What I've been Watching, Reading, Listening To and Making
but mostly what I've been reading :)
Summer is here in full swing. The highs are in the 90s and the sun is out! We’re swimming, watching movies, reading piles of books and playing games (so many games). Some days have been busy, with family in town or on trips with grandparents — and others have lingered, unfolding as they will.
A morning radio show I listened to as a teenager used to say that on Fridays they’d Flush the Format — and that is somehow the theme for me this summer (and perhaps the theme for today’s post). I’m doing my best to let my life look a little different. I guess, I’m flushing our usual format of routine, activities, and predictable bedtimes. I’m making more room for sleeping in, for meals that look more like snacks and for magna-tile creations that get left out over night.
I’m also working less this summer, which has opened me up to more time to think and dream. I have a lot of ideas growing, but with extra people around all day, not quite the space to see them through. I have ideas for spiritual direction groups I want to form, classes I want to hold and sermons I want to preach. I’ve even been writing quite a bit — but my ideas are still in utero. My thoughts still need to strengthen their lungs a bit before they’re ready for birth. So today, I thought I’d do a round up of some of things I’ve been watching, reading, listening to and even making.
Watching, Reading, Listening, Making:
Over Memorial Day weekend, I spent time with family in the Hill Country and took this punch needling kit from Target along. I loved making it and am already looking for my next project!
On the topic of Target craft kits, I bought this foam boat kit for my younger kids and we spent a morning playing with them in the baby pool! (We got this bubble gun as a party favor and they work so well! This one does too.)
We’ve convinced our kids to watch a few documentaries lately — including Secrets of the Octopus on Disney+ and The Speed Cubers on Netflix (a little older, but so so good). I highly recommend both!
A few records that came out this spring that I’m still spinning are Windchimes from Thomas Csorba and Deeper Well from Kacey Musgraves. I’ve also been working on creating the perfect Motown playlist on Spotify, so I’ll be sure to share it with you when I’m done.
I have been hitting the Inspector Gamache series from Louise Penny pretty hard the last few months. I’ve read books 8-10 and just finished book 11: The Nature of the Beast.
I only recently found Kate Kennedy’s work and have loved it so much! Her book One in a Millennial: On Friendship, Feelings, Fangirls and Fitting In, was a highlight of my spring. If you were born in the 80s I can’t recommend it enough!
I mentioned her work in another essay this fall, but Tricia Hersey’s book Rest is Resistance has opened my imagination up in so many ways! Definitely one of my top reads this year.
A few books about grief and dying that I’ve read recently and recommend: The In-Between by Hadley Vlahos and Grieving Room by Leann Friesen.
Sarah Bessey’s newest book: Field Notes for the Wilderness is a fantastic read for those in the thick of an evolving faith. Her compassion and honesty are a real gift. (Also. Y’all! I got to meet Sarah in early May. I got to hear her preach and we chatted about frizzy hair, the enneagram, and a friend we have in common. What a gift she is.)
I’ve been reading a lot of poetry lately and have especially enjoyed Poetry of Presence: An Anthology of Mindfulness Poems (I can’t wait to get the next volume). If you’ve been curious about poetry and wondered where to start I highly recommend this compilation.
A few substack essays I’ve loved recently — this from Micah Boyett, this writing advice from Shauna Niequist and pretty much everything Catherine Newman puts out into the world — I first came across Newman’s writing in this very beloved home tour on Cup of Jo.
What about you? What have you been up to now that summer is here?
Spiritual Direction News
I am excited be joining Charlotte Donlon with her work at Spiritual Direction for Writers. I’ll be leading several co-writing sessions each month. If you’d like to join in, you are able to join my sessions for free! I am leading on June 13, and 20th from 9-11 CT (July dates coming soon!). (If you’d like to join or want more information, you can reply directly to this email or at hollyporterphillips@gmail.com — and i’ll get you the link!)
I currently have space available for new clients. If spiritual direction is something that you or someone you know might be interested in, please reach out — hollyporterphillips@gmail.com
You might enjoy these posts from last summer:
Finding Transformation During Ordinary Time
·Harvesting Beauty in the Off-Season
·When Summer Isn't What you Hoped it Would Be
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