Sunday Afternoon Catch-Up

Well, I’m home this afternoon with a 5th grader who sounds like a frog and can’t seem to stop coughing, and as soon as I hit “publish” on this post, I’m going to make it my business to eradicate some of the PILES-O-STUFF in this house. There are piles everywhere: on the kitchen table, on the kitchen desk, on the dining room table – it is a piles extravaganza.

And I may or may not have realized that I still have a Christmas throw rug on display next to the back door.

This last month has not been my finest housekeeping hour. To say the least.

Anyway, there were a few things that I wanted to mention late last week, but I was in Nashville and got sidetracked doing all the Nashville-y things.

That doesn’t mean I recorded a country song or anything like that.

But I did get to see some friends, and hang out with my sister and brother-in-law, and sleep for a few more hours than what I’ve been averaging so far this year. I also had a book signing on Saturday, so in addition to getting to meet some really nice people, I got to do some last-minute Valentine shopping right there in the bookstore.

That’s what you call a WIN-WIN.

Okay. The things I wanted to mention.

– Last week I wrote a guest post for Ann Voskamp’s blog. It’s called “What Mama Said, What Mama Did: Five Ways My Mama Taught Me The Blessing of Healthy Friendships,” and it’s my little thank you to my mama and my friends’ mamas for teaching and encouraging us to love each other really well.

The folks at Allume are about to start a new book club, and the book they’re gonna read is called Home is Where My People Are. (I don’t know if you’ve heard of it.) (I may have mentioned it before.) Anyway, I am so honored that they picked my little book, and you can keep up with book club news by following Allume on Instagram or subscribing to their blog posts via email. They haven’t announced the start date yet, so stay tuned.

– Margaret Feinberg has written a new Bible study called Fight Back with Joy, and I wanted to mention it because I know we’re approaching that place in the Bible study road where churches and small groups and whatnot start deciding what they’d like to study in the spring and summer. I haven’t actually done the study yet, but it’s next on my list – so I wanted to be sure to mention it.

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Jessica Turner‘s new book comes out this week, and I think women are going to LOVE IT. It’s called The Fringe Hours, and it’s all about how to carve out time – especially in the midst of a whole lot of busy-ness – for the stuff that feeds your soul. I’d hadn’t thought about it much until I saw Jessica’s book, but this blog has mostly been a “fringe hours” activity for me. I actually started it because I was craving a little creativity in the midst of being a mama to a two year-old, so I would write late at night when it was quiet enough for me to “download” the day. So yay, Jessica. I really do think she’s on to something.

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– Friday night I was trying to wind down before I went to sleep, and I remembered that my friend Annie had put up a link to a talk she gave at Buckhead Church. I thought I’d watch 10 or 15 minutes before bed, but then I wound up watching the whole 40+ minutes and sending Annie about 92 texts. Y’all, it is so good. SO GOOD. The topic at hand is dating / singleness, but I am here to tell you that it applies to all seasons and stations of life. It will also make you laugh really hard – and there is a ton of Truth, too. Good stuff.

– I am admittedly behind the curve as far as contemporary Christian music is concerned, mainly because we mostly listen to my iTunes or a throwback station when we’re in the car. The other day, though, I happened to switch over to the Message station on Sirius, and this song was playing. I think it’s just beautiful.

Hope y’all are having a great weekend!

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Comments

  1. LOVE! Lauren Daigle! My sister in law just told me about her singing this song…..this girl is going places!

  2. JoEllen Hickey says:

    Sophie,
    I so enjoyed Home Is Where My People Are! You once again use humor and your story to remind us how good God is and how He works in our lives through friendships and family.

    Thanks for the link to the Annie Downs talk. I listened to her message and the 1st message also. I had to send the link to my college age daughter and to the director of the 20 somethings group in our church because I know these are messages that we need to hear. Thanks for the links!

    I hope your son starts feeling better soon and you have a wonderful weekend!
    Take Care!

    • Girl,
      When you mentioned “the piles” and Chrstmas rug still out..made me feel good about myself…I am not the only one, then! Thanks for making my day brighter by reading your blog…

  3. Here in the Boston area this weekend has been full of snow. Snow on snow on snow. (Last night’s storm dumped a good 16+ inches on top of the 5′ we already have. We have run out of places to put the stuff.)

    Lots of good times with family when we’re not shoveling, though, so that’s the good part.

  4. Thanks for the links. I would love to join the book club and read your book. (I’m behind the curve where books are concerned.)

    Lauren Daigle is one of my favorites. Her other songs on her CD are awesome, too. I especially like Dry Bones.

  5. Every time that Lauren Daigle song comes on our local Christian station, I think she sounds a little bit like Adele. I love that song.

  6. The fringe hours. How true is that? And 100% the reason I started my blog. Besides, my best thinking of thoughts gets done at 10 pm, or 2 am, whichever. May as well make a creative outlet out of that.

  7. Thank you sweet friend for shouting out about Fight Back With Joy! So grateful!

  8. I LOVE Lauren Daigle. She sounds like the Contemporary Christian version of Adele. Hubs disagrees but I don’t care!

  9. Tracey Knight says:

    catching up on your posts, sophie & thanks for this!!! was just whining the other day about how behind i am on the cool music b/c empty nest & you’ve come to the rescue. :)