September 2026

Alysia Miller

Sep 1

3 min read

Sept 2026 Issue No. 19

HONEST LIFE | SLOW GROWTH | DEEPLY ROOTED

The Veteran In a New Field, Winslow Homer, 1865 — *The Veteran In a New Field,* Winslow Homer, 1865

WELCOME

Welcome to Invitations. My deep hope is that this monthly newsletter will serve as an invitation to consider ideas, practices, and images that will enrich your life. I hope you’ll find fresh perspectives on living a honest, spiritual life, deepening connections between God and others, and permission to grow slowly.

Love in this world doesn't come out of thin air. It is not something thought up. Like ourselves, it grows out of the ground. It has a body and a place.

-Wendell Berry, from Hannah Coulter

To practice.

SABBATH: One of the benefits of practicing Sabbath, or setting apart one day of the week for rest, is that it allows us to become more ourselves. How? Travis West explores work, refreshment, and delight. Read HERE for more.

INEFFCIENCY AND INCONVIENCE: It's all good and fine to say the only way to love is in the actual flesh, but gosh darn it, that can be confusing and inconvenient from time to time. Kate Gatson explores the inconvenience of friendships and love. Read HERE for more.

A few things to take in.

Oyster Shell, by Porters Gate. A take on the parables of Jesus about the Kingdom of God, put to song. Where have you found heaven?
The Other Backpacks. Everyone's carrying a pack.
Why Your Burnout May Be an Invitation to a more Meaningful Life: Tish Harrison Warren on No Small Endeavor podcast.

Words to consider.

"Spirituality is lived, not just thought."

-Murphy Alvis

The way to my heart is garage sales.

I was meeting a new friend for coffee the other day, recalling how the previous coffee I had with a friend turned into an impromptu garage sale adventure. My friend had said, "Hey Alysia, want to grab our coffee to-go and find garage sales?" This was an easy yes for me. Just the memory of it brought a smile to my face. Garage sales in and of themselves aren't a guaranteed success; you never know if someone else's trash will become your treasure. But I loved every minute of it: perusing, chatting, hunting...all with a someone who called me a friend.

Then I had the words of Jesus ringing in my head: I have called your friends.

I had been contemplating how we partner with Jesus in the restoration in the world. We've been invited to join him by bearing witness to his presence, in whatever work or play or study or creating with which we fill our days.

But this invitation isn't coming from a boss. It's coming from a friend.

Here's Jesus, with a twinkle in his eye saying, Hey Alysia, do you want to go garagesaling with me? Or maybe he's saying, Do you want to bake cookies with me? Do you want to learn about coding with me? Or should we paint that fence, or go say hi to that new kid? What if we did dishes together? What if we went on a hike?

It's a friend that's inviting us to create, explore, discover, take risks. This is an invitation to live your actual life with your quirks and desires and preferences.

And it's a friend that asks, "Are you tired? Worn out? Burnt out on religion? Come to me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me--watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly" (Matthew 11:28-30, MSG). Our friend Jesus wants it all, our delight and our burnout, the blazing flame of our curiosity and the smoldering wick of our deep disappointments.

I wondered if this new friend I with whom I was meeting was the garagesaling type, or to what activities she would give an easy yes to. I didn't get a chance to ask, but I hope it's something I can discover because there's nothing quite like being invited to do something you enjoy with a friend.