The April Files

Things I love, with love — from me to you

May 01, 2026

Welcome to The Files. My monthly roundup of everything from the Scripture I’m loving to the shows I’m binging. Think of it as a coffee date with a friend, chatting through it all. Per usual: definitely pretty, mostly prompt, and always worth the read.

From My Corner

Well hello there sweet friends, and happy May! I have the absolute luxury of sitting down, late evening of April 30 after a very adulting April and reflect on the past month that has quite literally been every emotion on a child’s feeling chart. So, let’s dive in?

I’m a bit biased for the month of April, because as it happens, it is my husband and I’s wedding anniversary, so it will forever be a month engrained into perfectness in my mind, and heart.

Yet, April also marks our anniversary of our miscarriage. Ironic, how two complete opposite memories — with two polar opposite feelings — stamp one month in completeness. Our anniversary on the sixth, our angel baby going home on the thirtieth, what a sandwiched month!

Comically enough though, as if the balance of happiness and grief weren’t enough, April also brought more showers. Deliverance of being laid off, from a position I dedicated five years to. A slew of dental issues that quite frankly couldn’t have come at a worse time. Unemployment, and the job hunt.

Yet in it all, I know He provides.

In believing in what Jesus provides — I believe not only financially he paves in tough seasons, but providing exactly what you need. This past month, my soul needed connection more than I probably ever knew. My family, FaceTiming more times I can count with several jokes, and check ins. My local friends and in laws, ensuring quality time for good food, and laughs. More than anything, my husband, in full support of every emotion that has plummeted me. Even on days where I wasn’t sure what emotion exactly it was, he cradled whatever emotion he could.

In all, what was April in a nutshell? The above quote that I found on Pinterest: An inch of movement is better than a mile of intentions — making me feel better about my inches. I began journaling daily again, allowing my emotions to flow. I scheduled a dental appointment, after three years, a cracked tooth, and terrible dental anxiety — and I went. I’ve thrown myself into more social situations, gaining more friendships and connections that have filled my cup than imaginable.

If you’re feeling like your inches aren’t accounting towards your mile, take a moment to give yourself grace, as our Father does each morning.

The Monthly Round Up

Scripture: as you can see in the graphic, the book of Ruth has recaptured my heart this month, and it took two little Godwinks to get me there. The first: a video on Facebook, a little cheesy but genuinely thought provoking, suggesting that somewhere in the Bible there is a woman who mirrors your story. That history repeats itself, and God has blueprints. I found an online quiz, matched with Ruth, and decided it was time to reread her four chapters with the kind of depth I hadn't given them before. The second Godwink is simpler, and maybe the truest reason of all: I just love the moral of Ruth. When you are obedient to God, He provides…in abundance, in ways you couldn't have scripted yourself.
Learning: ooooff! This wicked job market. As someone who hasn’t had to look for a job in five years, reentering the workforce has been...interesting. The qualifications are there, but the volume of applicants is staggering. Job hunting is a full time job in itself. I have my daily checklist of things to check the corporate box: LinkedIn, two applications, a networking reach out. Yet, I know there is a remote admin/ops job out there just waiting for me, and the Lord will deliver it.
Habit: habit stacking isn’t new to me by any means, but leaning on it during a funk? That’s been a game changer. I actually have a draft queued up for later this month on the nitty gritty of it…pinky promise it’s close. But without gatekeeping: it’s a science backed technique that strings small behaviors together to build an overall routine. Example? While I brew my morning coffee, I listen to worship music and clean the kitchen. Three tasks, one window of time: coffee, kitchen, worship.
Grateful For: birds. I know how that sounds, but hear me out. When I moved down South, never did I imagine I’d become the patio bird watching girl, and yet here I am, wearing it with complete pride. I have over 40 species logged in my Merlin app, a Downy Woodpecker easily being my favorite little feeder regular. What I’ve loved discovering on Substack is that I am far from alone in this retirement hobby I’ve developed in my late twenties. This month I even dug out my grandfather’s old binoculars. Next all I need is a journal.

Thank you, Madison Joseph for being validating Merlin is the perfect cherry on top of a morning routine.

Reading: since the last Files, I’ve added Evidence of the Affair (amazing), Sadie, Want to Know a Secret, and Bad Date to my 2026 completed list. But my current rotation is honestly odder than anything I finished this month. I’m mid-Clusterf*ck by Brian O’Sullivan and loving it, devouring Soft Core by Brittany Newell on audiobook (never a book I’d have picked based on the description, and yet here we are), and savoring How to Love Your Morning by Jennifer Dukes Lee as my morning read. Two did get shelved into the DNF pile though: Tell Me What You Did and Dinner Party, which was genuinely the most confusing book I’ve encountered.

AS ALWAYS FOLLOW ALONG ON GOODREADS

Thinking About: health insurance. I truly cannot. Navigating health and dental coverage as an adult feels like no matter which way you turn, you’re either paying hand over fist or genuinely have no idea what you’re even paying for. The logistics alone make my head spin. If anyone would like to educate me, my messages are fully open.
Watching: as a huge Bravo girly, Real Housewives of Rhode Island has had my whole heart, I am a Liz girly. But aside from my reality tv guilty pleasure, Dakota and I have fallen down a rabbit hole I did not see coming: police investigation body cam YouTube videos. I promised you the behind the scenes of our lives, even the odd corners, and that is a very odd corner.

Drinking: electrolytes! Specifically LMNT, watermelon flavor. Dakota got me onto these while he was training for the marathon, and I found I loved them just as much as he did. A kickstart to morning hydration that I have zero plans of giving up anytime soon.
Favorite Product: at this point, no surprise. I’ve mentioned it enough. But beyond just making reading easier, the thing that keeps winning me over? It has saved me a genuinely embarrassing amount of money.
Monthly Moment: I could write a whole post in awe of this, but I’ll let his words capture it best, Dakota McClanahan. What I will say is that as his wife, watching Dakota cross that finish line after a ton of dedication? There are no words. Ten million times over, the highlight of my month. My best friend, doing something so insanely significant, by God’s grace!!!

St Jude Rock n' Roll Nashville Marathon 2026

Oh…and some housekeeping!

Can I be honest? Four months of Files in, and this little series has become one of my favorite things I make. The writing has settled, the roundup got a little deeper, and along the way it started to feel like what I always wanted it to be, a genuine love for sharing with readers who are connecting. With this, came perfecting a format in a way that felt honest to my month, and in a way that felt enjoyable to share.

So...housekeeping update? A few things are shifting, nothing disappears, it just finds a better home.

The monthly favorites spotlight is getting sunset, and honestly, it felt like the right call. I found myself being a bit of an outfit repeater (cue every 2000s Disney Channel movie ever), rounding up the same things I’d already gushed about in the report. You’re not losing the recs, they’ll just live where they belong: organically, inside the writing itself.

The entertainment menu isn’t going anywhere, it’s just moving. From here on, you’ll find it exclusively in my Notes, so make sure you’re following along there so nothing slips past you.

So where does that leave us?

Let’s talk monthly ten.

If you’re scrolling on Substack, I am sure you have stumbled across, Julianna Salguero’s monthly 10 lists, or some variation or inspiration derived from it.

Bringing big, small, silly, fun, daring, and scary moments into my daily life over the next month. As Julianna says, ‘10 things you’d like to do this month with absolutely no consequences if you don’t.’ Read her article below, it includes some wonderful ideas to springboard off of.

So without just saying goodbye, I introduce: my monthly ten. The last newest segment, the cherry on top, of the files. Half to keep myself accountable, half because if you’ve read this far, you deserve something to walk away with.