The Friday Five - Truth, Beauty and Goodness for your weekend
When detours become the new path; A conversation about trauma and creativity recovery; the Parable of the Mexican fisherman; an incredible example of faith on display; your sphere of influence
Quick Personal Note
Happy Friday! This week, I sent out more posts from this newsletter than would normally go out in a week. I sincerely appreciate your patience as I continue to learn how best to navigate Substack and make it an enjoyable experience for all of my subscribers. I think I’ve figured a few things out and hopefully won’t be emailing that much in one week again.
I am truly grateful for each of you, reading, commenting and sharing. Thank you for being here.
Today is the last day of school for our boys. Summer has officially begun. Tonight, we are celebrating with some good friends and their boys and heading to the lake to their campsite to go kayaking, roast treats over the fire, and have some good conversation. We won’t stay the night because tomorrow morning we celebrate my middle child’s birthday. These are the days, right?
Moments like this constantly remind me of this duality of life; that there can be pain AND joy, together. It’s a constant battle in my heart to be fully present in these situations when our daughter is not with us. It takes complete intentionality to be the mom I want to be for my boys. But my mom heart is always thinking of what my daughter is doing, praying for her healing and help, and wishing our family could all be together. I’ve had a lot of practice and continue to mourn this idea of ‘what our family should be/what I always thought it would be’ and accept the reality of what it really is. That hasn’t come easy and therapy has helped (hello, radical acceptance), but I’ll share more on this later as I know there are other parents out there who are feeling something similarly. To those parents reading this, I see you. And I’m stopping to pray for you right now.
Enjoy your weekend! Be blessed.
Love,
Kelly
1. When the detour becomes the new path…
“One day, words were whispered into our hearts over yet another prayer we lifted for deliverance from this. We heard that the detour we were trying to pray away was our new path, and the only way out was through.”
The topics in this article were the foundation of beginning my Substack. It speaks to the long-suffering our family has endured and what I’ve learned from becoming a student of my pain. You can read it here.
2. A podcast conversation inspired by a comment inspired by a Wendell Berry quote
“There are, it seems, two muses: the Muse of Inspiration, who gives us inarticulate visions and desires, and the Muse of Realization, who returns again and again to say "It is yet more difficult than you thought." This is the muse of form. It may be then that form serves us best when it works as an obstruction, to baffle us and deflect our intended course. It may be that when we no longer know what to do, we have come to our real work and when we no longer know which way to go, we have begun our real journey. The mind that is not baffled is not employed. The impeded stream is the one that sings.” - Wendell Berry
This quote is what inspired an hour long conversation on the Refine{d}: the podcast about trauma and creativity recovery. Kris and I cover everything from reframing your creative practice to leaving “breadcrumbs” for others to gather as inspiration for future works. I hope you’ll find something in our conversation that encourages you.
Here is a link to my post that was sent out earlier this week explaining how this podcast conversation came to be, from Wendell Berry quote to my comment to the podcast episode, or click below to go straight to the episode.
3. A Summer Read & The Parable of the Mexican Fisherman (and the American Investment Banker)
As we approach summer, many of us are thinking of upcoming trips, how to keep the kids/grandkids busy, perhaps how you’ll find time to squeeze in doing some work with them around all summer. I’m raising my hand over here for all of the above.
I’m also thinking about which ‘summer read’ I’ll be sneaking off to read, looking through my Amazon wish list to see which book may be calling to me, ready to make the plunge to the check out cart.
There is one that’s been on my ‘to read’ list for a while: Chasing Slow: Courage to Journey off the Beaten Path by Erin Loechner. Have you read this? If so, drop me a comment below and let me know your thoughts. A couple of quotes from the book include,
“I used to think the opposite of control was chaos. But it's not. The opposite of control is surrender.”
“Here is the secret to subtraction. It doesn’t matter what you remove. What matters is that you stop adding it back.”
Seems like the perfect book to read for summer, right? It encourages thoughts of having a SLOW summer…catching lightning bugs, long al fresco meals with friends and simply lounging, to read that book, and not feeling guilty about it. While I was searching for a little more on the book (it’s pricey; before committing I must make sure this is ‘the one’) I found this post here that outlines one man’s take-aways, he calls them his ‘Life Lessons’, from the book, along with many of Erin’s quotes. I found his article so helpful! There is a lot of wisdom in these quotes of Erin’s: “Keep slowing down. You’ve got a race to lose”. I think this man’s review may have sealed the deal for me. Thank you, Kyle Kowalski!
In her book, Erin references a parable that I want to share with you. Perhaps it will inspire me as I make my summer plans. Perhaps it will inspire you, too.
Here is a common modern adaptation of it:
The Parable of the Mexican Fisherman
The American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large fin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.
The Mexican replied, “Only a little while.”
The American then asked why he didn’t stay out longer and catch more fish.
The Mexican said he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs.
The American then asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”
The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life.”
The American scoffed. “I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat, and with the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats. Eventually, you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman, you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing, and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually NYC, where you will run your expanding enterprise.”
The Mexican fisherman asked, “But how long will this take?”
To which the American replied, “Fifteen to twenty years.”
“But what then?”
The American laughed and said that’s the best part. “When the time is right, you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich; you would make millions.”
“Millions?” asked the fisherman. “Then what?”
The American said, “Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evening, sip wine, and play guitar with your amigos!”
4. This ESPN interview, with these athlete’s inspiring faith on display, will move you!
A friend of mine shared this interview clip on his Facebook this week and I was completely moved. All three of these young women in the interview speak so eloquently about their faith in King Jesus. I couldn’t wait to show my family and let this be a teaching moment on how to use any platform that you may be given to glorify God. Truly inspiring.
After watching the interview, I was so inspired by these beautiful young ladies that I wanted to do a little more research. I found this article on Grace Lyons, the first athlete to speak in the video. I love this quote from the article, shared by one of her teammates,
“She shows up every day with a greater purpose than winning ballgames,” said sophomore pitcher Jordy Bahl. “She wears her love for the Lord on her sleeve, and she wants to use this field as a mission field. Using it in that way is something that I’ve really never seen another player do so well.”
There is also a video clip within the article from Grace’s Instagram account where she’s sharing her story of finding Christ, her becoming. Even if you don’t watch softball or sports, I believe this article and her display of faith will move you. Be sure to share the video with any little (or big) athlete in your life.
5. Identifying your ‘Sphere of Influence’; now, using it!
Inspired by Grace Lyons, the softball player highlighted in #4, who is using her platform, her sphere of influence, to share her faith openly:
What platforms has God given you in your life right now that you can use to share your faith?
Joni Eareckson Tada addressed this in her 4 minute radio program, beginning with the question, “Are you a good steward of the influence you have on others?” She adds a different spin on this topic, including how your actions (including your everyday actions) in the world ALSO speak to your faith and walk with the Lord and have influence over others.
It reminds me of a quote that I recently put on my Facebook wall,
“Be careful how you live; you will be the only Bible some people ever read.” - William Thoms
If you are a visual learner, like me, try sketching this out to help identify where opportunities might be hanging out, like the one I sketched and included as my cover photo for this post.
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” - Acts 1:8
Question for Reflection or Journal Prompt:
“…when you become a Christian, your story gets swallowed up in God’s story. I’ve often compared it to resigning your role as main character in a movie that’s all about you and taking up a role as a minor character, supporting cast, in a movie about Jesus.”
This past Sunday, my pastor said those words with his sermon on “How to Deal with Life When All Hevel Breaks Loose” referencing Ecclesiastes 1:1–3, 12:13–141. I reference it in my detours article and it has stuck with me. I shared it with my boys and it led to a very fruitful conversation. Now it’s your turn to give it some thought.
What would that look like for you, if you haven’t already resigned your main character role? If you have, in what ways did that change how you’re living your life?
“Jesus Walks on Water”
chalk pastel on Wegmans brown paper bag, 12in x 17in
Sometimes an unconventional canvas is just the thing to inspire a creative piece. A few years ago, in our homeschool, my boys and I used chalk pastels to ‘paint’ the Mona Lisa on brown paper bags. It was one of my favorite artistic activities with them because the outcome was lovely and the boys, who were 4 and 6 at the time, took their time and had a lot of fun creating their portraits. Being encouraged to make a giant mess by smudging with their hands helped! Totally worth it!
As an art teacher, I also took this opportunity to teach my boys the meaning of
sfumato: the technique of allowing tones and colors to shade gradually into one another, producing softened outlines or hazy forms
Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is a perfect example of this.
A follower commented when I posted this on my Instagram page asking for a tutorial for my ‘Jesus Walks on Water’ painting. Perhaps that is to come. I will say, if you love your piece and plan to frame it, it looks especially cool to have it placed on top of the mat so you can see the rough edges of the bag. I also prefer bags with a little wrinkle in them. Perfect bags aren’t nearly as fun to work with. It’s the imperfections in the bag that make the art more unique because the chalk pastel strokes pick them up and they show through in your piece.
Quote by Pastor J.D. Greear found in this message ; Sermon transcripts here
I've enjoyed following you sa far Kelly! Im keen to listen to your podcast episode, that fable is so on point, and your boys are good little artists! Woah! 😍 Thanks for sharing!
I have chasing slow, Kelly! So good - I love Erin’s words and can’t wait to hear how you find it. (Excited to hear from her newsletter that she just finished the manuscript for her next 📖, too!) ❤️