Tag: God

A retro TV and circle patterns with the words March 2024: 'Fuzz' + Why I Got Rid of My TV

March 2024: ‘Fuzz’ + Why I Got Rid of My TV

Posted on by Kelvey Vander Hart in L I F E

Spring has sprung and I am certainly grateful for the sunshine. 

Here’s your monthly recap: 

Best Book I Read This Month 

What happens when nature breaks the law? Animals, of course, don’t abide by human laws and therefore can’t actually “break” them. But a huge part of wildlife management is dealing with clashes between humans and animals. Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law highlights several of these clashes and fairly represents both animal and human interests. You can find it here. 

Best Article I Read This Month

Sawfish are already endangered, but some mysterious ailment has started to make their numbers drop. Whatever is plaguing them makes the illusive fish spin in circles, raise their saws out of the air, and take part in other very abnormal behaviors before dying. Read about the race to save this cool fish (and other species at risk) here. 

Tip + Trick of the Month

Quote of the Month

“I lay there under the stars and thought of what a great responsibility it is to be human. I am a human because God made me. I experience suffering and temptation because mankind chose to follow Satan. God is reaching out to rescue me.” -Donald Miller, Blue Like Jazz

Thought for the Month

I got rid of my TV in January. 

Okay, I didn’t throw it in the trash. But I unplugged it, took it out of the living room, and put it under my bed where it has been collecting dust for the last three months. 

Why? Because I was watching too much TV and the simplest way to remove the habit was to get rid of the cue. 

Every time I walked into our living room, turning on the TV was easy. The remotes beckoned and the screen was right there. It became the simplest action to take at the end of the work day, walking into the door, or just putting on in the background. 

Now, if I want to watch a show or a movie, I have to be much more intentional about my choice. I could pull out the TV or choose to connect my laptop to a little projector we have (or just watch on my laptop). But since the TV is not ready to use and I don’t watch things on my phone, extra friction has been added to the whole practice. 

And now our living room is more oriented toward other things. A record player and our record collection have taken the place of the TV. I turn on podcasts and audio books in the background while I’m cooking and cleaning. My sister and I sit on the couch and talk more frequently. 

Where can you add friction to make a bad habit less appealing? 

Enjoy the flowers these April showers bring, friends. I’ll catch you next month.

January 2024: ‘Practicing the Way’ + ‘The Saltwater Chronicles’

Posted on by Kelvey Vander Hart in L I F E

How are your goals and resolutions holding up, friends? If you’re still going strong, I’m proud of you! If you fell off the wagon immediately, I’m proud of you too—you tried, and each new day is an opportunity to try again. 

Here’s your monthly recap: 

Best Book I Read This Month 

It sounds audacious to say I have read my favorite book of the year when it’s February, but I’m confident that the statement is accurate. Practicing the Way is the newest book from John Mark Comer, and it is equal parts convicting, encouraging, and thought-provoking. If you want to deepen your walk with Jesus and become a person of love and peace, this is for you. Find it here. 

Best Article I Read This Month

The end of January brought the very first photographic evidence of a live baby great white shark in the wild! Scientists believe the shark was likely mere hours old. You can read the story and see the photo here. 

Tip + Trick of the Month

I stumbled across this neat little graphic from Shelby Sacco illustrating the habit formation loop. Helpful to those of us trying to build better habits!

Quote of the Month

“Practicing justice is an act of joining God in seeing that the created order (people and everything else) receives what it is due.” -Dr. Gerry Breshears 

Thought for the Month

As an environmental writer who loves the ocean, I have been kicking around the idea of having one brand that hosts a marine conservation newsletter and any other ocean-focused personal projects I may launch. And, after thinking about it for a few months, it’s happening!

The Saltwater Chronicles is now open for subscribers and the first edition of ‘Making Waves Weekly’ will be hitting inboxes on 3/1/24. You can become an early subscriber here to get ocean news straight to your inbox. 

I hope you join me over at The Saltwater Chronicles too, but even if we just stay friends here, I’ll catch you next month.

A photo of a woman sitting on a cliff with a taupe box that has in white words December 2023: 'Better Than Before' + An Argument for Excessive Data Tracking

December 2023: ‘Better Than Before’ + An Argument for Excessive Data Tracking

Posted on by Kelvey Vander Hart in L I F E

Happy New Year! I’m looking forward to seeing what 2024 holds, but have some rewinding to do to December 2023. 

Here’s your monthly recap: 

Best Book I Read This Month 

Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin is a great read on habits and behavioral change. While I love books like Atomic Habits, I think this book better highlights personality differences that impact our daily lives and ability to change behaviors. You can find it here. 

Best Article I Read This Month

“In Godzilla Minus One, Government Won’t Save Anyone When the Crisis Comes” is a movie review from the magazine I work for, Reason, that I can wholeheartedly endorse. I don’t typically watch movies in the theater multiple times, but I saw this film and immediately took my sister with me to see it again. I’ve loved Godzilla movies since I was a kid, but this one was perhaps the best monster movie I have ever seen, capturing the idea of Godzilla being a representation of Japan’s national trauma in the aftermath of World War II. 

Tip + Trick of the Month

January is the time for new goals and resolutions, and tracking helps support these endeavors. I’m a fan of data tracking (and I’ll talk more about it later on in this recap) and have found two apps to be extremely useful: 

Tally is excellent for numerical goals. Here are a few examples of things I track: 

  • How many times I walk the dog in a month 
  • The number of hours I spend outside
  • Any sort of weightlifting goal 
  • Number of miles I walk in a year 

Streaks is great for consistency and frequency goals. Here are a couple of things I track: 

  • Did I get 7 hours of sleep last night? 
  • Did I meet my protein goal for the day? 
  • Did I read that day? 
  • Did I close my Apple Watch exercise ring? 

I track a few things throughout the day if it’s simpler for me to reference it in the moment instead of looking up a data point later, but I typically keep things simple and just track everything quickly when I go to turn my phone off every night. Easy! 

Quote of the Month

“Because what you give your attention to is the person you become. Put another way: the mind is the portal to the soul, and what you fill your mind with will shape the trajectory of your character. In the end, your life is no more than the sum of what you gave your attention to. That bodes well for those apprentices of Jesus who give the bulk of their attention to him and to all that is good, beautiful, and true in his world. But not for those who give their attention to the 24-7 news cycle of outrage and anxiety and emotion-charged drama or the nonstop feed of celebrity gossip, titillation, and cultural drivel.” -John Mark Comer, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry

Thought for the Month

I track so many data points in my life: my macros, number of hours slept, books I’m reading, workouts—the list goes on and on. As an extremely type A person, I love being able to have data to reference. But not everyone thinks tracking is a good idea. 

Many roll their eyes at data tracking, especially when you are tracking something you already like to do. “Why not just enjoy it?” “Why stress yourself out?” 

There are three reasons why I think data tracking is amazing, even if you enjoy the task you’re tracking (or hate tracking): 

1. It is simple to default to comfort, and on hard days it’s easier to stream Netflix and hang out on the couch than it is to pick up a challenging book, get a walk in, or cook an actual meal…goals serve as behavior prompts and tracking is the daily reminder of these goals. 

2. On the days when I don’t believe I’ve accomplished anything I set out to do, actual data reveals that I am casting votes for who I want to be.

3. Data tells us the truth. It’s easy to convince ourselves we’re getting enough sleep or working out every day. Tracking our actions can either prove us right or expose where we’re fooling ourselves. 

If you have never tracked a goal before, I encourage you to try it. You may find data tracking to be a useful tool. 

Good luck with sticking to your goals to start the year—I believe in you! I’ll catch you next month. 

Green leaves in the background with white text overlaid and a white frame around

July 2022: ‘Things That Matter’ + Resisting Consumerism

Posted on by Kelvey Vander Hart in L I F E

We’re more than halfway through 2022. Wild, right? Here’s your July 2022 recap: 

Best Book I Read This Month 

Many people think that minimalism is about getting rid of things until you have one lonely chair sitting in your pretty empty home. But what if minimalism was about refining your life to live on purpose? Joshua Becker explores this concept in his books. Because I’ve been reading a lot of Becker’s work, this month is a two-for-one recommendation. Find out more about Becker’s Things That Matter and The More of Less here. 

Best Article I Read This Month

Shameless self-promotion here. July played host to Shark Week! I love sharks and I love writing – read the combination of these loves here. 

Tip + Trick of the Month

July was all about minimalism on the homefront. Have an overabundance of towels and blankets that have seen better days? Don’t throw them away – take them to your local animal shelter! As someone who has volunteered for two different shelters and has a shelter pup of her own, I can testify that there is always a need for more soft things for dogs and other animals to sleep on. 

Quote of the Month

“Often, Christians ask me, ‘How can I love my neighbor without misleading her into thinking I approve of everything she does?’ First, remember that Christians cannot give good answers to bad questions. No one approves of everything that others do. No one. It is a false question. The better question is this: ‘How can my neighbors know that because I live under God’s authority rather than the compulsions of my own selfish desires, their secrets are safe with me?’ The answer is simple: love the sinner and hate your own sin. Or, as Mark says ‘Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another’ (Mark 9:50).”

-Rosaria Butterfield, The Gospel Comes with a House Key

Kelvey’s Thought for the Month

As Americans, we’re conditioned to think that more is better. That is the very heart of consumerism. But what if we start to resist that notion? 

I know I have been harping on minimalism throughout this entire monthly update, but I think regardless of how strongly/loosely you hold to such tenets, there is goodness for everyone to find here. As of late in my own life, it has been a freeing resistance to consumerism. Do you know how good it feels to walk through a store and have my brain be thinking about how happy it is to not bring unnecessary items into my home rather than wanting to buy everything? 

Something to think about. Hit the comments or the reply button if you have your own thoughts on this and, as always, I’ll catch you next month.

We yearn for a just God.

We Yearn For A Just God

Posted on by Kelvey Vander Hart in S P I R I T U A L

A just God is a hard idea to swallow. 

One that would determine good and evil, one that would carry out judgment upon the earth. We struggle to believe that a perfectly just God is a good thing, that wrath has a purpose. 

But secretly I think we’re all yearning for a perfectly just God.  Continue reading “We Yearn For A Just God” →