November, Bring It On

It’s the last Friday in an unseasonably warm October, and as they say here in the South, we’re ready for fall, y’all.

Let the little monsters make their way through the neighborhoods on Monday night, and let’s finally welcome the month of crunchy leaves, cool mornings, and Thanksgiving turkey.

November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), and we send our writerly well-wishes to friends who are embarking on the 50,000-word journey. Organizers say, “National Novel Writing Month believes in the transformational power of creativity. We provide the structure, community, and encouragement to help people find their voices, achieve creative goals, and build new worlds—on and off the page.” We’ll be looking forward to following your progress—#NaNoWriMo—and maybe one day reading your work! Don’t miss Hannah Anderson’s essay on the spiritual lessons from novel-writing.

We’re also just a few weeks away from the return of the beloved Gilmore Girls in a four-part Netflix special. Gina Dalfonzo writes at For Her:

It wasn’t just the town that was full of the odd and unexpected. Its very premise was the story of Lorelai, who got pregnant at 16, creating a good home and a good life for the surprise child who had derailed all her plans. Their strong mother-daughter bond, at the heart of the show, was a testament to the joys of embracing the unexpected. And the unwavering support of their family and their community showed that even when a road is hard and painful, like the road of single motherhood can be, we don’t have to walk it alone. The various characters weren’t just quirky, they were also fiercely loyal, supportive, and generous under all their quirks. And that won our hearts.

The First Lady of Thankfulness herself, One Thousand Gifts author Ann Voskamp, chatted live on Facebook with Washington Post reporter Sarah Pulliam Bailey. The Canadian Christian blogger even talked about why she is grateful for the US amid the tension of this election:

America, the world wants to say thank you and we love you. There’s lots of division, there’s lots of chafing. The dialogue and the conversation is getting really loud, watching the debates and Facebook streams. There’s a lot of brokenness. How can we reach across lines and say, “Thank you. I’m grateful for you”? … Hey America, look at all the great things you’ve done! We’re thankful for Broadway and Google and the Internet and Wrigley Field and all these beautiful things.