small ways to add a little biblical wisdom & intentional whimsy to your week ft. Star Wars and TVs with DVD players

a bi-weekly newsletter where I share what God is teaching me and small ways you can bring more presence & playfulness into your life as a mom

Hey sweet friend,

Welcome to the Dwell & Delight devotional!

I can’t believe it’s already basically halfway through May! My oldest is finishing up kindergarten, and with trying to keep up with school events, dance recitals, and prepping for summer, I feel like I can barely keep my head on straight!

If you’re feeling the same, let’s take a moment and slow down together. Grab your favorite beverage and get cozy, and let’s chat!

My hope is that these weekly letters will feel like receiving a sweet voice message or text from a friend who is letting you know about fun things she is doing with her family, what has been helping her improve her life in small and effective ways, and what God is teaching her. And just as you would listen to a message from your friend, I’m sure you would reply to her with messages of your own struggles, lessons, encouragement, and growth. As you read these letters, my desire is that you also share with me and others what God is doing in your life, whether you implemented an idea from a letter and how it went, or any advice you may be able to give if you have walked through a similar season.

Each week, I will share at least one way you can “dwell” or sit intentionally in your faith and motherhood based on things I have done or want to do, one way you can “delight” or find magic and beauty in your faith and motherhood, and one verse and application that God has shown me that week.

With that, let’s dive in!

If you aren’t familiar with Substack Notes, it is more of the “social media feed” aspect of Substack, similar to Threads or your Facebook newsfeed. The other day, I shared a tip in Notes on how I loosely structure time with my kids when I am solo parenting, and we don’t have any plans or outings on our schedule.

While my kids (5 and 2) play with each other more now and don’t need me to be the entertainment director of this crazy family cruise, I have found that acting as an entertainment facilitator and mediator.

I know people say to let your kids be bored, but if my kids are left to their own devices too much (even with plenty of toys, activities, and outdoor play readily accessible), it ends in chaos lol.

As Proverbs 16:27 says, “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop…” I like to provide my kids with a map to help kick-start their playtime through the 3 A’s of Play.

Here is a snippet of this framework from my digital resource library, where I am consolidating resources for intentional living, whimsical parenting, and biblical motherhood (free for paid subscribers or for purchase at pay-what-you-want pricing starting at $10). If this resonates with you, check it out for more; I am always adding to it!

What I love is that it allows me to participate in their play without always having to come up with something or put something together, and gives them parameters to work within without being overwhelmed by options. I have noticed that my oldest really leans into the themes and comes up with other things to do as play time goes on, and my youngest will go off on her own to do something after a while, but with focused (not frantic) energy.

Give it a try and let me know how it goes!

This one I am so excited about!

I literally would not give a second thought to getting off Facebook if it weren’t for my amazing local Buy Nothing group.

If you aren’t familiar with the concept of a Buy Nothing group, it’s an organization that operates in many cities and establishes groups of cities (e.g., Facebook groups for specific areas, such as Buy Nothing Northwest Chicago, Buy Nothing Southeast Nashville, etc.). The point is that everyone lives in a few-mile radius of each other, and when you are done with an item you no longer want or need, you can post it on the page, and someone can come pick it up from your porch, easy peasy! Or you can check there if someone has something you want, but maybe doesn’t want to drop money on it yet.

I try to thrift as much as possible, but in my area, there is basically only one Goodwill, and the quality of items there has drastically declined while their prices have only gone up.

It is so sweet to see how things circulate in my group, and you often recognize a lot of the names.

Anyway, I posted in the group that I was looking for a playroom TV with a DVD player because 1) I want to be able to have something for when friends are over or our community group that is easier to work with than a projector, and 2) I wanted to make movie watching an EXPERIENCE like when I was a kid.

I grew up in the Blockbuster days, when my sisters and I would browse for ages for the perfect sleepover rental, make forts, and eat way too many snacks. I want that to be the same for my kids.

So a sweet neighbor saw my post and gifted us this TV, and while we haven’t used it yet, I think it will be the perfect addition to our summer. With my oldest going to be home more often (I’m so excited!), I plan on taking my kids to the library a lot to pick out movies or go thrift some DVDs and make it a while thing.

What I’m learning is that if you have everything accessible at your fingertips, it loses some of its magic. I want to bring that magic back to movie time for my kids.

(Granted, I guess things are not actually as accessible because every movie and show is now stuck behind ridiculous streaming service paywalls or littered with long commercials, but I digress lol).

I was reading Isaiah 30 the other day, and this stuck out to me in verses 20-22:

“And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. Then you will defile your carved idols overlaid with silver and your gold-plated metal images. You will scatter them as unclean things. You will say to them, “‘Be gone!’”

God’s people were facing issues with Assyria and were trying to form an alliance with Egypt without asking God for direction, and this would ultimately be their shame.

I love how these verses indicate that though God doesn’t just “let” bad things happen but actually GIVES us the “bread of adversity”, He will not always hide Himself from us.

Verse 18 also says, “Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.”

As I read in Job last week, “though He slay me, I will hope in Him”.

I think that is beautiful.

Love,

*If you’ve been encouraged by this and want to support my writing, I have set up a “buy me a coffee” link to make a one-time donation. This honors the time and resources that go into me creating gentle, faith-filled content. While it is greatly appreciated, it is not expected. I am deeply thankful to simply have your presence here!

You can also support me by checking out my growing digital resource library. It’s designed to be a one-stop companion to the ideas I share here—something you can revisit whenever life feels heavy or overwhelming. This resource is optional, offered with pay-what-you-want pricing starting at $10, and includes lifetime access as new tools and reflections are added over time.