Lisa notes

5 Books I Recommend – March 2020

By LisaNotes March 30, 2020 Books I Recommend, Video Book Reviews 32 Comments

“A library is infinity under a roof.”
– Gail Carson Levine

5 Books I Recommend

Every month I share the best of what I’ve finished reading. Here are books I recommend from March. See all my recommended books here.

Nonfiction

1. The Library Book
by Susan Orlean

I love libraries. So naturally I loved this book.

Our library closed its doors two weeks after I finished reading this book and recording the video. I don’t think I had even considered the possibility. But of course I understand their wise decision. And of course I’m heartbroken.

[click here if you can’t see the 1-minute book review, The Library Book]

2. Live in Grace, Walk in Love
A 365-Day Journey
by Bob Goff

This little book has been a lifesaver of encouraging words in this season. Bob Goff points you to what really matters, loving God and loving people in every way you can, no strings attached. Everything else is extra. He shares the best stories, making you laugh along the way and sometimes cry, too.

[My review here of Live in Grace]

3. Talking to Strangers
What We Should Know about the People We Don’t Know
by Malcolm Gladwell

Such an interesting book! Gladwell shows through stories that we don’t always make proper assumptions about strangers. And those misconceptions lead to problems. “We should accept the limits of our ability to decipher strangers.”

4. Maybe You Should Talk to Someone
A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed
by Lori Gottlieb

Another excellent book! Gottlieb is a therapist herself who decides she needs a therapist after a breakup. Her honesty and insights about her own therapy as well as her patients makes for such interesting stories that we can apply to our own lives.

Fiction

5. The Turn of the Key
by Ruth Ware

This suspenseful mystery will keep you turning the pages, but without the violence that often comes with mystery novels. This one is about a nanny, Rowan Caine, who accepts a dream job in the Scottish Highlands working for a family with young children, but something goes terribly wrong.

Reading Now

The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry
How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World
by John Mark Comer
Write Better
A Lifelong Editor on Craft, Art, and Spirituality
by Andrew T. Le Peau
Upstream
The Quest to Solve Problems Before They Happen
by Dan Heath
A Spark of Light
by Jodi Picoult
I’ve Seen the End of You
A Neurosurgeon’s Look at Faith, Doubt, and the Things We Think We Know
by W. Lee Warren
Human(kind)
How Reclaiming Human Worth and Embracing Radical Kindness Will Bring Us Back Together
by Ashlee Eiland

* * *

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

My books on Goodreads
More books I recommend

sharing with Modern Mrs. Darcy

It’s Okay to Be Sad, Christians

By LisaNotes March 28, 2020 Community, Encouragement 15 Comments

It’s okay to be sad, Christians.⁣
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How am I? I’m grieving. I’m anxious. I’m conflicted. And yes, I’m still Christian.⁣

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Sometimes we have a false expectation that believers in Christ aren’t supposed to be sad when bad things happen. We are the ones with reasons to hope, to have unspeakable joy, to have peace that passes understanding. Yes.⁣
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But we’re also the ones, like all human beings, to grieve with those who are grieving. Even if we and our families haven’t had a loss yet.⁣
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Right now our whole world is in pain. Many have suffered unbearable losses on every front. So while I remain grateful to God for my personal blessings and I have faith that things will improve again in the future, right now I am sad.⁣
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I’m sad for those who have lost income. I’m sad for kids who aren’t safe at home. I’m sad for those awaiting test results. I’m sad for those alone in a hospital room (and for those who want to be with them but aren’t allowed). I’m sad for those who have already lost someone to death that they weren’t supposed to lose yet. On and on and on.⁣
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Being sad doesn’t mean I have no faith. Being sad doesn’t mean I have no joy. Being sad doesn’t mean I have no hope.⁣
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Being sad doesn’t mean I’m not a Christian.⁣
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It just means I’m sad.⁣
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That’s okay. That’s normal. That’s human.⁣
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That’s Christian, too.

When Anxiety Needs Words, I Memorize Scripture – Grace & Truth Link-Up

By LisaNotes March 27, 2020 Grace & Truth Link-Up, Memorization 12 Comments

Hit Reset

My mind can run away from me quickly. It darts through some dark alleys these days. When I read too many articles about the coronavirus or listen to too much news, my anxiety heightens. And my hope diminishes.

I need to hit the reset button.

One way I do that is through memorizing scripture. It gives me better words to focus on. It helps me remember the bigger picture, the bigger God, who knows everything going on around me and in me.

These are words I need to keep on repeat.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
Psalm 91:1

and

I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
Psalm 91:2

So I’m going to memorize Psalm 91 over the next few weeks with the community at Do Not Depart.

If you want to memorize Psalm 91, too, get the details here.

Psalm 91 is a calming chapter about God’s deliverance, God’s covering, God’s faithfulness.

Sign up lasts another week and a half (now–April 5). We’ll start memorizing the Monday of Easter week, April 6. We’ll learn two verses a week for eight weeks, ending on Pentecost Sunday (May 31).

Our memory challenges are no pressure, no rules, just a fellowship of believers setting our minds on higher things.

Our Featured Post

Our featured post this week is also about overcoming anxiety. Bettie G shares her story of anxiety as she walked through the door to the Infusion Center.

Bettie reminds us that we’re not meant to carry our burdens alone. Not only is Jesus with us, he also wants us to be there for each other, too.

Read Bettie’s words here, “Sharing: Lifting Shame in Our Praying.” And if you pray, also lift her up as she walks through new medication infusions and their aftereffects. Bettie is a true champion in the fight for faith.

Thanks for sharing, Bettie! Here’s a button for your blog.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
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HEATHER HART & VALERIE RIESE – Candidly Christian
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We pray that Grace & Truth will point you to Jesus. Add your post to encourage others in the Christian blogging community.

1. Follow your hosts on their blogs and/or social media channels, if you’d like.

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

3. Visit and comment on 1 or 2 other links. Be an encourager. Please don’t link and run.

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To Be Featured:

5. Post the button or link back to one of our hosts. It encourages new participants. (Not mandatory to participate, but required to be featured.)

6. Every host will feature and promote one blog every week.

Now Let’s Link Up!

How is your anxiety level? How do you reduce it? Please share your thoughts and concerns in the comments.

If you want to memorize Psalm 91 together, get details here.

Ways to Use Technology to Stay Socially Connected During Social Distancing

By LisaNotes March 25, 2020 Community 12 Comments

The old advice of “Stay off your phones!” has turned into “I’ll see you online!”

Just because we can’t gather face to face with our friends and family doesn’t mean we have to lose touch.

We can still stay socially connected during social distancing with help from the internet. Even if it means learning new tools that we didn’t know existed before COVID-19. (Has anyone used the Netflix Party extension to watch shows together?)

Our 5-member book club met together last Sunday. Not in person, but online. And it was so fun! None of us had drive time or had to clean up our living room or even had to get out of our pj’s if we didn’t want to.

Ways to Connect

Here are favorite ways I’m staying in contact with the outside world.

What are your favorites?

1. Facebook

The old standby Facebook has come back in vogue. It’s become a gathering hub again, with an explosion of hilarious memes as well as seriously scary articles about COVID-19.

One of my Facebook groups is going to memorize Psalm 91 together through Do Not Depart. I’ll share more later, but if that interests you, join our Hide His Word Facebook group now.

2. Video Calling on Facebook

This is like FaceTime, but for lots of people at once (like Zoom). You can see everyone on the screen at the same time. And if you already have Facebook messenger, you don’t need to download any special app for this. This is what we used for our book club discussion.

On your Messenger screen, click the video icon in the upper right corner. It works with both Android and iPhone. On your computer, you have to use Firefox or Chrome browsers; it won’t work with Safari yet.

3. Marco Polo App

This works like sending a text, except you record a video instead of typing or recording words. You can send your message to one person at a time or set up a group. It’s super easy to use; just start and stop. Your recipients can watch when it’s convenient for them, just like reading a text, and they can reply back with their own video.

One of my groups includes my siblings. Thanks to the app, my younger sister showed us her new house being built and my sister-in-law showed us her cherry tree in bloom, things I wouldn’t have seen even in normal times.

4. The Regulars . . .

Plus more: Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, texting, and actual talking on the phone (even though it’s so 20th century, I know).

For more ideas, see Gretchen Rubin’s article, “Coping with COVID-19: Ideas for Staying Connected in this Time of Social Distancing.”

Strong Bonds

Isn’t there something special about seeing a familiar face pop up on your screen and hearing a familiar voice in your ears? God made us this way. He designed us to connect with each other, just as he, Jesus, and Holy Spirit connect.

And when possible, he wants us to connect face to face. Even Jesus himself came down here in person, put on flesh like ours, and walked and talked among us. How blessed were those who got a physical hug from the Son of God.

But just as we now stay connected with Jesus without seeing his physical body, we can also stay connected with each other.

Online may not feel as intimate as in-person. But it’s far better than nothing at all.

So connect online. Don’t worry about how you look. Or how you sound. Or whether you’ve got something interesting to say or are boring.

Your loved ones won’t care. They just want to see you and hear you. Just like you want to see and hear them.

Our bonds are stronger than our distance. Let’s stay connected.

How are you staying connected during social distancing? Please share in the comments.

Here’s to the Healers

By LisaNotes March 23, 2020 Compassion, Hope, Pain 31 Comments

We passed the year anniversary of Stan’s death on March 15, 2020. It was one of the last days we could enter a restaurant to eat together, and the first day that in-person church was canceled.

We again wore Auburn colors, went to the cemetery after lunch, and celebrated Stan’s life.

We also remembered the lives of those who worked to spare his life.

And now in this deadly era of COVID-19, these nurses and doctors are again foremost in our minds.

May God bless those of you who are the healers in the wake of this new coronavirus. You are our heroes. You are God’s special servants.

And to the families of the healers? You deserve special blessings, too, for the sacrifices you are making. May God keep you all safe.

Why I’m Sad

I’m sad.

I didn’t like seeing Stan connected by tubes to bags on IV poles. I didn’t like that he needed round-the-clock care in ICU for week after long week. I didn’t like that the lights always needed to be on, that the machines always needed to beep, that the nurses always had to stick and measure.

I drove home from the hospital that last Friday morning, March 15, 2019, one final time of leaving Stan’s now quiet and empty Room 11 that he’d occupied for so long.

I opened my Lent prayer app to the prayer-of-the-day.

This is what God had planted for March 15.

We Still Need People

Stan died in the early hours that Friday morning. Monday was his visitation. Tuesday was his funeral. Stan was the husband of Kathy, one of the Four Corners, one of my life-long best friends.

I’ve known Stan forever. First as my big brother’s friend, then as my own friend.

Those previous few months, I watched Stan breathe through one machine and watched his blood circulate through another. Modern medicine can seem quite miraculous.

But technological improvements alone still aren’t enough.

We still need people.

So now, even though I’m sad, I’m also grateful.

Here’s to the Healers

I applaud you who work with the sick and dying, you who are strong for the weak, you who stay up late and get up early so patients can have 24-hour medical attention.

The 6th floor medical staff in the Cardiac Care ICU at our hospital that took care of Stan (Anna, Taylor, Will, Des, Brandie, Leslie, Mallory, +) are more than phenomenal workers, they are phenomenal souls.

They know what to do with their school learning: they adjust levels and change out lines and read x-rays.

But they also know what to do with their emotional instincts: they offer genuine hope and they give generous care and they cry real tears.

They have more than skill. They have heart.

So here’s to the nurses, the doctors, the assistants, the caregivers: Keep doing what you do. Keep nurturing and protecting and tending to us when we’re sick, when we get better, and even when we die.

We need you. We pray for you. We love you.

Thank you for how you took care of Stan. And thank you for how you took care of us.

* * *

Do you work in the medical field? Thank you! Have you had a good experience with your medical caregivers? Please share in the comments.

revised from the archives

Do You Need More? Or Less? Grace & Truth Link-Up

By LisaNotes March 20, 2020 Grace & Truth Link-Up 6 Comments

More or Less

I’m not hoarding. I promise.

But yesterday I bought more Tylenol. More chicken. More bread.

But more isn’t always what I need.

As Joanne points out in our featured post this week, we need less of these things:

Less anxiety
Less hoarding
Less news

And more of these things:

More peace
More generosity
More Truth

Ultimately, Joanne reminds us that “We need less doubt and more confidence—confidence in the One.“