Another Year Over

You know that John Lennon song, “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)”? The beginning of it has been spinning on repeat in my head the last week or so:

So this is Christmas
And what have you done?
Another year over
And a new one just begun.

That’s kind of how I felt, leaving behind the season of Advent and Christmas day, a little bit melancholy, a little bit joyful, a little bit sad, a little bit hopeful.

2025 Word of the Year: Abide

There’s more to that sentiment bundled up in my word for 2025: abide. My word for 2024 was confidence, and I did my best to lean into that word all throughout the year. I can say with confidence that I am a more confident person here at the end of 2024 than I was at the beginning, and it is good.

In case you weren’t aware, I started a Substack in 2024 called Palace in Time, and I chose to reflect on my word for 2025—abide—over there. Palace in Time is replacing my old newsletter, although I haven’t been using it as a newsletter. Please subscribe for little joys and other ways I’m seeking God’s presence in the daily bits of life.

The Year-End Wrap-Up

This is one of my favorite practices each year, to look back and see where we’ve been and to look forward to what may come. I’m often knocked over by all that has taken place in our lives in the last 365 days. Time is truly full.

Favorite Books of 2024

I set my reading challenge at 52 books again this year, and thanks to a bunch of shorter books and not one but two book clubs, I made it without any trouble. Here are a few thoughts about the authors and stories I traveled with in 2024:

• With a couple of friends from church, I read a lot of mystics in 2024, but the ones that put down roots in my soul were Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich (second time through, definitely worth re-reading), The Interior Castle by Teresa of Avila, and New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton. 
• The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James H. Cone changed the way I understand suffering, Art and Faith: A Theology of Making by Makoto Fujimura changed the way I see my place in the world, and Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake deepened my appreciation for how relationship is at the core of existence.
• Other books that filled me and stretched me this year included The Library Book by Susan Orlean, which reignited (haha funny pun since the book is about a library fire) my love for libraries; The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka, which opened my eyes to the experience of Asian American women who were likely mail-order brides in the early 1900s; Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie taught me all about a war I didn’t even know happened.
• My favorite books about creation care this year were Wild Hope: Stories for Lent from the Vanishing by Gayle Boss, Speak with the Earth and It Will Teach You: A Field Guide to the Bible by Daniel Cooperrider, and Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer.
• If you’re going to force me to choose one, Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr was probably my favorite novel of the year. What a tremendous story of hope and resilience! But I also loved The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, which was probably the most magical, time travel-ly book I read this year. I also adored The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd, 
• I made my great escape into several RomComs and historical romances this year again, and near the top of the list was Outlander, thanks to my friend Becca’s recommendation. I don’t listen to a lot of audiobooks but I listened to Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan and it was excellent.

Altogether, I read 60 books this year—you can see the full list on Goodreads here, and if we don’t already follow each other, let’s do that, m’kay? 

I will probably keep my challenge at 52 books for 2025. I see no reason to try to race against myself and strain to read more than a book a week when there are so many other things to do in life, like puzzles.

Favorite Songs of 2024

I listen to music pretty much all day long. Apple tells me that these were my top listened to songs this year:

• “Unconditional I” by Arcade Fire
• “Long Winter” by Davis Wells (co-written by me… 😃)
• “D’yer Mak’er” by Led Zeppelin
• “Getting Ready to Get Down” by Josh Ritter

I also listened to a lot of James McMurtry, Jackson Browne, The Chicks, Dave Matthews Band, and Caamp this year.

I added quite a few new songs to the “Little Joys” playlist this year. Some standouts that I still can’t get enough of are:

• “See the World” by Caamp
• “Long Winter” by Davis Wells (did I mention Brandon released his first original single this year and I co-wrote it and it’s available on Spotify and Apple Music?)
• “Crooked Tree” by Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway
• “Chocolate on My Tongue” and “Little Bit Sweet” by The Wood Brothers
• “Changes” and “The Way We Move” by Langhorne Slim
• “Play!” by The Bacon Brothers
• “Love Like You” by Emma Nissen
• “The Rains” by Henry Jamison

Favorite Documentaries and Films of 2024

I watched and reviewed somewhere around 24 or so different films, TV series, and documentaries for Root & Vine again this year. Yes, God is even wedged in contemporary film, believe it or not, and I love finding evidence of him there. Here are a few standouts (linked to my reflections on them for your enjoyment):

• I Heard the Bells – This was the saddest Christmas movie I’ve ever watched, but its portrayal of poet Henry Wadsworth Longellow’s life and writing of the classic Christmas hymn has stuck with me throughout the holidays and given me hope for dark times. If you want to weep over a Christmas movie one last time before turning over the calendar, this is the one.
• 2040 – This Australian documentary projects what life would look like in 2040 if we only embraced the technology that is available to us today to make the world a better place for our children. Super inspirational. Let’s get to it, people.
• A Real Bug’s Life – This cute documentary takes cutting edge technology and brings us a view of life in the smallest places. I like spiders even more now.
• The Reluctant Traveler – Eugene Levy delights in this docu-series that explores the great outdoors through the lens of a guy who is a self-described indoor guy.
• Our Universe – This series reaches back through time and space to connect us to the very beginnings of creation to show us how we are intrinsically bound to one another. And it’s narrated by Morgan Freeman, the voice of GOD.

A Brief Look Back at 2024:

I’m not exactly great at brief, which is why I divided this post between word of the year over on Substack and summary of my life here. But I’ll take another stab at “brief.”

I continue to freelance for two ampersands—Root & Vine and Hope & Freedom—Case Western Reserve, Our Daily Bread, and Spire, and I continue to love my freelance life. My essay collection, Ordinary Time: Meditations from the In-Between came out in the spring of 2024, and after 45 days of aggressive marketing, my energy for self-promotion petered out. I really am proud of this second essay collection and hope people will read it.

I spent most Thursday afternoons of 2024 writing my next book, To Say One Million Times, WOW: Essays on Awe, Faith, and Family from America’s Great Outdoors (and Some Hotel Rooms), which I will henceforth refer to as The WOW Book. Its 16 chapters and 20 or so poems will be published by Bracket Publishing in 2026, and I cannot wait to share this book with you! I’m pretty sure it’s my best work to date.

As I mentioned, I started a Substack in 2024 called Palace in Time, where I occasionally share podcasts, meditations, little joys, poems, and prayers. As with most things, I started out strong and need to now recommit to a regular writing practice to maintain that space.

We abstained from meat during Lent this year and took up pescetarianism as a result, saving our meat consumption for special-er occasions, like the last 10 days in which we have consumed ridiculous amounts of lamb and beef and horseradish sauce. It’s fine. My digestive tract will recover in January.

Our traveling this year took us all around, beginning with a trip to Nashville with the high school music arts program and our friends Mike and Becca. I headed to the Festival of Faith & Writing in Grand Rapids to spend a few days with dear writer friends. We went to my happy place, Fripp Island, South Carolina, with Brandon’s family and then spent a couple of days in D.C. before attending the Brethren National Conference in Lancaster, PA. The boys went to Pittsburgh for a boys’ trip, Brandon and I went with friends to Pittsburgh for a BNL concert, and we finished the year of traveling by celebrating our anniversary at Mario’s Spa.

I spent some time volunteering with Safe Haven, the domestic violence shelter in Ashland County, and managed one of the concession stands every home Friday football game this year. We also launched the first Resilient Leader Retreat for the Brethren church in Ashland. Our small group met most Wednesday nights to complain about politics, commiserate about parenting, celebrate victories and birthdays, and care for each other’s souls.

Lydia went ahead and graduated from high school and started college this year. Elvis got his license and a job as a lifeguard at the Salvation Army Kroc Center. Henry spent most of the year mountain biking, which means I spent several weekends in various corners of the state exploring state parks we’ve never seen before. Brandon played more gigs and started a local sports broadcast company, both of which occupied many of his nights and weekends. We took a lot of walks, ate a lot of meals, played a lot of cards, and shared a lot of wonderful moments with friends and family. 

And I assembled a lot of puzzles.

Looking Ahead to 2025:

Abiding this season looks like a lot of transition to me in the coming year or years. I’m entering the last year as moderator for our church leadership board and last year to serve on the board. Elvis will be 18 and a senior in high school this year. We have some travel plans on the books already for 2025 and I hope to begin saving for an international trip in 2026 to take our family out of the country to celebrate Elvis’ graduation. But before all that, here’s how last year’s resolutions went:

Resolutions from 2024 and How They Went:

• Read 52 books, with at least a quarter by underrepresented authors or about complex, contemporary social issues. ✔️
• Reestablish an exercise routine. Practice yoga at least once a week, and walk or go to the gym at least three times a week. ← I walked, a lot, in 2024, and I plan to continue walking again in 2025. I did not take up yoga, alas. 
• Maintain a commitment to working part-time as a freelancer, so that there remains space for coffee dates, volunteering, and working on personal writing projects. ✔️
• Visit and explore one new place on the globe (maybe somewhere international, even?). ← They weren’t the most exotic destinations, but we did see Lancaster and several state parks I’ve never been to before, so ✔️!
• Finish another round of revisions on Some Bright Morning and try to secure an independent publisher. ← Did not happen, but I’m hoping to begin 2025 with fresh eyes for Some Bright Morning and hopefully a couple of beta readers to see if she’s ready to be pitched places again.
• Write 12 essays for the road trip memoir, aiming for a complete manuscript in early 2025. ← The WOW Book will be published by Bracket Publishing in 2026. YAY!  ✔️
• Tinker with collecting a series of advent reflections and devotionals. ← I only thought about this and did not do any of this.
• Maintain Scripture reading daily using the Book of Common Prayer. ✔️
• Adequately acknowledge and celebrate my daughter’s transition from high school to college, from teenager to young adult. 🥹 ✔️
• Be a vessel of shalom for the people in my life. ← I hope I did this? I think I did this? ✔️?

Goals and Resolutions for 2025:

• I have some specific books I’d like to read toward my 52 books in 2025, including The Lord of the Rings, which I’ve never read, C.S. Lewis’ space trilogy and Till We Have Faces, and Necessary Endings, which Brandon read this year and I think I might need for this season.
• I want to keep walking each morning or afternoon as long as the weather permits.
• Maintain a commitment to working as a freelancer, so that there remains space for coffee dates, volunteering, and working on personal writing projects, holding Thursdays for writing.
• Get away with Brandon to finish some more songwriting
• Do something with Some Bright Morning – maybe find an independent publisher this year?
• Record audiobooks of American Honey and Ordinary Time
• Begin writing the Christmas novel I’ve been chewing on all December
• Reckon with the reality that a second child of mine is going to turn 18 this year.
• Be a vessel of shalom for the people in my life.
• Abide.

“Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me. “I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.”

– ‭‭John‬ ‭15‬:‭4‬-‭8‬ ‭MSG‬‬

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