Hi, Swipes. New here. Late, but that's better than never, right?
Grateful to be part of this community. I'm trying to find an equally hilarious, open minded, Jesus-forward, righteously passionate group IRL, and as I continue to search for and cultivate that where I am, I'm so glad this exists online. The internet is a weird and wonderful thing.
I am curious to know if anyone has recommendations for a place to go for scriptural/spiritual guidance for those in a season of weariness? Maybe anything specifically geared toward caretakers? I find myself staring at my metaphorical compassion & empathy bucket and finding it empty after/during a long, stretching season of being in the trenches both personally... and nationally... and globally... (gah, I'm tired of everything feeling like a dumpster fire *insert upside down smiley face emoji*).
Should anyone see this and have a suggestion, I'm ready to receive. Thank you in advance. Hugs.
It's supposed to dip down to a balmy 99 here over the weekend, so I will be trying to get me and the dog walking outside in the mornings after a lazy couple of weeks on that front. Had a week this week of "you can't please everyone" at work after struggling to keep up with appointments, having people get mad at the wait time when they were told at the beginning what the wait time would be, having people complain about our prices because we dare to charge for our services (I work for a non-profit vet clinic - our prices are as low as they can go), plus a very frustrating surgery day. So anyway, I'm gonna go eat my takeout and catch up on Star Trek. May your a/c be efficient and the weather gods grant you cloud cover.
Erin! I'm so sorry about your trees! And grateful no one was hurt. Praying the insurance goes much smoother than any anticipate. Weather wise, it's pretty perfect here today, but we'll be cookin' by next week. I watched 5 fully geared up firefighters walking the fence line across from our house today in what I can only assume is a brush fire risk assessment. This is not going to be a fun fire season here in Northern California (like any of them are). We've not had any measurable rain since March and the ponds and lakes are drying up. Ugh.
On a personal front, I'm going to my first post pandemic wedding tomorrow and I'm excited and nervous. As an immunosuppressed person I'm well aware of the risks, but have done all I can do to protect myself, other than staying at home, so I'm going to dance at the wedding of a woman I adore!
Our little nonprofit that could needs funders. I look every day for donors, but it is so hard friends. And so many people need our help.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone and stay air conditioned!
I am so sorry about your trees, Erin! I'm so glad that everyone is ok.
This week has been an emotional roller coaster between SCOTUS decisions and the 1/6 hearings. Also, it has been HOT. My boyfriend works as a batboy for a local team, the River Bandits and he has had to work outdoors in it and every night I worry that he will get heat exhaustion. Last humid and hot game has been played, so I think we're in the clear.
Treasures:
Having air conditioning. Seriously, praise Jesus.
Jimmy Fallon's Mad Libs, especially the ones with Benedict Cumberbatch and John Cena.
David French's newsletter, The French Press.
The movie, 'American Patriot'. Between the two aforementioned treasures combined with the hearings , there has really been a stirring in me about critical thinking, kindness, and not "othering".
The library pop-up in our neighborhood park. Such a good selection of books, good conversation with librarians, and a new book lover neighbor friend made!
Getting a good grade on a project I was sure I would have to take again.
Can't wait to catch up with everyone! You all are the best.
Erin, so sorry about your tree troubles! We had that last summer (no deck or fence to crush but clipped the roof) and dealing with the MESS plus no power for 5 days (whole neighborhood was out!) was no fun! And not cheap either🤨 (no insurance involved for us). Ts & Ps for quick resolution! 🙏🏻🙏🏻
Blessed with many treasures this week: laughing with cousins we have recently reconnected with, Top Gun (😍) and an interview for a job I would love! Plus dinner tonight with a friend I haven’t seen for over a year. 🤗 Stay cool, swipes!
Treasures: I found a cbd supplier that doesn't have any thc in it & it's working for me! Not that I don't enjoy the cbd/thc gummies I've been using but I don't always enjoy feeling slightly fuzzy so to have an alternative is reassuring.
I made it to some version of a church function twice in 2 weeks & have decided that half of the month I'm okay saying no to all church things, and the other half of the month I'll say yes to one church thing a week. Still wrestling a lot with if I'm staying or going or somewhere in between but this feels like a good place to settle for now.
Turd: couples therapy in this season of life is just a series of poking at wounds without enough time to resolve them and yesterday's was particularly brutal again.
We have yet to close on the mortgage & are still waiting to even know if we can get the thing. This contributes to turd #1 in a lot of ways.
Things could definitely be worse and this week I happen to have enough bandwidth to not want to constantly curse the fact that they aren't better. So I'm counting that as a win.
For whatever reason, it has taken me over 2 years to get the ol' substack to allow me to comment. We'll chalk it up to the trauma of a pandemilovato and not being able to focus long enough to do it correctly!
After a few months of trying and giving up, I never read the thread and have MISSED out on such a fun part of this community.
My treasure: BEING HERE. happy weekend eve everyone!
Happy Friday friends! I’m drowning in homework from summer intensives but if I can make it through I’ll only have one more semester before I’m done with my masters! 💃🏻💃🏻
I am cheering myself up by buying every house plant I come across, naturally. #planttherapy I even started my own little plant Instagram just for fun - it’s @wonderlandplantcare if anyone wants to check it out!
Hi Swipes! I havent been able to comment because i am so busy i can hardly breathe, buy i did manage to scare up a few treasures.
But first: Rebecca, here is your ribbon. Excellent tweet! 🏅
And second: I haven't been able to comment on it (again, sooo busy) but Erin's new series on affirming theology is excellent. As usual chock full of links to all kinds of books etc. And written with an open, friendly voice - plus the first six elements on the periodic chart.
🙍♀️ I am buying one of these (they come with different hair and skin and shirts) for all my women friends. Angry Mama Microwave Cleaner - https://a.co/d/2MJheo5
🐜 I learned a new way to deal with an ant colony: https://youtu.be/TycvvVdvL_s I think the waffle part is particularly clever. I didn't know that adults and babies ate different things.
🎨 I learned about floorcloths this week. And found several artists who make beautiful ones and lots of diy info, so I may try making some. Here are a few of the artists I found:
Off to a million work deadlines and repair guys and unpacking from our move. Have the very best Friday available to you, Swipes. I will check out all your treasures tomorrow morning. Xoxo
Greetings from Denver! It's hot here too - supposed to hit 100 this afternoon - but, as we like to console ourselves, "it's a dry heat". As in, it was around sixty this morning when I got up. I feel personally that once you get above 90, it's just damn hot, humidity or not.
Next month I begin working full-time for the first time in twenty years. My boss is retiring and I'm taking over his position as Facilities Manager at our church. I'm anxious about it, not because of the work itself, although I'm in awe of all the things I don't know about taking care of a 47,000 square foot building, but because unlike last time I worked full time, I now have three children and a dog and we own our own home. I'm a rather low-energy person, and the prospect of working all day and then going home and getting my family to help me with stuff is pretty overwhelming. My husband is very supportive, but again with the effing patriarchy - it still falls on me to identify which tasks need to be taken off my plate and explicitly handed over to him or one of the kids. I've brought some of it upon myself - since I haven't been formally employed before this for quite some time, I've seen running the house as my job, and I haven't shared it out when maybe I should have. But it's taking up a lot of mental real estate right now.
My treasure this week has been separate conversations with my twelve year old son and daughter. My son is super goal-driven and is currently obsessed with going to the Air Force Academy for college, so it's been fun to talk about what he should be doing now and where he should go to high school if he wants to pursue that. My daughter is one of the most emotionally intelligent people I've ever met, and we've been talking a lot about how to feel your feelings without letting them dictate how you spend every waking moment. She's our journaler and emoter, and we're all learning a ton about how to be sad or frustrated in front of other people because of her. It's a delight.
Hello everyone! I fell off the face of the earth shortly after starting Mercy Seat. I was really excited to participate and then some serious executive dysfunction happened and I just couldn’t. No idea why. But developing affirming theology is huge in this season for me, and as I read Tuesday’s newsletter I wondered why I haven’t dived (dove? doven? diven?) back in yet. So here I am! 🤪
Treasures: the baby only woke up once last night and I feel like a new woman (most nights it’s 3-4x). I took the 5yo to have blood drawn and he did a PHENOMENAL job staying still and calm. The toddler finally hit 50 words which I really wasn’t sure we’d hit by 2 years, and I’m so relieved and thankful.
Turds: I pulled something in my back when I rolled over to get out of bed this morning. None of my tomato plants are producing fruit.
So sorry about the tree - praying that the insurance process will be successful and not overly stress-inducing.
Treasured this quiet week after our "baby" graduated from high school last week, after two weeks of nonstop panic moments like, "My dress for graduation doesn't fit, so I need a new one in the next two hours"; "Didn't I tell you I have 4 more rehearsals for this theatre thing this week?", plus my own forgetfulness "Do you have the graduation tickets?" At least we know where she gets it! When I think of what a hot mess she and I both are these days, I wonder how on God's green earth she is going to survive when she leaves to go to college in DOWNTOWN CHICAGO this fall. Lord, be near.
At least the flowers are blooming like mad, my new milkweed plants are being chomped joyously by several monarch caterpillars, and most of my gardens are taking pretty well. Lots of work to do this hot weekend in the Twin Cities, but grateful for the energy and strength to tackle it. Ready to start John Green's Turtles All the Way Down sometime soon, too. Happy weekend, all!
Happy Friday! I woke to the sound of vomit hitting the floor of my bedroom at 4am from my 5 year old son. So this weekend could go many ways! I’m a sympathy puker, so thankfully my husband took the duties while I just try not to throw up thinking about my son’s stomach bug. Praying it doesn’t hit the rest of us!
My treasures are the books I’m reading. I just finished Take My Hand and LOVED it. I’m reading Shauna Niequist’s new book and it’s like reading my life right now. and I just started Book Lovers. Anyone else a huge Emily Henry fan?!
Hi all, I'm a little scattered today, but I would really appreciate all the prayers (and phone calls to congress) your hearts can muster. Last night I got the news alert about an active shooter at an Episcopal Church in Vestavia Hills, Alabama. My family and I go to an Episcopal Church in Vestavia. We were having VBS last night and my mama was volunteering. As we know now, it was, St. Stephen's, the other TEC church in the area, but one where we have close ties and close friends. I cannot bear to lose any more friends and family and community members to gun violence. I cannot. I'm trying to keep feeling comforted by the number of reach outs and check ins and prayers, but I'm so discouraged. Thank you for sharing your treasures of the week, because I'm struggling to muster some today. <3
Hi, Swipes. New here. Late, but that's better than never, right?
Grateful to be part of this community. I'm trying to find an equally hilarious, open minded, Jesus-forward, righteously passionate group IRL, and as I continue to search for and cultivate that where I am, I'm so glad this exists online. The internet is a weird and wonderful thing.
I am curious to know if anyone has recommendations for a place to go for scriptural/spiritual guidance for those in a season of weariness? Maybe anything specifically geared toward caretakers? I find myself staring at my metaphorical compassion & empathy bucket and finding it empty after/during a long, stretching season of being in the trenches both personally... and nationally... and globally... (gah, I'm tired of everything feeling like a dumpster fire *insert upside down smiley face emoji*).
Should anyone see this and have a suggestion, I'm ready to receive. Thank you in advance. Hugs.
It's supposed to dip down to a balmy 99 here over the weekend, so I will be trying to get me and the dog walking outside in the mornings after a lazy couple of weeks on that front. Had a week this week of "you can't please everyone" at work after struggling to keep up with appointments, having people get mad at the wait time when they were told at the beginning what the wait time would be, having people complain about our prices because we dare to charge for our services (I work for a non-profit vet clinic - our prices are as low as they can go), plus a very frustrating surgery day. So anyway, I'm gonna go eat my takeout and catch up on Star Trek. May your a/c be efficient and the weather gods grant you cloud cover.
Erin! I'm so sorry about your trees! And grateful no one was hurt. Praying the insurance goes much smoother than any anticipate. Weather wise, it's pretty perfect here today, but we'll be cookin' by next week. I watched 5 fully geared up firefighters walking the fence line across from our house today in what I can only assume is a brush fire risk assessment. This is not going to be a fun fire season here in Northern California (like any of them are). We've not had any measurable rain since March and the ponds and lakes are drying up. Ugh.
On a personal front, I'm going to my first post pandemic wedding tomorrow and I'm excited and nervous. As an immunosuppressed person I'm well aware of the risks, but have done all I can do to protect myself, other than staying at home, so I'm going to dance at the wedding of a woman I adore!
Our little nonprofit that could needs funders. I look every day for donors, but it is so hard friends. And so many people need our help.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone and stay air conditioned!
I am so sorry about your trees, Erin! I'm so glad that everyone is ok.
This week has been an emotional roller coaster between SCOTUS decisions and the 1/6 hearings. Also, it has been HOT. My boyfriend works as a batboy for a local team, the River Bandits and he has had to work outdoors in it and every night I worry that he will get heat exhaustion. Last humid and hot game has been played, so I think we're in the clear.
Treasures:
Having air conditioning. Seriously, praise Jesus.
Jimmy Fallon's Mad Libs, especially the ones with Benedict Cumberbatch and John Cena.
David French's newsletter, The French Press.
The movie, 'American Patriot'. Between the two aforementioned treasures combined with the hearings , there has really been a stirring in me about critical thinking, kindness, and not "othering".
The library pop-up in our neighborhood park. Such a good selection of books, good conversation with librarians, and a new book lover neighbor friend made!
Getting a good grade on a project I was sure I would have to take again.
Can't wait to catch up with everyone! You all are the best.
Erin, so sorry about your tree troubles! We had that last summer (no deck or fence to crush but clipped the roof) and dealing with the MESS plus no power for 5 days (whole neighborhood was out!) was no fun! And not cheap either🤨 (no insurance involved for us). Ts & Ps for quick resolution! 🙏🏻🙏🏻
Blessed with many treasures this week: laughing with cousins we have recently reconnected with, Top Gun (😍) and an interview for a job I would love! Plus dinner tonight with a friend I haven’t seen for over a year. 🤗 Stay cool, swipes!
Treasures: I found a cbd supplier that doesn't have any thc in it & it's working for me! Not that I don't enjoy the cbd/thc gummies I've been using but I don't always enjoy feeling slightly fuzzy so to have an alternative is reassuring.
I made it to some version of a church function twice in 2 weeks & have decided that half of the month I'm okay saying no to all church things, and the other half of the month I'll say yes to one church thing a week. Still wrestling a lot with if I'm staying or going or somewhere in between but this feels like a good place to settle for now.
Turd: couples therapy in this season of life is just a series of poking at wounds without enough time to resolve them and yesterday's was particularly brutal again.
We have yet to close on the mortgage & are still waiting to even know if we can get the thing. This contributes to turd #1 in a lot of ways.
Things could definitely be worse and this week I happen to have enough bandwidth to not want to constantly curse the fact that they aren't better. So I'm counting that as a win.
For whatever reason, it has taken me over 2 years to get the ol' substack to allow me to comment. We'll chalk it up to the trauma of a pandemilovato and not being able to focus long enough to do it correctly!
After a few months of trying and giving up, I never read the thread and have MISSED out on such a fun part of this community.
My treasure: BEING HERE. happy weekend eve everyone!
Happy Friday friends! I’m drowning in homework from summer intensives but if I can make it through I’ll only have one more semester before I’m done with my masters! 💃🏻💃🏻
I am cheering myself up by buying every house plant I come across, naturally. #planttherapy I even started my own little plant Instagram just for fun - it’s @wonderlandplantcare if anyone wants to check it out!
Happy weekend friends, I hope it’s a great one!
Booo to fallen trees :( Sending hugs and hopes that the people you have to deal with to get it taken care of are kind.
Hi Swipes! I havent been able to comment because i am so busy i can hardly breathe, buy i did manage to scare up a few treasures.
But first: Rebecca, here is your ribbon. Excellent tweet! 🏅
And second: I haven't been able to comment on it (again, sooo busy) but Erin's new series on affirming theology is excellent. As usual chock full of links to all kinds of books etc. And written with an open, friendly voice - plus the first six elements on the periodic chart.
🙍♀️ I am buying one of these (they come with different hair and skin and shirts) for all my women friends. Angry Mama Microwave Cleaner - https://a.co/d/2MJheo5
🐜 I learned a new way to deal with an ant colony: https://youtu.be/TycvvVdvL_s I think the waffle part is particularly clever. I didn't know that adults and babies ate different things.
🎨 I learned about floorcloths this week. And found several artists who make beautiful ones and lots of diy info, so I may try making some. Here are a few of the artists I found:
http://www.floorcloth.net/
http://www.graffitimats.com/painted-floorcloths
https://www.kathycooperfloorcloths.com/ (this gal has 90s-era? videos on youtube for a little slice of hairstyle history)
And this is a blog so you have to dig through to see the designs but she does lovely ones: http://pamdesign.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2010-11-05T11:07:00-04:00&max-results=12&start=33&by-date=false&m=1
Off to a million work deadlines and repair guys and unpacking from our move. Have the very best Friday available to you, Swipes. I will check out all your treasures tomorrow morning. Xoxo
Greetings from Denver! It's hot here too - supposed to hit 100 this afternoon - but, as we like to console ourselves, "it's a dry heat". As in, it was around sixty this morning when I got up. I feel personally that once you get above 90, it's just damn hot, humidity or not.
Next month I begin working full-time for the first time in twenty years. My boss is retiring and I'm taking over his position as Facilities Manager at our church. I'm anxious about it, not because of the work itself, although I'm in awe of all the things I don't know about taking care of a 47,000 square foot building, but because unlike last time I worked full time, I now have three children and a dog and we own our own home. I'm a rather low-energy person, and the prospect of working all day and then going home and getting my family to help me with stuff is pretty overwhelming. My husband is very supportive, but again with the effing patriarchy - it still falls on me to identify which tasks need to be taken off my plate and explicitly handed over to him or one of the kids. I've brought some of it upon myself - since I haven't been formally employed before this for quite some time, I've seen running the house as my job, and I haven't shared it out when maybe I should have. But it's taking up a lot of mental real estate right now.
My treasure this week has been separate conversations with my twelve year old son and daughter. My son is super goal-driven and is currently obsessed with going to the Air Force Academy for college, so it's been fun to talk about what he should be doing now and where he should go to high school if he wants to pursue that. My daughter is one of the most emotionally intelligent people I've ever met, and we've been talking a lot about how to feel your feelings without letting them dictate how you spend every waking moment. She's our journaler and emoter, and we're all learning a ton about how to be sad or frustrated in front of other people because of her. It's a delight.
Hello everyone! I fell off the face of the earth shortly after starting Mercy Seat. I was really excited to participate and then some serious executive dysfunction happened and I just couldn’t. No idea why. But developing affirming theology is huge in this season for me, and as I read Tuesday’s newsletter I wondered why I haven’t dived (dove? doven? diven?) back in yet. So here I am! 🤪
Treasures: the baby only woke up once last night and I feel like a new woman (most nights it’s 3-4x). I took the 5yo to have blood drawn and he did a PHENOMENAL job staying still and calm. The toddler finally hit 50 words which I really wasn’t sure we’d hit by 2 years, and I’m so relieved and thankful.
Turds: I pulled something in my back when I rolled over to get out of bed this morning. None of my tomato plants are producing fruit.
Erin,
So sorry about the tree - praying that the insurance process will be successful and not overly stress-inducing.
Treasured this quiet week after our "baby" graduated from high school last week, after two weeks of nonstop panic moments like, "My dress for graduation doesn't fit, so I need a new one in the next two hours"; "Didn't I tell you I have 4 more rehearsals for this theatre thing this week?", plus my own forgetfulness "Do you have the graduation tickets?" At least we know where she gets it! When I think of what a hot mess she and I both are these days, I wonder how on God's green earth she is going to survive when she leaves to go to college in DOWNTOWN CHICAGO this fall. Lord, be near.
At least the flowers are blooming like mad, my new milkweed plants are being chomped joyously by several monarch caterpillars, and most of my gardens are taking pretty well. Lots of work to do this hot weekend in the Twin Cities, but grateful for the energy and strength to tackle it. Ready to start John Green's Turtles All the Way Down sometime soon, too. Happy weekend, all!
Happy Friday! I woke to the sound of vomit hitting the floor of my bedroom at 4am from my 5 year old son. So this weekend could go many ways! I’m a sympathy puker, so thankfully my husband took the duties while I just try not to throw up thinking about my son’s stomach bug. Praying it doesn’t hit the rest of us!
My treasures are the books I’m reading. I just finished Take My Hand and LOVED it. I’m reading Shauna Niequist’s new book and it’s like reading my life right now. and I just started Book Lovers. Anyone else a huge Emily Henry fan?!
Hi all, I'm a little scattered today, but I would really appreciate all the prayers (and phone calls to congress) your hearts can muster. Last night I got the news alert about an active shooter at an Episcopal Church in Vestavia Hills, Alabama. My family and I go to an Episcopal Church in Vestavia. We were having VBS last night and my mama was volunteering. As we know now, it was, St. Stephen's, the other TEC church in the area, but one where we have close ties and close friends. I cannot bear to lose any more friends and family and community members to gun violence. I cannot. I'm trying to keep feeling comforted by the number of reach outs and check ins and prayers, but I'm so discouraged. Thank you for sharing your treasures of the week, because I'm struggling to muster some today. <3
“No Cher. God did.”
I will be giggling about this for YEARS, I can just tell.