hang up & hang out!
you're just in time! make your tea & your toast, frame all your posters & dye your clothes! (matilda - harry styles)
hey there & happy tuesday morning! i hope you had a precious valentine’s week full of love & memories. thank you for being here! if you enjoy my content, please make sure that you are subscribed to get weekly updates straight to your inbox:
the week recap! week of: 2/13/24 - 2/19/24
⛅️ something to celebrate: valentines day & the season of lent! my favorite verse for the month of love has become 1 Corinthians 6:13-14, “be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. let all that you do be done in love.” these verses basically tell us to keep our eyes open! give life all we’ve got! & love without ceasing! one of the best ways we can spread love to others, romantically & platonically, is through these two, simple steps: (1) know that God is love & overflow with His goodness, (2) put the phone down & get plugged into meaningful conversations instead. my favorite part is where it states, “be watchful, stand firm in the faith.” how are we supposed to obey this command if we can’t put down our phones & see what God is showing us? or make time to read the Word & pray? being watchful, staying filled with the Holy Spirit, connecting with others, & genuinely enjoying time with one another is how we can also spread love/celebrate the month of love. hang up & hang out!
in honor of valentine’s day, Elyse, Rebekah, & I got together to celebrate by dressing up cute, going out to dinner, & each bringing something sweet to Elyse’s house for dessert/drinks! it was a very sweet & love-filled galentine’s date. it was actually here that Rebekah introduced me to the phrase, “hang up & hang out!” (thank you Rebekah!) intentionally loving on the people close to me with my phone put away always brings me so much joy & makes me even more grateful for my blessings! (I am really considering getting a flip phone…)
how sweet is it that the start of lent fell on valentine’s day this year?! it really reminded me that God is love & what He did for me on the cross is the ultimate act of love! this year during lent I want to focus on reading my Bible more than once a day, swap mindlessly scrolling on my phone for reading more, & be more mindful to consume less gluten. some smaller things I want to remember to do during this time include more prayer, casual posting on social media, & intentional friend time.
please feel free to share what you are doing for lent with me in the comments!
⛅️ something out of my comfort zone: going to the pediatric heart clinic charity gala! kids at heart! this weekend, Elyse & I attended this charity gala with her mom because she works as a nurse practitioner at the hospital that hosted this event. even though we were the youngest ones there & just went to have an excuse to dress up, we actually had such a fun time together! we met so many new people, got down on the dance floor, ate some good food, & bonded even more than we both thought was possible. speaking for the both of us, we also gained a better understanding of the value of not caring what other people think. Proverbs 29:25 states, “the fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.” here, we are reminded that the fear of human opinion will only hold us back, but trusting in the Lord will remove us from that burden. it is dangerous to be concerned with what others think of you! trust in the Lord, remember that you are His perfect handiwork, & go live in His freedom.
dancing on the dance floor without a care in the world is way more fun than just awkwardly standing in the corner!
⛅️ something I’ve learned: what a joy it is to have the ability to love! love so radically that people wonder why. if you haven’t been able to tell, the main theme for this week’s blog post has been love. seeing as it was just the week of valentine’s day & the start of lent, it felt like a perfect time to talk about the idea of love! coming from someone who is not in a relationship, i know wholeheartedly that this holiday can be a sore subject for some. but, instead of looking at this time of year as a time for romantic love only, let’s look at it as a time to celebrate spiritual & platonic love too. 1 Corinthians 13:7 & 13:13 (the chapter of love!) states, “love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things…so now faith, hope, & love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” these specific verses are significant because they detail how we are to practice love & to keep love as the most important thing in our lives because it is an attribute of God.
we are to be loving to everyone because God is loving! love never gives up, it always looks for the best, & it never looks back. always love extravagantly!
⛅️ something I’m reading: Billy Summers by Stephen King! I am currently on page 177 out of 518 (34%). this is my first experience with a King novel & so far, I am really enjoying it; it’s more of a muted horror to get me started into his writing style. the central plot line follows a hitman for hire with a heart of gold. the anticipated twist has just happened & I am excited to see where it goes from here! hopefully it doesn’t become a slow read seeing as it’s over 500 pages. Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote, from last week’s post, ended up being a 3.5 out of 5 stars. make sure to check out my goodreads (linked on the blog’s homepage)!
in his hit song “Matilda,” Harry Styles sings, “you’re just in time, make your tea & your toast. you framed all your posters & dyed your clothes!” this life is so much fun! do all of the little things that bring you joy & bring other people joy along the way. you’re just in time! it’s never too late to spread love.
this week, practice putting love first in little ways (hug a friend, write a letter, send a text, give a compliment, share a laugh)! thank you for being here & I hope to see you again soon! 🕊️
“therefore, encourage one another & build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” - 1 Thessalonians 5:11
I’m so glad your mom shared Tuesday mornings with us. You have such a big heart for people and the Lord!
Putting love first is an awesome choice during Lent and to continue each day of our lives. Focusing on the 40 days of Lent can help us develop a conscious effort to prioritize loving others.