friday

Friday Five

What a week.

1. Parks and Recreation, one of my favorite shows, has ended. There are countless articles, etc. on the end of a show like this. One theme I’ve noticed is the fact that Parks & Rec was so joyful. I love what this article says, “In the end, it is one of the best comedies TV has ever seen, and one that stands out from so much of the great shows of this new Golden Age of Television because its default emotion was joy when so many of this era’s great shows are defined by darkness, and its default philosophy was one of optimism at a time when even the best comedies today tend towards ironic detachment.” I also loved this article.

2. A Prayer for When You Barely Have Time to Eat. Amen.

3.

4. How’s everyone feeling about the snow? Laura and I (but mostly Laura) wrote this journal entry about going without coffee/being trapped by ice and snow. 

5. Finally, #thedress. The Internet is a bizarre place, y’all. Here’s the dress in question:

the dress

I only see this is blue and black. However, I know some of you see it as gold and white and somehow this came to the Internet’s attention and people were freaking.out. about it. There are several articles dealing with the science of it that, frankly, bored me. I did skim them enough to know that it has to do with how the cones in your eyes handle light and overexposure or something like that. But I thought it was fascinating that everyone was really bothered by this. And I liked what Mindy Kaling said:

the dress Mindy

I think this is why everyone was freaking out. What they knew, what they believed was undoubtable, was now being brought into question. They were beginning to doubt. 

I don’t really have any link to go with that, I just found it fascinating and it’s all over twitter. Sometimes it’s nice to remember what was The Biggest Deal Ever after we’ve forgotten about it. 

friday

Friday Five

1. Watching “Saturday Night Live” in the Time of ISIS. I don’t know if this article completely reflects my thoughts on this, but it’s something that I’m figuring out. It is hard to live in the whiplash, to know how to react, to know—seriously—what to tweet. I appreciate Tyler Huckabee’s perspective. 

2. Holy Writ. This is a long article, but if you appreciate writing and the art of the comma, you’ll find it interesting. (via Megan)

3. You may have seen this by now, but I love a good mashup. 

4. Counting Marriage as Loss. Love, love this from Lore. It is exactly where I am in so many ways. I am always thankful for writers who say, “Me too.”

5. “Parks and Recreation” is another of my favorite shows coming to an end this season. I really like this article on what Parks and Rec can teach us about faithfully living as a local.

 

friday

Friday Five

1. Are y’all tired of this song yet? Because I’m not. (thanks, Laura!)

2. How to Get Along with an Introvert. I agree with most of this. Especially points 1, 3, and 4. 

3. Present Spray. 

4. How One Stuped Tweet Ruined Justine Sacco’s Life. A fascinating look at reckless words and public shaming. 

5. I LOVE this song. He sings it every year at Behold the Lamb and ends it with a hymn and everyone sings along and it fills me with so much Nashville pride I can hardly stand it. #native 

 

IMG_8988

on buying a house

I bought a house. 

I never thought that sentence would begin with a singular first-person pronoun. A singular pronoun, sure. “He bought a house.” “She bought a house.” “You bought a house.” But not “I bought a house.”

I always thought it would be “We bought a house.” 

—

There’s a scene in You’ve Got Mail, a fraction of a scene, really, where Meg Ryan eats soup on the bare floor of her loft, between her bedroom area and her living room area. She just plops down, cross-legged, with her bowl of soup, cloth napkin tucked underneath. I don’t even know what else is happening—is Kathleen Kelly waxing poetic on the closing of the store? Is there music playing? I don’t know. All I know is Meg Ryan eating soup on the floor of that apartment has always captivated me.

I guess, and bear with me here, Meg Ryan eating soup from the floor always looked like peace to me. I know that’s weird. But she’s eating soup from the floor because she’s free. She’s free from rules that say you have to sit at the table; she’s free from social laws that say she needs to eat with other people or what if someone knew she eats soup sitting on the floor? She’s free from any care of her own. And she’s at peace with it all. I don’t know, but I think I’ve always wanted that. To eat soup from my floor, metaphorically.

—

Sometimes I assign words to my year. It’s a thing. But more than assigning a word to strive toward, I often like to look back and retroactively assign a word. This is what I learned. This is who I was. 2013, for me, was a year of hope. And 2014, I think, was the year of peace—being okay with who I am and where I am in life. I am free in so many ways and I like that. This is not to say that I don’t wish the personal pronoun wasn’t singular at times. But I’m glad to eat soup from the floor right now. 

Like my friend, MeLissa says, I can now eat soup on every surface in my house. Because it is mine, singular first-person pronoun. 

 

friday

Friday Five

1. Stephen King’s 20 Rules for Writing. I recently finished On Writing and cannot recommend it enough to writers. Glad to have all his rules here in one place. 

2. On the off-chance you haven’t seen this yet, here are Lennon & Maisy singing “Boom, Clap.” Remember this moment when, 2 months from now, your aunt posts this video on facebook.*

3. The History of “Loving” to Read. Interesting. (via Popcast)

4. Old/New, a cool little short film by someone about whom I say, “I know him … I mean, we’ve met like twice and follow each other on twitter” when asked who all I’m sitting with at the comedy show.*

 

5. Dear Facebook, You Make Me Sad. While I didn’t have entirely the same experience as Lauren, I did a purge a year or so ago and haven’t looked back. Recommend. 

BONUS: How to Make Friends as an Adult. 

BONUS DOS: Jimmy Fallon was killing it this week:

 

 

*Based on true events.

typewriter

You Don’t Need to Write

There’s a lot of talk going on that everyone has a story and everyone needs to share their story. And, especially in the case of believers, that is true. If you have drowned in the grace of Jesus Christ and you have seen His faithfulness, His love in your life, if you know what real hope is, what real peace is, then you have a story. 

But you don’t need to write it. Necessarily. 

Some of you need to sing your story. You need to put it to a melody. Some of you need to dance your story. Some of you need to speak your message—give it expression and hand gestures and tone that only voice can convey. Some of you need to show hope with dirty hands; love with cake batter; faith with feet planted beside grief; peace with healing. Some of you need to play your story on a piano, some of you need to paint it, some of you need to photograph it, you need to draw it, you need to sketch it. And some of you, perhaps only a few of you, need to write it. 

Every story does not need to be written. Not everyone needs to write, because not everyone reads. And because some stories cannot be conveyed with words. 

Have you ever been in a worship service and you see someone playing the guitar, jumping up and down, so literally moved with adoration, hope, praise, love for their Savior? Their passion is catching and you have tears in your eyes watching them. That story cannot be conveyed with words. 

Try to write laughter. Or hugs. Or sunsets.

Some stories are not meant to be written. Some storytellers are not meant to write. And that’s okay. 

 

tweets of the month

Tweets of the Month Club | January 2015

Here are the best tweets to cross my timeline in January. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

friday

Friday Five

So, funny story. My blog was hacked last week and since it was an attack with the server, I ended up switching servers. My hosts were great and moved everything for me, but due to the hacking, they weren’t able to save my latest posts. This probably doesn’t bother any of you like it does me, but I wanted to note it here. That way, when I look back at my post history, I will have on record that I did not skip any Friday Fives. (There were also some great guest posts—Bachelor Recaps by Someone Who Doesn’t Watch The Bachelor. Just FYI, future self.)

Okay, now for your regularly scheduled programming:

1. I’ve been listening to this music all week. Piano versions of classic and current hits. It is so perfect for reading/writing/editing. 

2. j/k. I decided I didn’t like this. 

3. I love this NEEDTOBREATHE song (of course) and they made a new version with Gavin DeGraw. It’s just fun. 

4. The Post About Beth Moore Thinking My Mom Was a Drug Dealer. This is just funny. 

5. Ohmygoodness. Parenthood. Y’all, I’m still not over it. But neither is showrunner Jason Katims. This article made me cry (this is your tissue warning) and it has some minor spoilers. But I just love those Bravermans. 

friday

Friday Five

1. Made any New Year’s Resolutions? Here are 25 Easy Resolutions to Transform Your Health. 

2. You may have already seen this. I know our local news did a 5 minute spot on it on NYE. #Nashville But, it’s too good not to post (also, check out the rest of her channel. She has some other great mashups.)

3. The Sad Internet: 2014 in Review. This is fantastic.  

4. That Thing You Do

5. The Boston Globe’s Big Picture Year in Review is always a great look back at the year. Here’s Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. 

 

tweets of the month

Tweets of the Month Club – December 2014

Twitter was made for holiday snark. Good job, y’all.