iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Toni Gatlin @tonigatlin.com · 02/07/2026

All three of these signs have disappeared from our yard. What a pity, especially since I’ve been rocking that League sign for probably three election seasons already—it was practically vintage! @ginafortexas.bsky.social @teamtalaricohq.bsky.social @lwvtexas.bsky.social

A photo taken on June 10th of our front yard in Corsicana with campaign signs for Gina Hinojosa for Texas Governor and James Talarico for US Senate, along with a League of Women Voters sign reading VOTE LIKE DEMOCRACY DEPENDS ON IT (IT DOES)

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Toni Gatlin @tonigatlin.com · 23/05/2026

C’mon, folks. Please hear this from a fellow Talarico die-hard: don’t believe every splashy graphic you see, ESPECIALLY ones with zero attribution and no sources cited for their numbers. Here are some actual polling averages: www.realclearpolling.com/polls/senate...

Screenshot from realclearpolling.com

RealClearPolitics
Poll Average
Talarico +1.5

Talarico (D)
44.3%
Paxton (R)
42.8%

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Toni Gatlin @tonigatlin.com · 21/05/2026

I’m from Sealy—there aren’t just a ton of food choices there, but even so, he had to pick the DQ? Really? When he had Hinze’s BBQ practically next door?

Apple Maps screenshot of Sealy, Texas showing the proximity of Dairy Queen and Hinze’s BBQ

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Toni Gatlin @tonigatlin.com · 18/05/2026

Hey Buddy, go find Dad/Mama, walkie, outside, squirrel, potty, leave it/yucky, no, treat, cookie, go to bed, where’s your ball, paw, come, sit, stay, down, wait, jump, good, want some water, all gone, off (the bed), dinner, rug (where he waits for dinner), get your tiggy, I’m gonna get you (chase)

A very cute tan and white Buddy-dog sleeps on a soft cushion covered with a floral printed fabric

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Toni Gatlin @tonigatlin.com · 13/05/2026

Farmers market is now in session 🧑🏻‍🌾

A table laden with my local produce haul: eggs in a cardboard carton, red and yellow onions, broccoli, large and small red potatoes, carrots, yellow squash, apples, and a pink frilly African violet plant

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Toni Gatlin @tonigatlin.com · 10/05/2026

The results today of reading this thread late last night

A blate of cheese grits with bacon bits, topped with a fried egg, a sliced avocado half, and cracked pepper

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Toni Gatlin @tonigatlin.com · 18/04/2026

Tufted titmouse here to cleanse your timeline

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Toni Gatlin @tonigatlin.com · 11/04/2026

Not even remotely a space nerd but as someone from Houston (aka Space City) whose NASA-related memories were defined by the Challenger (I was 9, it was AWFUL) and Columbia disasters, watching the Artemis astronauts coming home is a beautiful, beautiful thing.

A photo of the NASA livestream on my tv: the Orion capsule floats in the blue water of the Pacific Ocean and all four astronauts are nearby in an orange inflatable raft awaiting their extraction by helicopter.

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Toni Gatlin @tonigatlin.com · 09/04/2026

Spotted yellow-rumped warbler + all of these, except the roadrunner (?!). I’ve seen them before in the region but always rural; it would be extremely odd to see one in town, so maybe there’s a very confused bird hanging around or Merlin might have just goofed that one. #TenMinMerlin #birds

Screenshot of my phone showing bird calls detected while running Merlin for ten minutes on the porch during my lunch hour today:

April 9 • Corsicana, TX

House Sparrow
Passer domesticus

Carolina Wren
Thryothorus ludovicianus

White-winged Dove
Zenaida asiatica

Northern Cardinal
Cardinalis cardinalis

Northern Mockingbird
Mimus polyglottos

Carolina Chickadee
Poecile carolinensis

Cedar Waxwing
Bombycilla cedrorum

Barn Swallow
Hirundo rustica

Red-shouldered Hawk
Buteo lineatus

Greater Roadrunner
Geococcyx californianus

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Toni Gatlin @tonigatlin.com · 06/04/2026

Got some potted tulips for my sister-in-law for Easter and enjoyed them in my kitchen for a few days beforehand. I love flowers so much.

Blooming tulips in a pot sit on a green table in front of a window. The tulips are a lovely soft pink.

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Toni Gatlin @tonigatlin.com · 29/03/2026

Moved to Corsicana on Tuesday, so of course took a break from unpacking to bring Buddy the dog with us to #NoKings on Saturday. Happy to stand with a hundred or so of our new neighbors in our new town, each working for a better Texas and better country for all of us. 🇺🇸🤠❤️

A small crowd marches in front of Collin Street Bakery in Corsicana, Texas

A small crowd of protestors line the street in front of the Corsicana visitors center. A large sign reading HISTORIC CORSICANA is visible across 7th Street heading into downtown.

A small crowd of protestors line the street in front of the Corsicana visitors center

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Toni Gatlin @tonigatlin.com · 31/01/2026

About 5,000 people and some really great protest signage turned out in East Austin today

A protest sign made of cardboard featuring a photo of author George Orwell and text reading: “Boy did I call it or what?” -George Orwell

A protest sign on white cardboard with a photo of legendary Houston media personality Marvin Zindler and his catchphrase “There’s SLIME in the ICE MACHINE”

The Talarico campaign handed out signs printed with Leviticus 19:33-34: “When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. Love them as yourself.”

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Toni Gatlin @tonigatlin.com · 25/01/2026

Two tiny LED candles in our Round Rock, Texas windows. 🕯️🕯️ #reneegood #alexpretti

Two small candles glow at nighttime in the windows of a brick home with shrubs in front of the windows. There’s also a Talarico for Texas senate campaign sign in one window.

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Toni Gatlin @tonigatlin.com · 24/01/2026

Call your senators and congresscowards and demand accountability: defund, impeach, abolish. U.S. Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121

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Toni Gatlin @tonigatlin.com · 24/01/2026

Salt and light doing what they do. ❤️

Dark purple text on a pink background reads: SALT AND LIGHT ELIMINATE ICE
MATT. 5:13-16

(“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.")

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Toni Gatlin @tonigatlin.com · 09/01/2026

"You're trying to kidnap what I have rightfully stolen!"

With a poisoned chalice in front of him and a blindfolded Princess Buttercup next to him, Vizzini points across the table at the Dread Pirate Roberts in this still from The Princess Bride

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Toni Gatlin @tonigatlin.com · 09/01/2026

Get your red cards here in languages relevant for your area and pass them out freely: www.ilrc.org/redcards#order #redcards

You have constitutional rights:

. DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR if an immigration agent is knocking.
If you are inside of your house, show the card through the window
or slide it under the door.
. DO NOT ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS from an immigration agent
if they try to talk to you. You have the right to remain silent.
. DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING without first speaking to a lawyer. You
have the right to speak with a lawyer.
. If you are outside of your house, SHOW THIS CARD TO THE
AGENT. Ask the agent if you are free to leave and if they say you
can, leave calmly.

www.RedCardOrders.com

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Toni Gatlin @tonigatlin.com · 01/01/2026

Disappointed that I finished so few physical books in 2025, but sitting-still time was scarce & even then I was busy sitting with other projects than reading. I also ended the year with SO many books half-finished (seminary be like that😑). Glad that <Scarlett O’Hara voice> tomorrow is another year!

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Toni Gatlin @tonigatlin.com · 30/12/2025

400 miles from my house so not quite in “my area” (this is Texas, after all 🤠 ) but if I could take someone anywhere in the state, I’d head straight west to Balmorhea and Fort Davis State Parks. The Davis Mountains are absolutely our #happyplace. Endless vistas plus dark skies and the observatory!

Buddy the dog rests on a hike at the top of a high ridge in the “sky island” of the Davis Mountains in Fort Davis State Park. The bright blue sky is filled with wispy clouds and the view of the Chihuahuan Desert stretches for miles.

In the giant spring-fed pool at Balmorhea State Park, an oasis in the Chihuahuan Desert of Texas. The pool is surrounded by trees and the Davis Mountains are visible in the distance.

McDonald Observatory on Mount Locke near Fort Davis, Texas.

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Toni Gatlin @tonigatlin.com · 18/12/2025

One of the more excellent books I finished this year: an accurate and poignant depiction of 2000s-era evangelical adolescence, and also genuinely hilarious (particularly in audio). @jasonkirk.fyi

Screenshot of audiobook by Jason Kirk: “Hell Is A World Without You”

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Toni Gatlin @tonigatlin.com · 24/11/2025

Sooo I'm in training to become a spiritual director, and apparently it's best to learn with real directees. 🤭 I could use more volunteers so I'm making a public invitation for the first time. 🙏 Could you use some (free!) (not-yet-professional!) (Jesus-centered!) companionship? 1/

Screenshot from graftedlife.org describing spiritual direction.

A Safe Place for Your Soul: The Ministry of Spiritual
Direction

The Christian life often entails times of spiritual uncertainty-situations in which we are unsure of God's will, confused about what
God is doing in our circumstances, or generally dry in our relationship with God. Spiritual direction is a safe place to explore your
questions and concerns about your life with God.

A Christ-centered spiritual director is a trained listener who will accompany you as you share about your spiritual journey, helping
you to notice God's presence and activity along the way, as well as your personal reactions and responses. Hospitable, confidential,
and grounded in biblical truth, spiritual direction is a ministry that helps you grow in prayer and live into your calling as a follower of
Christ.

Whether you seek a spiritual director during a specific season of your life or engage with one as part of your regular spiritual
practices, spiritual direction is beneficial in many ways. It can connect you in relationship with:

Someone with a perspective
outside of your normal
circles.

Someone who reminds you
of the basics-God's love,
care and constancy through
all of life's circumstances.

Someone to stay awake with
you on the road when you
are spiritually weary.

Someone who keeps the
faith when yours feels weak.

Someone to lift you before
God while you struggle with
issues that aren't solved
quickly or easily.

Someone to celebrate God's
work of transformation with
you and for you.

Someone who values and
loves you in Christ and
enjoys giving you that gift in
Jesus name.

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