I set a goal to send 12 newsletters this year, one per month-ish. And with this email, I've hit it. Thanks for giving me someone to send them to! 

I didn't want to show up in your inbox mid December. But I hardly wanted to show up here today either. This is my least favorite week of the year on the internet because it feels like a giant echo chamber and everyone is shouting about habits and fitness and strategies for change. Some of these messages can be super practically helpful, but I worry that the new year tidal wave on your newsfeed and in your inbox might also create an occasion that could lead to unhelpful comparison, discouragement, feelings of shame or dependence on doing for identity/ righteousness. I take a social media break from mid December to mid January so that I won't have to hear the noise, but also so that I won't add to it. 

 

So I thought I'd just pop in with a few reminders that I hope might feel more like a comforting hushhhhh sound as you are might be over there mulling over messages about ways you should be doing better, different, or more. 

 

1. Perfection this side of heaven is unattainable.

2. You're a limited human being.

3. Not all things are for all seasons.

4. Change generally happens in really small increments over a long period of time.

5. God's love for you in Christ Jesus is not based on your performance.

 

Be at peace.

 

 

 

with humble gratitude,

It may be my least favorite week of the year on the internet, but it's my favorite week of the year for me personally. I like that the Christmas rush is over but most activities haven't started back yet. It's like getting to live inside my life as if someone has pressed pause (even though my kids are still moving very quickly). I wanted to share a few gentle questions I love to ask at the end of a year. Maybe journaling through them might help you, too.

 

 

Have you ever seen Penelope in an SNL skit? She's a one upper. Anything anyone says, she “one-ups” with a story of her own of having done that more times, or longer, or better. If you caught a fish, she caught a bigger one. If you have 4 living grandparents, she's got 7.  This question is one I use with my oldest to point out when I see him trying to stand out instead of esteem someone. I also might use this phrase when a l little brother shares something he just learned with wonder and excitement only to met with “I already knew that.” “I already knew that” is an attempt to compare and come out on top, putting another down. But “Yeah! Isn't that cool?” connects and upholds his brother's dignity. As believers, we can love others from a place of security instead of securing our position above or ahead of them by putting them down. I find that I have to ask myself this in a room filled with adults fairly frequently.

 

 

If you enjoyed New Morning Mercies, you'll love this new devotional from Paul David Tripp. Everyday Gospel has 365 devotions for you to read daily as you read through the bible. I actually gave one of these to everyone in my family this year and invited them to do it along with me. I'll listen to an audio recoding of the scripture while I do my morning chores, and then read the devotional before my boys are up. If you've got 12 minutes of listening time a day, you could do this too! And the devotions are only one page each. I would love for you to join me and my family in “reading” through the Bible this year and engaging with it this year.

 

I'm on a month long social media break, so this section is blank this month :) 

 

“Habits form much more than our schedules: they form our hearts."

-Justin Whitmel Earley

 

I'll save my best work and thoughts for this list, but I'll still be posting on the gram. If we're not connected there, I'd love for you to come follow along! Just click one of these “lately” photos below!