A Few Beautiful Moments edition of Weekend Favorites
What I've been up to lately plus work from other creators and cultivators who are helping us worship God, love people, and enjoy beauty - all arranged in lists of threes.
Dear friends,
Thanks to so many of you who’ve subscribed to a Daybook Meditations membership or purchased an Advent Daybook download this week. It’s been so much fun seeing each name pop up in my inbox. I’m praying for all of us to be able to enter Advent with open hearts for the true God to meet us in our true lives. (Choose one of the options in this post to join us!)
This week my true life has looked like a few beautiful moments of connecting with family, friends, and neighbors surrounded by so many, many moments sitting at my laptop working on The Spacious Path. The manuscript is due to the publisher on December 1. For those keeping track that’s less than a month away! I’ve never written a book before, so I’m not sure if I’m doing this right which has led to some existential angst this week. Thankfully, some timely encouragement from friends has shored me up, and I just keep working away at it.
Without further ado, here are three highlights from my week to help me worship God, love people, and enjoy beauty.
1. Welcome to the Church, dear Sarah!
On Sunday I had the honor of sponsoring this beautiful young woman for her baptism service. This means I got to say her beautiful name to begin her service and stand next to her as she made her baptismal vows and our congregation prayed over her. What a profound privilege to be in a church family together.
2. Joining NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness)
I snapped this photo during our class Tuesday night. It’s not a great photo, but this isn’t the sort of place one snaps selfies. I just wanted some kind of visual reminder of the grace we’re receiving each week in a room full of strangers.
At some point, I’d like to share more about the NAMI class Brian and I attended this fall. We learned so much, but that’s not the part I want to share, necessarily. The part I’m most amazed by is the grace that activates when we invite others into our suffering. I’m stunned by this grace right now. In the meantime, if someone close to you is suffering from mental illness, find a NAMI support group near you and go. You are not alone, and neither is your loved one.
3. Still visiting the beach in November
All the forests and farmhouses in Connecticut take center stage in the fall, but I can’t stop checking in on the beach especially when the moon is so lovely. After a week hunched over my laptop, I needed this evening stroll more than I realized. The drop-in at a friend’s house on the way home for a sip of whiskey and a quick catch-up did my heart even more good.
Peace of Christ to you, friends —body and soul,
Tamara
p.s. How has your week been? Where have you noticed moments of worship, love, and beauty? Leave a comment or send me an email. I love to hear from you!
What I’ve Been Up to Lately
1. ADVENT DAYBOOK 2022 .pdf is here!
ADVENT BEGINS ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27!
The Advent Daybook 2022 includes 29 meditations centered around Scripture, art, music, prayer, and practices to prepare our hearts, minds, and bodies for Christ’s arrival.
Plus, you’ll receive bonus content to celebrate all 12 days of Christmas!
2. Book Updates!
ORDINARY SAINTS: LIVING EVERYDAY LIFE TO THE GLORY OF GOD
I had the privilege of joining over forty other writers to help celebrate Square Halo’s twenty-fifth anniversary. The delightful and thought-provoking book includes essays on such topics as knitting, home repair, juggling, traffic, pipes, chronic pain, pretzels, and naps. (Guess who contributed the essay about naps?!?)
Coming February 2023 - preorder coupon code here
The Spacious Path: Practicing the Restful Way of Jesus in a Fragmented World is now available for pre-order!
While it won’t be released until June 2023, pre-ordering helps my publisher and online booksellers know that people are excited to read this book so please feel free to let them know by ordering your own copy.
You can pre-order the book from the following online booksellers:
Thank you!
3. Upcoming Speaking (this week!)
How to Embed Spiritual-Direction Practices In Your Church Masterclass with Vibrant Faith
I’m grateful for the work Vibrant Faith does to encourage the big-C Church through training, coaching, and leadership development and delighted to be one of the instructors in their MasterClass series this fall.
Class description: “So much of our ministry life is formed in a “doing” model—gathering for worship and fellowship, giving service and resources, counseling, equipping, and teaching fill our calendars and our time together. In these normal activities of church life, we most often follow a pre-determined curriculum for continued life and growth in Jesus. Spiritual direction is a practice that flips the perspective from doing to being, from spoken communication to active listening, and from creating agendas to creating space for silence and honest questions. At its core, spiritual direction is growing in our capacity to be with God and to bear witness to God’s movement in our lives. The gifts that come from spiritual direction might be the simplest and most needed for parishioners of every age and season of life, particularly as we emerge from the collective suffering of global pandemic and upheaval. In this class, I’ll offer practical and pastoral guidance needed to not only embed spiritual direction in our church ministries but to also experience, firsthand, simple but meaningful practices of silence and listening to Jesus, each other, and our own hearts.”
Thursdays, November 10 & 17, 2022
12:00 - 1:30 PM EST
Recent posts on Instagram
Currently Reading
This post includes affiliate links in this post because I'm trying to be a good steward, and when you buy something through one of these links you don't pay more money, but in some magical twist of capitalism we get a little pocket change. Thanks!
Weekend Favorites
A weekly celebration of creators & cultivators helping us worship God, love people, and enjoy beauty!
I curate this weekly reflection around 3 desires that frame my daily life: worship God, love people, and enjoy beauty. I am deeply indebted to the creators and cultivators who - through their work and witness - enlarge my imagination for worship, love, and beauty.
1. Audiobook giveaway for A Curious Faith by @lorewilbert
I’m inhaling this book. Highly recommend.
2. Listening and providing hope to Afghan children detained, separated Afghan children @supportkind
FYI: KIND = Kids In Need of Defense
(Lord, have mercy)
3. BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER - The Courage to Dream from @fredtjoseph & @nikkolas_smith
Get your copies today!
Your Turn
One of my hopes for this weekly post is that you’ll feel invited to spend a few minutes reflecting with me about the previous week and how you’ve been drawn to three spiritual practices:
Worship God
Love People
Enjoy Beauty
So how has your week been? Where have you noticed moments of worship, love, and beauty? I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment or send me an email. I love to hear from you!
You could also join the celebration on Instagram! Each Saturday on Instagram, I share three favorite creators/cultivators helping me worship God, love people, and enjoy beauty in the previous week.
If you’d like to share your own list, screenshot or save this image to your photos and fill in the blanks with your own selections, tag me @tamarahillmurphy, and then share it on your IG Stories!
Screenshot this image and post in your IG stories (don’t forget to tag me @tamarahillmurphy