Epiphany + Books

and a small favor

Epiphany Resources

Today is Epiphany on the liturgical calendar. It marks the official end of the Christmas season and the beginning of a new season that lasts until Ash Wednesday. Some call this the season of Epiphany, and other traditions consider it Ordinary Time. Either way, we find the movement that we talked about last week. The shifting of gears, the welcoming of something new.

I’m only just beginning to learn about the season of Epiphany. In case you’re curious, I want to leave you with a few resources to do some of your own exploring:

• First, an article exploring the possibility of magi being women to spark your imagination and curiosity.

• Also, a book I recently picked up: Seasons of Wonder: Making the Ordinary Sacred Through Projects, Prayers, Reflections, and Rituals: a 52-week Devotional. It has simple activities to help us be present to the seasons, God, and each other. I’m looking forward to exploring it more individually and with my family this year.

• And finally, here are a few lines from Barbara Brown Taylor’s retelling of the story of the magi: “The [star] was so bright that none of them could tell whether it was burning in the sky or in their own imaginations, but they were so wise they knew it did not matter all that much. The point was, something beyond them was calling them, and it was a tug they had been waiting for all their lives.”

My Favorite Books of 2022

We read to know we are not alone. This is a quote I have long attributed to C.S. Lewis, but after some searching, it turns out that it is a line from a movie about his life! Either way, I’ve experienced this truth. This year, I’ve found connections with an immigrant family from India, an Irish poet, a Cuban American writer & theologian, a former pop star, and so many others.

2022 was a really great year for books!

I made it a goal to read for fun, and because of that, I ended up with a much longer list of completed books than usual. I hope to continue to delight in stories in the coming year.

I wasn’t planning on sending a list of my favorite books from 2022 because writing even a short review for each felt so daunting, but when I received Shauna Niequist’s simple end-of-year book list, I was inspired to send off my own. So here you go, in no order:

Fiction:

• The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd

• My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout (along with Oh William!, Anything is Possible, and Lucy by the Sea)

• Still Life by Louise Penny (along with the next three books in the series and I’m working on the forth now!)

• We all Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman

• A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza

Memoir:

• Taste by Stanley Tucci (audio)

• Hello Molly by Molly Shannon (audio)

• The Storyteller by Dave Grohl (audio)

• Open Book by Jessica Simpson (audio)

• In the Shelter by Padraig O’ Tuama

Non-Fiction:

• Abuelita Faith: What Women on the Margins Teach Us About Wisdom, Persistence, and Faith by Kat Armas

• This Here Flesh: Spirituality, Liberation, and the Stories that Make Us by Cole Arthur Riley

• Dimming the Day: Evening Meditations for Quiet Wonder by Jennifer Grant

• The First Advent in Palestine: Reversals, Resistance, and the Ongoing Complexities of Hope by Kelley Nikondeha

• Holy Listening: The Art of Spiritual Direction by Margaret Guenther

• Baby on the Fire Escape: Creativity, Motherhood, and the Mind-Baby Problem by Julie Phillips

Poetry:

• And Yet: Poems by Kate Baer

• Good Bones: Poems by Maggie Smith

And now, for the small favor: I am excited to announce that I have officially begun taking directees! As a spiritual direction apprentice, I am taking on directees for free as I learn and grow in the practice. If you know anyone who might be interested, would you send them my way? 

You can read more about my apprenticeship training here and see my bio at the bottom of this page. If you know someone who might be interested, they can contact me at: hollyporterphillips@gmail.com.

I’d also love it if you’d pass this email to someone you think might like it. In the coming months, I’ll begin offering workshops and group direction, and in sharing this email, you will help me get the word out.

I’m so grateful you’re here!

Holly