❤️🔥 Lil Treasures #160: Tchotchkes and The Heartburn Gang
We're talking about what's coming in 2023 and deciding if chili and cinnamon rolls is a good combo
Hello good morning, on this, the first Friday of 2023 and the first Lil Treasures of 2023. I hope this week has been a gentle entry into whatever changes or non-changes you’ve chosen to make in your one wild and precious life. We’re going to get to the treasures (of which there are many!), but will you indulge me in a little housekeeping?
This week, I shared with the paid version of this newsletter (creatively called The Swipe Up+) some of the fun things we have ahead in the new year. I shared with them a Lent plan (are you Lenting this year?), some updates on what I’ve been working on, and a fun new addition I’ll be announcing here soon-ish. Is that vague enough for you?
I do my darnedest to not hound you about becoming a paid subscriber because I know it’s just not in the financial cards for some (and as always, should you want to become a subscriber but it’s not in the budget, please email Hannah and me and we will hook you up, it’s not a big deal, don’t make it a big deal). Or maybe you’re just like, I’m here for the tweets, that’s it, which I respect. But I did want to tell you that right now1, I’m doing 20% off a yearly subscription to The Swipe Up+ if you’re into it. Here’s what you get when you come join us behind the paywall:
This year, we’ll walk through Lent together via my guide called Every Broken Thing. It’s a JOURNEY through Ecclesiastes (yes, we did this one in 2020, but this is updated and reformatted for maximum community pleasure), but Lent is always better with people (even people you don’t know in real life). All SU+ subscribers are automatically included in this…
Outside of Lent, you’ll get weekly posts from me on whatever is on my mind grapes. In the past, we’ve also had a community outsourcing of our personal problems, called The Co-op, which is really fun, and you would just be blown over by the wisdom in this corner of the internet.
We will also go through disentangle at some point in 2023, which will be the last time we do it via this medium (probably) because I am working on massaging it into a book which will either be very cool or the dumbest decision I’ve ever made: JURY IS OUT CURRENTLY. If you’re new, disentangle is the guide I created on moving through faith exploration (it’s not a “deconstruct your faith in 6 weeks” course). I am really proud of it and will tell you more about it later when we’re not in the middle of what amounts to a sales pitch.
As our sister
says: the financial portion of this is not meant to be a hindrance, but rather just a way for you to support what I’m doing here (whatever that may be). We also share a lot of private information behind the paywall, so it’s just another layer of protection for those who have courageously shared personal details: I don’t want just some random troll coming in and messing up the vibes. So if you’ve considered joining before, now is the time to get that sweet sweet 20% off for a whole year.One of the cool things about this community is that ANYTIME I post about giving away the subscriptions, at least three people randomly come in and ask for my Venmo so they can donate a sub. Which is so cool and it makes me want to cry, but Substack has finally streamlined that process where I’m not typing my venmo through salty tears. If that is you, and you want to donate a sub, look at this fancy button they gave us? No pressure, but’s it’s here if you want it:
Okay I solemnly swear I will never talk about this as much again. Let’s get to the real reason why you’re all here: TREASURES.
THE TREASURES!
🍜Midwestern pals, can you please confirm if this is a thing? Because just seeing it makes me want to die?
⛪ Go ahead and save this post from Sara Billups about church reform to your Instagram faves!
🧇The 3rd Annual Galentine’s/Palentine’s Gift Exchange is happening again this year organized by our beloved Jillian! You can celebrate your fellow ladies and pals by clicking on this link. The deadline to sign up is January 20th!
🎧 I had a fun new project release this week: I Kid You Not: Growing a Child’s Faith When You’re a Grown-Up Without All the Answers went out into the world yesterday. Everyone’s favorite faith-parenting writer, Meredith Anne Miller, and I will be unpacking Bible stories for kids AND adults in a fresh way that hopefully spares them from future religious trauma. It’s really important for me to point out that this isn’t a podcast JUST for people with kids: it really is for everyone who wants to ask questions, and not just get rote answers in return. If you’ve listened already, I would love to know what you think about the first two episodes!
📿 This is the energy I’m bringing into 2023 (and if you are eating cinnamon rolls with chili, maybe this should be your energy also).
THE TWEETS!
Alright party people, this concludes your first newsletter of the new year. Can’t wait for all that’s in store for the coolest club on the internet in 2023! Drop off your treasures in the comments before you go! Xoxo.
Forgive the fine print, but this will last until next week, and then it’s back to full price.
🚘😴 My mom gets so annoyed with me when I mention that I sometimes sit in the car to soak in the silence, YEAH WELL I AM 33, GET OVER IT. Admittedly, she does ask why can’t I just do it in my perfectly nice house, which is a great question...but I’m tired most of the time now.
🏡❤️ I mentioned a couple weeks ago my parents were surprising me with news on Christmas that they wouldn’t tell me about. Well, it turns out that they will be moving out of their current house in a, let’s just say, rough around the edges town in the Florida swamps (that I hate and as it turns out, they kinda hate it now too for reasons I won’t share here), and they are buying an actual house in the much nicer next town over. I was so grateful in that moment. Still am. Please pray that all things continue to go smoothly!
⚽️🥹 I will soon be going to my first soccer game with some friends I am hoping to get to know and I am cautiously optimistic that it will go well.
📖📚 I deactivated my Instagram account again because I realized for the ten millionth time how bad it is for me and how addicted I tend to get to it, so I created a Goodreads account! Several Lil Swipes have already followed me and I love seeing your updates.
🎉🥲 So far, 2023 has gone well. Let us pray that it stays that way.
My oh my, I haven't been in the comments in such a long time.
Waves all the way from Minnesota where we finally seem to be getting a break in snow. We got about a foot of snow Tues-Weds and adding that to the pre-Christmas snow we had and oh my gosh I'm already done with all the snow. But as a lifelong Minnesotan I know this crud will stick around until March. MARCH!
Chili and Cinnamon rolls were TOTALLY a school lunch in the 90s. (Or as my teenager likes to say "In the 1900s) -- but it is not on my sons' lunch menu anymore, but then again they have vastly different lunch items than we used to have offered. Like my high school had the best Chef salad lunch option. I think it was actually meant as a teacher lunch but you could special order it as a student and guys, it was a DELIGHT.
2023. It's hard to say it aloud. It's 2023. I have started a habit tracker to be mindful of good things I can do for myself. I bought it from here: https://dailypageshop.com/products/the-habit-template
I may buy her planner in the 2nd quarter of 2023 to help with basic life planning, but we'll see. I mean so far so good on managing some good choices.
Excited for the Palentine's event again! Makes mental note to go update my Elfster list :)
Also since it's winter and I admittedly become a hermit (see aforementioned snow reference) I have been knitting up a storm! If anyone needs a scarf, wrap, or cowl hit me up. I am using up my seemingly never-ending yarn inventory while watching The West Wing (started rewatching in December and I'm nearly to S3 and its a delight!).
Stay cozy friends
Mel