Weekend Roundup: September 9
"Quit waiting for a plan; just go love everybody." Bob Goff
What I've been working on:
Not as much as usual, because last week, I took a trip to British Columbia just for fun. No work, no threat of malaria, nothing. Crazy. The timing of it felt awful (I'd preplanned it before Harvey hit, and there's nothing quite like the feeling of being on vacation while it seems like everyone you love is underwater), but it gave me a much-needed chance to breathe, and it was good for the soul.
I prescheduled all of RightNow's social media content the week before and used a minus-two-hours time difference to my advantage throughout the week, hopping on all our platforms for a half hour or so in the morning to ensure all our posts were delivering smoothly and stay on top of engagement. That minimized the catch-up I had to play this week, thankfully; even though Labor Day made it a short one!
Most of the content this week was focused on the release of Psalm 119 with Matt Chandler, which you should definitely check out if you have a RightNow subscription. And since I knew I'd have plenty of headspace after my trip, I left some matching calendar space open to brainstorm some more high-level direction and goals for our social media content. I'm super excited about the shape it's taking, and I'll try to share a little more of that later on!
Randoms for your weekend:
A very cool website (making a good design point).
This story on Hurricane Harvey through the eyes of five different people who rode it out is powerful. It's well-reported and visually beautiful longform journalism. Houston Chronicle, well done.
Also powerful — but happier — Bob Harris just became the first climber with Down syndrome to climb the Grand Teton. (Climbing Magazine also ran an article on it, and I loved the details in that one on his sister's and brother-in-law's interaction with him throughout the climb. Y'all know I cried.)
"Step one: take all of the water! So that no one else can have any of it, and you create a huge demand, and a low supply." Hurricane shopping with Ross is really funny except for the part where it's so accurate.
Chris Burkard's film Under An Arctic Sky is finally available for purchase, and you should get it and watch it. I (and all the rest of his fans) have been following its making and marketing behind the scenes through social media, and he's done such a fantastic job of making it seem as though we're really part of the journey. Lots to learn from him professionally, and the film is absolutely beautiful (no surprise, given the caliber of artist he is). Enjoy!
Speaking of surf films, I recommended Proximity not long ago, and stumbled across a podcast with Todd Glaser this past week that made me love it even more.
One last hurricane thing for this post — just a reminder that if you want to get involved in the Harvey relief efforts, the best possible thing you could do is give money is Katy Disaster Response. Kingsland and pretty much every other local church has partnered together to push funding to the top ministries and organizations in the area. This rapidly scales their ability to do what they already do best — whether that's food or clothing distribution, home repair, or aid for the displaced. Please consider donating even just a bit!
