5 Quick Things, #144 🌱

Chess moves, a sapling's new growth, great children's books, & two weeks at a time

Hey there,

As you’re reading this, my family and I are currently a few hours away from home — the first time we’ve gone anywhere for months. The kids have been counting down for this weekend at the coast; in fact, my youngest set up his spot in the car two days before we even left! To say they’re eager for a change of scenery is an understatement.

In the meantime, scores of y’all have written to let me know how much Alecia’s words have meant to you. I’m so glad. Let’s keep learning and listening. This is a marathon, not a sprint, and I don’t know about you, but I’m committed for the long-haul.

Demonstrators gather in Portland, Maine. #

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5 Quick Things ☕️

1. Sarah, a former AoS contributor, came back to the blog for its last year to share one last poem with us. It’s beautiful, as always.

2. Caroline’s given us a little levity: here’s 30 song prompts for 30 fun days.

3. Yeah, it’s hard to know how to plan for things this summer... That’s why I’m doing this instead. (Maybe it’ll help you, too?)

4. Here’s a collection of great children’s books to help you talk to your kids about racism.

5. "The fact that saying goodbye to a phone app feels bigger and more important than it really should ...raised the question for me: why? And, how? How has social media become this thing?"

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+ One More Quick Thing… 🌏

I mentioned a month ago that this is a primo gift for moms, and I can easily say the SAME for Father’s Day — all the *chef’s kisses* for a gift subscription to StoryWorth! For 52 weeks, StoryWorth will email your dad questions that prompt stories — like, What were your high school jobs like? and What’s the first major news story you remember living through as a child?

Then, they’ll compile all his answers (plus any uploaded photos) and publish them into a keepsake book. Who knows what fascinating things you’ll learn about your dad you’d otherwise never think to ask? (I can’t wait to read my dad’s answers…)

This is especially great if you can’t be physically close to your dad for Father’s Day weekend — plus, there’s no shipping involved!

If you order your gift at storyworth.com/tsh, you’ll get $10 off your first purchase! This is super generous of them — take advantage of it for Father’s Day. It’s a great company doing a great thing.

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Quotable 💬

“The quality of your faith will be judged by the quality of justice in the land; and the quality of justice in the land will be judged by how the weakest and most vulnerable groups in society fared while you were alive.”

― Ronald Rolheiser

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Time Machine ⏰

3 years ago, I wrote about decision fatigue and why it’s good to notice its creeping effect on our lives.

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Elsewhere 📍

Tsh Oxenreider @tsh

@sethhaines I heard a quote in 2016 that helped me vote with a clear conscience: "Voting isn't a valentine, it's a chess move." When we vote, we're not saying this person has our whole devotion + we agree on everything. We're saying we think this is the best option to love our neighbor well.

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Have a good weekend,

xo, Tsh

p.s. A friendly reminder to use bookshop.org for your book purchases! The behemoth online retailer who-shall-not-be-named made record-breaking profits this past spring while most of our beloved indie bookshops hurt like crazy. Shopping via bookshop.org helps them, and it helps indie creators like myself (at no extra cost to you). Thanks so much for voting with your dollars for the world you want!