<![CDATA[On the Journey: Random Reflections]]>https://sarahstyf.substack.com/s/random-reflectionshttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!jH6D!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9c78ade1-8661-439b-9c55-806f3ebb5ba6_750x750.pngOn the Journey: Random Reflectionshttps://sarahstyf.substack.com/s/random-reflectionsSubstackSat, 02 May 2026 07:48:12 GMT<![CDATA[Build Community]]>https://sarahstyf.substack.com/p/build-communityhttps://sarahstyf.substack.com/p/build-communityWed, 09 Apr 2025 23:01:19 GMTI didn’t protest in downtown Indy last weekend.

Instead, I went to an author event at a local coffee shop and worked on slowly growing community.

And I believe that is its own kind of protest.

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]]><![CDATA[My review of Becoming the Pastor's Wife]]>https://sarahstyf.substack.com/p/my-review-of-becoming-the-pastorshttps://sarahstyf.substack.com/p/my-review-of-becoming-the-pastorsTue, 18 Mar 2025 14:21:18 GMTIf you’ve been with me on my writing journey for a long time, you know that I have spent years reflecting on and processing my life as a churchworker’s kid who went into churchwork and eventually saw everything blow up in my face. While I have been writing about it for over a year in my Shifting Sand series, there is so much more work that I have to do as I process those experiences. Writers like have been instrumental in my walk through faith reconstruction.

Today is launch day for her new book, Becoming the Pastor’s Wife. I was blessed to be on the launch team for this book and read an advanced copy. (Seriously, if you ever want a great launch team experience, I cannot recommend doing one through Brazos Books enough.) I may not be a pastor’s wife, but I am so thankful I got to read this book.

From my Goodreads review:

I've questioned the role of women in church leadership for a long time, and as the granddaughter of a pastor and a devoted pastor's wife and as the daughter of a churchworker who became a pastor later in life, I have watched the story of what is expected of pastor's wives play out over and over again.

Just as she did with The Making of Biblical Womanhood, Barr brilliantly weaves thorough historical research with the story of the role of women in the American Church in the 20th and 21st centuries. This isn't just a book for members of the SBC. This book is for all women who belong to church bodies that deny us a full seat at the table.

Buy it wherever books are sold!

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While most of my work here is free for all subscribers, it is still a labor of love that I fit into the few hours I have when I am not teaching or being an attentive wife and mom. If you want to support my writing but you do not want to commit to being a paid subscriber, please consider a one-time donation.

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]]><![CDATA[Are we in the furnace?]]>https://sarahstyf.substack.com/p/are-we-in-the-furnacehttps://sarahstyf.substack.com/p/are-we-in-the-furnaceThu, 27 Feb 2025 00:44:03 GMTSo who of you were 80s kids who listened to the children’s musical It’s Cool in the Furnace or It’s Cool in the Furnace II?

I don’t know why people are surprised that I have been never-Trump from day one. I was told to say no to idols when I was a child.

But then, I don’t know if I can say it any more eloquently than did on Notes earlier today.

So let me know in the comments: were you a Cool in the Furnace fan too?

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]]><![CDATA[Help Support Your Favorite Writers By Telling People They Exist]]>https://sarahstyf.substack.com/p/help-support-your-favorite-writershttps://sarahstyf.substack.com/p/help-support-your-favorite-writersMon, 17 Feb 2025 15:20:30 GMTIt’s Presidents Day and it’s cold outside, so I’m enjoying some time inside writing and promoting my work.

I know that there have been a few emails from me in three days, but this is a rare burst of creativity due to having small windows of time. I promise that this is not the norm.

Even if you don’t make it to the end of the video, please fill out the survey questions below to help me figure out my next steps moving forward.

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Support my writing

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While most of my work here is free for all subscribers, it is still a labor of love that I fit into the few hours I have when I am not teaching or being an attentive wife and mom. If you want to support my writing but you do not want to commit to being a paid subscriber, please consider a one-time donation.

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]]><![CDATA[Some changes coming to my blog]]>https://sarahstyf.substack.com/p/some-changes-coming-to-my-bloghttps://sarahstyf.substack.com/p/some-changes-coming-to-my-blogFri, 31 Jan 2025 02:02:19 GMTI’m working on being more intentional in 2025, and there are some changes that I need to make to be more authentic and intentional with my work. (Psst, make sure you read through to the bottom because I have a special offer.)

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First, for those who want to keep subscribing but are trying to also be more intentional about your inbox, here are some screenshots to show you how you can unsubscribe from some of the sections I discuss in the video.

Now for the special offer. I have TEN free codes for my first book available on Spotify. In order to qualify, you have to be one of the first ten people to do the following:

  1. Subscribe if you haven’t done so yet.

  2. Like this post.

  3. Share a favorite blog post of mine on Threads, Substack Notes, or Bluesky, and tag me in the post.

  4. Email or DM me to let me know that you have done the two items above.

Codes will be emailed out on Sunday.

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]]><![CDATA[What a week...and I didn't post it on social media]]>https://sarahstyf.substack.com/p/what-a-weekand-i-didnt-post-it-onhttps://sarahstyf.substack.com/p/what-a-weekand-i-didnt-post-it-onSun, 26 Jan 2025 23:45:03 GMTHere is the link to my recent piece looking at how I’m thinking about social media right now:

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]]><![CDATA[Some additional thoughts on social media]]>https://sarahstyf.substack.com/p/some-additional-thoughts-on-socialhttps://sarahstyf.substack.com/p/some-additional-thoughts-on-socialSun, 26 Jan 2025 23:42:59 GMTFor more, here is the link to the related blog post:

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]]><![CDATA[My thoughts on Ghosted and telling our stories]]>https://sarahstyf.substack.com/p/my-thoughts-on-ghosted-and-tellinghttps://sarahstyf.substack.com/p/my-thoughts-on-ghosted-and-tellingSun, 19 Jan 2025 22:38:05 GMTI really loved Nancy French’s memoir. It is both beautifully written and shares important lessons for all of us as we ask questions about where we are headed as a country.

Here are the many thoughts I had while reading this book this past weekend.

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And for further consideration, check out this post in which I discuss how we contain multitudes as human beings:

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Support my writing

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While most of my work here is free for all subscribers, it is still a labor of love that I fit into the few hours I have when I am not teaching or being an attentive wife and mom. If you want to support my writing but you do not want to commit to being a paid subscriber, please consider a one-time donation.

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You can also support me by ordering my book or books from my favorite book lists at my Bookshop.org affiliate page.

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And thank you for supporting my journey 💗

]]><![CDATA[Going Small]]>https://sarahstyf.substack.com/p/going-smallhttps://sarahstyf.substack.com/p/going-smallSat, 18 Jan 2025 21:12:03 GMTSome thoughts after my experiences at an author event at a local coffee shop. We don’t have to always think that bigger is better.

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While most of my work here is free for all subscribers, it is still a labor of love that I fit into the few hours I have when I am not teaching or being an attentive wife and mom. If you want to support my writing but you do not want to commit to being a paid subscriber, please consider a one-time donation.

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You can also support me by ordering my book or books from my favorite book lists at my Bookshop.org affiliate page.

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]]><![CDATA[My response to The Mythmakers]]>https://sarahstyf.substack.com/p/my-response-to-the-mythmakershttps://sarahstyf.substack.com/p/my-response-to-the-mythmakersFri, 17 Jan 2025 00:11:07 GMTRead my thoughts after I finished reading The Mythmakers by John Hendrix.

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]]><![CDATA[Glasses, ugh]]>https://sarahstyf.substack.com/p/glasses-ughhttps://sarahstyf.substack.com/p/glasses-ughFri, 10 Jan 2025 00:38:33 GMTI talk about my nearly lifetime of needing glasses, problems with contacts, and new vision problems in my 40s.

And my daughter makes a guest appearance asking me if I want chips, because that’s what happens when you go live.

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]]><![CDATA[Still running]]>https://sarahstyf.substack.com/p/still-runninghttps://sarahstyf.substack.com/p/still-runningWed, 08 Jan 2025 02:50:48 GMTSome thoughts about seeking health in a new year.

More posts about my running journey.

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]]><![CDATA[Some snow day thoughts]]>https://sarahstyf.substack.com/p/some-snow-day-thoughtshttps://sarahstyf.substack.com/p/some-snow-day-thoughtsMon, 06 Jan 2025 15:47:49 GMTWe have a snow day and I have some thoughts 😂

Honestly, I’m ok with an e-learning day for the first day of the semester, but I also have a long history of dealing with the good, bad, and ugly of e-learning as a substitute for not being in school.

Here is the blog post I wrote in 2014 when I was SO tired of all of the snowfall.

Remember that you can join me on the Substack app when I go live. Usually I just post to my blog without sending it as an email, but today I’m sending it to your inbox 😊

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]]><![CDATA[MLM story time]]>https://sarahstyf.substack.com/p/mlm-story-timehttps://sarahstyf.substack.com/p/mlm-story-timeTue, 31 Dec 2024 01:59:34 GMTAt some point, I will talk about my MLM experience when I write about our Fort Wayne years for my Shifting Sand series, but here is a preview.

And here is my piece about being intentional in 2025:

These are the candles I have left after nearly 15 years.

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]]><![CDATA[Getting rid of the piano]]>https://sarahstyf.substack.com/p/getting-rid-of-the-pianohttps://sarahstyf.substack.com/p/getting-rid-of-the-pianoSat, 28 Dec 2024 18:52:35 GMTI held on for a long time.

It was time to let go.

Part of being “intentional” in 2025 means getting rid of the stuff we don’t use and don’t need. It seems a little morbid, but I asked myself what I would want to replace if we were to have a house fire or a tornado.

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The piano didn’t make the cut.

So now we are a couple hundred dollars richer and have a tiny bit more space…and one less place for dog fur to collect.

For my original post about my daughter’s failed attempt at piano, click here.

While you can order the whole book, here is the revised chapter about that experience:

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]]><![CDATA[Some thoughts on being intentional ]]>https://sarahstyf.substack.com/p/some-thoughts-on-being-intensionalhttps://sarahstyf.substack.com/p/some-thoughts-on-being-intensionalFri, 27 Dec 2024 01:04:02 GMTJoin me for my next live video in the app

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Additional thoughts on being intentional:

]]><![CDATA[What about social media?]]>https://sarahstyf.substack.com/p/what-about-social-mediahttps://sarahstyf.substack.com/p/what-about-social-mediaWed, 18 Dec 2024 22:57:27 GMTJoin me for my next live video in the app

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]]><![CDATA[Indy Mini - 2024]]>https://sarahstyf.substack.com/p/indy-mini-2024https://sarahstyf.substack.com/p/indy-mini-2024Sun, 05 May 2024 16:52:18 GMTBefore the race

The rest of the photos are behind the paywall. While some of the following photos can be viewed on the blog post about the race, the rest came from the professional photography of the race and can only be seen by paid subscribers.

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Read more

]]><![CDATA[My Reads of 2024]]>https://sarahstyf.substack.com/p/my-reads-of-2024https://sarahstyf.substack.com/p/my-reads-of-2024Tue, 30 Apr 2024 02:25:34 GMT

]]><![CDATA[Pre-Indy Mini Running Success]]>https://sarahstyf.substack.com/p/pre-indy-mini-running-successhttps://sarahstyf.substack.com/p/pre-indy-mini-running-successThu, 25 Apr 2024 22:41:29 GMTSupport my writing

While most of my work here is free for all subscribers, it is still a labor of love that I fit into the few hours I have when I am not teaching or being an attentive wife and mom. If you would like to support my writing but you do not want to commit to being a paid subscriber, please consider a one-time donation.

One-time donation

You can also support me by ordering my book or books from my favorite book lists at my Bookshop.org affiliate page.

Bookshop.org Affiliate

If you want to be a regular supporter, you can upgrade your subscription from free to paid and get occasional content only for paid subscribers.

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And thank you for supporting my journey 💗

]]>