And I’m back for the 2nd edition of All the Things weekly recap! I skipped last week because… well, while dogsitting I hardly had enough energy to open my laptop, let alone read things. Oops.

But anyways, here are this week’s happenings:

My little corner of the internet: 

Finding my Armor-Bearer: a pretty vulnerable post about friendship.

My FMF Post this week:

Jesus, mental health, and ignorant people on twitter:

Not a blog post, but I got my twitter-preacher girl on this week in light of an ignorant person’s twitter rant about faith and mental illness. I will continue screaming this at the top of my lungs until people get it. This stigma KILLS, y’all.

Words from the internet I liked: 

Honestly, I didn’t read a lot of articles/blog posts per my usual this week… because I’ve been reading a lot of actual books! How about that? Haha.

That Time I Danced Too Close: In light of the “me too” conversation happening about sexual harassment, this post was quite well said, especially from a Christian/church perspective. I follow Rachel on twitter and enjoy her thoughts!

“If we truly believe in the Imago Dei—that all people are created in the image of God—then we must recognize that what some brush off as “locker room talk” or “boys being boys” is actually a perpetuation of abuse which insults the image of God.”

Answering ‘How Are You?’ With ‘I’m Tired’ | The Mighty  

One day last year my former boss asked how I was and I said my usual, “tired but okay” and she exclaimed, “you ALWAYS say you’re tired!” Yes. Yes, I do. But tired doesn’t always equal physically tired, believe it or not.

“Because it’s life you’re tired of. You’re tired of people treating you like you don’t matter. You’re tired of feeling like you have no future. You’re tired of getting lost in your own head, of drowning in the thoughts and self doubts that pester you every second of every day, while you fight to keep your head above the tides.”

Really, I Blame the Women. |Sarah Bessey 

I was introduced to Heartline and the Livesays from both Sarah Bessey and Kristen Howerton. I love Tara’s sassiness, blatant honesty about life in Haiti, and her determination to not band-aid a problem, but create a solution. Also, the woman is freaking hilarious and posts the cutest pictures of babies and mamas on instagram. This is a great post by Sarah telling some of Heartline’s backstory in honor of their 10th anniversary, and it includes ways to support Heartline at the end!

What if there was a way to keep families together? What if there was a way to eliminate the need for orphanages altogether?

What if we gave all of the energy we’re giving to caring for orphans towards making sure these children never even became orphans in the first place?

Like I said, I blame the women.

Why is a popular interfaith website giving a disgraced misogynistic pastor a platform?

I saw Driscoll’s name popping up online over the last few weeks, and I cringed. Why, Patheos, Why? This article just has a sprinkling of the over-the-top offensive remarks the man has made. In the name of Jesus. I just can’t believe someone would let him wield power AGAIN. And no repentance for his actions, either. I just can’t.

In the sad words of one of the commenters: “Why is a popular interfaith website giving a disgraced misogynistic pastor a platform? 
 
It’s a simple question with a simple answer: Because those who have the authority to make the decision agree with his teachings.  
 
It’s no deeper than that. If they back him, they back his teachings.”

Sigh. Plus, the fact that he has followers (somehow?) and that will bring $. It all comes down to money, even if we have to sacrifice morals and human decency.

Patheos’ decision emerges as we witness the belated reckonings of powerful misogynist men whose behavior was ignored and enabled all in the name of the almighty dollar. Driscoll brings with him half a million Twitter followers and status as a New York Times best-selling author, but also a long history of sexism and outright misogyny.

–This isn’t a blog or article, but someone in my Enneagram facebook group (yes i’m in an enneagram fb group no shame) created a playlist for fellow Enneagram 2s (2w1 here) and I love it. Listen on spotify here.

Cool things to buy on the internet: 

-I just recently got a new Queen sized bed (thanks, Dad!), but haven’t bought a new bedspread to fit on it. I’ve found a few I like that are a bit out of my price range (why you so expensive, Anthropologie?!?) but have a found a few contenders.

I like pretty, florarly designs, but a little less bold than my college quilt (bright pink with brightly colored flowers. a tad loud for 25-year-old me. ).

I’ve found a few on urban outfitters I adore: this one is the biggest contender. I love this one too.

I REALLY want this one from anthro, but my mother doesn’t want me to get one with a white background. Bah humbug.

That’s also why she wasn’t a fan of this kate spade one, but I’m slightly obsessed with it.

I love this anthro one too, but can’t justify the price tag. Sigh.

So, should I save up for one of the anthro ones, or go with a cutesy one from urban outfitters?! help a sista out!

-I love that this and this exist. Bundt cakes that you cook like waffles? Sign me up. Plus, the mini one is just too cute.

-I have a few friends having babies in the near future, and the one thing I love gifting more than anything else? Books! Duh. I have a few on my wishlists I’m starting to buy for various babies I already love so much.

Jimmy Fallon has a new kids book out, and it is so cute. Anything Jimmy Fallon does is awesome, so…

I can’t remember where I read about this one, but I love it. Let’s start teaching ’em about diversity young! I want a copy of this one for myself– it’s stunningly designed!!

I’ve given this one to a friend’s babe before, and I’ll give it again because it is so good and lovely and heartfelt. I love MPT, and his children’s books are beautiful inside and out!

– Through the B&H/Lifeway bloggers program, I received the amazingly beautiful She Reads Truth Bible this week to review! I’ve had my eye on it since before it came out but wasn’t able to swing it financially. It is BEAUTIFUL. And so helpful/resourceful. I’ve been using it for Bible study since I got it, and it has made bible study so much easier. I’ll do a full review of it hopefully this week, but it is worth every penny.

-To go with my new SRT Bible, I splurged on a new prayer journal. I’ve been following Val Marie Paper forever online but have never tried one of their products. They have a yearly prayer journal that looks beautiful and awesome but wanted to spend a little less than $50 for the first time I’ve used one of the prayer journals. She sells an undated version for a fraction of that, so I went with it. And it matches the color of my Bible! (not that that matters, but hey sometimes girl likes to be cute!). I love things that are prompted/scripted for me to follow as a guide, so I’m excited to add it to my arsenal of Bible study tools. If I like it, I’ll def spring for the yearly version (… or ask for it as a Christmas present. Girlfriend is stingy).

-Books! Two books by two of my favorites come out this week, and GIRL IS PUMPED.

My favorite gal Annie F Downs has a new devotional coming out, and I could squeal I’m so excited. Devotionals are my favorite. If I could have one singular job as a writer, writing devotionals would be it. I have a few good ones in my rotation nightly but am excited to add 100 Days of Brave to the group. Especially since I loved Let’s All Be Brave– girl knows about brave, and I’m pumped for more bravery talk. Bonus: it’s all glittery and that makes me extra excited. (Just as I was finishing this post I got the email that amazon shipped it, and I may have squealed).

and lastly, HAVE YOU PREORDERED DANCE STAND RUN YET? IF NOT, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? AND YES I’M WRITING IN ALL CAPS BECAUSE I AM SERIOUS Y’ALL.

You’ve got about 24ish hours to preorder to get the goodies from dancestandrun.com, but even more than that: this book needs to be in the hands of as many women as possible, y’all. and if we preorder, more booksellers will keep it in stock and display it. So, GO BUY IT. It comes out officially on Tuesday, and I do intend on writing about DSR sometime this week. I got my official launch team copies last week, and not only is it stunning (it shimmers, y’all!), but it is even better holding the book in my hands! Y’all, this book is going to change the world. And Jess is a woman fully leaning on God’s truth to carry her and her words, and they’re words we NEED to hear. Let’s go.

That’s it for this week, yo. What did you see/read/buy on the internet this week?

Upcoming posts this week include: SRT Bible Review (later this week), and a review/message of Dance Stand Run. Let’s do it!

[amazon affiliate links have been used in this post]