Where's the Good Stuff this week?
Friday 9/12/25 roundup of what I've discovered on Substack
‘Good Stuff’ = blog posts I’ve read this week that inspired, educated, entertained, or moved me.
I subscribe to almost 250 newsletters on Substack!!
I’m not saying I read that many, but if your writing shows up in my inbox, it gets at least a scan from me.
And I can’t help sharing the best of what I’m reading with you, too.
For the first time, I’m recommending two articles from the same author. At first, I started looking for something else - it didn’t seem fair. Then I realized - the deal I have with the Good Stuff - and you! - is to share what had the most impact on me this week. I’m just sitting here drinking my coffee, reading these beautiful meditations, and I’m virtually handing them to you and saying, ‘look at this.’
It just so happens that two of those things came from the same person this week. So I’m handing them both to you.
Here’s this week’s roundup:
God stuff
‘What Columbine Taught Me About Grief, Prayer, and Change’, by
Outrage alone burns out; grief held in prayer and lament transforms.‘Letting Go: The Spiritual Shape of Grief’, by
. Jesus wants all of us - every part of our lives.
Church stuff
‘Stop Platforming Charisma, Start Trusting Pastors’, by
‘Pastors are my heroes’. Sometimes the best - and most important - work is just showing up, quietly, to serve God and his people.‘The Bible We Almost Had (And How the World Would Be Different)’ by
. Canonical Scripture like March Madness brackets. I love it!
Other stuff
‘A Turtle Arrives in New York’. by
. Mine was a UHaul, driven by my best friend from home. But this describes exactly how I felt arriving in NYC from North Carolina to attend seminary. And how I learned to be stronger and better by living in New York.‘I do not go gently’ by
. Not everyone is gearing up for pumpkin spice latte season.
I wrote a couple of things, too!
‘One ministry, served in several ways’. ‘Bi-vocational’ does not have to mean: ‘you’re not getting paid for your ministry.’
‘Joy is a response.’ Worship is our orientation towards God.'
And finally…
This week I watched the miracle of hundreds of baby sea turtles hatch and make their way to the sea.
They left behind these tracks - little sweeping marks in the sand, made by their flippers as they wandered, meandered, and tumbled over each other on their mission.
Every one of them made it.
And we cried when they finally got swirled into the waves.
Bye, turtles. Have a great adventure of a life.
I wonder if this is how God sees us.
Thanks for including my last post in the good stuff. And thanks for doing this for us all