The Mixtape // 12.22.17

Happy Friday, my friends. We’re just a few days away from Christmas, and I’m looking forward to wrapping up work for the year. I’m hoping to make the most of these last few days before welcoming 2018.

Before we jump into the weekend, here are a few things worth sharing…

Need a good Christmas playlist to jam to as you wrap presents? A couple weeks ago, I conducted a little Facebook poll to find out people’s favorite Christmas albums, and based on those results, I put together a Spotify playlist full of hits. If you’re interested in getting the link to the list in your inbox, go ahead and sign up for my newsletter, and I’ll send it to you.

With the end of the year approaching, I’m prompted to reflect on all that happened in 2017. A friend sent me this awesome list of questions to explore at end of the year, and I’m hoping to reflect on these in the days between Christmas and New Year’s Day.

If you have a Gmail account, and you’re hoping to start the New Year with an inbox that takes up less storage, I came across this hack that blew my mind and quickly saved me 10% of space.

A great article to read as we prepare to give and receive a lot of stuff.

I shared this favorite dinner recipe on my Instagram Stories last night, and yes, it really is easy and as good as it looks. The key is to cut the amount of cornbread in half (just one box) and add creamed corn to the batter.

If the label “evangelical” gives you a negative reaction, you might want to read this.

Finally, it’s not lost on me how the holiday season can be really difficult for a lot of us. This might be your first Christmas without someone you love very deeply, or you might be feeling the weight of life not being the way you want it to be. For any number of reasons, the holidays don’t feel so joyous to you. I can’t really make it better, but I can say I understand. You’re in my thoughts, and I hope you find ways to be gentle with yourself. And if you believe in Christmas, I hope the idea of Immanuel (“God with us”) brings you special comfort in the coming days.

With love,
Jessica