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Archbishop Justin Welby: Suspicious of Joy

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KATE BOWLER Author. Professor. Incurable Optimist.

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Aug 19

Reasons help us find meaning in our lives. And they can be so powerful. But when someone is in pain, they probably don't need to hear a reason. It took me years to stop bracing myself against other people's reasons. So let's all put down our weapons and let the sufferer put down their armor. But definitely bring the casserole. I still want food, dangit.

Aug 18

A blessing for learning to be delighted

Aug 17

I count my days by your days. Your steps as mine. It was my Impossible Thought… that I wouldn’t get to be here to see you. See you zip up your Mandalorian lunch box. See you saddle up with a backpack the size of a cargo plane. See you disappear behind the school doors with very, very wide eyes.  God, bless the weight of all this love. Thank you for letting me carry it.

Aug 15

I really appreciate when people say something like “I’m glad to hear how you’re doing and just know I’m on your team.” Bonus points if they have a really good name for the team.

Aug 14

A blessing for the start of a new school year
(Is anyone really ready?!)The year is tilting toward the start of school again,
but truth be told, we’re not ready.We’re still hanging on to summer, to the promise it held
for long-awaited connections and celebrations,
for refreshment for our bodies and souls
in water and sky and color and sunlight,and all those little moments given to us
where we could linger just a little longer.Now that it’s almost over, we don’t want to let it go.
The beauty. The freedom. All that was life-giving.God, could you help us stretch it, extend it,
and maybe even blend it
into this coming school year?Parents, students, teachers, all,
May your newly-structured days breathe with creativity,
your new duties be infused with delight.As you write on those fresh new calendars
May you trust that your plans are a lot like magic ink.
Much may seem to disappear into obscurity,
but whatever is done in love will remain.

Aug 12

Bath salts won't fix this.

Aug 11

A blessing for when you mourn for what could have been (From the Good Enough Audiobook) read by @jesstrichie

Aug 10

Blessed are those who are amazed by a life lived. In its fragility, in its brevity, in its beauty.
Bless you, lovies 💛🎨: @dianaweymar for @tinypricksproject

Aug 9

Happy National Book Lovers Day! What are some of your favorite books you've read recently? #nationalbookloversday

Aug 8

1. When you call your friend on the tour bus and you realize the bus is about to leave without her.
2. You try standing in front of the bus for a bit and telling the driver that your friend is VERY close and it would be VERY fun for the bus driver to meet her. "You will love her. Oh, yes, she also likes cats. Do you like cats?"
3. The bus is about to leave but WAIT THERE SHE IS SO YOU RUN INTO TRAFFIC TO HUG HER
4. Oh great. Washington DC at night with a bestie. Also, may I say, touring Washington when your friend is a reporter for the New York Times is very humbling. "No, Kate, that is not Lincoln. Kate that other guy is also not Lincoln."

Aug 7

Blessing for when it's not fairThe last time anyone let me say it
– tears in my eyes, straight from the heart –
I was a child.Didn’t anyone tell you?
Life isn’t fair.So I swallow it up.But God, without hearing you say it –
“My love, this isn’t fair” –
I am heartsick.I ate this sadness and it became embarrassment;
I ate this disappointment and it became bitterness.God, let me hear you again,
“My love, this isn’t fair.”You will give me strength to take another step
and courage to face my circumstances
but, before the doing and trying
and getting-back-up,
you simply look at me and say:
“I love you. I’m sorry.
Let me bless this heartsick day.”

Aug 5

Let's hang out! Go to the link in bio to register in person in Durham or via livestream.

Aug 4

With God all things are possibe. Except spelling. God cannot help us spell.

Aug 3

Here's to fewer heavy paws and more golden retrievers. 🦮💛

Aug 2

When you've already gone through the worst, it's hard to sign up for more fear of any kind. Because all fear starts to feel the same. Everything is AHHHHHHHHHH NO THANK YOU.In my book No Cure For Being Human, I decided to give zip-lining a try to see if I could get used to feeling fear without worrying that the worst was always around the corner. I wanted to feel really alive again.CUE THESE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE. Some lovely strangers from First Baptist McMinnville in Oregon @fbcmac decided to read the book together and they thought, hey, I'd love to try that. So they re-created two moments. One feasting on tacos (p.71) and one when I go ziplinining with my best friend (p.87) and this is what they said: "we set out to take some 'mitigated risks' and feel really alive today."There are no guarantees in life. Except that when we try to keep our fears in the right place, we can end up with a LOT of joy. And by joy I mean zip-lining. LOVE YOU NEW FRIENDS!Have you pushed yourself lately? Did you keep fear in the right spot (not too big, not too small)?

Aug 1

You, lovie dove, are enough. Just sitting there beside the pain. Not fixing it. We are so glad you're here. 💛

Jul 31

A blessing for if you happen to be having an ordinary dayLord, here I am.How strange it is, that some days feel like hurricanes
and others like glassy seas
and others like nothing much at all.Today is a cosmic shrug.My day planner says,
rather conveniently,
that I will not need you,
cry for you, reach for you.Ordinarily, I might not think of you at all.Except, if you don’t mind,
let me notice you.Show up in the small necessities and everyday graces.God, be bread.
Be water.
Be laundry.Be the coffee cup in my hands
and the reason to calm down in traffic.Be the gentler tone in my insistence today
that people pick up after themselves for once.Be the reason I feel loved
when I catch my own reflection
or feel my own self-loathing
fluttering in my stomach.Calm my mind,
lift my spirit,
make this dumb, ordinary day
my prayer of thanks.“Earth is so thick with divine possibility
that it is a wonder we can walk anywhere
without cracking our shins on altars.”
—Barbara Brown Taylor

Jul 29

I’d like to look more…conspiratorial. Is that a look? How can we make that happen?

Jul 28

If you can't guarantee it's going to get better, don't worry. You are still a wonderful friend. I SWEAR TO YOU. That is my actual guarantee.

Jul 27

When my heart says LOVE, my arm says HEADLOCK.   There is truly nothing better than working with your best friend. And also when her name is Katherine and you both equally respond to “Katherine” and “Mom” and “lady who loves headlocks.”   Do you have someone in your work life you love to talk and argue with? Here’s to the friend whose origin story is “I met them at work.” 🥂 Tag them and we say to you both, BRAVO.

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