The HEATHER FEATHER 🪶 Clubhouse VOL 1 · Bulletin #005

🏆Y'all. Stop! 🛑 Hold the phone!

HOLD UP!… because two clubhouse members just accidentally turned this newsletter into a full-blown 60’s / 70’s / 80’s front porch documentary. 📬😄

My pen pals Dave and Duane wrote back and unlocked a whole forgotten world. Duane wrote: “My families first phone was a party line. We shared the line with 3 other houses.” Can you even imagine that now? ☎️ And then this line right here honestly felt like wisdom from another era: “If it was an emergency you would tell the person on the line and they would hang up so you could make your call.” That kind of consideration can at times feel rare nowadays.

But one of the raddest parts of Duane’s message was about his spiritual journey and mentioned his 📖 Bible…“I have listened to an audio verion since I dont read very often.” No excuses. No pretending. Just finding a way to stay in God’s Word anyway. 🙏

Then Dave Oz rolled into the clubhouse with full mountain-road energy. 🏔️🎸

Dave talked about driving into Colorado to hike, breathe fresh air, and reconnect with the outdoors again. You could practically smell the pine 🌲trees through the email. And then Dave quietly dropped this reminder: “God tells us not to let our hearts be troubled…” Simple words. Big peace. Honestly, that sounds like something that oughta be painted on an old wooden sign hanging outside a country store somewhere. 😄

That’s the kind of spirit this clubhouse is built on right there.

Real people. Real stories. And little reminders that maybe we all need to unkink the cords once in a while. 🎖️

☎️ You ever stretch a phone cord so far it looked like it was about to snap… and somehow that’s exactly what your life feels like right now? 😁

There are some smells 😤your brain never deletes. 🚫

Roller rink 🛼 air is one of ‘em.

A strange cocktail of popcorn butter, skate wheel dust, Aqua Net, pizza grease, and whatever mysterious fog-machine juice they were pumpin’ through the speakers 🎶while Journey, Van Halen, Madonna, and Whitney Houston echoed across a hardwood floor shinier than a Baptist church fellowship hall on potluck night.

Back then, getting dropped off at the skating rink felt like bein’ released into another dimension. The lights were low. The carpet looked like a casino designed by a hyperactive 12-year-old. Teenagers glided around like Olympic athletes while the rest of us held the wall lookin’ like newborn deer tryin’ to survive a wind storm.

And somewhere near the arcade… was the pay phone. 📞 The emergency portal. The “you better hope somebody answers” machine.

Now listen… kids today will never understand the emotional cardio of having exactly one quarter 🪙 left and realizing: “Oh no. I gotta call home.”

Because once that quarter dropped in… there was no takin’ it back. Especially if the answering machine picked up! Lord have mercy. You’d hear: “Hi, we’re not home right now, but if you’ll please ….”. Then… CLICK. There went your ride home money. Gone faster than dignity on a slip-n-slide. 😵‍💫

So then you had options. 🤔 Hmm, let’s see…. Skate one more song and stall for time. Check the arcade 👾coin returns like a tiny raccoon scavengin’ for treasure. Borrow a quarter from a friend named Tyler wearin’ Z Cavariccis or Guess jeans 👖👖and smelling vaguely like nacho 🧀 cheese.

Or… make the dreaded Collect Call. ☎️

And if you’re under 40 years old, a collect call was basically ancient survival technology. You’d call the operator and whisper 🗣️your message like you were in a hostage negotiation: “Momcomegetmeattherink.” Then pray your parent accepted the charges.

Sometimes Mama would answer irritated because collect calls cost money… especially when I’d already been given a quarter for the phone. And honestly? She had every right to be aggravated. Because the quarter had a purpose.

But I got distracted. 🤪 Galaga. Pac-Man. One more skate song. One more lap around the rink under disco lights while the DJ played “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” or “Stayin’ Alive”.

And the older I get… the more I realize I’ve done the exact same thing with God. Not in some 🔥 fire-and-brimstone way. Just honestly. God gives us things meant to help guide us home: Time, Peace, Wisdom, Conviction, Purpose, Attention, Folks who love us, Quiet moments, and LOADS of Talents tucked into us before we ever took our first breath.

And somewhere between the noise, the lights, the shiny distractions, and our own appetites… we spend the quarter on everything except what it was meant for. 😕

That ain’t condemnation. That’s just human.

And maybe that’s why I’ve been striving diligently, stripping away so many distractions lately.

Not because joy is bad. Not because roller rinks are evil. Not because life isn’t meant to be enjoyed. Good gracious, I still loveeee adventure more than a feral possum 🐀 loves bad decisions. But the more I unplug from the constant noise… the more clearly I hear 👂 God and hear myself.

The less processed everything becomes… over accessive access to food 🍟🍔🍩🍦🍭, media 📺, hurry, endless scrolling 🤳, comparison, performance… the more Peace shows up.

And what’s wild is! … the peace doesn’t always arrive AFTER the storm. ⛈️

Sometimes it’s sitting there IN the middle of it. Right there in the valley. Like Jesus puttin’ His hand 🖐️on your shoulder saying: “I’m already here.” Which honestly makes no logical sense half the time. Because there have been seasons where life looked like a garage sale 🪧 held during a scary tornado. And somehow, deep underneath all the uncertainty… there was still Peace.

Not because I had life figured out. Good Lordy no. But because God never once lost track of where I was. That little kid at the skating rink thought the whole night depended on 👧🏻 her. But the truth was:

The only reason I got there… was because somebody brought me.

And the only way I was getting home… was because somebody was coming back for me.

That thought hits different now. Because not everybody had parents waiting near the phone. Not everybody had safety. Not everybody had somebody coming when they called. I know that. But maybe that’s part of why Jesus matters so much to people. Because some folks, spent their whole childhood learning what it felt like to wait for an answer that never came. 💔

And somehow… God still says: “I’ll come get you.”

Every single time. These days I still get distracted. Still chase shiny things sometimes. Still spend quarters I should’ve saved. But I’m learning. Learning to keep my eyes 👀 on the One who gave me the quarter in the first place.

📖 “Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus…” Hebrews 12:1-2

And honestly? That might be the real miracle. Not that I stopped falling. But that even after all these years… He still answers the phone. 🙏🏻📞🥰💖

HIT REPLY (Write Back!) ✍️ and tell me this… What was a childhood moment where you realized: “Ooooh… I might’ve messed up.” 😅 Maybe you spent your last quarter? Maybe you missed curfew? Maybe the answering machine picked up and swallowed your entire transportation budget?!

I wanna hear your old-school panic story. 🛼 Doesn’t have to be deep. Just honest. I read them.

P.S. Thank you for hanging out with me this week. 🥰

Heather Feather 🪶

Additional points awarded if:
• somebody screams
• the batteries are half dead
• or someone starts the story with: “Now don’t tell ANYONE I told you this…” 😅

🚨 Ai is absolutely fabuluos with my video creation… this week Ai helped me somehow turn a 4-year-old photo of me and my mama into a tiny emotional VHS movie. 📼😄 And somehow it made me realize… maybe we all need to quit worryin’ about bein’ impressive and just MAKE stuff again.

This world’s got enough scrolling.
We need more creating. 💛

Your version might not be this… and that’s the whole point.

👉 HIT REPLY (Write Back!) ✍️ and tell me one thing you do (or used to do) that makes everything else go quiet for a minute.

Doesn’t have to be deep. Just honest. 💖

Watch closely. 👀 This may inspire your try something new decisions.

👇 VIDEO BELOW 👇

📺 Watch this week’s video. 👀

Heather 🪶Bone Breaker 🦴Video Creator 📽️ Jesus 🙏 Realtor 🏠 X Games Athlete 🚴Pet Lover 🐩Racecar Driver 🏁Musician 🎸🥁Ice Hockey 🏒Martial Arts 🥋Golfer 🏌️