Lisa notes

8 Lessons to Learn from 2018

By LisaNotes December 21, 2018 Encouragement, Grace 11 Comments

What did God teach you in 2018?

Looking back over the year, God taught me things in unique places and people in 2018. I wrote a little about each one during the year. If one resonates with you now, the links are under each picture.

Maybe you can use one for 2019.

1. There are no dead ends with God.

This dead end street in Panama City took heavy losses from Hurricane Michael in October. Charles was growing despondent.

No Dead End Here

2. Pay attention when the bad thing does NOT happen.

Jenna heard the shots. And then she saw the shooter.

When the Bad Thing Does NOT Happen

3. No prayer is a throwaway.

The quiet Hispanic lady needed to tell me something. She said someone prayed over her 4 years ago. And now this?

Is This a Throwaway Prayer?

4. Grace always comes with refills.

The wind picked up. The paper blew onto the bottle. All the communion grape juice was now spilled on the ground.

You’ll Always Get a Refill

5. Being in the majority may feel comfortable, but it can be detrimental.

Jeff and I looked around the comedy club. We were definitely among the oldest. And among the whitest.

When You’re the Minority

6. Be a planter, not a shooter.

The grocery store mom was yelling. I was uncomfortable. Words are either bullets or seeds.

Are Your Words Bullets or Seeds?

7. Raise your hand when you agree.

Averie is 7. She says things like this a lot: “Raise your hand if you know want to play a game” or “Raise your hand if you’re ready to eat.” Then she asked me: “Why do people raise their hands at your church?”

Raise Your Hand If . . .

8. Give everyday grace generously.

The man is clearly blocking traffic as he walks down the road. Yet no one is honking at him. Why not?

Give This Kind of Grace Generously

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What’s one lesson you learned in 2018? What do you want to learn in 2019?

Please share in the comments.

Silent Night or Noisy Night? {Book Review}

By LisaNotes December 19, 2018 Book reviews 3 Comments

This padded Christmas board book for children gets so many things right.

1. Noisy

For starters, Jill Roman Lord depicts the night Jesus was born as possibly quite noisy, not silent and still.

“I wonder if the cows all mooed.
The horses must have neighed.
Could little goats have bleated loud
and led the grand parade?”

2. Brown People

Next, the illustrations by Kelly Breemer aren’t of white Anglo-Saxon people. Baby Jesus, the shepherds, the townspeople: they are tan and brown, which is much more realistic.

3. Relevant

The message not only celebrates the past, but includes us in the present.

4. Delightful

And lastly, it’s charmingly-illustrated, well-written, yet sturdy enough for little hands.

If you’re still looking for a Christmas book as a gift this year, or one to just keep on hand year-round for your own family, I definitely recommend The Silent Noisy Night.

My granddaughter and I have already enjoyed it this season. And it will be one we return to again and again in Christmas seasons yet to come.

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Do you have a favorite children’s book you read at Christmas? Please share in the comments.

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

Top 10 Books I Recommend of 2018

By LisaNotes December 17, 2018 Books I Recommend 25 Comments

Did you have a favorite book this year?

Here are my favorites from 2018 (some were published in 2018; others came earlier). Did you read any of these, too? Or do you see one you’d like to read in 2019?

These books span a variety of genres: biography, memoir, politics, psychology, and religion & spirituality.

10. Hallelujah Anyway
Rediscovering Mercy
by Anne Lamott

Anne Lamott is so good at making things plain, yet profound. This book on mercy helps you stay merciful. I took copious notes.

“What’s the catch? The catch is that there is no catch. This is so subversive. All I have to do in order to begin again is to love mercy.”

9. Wait
The Art and Science of Delay
by Frank Partnoy

I’d rather get something finished earlier rather than later. But sometimes it’s better to pause instead of rushing in. This book was counterintuitive to many of the ways I think.

“There is an optimal amount of delay. Not everyone needs to be faster.”

8. Tears We Cannot Stop
A Sermon to White America
by Michael Eric Dyson

Michael Eric Dyson is blunt. He says things we need to hear. About the white elephant in the room, white privilege. About schooling our white brothers and sisters, our cousins and uncles, our loved ones and friends. About participating to make a difference.

“The more black folk you know, the less likely you are to stereotype us. The less you stereotype us, the less likely you are to fear us. The less you fear us, the less likely you are to want to hurt us, or to accept our hurt as the price of your safekeeping. The safer you feel, the safer we’ll be.”

7. The Knowledge Illusion
Why We Never Think Alone
by Steven Sloman

We think we know more than we do. As individuals, we know a lot less than we know collectively. There’s too much to know. That’s why we need to learn how to make the best use of each others’ knowledge.

“The curse of knowledge is that we tend to think what is in our heads is in the heads of others. In the knowledge illusion, we tend to think what is in others’ heads is in our heads. In both cases, we fail to discern who knows what.”

6. Beyond the Messy Truth
How We Came Apart, How We Come Together
by Van Jones

It’s been a rough two years in politics. Van Jones not only acknowledges the problems (and he steps on everybody’s toes), but he also shows us a path forward. We can do better. He includes tons of helpful resources at the back of the book, regardless of which side you lean politically.

“One side is committed to liberty. The other side is committed to justice. Our schoolchildren get it right every morning; they pledge allegiance to a nation offering liberty and justice for all.”

5. The Gift of Years
Growing Older Gracefully
by Joan D. Chittister

Joan Chittister doesn’t ignore the hard things about growing older; she redeems them. She finds the beauty in aging, and helps us discover them for ourselves. These things are more on my mind with each passing birthday.

“Life is not about age, about the length of years we manage to eke out of it. It is about aging, about living into the values offered in every stage of life.”

4. The Sin of Certainty
Why God Desires Our Trust More Than Our “Correct” Beliefs
by Pete Enns

Pete Enns doesn’t condemn people for wanting to be “right” about what they believe; that’s a good thing. But he points out that no one is totally right. Everybody gets some things right and many things wrong.

“‘I’m just following the Bible.’ No one just ‘follows’ the Bible. We interpret it as people with a past and present, and in community with others, within certain traditions, none of which is absolute.”

3. Everybody, Always
Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People
by Bob Goff

If you want to be inspired to love bigger, read this book. Bob Goff is enthusiastic, illuminating, and motivating. He has a way of making you want to seek out an enemy just so you can love him.

“Find a way to love difficult people more, and you’ll be living the big life Jesus talked about. Go find someone you’ve been avoiding and give away extravagant love to them. You’ll learn more about God, your neighbor, your enemies, and your faith.”

2. When
The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing
by Daniel H. Pink

You’ll change the way you think about time after reading this book. And if you let it, it can also affect your behaviors for the better. I took page after page of notes from this one. Daniel Pink always challenges my status-quo thinking.

“I used to believe in ignoring the waves of the day. Now I believe in surfing them. I used to believe that lunch breaks, naps, and taking walks were niceties. Now I believe they’re necessities. I used to believe that the best way to overcome a bad start at work, at school, or at home was to shake it off and move on. Now I believe the better approach is to start again or start together.”

1. The Sun Does Shine
How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row
by Anthony Ray Hinton

Anthony Ray Hinton was wrongly accused of multiple murders. He spent almost 30 years of his life in an Alabama prison for crimes he did not do. Finally, finally, justice prevailed, truth was revealed, and Anthony was set free. He tells his story from beginning to end here. You won’t forget it once you read it.

“When you are trying to survive, the superficial things don’t matter anymore. When you are hanging at the end of your rope, does it really matter what color the hand is that reaches up to help you?”

But Wait, There’s More!

And because I can never stop at just ten, here is my runner-up set of ten more books.

The next 10:

11. American Grace
How Religion Divides and Unites Us
by Robert D. Putnam

12. 21 Lessons for the 21st Century
by Yuval Noah Harari

13. 42 Seconds
The Jesus Model for Everyday Interactions
by Carl Medearis

14. Obama: An Intimate Portrait
The Historic Presidency in Photographs
by Pete Souza

15. The Desert and the Sea
977 Days Captive on the Somali Pirate Coast
by Michael Scott Moore

16. Blessed Are the Misfits
Great News for Believers who are Introverts, Spiritual Strugglers, or Just Feel Like They’re Missing Something
by Brant Hansen

17. Fear
Trump in the White House
by Bob Woodward

18. The Line Becomes A River
Dispatches from the Border
by Francisco Cantú

19. The Path Between Us
An Enneagram Journey to Healthy Relationships
by Suzanne Stabile

20. Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics
A 10% Happier How-To Book
by Dan Harris

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What was your favorite book this year? Please share in the comments.

When Giving Takes the Fun out of Christmas

By LisaNotes December 13, 2018 Encouragement, Guest posts 5 Comments

The Dreaded Gift List

There are parts of Christmas that many of us dread.

For Jeff and me, it’s the gift craziness.

Trying to find the perfect gift for everyone can take the joy out of Christmas.

3 Ideas for Your Gift List

What can we do to relieve our stress over gift lists?

I share three ideas here:

“Tired of Looking for Perfect Gifts?”

* * *

I’m writing today at Do Not Depart for our #SimplifyingChristmas series.

Will you join me there?

When the Bad Thing Does NOT Happen

By LisaNotes December 10, 2018 Grace, One Word 2018: Mystery 45 Comments

A Gun?

Last Thursday morning began as an ordinary day.

Jenna was driving to school on the same roads, past the same neighborhoods—some good, some bad—that were always part of her path.

Except this past Thursday. Someone unusual was on the path.

And he had a gun.

She heard two shots before she saw him. But were they really shots? Maybe instead it was a car backfiring?

Then she saw the man. He was hiding behind a brick mailbox in the wealthy neighborhood. He was firing his gun at a passing vehicle.

Mystery Wake-Ups

When something unusual happens, it grabs our attention. Our senses perk up. Our brain wants to make sense of any mystery.

I’m trying to stay awake to more of life’s mysteries.

I’m noticing mysteries in marriage differences,
mysteries embedded in fear,
mysteries hidden in prayer.

And mysteries deep inside mercy.

Last Thursday morning I was most keenly aware of the mystery of grace.

If the man had pointed his gun at Jenna’s car as she drove by that morning, her whole life would have changed in a split second. And my life. The life of her husband, her extended family, her friends—all changed.

E. J. Bradford, Jr.

Many people are forced to live with those split-second changes. Just ask the family of E.J. Bradford, Jr.

E.J., a 21-year-old African American man, was shot and killed by police on Thanksgiving night at Alabama’s largest shopping mall, the crowded Riverchase Galleria Mall, near Birmingham, AL. He was mistaken by police as the gunman who had just shot others in the mall.

E.J. Bradford, Jr and his mother, April Pipkins (Courtesy Benjamin Crump)

Instead of E.J.’s family celebrating Christmas together this month, they attended his funeral, their lives forever changed, forever pained.

We are forced to live with mystery. Why this person? Why not that person? Why this and not that?

We can’t answer these questions.

Our feeble explanations fall inadequate.

Notice the Absence

But when bad things don’t happen? Do we notice?

Let’s notice, too, when things don’t happen.

Notice when the car accident doesn’t happen.
Notice when the layoff skips over you.
Notice when the doctor doesn’t call with bad news.

Also on Jenna’s path Thursday morning was a police officer, two cars in front of her. He seemed in no particular hurry, not heading to any particular crime.

But upon seeing the man with the gun, the policeman immediately turned around and headed back toward the mailbox.

Police closed the road to further traffic. They arrested the man for shooting at passing vehicles. He was taken to the hospital for a cut on his arm and for a mental health evaluation.

photo credit: WHNT News 19

Jenna drove on.

She arrived safely at school that day, shaken, but unharmed. She could go about her normal routine. Spend it as an ordinary day.

So I could, too.

More things go right than go wrong. And we don’t notice.

When bad things could happen, but this time they didn’t, appreciate it.

Feel the relief.
Give the thanks.
Acknowledge the mystery.

Ordinary days are miracles, too.

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Do you ever think about the what-if’s that could have happened but didn’t? Please share in the comments.

Keep Out? Not Always

By LisaNotes December 6, 2018 My stories 10 Comments

You see the writing.

The message is clear. Keep out.

Do you stay away?

Messy circumstances can often keep us distant from people who need help. They keep us away from giving a blessing. They keep us away from receiving a blessing.

We were working in this neighborhood in Panama City after Hurricane Michael whipped through. The best spot to set up our trailer and equipment? Across from the graffitied house.

We saw no one there the first day.

But around lunchtime the second day, the owner of the house wandered over. He began talking.

He told us his story. He and his family had decided to stay through Hurricane Michael. At least until early that Wednesday morning, October 11.

It was 5:30 a.m. His phone rang. It was a trusted friend who was in the know.

The message was brief: Tell your family to leave town. Now!

He was wide awake. He immediately called his grown daughter. Get the grandchild out of bed and go! Go west! Go west! She did. He was glad.

He stayed behind. And experienced the worst hurricane of his life.

His first impulse afterwards was to guard the belongings in this house. At all costs.

But now?

He told our volunteers to go in, find something they need. Inside was a collection of goods he once sold.

But now he wanted to give it away.

The keep-out house was inviting us in.

When we judge others by their outside signs, by their looks, by their outer layers, we can miss their deeper gifts.

But if we can just show up, be available, and listen, we’ll discover this: There’s enough of God to go around. For everyone.

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Please share your thoughts in the comments.

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