Lisa notes

On the Blog—December 2021

By LisaNotes December 31, 2021 Archives No Comments

Here are brief summaries and links to posts on the blog, Lisa notes, in December 2021.

Tell Yourself a Better Story for 2022
—Grace & Truth Linkup

By LisaNotes December 31, 2021 Book reviews, Grace & Truth Link-Up 11 Comments

I’ve been telling myself a bad story the past few weeks. It’s about myself. And it’s negative.

It’s also (mostly) not true.

Sometimes when circumstances go awry, we turn in on ourselves.

We don’t even need evidence to prove it. We revert back to old childhood narratives or false accusations from the past or just place too much emphasis on our weak spots and forget our strengths.

The Story of You

I just finished a new book on the Enneagram by Ian Morgan Cron. It’s The Story of You: An Enneagram Journey to Becoming Your True Self.

In this book, Cron reminds me that:

“All transformation begins with story transformation.”

So as I read this book, I leaned in on how I need to change my story back to a better one. Cron’s “how to” method uses the rubric SOAR: See, Own, Awaken, and Rewrite.

For me as a type Five, Cron says that Fives can “subscribe to a story that looks nothing like the Story of God.” I don’t want do that.

Instead, he recommends that Fives cultivate our type’s Virtue, which is nonattachment. Seek a full range of feelings. Connect our overdeveloped minds with our underdeveloped body awareness. Give ourselves away more extravagantly.

“Trust that you have an abundance of yourself to give. You are more than enough.”

And that advice applies to all of us, regardless of our type.

God made each of us as more than enough. We have an abundance to give.

“Finally, believe not only in God, but also in yourself. You can do this.”

Leave the old stories behind. Believe in the more accurate story, the story that God tells about us.

You can do this. I can, too.

Happy New Year.

Featured Post—Reflect on God’s Grace

If this year has been a tough one for you, too, read Trudy’s post to reflect on the extra grace that God gives us when times are hard (and when times are easy).

“2021 REFLECTIONS ON THE GRACE GOD STILL GIVES US”

Then add your own blog links below.

Share your thoughts in the comments.

Read more here on 20 Ways to Practice the Enneagram for Spiritual Growth.

My thanks to Net Galley and HarperOne
for the review copy of The Story of You

I’m linking at these blog parties

blank

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).

blank

Grace and Truth_Meet Hosts

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

6 Books I Recommend—December 2021

By LisaNotes December 28, 2021 Books I Recommend 21 Comments

A room without books is like a body without a soul.
– Marcus Tullius

Here are 6 books I recommend from what I finished reading in December.

[See previously recommended books here]

blank

Nonfiction

1. The Story of You
An Enneagram Journey to Becoming Your True Self
by Ian Morgan Cron

The Story of You

This is a brand-new book on the Enneagram by one of the leading experts. Cron walks us through each nine types in a clear and relatable way, demonstrating better ways to live our God-designed stories.  

[book review here of The Story of You]

2. The Sleep Solution
Why Your Sleep Is Broken and How to Fix It
by W. Chris Winter

The Sleep Solution

I’ve been sleeping better since I read this book. Lots of practical information here, including putting insomnia into perspective.

3. The Dance of Connection
How to Talk to Someone When You’re Mad, Hurt, Scared, Frustrated, Insulted, Betrayed, or Desperate
by Harriet Lerner

The Dance of Connection

Relationships can be tricky. Even though this was written a few years ago, Lerner role-plays multiple conversations through some of the minefields that have plagued us all in the past couple of years. 

4. Stories I Only Tell My Friends
An Autobiography
by Rob Lowe

Stories I Only Tell My Friends

I don’t typically read celebrity memoirs, but I kept hearing this was a good one. And it is. I listened to it as an audiobook, read by Rob Lowe himself. His stories are fascinating and Lowe is very humble in the telling of them. 

5. Learning to Speak God from Scratch
Why Sacred Words Are Vanishing—and How We Can Revive Them
by Jonathan Merritt

Learning to Speak God from Scratch

Some of us grew up speaking Christianese as our native tongue. But many more did not. Merritt points out how to have spiritual conversations with others in everyday language instead of the vocabulary popular only among Christians. 

Fiction

6. Anatomy of a Miracle
by Jonathan Miles

Based on a true story, this novel is about an Afghanistan veteran who returned home paralyzed from the waist down. Until a miracle occurs at the Biz-E-Bee convenience store in Biloxi, Mississippi. What accounts for it? 

Anatomy of a Miracle

Reading Now

  • The Wisdom of Your Body
    Finding Healing, Wholeness, and Connection Through Embodied Living
    by Hillary L. McBride
  • The Divine Dance
    The Trinity and Your Transformation
    by Richard Rohr
  • Love for Imperfect Things
    How to Accept Yourself in a World Striving for Perfection
    by Haemin Sunim
  • People We Meet on Vacation
    by Emily Henry
  • Constructive Wallowing
    How to Beat Bad Feelings by Letting Yourself Have Them
    by Tina Gilbertson
  • Jesus and John Wayne
    How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation
    by Kristin Kobes du Mez
  • More Beautiful Than Before
    How Suffering Transforms Us
    by Steve Leder
  • How to Stop Time
    by Matt Haig

What good book are YOU reading this month? Please share in the comments.

MORE READING

Interested in joining our One Word community for 2022? Sign up anytime in 2022! Get more details here. 

blank

My books on Goodreads
More books I recommend

Give Yourself Grace This Christmas
—Grace & Truth Linkup

By LisaNotes December 24, 2021 Grace & Truth Link-Up 3 Comments

grace-and-truth-weekly-christian-linkup-its friday

Featured Post

Realistically we know Christmas is not 100% joy for any of us. There is a strong mixture of both happiness and sorrow as we close out our year.

But as you celebrate Christ’s birth with friends and family this season, remember to give yourself this important gift that Christ came to give you (from our Featured Post this week by Lois):

“Give yourself grace this Christmas.”

Read all of Lois’s beautiful post on grief at her blog, then link your own blog posts below.

“THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE GRIEF TUNNEL”

Do you have mixed feelings this Christmas, too? Share your thoughts in the comments.

blank

I’m linking at these blog parties

blank

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).

blank

Grace and Truth_Meet Hosts

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

Share Four Somethings—December 2021

By LisaNotes December 22, 2021 Life updates 16 Comments

blank

Near the end of each month I share something I love, something I read, something I treasure, and something ahead with others at Heather’s.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Something Loved

  • HOOPLA DIGITAL 

This is one of my favorite discoveries of the year: Hoopla Digital. Granted, this online digital library doesn’t have the most user-friendly platform for reading ebooks, but the quality of books they have available makes up for it. 

Hoopla Digital

Specifically, they provide far more nonfiction ebooks than I find elsewhere with my library. And also a plus—with no waiting! A downside is each library sets a fairly low limit on how many items you can borrow a month (my library says 5), but that’s not a problem for most of us. 

Not every public library subscribes to Hoopla Digital, but if yours does, I highly recommend it. They also have many audiobooks (the app is great for that). 

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Something Read 

  • THE DIVINE DANCE

Books I purchase are often the last ones I read (they have no deadline to push me). I’m finally getting around to reading Richard Rohr’s, The Divine Dance: The Trinity and Your Transformation.

blank

I love Rohr’s prayer on page 144 (that’s as far as I’ve gotten):

God for us, we call you Father.
God alongside us, we call you Jesus.
God within us, we call you Holy Spirit.

You are the eternal mystery that enables, enfolds, and enlives all things,
Even us and even me.

I’m having to read this book slowly. I can’t skim Richard Rohr. It’s worth the extra time it takes. 

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Something Treasured

  • THE ONE WORD COMMUNITY

2021 was a great inaugural year with our first One Word Community. The participants have been so encouraging, and we’ve learned so much not only from our own words, but also from each other’s words (I didn’t see that coming!).

So I’m very excited so many are returning for our second year.

If you’re interested in having a bit of accountability with your One Word in 2022, add your name to our email list here.

blank

We’ve also opened up signups for smaller groups within the larger group.

If you’d like to be part of a 4-person small group for more companionship, signups for small groups are here.   

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Something Ahead

  • NEW CATEGORIES FOR SHARE FOUR SOMETHINGS

Although I’ve loved these four categories that Heather has been offering us each month at her monthly Share Four Somethings linkup (Something Loved, Something Read, Something Treasured, Something Ahead), I’m also excited about the new changes she’s starting in January 2022.

blank

  • Something Loved
  • Something Gleaned
  • Something Braved
  • Something Achieved

Heather opens up the Share Four Somethings linkup on the fourth Saturday of each month. 

What’s one of your highlights for 2021? What are you looking forward to in 2022? Share your thoughts in the comments.

previous Share Four Somethings

One Word 2021 Linkup for December

By LisaNotes December 21, 2021 One Word Community 17 Comments

blank

Wrapping Up 2021

We made it to the end of the year with our One Word. Before we move forward to 2022, let’s take a look back.

  1. If you had to give your One Word a star rating, what would it be and why?
  2. How often did you spot your One Word in other places this year?
  3. Did you grow through your One Word?

Please share your answers in the comments. Or write it up in a blog post and link below.

The linkup will remain open through December 31, 2021.

Also Sign Up for Small Groups

If you’ve already joined our group for 2022 (), you can also participate in our smaller groups within the large group.

Get more details here and fill out the form to be added to a small group of 4 people each.

Next year’s linkups will be on the 22nd of each month (for 2022).

Share your thoughts in the comments.

Link Up About Your One Word!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter