What I’m Loving Lately – Summer 2025

Sometimes it’s good to simply stop and laugh out loud. Or even to tear up with a good cry. I can go either direction. There really are terrifically funny humans on this planet. And when caring people go that extra mile to make someone else’s day better, I can get a little misty eyed even if seeing it on my phone while I’m in line at the grocery store. (Oh, sorry, I just got a little bit of dust in my eye …)

I keep a little running file of both … and summer feels like a good time to share them with you. I’m sure it is no coincidence that each have something to do with communication, marriage, or books in some way! 😊

So here’s what I’m really loving lately. Enjoy!

-Shaunti

If Fonts (or Punctuation) Could Talk

Anyone who has been in marketing, journalism, design, or any related field may get all of the inside jokes and references in this hilarious video clip on Instagram, but all of us can laugh at this woman’s creativity in connecting fonts to personalities.

“I’ve got a kerning appointment in a few …”

“Hey, you think you’re better than us … just because you’re in some brand logos.”

Her creativity made me laugh so hard, that I have to share one more …

I promise punctuation matters. Consider the difference:

I’m sorry I love you.

I’m sorry; I love you.

See?

If you’re the kind who edits menus when you’re out to eat, or cringes when young people don’t punctuate texts, this one-woman skit will make you laugh out loud. (And the bit about dashes? Let’s just say I had a good laugh with my editor about that. Em dash, en dash, hyphen? I don’t really know. I just throw them in, and she cleans them up for me.)

For Women Only, Latvian Edition—and my Latvian name

My team and I got a kick out of the cover for the recently released Latvian translation of For Women Only, mostly because of how my name is translated. Šauntija Feldhana. The team took entirely too much pleasure in attempting a few dozen ways to pronounce my new name in Latvian. (“SHAWN-tee-jah?” “Soon-TEE-EE-ha?”) I’m sure some of you know the real pronunciation!

Compassion in the Middle of Chaos

Some photos truly are worth a thousand words. This is one of them.

The viral photo of Billings (Montana) Firefighter Ryan Benton reading a children’s book to a little girl after a terrible car crash is a few years old now. So you’ll have more context, I linked to a local news segment about this viral photo

At any rate, the photo made the rounds on social media again recently, and I have to say I viewed it differently in light of the eye-opening podcast episode Jeff and I recorded with former first responder Dan Defenbaugh. Titled “From Wrecked to Restored: Lessons from a First Responder,” the episode really is for anyone who has ever felt lost or hopeless, and will be an especially good resource for any first responders in your life.

And that leads me to another What I’m Loving Lately:

Insert IWYCHT podcast graphic

I Wish You Could Hear This!

Season One of our brand new podcast, I Wish You Could Hear This, is in the books, and here’s what I know:

1. It’s humbling to learn new things …
2. But new ventures are exciting!
3. And people are incredible.

On the podcast, Jeff and I have had so much fun unpacking the latest research, key elements of hope for relationships, and picking the brains of some amazing guests. Our incredible guests include people you might know (such as Gary Thomas  and Jenilee Samuel), and they share about faith, trials, and the life circumstances that formed them—always with actionable takeaways that will help you in your life, faith, and families today.

It’s mostly been fun . . . but sometimes we tackle stuff that is hard to navigate but is so important to understand. Our top podcast so far is on the trend of young adults going “no contact” with their parents[SF5] , and seeking the advice of a clinical family psychologist for both sides. (If you know someone who needs to hear this, please forward it along.)

If you haven’t caught an episode yet, go find I Wish You Could Hear This on your favorite podcast platform. We’d be so honored to have you along for the ride.

Speaking of a ride… here’s my last What I’m Loving Lately:

And…. A New Book is Soon Arriving on a Slow Boat (or Train) from the Printer!

We have been a bit hush-hush about it, but my latest book is only a few months away from launch! I’ve been working on two research and book projects about mental health for the last few years, and the first of two books, When Hurting People Come to Church, has just been printed. (The second book is still in the research stage.)

Here’s what specifically I’m loving about this: After two years of research, interviews, surveys, writing, editing, designing, and proofing by me, my co-author Dr. Jim Sells, and the good people at Tyndale House Publishers, it is crazy to picture all the steps this one little book still has to make it through before it actually shows up in a bookstore!

I’m not sure where the actual printer is (publishers use different printers in the U.S. and overseas depending on where they can get space). But the printing process alone is a technological marvel. And if the printer was overseas, that means our little book is probably being loaded onto a container ship right about now. Then it will make its slooooow way across an ocean for about five weeks. Then the container ship will be unloaded in a port somewhere—and all those cases of books will then be shipped on trains and/or trucks, arriving at some point at the Tyndale warehouse. Then from Tyndale they get shipped on more trains and/or trucks to all the different booksellers out there. And at some point, a copy will arrive in my mailbox—and maybe yours!

Crazy to think of everything that one little book is going through, right? But the long journey will be worth it if it helps people who are hurting find hope and healing.

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If you are interested in having Shaunti bring research-based strategies, practical wisdom and biblical principles to your next event, please contact Nicole Owens at [email protected].

On our podcast, I Wish You Could Hear This, Jeff and I offer proven steps to help you thrive in your life, faith and relationships. In other words, we’ll offer the practical help you’ve grown accustomed to right here in this blog space.  You’ll take away specific steps that help you today. Listen, follow, and share with your friends on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other platforms.

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