Extra, Extra!

Listening to podcasts is one of my favorite things.

I think it brings about nostalgiac feelings about radio programs that I harbor, thanks to any book or show I've watched about the 1940's.

Taking a walk, folding laundry, cooking dinner, or working in the yard all go by so quickly when listening to one of my favorite podcasts. I have a handful that I listen to every week, without fail, and there are three that I listen to only on Sunday mornings.

The Next Right Thing podcast, by the wonderful Emily P. Freeman is like a compass for me. Epidosde 101, Read Your Own Headlines, is one that I've listened to three times since it dropped on November 5. Maybe give it a listen, then head back here?

I love Emily's insight here, because it's so relevant to my life. As someone who has constant commotion in their headspace the reminder that I can choose my own headlines was timely.

Often, my headline could read: EVERYTHING MUST BE DONE NOW!

Finding myself nodding my head and even stopping on a street corner so that I could really listen to The Next Right Thing wasn't really shocking, looking back now.

Emily says in episode 101:

"Of course, I’m going to go there because there are important headlines that will never show up in your newsfeed. They won’t get any air time on the evening news or push a notification to your phone. These are the headlines that broadcast what’s happening in the invisible world that lives inside our bodies, the inner world of the soul.

I just love this. Being aware of your inner life, or even your outer life, can be really tricky in a world filled with its own stimulating headlines. Never mind your family and friends orbiting around you with their own headlines.

Life right now is lovely and full. My family is flourishing. After five years of living in Lexington it feels like home...again. We have traditions, friends, and jobs. Any angst we're experiencing is completely developmentally appropriate.

Sometimes, though, I feel like I'm driving (metaphorically and literally!) from one place to another, taking action as needed. The noise of the world can fill my ears. NPR, podcasts, audiobooks, children & a husband who need a listening ear - all of these things are good and right but also take up space. Sometimes a lady just needs to rest.

Binge watching Netflix shows isn't really resting, is it?

A few weeks ago I was talking to a friend about silence and the importance of time with nothing coming in. When you live in a large family quiet is definitely a commodity. So I've been practicing silence.

So I've been practicing silence.

In the car, as I drive to tutor students. On my walks, before I listen to a beloved podcast. In the mornings, as my coffee brews. Catching those few moments has added up, friends.

Those quiet times have given me chances to hear Jesus whispering kindnesses in my ear, reminders to be gentle with myself. Reminders that I am not in charge of everything. Reminders that I am enough, just as I am, and that I do not need to continuously improve myself in order to be loved.

Giving myself permission and reminders to enter the calm, even while there are swirling lives all around me, has given me a chance to read my headlines:

Woman Begins Tutoring Business

Peace Found in a Minivan

Body Acceptance is Possible

Noise Cancelling Headphones Can Change Your Life

Life: Sweeter Than Expected

My more negative headlines don't disappear when I focus on the unexpected areas of growth, the hidden slices of stuff to be thankful for. No, they're still there because they're still true. But I am magnifying that which is greater.

I think that's what God wants for us. A life that is full has both of the the things - the Hard Times and the Easy Times. We get to decide which will receive more light.

It's a cliche, but it's a true one.

Me and a Monet at the Speed Art Museum in Louisville.

Lee and I skipped town with our boys for a couple of days. We finally got to an art museum we've talked about going to for years. I forget how much I love art til I'm standing in front of it.

Gazing at those paintings, wondering if the artist had any idea of the longevity their creation would have, I couldn't help but wonder about their personal headlines. Surely they had lives rife with drama.

I found myself pondering the beauty of the world in spite of all the utter craziness.

Certainly if I looked I could find writings to tell me of their personal issues. No artist ever creates because life is perfect.

I want my personal headlines to be a Monet, a thing of beauty that lasts. Perhaps there will never be people who pay to see my work, and that is just fine with me. What's important to me is that the lives that mine touch, in small and deep ways, see that Truth rises above the rest.

My headlines tell of the uncontainable loveliness of a life lived alongside God. I simply have to read them that way.

Be brave, misfits, and take time to read your beautiful headlines.