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5 Quick Things #228 🙏

Ukranian saints, victory gardens, birth stories, & aggressive happiness

Tsh Oxenreider

Feb 25, 2022

There’s nothing quite like the whiplash of February in Texas, when last week I was sweating in the garden and this week we canceled a day of school because of ice on the road. The forecast is back up to the 70s by this time next week so it’s all good! I hope whatever weather you’re treated to these days is treating you to a glimpse of beauty.

Renoir once said, “The pain passes, but the beauty remains,” which is a good reminder when seasons (of all sorts) aren’t quite what we’d prefer. May we find tiny shards of remaining beauty in all things, from our neighborhood walks to the heartbreaking news we read. I hope Dostoevsky is right.

*Luncheon of the Boating Party*, 1880-1881. // Today is Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s birthday, a French artist and a leading painter in the style of Impressionism.

5 Quick Things ☕️

1. 👉 New episode of A Drink With a Friend! 👈 Seth is off doing lawyer-y things this week, so I talk to my friend Joy Clarkson about, essentially, Wendell Berry’s beloved quip, “Be joyful though you have considered all the facts.” Why is it not only a good idea to pursue happiness — it’s necessary? And perhaps counter-cultural to our doomscroll-obsessed modern ways? We talk about where real happiness is found, what it means to unironically enjoy what we love, and why doing so even makes us better neighbors.
2. Saints and blesseds of Ukraine — just a few out of many worth getting to know.
3. What a beautiful story of a delightful-sounding man — and a good reminder to tell our children their birth stories.
4. “During World War II, the answer to the food shortage was Victory Gardens (or War Gardens). …The idea was that victory gardens would provide vegetables to the ‘Home Front’ so that non-perishable canned goods could be sent to the soldiers fighting overseas.” I’ve long loved victory gardens, and I love the reasoning presented here for why we need to resurrect the idea in our own backyards.
5. And finally, watch the final hours of the once-vibrant city of Pompeii.

Currently Reading, Watching, Listening 📚

The Last Thing He Told Me, by Laura Dave

Fabled Gathering Rescheduled to Next Week 🍋

ICYMI, due to our crazy sudden ice storm here in Texas, yesterday’s event at Fabled Bookshop in Waco is rescheduled to this next Thursday, March 3. The weather forecast looks back up into the 60s, so come on and say hello!

A few of you mentioned wanting to come in from surrounding cities, so hopefully you still can with this last-minute adjustment! Haley Stewart and I will chat about Lent, the liturgical calendar, Bitter & Sweet, and whatever else is on your mind — it’ll be a casual gathering with drinks and friends. It’s free! And I’d love you to be there.

Learn More

Preparing for Lent

Ash Wednesday is this next Wednesday, March 2! Whether this is your first time participating in Lent or you’re old-hat at this tradition, Bitter & Sweet was written as your kind companion for this season. I’ve got the accompanying playlist and weekly artwork ready for you on the book’s website, and I hope you enjoy them.

Also — consider making pancakes this Tuesday! I’ll share more early next week about the old tradition known as Shrove Tuesday — as well as my favorite go-to recipe for buttermilk pancakes that never steers me wrong.

Quotable 💬

“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”

— C.S. Lewis #

Quick Links 🔗

Question(s) For You to Ponder… 🤔

Normally I leave you with one final question, but this week I’m giving you five. These are the questions I provide in Bitter & Sweet to help you consider what you might fast from for Lent:

Have I become overly dependent on a particular sustenance, substance, or practice lately?
Which appetites have a unique grip on my body or soul these days?
What would be a genuinely challenging (but not burdensome) fast?
What would be truly freeing to leave behind?
What do I sense God calling me to?

Have a great weekend,

Tsh

p.s. I’m so perplexed by this.