Lisa notes

When Plans Are a Tossup, Live in Grace

By LisaNotes March 18, 2020 Book reviews 14 Comments

As an introvert, I admit I’m happy some of my events are cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns, even though I hate that’s the reason.

It’s just that I love being at home.

But one event in particular that I do NOT want to be cancelled is A Night of Harmony with Bob Goff in a town near me in late April.

Words of Love from Bob

If you’ve ever listened to Bob Goff in person or a podcast, or read through his books, you already know what a treasure he is. We especially need his enthusiasm, optimism, and faith in this time of fear.

But in any season, his words ring true and bring hope.

Listen to these quotes from his new 365-day devotion, Live in Grace, Walk in Love:

“Make your life about people and you won’t regret it.”

“It’s so much easier to love people with our intentions than to love them in real life.”

“We forget Jesus didn’t ask us to have all the answers. He also doesn’t need us to be the hall monitors of other people’s conduct. He had a few strong words for the people who appointed themselves as protectors of truth. Jesus simply asked us to follow Him, not to monitor who everyone else is.”

“Love isn’t something we do, like a job. It’s someone we become, like Jesus.“

“Loving God started to make more sense when I realized loving a God I couldn’t see was a lot like loving the people He made and put all around me.”

Plan to Love

My husband Jeff and I heard Bob Goff in person a year ago, also at A Night of Harmony. He radiated love and joy the second he walked out on the stage to speak. And that love and joy stuck with us for a long time afterwards.

I hope we don’t have to miss the opportunity to repeat that experience this year.

But even if the event gets canceled (it seems likely) and I can’t hear Bob Goff in person, I’m grateful to be reading Bob Goff’s words every day this year. Live in Grace, Walk in Love is a beautiful testament to what God wants each of us to do, wherever we are, whenever it is:

Commit to love. That is the best plan.

Have your read either of Bob Goff’s other books, Love Does or Everybody, Always (one of my Top 10 Books of 2018)? I highly recommend them, too!

What events have you had cancelled in this time of coronavirus? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

My thanks to Net Galley and Nelson Books
for the review copy of this book

Is It Okay to Complain If It’s Only in My Head?

By LisaNotes March 16, 2020 Linger 26 Comments

Twitter/@SugarMichael

“Whether you complain aloud or only in thought makes no difference.”
– Eckhart Tolle

I sometimes play mind tricks with myself. Such as, it’s okay to complain about somebody as long as it’s only to Jeff.

Or this one: it’s okay to complain, as long as I don’t say it out loud.

But is it? Really?

When You Express It

We can’t help certain thoughts that pop into our head about someone else’s attitude or actions. And maybe it’s for a legitimate reason because they truly are irritating and egotistical.

But complaining is more than just having the thought. Complaining is expressing an attitude about it.

In this anxious time of coronavirus panic, complaining has come easier to me. I’m verbalizing my annoyance more frequently.

In the best of times, I think I’m doing good if I keep these thoughts only to myself. And granted, that is better than saying every one of these thoughts out loud.

But should I even indulge them in my head? Are they doing me any good?

All Complaints Hurt Us

My inside-only complaints cause trouble, too.

(An exclusion is the “complaint” that states a wrong that needs to be addressed: “There’s a fly in my soup.” That’s okay. What’s not good is: “How dare you let a fly get in my soup!”)

The kind of complaining I’ve been doing is this: “What is wrong with these people buying up all the toilet paper at Publix? Don’t they know other people need some, too?”

It is labeling other people as greedy and selfish when I don’t know what their motivations are. Only God knows hearts. Maybe they actually are greedy and selfish (aren’t we all at times?).

But maybe they are just scared and panicked (again, aren’t we all at times?).

Either way, it doesn’t serve them OR me to judge them for it. Even if I’m quiet about it.

I don’t have to take personal offense to their words or actions. I don’t have to set up an “I am right; they are wrong” mentality. I don’t have to defend my strong opinion on everything.

As Tricia Goyer says in The Grumble-Free Year,

“It’s easy to see grumbling as a bad habit. It’s harder to see that it is an actual offense against God. Even if we don’t think so, it’s saying, God, you’ve failed me.”

I can remember that God’s favor is on me. He is for me. That is what I need.

Accepting a situation (or a person) as is, without criticizing and complaining, is a strength, not a weakness. It doesn’t mean you approve. You still might need to act to make the situation better.

But stop the complaining.

Linger in Silence

My one word of the year is Linger. For the month of March, my Linger action step is Silence, i.e., Linger in the Silence. I’ve been choosing silence more instead of automatically turning on a podcast or even picking up a book as often (aghast!).

But I also need to choose lingering in the silence instead of complaining out loud.

And instead of complaining in my head.

Both are toxic. Both can lead to resentment and bitterness and grievances of “I can’t believe she did that to me!” outrage.

I still can’t control everything (anything?) that pops into my head, including negative people and annoying situations that cause me angst. But I can choose to be aware of these thoughts and stop feeding them.

By choosing to quiet them instead of encouraging them, I’ll create more peace in the world.

Not just peace on the outside, but peace inside my head, too.

Do you complain more when you’re tired and anxious, too? How do you stop it? Please share in the comments.

Running Low at the Grocery Store – Grace & Truth Link-Up

By LisaNotes March 13, 2020 Grace & Truth Link-Up 8 Comments

Out of Toilet Paper

I legit needed to buy toilet paper. Not to hoard. Not to stockpile. But because we were almost out anyway.

But when I got to Walmart, the shelves were almost bare. There were still a few rolls left. But there were far less packages than there was empty space.

Ditto for the wipes I wanted to replace in my car. None on the shelves. On and on.

We’re all experiencing new things in this time of Coronovirus.

If we’re lucky, we’ll only be affected by self-quarantines and slightly inconvenienced by mundane things as fewer selections than we’re used to at the grocery store.

May we use these as wake-up calls to realign our priorities and perspectives in this season of uncertainty and fear and disruptions. God is still with us; we are still here for each other. That has not changed. That will not change.

We may run low on supplies, but may we remain full of hope. God’s faithfulness and our love for each other, by his grace, will never run out.

Our Featured Post

Last week Laurie linked a post with us at Grace & Truth about her own perspective shift at the grocery store. I think you’ll relate, too, like I did.

As she reminds us, let us each remind each other when we’re short on patience, for whatever the reason:

“Most people do not irritate us on purpose. . . . Gratitude, humility, and the ability to see life from others’ points of view lead to inner peace.”

Read Laurie’s post, “How I Achieved Inner Peace In the Checkout Line” at her blog, Meditations in Motion. You’ll be glad you did.

Thanks for sharing, Laurie! 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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LAUREN SPARKS
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LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
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When You Help the Helpers

By LisaNotes March 12, 2020 Community, Guest posts 5 Comments

It was Missions Fair Sunday at our church. I wanted to sign up for something but I didn’t feel qualified for anything.

My husband was excited about a relatively new ministry called PAR (Prepare and Respond). It is a faith-based disaster response group that formed in our north Alabama region after devastating tornadoes ripped through here in 2011.

But I couldn’t use a chainsaw.

How could I be of any help to this group?

Despite misgivings that day, I signed my name anyway for the PAR group. When another set of tornadoes hit close to home not long afterward, I received an email from PAR to help.

What had I gotten myself into?

Read the rest here about “Helping the Helpers”

When we expand our idea of how we can work in a ministry, God may surprise us with opportunities we didn’t see coming.

Will you join me at Do Not Depart for the rest of the story? “Not Gifted for That Ministry? Help the Helpers”

Why You Should Write Back. Now.

By LisaNotes March 10, 2020 Community, Encouragement 34 Comments

Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear.
Isaiah 65:24

Hit Send

It felt risky. I wasn’t sure I should say it. I wondered if it would change things, make things weird.

I wordsmithed it cautiously, copied it to Gmail, and hit send.

Then waited.
For something.
Anything.
Anytime now.
Please?

You, too? Waiting to hear back from someone about something you sent?

No Response?

Let’s get this out of the way: I’m not always good about responding either. I definitely could be better.

But this I know. Eventually. . .

We all should write back.

(Or text or message or call or visit . . . .)

Because we all know what it feels like when someone doesn’t get back to us.

It hurts.

When you make yourself vulnerable but are left hanging, you question if you said too much.
When you throw out a tiny bait but get no bite at all, you wonder who cares.
When you ask a question but get no answer, you feel insulted.

At the very least, you feel unheard. Did they even get my message? Maybe my email bounced? Was my voicemail deleted?

Now What?

What can we do when someone doesn’t respond to us? Not much. We can’t make someone pay attention. Try again if it’s important. Or forgive and move on.

But we can control how we respond to others.

Be the one to reach back.

You might not heal the hurt or dispense wisdom or fix any problems with your reply. But when you affirm that you’re listening, at least you stay connected.

So if you can:

When someone sends you a note, acknowledge its receipt.
When someone asks a question, give an answer (“I don’t know” is acceptable; so is, “I’ll respond later.”)
When someone says, “I need help,” say that you care (if you do), even if you don’t know what to do next.

Any acknowledgement, however short, is better than none at all.

So say something.
Hey, I hear you. I care. You matter.

Write back.

Who do you need to respond to today? It’s not too late. It can be short, but let it be something. Please share your thoughts in the comments.

revised from the archives

Be a Better Daily Helper – Grace & Truth Link-Up

By LisaNotes March 6, 2020 Grace & Truth Link-Up No Comments

When Helping Doesn’t Come Naturally

Some people are natural helpers. It seems giving comes easily to them. They know what to do; they have time to do it; they have resources to give away.

But for the rest of us, we need tips.

I know I do. Karen gives some great suggestions in today’s featured post about how to add more service into our everyday lives.

It still may not come easy to serve. But it may come quicker and more frequent when we recognize these opportunities.

They’re usually not as hard as we imagine. And once we do them, we are as blessed as the person we are serving.

Our Featured Post

I encourage you, too, to read Karen’s post today: “4 Practical Ways to Incorporate Service Into Your Daily Life.” She writes at Growing Together in Grace and Knowledge.

Join her to look at these four practical ways to incorporate service into your daily life. She gives very practical suggestions under each category.

Serve others through your time
Serve others through your hospitality
Serve others through a good attitude
Serve others through your spiritual gifts

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

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

HEATHER HART & VALERIE RIESE – Candidly Christian
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LAUREN SPARKS
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

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

We pray that each week Grace & Truth will point you to Jesus. Add your own post below to encourage others and to strengthen friendships in the Christian blogging community.

1. You are welcome to follow your hosts on their blogs and/or social media channels.

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.

4. All links are randomly sorted. Link early or late. The playing field is even.

To Be Featured:

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

6. Every week each host will feature one blog and promote it via her social media.