Birthday Recap and Friday Links

Thanks for the nice birthday wishes yesterday! I had a pretty good birthday - lunch with Myla and then dinner with my parents at Bonefish Grill. When we got back to my house, my parents surprised me with an assortment of Tigers stuff, including a Tigers Snuggie, which I've secretly wanted for years. It was especially funny because Myla had given me a pair of Tigers flip-flops! I am now fully prepared for tailgating and football season.

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I read so many amazing posts this week that I have to do a Friday Links:

♥ I love everything Kelle Hampton writes, but I especially enjoyed her post about her recent writing retreat.

♥ Feelings and why they matter has been a hot topic among some of my friends lately. So these thoughts from Kari about worship and feelings are timely.

♥ This summer I've been studying Dan Allender's book To Be Told with some ladies from church. One of the key themes is allowing people you trust to "edit" your life story - i.e. living in real community. I have my own thoughts about the topic that haven't gelled yet, but this Amber Wackford post about community spoke to me.

♥ I'm excited that Justine Larbalestier is blogging again! Over the years I've appreciated her experienced advice for writers, and her recent post about the difficulty of getting started really helped me... seeing as I haven't touched my novel in over a month. :P

♥ Newly published author Lisa Burstein shares wisdom about measuring success in writing. It's much-needed confirmation for me that you can never really arrive.

♥ Ally Condie talks about being inspired by Michael Phelps. I'm also a Phelps fan, and admire him for not giving in to the tremendous pressure NOT to retire. It takes strength to walk away from something at the top of your game and start a whole new chapter of life, even when you know it's the best thing for you. I'll miss seeing him swim though!

♥ Post of the Week: Alece at Grit and Glory has a similar story to mine, and when I read her blog I feel like she's been reading my mind. This week she discussed the struggle to believe that God is both good AND sovereign, that God's favor doesn't equal a happy outcome. For whatever reason, I seem to be in the thick of that struggle these days, and she expressed it so eloquently. Go read!