Lisa notes

Should Text Messages Be Blue or Green?
—Grace & Truth Linkup

By LisaNotes January 14, 2022 Discrimination, Grace & Truth Link-Up 10 Comments

What Color Is Your Text Message?

If you have an iPhone and you text, you’ve seen the colored text bubbles.

By default, if someone’s words arrive in a blue text bubble, it means they’re texting via iMessage from another iPhone. But if you see a green bubble, the other person is texting from an Android phone or other smartphone (or it’s an SMS text message from an iPhone).

Does this matter to you?

It obviously bothers enough people that it’s become a source of bullying. Over the color of your text bubble.

Oh my.

Google (the originator of Android phones) complains that iPhone’s choice to use different colored message bubbles intentionally leads to “peer pressure and bullying” from iPhone users toward Android users.

I can’t say if Apple engineers strategically designed it this way for peer pressure or not.

But I can ask us regular people who use phones of any brand, “Really??? Do we have to make text bubble color another source of bullying, too?”

We’re already a people prone to judging others. We compare. We analyze. We scrutinize each other for the craziest of things.

Let’s not let text bubbles be another one of those things.

[I heard about this on the Talking Tech podcast.]

Featured Post

We might not relate to judging people for the color of their text message.

But can you relate to this—have you ever judged a parent at the grocery store for how their child behaves?

Our featured post today is from Tammy (a fellow co-host of this linkup). She writes about how quickly we can judge the little child (and parent) struggling in a grocery store.

Tammy offers us two important lessons about life that apply to each of us.

Read all of Tammy’s post here at her blog, then add your own links below.

“WHEN LITTLE BOYS (OR GIRLS) STRUGGLE WITH MENTAL ILLNESS”

What do you think about the texting bubbles? How can we spread more grace in the world instead of judgment? Share your thoughts in the comments.

I’m linking at these blog parties

1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LAUREN SPARKS
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

TAMMY KENNINGTON – Restoring hope. Pursuing peace.
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

Now Let’s Link Up!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Are You a Numbers Person? Is God?

By LisaNotes January 12, 2022 Book reviews 13 Comments

How Can God Care for One?

If there are over 7 billion people living on the planet at this very moment, how can God care about me, just one single person?

Big numbers are overwhelming. We’re not made to comprehend big numbers.

Until recently, most languages didn’t even have numbers past 1-2-3-4-5. Anything more than five was “a lot,” according to Chip Heath in his new book Making Numbers Count.

But when we bring numbers down to a manageable perspective, we can grasp them.

And see how valuable they are.

I looked up how many nerve cells we have in our brain. Current estimates are over 85 billion. It would take you and 11 other people on Earth to represent one single nerve cell in your brain. And another 11 people for the next cell, on and on.

Yet, doesn’t every nerve cell count? If you stub your toe, you feel it. If an eyelash lands in your eye, you’re aware of it. And if you’ve ever had a toothache in just one tiny tooth, you know the importance of every nerve cell.

So if we can understand how each cell counts, how much more does God care about each human being made in God’s very own beautiful image?

God cares.

I still can’t fathom caring about 7 billion people, but I can understand caring about the pinch of a needle to draw blood from my arm, or the sweet feel of a baby’s fat cheek with my fingertips.

Large or small, numbers can still be boiled down to one at a time.

I’m thankful my one matters to God.

Making Numbers Count

If you want to read more about how to see numbers from a human perspective, I highly recommend Chip Heath’s book, Making Numbers Count. (I’ll read any book he writes.)

Here’s a taste of how he makes numbers count by putting them in terms we understand.

Instead of the dry statistic that a single M&M has 4 calories, or a single Pringle has 10 calories, think of it like this:

“In order to burn off the calories in a single M&M, you’d have to walk 2 flights of stairs. In order to burn off the calories in a single Pringle, you’d have to walk 176 yards, or almost 2 football fields.”

Or if you want to understand the difference between a millionaire and a billionaire, put it in a time framework:

“If a million seconds is twelve days, a billion seconds is thirty-two years.”

Making Numbers Count is full of ideas and examples of how we use numbers to make meaning in our lives.

For me, I’m using numbers today to remind me how valuable we each are to God, regardless of how many numbers of us there are.

Do you think of yourself as a numbers person? (I used to be an accountant, so I count myself in the loving-numbers crowd.) What helps you realize your worth to God? Share in the comments.

My thanks to NetGalley + Avid Reader Press
for the review copy of Making Numbers Count

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How Can You Know What You Don’t Know About Yourself? Here Are 3 Ways.

By LisaNotes January 10, 2022 Encouragement, Hidden Biases 32 Comments

“There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns…things that we know we don’t know. But there are also unknown unknowns…things we don’t know we don’t know.”
– Donald Rumseld

The ladies will be here in a couple of hours. I want to get the honey bun cake in the oven soon.

But I can’t find my mixer. I always keep it in the cabinet by the refrigerator. I open the cabinet door and look inside, but I don’t see it. I look elsewhere; I still can’t find it.

I open the cabinet again. I move things around with my hands.

And there it is. In plain sight. Why didn’t I see it the first time I looked?

There’s a reason. . . .

When We Don’t Know What We Don’t Know

We all have blind spots.

Blind spots are things that are true about us and around us, but we can’t see them. In some ways they protect us until we’re capable of seeing the truth. God doesn’t create us with perfect knowledge; we have to grow into it.

But blind spots quickly outlive their usefulness. They hurt not only us, but also those around us, if we don’t outgrow them.

Yet it’s not easy to know what we don’t know.

How can we wake up from our ignorance?

1. BE CURIOUS

Curiosity is a gift. Sometimes I forget to be curious when I think I’ve already figured out the best way to do something or I think I already know everything I need to know.

But there is always more to learn about what we do and why. Ask God for guidance. Stay open. Look deeper at your motives, at your actions, at your thoughts.

2. ASK QUESTIONS

A quick way to find out what we don’t know about ourselves is to ask someone else about us. Pray about who to ask. Others see us in ways we don’t see ourselves.

A close friend or partner can give us insights we’ve been blind about. The information they provide us is an invaluable mirror and a shortcut to greater clarity.

3. WATCH OTHERS

In addition to direct information about ourselves, we also can learn more about ourselves by learning about others.

Listen closer when others are talking. Read widely. See how others respond to situations compared to how we do.

The more we grow and learn about ourselves, the more we grow in relationships with others, too. Maturation contributes to a healthy, whole life.

The More We Look, the More We See

Only when I see my blind spots can I change them.

So where was the mixer the first time I looked in the cabinet?

It was in its spot. Front and center on the cabinet shelf.

But I had been looking for our white mixer. We’d had it for years. Until it finally quit working and we had to throw it away. And bought a black mixer.

The black mixer was sitting where the white mixer once sat. But because I was looking for the white appliance instead of a black one, I didn’t notice it until I was forced to take another look.

I’ll never be aware of all my blind spots. But I want to uncover more and more along the way.

The clearer we see, the more we can flourish.

Have you had any blind spots uncovered lately? Share in the comments.

If you want to read more about our hidden biases, start here with the series, “I just can’t see it! How to uncover hidden biases.”

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Hang On to the Good Leftovers
—Grace & Truth Linkup

By LisaNotes January 7, 2022 Grace & Truth Link-Up 13 Comments

Yesterday we put away all our Christmas decorations until next December (or November? depending on how ambitious I’ll be in 2022).

It’s a bittersweet event. While I’m glad to get the task out of the way (it’s one I always dread), it does make everything seem plain after all the bright lights and colors.

The last thing to go up in the attic this year was our bag of Christmas gift bags. We’re notorious for reusing our bags again and again.

For our featured post this week, Calvonia reminds us to hang on to some of the things we got in 2021, even though the year itself may have brought us some crummy gifts.

There are always some good leftovers to hold on to.

Read all of Calvonia’s post at her blog, then add your own links below.

“DON’T THROW THE YEAR OUT WITH THE WRAPPING PAPER”

What good thing are you keeping leftover from 2021? Share your thoughts in the comments.

I’m linking at these blog parties

1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LAUREN SPARKS
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

TAMMY KENNINGTON – Restoring hope. Pursuing peace.
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

Now Let’s Link Up!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

This Is My Makeup Letter with Her

By LisaNotes January 5, 2022 Book reviews, Encouragement 13 Comments

Dear . . . ,

We’ve known each other a lot of years. We’ve been everywhere together and spent hours and hours and hours in each other’s company.

You’d think we’d be best friends by now.

You’ve always had my back, but I’ve not always had yours.

I have said mean things about you, almost daily. Sometimes just directly to you, but often in front of other people, too.

I’ve wanted to change you. I’ve wanted you to be different, to be more like somebody else.

Yet you never gave up on me.

You’re still here.

Granted, I’ve also thanked you through the years, too. You’ve brought me some of my greatest joys, deepest thrills, most profound experiences.

So maybe this will be my year to call a truce with you. No more bad-mouthing you. No more trying to conform you to my expectations. No more negative talk about you.

Just love. Just acceptance. Just gratitude.

Thank you, my dear body. You’ve been very forgiving. Let’s see what we can do together next.

Love,
Lisa

This writing exercise, A Letter to My Body, is the last suggestion Hillary McBride makes in her new book, The Wisdom of Your Body.

I’m glad I wrote a makeup letter to my body. Although it was painful.

Through the years my eyes have noticed the negative things about my body more than the positive things. I see where the fat gathers, where the wrinkles crinkle, where the joints ache.

And even more so as I age.

But even an aging body deserves kindness.

Maybe especially an aging body deserves kindness. She (my body) does everything for me. She’s taken me everywhere I’ve ever been; she birthed my three babies; she’s allowed me to experience tastes and sounds and sights I’d never have known without her.

So yes, I want to make peace with her. She’s been a gift to me, even with her pains and malfunctions.

According to the information that Hillary McBride shares, many of us need to make peace with our bodies.

“The body is the only way we have to move through life. Yet research about body dissatisfaction and body hatred shows us that the majority of us—up to 90 percent of those of us Western culture and in communities touched by globalization, inclusive of women and men—loathe our bodies.”

We can grow to be more aware of our body as a sanctuary instead of an enemy.

“Our bodies are constantly speaking up, telling us who we are and what it is like to be us. These signals tell us what feels good, when we feel alive, when to eat and sleep and cry, what is unsafe (or what has felt scary in the past), what matters to us, and how we are different from or similar to the person next to us.”

That sounds like a friend to me.

McBride goes into great depth in The Wisdom of the Body, touching on physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of our relationship with our bodies. I highly recommend her book, even if you have a good relationship with your body already.

Our bodies deserve it. Our bodies are good.

Because our bodies are our homes.

Have you ever written a letter to your body? Do you have a complicated relationship with her? Share in the comments.

thanks to NetGalley + Baker Academic
& Brazos Press for the review copy of this book

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12 Things to Let Go in 2022
—My One Word 2022

By LisaNotes January 3, 2022 Release: One Word 2022 49 Comments

When the Losses Pile Up

The losses. They pile up through the years. Like a mountain of garbage stacked higher and higher.

A first husband long ago too confined for one relationship.
A baby’s body not sustaining life here.
A father’s lung filled with cancer instead of air.
A mother’s memory eaten alive by forgetfulness.
A present pit threatening to bury my heart.

Granted, the graces have also been plentiful. The blessings numerous. The joys bountiful.

But yet the disappointments. The sufferings. They sit here still. They weaken, but they don’t disappear altogether.

When a new loss arises, the others gather round again, in a return appearance, to say, yes. We were once here, too.

The temptation is to cut new losses off at the pass. To be the one to let go first. To preempt the pain.

Let me break up with you before you break up with me. I can’t take another blow to my heart.

But perhaps there is a gentler way than total break-off.

The way of release.

My New One Word 2022—RELEASE

In release, we hold our hand open for the good to light on us in the moment, but we don’t squeeze it closed.

We enjoy it while it’s here, but not grow bitter when it’s gone.

In ways, we practice release unconsciously all our lives. We can’t keep things the same, no matter how hard we try. Change happens every day, voluntarily or otherwise.

But this year I want to practice release more intentionally. My One Word for 2022 is RELEASE.

It follows a year of UNCERTAINTY (my 2021 Word). God showed me uncertainty in many areas last year—I disliked much of it—but this year God is leading me to RELEASE.

12 Things to Let Go in 2022

Here’s the list of 12 things I want to practice releasing this year. (Or at least loosen my grip on. I must also release perfection; I don’t expect complete success in any category.)

1. January – Explanations
2. February – Past and Future
3. March – Complaints
4. April – Labels
5. May – Expectations
6. June – Safety
7. July – Pride
8. August – Overthinking
9. September – Success
10. October – Attachment
11. November – Control
12. December – Permanence

Each of these needs further explanation. But to practice January’s goal, I’ll not elaborate; I’ll release my compulsion to explain each choice.

Release as a Spiritual Discipline

RELEASE frightens me a bit, I confess. RELEASE feels dangerous. I don’t want to let go of too much. Or let go of something I’ll need later.

Yet it also feels liberating. It smells of freedom.

RELEASE will be my spiritual discipline of trusting God.

RELEASE signals I’m not here to accumulate, but to blow through. The Spirit breezes in. And when I’m aware enough, I breathe Spirit in deeply. Each inhale comes with an exhale, releasing the futility of trying to capture the wind.

I can’t trap it. I can only harness it when it comes. Appreciate it. Enjoy it. Maximize its energy in its day with me.

Then rest.

Release.

* * *

We plan for Jeff’s retirement this spring. We’re excited about it. But we can’t predict all the changes it will bring. We look ahead with delight, yet also hold all plans loosely.

Is there anything you need to release in 2022? What’s your One Word, if you’ve chosen one? Share in the comments.

If you want more companionship as you practice your One Word this year, . You’ll receive a monthly email with more details and resources. You can unsubscribe any time. Our monthly linkup will be the 22nd of each month.

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