Lisa notes

A Popcorn Blessing

By LisaNotes June 5, 2018 My stories 24 Comments

I get my popcorn popped. I grab the next elevator going back up. My grandmother is waiting for me.

An old white lady hops on my elevator at the 2nd floor. She smells my popcorn. She asks if it’s good. I tell her it is.

She says she just loves popcorn. She looks at my popcorn bag and says, “Oh, Orville Redenbacher? You like that kind? I sure do!”

Um, yeah. It’s good. What’s up with this woman? She’s still looking and smiling.

I finally ask her, “Would you like some?”, but I hope she’ll say no. I don’t want her digging around in my popcorn bag. I don’t know where her hands have been. We are in a public housing elevator after all.

She says no thank you, a little flustered, and gets off on the 3rd floor. I go on up to the 4th.

Crazy white lady.

~  * ~ * ~ * ~

I didn’t know the young girl would offer me her popcorn. I was just trying to be nice and make conversation (although it did smell good and I do love popcorn!).

When she asked me, “Would you like some?” I was taken aback. I didn’t expect it. It was a sweet offer. But I said no thank you.

I didn’t expect to see her again. But when I finally made it to the 4thfloor and knocked on the next door on my list for meals, her head peeped out of the apartment.

So she was here visiting her grandmother. Her grandmother isn’t doing so well. I’ve seen her go downhill greatly the past 6 months.

But I know this grandmother is blessed. She has a granddaughter who visits her.

And who offers popcorn to crazy white ladies like me in the elevator.

Blessings pop up in unexpected places. Grace lives here.

* * *

Where have you seen unexpected grace? Please share in the comments.

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

By LisaNotes June 1, 2018 Life updates, Links I like 16 Comments

Did you do anything exciting in May? What are you looking forward to in June? We share once a month at Leigh’s.

1 Second Everyday


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

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

5 Things Around the Web

1.  5 Chores You Should Never Skip (Even If You’re Busy) 
by Adrienne Breaux

When you’re busy, which chores do you do anyway? I almost always do #1 and #3. But I can more easily skip #5.

~ * ~

2.  Digital Prayer Tools – What Digital Gadgets and Apps Draw You Closer to God?
by Jean Wise

Jean pulled together a great list of digital prayer tools to help us stay in the attitude of prayer.

~ * ~

3. Life gets better after 50: why age tends to work in favour of happiness
by Lucy Rock

blank

‘Those most likely to notice the arrow of time are the people without a lot of other change or difficulty in their life.’ Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo

“Forget the saying that life begins at 40 – it’s 50 we should be looking toward. . . . Academics have found increasing evidence that happiness through adulthood is U-shaped – life satisfaction falls in our 20s and 30s, then hits a trough in our late 40s before increasing until our 80s.”

~ * ~

4. Three Types of People Who Help the Church
by Josh Buice

Here are three different types of people (among others) in the local church who help build the body. Are you one of these?

~ * ~

5. Why do we fear plane crashes when the ride to the airport is more dangerous?
by Tom Keane

https://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2018/05/17/our-sense-danger-needs-reality-check/PBdt1pTngkpGv4NcueHrvO/story.html?event=event25

ADOBE STOCK

“Our sense of danger needs a reality check.”

Jeff and I almost always fly Southwest. So when a passenger almost got sucked out of the window last month on a Southwest flight, I paid attention. But daily commutes in the car are still much, much more dangerous.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

5 Things about Books

1. PBS Great American Read

blank

Are you following along? Which novel of America’s Top 100 picks would you choose as the best? I’ve already voted for The Book Thief and The Chronicles of Narnia, but I’m not finished yet. You can vote for more than one.

PLUS, How to Remember What You Read because while the titles of the 100 novels sound familiar, I’ve forgotten the content of some that I’ve read.

~ * ~

2. Why Reading Books Should Be Your Priority, According to Science
by Christina DesMarais

“You’re not doing yourself any favors if you’re in the 26 percent of American adults who haven’t read even part of a book within the past year.”

PLUS, What’s Going On In Your Child’s Brain When You Read Them A Story?
by Anya Kamanetz

~ * ~

3. All the books Bill Gates has recommended over the last eight years
by Thu-Huong Ha

PLUS, 5 books worth reading this summer
by Bill Gates

~ * ~

4. Would You Like To Read a Christian Classic with Tim Challies?
by Tim Challies

The book this time is Holy Helps for a Godly Life. It was written by Richard Rogers, a Puritan in the 1500s, but revised for now. I used to participate in these reading challenges more often with Tim Challies. They were always beneficial. I may read the sample of this book and decide to commit.

~ * ~

5. Five Books I Recommend – May 2018     

I finished several books this month that I’ve been reading for awhile. Here are seven that I really liked.

Books-Recommend-May-2018

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

5 Things I Love

1. 4 Months

blank

Time is zipping by with our granddaughter. She’s already 4 months old!

~ * ~

2. Mother’s Day with all my girls 

blank

I was very blessed on Mother’s Day to get to be with both my beautiful daughters and my sweet granddaughter. Who knows if we’ll ever have a little boy thrown into the mix? But I’m as happy as can be with all my girls.

~ * ~

3. Beach with Jeff 

blank

Cocoa Beach, FL

When Jeff travels for work, I sometimes go with him…especially when it’s Cape Canaveral. He usually doesn’t see the beach on those trips, but this last trip he got to spend a few afternoons on the beach with me.

~ * ~

4. “The Experience” Ballet Recital

blank

Jenna b Photography

Our youngest daughter Jenna began teaching dance classes with D4C (Dance4Christ) this year. Their end-of-the-year recital each year is more than dance; it’s worship. I loved watching all the girls and ladies dance (including Jenna, too!).

~ * ~

5. End of School

blank

digging for dinosaur fossils

School’s out for the summer. I’ll miss Jenna’s students. But hopefully I’ll get to see some of them in the halls next year when I volunteer. And it’s not too early to start praying for the new class coming together for the fall.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

5 Things on the Blog

* * *

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

previous Links and Books

On the Blog – May 2018

By LisaNotes May 31, 2018 Archives 2 Comments

Summaries and links to blog posts for May 2018

Aging Isn’t the Enemy…Or the Goal

By LisaNotes May 30, 2018 Book reviews 10 Comments

blank

People over fifty-five are now the fastest-growing demographic for gym membership.

Taking care of our bodies is a great thing. We all should do it.

But obsessing over our bodies is a bad thing. None of us will live in our physical bodies forever. Don’t feel guilty that you will eventually die.

We don’t have to be preoccupied with physical health. Keep it in perspective. That’s the premise in this new book about aging: Aging is a natural process; everybody that lives long enough will experience it.

Aging itself is not abnormal.

In Natural Causes, Barbara Ehrenreich helps us release the blame that we often get from the medical establishment, the food industry, and the stay-young-forever advertisements, to try to live forever in a pristine body here on earth.

“We can, or think we can, understand the causes of disease in cellular and chemical terms, so we should be able to avoid it by following the rules laid down by medical science: avoiding tobacco, exercising, undergoing routine medical screening, and eating only foods currently considered healthy.

Anyone who fails to do so is inviting an early death. Or to put it another way, every death can now be understood as suicide.”

Ehrenreich argues against the obsession and the blame. She does not see every death as a suicide for failure to prevent itself.

While parts of the book sunk too deeply into minutiae for my tastes, overall the book was an encouraging read. It helps us understand that while we do have some control over our bodies, our lives, and our deaths, we don’t need to overly preoccupy ourselves with controlling every little thing.

Do what you can, but don’t obsess about it. Enjoy life. Accept death. Let go of the crushing responsibility to monitor every aspect of your health at all times to the utmost degree.

Quality of life is more important to me than quantity.

As an aside, Ehrenreich writes only from a secular viewpoint, so I felt there were chapters left unwritten. She didn’t address that we carry God around with us in these physical bodies in this life. She also didn’t address life after physical death. But thankfully, believers understand that we don’t have to depend solely on this physical life for everything. It helps us keep a looser grip on it; therein lies freedom.

I still exercise several times a week and I *try* to eat healthy; I want to feel good and respect my body.

But my worth doesn’t depend on my outside body. My inner self is where true Life resides.

Favorite Excerpts from Natural Causes:

“The truly sinister possibility is that for many of us, all the little measures we take to remain fit—all the deprivations and exertions—will only lead to a longer chance to live with crippling and humiliating disabilities.”

“Once I realized I was old enough to die, I decided that I was also old enough not to incur any more suffering, annoyance, or boredom in the pursuit of a longer life.”

“Being old enough to die is an achievement, not a defeat, and the freedom it brings is worth celebrating.”

“If there is a lesson here it has to do with humility. For all our vaunted intelligence and “complexity,” we are not the sole authors of our destinies or of anything else. You may exercise diligently, eat a medically fashionable diet, and still die of a sting from an irritated bee.”

* * *

My thanks to NetGalley
for the review copy of this book

7 Books I Recommend – May 2018

By LisaNotes May 28, 2018 Books I Recommend, Video Book Reviews 25 Comments

Here are 7 books I recommend from what I finished reading in May, including a 1-minute video review. I also include 3 Honorable Mentions this month. Once a month we share our current reading list at Jennifer’s.

blank

Books I Recommend

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

blank

I’m experimenting this month with a quick 1-minute video review of one of the books here. (It’s also an exercise in humility for me. This video was no makeup, no prep, no edits.)

[Click here if you can’t see the video]

And here’s more encouragement from Dan Harris about meditating:

“Meditation is unlike anything else you do in life, in that here, “failing”—that is, noticing you’ve gotten distracted and starting again—is succeeding. When you wake up from distraction, that is the magic moment, the victory. And it is a victory of real consequence.”

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

blank

Everything we believe about God isn’t accurate. Can we admit that? We’re human. Or do we put more faith in being right than we put in God himself? This was a great book for my One Word this year: Mystery.

“The problem is trusting our beliefs rather than trusting God.”

“We have misunderstood faith as a ‘what’ word rather than a ‘who’ word—as primarily beliefs ‘about’ rather than primarily as trust ‘in.'”

3. The Way of Abundance
A 60-Day Journey into a Deeply Meaningful Life
by Ann Voskamp

blank

My review and quotes from The Way of Abundance

What do we do with our brokenness? Ann Voskamp has the best little stories with deep insights. This powerful devotional is taken from her online essays and from her book, The Broken Way.

“Nothing is more necessary than finding God and falling in love and deeper into Him. . . . What you are in love with decides what you live for. What you are in love with decides what you get out of bed for.”

4. 42 Seconds
The Jesus Model for Everyday Interactions
by Carl Medearis

blank

My review and quotes from 42 Seconds

I love how Medearis gently shows us we can do more to connect with people. It doesn’t have to be complex. In small everyday interactions, we can show Jesus to others. A wonderful book.

“Being kind like Jesus means caring enough to learn why a given question matters to an individual. Which usually means asking another question, and another, and another, and listening.”

5. A Wrinkle in Time
by Madeleine L’Engle

blank

I’ve read this beloved classic novel several times already, but I re-read it again in preparation for seeing the movie. (Have you seen it yet?) I don’t always like the fantasy genre, but Madeleine L’Engle makes it more than just that.

“Don’t be afraid to be afraid. We will try to have courage for you. That is all we can do.”

More on that here, “Don’t Be Afraid to Be Afraid.”

6. Girl, Wash Your Face
Stop Believing the Lies about Who You Are So You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be
by Rachel Hollis

blank

My review and quotes from Girl, Wash Your Face

Not necessarily new material here, but Rachel Hollis is blunt about reminding us what NOT to believe about ourselves. When we believe lies instead of God’s truths about us, everyone suffers. She encourages us to become more aware of those lies and let them die.

“Have you ever believed that you aren’t good enough? That you’re not thin enough? That you’re a bad mom? That you’ll never amount to anything? All lies.”

7. When Crickets Cry
by Charles Martin

blank

This novel is a sweet story about a broken-hearted heart surgeon who has given up his practice, and his encounters with a little girl who needs a heart transplant. Written from a Christian perspective, it is inspirational without being preachy.

“She opened heavy eyes, tilted her head, and said, ‘Reese, hope lives here, and death can’t kill it.'”

Honorable Mentions

Leaving Time
by Jodi Picoult

blank

You’ll learn a lot about elephants in this novel. This book has an interesting storyline about a family who cares for displaced elephants, but it’s about a lot of other things too, some of which I found interesting, and some of which made me uncomfortable. I liked it, but didn’t love it.

“Lately, she had been afraid to fall asleep. Instead of a nap, Jenna called it the Leaving Time. She was certain that if she closed her eyes, I would not be here again when she opened them.”

Natural Causes
An Epidemic of Wellness, the Certainty of Dying, and Killing Ourselves to Live Longer
by Barbara Ehrenreich

blank

My review of Natural Causes

I love the premise of this book: we obsess too much about keeping our bodies alive, or as the subtitle suggests, “Killing ourselves to live longer.” Many chapters were on target and interesting. But other chapters really got bogged down in minutiae. So I can’t give it my full recommendation.

“Still, we persist in subjecting anyone who dies at a seemingly untimely age to a kind of bio-moral autopsy: Did she smoke? Drink excessively? Eat too much fat and not enough fiber? Can she, in other words, be blamed for her own death?”

The Excellence Dividend
Meeting the Tech Tide with Work that Wows and Jobs that Last
by Tom Peters

blank

This is a business book with a great message: put people first, whatever business you are in. Treat your employees right and they’ll treat your customers right. Do everything with excellence. However, the formatting of the book drove me crazy so I only give it a partial recommendation. The font size changed often; there were lots of all caps; much of the book was still in outline form. This distracted me immensely from absorbing the content.

“EXCELLENCE is not a long-term aspiration. EXCELLENCE is the ultimate short-term strategy. EXCELLENCE IS THE NEXT FIVE MINUTES.”

Reading Now

  • A Storied Life
    by Leigh Kramer
  • Everybody Always
    Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People
    by Bob Goff
  • I’m Still Here
    Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness
    by Austin Channing Brown
  • Five Stars
    The Communication Secrets to Get from Good to Great
    by Carmine Gallo
  • What Truth Sounds Like
    Robert F. Kennedy, James Baldwin, and Our Unfinished Conversation About Race in America
    by Michael Eric Dyson

* * *

What good book have you read this month? Please share in the comments.

Whats-on-Your-Nightstand-at-_5-minut

My books on Goodreads
More books I recommend

Just 42 Seconds – Short Conversations Matter

By LisaNotes May 25, 2018 Book reviews, Community 12 Comments

blank

Our best relationship moments usually come through conversations.

When we read Jesus’s conversations in the New Testament, we discover how short many were.

According to Carl Medearis, author and minister connecting those in the Arab Middle East to those in the West, Jesus’s recorded conversations averaged only 42 seconds each. (Of course he also had longer conversations; this is just the average of the ones written down.)

Even the quietest among us can have a 42-second long conversation.

In this new book, 42 Seconds: The Jesus Model for Everyday Interactions, Medearis goes through ordinary moments in our lives and shows us how to have more meaningful conversations like Jesus did. Without seeming awkward. Without being forced.

“Jesus was a master at making short interactions with people significant.”

I appreciate this book for its simplicity and yet also for its depth.

It might seem simple to be reminded to look up and say hi to people we meet, but how many times do we resist making eye contact or forget to give a greeting? And how often do we miss the connections of these simple things with what Jesus did?

“Our goal is simply for Jesus to be a natural part of our lives and everyday interactions with people.”

The book is divided into four sections.

  • Be Kind
  • Be Present
  • Be Brave
  • Be Jesus

Each of these sections is broken down into short chapters beginning with a simple instruction of how we stop conversations and a better way to start a conversation instead.

For example, under the section Be Kind, Chapter 2 entitled “Acknowledge the Waiter,” Medearis opens with the Nonstarter (what NOT to do) and follows with the Opener (what TO DO):

  • The Nonstarter: Ignore those the world considers unimportant.
  • The Opener: Look them in the eye. Pay attention. Greet them.

He then gives examples of how Jesus acknowledged people, particularly those uncared about, like the poor, women, Samaritans lepers, children. An honest example follows from Medearis’s own life (often including his failures as much as successes).

“You can’t be effective at whatever it is you’re trying to do if you don’t say a warm hello to people. That’s where it all begins.”

Chapter 3 is “Ask Another Question.”

  • The Nonstarter: Be quick to give answers.
  • The Opener: Ask one more question.

You see how this works. It’s an easy way to capture our attention and gently prod us into doing better. I always need these reminders.

After several chapters, each section then ends with “Dig Deeper & Discuss” questions. These questions encourage us to live out the suggestions from the chapters as well as give us more scripture passages to read.

The way we love other people (or not) is visible in the way we talk with them (or fail to talk). Our everyday conversations are home base.

Our ordinary conversations matter.

Favorite Quotes from 42 Seconds

“For most of us, it takes courage just to walk across the street and invite our neighbors over for a barbecue. Forget the Navy SEALs or the stuff we see in the movies —we just need to greet Sam and Beth at the mailbox.”

~ * ~

“Go one question deeper by asking, ‘What was that like for you?’”

~ * ~

“By the way, I don’t think these conversations need to ‘lead somewhere’ —like we’re trying to get them to believe in something or to change somehow. I just mean that our exchange leads to better understanding of one another and a more substantive relationship.”

~ * ~

“If you are thinking, I wonder what a good way would be to encourage my pastor or the leader of a country, you might want to start with blessing their children. I know that if you want to win my heart, you pay attention to my kids.”

~ * ~

“Being present for God may be the key to life. To everything. Simply being with him, no matter where we are or what we’re doing, changes us.”

~ * ~

“If you want to be intentionally present with people, try asking two questions: Where have you come from, and where are you going?”

~ * ~

“But I’ll tell you this: without being brave in your conversations and willing to risk rejection or suffering of some kind, you won’t have much reward.”

* * *

Medearis also authored another favorite book of mine, Speaking of Jesus: The Art of Not-Evangelism. This book shows how we can talk about Jesus to a world turned off by Christianity.

How easily do you have conversations with other people? Please share in the comments.

My thanks to Tyndale
for the review copy of this book