Letting the Light In

Y'all! It's been a long time, and I've missed you. I've got a list of twelve, as well as a few life updates (foster care, baby making, ya know, the usual). Hope your summers are winding down well and that you're feeling hopeful and expectant for what Fall holds.

12. Psalm 61 & 62

11. Perfect Bars

10. ESPN 30 for 30 Podcast

9. Laughter Permitted Podcast

8. Budgeting

7. After Life: My Journey from Incarceration to Freedom by Alice Marie Johnson

6. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

5. Mexico City Restaurant in La Junta, CO

4. My mama and her sister, Cindy

3. Poets and Saints by All Sons and Daughters - Heaven Meets Earth, I Surrender, You Are Love and Love Alone

2. Psalm 145

1. Unmarriageable by Soniah Kamal

Micah Watson - Episode 84 by Kamri Phillippi

Hey Y'all!

A long list this week - I guess I've just missed being with y'all so much that I had too much to tell you! I switched things up this week and started with #1 first, and if you listen, you'll understand why. Hope y'alls days and weeks are full of light!

1. Fossy's voice

2. My Pop Pop

3. Shepherd by Bethel featuring Amanda Cook

4. Cultivating Fossy's love for Coldplay

5. Reading the Bible with our Young Life Kids

6. Confronting OJ Simpson Podcast

7. Sports Wars Podcast - Season 3 "Michael Jordan vs. Isiah Thomas"

8. On the Fly Woven Pant by Lululemon

9. Late Sunsets

10. My First 30 Quiet Times by Ty Saltzgiver

11. Target $1 Bubbles

12. Psalm 37:9 MSG Version

13. Swimming with Meagan Hawley's girls

Y'all, we did it. We managed to travel thousands of miles to another country to usher 24 kids into one of the greatest weeks of their lives. And I truly cannot imagine doing it with a more perfect group of people. We laughed, cried, prayed, danced, jumped into the ocean, listened, got pied in the face, ate dessert at every meal, and witnessed 24 kids catch a vision of Who He sees in them. In this episode we talk about how we got to Malibu, both as leaders and travel logistics, the structure of camp, our PHENOMENAL camp speaker, favorite parts, hardest parts, and why we're hanging out with our kids every day for a week after. I love these people deeply, and am reverently thankful He didn't design us to do this work alone.

Lighting Up My Week #16 - Episode 81 by Kamri Phillippi

Y'all. Y'ALL. This woman. Dynamic, brilliant, humble, talented, gracious. Her descriptors are a mile long. I've "known" Hanna for years, as our families have crossed paths in schools in Wichita for a long time, but it wasn't until Christmas Break in 2018 that I really got to sit down with her and have my brains blown out by her brilliance. Hanna attends UNC-Chapel Hill, but because she's a Robertson Scholar, she spends a little time at Duke as well. We spend the majority of this conversation unpacking the summer she spent interning at the Urban Doxology Songwriting Collaborative, where amazingly talented musicians write worship songs for people who can't hear their stories in the ones popular today. We talk about addressing our own implicit bias, injustice, being "too black" for white spaces, and "too white" for black spaces, how much the church has to grow, and whether or not God actually cares about people who live in the projects. We also touch on her talent for, and love of, and writing process for spoken word, and the moment she decided her life's goal wasn't to be President in 2036. Please listen to this, and then share it with anyone that will listen, because these are the conversations I hope we're having until Jesus calls us home. If you want any information on the internship, the organization that founded it, or how to support this ministry, go to www.arrabon.com or reach out to Hanna or myself for my info!

Seven things this week, each unique, and each doing their part to light up my week. Whats on your list this week?

7. Social Animals (documentary on Netflix)

6. The Impossible Burger

5. God Is So Good (You Are Worthy) by Pat Barrett

4. That Sounds Fun with Annie F. Downs episode with Amanda Lindsey Cook (podcast)

3. Finishing the basement for Foster Care (thanks to my father-in-law)

2. Mike Choi's mama

1. Reconciling

What can I say y'all, the man wears many hats. With his recent return to Instagram, one of them now includes a (VERY) below average fitness influencer, where he shares tips and tricks to not even come close to any sort of fitness goal. All jokes aside, Tay does have a significant career update (hint: real estate) to share, and I couldn't be more proud. Something I love most about him is his drive, and it has served our family extremely well in the 4 years we've been married. We also talk briefly about Fortnite, the long journey to the Young Life camp we are taking kids to this summer, and the staff spouse retreat we went to a month ago. Happy listening!

A shorter list this time, but a longer episode! I guess I just missed telling y'all what was lighting me up so badly, that I had to go into extreme detail. Hope they resonate and spur on your own lists of light.

5. The Zoo

4. Not Going Anywhere by Amanda Lindsey Cook

3. Suffering

2. Sitting with my Pop Pop

1. The Young Life Staff Spouse Retreat

Happy Tuesday!

Y'all are in for such a treat with this woman. I have technically known Olivia for 20 years, as she and her family lived across the street from my family for years, but was robbed of growing up with her after her family moved to Texas. As you can imagine, a lot has happened since I last saw her! She loves Jesus, her husband, her patients (she was about to start her nursing job the week after this interview happened!) her family, Texas A&M, and the potatoes au gratin she ate on her honeymoon that brought her to tears. She does NOT love pyramid schemes, especially those whose workers approach you in Target. I don't laugh harder at anyones instagram story, yet she can go from hilarity to humble and honest reflection with ease. It is a special thing to know someone as a 4 year old and be able to talk to them 20 years later. I hope y'all love listening to this conversation as much as I had recording it.