What is More Beautiful Than Necessary?
More Beautiful Than Necessary is my two-fold way of saying:
God is more beautiful, and has made the world and everything in it more beautiful, than was ever necessary. We have days when all we see is the ugliness of the world, so I try to get small, look close, and find the things and people and circumstances that illustrate God’s lavishness, and I present them to you as a way of restoring both our visions.
“It is as though beautiful things have been placed here and there throughout the world to serve as small wake-up calls to perception, spurring lapsed alertness back to its most acute level.” Elaine Scarry, On Beauty and Being Just
To need something is to make it a necessity, in the literal sense. But meeting needs is not just about food, water, clothing, shelter, and the gospel—all those things can be foisted on the world in a way that is neither Good nor Beautiful. You and I are in the image of a beauty-proliferating God, who multiplies His goodness in a million beautiful ways, and that must mean we have the capacity to offer Beauty to the world—through our art, our presence, our service, our words—and the responsibility to offer the world more beautiful things than necessary things.
What happens when you subscribe for free?
Boom. Posts come right to your inbox—the goal is once a week but sometimes it might be once a month. For extra fun and more engagement, you can download the Substack app and access all your subscriptions in one place. It’s the best place on the internet, ad free and free free.
You can comment on posts and interact with others, or you can respond to the email and I’ll get your words right in my inbox. I love this.
You’ll be the first to know about any projects or other writing I’m part of.
A little bell will ding on my phone, releasing dopamine and good feelings. I will feel supported in this work, which encourages me to keep going.
What if you want to pay?
Paid subscribers will have access to all the above, plus my occasional voice overs of posts, recorded on a walk in the woods or under my porch in the rain (because Oregon).
When you choose to become a paid subscriber, you are helping me cover the costs of writing—such as training, workshops, website fees, and caffeine. Thank you!
Paying for work you enjoy makes you a patron, someone who advocates for an artist. Click here for more thoughts on that!
Hey! I’m Tresta.
I’ve been writing online since 2012, through motherhood, homeschooling, and many changes. I am happy to be at Substack now, and you can also find my words at places like Cultivating and Fathom Mag.
Here are some reader favorites:
I confess that I sometimes don’t enjoy reading my Bible//Cultivating a hermeneutic of adoration
On doing the dishes//Sometimes I think this is how I started to be a writer.
The Kindness of God//On losing my dad and holding on to mystery.
The 12X Mirror//I bought a 12X mirror and I see myself more clearly.
On voicemail and grief//I’ll bet there’s a voice you are afraid to want to hear.
In 2021 we bought a restaurant and remodeled it into a deli and market—a business we knew nothing about. We opened in January of 2022 and we know a little more now, and the beauty of being in the world of our neighbors is the reward for our labors.
I am an introverted, homebody, enneagram 9 with five grown kids, two grandkids, a dozen employees, and I also coach high school volleyball. God has obviously not asked me to operate in my strengths 🤷🏼♀️. But I am growing.
Whether you read for free or decide to pay a few dollars a month, I am thankful for you and your presence here. I’m eager to see the ways you are making and seeing beauty, truth, and goodness in the world.