I’ve noticed that September has been a month of doubles.

• 2 bugs I didn’t want on my body.
• 2 book club experiences that were bigger than the books.
• 2 authors I met and am now reading.
• 2 volunteer projects behind a screen.

Each month I link my Share 4 Somethings post with Jenn.

I also share here my One Second Everyday video from the previous month.

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1. Something I Love

• UNEXPECTED COEXISTENCE

Stick with me because this may sound like things I hate instead of things I love.

I saw a small bump on my stomach one recent morning. I didn’t think too much about it but showed it to my husband Jeff later that night. He immediately questioned it.

With a closer look, we discovered it was a tick. Yikes.

He easily pulled it off for me. I’m very grateful that he has no qualms about such things because I do.

Then last Sunday night, I woke up around 2 a.m. and felt something on my neck. I grabbed it in the dark and set it on my nightstand so I could look at it in the morning when it was light. Maybe a cracker crumb from eating in bed the night before?

Monday morning I took a closer look, halfway expecting nothing to be there, thinking maybe I had dreamed it all up.

But no. Something was there.

It was a dead spider.

Oh my. Uncharacteristic of me, I had killed a spider in the middle of the night with my bare hands.

What I love about both these stories is that I had been calmly coexisting with both these insects on my body before I knew they were there. And all had been well.

(Granted, I don’t want to make a habit of it. I got lucky this time. Yet I do wonder how many insects we have crawling across us on a regular basis that we’re unaware of.

. . . And if you do know about bugs? Just don’t tell me.)

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2. Something Sustaining Me

• BOOKS BEYOND THE PAGE

If you’ve visited my blog more than once, you probably know how much I love books. And book clubs.

I had two full-circle experiences at the last two book clubs I attended this month.

One was at my banned book club. This month, instead of reading a banned book, we read a book about banned books, How to Defend Books and Why: Book Bans and How We Fight Them.

Then we talked about the next month’s book (always a banned book), and it actually got talked down, essentially we banned a banned book from the banned book club.

Instead, we switched to a different banned book to read in October: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. (You might be surprised to see the books that make the banned and challenged book lists.)

It was an enlightening experience to watch the conversation happen in real time, realizing how complex these decisions are, instead of simply seeing them as black and white.

The second book club experience centered around a book of first-hand stories from a specific minority population. Rather than having those of us outside that population sit around and talk about the book, our group leader invited a woman from that minority to join us and share her personal experience living it.

It really brought the conversation alive.

Hearing from a real person in front of us was different than simply reading words on a page.

I love books for how they teach us new things, but I also love when books open us to new experiences beyond the book itself.

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3. Something Carrying Me Forward

• AUTHOR ENCOUNTERS

I got to meet two authors the past few weeks. And now I’m taking both their books with me into October.

I met Sarah Stankorb at a session at the Wild Goose Festival. She was so kind, and I appreciated her graciousness in how she moderated a sensitive discussion.

Along the way, she happened to mention that she had a book coming out soon. I wrote down the title to look up when I got home: Damned If She Does: Why Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion.

I then tracked down an early copy of the audiobook from NetGalley. It’s been fascinating to listen to. I have three hours still to go, and then I’ll review it here. It published September 15, 2026.

The second author I met was Priya Parker, whose book The Art of Gathering was influential for one of my book clubs this year. We’ve had some fun gatherings modeled on some of her suggestions since we read it.

Now she has a new book, The Art of Fighting, that published September 8, 2026.

If I didn’t already know that I loved Priya’s work, I might not have been interested in a book about fighting. But because I had already seen how much her previous work had done for our group, a few of us signed up to see her in person when she came to our city last week.

Before the event began, we got to talk with Priya for a few minutes and tell her about her first book’s effect on us. She was genuinely interested and asked good questions about our gatherings.

We’ll be starting The Art of Fighting in a few weeks as our next book club selection.

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4. Something I’m Making Space For

• BEHIND THE SCENES

Most everyone in the US is likely aware of our elections in November. So I’ve been doing data work with one of the groups I volunteer with to encourage people to go to the polls.

Another group I volunteer with is a disaster response group. We’ve been updating our old website, so I’ve been helping with some of the data and organizational pieces of that.

Neither of these tasks are particularly exciting. They’re not hands-on, nor do they directly help other people.

But nonetheless, behind-the-scenes work is necessary, too.

It’s a good reminder to me that a lot of benefits I receive in life are because people are doing invisible work that I may never see or understand. I want to be more grateful for that.

All in all, September gave me plenty to notice: bugs, books, authors, behind-the-scenes work, and more.

It’s been a good month for me.

How was your month? Share in the comments.

I’m linking at these blog parties

How often do you question what you already know? It’s easy to overlook our ordinary knowledge as if it’s settled. 

But what if there’s still more to see about something you’re already familiar with?

Try choosing some everyday thing—a word (maybe your One Word of the Year?), an idea, a place, a hobby, a relationship, even a belief—and see what happens if you get a bit more curious about it.

After deciding on a topic, try these ideas.

LOOK IT UP

There are hundreds of ways to learn more about anything.

• Talk to an expert.
• Experiment with it.
• Explore online.
• Use a paper dictionary.
• Open it up.
• Read a book.

NOTICE WHAT’S NEW

Pay attention to what truly sparks your interest. Let go of the boring stuff and go down a rabbit hole for fun. Find a few things you didn’t know before.

Sometimes a tiny bit of new information can open a much wider door.

ASK YOURSELF

• What surprised me?
• Did it change my thinking in some way?
• Will anything I learned change something in my everyday life?

MY WORD: SHIFT

I did this exercise with Shift, my One Word. And honestly, I didn’t expect to find much because I’ve already been looking at the word for 9 months.

But I was wrong. I uncovered some very interesting and new things.

Here are four rabbit holes I went down with Shift:

1. No Label Shift Key

When I got a new Mac laptop, I noticed that words were missing from some of the keys. My Shift key no longer says anything; it’s just an up arrow.

The word Delete is also gone. It’s now simply a back arrow. 

old keyboard vs new keyboard

Apparently the U.S. has been lagging behind. Only in March 2026 did Apple switch to using “glyphs” instead of text labels on their keyboards. A few words do remain…esc, fn, command, etc.

But don’t look for caps lock, tab, or return. 

And something else I found out: the earlier typewriters had no shift keys. Everything was typed in all capital letters. They eventually introduced a shift function when they added two carriages: one for lower-case and one for upper-case. It continued evolving from there. 

2. Shifting Gears

I asked my bicycle expert husband to help me better understand how gears work. I quickly saw how ignorant I’ve been. Jeff taught me a lot. I learned even more by watching a couple YouTube videos. 

3. Shift Sculpture

Photo by Simon Rabyniuk and Pooya Aledvood

In King City, Ontario, Canada, lies a large outdoor concrete sculpture (I’d call it a wall) built in 1972 in a farmer’s field. It is an example of contemporary ecological art named “Shift” by the acclaimed sculptor Richard Serra. Jeff and I also watched a documentary about it.

So interesting how six concrete walls have created such a stir over the years for various reasons.

4. Character “Shift” in The Chronicles of Narnia

Keith Robinson

It’s been awhile since I’ve read book 7, The Last Battle, in the Narnia series. I’d forgotten there is a character named Shift. He’s a talking ape, “the cleverest, ugliest, most wrinkled Ape you can imagine.”

In the book, Shift appoints himself to be a fake spokesman for Aslan. He’s quite shifty (deceptive) and his character shifts (changes) throughout the book. 

Share With Us

If there’s something you’re interested in, take another look. Ask a new question. There’s always more to learn.

Share your discoveries in a comment below or link a blog post (open until October 10).

Upcoming: Our October monthly linkup opens Monday, October 26.

Question for you:

What’s something new you’re discovering? Share in the comments. 

If you’d like to receive our monthly One Word emails and ideas for 2026, join here.

• • Get more One Word ideas here

Link Up About Your One Word

We’re rushing. My husband Jeff and I hurriedly grab a seat beside five other participants at the round table labeled “Convo Table 1” under the tent. They’ve already begun.

It’s a hot September day. A fan is blowing air our direction. I settle in as comfortably as I can into my chair for the next hour.

The leader passes us his handout.

I look at the title.

That’s when the first uh-oh hits.

Did we sit at the wrong table?

We Don’t Always Choose the Same

While Jeff and I come to the Wild Goose Festival together—and leave together—we don’t always stay here together. Every hour offers multiple sessions.

And we rarely choose the same ones.

At one hour, you may find me deep in emotional conversations with fellow contemplatives at “Death Cafe,” while at the same hour Jeff is laughing it up with new friends at “Pub Trivia.”

No judgment on either of us. Both tracks are great. No right or wrong.

So when I convince him to join me for the 4:00 session called “Fishbowl Circle Conversations,” I want it to be good. For both of us.

The conversations are to center around this: “One thing we’re not talking about, but we should be talking about is…”
Sounds both fun and enlightening.

I look again at this handout in front of me—with its tiny font and words crowded together on front and back pages. I glance sideways at Jeff also looking at it.

I start feeling sick.

The topic listed is definitely something we’ve not been talking about.
But neither is it something I want to spend the next hour talking about.

I whisper to Jeff, “Maybe this is just a sample conversation starter?”

His eyes answer: What have you gotten me into?

I search frantically for the festival schedule.

We’re sitting at Convo Table 1.
The session I had circled for the fishbowl conversation is at…Convo Table 2.

What do we do now?

The Polite Thing to Do

I was brought up to be polite.

Every good Southern girl is trained that “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” To pull your car to the side of the road when a funeral procession passes by, no matter the hurry you’re in. To offer a “Bless your heart” at the appropriate moment.

So to get up and leave this table midstream just because it’s boring to me?
Unthinkably rude.

But staying here for an hour, knowing I got Jeff into this mess (and he’d be even more bored by this topic than I am!), also seems disrespectful. To him and to me.

I look again at Jeff. I whisper, “Can we just…leave?”

He’s already gathering his things.

I wait for a tiny break in the speaker’s monologue and then announce, “I’m so sorry, but we’re at the wrong table.”

We set our handouts back on the table, stand up, and walk away.

Sometimes, Just Leave

There are many lessons I could have learned that day—including triple-checking the location next time.

But the lesson I’m taking away is that sometimes I am going to end up at the wrong table. (Sometimes it’s even the table I thought I wanted.)

I’ve often stayed too long in places I needed to leave sooner, simply because I didn’t want to appear rude. Or didn’t want to admit I made a mistake. Or I was slow to even realize this table wasn’t for me.

Sometimes that’s been okay. I learned things. Some of them quite valuable things.

But other times, it’s just been wrong. Period. And there was no value in staying.

When those times come, I want to be quicker to admit the error. And leave. Change course. Go a different direction.

I’m happy to report that after leaving Table 1 for Table 2 that Friday, we had amazing fishbowl conversations, experimenting with a format I’ve never used before (and have since used at home!).

But that’s a lesson for another day. . . .

I’m not going to tell you what topic was on the handout at Table 1, lest I offend anyone. What I found terribly boring might be something you could talk about for hours. 😉

Share your thoughts in the comments.

My husband Jeff asks if I’d like a turn with the shovel.

“Yes.”

On this smoldering Thursday afternoon at a campground in North Carolina, I shovel a few piles of dirt back into the hole around the newly planted tree.

But there is more than a tree being planted today. The dozen people around me and I have already put something important into the hole, too.

This was our first event on the opening Thursday afternoon of the Wild Goose Festival. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this experience we’d chosen to participate in: “Planting Trees and Commitments to Peace.”

The description in the schedule said that while we’d actually plant trees on site, we’d also plant commitments to regenerate life—not only here, but in our own lives.

That was enough information for me.
I am all in.

Remember Your Trees

We had already gathered in a circle underneath a canopy.

Since this was a four-day, completely outdoor festival, the facilitators Pablo and Aaron began by giving thanks to the earth for all it would give us over the weekend. Pablo reminded us, “Dogs may be man’s best friend, but trees are man’s best neighbor.”

Our gratitude was something small we could give back.

We then took turns telling why each of us had chosen to participate in this tree-planting session.

I went back twenty years. On a spring day, I had been inside our home when I began hearing thuds outside. Trees in the lot next to our house were falling. I ran outside to see bulldozers pushing one huge tree after another to the ground.

I knew the land belonged to a cultural center that wanted to expand. They already had a small building there. Now they wanted to move into something larger.

So the trees had to get out of the way.

I was heartbroken watching the giant beauties fall one after the other.

It was in that moment that I realized how much I loved trees. And how I never wanted to take trees for granted again.

The feeling has stayed with me.

After sharing this story with the group, I listened to others share their own stories:

• Jeff talked about the fun we had a week earlier watching our nephews break up fallen hickory nuts.
• Another man told about sitting beneath a favorite tree with his grandfather.
• A woman said walking among trees helped her find peace during a difficult season.

Different memories, but a common thread: trees are living things themselves.
And they give us peace, hope, and life in more ways than we realize.

The Two Questions

After the circle discussion, we were each given a piece of paper and asked to answer two questions:

1. What do you need to release?
2. What do you need to embrace?

I took the questions seriously. For my own peace and for peace in the world, what did I need to let go of, and what did I need to hold together?

After writing down my answers, I folded the paper and put it in my pocket.

We moved to a nearby small hill on the campground where two medium-sized trees waited in pots, each native to North Carolina.

Several people took turns with shovels, digging two good-sized holes. When the holes were deep and wide enough, we each tore our papers in half.

One half went into one hole.
The other half went into the other.

Then we planted the trees.

Dirt.
Mulch.
Water for the willow oak tree.

Dirt.
Mulch.
Water for the bald cypress tree.

Planting for Change

I throw in my last few shovelfuls of dirt and pass the shovel to someone else.

All done, we tighten our circle once more, gathering around the newly planted trees. An Indigenous man in our group sings a blessing in his original language.

The ritual is simple. And meaningful.

As the weekend goes on, Aaron and Pablo lead three more groups with similar ceremony and commitment, planting a total of eight trees with the campground owner’s permission and delight.

Now, two weeks later, I find myself still thinking about all those pieces of paper melting back into the earth alongside the tree roots.

The thing on my paper that I wanted to release hasn’t magically disappeared, of course. The thing I wanted to embrace isn’t something I’ve completely figured out either.

Yet I’ll continue working on both. I owe it to myself. And to the trees.

Change doesn’t always happen quickly. Sometimes it comes one shovelful at a time.

A little dirt.
A little mulch.
A little water.

Every Shift Counts

If I return to North Carolina next year, I hope to walk back to the two trees we planted and note how much they’ve grown.

I realize two new trees in the ground won’t change the planet. It won’t undo the harm we continue to pound upon our home.

But I also planted part of myself on that small hill in North Carolina.

Planting the trees shifted something in me. Maybe I’ll have grown some too in a year’s time. 

And any change in the right direction, however small, makes a difference.

Is there something you want to release? To embrace? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Too Sensitive

I know this about myself: I can be too sensitive. It’s a detriment to me. And a detriment to others.

When I got a phone call about the dishwasher, I was bothered. I was in my 20s. I had recently sold my home to an elderly gentleman.

The following week, he was calling to yell at me that the dishwasher in the home had overflowed. The kitchen floor was soaked. And he was saying it was all my fault.

He was rude.
I was offended.

As we talked, I learned he had put hand dishwashing liquid instead of dishwasher detergent in the dishwasher. It had bubbled to overflowing. Of course it would.

How was this my fault?

Don’t Believe Everything

We suffer unnecessarily when we take things too personally. That’s why I love my third agreement of the four I’ve compiled for myself (See #1, Give the Benefit of the Doubt, and #2, Let Go of Being Right).

# 3. Don’t take it personally.

When we assume someone is being rude to us, we often react badly, defensively. It causes conflict and creates mountains out of molehills.

• How can they do this to me?
• Why don’t they like me?
• Why are they so mean?

And when we get too much praise? We can hold compliments too closely as well, believing every word that is said. We grow proud and haughty and entitled.

When we think everything is about us—good or bad—we’re actually being selfish.

And unrealistic.

The stories we make up in our head are usually just that: stories.

Whose Movie Is This?

We each cast ourselves as the star (and director and producer) in our own movie. All our life’s plots revolve around us. And all the people in our relationships are supporting actors.

But here’s the catch:

The supporting actors in our movies are actually busy starring in their own movies.

We all make ourselves the center of our universes.

So when our plots intersect, there’s always more going on than we realize.

It’s Not Personal

So don’t take it personally.

The way someone treats us reveals less about us and more about them. Less about our life and more about theirs.

Knowing that others aren’t centered around us keeps us humble.

• It frees us from arrogance.
• It reduces conflicts.
• It stabilizes our relationships.

We are more free to love others with no strings attached when we are less dependent on their approval for our self-worth and when we’re less disturbed by their disapproval.

Emptying ourselves of taking everything personally helps us live with more peace, more joy, and definitely more grace.

What You Think

The motivations we attach to others’ thoughts may have portions of truth in them, but they also contain large doses of our imagination. (Don’t take your own thoughts too personally either—you may just be tired or hungry or stressed.)

I later learned more truth about the gentleman and the dishwasher and his soap suds. I met one of his daughters. She told me how concerned they were about him. His dementia was getting worse. They weren’t sure he should even be living alone.

Dementia? I hadn’t known that.

Now it made sense. His rant to me wasn’t about me at all. It was about him.

I didn’t need to take it personally.

I rarely should.

It’s not about me as much as I think it is.

* * *

When have you been too sensitive? Do you ever take things too personally? Please share your thoughts here.

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See all 4 agreements (click on individual infographics)

1-Give the benefit of the doubt | 2-Let go of being right | 3-Don’t take it personally | 4-Just show up

revised from the archives

“A library outranks any other one thing a community can do to benefit its people. It is a never failing spring in the desert.”
— Andrew Carnegie

Here are the last 7 books I just finished reading that stood out to me.

They range in topics from courage to aging (and courage in aging) to book bans, anxiety, AI (and anxiety about AI)—and then a novel about tradwives to round things out.

[See previously recommended books here]

NONFICTION

1. How We Learn to Be Brave
Decisive Moments in Life and Faith
by Mariann Edgar Budde

Bishop Budde has made some brave choices the past few years in speaking up for the voiceless.

She writes this book to explain how anybody can develop more courage—as a choice, not just because they have it naturally—to face consequential decisions in a variety of situations, even if they don’t feel ready for them.

2. The Inner Work of Age
Shifting from Role to Soul
by Connie Zweig

The older I get, the more I think about what it means to age with wisdom.

This was a very interesting book on confronting the shadows of aging, looking inward and outward, and investing your life in things that are meaningful to you.

3. How to Defend Books and Why
Book Bans and How We Fight Them
by Danny Caine

I admit not all of this book kept my attention. Some chapters lost me. But overall, it was still worth reading. I appreciate how Caine explains both the recent history of book bans, how they’re affecting us now, and why it matters.

Chapter 5 on “Books to Change and Save Lives: Prison” was especially interesting to me since I have an incarcerated pen pal who is an avid reader and writer. I hope to hear more about his experience soon on books available to him.

4. The God Test
Artificial Intelligence and Our Coming Cosmic Reckoning
by Robert Wright

I’m still thinking about this one; I took a lot of notes from it. It’s about how quickly artificial intelligence might change humanity if we don’t develop some thoughtful governance around it. It’s not a book of scare tactics; Wright does bring balance.

However, he makes a good case for how much is at stake if we continue toward a “global brain.” My thanks to NetGalley for the review copy of this book.

5. Mindset
The New Psychology of Success
by Carol S. Dweck

This is an older book, but just as relevant as ever because it explains that what we believe about ourselves can affect how we move through life. Those with a fixed mindset don’t see much potential in themselves for change, whereas those with a growth mindset view themselves as capable of learning and adapting in new ways.

No one has all one or the other mindset, but a growth mindset turns out to be more helpful in navigating both your successes and failures.

And by finishing this book, I’ve now concluded the Daniel Pink challenge: 21 Life-Changing Books! I learned so much from a variety of sources about some things I might not have chosen on my own.

6. Anxiety Rx
by Russell Kennedy

Okay, this one still has me thinking, too. Because I am prone to anxiety myself, I’ve read a lot through the years about it. But this book presented it a bit differently (to me anyway).

Kennedy argues that all anxiety is separation anxiety (he goes more in depth about it), and anxiety is often alarm in the body first, which then causes distress in the mind. He combines neuroscience, psychology, personal experience, and practical techniques to change not only our response to anxiety, but how we think about it.

Effective? TBD. Intriguing? Definitely.

FICTION

7. Yesteryear
by Caro Claire Burke

I’m recommending this one with a caveat. I found the first part of this novel to be fascinating. It’s about a modern-day social media influencer promoting her tradwife lifestyle.

But the book really bogged down for me in the middle with its time-travel theme. It picked back up at the end, fortunately, to help it make sense. (It still won’t make any top 10 lists for me though.)

Nonetheless, it was highly entertaining overall, so I’ll still recommend it.

WHAT I’M READING NOW

• Project Hail Mary
  by Andy Weir
• Saying No to New
  Why New Things Are Stealing Your Time, Money, and Happiness―and How to Take Back Your Life
  by Eric Athas
• The Art of Fighting
  The Transformative Power of Conflict
  by Priya Parker
• Live Laugh Love
  The Secret History of White Christian Women and the World They Made
  by Kristin Kobes DuMez
• The Geography of Loss
  Embrace What Is, Honor What Was, Love What Will Be
  by Patti Digh
• Don’t Think of an Elephant!
  Know Your Values and Frame the Debate
  by George Lakoff
• Good Writing
  36 Ways to Improve Your Sentences
  by Neal Allen, Anne Lamott

Closing

As always, I don’t agree with everything in the books I recommend. But these each gave me something to think about and/or something to enjoy along the way. Maybe one will do the same for you, too!

What’s a good book you’ve read lately? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

I’m sharing at some of these linkups

Here are brief summaries and links to posts on the blog, Lisa notes, from August 2026.

• Making Room for What I Didn’t Choose—Share 4 Somethings August 2026 (8/31)
  Some changes don’t come by choice. I’m learning what it means to make room for those, without giving up my ability to respond.
• See Your Word Through Someone Else’s Eyes {One Word 2026 August Linkup} (8/26)
  Explore your One Word from a fresh perspective by having three conversations about it. See what your word means to others.
• Mary Has One Good Hand (8/20)
  An encounter with Mary, a homeless woman facing disability, illness, and loss, reminds me of resilience, independence, and friendship.
• My Newest Hobby: AI Detection (8/13)
  I’ve been noticing a lot of AI writing showing up in newsletters lately. So I’ve taken up a new hobby: AI detection.
• A Lot Can Shift in 18 Years: My Blogging Anniversary (8/8)
  After 18 years of blogging, I’m looking back at four old posts and reflecting on what has changed—and what has stayed the same.
• 8 Books I Recommend – August 2026 (8/4)
  Here are 5 nonfiction books and 3 novels I recommend this month, including Theo of Golden and The Correspondent.

See previous months’ archives here

Some changes we create ourselves. Other changes may be imposed upon us by other people’s choices. And some changes happen to us because, well, that’s just how life works.

This month, my focus for my yearly word Shift has been on accepting the last two kinds of changes—the unchosen shifts.

I’ve tried to consciously notice how I respond to unchosen changes—ignore them? fight them? judge them?—and see what happens if I simply accept them before deciding what to do next.

Each month I link my Share 4 Somethings post with Jenn.

I also share here my One Second Everyday video from the previous month.

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1. Something I Love

• REDISCOVERING WHAT I LEFT BEHIND

When I was younger, I did a lot of cross-stitching. Somewhere along the way I stopped. It’s been years since I’ve done any kind of needlework.

So I didn’t know how much I would still enjoy it until I attended my daughter Jenna’s embroidery workshop at a local flower farm near us.

With a piece of lavender in front of us picked straight from the farm, Jenna did a great job leading us to create our own lavender needlework piece. I was surprised that I especially liked creating alongside other people because typically I only do creative projects on my own. I’m hoping to attend her September workshop, too.

Doing embroidery again showed me that not every shift has to be resisted. Some changes can simply remind us that we can return to something we once laid down, in a new season and in a new way.

my imperfect but finished embroidery

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

2. Something Sustaining Me

• UNEXPECTED TIME WITH FRIENDS

Sometimes I make intricate plans weeks ahead of time. Other times, things just happen. That’s how this month worked out with friends.

With no more than a day or a week’s planning, I ended up getting one-on-one meals with six different friends this month. And I loved it!

I appreciated the conversations with each friend, hearing their unique goings-on in their lives and learning to see the world a little differently through their eyes.

I’m grateful the month unfolded this way without my foreknowledge (my introverted self might have nixed such a crazy plan as much too much!).

Sometimes making room for short-notice gatherings allows us to appreciate the gifts from spontaneity we might otherwise have avoided.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

3. Something Carrying Me Forward

• NEW PLACES FOR A CHANGE OF PERSPECTIVE

My husband Jeff and I took a short trip to St. Augustine, Florida, last week, and discovered it wears the “oldest” title in many areas in the continental United States: oldest continuously inhabited European-established settlement, oldest masonry fort, oldest public street, oldest known planned Black settlement, and much more.

It was a lot of new knowledge about old things.

Castillo de San Marcos, the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States, built 1672-1695

Dr. King preached several times at St. Paul AME Church in St. Augustine, FL, in the 1960s, originally founded in 1873

We have a different kind of trip planned for this month: a return to fill up our spirits at the annual Wild Goose Festival.

I keep finding that when I put myself in different places and among different people, my world expands in ways I couldn’t plan for or intentionally choose.

A change of scenery often sparks a shift in perspective—and sometimes that’s exactly what I need, even when I don’t realize I need it.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

4. Something I’m Making Space For

• CHANGES ALREADY UNDERWAY

This one isn’t as fun.

I’m trying to learn more about data centers.

Along with the rest of the world, data centers are becoming more of an issue in my state of Alabama. I want to understand them better so I can make educated decisions when I have opportunities to vote or speak up.

We’ll be electing a new governor on November 3. One candidate has announced he’s eager to multiply our data centers while the other candidate suggests we slow down and decide on guard rails first.

A few weeks ago I attended a local presentation at my library on the environmental impact of data centers. I learned that data centers are already operating in my area, with additions being considered. I also learned what questions to ask to better compare the different types of centers.

The world continues to shift in this direction, whether we’re ready or not. (I’m not.)

Accepting change doesn’t mean we have to like the change. But it’s helpful to face what’s happening so when we do have choices to make, we can choose wisely.

What are you making room for that you didn’t choose? What was a highlight of your August? Share in the comments.

I’m linking at these blog parties

One reason I love choosing a word to guide my year is because I get to spend twelve months thinking about what it means to me.

But the same word doesn’t mean the same thing to every person.

So this month, get a fresh perspective on your word by having a few conversations about it.

You don’t need a One Word to try this. Pick a value, question, or idea you’ve been thinking about and ask three people what it means to them.

We often learn something new about things that matter to us when we hear what they mean to others.

Start Three Conversations

Over the next week or so, choose three people—from friends, family, coworkers, neighbors—and start a casual conversation with each one about your word or topic.

Here are some questions you might ask to get the conversation going about your word or something you’ve been thinking about—a value you’re living by, a question you’re considering, a quality you admire.

• When you hear about this, what comes to mind?
• What do you think is the opposite of it?
• How often do you encounter this in everyday life?
• What’s one way you think I could practice it?

Just go wherever the conversation takes you.

What Will You Discover?

You may be surprised to discover that someone else thinks differently about your word in a way you haven’t even considered.

That’s part of the joy of conversation. We don’t have to figure out everything on our own. We’re designed for community, so let’s take advantage of it.

You may discover something new about the person you’re talking with as well.

Shifting Thoughts

Here are a few things I learned when I had three conversations about my One Word Shift. Not surprisingly, none of these people noticed Shift as often as in their daily lives as I do since I’m listening for it. 

hubby gave me some “Shift” stickers

Define Shift

I love the range of meanings I heard. All three people had different definitions. Each person approached it from a different perspective, which is exactly the kind of input I wanted. 

• Gear shift on a car
• A change in direction
• Off-kilter

Opposite of Shift

Again, I got three different answers, giving me even more to think about. 

• Automatic
• Stagnation
• Stable

Practicing Shift

Suggesting ways to practice Shift is harder, but I did get these suggestions.

• Buy a vehicle that’s not automatic (this one is from my husband, lol)
• Change the way you believe or react to something
• Do something out of the ordinary

Fittingly, after hearing someone else’s perspectives, I’m shifting the way I think about Shift.

Sometimes a shift can be dramatic, like a complete change in direction. Or a shift may be more subtle, like changing from “automatic” to “manual” mode in my thinking. Or a shift can be action-filled, breaking me free from a stagnant season to try something out of the ordinary.

Share With Us

If you have conversations too about your word or topic, I’d love to hear about them. Share your experiences in a comment below, in a blog post for our linkup (open now until September 9), or in our One Word Facebook group.

Sometimes our words grow more meaningful when we stop considering them alone and start talking about them with others.

Our September monthly linkup opens Saturday, September 26.

Question for you:

Who is someone you would like to have a conversation with about your word or a topic that’s on your mind? Share in the comments. 

If you’d like to receive our monthly One Word emails and ideas for 2026, join here.

• • Get more One Word ideas here

Link Up About Your One Word

It’s 3:00 on a Monday afternoon. I’m already complaining about how sweaty I am.

My friend Kay and I begin unloading the boxed meals from the back of my car into the shopping cart we use to deliver meals to our friends in the apartment complex.

We don’t cook or box the meals ourselves. Another group of volunteers does that hard work.

We count ourselves lucky to get the best job—handing meals to residents who we now count as friends.

That’s when our long-time friend Mary rolls up in her wheelchair from the nearby street.

We haven’t seen Mary in a while. And actually, I never know when we see her if it will be the last time. She used to live in an apartment here. We’d chat at her door and talk as friends.

Then one day, she was gone.

Her neighbors told us she was evicted after falling behind on her rent. We were all sad about it.

But every now and then, Mary shows up outside the apartment complex around the time we pull up, and we give her a meal.

This is one of those times. I hand her a meal. It’s an especially good one today. The cooks made lasagna—a real treat.

We’re happy to see Mary. She looks healthy enough.

She’s not, though.

One Working Hand

She says she was just released yesterday from the “crazy house.” I ask questions. She explains that someone turned her in for acting strangely, so she spent the night in the psychiatric ward of our local hospital.

She insisted to the staff that she’s not crazy, though. She told them to watch her and they’d see for themselves. After one night, they did release her, and she returned home to Tent City, where she lives.

Tent City is one of the more structured homeless camps in town, also now known as The Slab. After a fire erupted in Tent City in 2024, causing severe damage and making it uninhabitable for the people living there, the city stepped up. Last year they poured 84 12-by-12-foot concrete slabs for 84 10-by-10-foot tents, and set up a few community guidelines for those who stay there.

Mary is one of the people who got a place.

I ask if it’s better than before. She says yes. Her new tent is bigger than her old one. She can turn her wheelchair around in it.

When we first met Mary, she had one functioning leg and one partial leg. She had lost the leg from the knee down after a car accident a few years earlier.

Then last year, she kept having trouble with her remaining foot. So the doctors surgically removed it.

Now she has no feet at all.

And since we last saw her a few months ago, something else has happened.

Mary tells us she has had a stroke.

Her entire left side has stopped working for her. She demonstrates by picking up her limp left arm with her right hand.

Of her four limbs, she now has the use of only one. . .
one hand that still works.

But My Problem

Mary tells us she has a boyfriend. That he’s really good to her. That he helps her move into her wheelchair each morning because she can’t do it on her own.

But this morning, someone turned him in for sleeping beside her in her tent. She says a police officer pulled him out and took him to jail. She doesn’t know when he’ll be released.

I dig another meal out of the car and give it to her. She’s been through a lot.

I check my car for any leftover forks I have from takeout Panda Express. I find an unopened package and hand it to her.

She takes it with her right hand. But she can’t get it open. She hands it back to me, and I unwrap it for her.

She begins eating as we continue talking, balancing the meal on her lap and eating with her one working hand. She spills a little food on her shirt.

I’m torn. My first instinct is to help her eat. My second instinct is: just let her be. 

I know she’s used to doing what she can with one hand. She doesn’t seem bothered that she has food on her shirt.

The discomfort is my problem, not hers. 

She takes another bite of lasagna.

I watch her eat.

Will We See Her Again?

Sweat continues to pour off me. We still need to deliver the rest of the meals, so we awkwardly say goodbye to Mary. We tell her we hope we’ll see her again soon.

And we mean it.

But will we see her again?

I’m aware of the statistics. The average life expectancy for people experiencing homelessness in America hovers around 48 to 50 years.

Mary is 49.

She’s already lost so much. Her home. Her mobility. Three of her four limbs. And today, she’s also lost (at least temporarily) the one person who helps her in and out of her wheelchair.

Yet here she is. Eating lasagna on a hot Monday afternoon. Talking with friends. Making the best of the life—and the body—that she’s in.

With one good hand, she feeds herself.
With one good hand, she waves goodbye.
With one good hand, she rolls away with the freedom she still treasures.

I hope that her one remaining hand remains good to her.

I’ve stopped complaining about the heat.

Share your thoughts in the comments.

Read more true stories:

• He Knows Who the Survivors Will Be
  The world of the homeless camp feels brutally real. Sometimes I’m not sure whose world is the strangest one: theirs or ours.
• When to Say Thank You
  She has so little to give. But when someone wants to repay you, accept it. Grace flows both directions.
• This Is Not Fair
  The homeless boys know the forecast. Cold and stormy. I’ll have to turn up my electric blanket tonight. Life is not fair.