Worthy of Our Time

Susan Edition

Hello! Time feels extra precious at this time of year. Even nature reminds us—it’s like the days get shorter at the same time our calendars get more full, a conspiracy to remind us this life is a gift we better not be squandering, because the party won’t last.

My little sis and I at the family New Year’s Eve celebration, right on the cusp of 1971. I wish I still had that pants-and-crochet-vest ensemble. That’s some worthy stuff, right there.

Anyway, because these weeks are hectic, I won’t take up too much of your time—just wanted a share a few things I’ve been doing and thinking about as the sunlight slants a bit more each day, sliding us toward another year’s starlit finish…

Reading —

Just closing the cover on a couple of books I’ve enjoyed and I think you might too!

First:
Out of Sorts: Making Peace with an Evolving Faith, by Sarah Bessey

Anyone who gets to the end of their life with the exact same beliefs and opinions as they had at the beginning is doing it wrong.

There’s a chapter in this book—The People of God: On Church—that I’d love to read to you all in its entirety on a podcast episode someday. Just that chapter is worth buying this book for. In fact, it’s going in my faith first aid kit right next to Eugene England’s Why the Church is as True as the Gospel.

I’ve underlined practically the whole chapter, including this paragraph:

“Some days, I don’t sign up for the whole big institutional abstract or ideal thing of Church: that feels overwhelming. But I do entwine my life with our local church, our community: this is something I can do. I go small, I choose reality, I choose the daily mess of an actual place and actual people over the abstracts.”
—Sarah Bessey

Maybe you should do a preemptive reading for yourself so you don’t have to endure hearing it from me! Better still, maybe we can get Sarah on the podcast to read it for all of us.

Next:
The Anthropocene Reviewed, by John Green

“Almost everything turns out to be interesting if you pay the right kind of attention to it.”

I like John Green a lot, so I was predisposed to enjoy this book, and I did! I was sorry to see it end. It’s a splendid collection of small essays about a completely random variety of things, perfect for when you want to read something before you fall asleep at night but don’t have time for a whole chapter of something thinky. Why not read a 2 or 3 page review of Super Mario Kart, air-conditioning, diet Dr. Pepper, or staphylococcus aureus? That’s this book, and I wish I’d thought of writing it myself. I give it 4 stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I’d have given it 4.5, but I don’t have a half-star emoji. Sorry, John! (I give my emoji keyboard 2 stars.)

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Quoting —

Speaking of writers, I really dig Eudora Welty; my Southern Women Writers class in college was on my very short list of faves. I was hooked for life on Welty, Porter, and O’Connor. Anyway, lately I’ve been really resonating with these words:

“A sheltered life can be a daring life as well. For all serious daring starts from within."
— Eudora Welty

As an introvert who grew up as used to the label “'fraidy cat” as my own name, I’ve come to think of myself as a pretty daring person just for getting out of bed every day for 60 years. I’m all about giving myself more credit in the remaining decades of my life than I have before. As ho-hum as it may look from the outside, inside my life has felt like one of pretty serious daring! And my plans for the rest of it can be summed up in two words: Dare more.

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Christmasing —

My daughter Chelsea made me this nativity for Christmas when she was about 9. All these years later, I love it even more: the angel waving those frantic nail arms to get our attention makes me smile all over. But I particularly love that Joseph holds the baby. As Chels explained at the time, “Mary’s tired.”

That’s right, darling girl.

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Watching —

Yeah, I’m busy, but let’s not get carried away—I’m still managing to get my pbs-detectives-with-accents fix in the evenings! I’m mourning a little this week as I’ve just wrapped Season 2 of this:

Annika stars the incredibly talented Nicola Walker at her best as a quirky detective speeding around in boats solving murder mysteries while leading a very complicated mother-life and delivering artful asides to the audience about great works of literature. What’s not to love about that? Well, I don’t love that we’ve ended on a bit of a cliff-hanger and now we likely have a 2 year wait to know what happens next…

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Wish-baking —

I call it that because I’m not baking anything, yet…but I wish I were eating this already. I’m a lover of gingerbread, and this version is just SO good!

Starbucks-y Gingerbread Loaf

1 1/2 c flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves (I like a smidge less)
2 1/4 tsp ginger
1 tsp salt

Combine dry ingredients and set aside.

1/2 c softened butter
1 c white sugar
1 tsp orange extract (optional—I love it)
1 c applesauce
1 tsp baking soda

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Stir in orange. Mix baking soda into applesauce and stir into creamed butter mixture. Add flour mixture, mixing until smooth. Pour batter into greased/floured 9” loaf pan. Bake at 350° for 40 to 50 mins or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 mins; remove from pan and cool completely.

Frosting:
8 oz softened cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp orange extract (a little grated orange peel is good too!)
2 1/2 c powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in extracts. Slowly beat in powdered sugar. Spread frosting over cooled cake.

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Whew, that’s it! Hope I’ve sparked an idea for something to read, watch, eat, or think about this month. Wishing you all the very best of the season! When you have a chance, please tell us something you’re finding worthy of your time these days … we’d love to know!

—Susan