5 Quick Things #294 🪄

modern magic wands, seven great books, the history of the housewife, & cathedral floors

Hello!

We just finished the first week of school, and at a new-to-us school at that. Whew! So far the boys like it, but it really does take some head screwing-on to get used to a new rhythm and cadence to their studies, both new school-wise and post-summer. I’m grateful it’s still only two days a week, which means they homeschool the other three… And I'm teaching once again, but at this new school as well—so yeah, I'm learning a new way to do all this, too. I like it, but ....it's new. New is often hard, even when you know it's the good and right next thing to do. If you're in similar shoes this week, let's call for grace all around for all of us, how's about it?

Next week we roadtrip up to the great white north to take Tate to college and I have ALL THE FEELINGS about this. She's my first, she's going pretty far away, and she knows almost no one in this new-to-her town. Lots of people have been asking how I'm doing, which I appreciate so very much because this really is a rite of passage both for the fledgling and the parents who raised said bird. And the honest-to-God answer is: I'm fine. It's weird, actually. A year ago, I was very much NOT fine thinking about all this growing-up rigamarole, but now, it simply feels like ...it's time. I'd heard this from many parents ahead of me—you don't think you'll be ready, but when it's time you will be—and for me, this has been true. It's like God gives you the grace at the exact right moment to handle a thing, not a moment too soon nor too late. It's pretty great, actually.

All in all... A lot of big firsts for us around here this month. Prayers appreciated.

Interior from Paris, by Harriet Backer (1886) #

---

5 Quick Things ☕️

1. This week I wrote the first installment in my ongoing series called Lex Orandi, where I'll unpack my story and the reasons for my becoming Catholic. To begin, I flesh out the title of this series rooted in the Latin maxim, “Lex orandi, lex credendi, lex viviendi”—basically, why how we worship matters (and not just what we worship). What is worship, anyway? And is there a “right” way to do it? These questions laid the foundation for the winding path in my several-years-long process as a lifelong evangelical walking toward the Catholic Church.¹

2. I really love all of Andy Crouch's work, and his most recent book really blew me away when I read it last summer. In this conversation, he unpacks why we all sense that we long for something, we don't know what that something is, and why we so often reach for our phones for that longing.

3. Since it’s currently at the forefront my mind, as a lover of classical education who teaches classically, here's a quick rundown from Autumn Kern on how classical ed is different than traditional, modern education using seven book recommendations. (Her thoughts aren't just for homeschoolers — it's good for all of us to learn what's changed about our education systems in the past 150-ish years.)

4. What a great rundown on the history of what we call those who primarily work from home, and why we as a culture need to return to the pedestal this job that, as C.S. Lewis said, is the one job for which all others exist. “Stay-at-home mom is a term coined by a society that doesn’t truly value domestic work other than parenting (and doesn’t value parenting enough). Homemakers do much more than ‘stay home,’ and much more than mother. They make a home, and we should all recognize there is little more important than that.”

5. And finally, the stunning cathedral floors of the duomo in Siena are revealed only twice a year. I've seen them and stood on them, and they are indeed an absolute masterpiece.

---

Currently Reading, Watching, Listening 📚

The Case for Catholicism, by Trent Horn

---

---

Quotable 💬

“What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing. It also depends on what sort of person you are.”

- C.S. Lewis

---

What’s the worst month? 🗓

It's interesting to compare this to the previous question about your favorite month... I'd like to cross-reference this with location or geography because I'm positive this mostly has to do with weather extremes in different locales. For those of you who checked August as your favorite month in the poll before this, for example, I wouldn't doubt y'all are somewhere north of the Mason-Dixon Line because HOLY HELL you'd be crazy otherwise. And for those of you who checked it as the worst month in this recent poll, you're probably not too terribly far from me, so to speak. And if you chose February as your least-favorite month, my guess is... you're somewhere north up there, too.

There's also rhythms of life to contend with. Because I agree with y'all about August if you're also referencing the beginning of school, because YEP. Same with May with the end of school.

Anyway... This is all very fascinating to me.

Find this week’s poll here.

---

Available in 10 Days! 📫

First Light & Eventide officially releases in a little over a week, on August 29:

Pre-order yours now to start your autumn season with a habit of examen and gratitude.

---

Quick Links 🔗

• 📐Create your own Rule of Life

• 🎧 Listen to A Drink With a Friend

• 📔 Pre-Order First Light & Eventide

• 🇬🇷 Join Me in Greece: June 20-30, 2024

---

Question(s) For You to Ponder… 🤔

How would you spend an ideal day? Is there one thing from that day you could include in your real-life day today?

---

Have a great weekend,

- Tsh

p.s.

1. As a reminder, you won’t get Lex Orandi essays directly in your email inbox unless you specifically request to do so (they’re free!). Head to your account settings to adjust which emails from me you get (details here, about halfway down the page).