Lisa notes

5 Links, Books, and Things I Love – December 2019

By LisaNotes December 2, 2019 Life updates, Links I like 27 Comments

Every month I share my list of favorite 5’s.

5 Things I Love December 2019

  • 5 interesting things online
  • 5 articles about words, books, or podcasts
  • 5 pictures of things I love
  • 5 blog posts from the month

What are you enjoying this month?

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5 Things Around the Web

1. Charting How the Time Parents Spend with Kids Changes as They Grow Up

In the beginning, it’s all about physical care. But that changes as our kids grow up. Interesting graphics on how time spent with children changes as they age.

2. When There Are No More Volunteers: How the Church Can Love God by Loving Others

It’s bad for everyone when there are less volunteers.

3. Holiday Gift Guide from the Hatmakers 

This is the Hatmakers third year to feature 16 companies that not only make great products, but give back in significant ways to our communities, to people in need, and to the world. Listen as a podcast episode or read the transcript (and see photos).

4. How to Find Anything on Google — Extra Search Tips

Here are several advanced search engine hacks to find relevant search results without as much noise from advertisers, propaganda, etc.

5. Four Tips for Keeping It Together in Contentious Situations

Four practical tips to help us better handle moments of frustration that can breed pride, anger, grudge-holding, and other vices.

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5 Things with Words and Books

1. 8 Signs You’re a Library Power User

Yes, I do have my library card number memorized. I know the hours/days they’re open. See if you meet any of these power user criteria, too.

2. The Way You Read Books Says A Lot About Your Intelligence, Here’s Why

I’ve not heard the phrase “Fractal Reading” but it’s something I often do. You, too?

3. If You’re a Christian, You Need to Read These Eleven Books

This is a great list of social justice books by Anita Ojeda. She had lots of wonderful Self-Care Sunday posts on reaching out and learning more about other cultures. “Social justice begins with me.”

4. 5 Books on the 2019-2010 Literature for Justice Selected Reading List

To go with Anita’s list above, here are five books suggested by the National Book Foundation. Their goal is to advance understanding of mass incarceration in the United States. This list centers on first-person narratives from formerly incarcerated authors, partners of those behind bars, and leaders of prison reform.

5.  6 Books I Recommend

Here are short book reviews of 6 favorite books I finished reading in November, including Washington Black and The Complete Enneagram.

6 Books I Recommend - November 2019

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5 Pictures of Things I Love

Jenna took some beautiful pictures of Morgan and her babies. She’s juggling being a mom of two quite well, even though it has its moments, as all moms can attest.

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I’ve loved getting my snuggles in with the newest grandbaby myself.

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We got to spend Thanksgiving Day with some of our friends from around town. I count this Vietnam vet as one of my friends for the past several years. I learned even more about him last week.

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R.I.P. Kandie. Our most lovable golden retriever Kandie died on my birthday last Monday. Even though she moved in with Jenna and Trey the past two years (and she loved every second being an inside pet with them!), she lived with us her first seven years. It’s a sad, sad thing to lose a pet. Her remains are now included in our pet cemetery in the backyard along with pet gerbils, ducks, and a fish.

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Dubs Burgers are a local favorite. Jenna and Trey took us there to celebrate our birthdays. You don’t have to twist our arms for that.

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5 Favorites from the Blog

Here are brief summaries and links to blog posts from November 2019. I participated in Nonfiction November, so many are about reading.

1. Keep Empty Spaces

God is in the unfulfilled spaces as much as he is in the things he created around them. Keep some empty spaces around you as breathing room for you and God.

2. 3 Reasons You Don’t Read Nonfiction and Why You Should Anyway

Maybe you don’t read nonfiction books. But maybe you could try a few? Lots of book recommendations here from a variety of genres.

3. Is God Good? 3 Ways to Find God’s Goodness

How has God been good to you? 3 ways to find the goodness of God.

4. 3 Spiritual Books on the Enneagram

Want to learn more about the Enneagram and spiritual growth? Here are three books I highly recommend. I’m looking forward to sharing a 28-day series on the Enneagram here in February 2020.

5. Match This Nonfiction Book with This Fiction Book

Here are two pairs of nonfiction and fiction books that go well together, including the novels The Nickel Boys and The Poisonwood Bible.

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What was a highlight from your November? What do you have planned for December? Please share in the comments.

previous Links and Books

On the Blog – November 2019

By LisaNotes November 30, 2019 Archives 4 Comments

Here are brief summaries and links to blog posts from November 2019.

On the Blog 2019-11

Thanksgiving Isn’t Over – Stay Unbusy

By LisaNotes November 29, 2019 Book reviews, Encouragement 7 Comments
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One Complaint Leads to Another

Last week’s Sunday worship was warming. We praised God for his goodness. We sang songs and felt deep gratitude to God for who he is, for what he’s done.

We were taking the attitude of gratitude home with us.

Until the amen.

We were dismissed. Unfortunately, my attitude of thanksgiving dismissed itself, too. The friend beside me was questioning why it had to be so cold in the sanctuary. Yes, I agreed, why? I’m freezing.

One verbal complaint led to more mental complaints. Many of them centered around time.

  • Why is it taking so long to find Jeff in the crowd?
  • What time will we ever get to eat lunch today?
  • I need more time this afternoon to get things done.

It’s hard to keep a grateful heart when I feel pressed for time.

Do You Have Enough Time?

I struggle to be content with time. I have more things I want to do than time available to do them.

“If you feel ‘crunched for time,’ then you are. It’s as simple as that.“
– Andy Draft

I want more time. I need more time. Yes?

But this week of Thanksgiving—this life of thanksgiving—tells me otherwise.

It whispers, “Enough.”

I’ve always had enough. Now is enough, too. So why do I think there won’t be enough time in the future to accomplish what God wants to accomplish through me?

I want to trade my attitude of crunched for an attitude of enough.

Changing Attitudes

We had read Colossians 3:15-17 that morning in church. It said,

  • Let peace rule.
    And be thankful.
  • Let the Word dwell.
    And give thanks.

To let peace rule and to let the Word dwell—which prompts giving thanks—I need to change my discontentment with time.

“Most of us feel some level of time famine. We do not think we have enough time for all the things we feel the need to do. We feel like we are starving for time. These feelings have serious consequences.”

That’s what Andy Dragt says in his new book Unbusy, that it’s not about doing more things but about doing the right things.

He says design the flow of your time so you’re free to spend as much time as it takes to achieve the important things.

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But how can we arrange our time to accomplish the big things?

Dragt suggests we bring more structure, not less. Because “the opposite of structure is not freedom; it’s chaos.” And that takes deliberate intention.

“It takes work to design and live out an unbusy life.“

We have to define our values, purpose and priorities. Then plan our daily actions and routines around those goals.

Yet remain flexible within those routines.

“Be like water, and find a way to flow around the obstacles that come your way. There will be times when you need to shift into dramatically different rhythms and patterns to deal with what comes your way.”

I know my battle with time isn’t over. I still lust for more. But by being thankful for the time that I do have, my heart is more peaceful.

My attitude about time is an important part of how I spend it.

I want to foster the habit of being unbusy. Because of this: I want to live in the season of thanksgiving not only this week, but every week.

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Do you feel you have enough time? Or do you always want more? Please share your battles and successes with time in the comments. I need to hear.

(If you have Kindle Unlimited, you can read Unbusy for free.)

My thanks to SpeakEasy
for the review copy of Unbusy

6 Books I Recommend – November 2019

By LisaNotes November 25, 2019 Books I Recommend 24 Comments

“One of the paradoxes of writing is that when you write nonfiction everyone tries to prove that it’s wrong, and when you publish fiction, everyone tries to see the truth in it.”
– Scarlet Thomas

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

And to complete the Nonfiction November challenge, I also include a roundup of books recommended to me from other participants this month.

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Books I Recommend

Nonfiction

1. A Thousand Lives
The Untold Story of Hope, Deception, and Survival at Jonestown
by Julia Scheeres

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If I didn’t know this really happened, I’d say it’s unbelievable. Jim Jones took his cult members from the United States to live in a commune in Guyana in the 1970s.

By 1978, Jones had such a grip on them, he convinced the adults to commit suicide as a group. (And the more than 300 kids? The adults gave them the cyanide first, then took it themselves.) 918 people died.

It’s an atrocious, horrible story. But well-written and well-documented by Julia Scheeres.

No time for the book? Here’s an interesting article about it instead.

“Jonestown: Government inaction haunts 41 years after grisly deaths”

2. The Complete Enneagram
27 Paths to Greater Self-Knowledge
by Beatrice Chestnut

The-Complete-Enneagram

There are lots of books on the Enneagram out there (here’s a list of my 3 favorites). But this is one of the most thorough books.

Chestnut goes into detail on the three subtypes of each of the nine types, for a total of 27 types to learn about.

(Can a book be too thorough? This book left me more confused about which type to identify with.)

3. Something Needs to Change
A Call to Make Your Life Count in a World of Urgent Need
by David Platt

Something Needs to Change

This book is a travel diary. That makes it different from Platt’s other books. However, the message is the same: believe in Jesus and share his love with others.

The setting is a week-long mission trip to the Himalayas. Platt keeps a record of and shares with the reader about who he meets along the way, their struggles, and his struggles with their struggles.

The book is easy to read and moves quickly, as Platt travels through the mountains. I don’t agree 100% with Platt’s theology, but I love his heart for others and for God.

4. Unbusy
How to Leverage the Physics of Flow to Accomplish More of What Truly Matters and Feel Less Busy at the Same Time
by Andy Dragt

Unbusy

This is a short book about time management from the perspective of flow. It went a little long for my taste covering rivers and trees and the Constructal Law.

But I did gain from it about values, purposes, and priorities.

And Dragt affirmed my use of calendars. He is a big believer on freeing up your time by getting predictable about everything you can.

My review of Unbusy here.

Fiction

5. Washington Black
by Esi Edugyan

Washington Black

The story begins on a sugar plantation in Barbados with an 11-year-old slave, Washington Black. His life takes a big turn when he meets the master’s brother, Titch, an inventor and abolitionist.

You go a lot of tender places on this journey with Wash. Hard truths but also sweet graces are in this novel.

This book has won many awards, and I understand why.

6. A Place for Us
by Fatima Farheen Mirza

A Place for Us

This novel begins at the wedding of an Indian couple in America. You immediately feel the tension between the bride’s brother and the rest of the family.

The story progresses back and forth through time to deliver the backstory, bringing you back to the wedding. And eventually catches up, progressing a few years beyond the time of the wedding.

It’s a sweet story of hardships and struggles among each family member as they interact with each other and the broader community as Muslims in America.

Reading Now

  • The Alice Network
    by Kate Quinn
  • What Is a Girl Worth?
    My Story of Breaking the Silence and Exposing the Truth about Larry Nassar and USA Gymnastics
    by Rachael Denhollander
  • Blessed Broken Given
    How Your Story Becomes Sacred in the Hands of Jesus
    by Glenn Packiam
  • Millenneagram
    The Enneagram Guide for Discovering Your Truest, Baddest Self
    by Hannah Paasch
  • Thinking, Fast and Slow
    by Daniel Kahneman
  • Introverts in the Church
    Finding Our Place in an Extroverted Culture
    by Adam S. McHugh
  • Outer Order, Inner Calm
    Declutter and Organize to Make More Room for Happiness
    by Gretchen Rubin

Books Recommended to Me

These are books I have NOT read. But I’ve added them to my TBR list from other Nonfiction November bloggers for our final week of #NonficNov (this week’s linkup is hosted by Rennie). Any comments on which I should read?

  • The Library Book
    by Susan Orlean
    Recommended by Bryan
  • Why You Should Read Children’s Books, Even Though You Are So Old and Wise
    by Katherine Rundell
    Recommended by Jade
  • Black Klansman: Race, Hate, and the Undercover Investigation of a Lifetime
    by Ron Stallworth
    Recommended by Tina
  • Merton: An Enneagram Profile
    by Suzanne Zuercher
    Recommended by Emma

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

Want more book recommendations? I posted these this month:

My books on Goodreads
More books I recommend

sharing with Modern Mrs. Darcy

Which Shape Should I Be? – Book for Toddlers

By LisaNotes November 23, 2019 Book reviews 2 Comments

Which Shape Should I Be? is just the right size boardbook for toddler hands to hold and turn pages.

And it uses just the right size words and concepts to match.

Which Shape Should I Be

Each page explores a shape, clearly defined, then invites you to interact by finding the shape in the accompanying picture. The images are brightly colored in bold shapes of activities that children can relate to.

The ending is delightful as well:

God shapes every girl and boy
with love so wondrously
Because He knows the best shape
for each one of us to be!

“I will praise you because I have been remarkably and wondrously made.”
Psalm 139:14

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My thanks to B&H/LifeWay Bloggers
for the review copy of this book

Keep Empty Spaces

By LisaNotes November 21, 2019 26 Surprising Ways to Encounter God, Encouragement 38 Comments

“Without margin, each of us would have great difficulty guaranteeing availability. Instead, when God calls, He gets the busy signal.”
– Richard Swenson

Keep Empty Spaces

E—Empty Spaces

Have you ever felt closed in? Perhaps you do when you open a kitchen junk drawer or an overflowing bedroom closet.

When things are too crowded together, there’s no breathing space.

While God may be in stuff, our belongings, our collections, he is also the glue that keeps all our empty spaces connected.

Try This

Look for holes today. Empty spots. Blank spaces.

  • Maybe it’s a vacant spot on a shelf.
  • Or an empty photo frame.
  • Or an unfilled glass sitting by the sink.

Imagine God breathing in the empty spaces. View them as open areas where God is sitting with you, wanting you to luxuriate in a little extra breathing room, a spaciousness that he fills with himself.

Take a few deep breaths and notice the space around you where your exhale goes. God is in the unfulfilled spaces as much as he is in the things he created around them.

Thank him for the margins in your life, for the gaps that allow you to move about.

Sit with him in the empty spaces for a few more minutes, then return to your day.

Further Reading

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Where do you see an empty space in your environment? Are you comfortable with it? How is God there? Please share in the comments.

Next in the series:

Index: See all 26 ways to encounter God here.

26-Surprising-Ways-to-Encounter-God_Lisa-notes

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