Lisa notes

This Is Why It’s Safe to Hope – Day 7 of Handmade

By LisaNotes October 7, 2018 31 Days Handmade--Finding God in Your Story, Book reviews 4 Comments

DAY 7, OCTOBER 7

Hope

“How you view tomorrow affects how you live today.”
– Caleb Kaltenbach

Sometimes I worry when I think about the future.

I know worrying is futile.
I know it’s faithless.
I ask God to break me of it.

And slowly, ever so slowly, he is removing it.

I haven’t released it totally (I still have a long way to go). But at least I see progress.

I have hope.

God of Tomorrow

Books like this help – God of Tomorrow: How to Overcome the Fears of Today and Renew Your Hope for the Future.

Because they point to God.

While I don’t agree with everything Caleb Kaltenbach writes, I agree enough.

And I definitely agree with this:

Why hold on to hope for tomorrow? Because God will be there.

Not because he will make everything you wish for come true.
Not because you won’t have disappointments along the way.

But because God will show up in your tomorrow. He always does.

“Let’s confidently point people in the direction of what hope has to offer: God himself. He himself is the focal point that we look to when we’re fatigued, upset, saddened, or troubled about the coming days. Hope reminds us that our best days are ahead, not behind us.”

More Quotes

Here are a few quotes from God of Tomorrow that moved me. Maybe they’ll move you, too.

“Since tomorrow belongs to God, we can graciously offer hope to people today.”

~ * ~

“There is someone greater than our worst fears.”

~ * ~

“God isn’t afraid of tomorrow, and neither should we be.”

~ * ~

“We can take comfort in the bigger picture that Christianity has outlasted and will outlast any one person who leads a political party, city, state, country, gang, or empire. There’s great freedom in knowing that our faith doesn’t rely on the politics of any one person or nation. Our faith rests securely in the rule of God on earth today and his promise for a better tomorrow.”

~ * ~

“God is on his throne. He won’t relinquish it. He’s not pacing back and forth with anxiety, wondering how things will turn out.”

~ * ~

“God has already been to the tomorrow you’re excited about. God has already seen the tomorrow you’re dreading. Tomorrow belongs to God, not you.”

Three Questions

Our three questions for today are:

(1) Are you a worrier or not?

(2) What’s one thing you hope will happen today?

(3) What’s something you hoped for that God did fulfill? What hasn’t come true?

* * *

What are your answers? Please share in the comments.

My answers

(1) Unfortunately, yes, I am a worrier. My mind drifts to the imaginable possibilities. I have to consciously force it elsewhere.

(2) I’m hoping my granddaughter will let me see her first new baby tooth today!

(3) In younger years, I remember hoping for different guys to be “the one” but I am SO very thankful that God didn’t let those come true. He knew instead that Jeff would definitely be the one for me. He was very much worth waiting for!

More here

Get Your Hopes Up
Life never goes as expected. We’re often afraid to get our hopes up. But here’s why we should.
When You Want to Hope
Will I ever see these kids again? I want to hope that their lives will turn out good. But will they?
3 Ways to Have More Hope
We all have times we need more hope. Here are 3 ways to choose to have more hope.

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

Get the whole Handmade series here

Do You Belong at Church? – Day 6 of Handmade

By LisaNotes October 6, 2018 31 Days Handmade--Finding God in Your Story, Church, Community 12 Comments

DAY 6, OCTOBER 6

Belong

“God doesn’t like people to be without a place. Out-of-place people always have a place with God.”
– Caleb Kaltenbach

When someone asks, “Where do you go to church?” we know what they mean.

But I’ve been ruined to answer ever since the AVB song, U Can’t Go 2 Church, “cause the church is you.” [Listen to it here; it’s quite catchy.]

You can’t go to church as some people say
The common terminology we use everyday
You can go to a building, that is something you can do
But you can’t go to church ’cause the church is you

To be polite, not contentious, and remain truthful, I answer what they’re looking for. I say, “I go to The Rock now. And I love it.”

Where Do You Fit In?

But depending on how long we talk, and how far they’re willing to go, we uncover more spiritual traditions about each other.

We discuss deeper than where we find ourselves seated on Sunday mornings.

Do you have a church you feel you belong to?

While we may want to find one place and stay there for life, that rarely happens anymore, for better or for worse. People move. People change. Faith changes.

If you’ve ever left a church, you know how painful it can be. I definitely know.

But if you’ve then landed in a more fitting community to grow your faith—a place you belong—you also know how refreshed you can feel. I know that exhilaration, too.

Your Church History

Think about how God has led you to the churches you’ve attended.

And how he’s led you to the place you are now, whether this is a final landing place or not, whether you’re satisfied there or not.

Find him in this part of your story. He’s in it.

What is he up to now?

Three Questions

Here are our three questions of the day:

(1) How many churches have been a true home for you?

(2) Have you ever changed denominations or faith traditions?

(3) What’s one thing you really love about your current church?

* * *

What are your answers? Please share in the comments.

My answers

(1) Four churches have really been home for me at different seasons of my life. I’m grateful for all four. I’ve learned things, made lasting friends, and found God in new ways at each one.

(2) I’ve remained in the Christian faith, but I have moved from a very conservative to a more multi-denominational church.

(3) I love the worship at my current church! It’s all about Jesus, with both head knowledge and heart emotions.

More here

How to Be a Perfect Christian
This satire of how to be a perfect Christian by The Babylon Bee will make you laugh. And make you cringe.
Quit Going to Church
“I pray for you to quit going to church and start being the church.” More quotes from Bob Hostetler’s book, Quit Going to Church.
Where Do You Go to Church?
It’s not as easy a question as it sounds. Frank Viola in Reimagining Church has some interesting answers.

Get the whole Handmade series here

What Do You Need to Let Go Of? – Day 5 of Handmade

By LisaNotes October 5, 2018 31 Days Handmade--Finding God in Your Story 14 Comments

DAY 5, OCTOBER 5

Release

I unfollowed another friend on Facebook this week.

I did it so we could remain friends in real life.

I’ve had to do it before with other friends and family. Hopefully they never knew.

One Thing for Another

It’s more important to me to love my friend, to look forward to being around her, to not get angry when I think about her political views.

Sometimes we have to let go of one thing to keep another.

But do we have to be Facebook friends too?

I get too riled up when I see things she posts. I’m sure she has her reasons. And if we sat down face-to-face to talk about them, maybe I could see her position.

But because we can rarely do that, I’d rather preserve our in-person friendship.

So I’ll let go of the digital one. For now anyway. I’ll try again later.

What thing have you released so you could hold on to something better?

Three Questions

(1) Is it hard or easy for you to get rid of clothes you rarely wear?

(2) What’s the last thing you’ve let go of?

(3) What new thing has God given you after you let go of something else? Is there something he’s asking you to let go of in this season?

* * *

What are your answers? Please share in the comments.

My answers:

(1) Ugh. I have a hard time letting go of sentimental t-shirts. Memories are attached. But I can keep the memory and get rid of the shirt, yes?

(2) We pulled out our daughters’ old highchair from the attic to see if it would be in good enough shape for our granddaughter. I decided this week: no, it’s really not. It’s still in the garage, but the decision is made. I’m letting go of it.

(3) When we let go of our old church six years ago, God blessed us with a new community that has breathed fresh grace into our worship and service opportunities.

More here:

Who Needs Your Stuff? The Cycle of Sharing
My items tagged for the yard sale served me well. Now they need to bless someone else. Keep the cycle going.
3 Reasons to Let Go of Perfectionism
The thing about helping others is we don’t always get to match our skills with their needs. Our perfectionism can become their roadblock.
Let Go of Being Right – When Being Right Is Wrong (and Dangerous)
When is being right the wrong thing? Here are 3 dangers of being right and how to release them.

Get the whole Handmade series here

Why, Why, Why – Day 4 of Handmade

By LisaNotes October 4, 2018 31 Days Handmade--Finding God in Your Story, One Word 2018: Mystery 13 Comments

DAY 4, OCTOBER 4

Why

I want to know. I like to know why.

We think we know a lot of things.

But often those who think they know the most, actually know the least.

Keep Asking Why

So we must not stop asking why. Even when we don’t hear God answering.

Why? Because he is listening.

And in his own way, he is also always answering. Maybe we just aren’t ready to hear or understand yet.

As I’ve heard it said, the miracle of the burning bush wasn’t that God spoke through a bush. It’s that Moses heard him there.

Tweak Your Why

In the meantime, we might need to adjust our why to more productive questions.

But don’t abandon the question itself of why. It makes us dive deeper, swim underwater, get a new perspective.

Asking why expands our conversations instead of shutting them down.

And if there’s anything we need right now, it’s more grace to understand who we are, who God is, and why he has us right here, right now, in these circumstances.

What Do You Think? – 3 Questions

Here are our three questions of the day:

(1) Why do you live where you do?

(2) Why are you with (or not) your husband/wife?

(3) What “why” would you like God to answer right now?

* * *

What are your answers? Please share in the comments.

My answers:

(1) Jeff and I like living in the same area as family and it’s basically where were grew up.

(2) I knew Jeff’s brother, and met Jeff through him. (And…God wanted me to really know the love of Jesus in the flesh, so he gave me Jeff.)

(3) Why don’t You intervene more directly when bad things happen?

More here:

Why Are You Still Here?
When my baby died, part of me wanted to die too. In times of pain we often wonder why we’re still here. But there are reasons.
Why Don’t You Ask?
4 reasons we don’t ask more questions. But should.
Why? The Practice of Purpose
Hank confused me. Here’s his story. And his purpose. And how the rest of us all still learning that loving is our purpose. We’re not done here yet.

Get the whole Handmade series here

Who Do You Believe? Day 3 of Handmade

By LisaNotes October 3, 2018 31 Days Handmade--Finding God in Your Story 14 Comments

DAY 3, OCTOBER 3

Believe

Do you believe this is true? It’s what A. W. Tozer said:

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”

I grew up believing in God. Both my parents believed. And practiced what they believed.

I think that’s what made the difference in my coming to belief so easily, too.

My dad was a favorite among the song leaders at our country church as I grew up. He sang what he believed. It helped me to believe.

As he got older, his faith shifted. It was okay. My faith has shifted, too.

When he died, one of the treasures I wanted was his leather-bound songbook, Songs of the Church, 1975 edition, that he often led singing with. I keep it front and center on our old piano.

I still flip through the hymns from time to time (even yesterday) and play a tune.

When my granddaughter was here a few weeks ago, she played her first song with it, too.

[if you can’t see the 13-second First Concert, click here]

If my daddy can see from heaven, I hope he was listening. He would have been pleased.

Here are our three questions of the day. Answer any or all.

(1) Did you grow up believing in God?

(2) Have your beliefs changed since childhood? A little, a lot, none?

(3) Who do you want to influence to believe in God?

* * *

What are your answers? Please share in the comments.

My answers:

(1) I grew up learning about God at home and in church.

(2) My faith shifts every few decades. I like to believe each shift brings me a little closer to Truth, Grace, Jesus.

(3) I want my kids and now my granddaughter to be strong believers.

More here

Get the whole Handmade series here

5 Links, Books, and Things I Love – October 2018

By LisaNotes October 2, 2018 Life updates, Links I like 24 Comments

What was a highlight of your September? What are you looking forward to in October?

1 Second Everyday

[If you can’t see the 1 Second Everyday video, click here]

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

5 Things Around the Web

1. 5 Ways to Be a Godly Grandparent
by Avery Foley

Thankfully, we’re getting the opportunity to do this. Here are five ways to impact the next generation.

~ * ~

2. Why People Don’t Report Sexual Assaults
by AJ Willingham and Christina Maxouris

A few reasons include: victims are made to feel it’s their fault; they’re told to dismiss it; they’re afraid no one would believe them. Painful stuff.

~ * ~

3. You’re Welcome, World! You Can Thank Alabama for These Things
by Kelly Kazek

Don’t believe all the negative things you hear about Alabama (although many are true, unfortunately; see below).

But here are 20 good things that Alabamians have contributed to the world (yes, Wikipedia!). I knew most of them but some were surprises. Which ones have you heard of?

~ * ~

4. Why Pastors Should Consider Preaching (At Least) 5 Minutes Shorter
by Kevin DeYoung

My pastor must already do this. I don’t get tired of his sermons.

And along the same lines, but this can be applied to most ANYTHING:

Say it in a Sentence
by Justin Buzzard

~ * ~

5. Can’t Get Comfortable In Your Chair? Here’s What You Can Do
by Michaeleen Doucleff

Jean Couch, 75, perches on the edge of a chair at her home in Los Altos Hills, Calif. She teaches people the art of sitting in chairs without back pain.
Erin Brethauer for NPR

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

5 Things with Words

1. “Thinking the Best of Your Spouse” (podcast episode)
on Family Life Today

These were excellent episodes on relationships.

Don’t frame the issue as who’s right and who’s wrong. Think: what does the other person need? Two parts: Part 1 – Stinkin’ Thinkin’ and Part 2 – Thinking the Best of Our Spouse

~ * ~

2. 25 of the New Words Merriam-Webster Is Adding to the Dictionary in 2018
by Michele Debczak

Do you know what these mean?

BOUGIE (ADJ.)
Short for bourgeois, this term means “Marked by a concern for wealth, possessions, and respectability.”
TL;DR (ABBREV.)
“Too long; didn’t read—used to say that something would require too much time to read.”
BINGEABLE (ADJ.)
“Having multiple episodes or parts that can be watched in rapid succession.”
PREDICTIVE (ADJ.)
As in predictive text: “Of, relating to, or usable or valuable for prediction.”

~ * ~

3. Are Audiobooks as Good for You as Reading? Here’s What Experts Say
by Markham Heid

It seems we have this discussion a lot: Is listening to a book really the same as reading one? How would you answer?

~ * ~

4. The Top 10 Books Everyone Lies About Reading
by Ariel Zeitlin

How many of these would you say you’ve read? I don’t think I ever read all of Romeo and Juliet.

~ * ~

5. Six Books I Recommend – September 2018

These four nonfiction books and two novels made me laugh, cry, and inspired my faith, each in their own way.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

5 Things I Love

1. Ashley came to town

I love the adventures that Ashley and I got into when she came up from Mobile to spend the weekend with us for a wedding + much, much more. I hope I didn’t scare her from visiting again.

~ * ~

2. I don’t golf

Golfing is not my thing. But PAR, our local Prepare and Respond Disaster Response team, holds an annual charity golf tournament each year. This is year 2 that Jeff and I have been witnesses to watch for a hole-in-one to win a new car. No winners yet!

~ * ~

3. Mini-Civil Rights Pilgrimage

Go! If you get a chance, go to Montgomery, AL, to The Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration. Then to The National Memorial for Peace and Justice.

We did our own little mini-pilgrimage last week of civil rights sites in our state. Unfortunately, there are lots of sites to choose from because racism has been so rampant in the deep south. We went from Montgomery to Selma (Edmund Pettus Bridge) to Monroeville (home of Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird).

~ * ~

4. Friends

Mr. Turner wanted to have a picture with Kay and me, so we took a selfie and printed a hardcopy for him. He’s one of our dear friends that we get to see every Wednesday. He’s a praying man.

~ * ~

5. And of course, my little sweetie

It does my heart good that our sweet granddaughter loves to read books! I can’t get enough of her.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

5 Things on the Blog

How a Christian Concert Affirmed This Memory Challenge {Join Me!}
How did this Christian concert affirm my decision to memorize this scripture? It’s how God works.
+ Here is the new Bible memory challenge!

Enjoy the Harvest
Remembering God’s goodness in your past increases your joy with him in the present. Enjoy the harvest.
Missing Something? 5 Steps to Find It
Have you lost your peace? Joy? Rest? Here at 5 steps to find what’s missing through the parable of the Lost Coin.
Reframing the Soul
Just like a frame around a picture, our words frame our lives. Can we change the frame by changing our words? Review of Reframing the Soul.
There’s a Grace for That
Maybe there’s an app for that. For the easy stuff. But the meaningful stuff? God’s got a grace for that.

* * *

What was a highlight from your September? What are you looking forward to in October? Please share in the comments.

I’m also participating this month in #Write31Days. It’s the last year for it, sadly. Knowing that, I committed to doing it one last time.

Join us to answer 3 questions a day to help us find God in our stories.

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