Joy Unspeakable: Contemplative Practices of the Black Church (2nd edition) | 
It‘s been HARD to find the joy lately. I keep a running list for #5JoysFriday and the last date on the list is 1/17. That tracks. But I know I need to lean into the practice of noticing and seeking joy. I read the tagged book over the past couple of weeks—an exploration of contemplative practices in the Black church. Holmes talks about “crisis contemplation” and boy, does that resonate. So here are my five joys this week: ⤵️
We're all nerds here, right? 😂 Since I have plenty of reading time for June and July and am starting my Master of Divinity in the fall, I decided to make myself a little syllabus of theological and justice books that I own, haven't read yet or want to reread, and think will support my future seminary studies. I'm still deciding which books will fill up the rest of these two lists. 😊 #preseminarysyllabus #summerreading
I'm so excited to be exploring a call to some sort of something in the church (maybe deacon) through a seminary January term course, but wow is this a lot of work! 😂 I just tried Earl Grey for the first time this week, and it's fantastic. 💕 If any of y'all are interested in [communal] contemplative practices in the black church, from the birth of the African church to Black Lives Matter and Kendrick Lamar, this book is AMAZING so far!!
2. Several deep, rich conversations with spiritual direction folks
3. This post from Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg about spiritual practice in these times: https://www.lifeisasacredtext.com/fortify/
4. Literary Valentine memes!
5. Balancing out some heavier reads by sinking into The Secret Adversary for #ChristiesCapers and Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear (edited) 2w