very good friends are pregnant, and I've been very in my feelings about it. I'm excited for them, but while I don't even really want kids, other people moving on to new life stages is a great way to wake up the insecurity monster. So anyway I stumbled across this little poem that took me from completely fine to sobbing in about 30 seconds, proceed with caution: https://twitter.com/kjramseywrites/status/1451652984857890819?s=20
I love this guy - it's a lot of slightly niche medical humor, but this one is approved for all audiences. https://twitter.com/DGlaucomflecken/status/1455594485925105667?s=20