dear martha,

i love your new staples line. 

it makes me totally forget about your shady white collar crime.

xoxo,

holly

i really can

i am so grateful that, in this weird in-betweeny season of finishing my second masters degree and looking for a job, i have lots of time to read. it should be the last thing that i want to do [considering the aforementioned degrees] but i am just in love with the fact that i really can read whatever i want.


one of the books that definitely falls into that category is A Homemade Life by molly wizenberg. molly of the blog orangette. she has provided me with some of my absolute favorite recipes, like lemon zest [aka baby shower] cookies, chana masala and my go-to chocolate chip cookies.

i loved this book because it's full of life and detail and [of course] food. every chapter ends with a recipe that she's built up for about 15 pages so that you can't imagine not making it. in fact, i think i enjoy making her food about 30% more than other food, because hearing her describe it makes you appreciate it that much more.

oh no. now i want a cookie.

what do i see as normal?

The “normal” human life isn’t what is marketed to us by the pharmaceutical industry or by the lives we see projected on movie screens, or, frankly, by a lot of Christian sermons and praise songs. The normal human life is the life of Jesus of Nazareth, who sums up in himself everything it means to be human (Eph. 1:10). And the life of Christ presented to us in the Gospels is a life of joy, of fellowship, of celebration, but also of loneliness, of profound sadness, of lament, of grief, of anger, of suffering, all without sin. - russell moore

this quote is from a blog post asking "is it right for a Christian to take anti-depressants?" that i found almost spot-on with my opinion, except for a section where he uses the word "numbing" where i would rather he say "lessening". but, overall a good and informative read.

also, this:

If your doctors are trying to get you to this kind of emotional holism, good. But if what you’re expecting is a kind of all-the-time emotional tranquility, you just might be passing up something that is part of the human condition itself.

gospel-centered counseling

i just finished and loved this book. the authors outline an approach to counseling that they're calling "gospel-centered" counseling, which appeals to me on a lot of levels.* they argue that rightly (and experientially) seeing our Savior is the basis for healing. from that we behold His love for us, and then use that as the cornerstone for our obedience to Him.

basically, their methodology is this one: first your counselee needs grace (including the means of receiving this grace in their lives) and second they need practical steps to root out those things that are luring them away from the Lord. (how often i get this wrong in my own life!)

this book offered a lot of the back-bones of an approach to counseling that is grounded in Scripture, without forcing the reader to identify with one camp or the other. (if you're in counseling you probably know about this whole debate... but it's not central to understanding the book.)

i like that it's written to address both professionals and laypeople, practically guiding you through ways to counsel yourself with the gospel. there's also a handy-dandy guide in the back to which Scripture the authors apply to different presenting problems.

this book is practical without being preachy and sticks to basic truths without being trite. i'm recommending it wholeheartedly.

*(so, they do have an appendix called "why biblical counseling" that puts them pretty squarely in that camp, but i don't think it's a bad thing.)

existential angst

i just love this song. you know. for those days.

those writers.

“Most of the writers I know are weird hybrids. There’s a strong streak of egomania coupled with extreme shyness. Writing’s kind of like exhibitionism in private. And there’s also a strange loneliness, and a desire to have some kind of conversation with people, but not a real great ability to do it in person.”

- david foster wallace

if you absolutely have to be awake in the morning...

you might as well be actually awake, as opposed to the eyes-half-closed mildly angry stupor that normally occurs when my alarm goes off.

making pour-over coffee has totally revolutionized my morning routine. i just love it.

my wonderful (former... tear) roommate lisa used to make it for me all the time, but now i've finally gotten my own ceramic "euro coffee dripper" from world market. (mine's white, but they have this super cute aqua version for $6.99)



i love that you brew it right into your coffee mug / travel thermos / mouth. (i haven't tried that third one, but i don't really see any potential problems.)

plus it combines so many things that are important to me: coffee, laziness (just throw away the filter, rinse it out and cleaning is DONE), and the ability to make a single serving of something with no leftovers.

oh pour over coffee. you totally get me.