Where I Find Myself in August

What I'm thinking about and doing + reading plans

Photo by Pascal Debrunner on Unsplash

I’d hoped to get this newsletter off to slow yet deliberate and plodding start following my announcement of the new name. Obviously, that hasn’t happened. I have about half a dozen posts drafted but haven’t been been able to pull them together in a way I’m happy with.

Hopefully, this newsletter will pick up some steam once my job settles, the school year is underway and I have consistent childcare again.

But until then, I want to share a few things that have held my attention (ICYM my January email: HT to this article by Jen Pollock Michel) and share some fall reading plans I’m excited about.

Holding my attention

I’ve been reading the blog Cup of Jo for 10 years (!!!) and I don’t think I’ve loved a post more than Catherine Newman’s home tour.

Sara Peterson’s breakdown of why Newman’s home tour was so powerful was spot on, as usual.

As for me and my household, we all watch Bluey and delight in it. I have lots of thoughts as to why Bluey is such a fantastic show, and this piece from Rabbit Room captured them all. The line I keep thinking about:

Mommy Blogs tell me I’m doing everything wrong; Bluey shows me that truth and beauty are abundant in the parenting adventure.

My husband and I went on a cruise at the beginning of the month. I read “The Hypnotist’s Love Story” and “The Firekeeper’s Daughter” while aboard, and I thoroughly enjoyed both.

I’m working on a fall meal plan/approach, and I can’t wait to try this one-pot hamburger helper with veggies.

Folks, I bought Crocs and have zero regrets.

I purchased and started the “Take Your House Back” course; it’s excellent.

Earlier this summer, our church started singing “Our Psalm 23” by Common Hymnal. Allow me to be honest: I felt very “meh” about it initially. But as we kept singing it corporately, it grew on me until I found myself searching for it on Spotify last week. Then, I found this video of it on YouTube and have not stopped watching/listening.

Hallelujah, He never leaves me.

Read with me this fall?

This summer, I read “Jane Eyre” with some dear women from my church. To say it was a highlight of my summer would be an understatement. And to say there were some strong opinions about the ending would also be an understatement. It was a delight.

Following our final discussion, I happened to pick up “Surprised by Paradox” by Jen Pollock Michel and I was delighted by the ways our discussion about Jane, St. John, and Rochester paralleled Michel’s writing.

And it got me thinking… how else might I pair classics with non-fiction I find interesting?

So, this fall, I’m planning to read “Attached to God” by Krispin Mayfield and “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley in tandem. These books don’t perfectly fit together, nor do I expect them to interpret one another. Instead, I’m interested in how each of these works will illuminate one another, offering fresh insight similar to the ways that Michel’s work commentated on Jane Eyre.

If you’re interested, comment below or shoot me an email at abigailmurrish@gmail.com. 

That’s all I have, folks. Thanks for being here. I hope your end of summer is filled with surprising delights.

Peace to you on this Tuesday.