all the things (11.26)

Happy holiday season to you! Hope everyone out there had a good Thanksgiving, but it’s time to move on to CHRISTMAS!  I love this time of year. Christmas carols, snow, giving gifts, Christmas crafts, advent… it’s my very favorite.

 

My little corner of the internet: 

I finally wrote my October edition of Jordan Reads Things!

Two Five Minute Friday posts: one last week, and one this week!

Words from the internet I liked: 

The Hidden Legacy of Eugene Peterson: I’ve never read Peterson’s books, but his Message translation of the Bible has helped so many people understand and identify with scripture. For me, as someone who’s struggled with understanding scripture, The Message has been a huge blessing. I loved reading this personal essay from a family friend– it let us all see a different side of Peterson that normal folk wouldn’t see. And learning about how he uses his money– pretty sure there’s a lesson for all of us there.

Tracee Ross Ellis is living for Herself: I. love. This. And more so, I love HER. She speaks truth in a blunt and humorful way and is point-blank honest about her decision to not get married or have kids. As someone who doesn’t know if she wants to marry or have kids herself, it’s so nice to have someone else admit that they’re OK with this. That they’re not struggling with singleness like sooo many people/articles say they are (esp in Christian circles). I’m not struggling with singleness! I’m cool with it! Like Tracee said: MY LIFE IS MINE. My sole purpose is not to be married off and have kids. If it happens later, cool. And maybe in a few years my thoughts on singleness will change. Heck, they’ve changed a LOT as a 25-year-old. I go back and forth on wanting the whole marriage+kids deal. But right now, I’m not struggling with singleness. And I’m okay with that.

I look back and think about all the ways we’re told that those two
#goals: being chosen and having kids, are what makes you
worthy. I mean: Nursery Rhymes. Fairytales. Books. Movies. Sixteen
Candles, every love song, and even Black-ish—all reiterating this
narrow story of “husband plus child equals woman”. And the
patriarchy—the patriarchy is not pleased with me right now. I’m
failing at my function.

If you saw my message why didn’t you respond? 

I follow Sarah on Twitter, and she hit the nail on the head here. I could’ve written the same post! (except focusing on text messages vs facebook messages). While I’d much rather have a text conversation vs. face-to-face (or worse, the dreaded phone call… *shudders*), I also freak out if I don’t get a response from someone (if the text deems a response, obviously). I try hard to stay connected to people, and when people don’t respond I start to think that they don’t want to take the time to talk to me, or I said something that hurt them, or if they don’t want to be my friends… anxiety and technology weave a complicated web, people. When people see your messages, or your questions, and just don’t respond? It makes me second guess myself about every conversation I’ve had with people. I know people are busy, but at least take a minute to say something. Don’t leave people hanging when they’re waiting on the other side of a conversation.

But, the little thing that reads “seen” at the end of a Facebook message is problematic because it reminds you that you are not that important. If the person sees your message and doesn’t say anything you are left wondering if you offended them, they’re busy, they don’t want to talk to you, or many, many other things.

 ‘Ring by Spring’: How Christian Colleges Fuel Students’ Rush to Get Engaged:

Yes. This. I felt so frustrated by the 3 Swings and a Ring culture at Lipscomb. Gotta get that MRS degree, right? Except I didn’t, nor did I want it. Part of me didn’t feel the want/need to get married; part of me felt like it was expected of me because everyone else around me was wanting it. I quit counting how many friends ended up married during or right after graduation. This culture that pushes marriage at a young age hurts people that don’t end up married by the time college ended– I don’t even know if I want to get married, yet it felt like it was something that was *supposed* to happen magically in college. I’m happy for the friends that got married during our college years, but I’m more than thankful I wasn’t one of them– I could not imagine it for my life right now, no matter how much this culture tells me it’s what I should be aiming for.

Cool things to buy on the internet: 

It’s Christmastime, which means… GIFT GUIDES GALORE! A few of my favorites:

Perfect Gifts for Writers: This was written by my friend, Kate! It has so many good things for the writer in your life. The most needed items for me from this list include this Waterproof note pad (all my best ideas happen in the shower!), this Spiritual Writing Book, and money to go to a Writers Conference (Festival of Faith and Writing, PLEASE?!?!). I’d also add: a subscription to Grammarly Premium, a custom blog design/domain makeover, and a subscription to Spotify Premium!!

College Girl Gift Guide: I’m not in college anymore, and I don’t agree with all these things (no makeup needed here), but: All. The. Giftcards. Please!! And allll the fuzzy socks. And a new blanket to match my new bedspread sounds lovely!

Speaking of bedspreads: I have found the one my soul loves. And bonus: it was designed by Joanna Gaines! SCORE! I’m either going to buy it with my next freelancing check or I’m asking for it for Christmas. They’re currently running a deal where you get $50 off $150 purchase AND free shipping over $75! Yay for online Black Friday deals!

 

How Sweet Eats always has the best Gift Guides. She has a great Cookbook gift guide (i want them alll, especially her new one, Joy the Baker’s brunch cookbook, and Pioneer Woman’s newest!) and a kitchen supplies gift guide (i also want all the things here).

She Reads Truth has a good Gift Guide for their products, including some new ones! (I love the calendar and the SRT/HRT Starter sets!).

Sarah Bessey’s Gift Guide to Empower Women is AWESOME. All products are from small businesses that help women and children around the world. And everything on it is beautiful! And there’s a coupon code for almost every product!

other non-gift guide things from the internet:

*NSYNC Holiday Merch: My *NSYNC and Christmas-loving heart is so happy.

I have my eye on this nativity from Trades of Hope– isn’t it adorable?!

My favorite baker from Season 4’s Great British Bakeoff released a baking cookbook— and it’s all comfort food! I can’t wait to get it. (also, she has a pug, so I’m hoping for Dennis the pug pictures in the book!!)

Also: Amazon has their annual book deal going on now– $5 off a book purchase over $20! I used it to get a book for part of my mom’s Christmas gift (she’s obsessed with this guy) and a new fiction book for me!

DaySpring has some great deals for Cyber monday coming up! 35% off ANY PURCHASE using the code MONDAY17 (only until Monday at 11:59!), $5 Journals and Mugs, Markdowns up to 50% off certain items, and BOGO on certain items (including the IF watercolor set+ other bible journaling supplies!!). Definitely a great sale for all the things on their site.

I picked up Let it Snow for a fun read during the holidays! My former supervisor, Sarah, gave it to me for Christmas last year. It’s 3 different short novellas (~100 pages each) written by 3 YA authors. The only author I’d read before was John Green; I finished Maureen Johnson’s story last night and really enjoyed it! They’re all based on the same town/same basic storyline, which I didn’t realize until I started reading John’s story. Such a clever idea! Can’t wait to finish it.

Redeeming Love is one of my favorite books of all-time. LifeWay just recently released a brand new edition with a stunning cover! AND it’s on sale this weekend for $10!!

Sleeping at Last is doing an Enneagram song project— he’s releasing a song and accompanying podcast for each of the 9 Enneagram numbers. He just released the song for Twos (which is what I am) and it may have made me cry just a bit. IT’S SO ACCURATE. It brought every quality of my number (both the good and bad) to life in such a beautiful way! If you’re a 2, a 2 wing, OR just want to know your 2 friends better, please listen+buy+listen some more. The One song was also highly relatable (I’m a 2 with a 1 wing!)

 

Val Marie Paper has $5 flat shipping today for all their products! I’ve been using the undated prayer journal for a month and love it. Hopefully, I’ll be able to invest in a yearly sometime soon!

Day Designer also has free shipping this weekend! This is huge since shipping for their planners is hella expensive. I had one of their BlueSky planners last year and it was the most productive a planner has ever been for me! I want the real thing this year.

I think that’s it for this week. Follow my writer page on Facebook for more writerly updates and sometimes funny things, among other amusements.

 

Thanks for reading, y’all!

 

**affiliate links have been used

Jordan Reads Things (October)

 

I’m back with Round 2 of Jordan Reads Things! Better late than never, right? I didn’t read quite as much in October (all the launch teams are over! PTL!)  But I did read a few things/started a few books I wanted to share here:

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green:

Y’all. John did it AGAIN with this one.  My life is better for reading this book.

I read this one in about 10ish days– took a little longer than normally I’d read a fiction book because life. But when I was able to read it, I could NOT put it down. The story was odd but fascinating. It was fast-paced but drawn out. I loved all the different relationships in this book, and the way Green had characters interact with each other.

I’ll share the Amazon synopsis because this book is hard to describe:

“Sixteen-year-old Aza never intended to pursue the mystery of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, but there’s a hundred-thousand-dollar reward at stake and her Best and Most Fearless Friend, Daisy, is eager to investigate. So together, they navigate the short distance and broad divides that separate them from Russell Pickett’s son, Davis.

Aza is trying. She is trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, a good student, and maybe even a good detective, while also living within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts.”

What the book doesn’t outright say: Aza has obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and is trying to live her life in spite of being stuck in an ever-spiraling spiral of her own thoughts. She lives in constant fear of getting sick, and in the book, you see her interactions with her own brain, her rabbit trail of thoughts that play constantly in her head.

In a lot of ways, Green makes Aza’s thoughts their own character, as Aza dialogues with her brain and tries to fight against the voices.

There were so many times I read Aza’s words or thoughts and said: this is me. This is my struggle, personified in a book. Finally, someone that thinks like me.

I don’t have OCD (or haven’t been diagnosed with it), but I struggle with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and a lot of Aza’s experiences mirror mine. So many of the descriptions John uses to illustrate Aza’s struggles and innermost thoughts echo a lot of mine as well. It’s nice to see a character that I fully related to. John has shared that the book stems a lot from his own personal struggle with OCD, and I’m so grateful he used his platform to shine a light on mental health and normalized things like therapy and meds.

When I finished the book, I literally sighed. It was just good.  I felt satisfied with the book and how it ended. Definitely a must-read.

(I loved this one so much I wrote about it for The Mighty. )

“I wanted to tell her that I was getting better, because that was supposed to be the narrative of illness. It was a hurdle you jumped over, or a battle you won. Illness is a story told in the past tense.”

“True terror isn’t being scared; it’s not having a choice in the matter.”

---

Dance Stand Run: The God-Inspired Moves of a Woman on Holy Ground by Jess Connolly 

I feel like I’ve been talking about this book for months, and it’s finally here! Y’all. It is so good. And SO needed. It was not an easy, light-hearted read– it was full of hard truths and honesty from Jess, saddled alongside Bible study that really transformed my thinking. I’d never really thought about holiness in an intense way until this book– I’ve always been a rule-follower, but holy? I thought that was reserved for special Jesus-y people. But it’s not. Grace and holiness are already in us because of Jesus– and Jess talks to us about ways we can live out this grace and holy life in our world. She uses her real-life wrestling with these topics and her passion for scripture studying to help us understand grace, holiness, and mission in a whole new light. So much wisdom. So much truth. And Jess is a Bible teacher at heart, so there is some awesome Bible study wedged into each chapter– and has an awesome Study Guide +DVD to correlate with the book filled with more Bible study. It’s a study unlike any I’ve seen, and I really want to get a group to do it with me! (any local friends, holler at me!).

DSR is not a fluffy, feel-good read. It is a book our hearts are needing, longing for.  It really opened my eyes to what holiness is and isn’t, and what we as women of God GET to do as we dance in abundant grace, stand our holy ground, and run on the mission God has set before us.

I hope this book helps us understand holiness not as something far-reaching and scary, but as something we get to live in RIGHT NOW because of the grace of Jesus. Living life striving for grace and not living in the holiness God has called us to leaves us feeling like something’s missing, that there has to be MORE to this life than this. DSR illustrates the missing piece of the puzzle.

I’m still wrestling with a lot of the thoughts in this book, and have some writings stirring up from it. It was a must-need for me, and I think it could be for other people too. Definitely worth checking out!

“The great news of the Gospel is that as women of God, we never have to walk into a room praying someone saved us a seat.”

“I don’t want to ask other humans to fill up the gaps in my soul. Rather, I want to be taking the soul answer to them: Jesus. If we’re going to change the world and stop being changed by it, we’re going to have to acknowledge that we already belong, we already have a place, and we’re already accepted. Not by humans or community or the kind gals we do life with, but by Jesus.”

---

She Reads Truth Bible

I wrote an extensive review here, but I’ll share again: A beautiful Bible inside and out, with scripture prints, maps, and charts that are as useful as they are stunning. The devotionals in it are timely and well-written, like the ones from their site. The CSB translation is new but really simple and easy to read. I love this Bible! It’s become my go-to for my nightly studies. It’s a beautiful addition to my life.

---

100 Days to Brave by Annie F. Downs:

Not finished with this one (because 100 days!), but as I’ve written before, I looove me some Annie. Her thoughts on bravery have stirred me and helped me grow so much since first reading Let’s All Be Brave back in 2014 (back when I was in the middle of my mental breakdown). Her books feel like I’m sitting across from her in a coffee shop, and she is laugh out loud funny mixed perfectly with amazingly honest and thoughtful. Devotionals are my favorite thing in the world (it’s pretty much the kind of book I want to write/publish someday), and I am so far loving this one. it’s challenging me in all the best ways and is so lovingly written.

If you need a shot of bravery in your every day, pick this one up. I’ll report back after the 100 days with a full review 🙂

---

That’s it for October reads! (2 weeks late, oops). I’ll be sharing my thoughts on Reading People in November (I’ve been combing my way through it slowly because it’s rich in wisdom!). I haven’t started a new fiction book yet, but I need one. (Suggestions welcome). Until then, happy reading!

 

September reads here.

 

**affiliate links have been used in this post

all the things (10.23)

And I’m back for the 2nd edition of All the Things weekly recap! I skipped last week because… well, while dogsitting I hardly had enough energy to open my laptop, let alone read things. Oops.

But anyways, here are this week’s happenings:

My little corner of the internet: 

Finding my Armor-Bearer: a pretty vulnerable post about friendship.

My FMF Post this week:

Jesus, mental health, and ignorant people on twitter:

Not a blog post, but I got my twitter-preacher girl on this week in light of an ignorant person’s twitter rant about faith and mental illness. I will continue screaming this at the top of my lungs until people get it. This stigma KILLS, y’all.

Words from the internet I liked: 

Honestly, I didn’t read a lot of articles/blog posts per my usual this week… because I’ve been reading a lot of actual books! How about that? Haha.

That Time I Danced Too Close: In light of the “me too” conversation happening about sexual harassment, this post was quite well said, especially from a Christian/church perspective. I follow Rachel on twitter and enjoy her thoughts!

“If we truly believe in the Imago Dei—that all people are created in the image of God—then we must recognize that what some brush off as “locker room talk” or “boys being boys” is actually a perpetuation of abuse which insults the image of God.”

Answering ‘How Are You?’ With ‘I’m Tired’ | The Mighty  

One day last year my former boss asked how I was and I said my usual, “tired but okay” and she exclaimed, “you ALWAYS say you’re tired!” Yes. Yes, I do. But tired doesn’t always equal physically tired, believe it or not.

“Because it’s life you’re tired of. You’re tired of people treating you like you don’t matter. You’re tired of feeling like you have no future. You’re tired of getting lost in your own head, of drowning in the thoughts and self doubts that pester you every second of every day, while you fight to keep your head above the tides.”

Really, I Blame the Women. |Sarah Bessey 

I was introduced to Heartline and the Livesays from both Sarah Bessey and Kristen Howerton. I love Tara’s sassiness, blatant honesty about life in Haiti, and her determination to not band-aid a problem, but create a solution. Also, the woman is freaking hilarious and posts the cutest pictures of babies and mamas on instagram. This is a great post by Sarah telling some of Heartline’s backstory in honor of their 10th anniversary, and it includes ways to support Heartline at the end!

What if there was a way to keep families together? What if there was a way to eliminate the need for orphanages altogether?

What if we gave all of the energy we’re giving to caring for orphans towards making sure these children never even became orphans in the first place?

Like I said, I blame the women.

Why is a popular interfaith website giving a disgraced misogynistic pastor a platform?

I saw Driscoll’s name popping up online over the last few weeks, and I cringed. Why, Patheos, Why? This article just has a sprinkling of the over-the-top offensive remarks the man has made. In the name of Jesus. I just can’t believe someone would let him wield power AGAIN. And no repentance for his actions, either. I just can’t.

In the sad words of one of the commenters: “Why is a popular interfaith website giving a disgraced misogynistic pastor a platform? 
 
It’s a simple question with a simple answer: Because those who have the authority to make the decision agree with his teachings.  
 
It’s no deeper than that. If they back him, they back his teachings.”

Sigh. Plus, the fact that he has followers (somehow?) and that will bring $. It all comes down to money, even if we have to sacrifice morals and human decency.

Patheos’ decision emerges as we witness the belated reckonings of powerful misogynist men whose behavior was ignored and enabled all in the name of the almighty dollar. Driscoll brings with him half a million Twitter followers and status as a New York Times best-selling author, but also a long history of sexism and outright misogyny.

–This isn’t a blog or article, but someone in my Enneagram facebook group (yes i’m in an enneagram fb group no shame) created a playlist for fellow Enneagram 2s (2w1 here) and I love it. Listen on spotify here.

Cool things to buy on the internet: 

-I just recently got a new Queen sized bed (thanks, Dad!), but haven’t bought a new bedspread to fit on it. I’ve found a few I like that are a bit out of my price range (why you so expensive, Anthropologie?!?) but have a found a few contenders.

I like pretty, florarly designs, but a little less bold than my college quilt (bright pink with brightly colored flowers. a tad loud for 25-year-old me. ).

I’ve found a few on urban outfitters I adore: this one is the biggest contender. I love this one too.

I REALLY want this one from anthro, but my mother doesn’t want me to get one with a white background. Bah humbug.

That’s also why she wasn’t a fan of this kate spade one, but I’m slightly obsessed with it.

I love this anthro one too, but can’t justify the price tag. Sigh.

So, should I save up for one of the anthro ones, or go with a cutesy one from urban outfitters?! help a sista out!

-I love that this and this exist. Bundt cakes that you cook like waffles? Sign me up. Plus, the mini one is just too cute.

-I have a few friends having babies in the near future, and the one thing I love gifting more than anything else? Books! Duh. I have a few on my wishlists I’m starting to buy for various babies I already love so much.

Jimmy Fallon has a new kids book out, and it is so cute. Anything Jimmy Fallon does is awesome, so…

I can’t remember where I read about this one, but I love it. Let’s start teaching ’em about diversity young! I want a copy of this one for myself– it’s stunningly designed!!

I’ve given this one to a friend’s babe before, and I’ll give it again because it is so good and lovely and heartfelt. I love MPT, and his children’s books are beautiful inside and out!

– Through the B&H/Lifeway bloggers program, I received the amazingly beautiful She Reads Truth Bible this week to review! I’ve had my eye on it since before it came out but wasn’t able to swing it financially. It is BEAUTIFUL. And so helpful/resourceful. I’ve been using it for Bible study since I got it, and it has made bible study so much easier. I’ll do a full review of it hopefully this week, but it is worth every penny.

-To go with my new SRT Bible, I splurged on a new prayer journal. I’ve been following Val Marie Paper forever online but have never tried one of their products. They have a yearly prayer journal that looks beautiful and awesome but wanted to spend a little less than $50 for the first time I’ve used one of the prayer journals. She sells an undated version for a fraction of that, so I went with it. And it matches the color of my Bible! (not that that matters, but hey sometimes girl likes to be cute!). I love things that are prompted/scripted for me to follow as a guide, so I’m excited to add it to my arsenal of Bible study tools. If I like it, I’ll def spring for the yearly version (… or ask for it as a Christmas present. Girlfriend is stingy).

-Books! Two books by two of my favorites come out this week, and GIRL IS PUMPED.

My favorite gal Annie F Downs has a new devotional coming out, and I could squeal I’m so excited. Devotionals are my favorite. If I could have one singular job as a writer, writing devotionals would be it. I have a few good ones in my rotation nightly but am excited to add 100 Days of Brave to the group. Especially since I loved Let’s All Be Brave– girl knows about brave, and I’m pumped for more bravery talk. Bonus: it’s all glittery and that makes me extra excited. (Just as I was finishing this post I got the email that amazon shipped it, and I may have squealed).

and lastly, HAVE YOU PREORDERED DANCE STAND RUN YET? IF NOT, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? AND YES I’M WRITING IN ALL CAPS BECAUSE I AM SERIOUS Y’ALL.

You’ve got about 24ish hours to preorder to get the goodies from dancestandrun.com, but even more than that: this book needs to be in the hands of as many women as possible, y’all. and if we preorder, more booksellers will keep it in stock and display it. So, GO BUY IT. It comes out officially on Tuesday, and I do intend on writing about DSR sometime this week. I got my official launch team copies last week, and not only is it stunning (it shimmers, y’all!), but it is even better holding the book in my hands! Y’all, this book is going to change the world. And Jess is a woman fully leaning on God’s truth to carry her and her words, and they’re words we NEED to hear. Let’s go.

That’s it for this week, yo. What did you see/read/buy on the internet this week?

Upcoming posts this week include: SRT Bible Review (later this week), and a review/message of Dance Stand Run. Let’s do it!

[amazon affiliate links have been used in this post]

all the things (a weekly recap)

If you’re friends with me on Facebook, you know about 90% of what I share on there are articles I found helpful/fascinating/needed. The other 10% include memes, things I want to buy, and my weekly frustrations with This Is Us.  

A lot of my favorite blogs have started a weekly round-up of sorts with all the blogs/articles/ fun things they find online, and I’ve wanted to do the same for a while now as a way to blog here more often. So here ya go:

My little corner of the internet: 

No freelancing articles to share this week, but I did write a couple posts here:

My new monthly book recap:

lots of books that came out this week! Go read about reading.

Five Minute Friday: Story

my weekly linkup post for FMF. I loved what I came up with this week.

My facebook page!! I finally created an author/website facebook for writing/blogging updates and the like. If you haven’t already, would you give it a like and follow along?

Words from the internet I liked: 

Seeing a Musical Is as Good for You as a 30-Minute Workout: 

“Bye-bye yoga studio; they only workout room I’m going to be in from now on is the Room Where It Happens.”

THIS IS THE BEST NEWS EVER. So long, gyms! Imma spend my money on the musical workout circuit. I knew being a Broadway nerd would pay off!!

Rumours of the Real: 

“Seeing and experiencing the real thing has given me a whole new perspective on what used to satisfy me. It’s not that I don’t love my little note card reproduction of First Steps, After Millet by Van Gogh – I do. It’s just that now I have seen the real thing and I know that this is only a whisper of it.

It’s a reminder, a placeholder, for the powerful reality I encountered once and hopefully will again.”

As always, Sarah has a way of writing that makes me think about faith and Jesus in a whole new way.

I had a similar visceral reaction that Sarah did at the Met when I walked into the Monroeville County Courthouse (the setting for To Kill a Mockingbird). It’s surreal when what we envision in our heads or see a recreation of becomes a reality.

The Story Behind Kate and Rebecca’s Explosive Fight on ‘This Is Us’ Season Two Episode Two:

Spoiler alert! If you’re a This is Us fan and you haven’t watched yet, skip this one. 

I’m so excited/sad about this plotline. Kate is the character I relate to the most (tied w/Randall’s anxiety/perfectionism). What we’ve seen of her issues with her mom so far (which isn’t a lot, but there is some backstory if you go back and think about it) mirror a lot of the struggles I had as an overweight kid (and adult!) with my family, so I’m curious as to how it will unfold.

25 Texts to Send a Loved One Living With Depression

One of the simplest ways to let someone struggling with depression know you’re there for them? Text them. Let them know you’re there. Isolation is such a huge struggle for people living with depression… so reaching out when they can’t is something that is beyond helpful. All of them at one point would have been helpful for me, but 15-17 especially so.

Pete Davidson Talks BPD and Depression on SNL’s Weekend Update

SO PROUD of Pete for talking about this. On live TV. You go, Pete.

Talking about mental illness in a way that’s humorous but not degrading= huge win. So glad SNL made this happen. Though he wasn’t exactly correct that borderline personality disorder is a form of depression (it’s not, but depression is something people with BPD can be diagnosed with alongside BPD), the fact that he opened up about his struggle mental illness helps normalize the discussion. Go SNL!

We Need To Back Off And Give Introverted Kids The Space They Need To Thrive

I am a true-blue introvert. I get my energy from being by myself, recharging by reading or writing or doing art. Constant chatter or overwhelming loudness exhausts me quickly, and small talk is the devil’s plaything. I’ve ALWAYS been like this, but as a kid it didn’t have a name. As a kid, I thought I was just weird and different and odd because I lived in my own world and didn’t enjoy screaming at the football game on TV like the rest of my family. I didn’t hear the terms introvert or extrovert until college and didn’t understand introversion entirely until I read Quiet by Susan Cain. It was then that a light bulb went off. I’M NOT WEIRD! I’M JUST INTROVERTED! YEAH! I’M SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE THIS!

My life made SO much more sense once I learned these things about my personality. I wish I had known this stuff as a kid, and more so– I wish my family had known it. It would have changed my life, truly.

Cool things to buy on the internet: 

JUDY BLUME. WRITING CLASS.

Judy Blume was/is my favorite childhood author. I’ve read every one of her kids’ books. She’s teaching an online Master writing class in the new year, and I WANT IT. I don’t even write fiction, but who wouldn’t want to learn from their childhood hero?

Illustrated Faith Word Nerd Kit!  (affiliate link)

I haven’t bought an IF kit in awhile because money, but I LOVE this one. It’s sooo cute! I love words and have professed myself a word nerd so many times. I love that they changed the format of the Bible devotional part– instead of getting a full book of devotions, they give you weekly devotion cards you can actually use in your bible! I love it.

 TURTLES. ALL. THE. WAY. DOWN. (affiliate link)

I HAVE BEEN WAITING FIVE YEARS FOR THIS BOOK. (or any book by John, since TFIOS). It comes out Tuesday. DON’T LET ME DOWN, GREEN.

I am sooo ready for another John Green novel.

Have you preordered Dance Stand Run yet? (affiliate link)

If you haven’t, why haven’t you?!?! It comes out October 24th, and I fully believe Jess’s words are going to change lives for Jesus. Plus, if you preorder, you get awesome gifts. The more preorders a book gets, the more likely stores are to buy more copies and put in physical stores (like Target!), so consider preordering. You won’t be disappointed, y’all.

 

I think that’s it for this week, peeps. If you see anything interesting I should add to next week’s recap, share with me on my facebook page?

Until next time!