Five Quick Things 003
December 7, 2022
We’re lighting two Advent candles on our wreath this week which means Advent is almost halfway over. In last week’s [free] newsletter, I shared how I’m trying to lean into the waiting and really embrace the slowness that Advent has to offer. Since I last wrote, I’ve finished my Christmas shopping, completed my December meal plan (with a lot of easy soup recipes), and said no to at least three invitations to add something to my calendar.
How’s it going where you are? Is life too hectic? Are you finding time to slow down and lean into the wait?
This week’s Five Quick Things includes five things I think will help simplify your life this week. Shall we get started?
One
As the demands on our time and attention multiply, we move faster and faster to keep up with them, crowding our calendars, shuttling from place to place and deadline to deadline, strapping phones to our belts, carrying chores everywhere in satchels and laptops, working through lunch and supper and weekends and holidays, getting and spending twenty-four hours a day. Many of us take pills to lull us to sleep, pills to wake us up, and pills to soothe our nerves. Many of us hire strangers to raise our children, to buy presents for our loved ones, to clean our houses and cook our food. Instead of slowing down when the pace becomes frantic, we enlarge our highways and pipelines and cables, we buy gadgets and software guaranteed to help us do everything more quickly, we push down on our accelerators. Instead of deciding there’s something wrong with this pot as the water roils about us, we flail our arms and thrash our legs to keep from drowning.
I have decided to climb out of the pot, which is why I’ve come to this empty hut on a Sunday morning. ~From Stillness, by Scott Russell Sanders
I felt my entire being slow down as I read this essay. And now I want my very own hut in the woods to retreat to.
Two
Make a double batch of this Pumpkin Bolognese for dinner one night and feast on it the rest of the week. Don’t have a pumpkin? Use a winter squash; I used buttercup squash. You can use canned pumpkin if you want to make it just a little bit easier, but if you have a squash on hand, go ahead and roast it. You won’t be disappointed.
Three
We’re using Shadow & Light by Tsh Oxenreider for family devotions whenever we happen to be together for at least one meal during the day. I adore this playlist that compiles all the suggested hymns from the book.
Four
I am all about making one big batch of something and gifting it to every single person on my list. You really can’t go wrong with this Sugar Scrub. Or if you want an edible gift, this Gingerbread Biscotti is the very best biscotti I’ve ever had. It’s a little more labor intensive than the sugar scrub, but is absolutely worth it.
Five
Take time this week to snuggle on the couch with your favorites while you read this picture book. If you feel up for the challenge, make this cute little ornament to remember your picture book journey.
Next week is Insider News week—get ready for another family recipe!—so there won’t be another Five Quick Things until December. Want a specific recommendation? Send me a quick message and I’ll do my best to include it!
Until next month,
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