Fountain pens are wonderful writing instruments for those who enjoy the heartfelt touch of sending handwritten letters and cards. They are utensils of calm reflection for those who relish curling up with a cup of tea and a journal. If you’ve ever desired to write with a fountain pen, here are some beginner tips you may appreciate knowing first.

Sometimes, you have to leave and not wait for the “perfect” time. It could be other things besides your health that make you leave. The company culture, you need time to look for another job, or simply you need more time off. And that’s okay. I want to normalize letting go without having everything in place.

I am sharing my top gifting strategies (in no specific order) to make holiday shopping (and gift-giving) a much smoother and fun experience for you!

Dip dying paper is one of my favorite ways of making do-it-yourself stationery. It is both simple to do and takes only a few supplies. It is also easy to create a professional-looking design using this technique.

I make a promise to myself. A wish. A hope. A request for renewal. It's always a different promise. But mostly it goes– If I make this leap, I am inviting love and the reward that comes from accomplishing brave acts into my life.

Week after week, I entered the street with a new poem. And each week our community grew more connected…We are on this planet, this neighborhood, this street for only a short time. You might as well know your neighbors and love them too.

Life with Jesus isn’t meant to be easy, but I believe life with Him is meant to be like one of those Choose Your Own Adventure games. Sure, there are tough decisions, but there are also unexpectedly beautiful and fun journeys that ensue. Following the fun is about choosing to reorient our gazes towards God and the glimpses of His glory that we can catch every day. Sometimes, it's the sweet, simple things like choosing to take the scenic way home or adding sprinkles to your ice cream. Other times, it’s the grueling work of squinting to see a slither of joy amid depression. Whatever it might look like, I believe that God hard-wired each of us for fun.

I realized that there is strength in asking for help, and that interdependence, community, and trust is the true mark of self-reliance.

Change is never easy. This past February, you all helped make a hard season a little lighter for a very special person.

This August, we collected love letters for Leana— a mom who has walked through the unimaginable.

Mike’s story is proof that it’s never too late to welcome someone home.

Caitlin nominated her dear friend Melissa for a Love Letter Bundle this past May. Earlier in the year, Melissa had moved across the country to Chicago for a new job after spending the past decade in Los Angeles. One major factor in saying yes to such a big decision was the appeal of being closer to family. Then in March, Melissa lost her father to his extended battle with cancer. He had survived well past his initial prognoses, but his passing was very sudden. You all SHOWED UP for her - and it meant the world.

When you find yourself succumbing to the lie that wellness is not possible, that you have no way out of all the despair, know this: you are not alone in your battle, and you are worth fighting for. Asking for help is not weakness, it is strength in itself. Find your life raft. I promise it’s there. Depression doesn’t have to win.

The contrast between the quiet of the cottage– the only sound coming from birdsong and the odd indignant-sounding sheep’s bleat– and the constant, scratching noise inside my head was stark. It had been a particularly bleak week for news, after a particularly grim couple of years; I felt exhausted, and powerless. I looked at my laptop and my notebook, at my optimistic plans for this precious time, and felt a sudden jolt of clarity, borne simply out of bone-deep weariness, a begrudging admission that things could not continue this way, and a willingness to surrender accordingly. This endless scrolling, this constant consumption of information: it had to stop. I had to stop.

Thankfully, I can recognize when plans need to change. I don't often push through to complete things at the expense of health, sanity, and pleasure. But I often mourn my original plans much longer than necessary. I think "If only.... If only.... If only…," and it's really not very helpful. I linger on the things I miss out on instead of seeing what’s next. When I was frustrated with my fretting on that too-hot day, I looked at my kids, and my jaw nearly dropped out how swiftly and easily they adapted to the new situation. How did they do that? What's the difference between them and me?

On the surface, toxic positivity can appear benign. Shouldn’t we encourage moving past pain? Toxic positivity, however, is not about healing as much as it is about denial– a refusal to acknowledge experience as it actually is, in favor of a more sanitized, palatable version of reality that doesn't require sustained attention or effort to manage.

Deconstruction is quite terrifying, actually. You find yourself in a strange land where all the things you’ve ever known (and parroted) about “backsliding” or “losing your salvation” play out like the preview to the most terrifying psychological thriller, on repeat. You’ve shed the layers of who you used to be, and you can’t step back into that person, but you really wish you could, because it would be so much easier. Add in the voices of those who are “concerned.” These voices are loud, and they want nothing more than for you just to conform.

In May, we collected love letters for Matthew— a 12-year-old boy who has done a lot of growing up in the past year. With his older brother battling cancer, Matthew has been holding down the fort at home. Matthew received more than 300 letters, 25 packages, and 5 letters from around the world including....(drum roll)...Italy, Ireland, Germany, New Zealand, Canada, and the Philippines.

Here’s a non-exhaustive list of how you can show up for a friend who has experienced

pregnancy loss (or how to ask your friends to show up for you):

Here are a few simple acts to try to love on people when gift-giving is your love language, but you want to avoid giving any more material things to your loved ones: