Slow Down

 "Slow down.

Take it in stride . . .

Keeping me loose

in a world wound tight."

--Slow Down // Joel Ansett

The last couple of weeks, I've been thinking about pace. It was first brought to my attention when I was reading John 2. In the beginning of the chapter, Jesus turns water into wine. Verse six says, "Now standing there were six stone water jars . . . each holding twenty or thirty gallons." (NRSVCE) That's anywhere from 120 to 180 gallons of water made into wine! Can you imagine being a servant and you and your companions getting over a hundred gallons of water from a well or nearby stream? Talk about working your muscles!

But then the chapter moves on to the cleansing of the temple. Verse 15 says, "Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple . . ." (NRSVCE) Did you catch that? Making a whip. I think most of us read that scene and are struck by what happens after, as if Jesus got angry and lost it. But he took the time to make a whip.

The bottom line? Jesus just wasn't in a hurry. And we shouldn't be either.

What I've been reading . . .

The Poetic Edda: Stories of the Norse Gods and Heroes, translated & edited by Jackson Crawford

Nonfiction

The Coincidence of Coconut Cake by Amy E. Reichert

Romance

"On most days, delight kept itself hidden from her, so she would go places where it frolicked--like right here, right now."

The Last Legacy by Adrienne Young

YA Fantasy

"I'd spent my life pretending to be a soft thing with petals."

The first time I read Legacy, I knew I'd be reading it again. I really wanted to slow down the second time so I could better appreciate the story. Ironic, right? 😉

The Endless Skies by Shannon Price

YA Fantasy

"But in my opinion, it is high time we start seeing things as they are and not as we always believed they were."

This story kind of caught me by surprise. I'd never read anything by Shannon before and wasn't sure about the whole warriors-who-shapeshift-into-flying-lions thing. The characters live on an island that floats in the sky called the Heliana, which has Themyscira vibes. They have a motto, "loyalty above all," and I love how it plays out in the story, both in their mission and in the love triangle. A definite recommend.

What I've been listening to . . .

Adrienne Young has a playlist on Spotify for Saint (releasing this fall). After listening to it, I took songs I liked from it and her Fable playlists, as well as a couple of Dermot Kennedy songs I love, and came up with a playlist of my own. You can find it on my Spotify account. I couldn't decide what to call it, so I just typed in an ellipse (. . .) for the title. I'm open to suggestions! 🤣

What I've been enjoying . . .

*Bigelow Benefits Ginger & Peach Herbal Tea

*KIND Breakfast Bars (peanut butter)

Blessings,

--J 💙