There are a lot of things competing for our attention these days. Our phones buzz. Our tabs multiply. Our “just one more scroll” turns into thirty minutes we’ll never get back. And yet—there is something sacred about opening a book. Not tapping. Not swiping. Not being interrupted by a notification telling you someone you barely know just posted lunch. Just you. A story. And the quiet presence of God meeting you right where you are. Reading has never been obsolete.

BUYING WITH CARE What we put on our skin matters. What we clean our homes with matters. Who we choose to buy from matters. And yes—even what a product is called matters to me. I’m a reader. I’m a label-turner. I’m the person who wants to know what’s in it, where it comes from, and what the company stands behind. Is it good for me? For my family? For the planet? Not because I’m perfect or extreme, but because my faith and my values don’t clock out when I’m shopping.

Have you ever caught yourself thinking something about you that you would never, ever say to another human being? “You’re not good enough.” “You can’t do this.” “Everyone else is better.” I have. Many times. And if I’m honest, there have been seasons where what others said became louder than what God said about me. Just like Julia Roberts said in Pretty Woman: “The bad stuff is easier to believe.” But friend—that was never the truth. Words matter.