Oh and Awkwafina, wowed by Ayan, and a poem about wonder.

Three Things this week and the poem Hearts Adorned with Wonder.

Sunday oops! My weekly link round up was supposed to send out yesterday, but there was a technical issue. Here it is and here’s wishing you a great week!

~ AK

Our Christmas tree is up. Is yours?

We don't have a tradition around when we make the big switch into the holiday season yet.

We're close to 10 years as a household, and still just spontaneously decide. This weekend felt like it was time. Suddenly there are wreaths and lights, apple cider and stockings, and Amy Grant crooning about angels.

Whether you’re wrapped in garland or still grappling with whether to climb the ladder this year and install the outdoor lights, I hope you have some sparkle in your weekend.

Thanks for spending some of it with Things I Wrote Down. Now, here are Three Things and a poem.

Awkwafina and Sandra Oh make me laugh

I don't often. Laugh out loud in comedies these days, but I did Quiz Lady, and it felt good. The light-hearted film has a great cast, including Will Ferrell, Holland Taylor, Jason Schwartzman and Tony Hale.

If you need a bit of catharsis, it might be a place to start.

Ayan Hirsi Ali takes refuge in the Christian faith

She's one of the bravest people. Do you remember how you felt when you first read Infidel? It's Ayan Hirsi Ali’s autobiographical account of her fascinating life. It's blistering, honest, inspiring. She outlines why she left her Muslim faith to embrace atheism (after FGM, fleeing her country to escape an arranged marriage with a man more than twice her age, becoming a translator then member of Parliament in Holland, running again after a fatwa was put on her life, after her friend and colleague Theo van Gogh murdered in a Dutch street).

Last week she shared an article in UnHerd explaining why she now has turned to Christianity. It's sent ripple around the world and into my heart, including this provocative tweet by the intellectual Hussein Aboubakr Mansour:

Unveiling some inspiration

We're having a good time over at Unveil (the streaming platform Matt, Dan and I launched). We're working on a few exciting original projects (can you say Sword and Sandal and RomCom?) as we chase our vision to help you “watch what inspires you.”

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We've started to share full, never-before-seen interviews with some of the fascinating subjects we've interviewed for our documentary projects. Notables include Dallas Jenkins of The Chosen fame, astronomer Hugh Ross, Rabbi Kurt Schneider, spoken word artist Blair Linne, legal analyst John Sikkema and more. They all speak to the deeper of creativity, life, faith and unveil truths that will inspire you.

If you're doom scrolling this week and have that numbing feeling as you're served up cat videos and controversies, this content will remind you that you have a soul, that life is filled with possibility and that you have real companions as you seek truth and noble things.

My poem this week - hearts adorned with wonder

There's always the possibility of wonder, new and old, to resurface when we decorate as t Christmas. Pulling old artifacts from dusty boxes surface memories of people, earlier times, events. Like us, you may have ornaments that given from beloved family or friends.

A number of years ago I wrote a poem for dear friends to capture some of this sentiment, and today I share it with you in hopes it will add to the coming wonders of the yuletide season.

hearts adorned with wonder

in the same way that you
family at your side
decorated the tree with
colourful things
as thoughts of heaven 
stirred by angel wings
passed through your heart
and the heating ducts

so did He
place what was precious 
to Him
on a tree

hope, love for all to 
see

a sign of His faith
that one day 
with soft candle light
dancing shadows on the wall
you too would gather round
in a tradition of
wonder