29 Comments

Feeling the need to just say thank you for your words. Happy New Year!

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Thank you, Matt! I feel encouraged when people like you express gratitude!

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Happy New Year! Thank you for sharing your reflections for 2024.

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Happy New Year!

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Jen, I am finally catching up and reading this-so good. It’s so encouraging to read your embodied life this past year, thanks for sharing it!

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Thanks as always for reading and sharing your encouraging words!

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I loved this, Jen! Thank you for generously sharing your wisdom each week- I always look forward to reading your newsletter. Thanks to a couple mentions from you, I picked up Glittering Vices a couple months ago and found it so profitable and ... enjoyable? :) It felt weird to be excited about a book about the vices but it was so good and has lastingly shaped my prayer life as well- thank you for that recommendation. And from this newsletter, one of the final things you said really hit home: "Expect less emotional payoff in daily life and work. Persevere to persevere!" That is a good word and one I need for the new year. Blessings on your 2025!

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So glad you’ve found benefit from Glittering Vices! And it was Uche Anizor who said, in my interview with him earlier this year, “Persevere to persevere.” It was something I’ve held onto! Thanks for reading here, Danielle!

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Finally getting to read this and so glad I did!

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Thanks, Michele!

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Thank you for this. Helpful for me in my yearly reflections, a practice I find hard to do but believe in its benefits.

Looking forward to more of your writing in 2025! God bless you, Jen.

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Thank you, Julie! God bless you!

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I loved this post, thank you for sharing! Can you explain more about what yearly calendaring looks like? I’m excited to try it!

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Yes! It’s super basic but we print out a 4 page yearly calendar (one page per quarter). We drop in everything we know like big events, travel, etc, then we talk about things like personal retreats, family vacation, a getaway for the two of us. We pencil in what we can and start planning!

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That’s awesome! Thanks for this 🙌🏻

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you’re welcome!

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Concerning garlic: My best hack is to buy a bag of already peeled garlic at Aldi, freeze it, take out the cloves needed, let them sit a few minutes and chop. It couldn’t be easier!

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OOOOO, even better! THANK YOU, Annie!

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Thank you for sharing! This is so helpful as I begin my yearly review. Would you be open to sharing the spending questions that you ask? This has been top of my mind this year after reading Free: spending your time and money on what matters most by Mark Scandrette.

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Happy to share! Some seem so basic. . . but they're helpful to me!

1. Do I know how much this costs?

2. Is there a more economical option? What are good reasons for paying more?

3. Is this a thing too precious to share without anxiety?

4. Is this something I can easily operate and fix?

5. Are there ways to make do without this?

6. Is this something I need? Something I need now?

7. Is this a frivolous comfort spend? Am I buying what I truly value?

8. Have I discussed this with Ryan?

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Love these! Thank you so much!

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I would also say - most importantly - that a guiding passage of Scripture for me, in terms of money, is 1 Timothy 6:6-10, 17-19. I return to this passage all the time!

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Happy New Year Jen, thank you for your words this past year!

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Happy New Year! Thank you for your reflections. I have tried the link to sign up for the Rule of Life workshop, both last week and this week, and unfortunately, it keeps telling me that the link is no longer active?

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Oooo, let me look at this!

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Just checked and they seem to be working. I wonder if you accidentally tried to register for a past workshop?

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So strange! I used the link in your post. Perhaps the issue is that I am an overseas worker (aka mssnry) and did not use a VPN? It may be a security measure. Let me try with my VPN running.

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Let me know if you have continued trouble!

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Steph, e-mail me too: jen@jenpollockmichel.com

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