Hello friends! Well, we made it through Spring Break and Easter season and what do you know - it’s time for another Round Up! Read on for all of the little doodads that are bringing us joy and comfort this month.
Okay, now to the good stuff - read on for your weekly Sabbath Practice and links to what’s we’re loving this month!
✽Nex Playground this little device is the only way I got any writing done, this cold and drizzly spring break! It’s technically a video game console but here’s what I love about it: all of the games require kids to move their body. Whether it’s karate chopping fruit, dance battling or silly mini games like “helicopter hips” where they need to shimmy-shake in order to race helicopters across the finish line, this thing gets all of their energy out on inclement days where they can’t roam feral as they typically do. I got mine 50% off right before Christmas, but even if I had paid full price I would be shouting WORTH IT. We got the basic package and my kids still aren’t sick of the games.
✽Instant Pot Bahn Mi Bowls You know that satisfied, almost smug feeling you get when you eat something that is so insanely delicious but also so obviously healthy that you feel like a superior human? Just me? My friend made this for us the other night and it really hit the spot. Plus, it’s so easily deconstructed that my kids gobbled it up too (they’re kids, so they ate the vermicelli with parmesan cheese, which felt sacrilege but whatever). Pro tip: add some extra water to make a delicious broth, sub vermicelli for the rice and add pickled onions. 🤌🤌🤌
✽Weighted Heating Pad as an endometriosis girly, my janky Walgreens heating pad has been my best friend for a long time. But I recently upgraded to this giant weighted one and OH MAMA. I am never going back. The weight is not only incredibly soothing and creates better heat retention, but it makes it easier to drape the heating pad on other locations (looking at you, tech-neck and lower back pain sufferers). I hate to give Jeffy Bezos the business, but Amazon was the only place I could find this large size.
I’ve been listening to the classic Winnie the Pooh stories with Finn this week and have been charmed by A.A. Milne’s quaint way of describing the world of The Hundred Acre Wood. One quote I’ve enjoyed very much is when, after Pooh finds himself quite trapped in Rabbit’s front door with no promise of being able to squeeze out for a week or more and with only the prospect of friends stopping by to read to him, he asks Christopher Robin:
“...would you read a Sustaining Book, such as would help and comfort a Wedged Bear in Great Tightness?”
So here are some sustaining recommendations, such as would help and comfort my fellow Wedged Bears in Great Emotional Tightness.
✽Female Poets Society- For feeling alive. A delicious and empowering collection of clips and recordings of poetry read aloud. Please treat yourself to following this account. Here’s Helena Bonham Carter reading “Warning” by Jenny Joseph , a saucy poem about aging. And just this week, I was floored by these clips of Maya Angelou, Nina Simone, and Toni Morrison describing what freedom meant to them.
✽The Day by Day DeckFor visio divina at your fingertips. This was recommended to us by one of our subscribers! It looks beautiful, and is a collaboration between two textile artists.
✽The Wanderer- For something “wonderfully strange and strangely wonderful.” This black and white, richly detailed dreamscape of a picture book was tickling the back of my mind all week as I was working on my Visio Divina image for this post. Open this picture book with no words, follow a paper sailboat through your own inner world and see where it takes you. Another great option for Visio Divina.
✽The Good Newspaper-For when you’re overwhelmed by the news and you want to “look for the helpers”. I made the decision to subscribe to a real-live print publication last month, because I could tell that my information hygiene was fishtailing between anxious overconsumption and ostrich-head-in-the-sand. Neither state of affairs is terribly effective at being a kind human, making any sort of tangible impact in the world. The Good Newspaper shares good news centered on different monthly topics and connects you with resources and tangible steps to make a difference. This isn’t tone-deaf, thoughts-and-prayers fluff. It’s a monthly touchstone to celebrate the good that is still happening in the world and a great resource for finding out how you can help, too.
I’ve got a few more resources I’m excited to share with y’all, but they all tie in so nicely with next week’s post that I’m going to wait to share them with you then!
This week’s Practice: Visio Divina
Rachel here. Welcome to one of my all-time favorite practices, that of sacred seeing. It’s like lectio divina, but instead of focusing on a passage, you’re focusing on an image. In my free sketching time, the image at the top of this email bubbled up. Use this image or another of your choosing for your practice.
Visio Divina How-To
Gaze in Silence – Sit with the image for several minutes. Let your eyes linger without rushing.
Observe – Notice what’s literally taking place. Pay attention to colors, shapes, and details.
Reflect – What stories, feelings, memories, or associations arise as you look?
Respond – Write, draw, move, pray—whatever feels authentic in response to the image.
Rest – Return to the image once more. Sit in silence, simply being present.
Enjoyed Visio Divina? The New York Times provides a monthly practice similar to this. They call it The Ten Minute Challenge.
Did you like the image I made this month? Great news! Paid subscribers get a free printable download of the mini print as well as a phone background. If you’re a free subscriber, a full-size version of the image will soon be available in our shop.
Click Through to Get Your Goodies
This week paid subscribers get: 💬 Some more personal recommendations from us ✍️🎨A Coloring Sheet from Today’s Practice 🖼️⬇️✨Mini Art Print Downloads from Today’s Practice (2 versions) 📱🎨A Phone Background from Today’s Practice
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