wishing you clear skies

is there anything better than a summer sunset?

The summer that I was fourteen, I fell in love with Every Soul a Star by Wendy Mass.

It's a sweet middle grade novel about what happens when an eclipse brings three kids together for a brief but extraordinary moment. It's a book about friendship and change and hope, and I love it more than I can say. I've read it every summer since, and it's one of my favorite traditions.

Because the book centers around an eclipse, a lot of the story revolves around astronomy and stargazing. If you know anything about stargazing, you know that it's something that can only really be done on a clear night. Only when the sky is clear can you truly see the beauty of the heavens for all it's worth.

The hope for clear skies turns into a catchphrase of sorts. "I wish you clear skies," the characters say as they part. I always loved that. "I wish you clear skies." It's the purest hope, wishing clear skies for another.

These days in particular, I find myself praying more and more for clear skies, for rivers in the wasteland. We all know that it's been a heavy few months, and if I'm being honest, I have to admit that the hard and the heavy have been overtaking me more often than not.

Hope and light and encouragement can be hard to find. But I am infinitely grateful for the fact that within this creative community, I constantly see people every day working to put out just that - hope. For every post that goes across my screen that makes me want to completely throw in the towel, there never fails to be another one that does just the opposite. And I am so grateful for that. I'm so grateful to be surrounded by people who aren't content with what is but who are fighting for more.

Eleven months ago, I decided to jump in alongside them and begin something that, while many of you already know about, I've somehow never properly announced here on the blog before. (Apparently I need to work on the whole self-promotion thing).

The Tuesday Letters came about as the result of a litany of contrasting emotions - a love for letters, a detestation of Tuesdays, and a need for hope. Inspired by some incredible women that I'm going to be linking at the end of this post, the Tuesday Letters are a weekly encouragement email that I send out in the hopes of making the world feel even just a bit lighter. They're filled with everything from my crazy theatre stories to reflections on the craziness that we live in to what the Lord is teaching me as of late.

I've talked about ballet, and how sometimes the barre can teach you a lot more than just pliés. I've talked about community, and faithfulness, and about how sometimes I relate to Captain Hook just a little too much. More often than not, I talk about grace, because it's the most important thing of all.

When I was first beginning to put this project together, I knew that I needed some sort of theme or motto to tie it all together, and that familiar phrase popped into my head - "wishing you clear skies". Because at the crux of it, that's what I hope that the Tuesday Letters are: a reminder that someone somewhere is rooting for you, cheering you on, and praying you see clear skies. When there isn't a clear solution and everything feels all tangled up, sometimes you just need a bit of encouragement to help you face it all, and it's always my hope that these letters can be that for you.

The Tuesday Letters have become a really incredible community, and I'm forever grateful to you all for that. You have no idea how much it truly makes my day to see your names pop up in my inbox after I send out a Tuesday Letter, and how grateful I am to get to know you. It is the absolute greatest privilege to get to hear your stories, and I hope you know that I don't take that lightly for a second.

So if you haven't joined in on the Tuesday Letters yet, I would definitely encourage you to head up to the link in the right hand corner of my blog and hit "subscribe", or hey - just click here. I would so love to have you as a part of this community.

And if you're in need of a little extra light, I want to point you towards some truly incredible humans who are doing some amazing things. I think that we all need to be reminded of the good that still remains, and these people will remind you just that.

All Things Lilly Ann

one of the absolute sweetest, most positive people. graphic design and the cutest shop you ever did see.

Keira at Close to Nothing

i just love her so. the most talented photographer whose writing is so genuine and true.

Hannah Brencher

there are few people on the planet that inspire me more than hannah brencher. everything that she creates is filled with truth. her monday club emails were one of the biggest inspirations to me as i was creating the concept of the tuesday letters. 

Joanne at With Risa

joanne's writing has been some of my absolute favorite throughout this quarantine. she has a thoughtfulness and poignancy to her words that i adore.

Tanner Olson at Written to Speak

i discovered written to speak a few months ago and have fallen in love with tanner's writing. he writes with such a hope, and his theme of "i'm just happy to be here" always makes me smile.

The Kate and Abbie Show

how could i talk about positivity without mentioning these two incredible humans? they inspire me endlessly and i couldn't be prouder of all they do.

Brandon Stanton at Humans of New York

throughout this entire process, the humans of new york account has been sharing #quarantinestories, stories that have been sent in full of love and hope. i get so excited when brandon's daily post pops up on my feed - there have been some incredibly special stories.

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I hope you're hanging in there through it all. Know some awesome people working to make the world a brighter place? Send them my way - I'd love to check them out. :-) Wishing you clear skies today and everyday, friends.