Hi there, Readers and Friends!
A personal update:
My life is looking much different these days, as Iβm living indefinitely with my parents so I can help them while my mom heals from cancer. Someday in the not-too-distant future weβll have an Ebenezer* as big as this diseased mountain (which weβve told to go chuck itself into the sea), and youβll get to hear all about it.
In the meantime, things are going pretty well, both in my parentsβ home, and in my own home a state away. People have been taking such good care of all of us. Weβve gotten through 100% of the really hard moments, weβre seeing how Godβs mercies are new every morning, and believe that glorious goodness is out on the other side of this crucible. We greatly appreciate your prayers and encouragement!
(I will say, though, that I do not love having a long-distance relationship with my husband and kids and pets.)
A Substack update:
Sometimes when Iβm scrolling through Substackβs Notes category (like a twitter/X feed if youβre not familiar with Substack as a social media platform), I come across beautiful nature and landscape photos that people share, and they bring my soul oodles of joy. The lightbulb went on one morning a couple weeks ago, and I realized that if I wanted to, I could have a whole account dedicated just to enjoying and sharing nature photos. I know, crazy. So I let that flight of fancy take me away, and I started a new publication called βOh look, a trail!β
Once in a while Iβll email a newsletter about some adventuresome place Iβve been, but the majority of activity will be on Substack itself, sharing the beauty that others are posting on the platform, to celebrate the wonder, connection, and joy found out on the trail. There will be mountains there, too, but these are the mountains I actually want to see.
I invite you to check it out, and if youβre also about putting the βsure!β in βadventure,β to come along. π³ποΈπ²β€οΈ
*Joshua 4:1-9; 1 Samuel 7:12
That sounds like a challenge! Prayers for your parentals, you and your temporary long distance marriage!
Glad things are going well despite the difficult circumstances. Looking forward to checking out the new publication!