Mid-November DID/SAW/HEAR/DRAW

all abooaaarrddd!

Nov 22, 2024

Hey all!

It dawned on me today that Thanksgiving is a WEEK FROM NOW. How did the year slip by like this?!

Even though I have officially switched this publication name to Something for Sundays, I still want to keep the monthly check-in of what I have been doing, seeing, hearing, and drawing. So, that means a mid-week email. :)

Writing about faith disentanglement and evolving spirituality is something I have become passionate about, but it can get heavy. It’s nice to have this built-in monthly check-in to reflect on things in my life that are happening that don’t necessarily directly tie to my inner-anxiety about my salvation :D

DID:

In November, we did some traveling!

The very beginning of November, Jonny and I traveled to Austin, Texas to see our dear friends there. Going to Austin was a bit surreal because it almost felt like we never left. I love finding cities and friends that fit like a glove. That place will always be a part of me.

And then, just last weekend, we took a quick trip to Glenwood Springs, Colorado via TRAIN. We woke up at 3am, rode a train for 8 hours, and suddenly we were in the most quintessential Hallmark-movie-esque town with some of the largest hot springs in the world! Then, the next day, we got back on a train and rode 8 hours home. We were at our destination for less than 24 hours, but because riding the train was part of the experience, it felt fun and relaxing the whole time! It took all of the stress out of the travel part of travel.

We should normalize taking trains!!! And, fun fact: they do say “all aboard!” when boarding a train.

SAW:

I saw… a lot of cute clothes!

I’ve always loved fashion, but I’ve shied away from it for the past few years. Enter: Nuuly! You can rent six items for one month, and then just send it back at the end of the month. It’s not a scam — I’ve done it for three months now! It’s so easy and is the perfect way to try out styles you wouldn’t normally go for. This month, I was actually itching for some colder weather purely due the fact that I had rented warm coats to wear. Some people make winter manageable through winter sports. Me? Clothes! :)

The coats that make me want to go outside in cold weather:

HEAR:

I listened to a podcast that dove deep into the history of the Priesthood/Temple ban for black members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

This podcast is a project from the Mormon Stories podcast. Sometimes Mormon Stories in general skews a little negative for my taste, but I found Dr. Matt Harris, the guest of this series, to be balanced and well-researched. He recently came out with a book on the Priesthood/Temple ban and in his studies, he has personally interviewed so many people, read so many journals, and is a really great teacher. As much as I love learning the history of the early Church in the 1800s… let me tell you, it is FASCINATING to learn this more recent history (in the 1960s/70s) with names of church leaders that I recognize.

This series might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I thoroughly enjoyed the episodes I listened to! (Warning: they are all like 3 hours long lololol)

This is the first episode I listened to and is an episode that stuck out to me:

DRAW:

I finally worked on (and completed) a project I have been thinking about for months — painting my Bible!

I kept procrastinating actually working on it forever because how do you design the cover of the BIBLE?! But I broke through the doubt and I am so happy with how it turned out <3