Most Fridays (and an occasional Monday) you’ll find me here posting a list of interesting things I found while looking around these internets of ours. It’s a little thing I like to call ICYMI*.

*for those of you over a certain age who aren’t familiar with the way the kids speak these days, ICYMI stands for In Case You Missed It

Most people I know didn’t care for high school very much. Even those who loved their time in those hallowed halls were kind of glad to see it go — even if they were also kind of sad about it. Now, in Oregon, students may not have to say goodbye so quickly after all. Could we be seeing the advent of 13th Grade? Super Senior class?

Victor Frankl’s 1946 book Man’s Search for Meaning has been one of the most influential books in my life since I first read it for an undergraduate course in college. It has shaped everything from my understanding of psychology and theology to the career path I have chosen (or did it choose me?). New research continues to validate what Dr. Frankl observed more than half a century ago: True happiness does not come when it is pursued; it comes as a result of pursuing meaning and purpose in your life.

It’s hard to believe I am old enough to have friends going through empty nest issues right now, but here’s proof. Shirsten Dreyer, a dear friend from high school days, writes winsomely about the launching process here.

Bernadette Noll is a mother of four who writes for a living from Austin, TX. Her oldest is a teenager now, and she remembers all the times people would tell her, “Just wait until she’s 17!” In this fantastically optimistic article she takes that phrase and turns it on its head. Personally, I can’t wait until my oldest is 17. Two more years!

I love photography. Really, I love goodness, truth, and beauty, and I find that photography can really capture all three of them in a way that few things can. One of the things I love about staring at beautiful photographs is that, as I’m looking, I stop thinking about myself and all my “problems”. Lately, I’ve found myself drawn to do this more and more often. So, here: Stare at these amazing photographs from National Geographic for a while.

Finally, a few weeks back I posted a link to jazz singer and upright bassist Kate Davis’ stellar cover of the song “All About that Bass” — if you haven’t watched it yet you should! Now comes another cover of the catchy tune — this one from Avi Kaplan, bass vocalist of the famed a cappella group Pentatonix.

Enjoy your weekend everybody!