The Paradox Paper #28

Hi! Hello! Happy to be here! I almost didn’t come because I forgot.

I’ve been trapped in a whirlwind of routine-less urgency. Life has been unpredictable except in the fact that I can count on not knowing how the day will turn out.

My uncle has been doing renovations on our house for four weeks, with at least another two left before the projects are finished. He and his subcontractor are also staying with us since they’re from out of state. A find thing, but still a THING, you know?

ICYMI, we bought a home that already had an in-law suite with its own entrance, and a formal dining room that we’d never have used. My uncle is turning that area of the home into a dream mini-apartment for my mom and dad, who will move in with us in early April if all goes well.

This is all wonderful! We are thrilled! We’ve never lived even slightly close to either set of parents since we got married and we have a great relationship with my parents, so it’s happy happy times. And it’s also a lot to think through.

For instance, if two households move in together and each of them has an annual membership to a different wholesale retailer, which membership do you keep? If only one member of the now-seven-member household watches cable TV, and everybody still wants to watch their cartoons and sports and prestige dramas, who’s credit card do you link to which streaming service? How many sets of silverware do seven people actually need? If one household owns zero bookcases and the other owns approximately twenty-six, how many will fit in the corner of the living room? If three members of the household like the Bluey album, one member likes The Gaither Vocal Band, two like neither, and one doesn’t pay any attention, can you still play the Hamilton soundtrack while you clean the kitchen?

You see what I mean.

So in the interest of keeping my sanity and maximizing the time left before school pickup, this is a rapid-fire edition of The Paradox Paper. And fun news! Substack has introduced this nifty chat feature that will allow us to more easily discuss ideas or share recs. It’s free dollars, but you have to have the Substack app. Here’s how that works:

1. Download the app by clicking this link or the button below.

2. Open the app and tap the Chat icon. It looks like two bubbles in the bottom bar, and you’ll see a row for my chat inside.

3. Done! You’re amazing, you technology whiz you.

Welcome to The Paradox Paper, a monthly newsletter that honors paradox in the every day. If a friend forwarded you this email, click here to subscribe:

Rapid fire edition:

• We’re still watching Dirty Jobs, but we’ve also jumped back in with Season 3 of The Chosen and DANG. This whole Peter/Eden/the paradox of stress and joy in ministry story line is CLOSE TO HOME. If you’re watching it too I am dying to know what you think.

• I have been glued to Robert Gailbraith’s Cormoran Strike series for a solid month. Think Sherlock Holmes, but with more depth of humanity to the main characters and a little side of unresolved romantic sumpn’ sumpn’. Fun bonus, it’s JK Rowling writing under a pen name. So. YEAH. Really fun.

• In ten days we are returning to Guatemala with a gaggle of teenagers and several other adults. Where we’ll be the roads are either cobblestone or unpaved and the terrain is hilly with a volcano every time you turn around. I didn’t want to get anything overly specialized because I am firmly committed to the indoors, but the shoes I had on the last trip did not do me right. So I got these Merrels. They are super comfy, the soles are grippy, and I get complimented every time I wear them.

• Lastly, in place of an essay and prayer, I’ll invite you to watch this video that I recorded in my car while waiting for my oldest to come out of speech therapy. I opted to record instead of just telling Trevor later because I wanted to remember Truitt’s exact words. Uninterrupted time each morning for focused prayer and Scripture reading is wonderful and I long for it, but if like me you’re in a season where that’s not happening, remember that our God is kind. He is glad to encourage and refresh you in whatever way will reach you best in this moment.

Okay that’s it for me! If you watch/try anything let me know what you think. Love you a bunch. See you next month!

- Steph

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