The Mixtape // 01.13.17

Friends, I hope your 2017 is off to a good start!

Friday is here, so I’m capping off the week with a little round up of things that made the last seven days memorable. I’m hoping these meaningful moments might inspire us to live better stories. And kind of like that classic mixtape you’d make in middle school for a friend, I’m putting my favorites together and passing them on.

The photo above is a bit blurry, because Jameson was on the move — heading to a live show with Thomas The Train at the NY Botanical Garden. This conductor get-up is ridiculous, and we all had a great time. For us, it was mainly about seeing how excited Jameson was. Jordan and I recently saw the movie Manchester by the Sea and were really touched by the writing and acting. Casey Affleck, who stars in the movie, just won the Golden Globe for Best Actor, which he absolutely deserved. If you see it, just do yourself a favor and bring tissues.

Social media is a great tool for many reasons, but I think we all know it’s certainly not without obvious flaws — namely, how all those little squares that show a fraction of real life can leave people feeling judgmental or worse about themselves. This article titled Pride & Prejudice in the Instagram Era was a great read.

And somewhat related to the whole social media discussion, a girlfriend put me on to The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey podcast, and I loved listening to her interview with Erin Loechner. I had planned to read Erin’s new book Chasing Slow, but now I’m even more interested.

Our church follows a Bible reading plan that gives me a ton of life, mainly because it’s not just a schedule for reading scripture but a journal with a method that helps me see God for who He is and reminds me of the gospel. Jordan preached on the method this past Sunday, and if you’re looking for ways to make your Bible reading more fruitful and to connect with God, I really encourage a listen.

And finally, the internet — with all it’s shortcomings — is also full of little gifts. The memes that have been born from this video of #SaltBae have had me dying all week.

With sprinkles,
Jessica