I am fairly new to substack and I’m sure I’m making some rookie mistakes. Like… maybe… subscribing to way too many substacks. I know not every substack is for everyone, so I don’t mind unsubbing. But then I feel like I’m missing something really good in the next post! So if you have a strategy for Substack, please let me know in the comments. Until then, here’s to overturning some stacks I’ve been rummaging around in.
Elvis Presley wrote a letter to President Nixon. “So, I wish not to be given a title or an appointed position. I can and will do more good if I were made a Federal Agent at Large and I will help out by doing it my way through communications with people of all ages.” If you’re an Elvis fan, you’ll be interested. If You’re a Nixon fan… never mind. Letters of Note has become a consistently enjoyable read.
Longer Tables. Have you ever bought one of those three-layered candles? While it’s burning you think the top layer is your favorite until that next layer comes! Then the third…oh that’s the best. Well, that’s what it is to read Holly Rabalais’ post. There’s so much good news here, every paragraph just brings more joy. It’s very personal, but also very rich.
“But the look of joy on my granddog’s face pales in comparison to my own expression of joy at a message I received from Noah a few days before Thanksgiving. “I have a surprise.” - Holly Rabalais
Remember Not - Richard Myerscoughs’s beautiful reflection on Psalm 25. This one is on Psalm 25. “He will remember to be merciful; he cannot forget that we belong to him, by his own free choice. He is the “gracious Saviour of my ruined life.” And so I rest my weary, sin-haunted soul in the love that will not let me go.”
I’m Glad It’s Not Working For Me - Heather Holland’s thoughts about writing when you can’t compose anything you want to say. Look closely for a sneak peek on an upcoming story. “I’m glad that I still have the will to put down my pen or step away from my keyboard. I have no idea how long it will take me to get the writing done. But the living of life - that will always come first.”
Avoiding Holiday Hell. Facing the holidays with a family member with dementia is not easy. Dr. Becky Wellman writes with plaintive and heart-touching effect on living with dementia - something a lot of people are doing these days. “So many of us have that Norman Rockwell picture of the perfect holiday meal in our heads or the Hallmark movie where everyone realizes what’s most important in life and there is peace and happiness in the end. In reality, this is not what most of our holidays look like.”
There’s money in dystopia but so what? - Garrison Keillor reflects on the dystopian message of our entertainment and is unimpressed.
Dystopia and mental distress are very much in fashion now and there seem to be no memoirs about a happy childhood, only trauma and displacement and broken hearts, and so be it. But comedy, which is a charitable deed, lasts longer. - Garrison Keillor
Reading in Formational Space and Sacred Time - Aaron Hann writes about the setting of our reading and how important and impactful it is.
In Case You Missed It, here are some newsletters I sent out recently.
Be Prepared - a devotional thought from 1 Peter 3:15
The End of My 50s - a birthday post
So that’s my rummaging around in my overstacked Substack. And now I’ve got five more posts to get to. I can’t just glance at them as if they were simple Tweets or some kind of kitschy picture-based attention-getters on Insta or wanna-be semi-wise posts on Facebook. (Was that too obvious?) No, most of these are posts of substance. And I’m happy with that. I hope you have a great weekend.
In the comments:
*Your strategies for managing Substack
*How many substacks do you currently follow? 72 for me. I’m embarrassed. Anyway, most of them do not seem to be posting often - and I’m glad!
Back to reading.
John, please let me know if you work out a solution to all the subscriptions because I feel I am out of control!🤣 I’ve fallen behind this week on my reading and am spending my afternoon catching up. And now you’ve given me so many more posts to read. I’d tell you to stop, but they all seem like winners and Im happy you included me in the list. I love that candle analogy.
Seriously though-I’m enjoying your “Substack rummaging” posts, and I vote that you make them a regular thing here in your space. No pressure!
I think the best I can do is become an insomniac. I have a stack of books, several email letters, a couple online discussion groups. It is truly enriching, but I often have to cherry pick a bit.