An Ode to Offline

What a soul wants / what a soul needs

Apologies to everyone who tells me they love the links I compile every-other-week—because there’s not a single click-away in this old school post.

For a while I’ve been nagged by the fact that when I share others’ work here, it’s most often online. Easy to link, sure—but the truth is that most of the good work being done in the world is offline. 

How can I share more of that? I’m still wondering how to get creative with sharing more holy labor in this space. 

For now, here’s a summer version of What I’m Loving Lately, complete with zero links. Nothing to buy, everything to savor. 99% of it is free (with one local exception).

1. Scripture 

Morning lectio divina has become the most life-giving prayer practice of the past few years for me. It’s not rocket science, just pulling out the same old Bible every morning, reading a small snippet of the Gospel, praying with a word or phrase that speaks to me each day. But getting close and staying close to Jesus of the Gospels has been a radical, life-changing practice.

The louder the world gets, the more quiet Scripture I crave. More than anything else this summer, I commend to you the practice of slowing down and savoring Scripture. 

Yes, there are books and courses and podcasts and a thousand things you can buy to enrich your faith—but I have found nothing so good (or free!) as the power of sitting with the Word in a small way each day.

If you don’t have a physical copy of a Bible at home and you want one, just reply and I’ll get it for you. Seriously. You can read every translation online, but a physical copy you can hold and carry and underline and scribble questions in the margins? It cannot be equalled virtually. 

If many of you respond, we’ll just crowd-source sending Bibles to each other. What better possible way to spread good news?

2. The local library

I cannot afford my own book habit. Neither can my children. So our family of readers practically lives at the library, especially in the summer months. 

Have you ever paused to consider how amazing the public library system is? I adore seeing people discover on Twitter that they can get e-books for FREE, instantly, at their fingertips. Libraries are essential for the common good.

My practice as a reader/writer is that I buy books from friends or new writers I want to support. I’ll also invest in classics that will last or life-changing books I want to reread. But all the books I read along the way? 100% free, thanks to public libraries.

Hint for those who work remotely: many libraries now have rooms you can reserve online. Lately I’ve spent hours every week working, reading, and writing at our local library, and it’s bliss. Can you tell that free and quiet are a few of my favorite things? 

3. Parks

After a week of unforgettable national and state parks, our family’s devotion to the park system is now ratcheted up a big notch. We’re already planning next summer’s road trip, and I’m determined to put our usual state park pass to better use this year.

The more time I spent in Scripture (see #1 above), the more I’m convinced that our connection to creation is a vital spiritual practice. This week I’m thick in the midst of a formation course in Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, my theological mind swimming with creation and redemption and everything in between. I keep coming back to the garden: how encounters with nature’s beauty give us a glimpse of what right relationship with creation and its Creator looks like.

Working theory for my own life: the more time outside, the better. I’m far from the first to propose it, but chew on it for your own life and let me know what you think. Start with the nearest park (or dream about the farthest) to marvel in the wonder of nature and the wisdom of those who worked to preserve it for (and from) us.

4. The newspaper

Sure, you can read the news online. But I stand by the physical, embodied practice of turning pages, folding sections, smudging ink on your fingers. Studies show that you read a greater variety of articles when you read a physical paper—and you retain more of what you read. This summer I’ve been reading less online and more in our local paper again. It’s a game-changer: I learn more about local issues and stumble upon fascinating features I’d never read otherwise.

After working for the campus newspaper through college, I’ve always considered an investment in local journalism to be an essential part of my civic duty. But with the disintegration of public discourse and the rapid rise of disinformation, I’m even more convinced that we have to do our part to support the media, not just criticize them. 

Herein lies my only non-free plug for this weekend’s newsletter: consider subscribing to a local newspaper or magazine, something tangible you can hold in your hands. If you want to consume news differently (which most of us say we do), consider…consuming news differently?

5. Silence.

Put away the phone. Turn off the TV. Resist the radio. Snap the laptop shut.

This summer I’ve been trying to stop and listen to silence at least once a day. To resist the itch to fill every space and second. To get curious about what I hear in the quiet. To build up my tolerance for spaciousness and stillness. 

Silence is sacred. It’s free and freeing. It’s almost always available in your day.

“My, how busy we become when we lose sight of how God loves us,” wrote Julian of Norwich. Truth to ponder and pray in silence.

Peace,

Laura

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Find my books here: Everyday Sacrament | Grieving Together | Prayers for Pregnancy & Birth | To Bless Our Callings | Living Your Discipleship