Friday Faves
Friends, it’s been a minute. I stopped doing the Friday Five when I somehow gathered almost five jobs and now I find myself with only two (sometimes three). Perhaps in my free time, I’ll be able to read more of the internet and share it with you. I’m not going to promise that this will be a weekly occurrence, but should I find some tweets that I like, I’ll add them in here too. I might even try to write on this thing every so often. They say the blog is dead; I say we can make them cool again.
Really, I’m just a collector. The blog is a place to collect things—fun stories, thoughts, links, and tweets.
Here are just a few of my favorite things from the past several months:
A book for every age. Have you read the one for your current age?
Speaking of books, Little Women is one of my favorites. I loved the 1994 movie and this oral history of it did not disappoint.
Listen. to this podcast. Dolly Parton’s America explores a theme I’ve been noticing myself in the last couple of years. And one of the guys who does RadioLab, arguably the best produced podcast, is behind this one, so it’s a great listen on multiple levels.
I somehow found this poem, “The Opposite Game,” and I recommend it.
I’ve recently become interested in this Instagram feed. Who wants to go in with me to just buy a fixer-upper somewhere in Maine?
This music video is the happiness your Friday needs.
Elizabeth Hyndman
Elizabeth Hyndman likes drinking tea, using parentheses, and living in Nashville. Follow her on twitter @edhyndman. 
Christian Women and Social Media: Living Your Faith Online
Social media and the internet in general can have a pretty negative connotation these days. Broadcasting our lives online and having access to so much information often fuels issues with identity, bullying, stewardship, anxiety, anger, and more. However, social media and the internet can also be beautiful tools used to create community, resource leaders, and point women toward the Word of God. If I were to ask you if you’ve ever bought something you saw on Instagram or Facebook, I’m guessing you’d say yes. If I asked you if you’d ever been to an event based solely on social media, some of you will raise your hands. We’ve all done it. I’ve made purchases, gone to events, and made lifelong friends through the internet. It’s not all bad! Read the rest at the LifeWay Women... read more
ministry
This weekend we celebrated the retirement of one of our event team members who keeps everyone safe on the road. He stood at the center of everyone’s attention (a place he hates) and said, “This is a ministry for me.” And it struck me that everyone feels that way about what they do at our events. (Please note here that “ministry” does not always equal “fun” or “peaceful” or “lovely.”) For the simulcast events to take place, incredibly talented people use their gifts and talents to do the ministries of administration, of marketing, of customer service, of unloading boxes, of selling resources, of taking pictures. The ministries of lights, of screen lyrics, of microphones and stage directing, of cameras, of computers and the technology it takes to get a live feed around the world practically glitch-free, of translating in Spanish and ASL. And yes, the ministries of teaching and leading in worship and shepherding an audience through the day. But also the ministries of prayer and compassion, the ones we may never know about, and the ministry of invitation. Sometimes we who are used to this make jokes about the ministry of taping up signs or the ministry of going to get coffee. When really, this is what ministry is. Doing what needs to be done, doing what God has gifted you uniquely to do or placed you uniquely to do. Ultimately, we do these things so that He can minister to the hearts of others. I don’t always get to go to our events, but this weekend my job was to tweet and Instagram and Facebook, answering... read more
beyond what I can do
Recently while talking about my job, a friend said something about the gravity of it—handling the Word of God, editing the words of teachers who influence millions around the globe. The gravity, the heaviness, the privilege of this work hits me every so often. I have to admit, not every day. Some days, I come in and like a scientist or a scholar look at the Bible and dissect it. I wax poetically about dashes and commas and ellipses. But the Word of God is living and active and some days I realize the gravity of that. I pray over my work. I give thanks for my work. I nearly come to tears thinking of the heaviness of this privilege. Beth Moore once said, “You can know that you may be in the right place if it is beyond what you can do because that is where the all surpassing power of God is shown. And it’s of Him, not of us.” This job, this work, is beyond what I can do. Not just because I have seemingly ten new deadlines every day. Not just because I may or may not have failed Greek class once or twice. Because Scripture is holy, it is the primary means by which our God—the God of the heavens and the earth—tells us about Himself. It convicts, it encourages, it challenges, it distributes hope. The Word of God reminds us of the faithfulness of God. Properly handling that sacred text? It is beyond what I can do. So maybe, just maybe, I’m in the right place. Even if that right place is... read more