The plan is... I had no plan.

So we're making one. A look ahead at Sunday Poems and Spiritual Direction AMAs.

In the Scrivener file where I keep all my miscellaneous Internet writing — blogs, emails, articles, freelance stuff — there’s a little folder called Scrapped. This is where drafts go to… not exactly die. More like get composted. I have end of the year lists I never shared and essays that never took shape and political commentary I needed to process but would never dare release on the public Internet.¹

After spending a little time digging in this folder, I realized LOTS of scraps were written in the gray, mildly depressing haze of February. Makes sense. December is for reflection and dreaming, January is for launching new things, and February is for hiding under blankets and second guessing everything you’ve ever done. And I have been at this particular writing rhythm for a long time.

Well then, what to do about this fresh new Substack? Truth be told, I sent the launch email without much of a plan. Just wing it, I said. Treat it like an old school blog, I said. But also, Oh no, it’s an email and it needs structure and intention, I said.

In conclusion:

If I came here to write about what’s on my mind, it could be a number of unrelated topics: the slow shift from oddly warm winter into spring, the trauma supporting spiritual direction class I’m taking, my complicated thoughts / feelings about Asbury revival discourse, or the stories I’m reading about AI art and ethics.

Take your pick. The only common thread is that all these ideas fascinate me, and if this were an old school blog, maybe I would write about them all.²

In the name of just doing the thing to get unstuck, I’m thinking the best way to find my rhythm is start with a couple of loose series ideas for when big, thoughtful, beautiful essays won’t come.

First, the Sunday Poem! My second poetry book is finished, floating around getting blurbs. We have a cover I’m dying to show you. It’s going to print so, so soon. And… I should be telling people about it, yeah?

At least from now until the book release, The Sunday Poem will be a place to regularly share some poems here. I’ll revisit some favorites from my first book, share a little bit of backstory/reflection, and then move into some new ones as Beneath the Flood’s release gets closer.

If you aren’t into poetry thennnnnnn… it’s cool if you need to quietly unsubscribe. (Or hey, give poems a chance!) I’ve already got the first one in the queue, so you should see it in your inbox this coming Sunday.

Second, some SD AMA (Spiritual Direction Ask Me Anything). I’ve been considering this for a while, and I really dig the idea. I’m a spiritual director. One of my goals this year is to invest in my practice, expand my education, and do a little more thinking out loud about this work. I’ve also found that many people haven’t heard of it before and have questions! I’d love to use this space to process some of the tricky questions — like “What’s the deal with certification?” or “is it like discipleship/therapy/life coaching?”

I’m experimenting with sections (sub-Substacks?) so you can easily control which topics land in your inbox. Go here to find out how to adjust your settings, so you only get what you want to read.

See you back here soon with the first Sunday poem!

1. Because we all know how well THAT goes…

2. If you have a vote for something you want to hear more about, please drop it in the comments. I need to get these things out of my brain!