Lisa notes

“God Bless My School” – Book Review

By LisaNotes July 5, 2017 Book reviews 14 Comments

Nobody wants to think about it in July. But in less than a month, on August 2, children in my area will be back in school.

While my own children are now grown and out of school, I keep my ties to the local school year because my youngest daughter Jenna teaches elementary school.

She’s switching schools and grades this year. Instead of teaching Kindergarten in a public Title 1 school, she’ll be teaching 1^st grade in a private school for students zoned to public Title I schools, each the recipient of a scholarship based on need.

While the children’s backgrounds will be much the same as her previous school, this year she’ll be able to mention aloud the name of Jesus to the children, pray with them, and have conversations together about God.

One book I’m donating to her class is God Bless My School by Hannah C. Hall, beautifully illustrated by Steve Whitlow.

It’s a padded board book with four rhyming lines to a page about young animals preparing for exciting new adventures at school, knowing God goes with them.

The book ends with this rhyme:

We’ve learned so much and made good friends.
We’ve worked hard and we’ve played.
The day is done—it’s been such fun!
“God bless my school,” we say!

So in this month when teachers are working hard to prepare for school—and parents are working hard to prepare their children—now is the time we all can pray, whether we have students or not, for:

students everywhere,
their families,
and the adults who will be with them many of their waking hours in the upcoming 9 months.

Whether public, private, or homeschool, may God bless everyone’s school.

* * *

Do you have children who will be returning to school soon? How do you prepare for it? Please share in the comments.

My thanks to BookLook Bloggers
for the review copy of this book

Links, Books, and Things I Love – July 2017

By LisaNotes July 2, 2017 Life updates, Links I like 40 Comments

Here are favorites from June and what I’m looking forward to in July. We share once a month at Leigh’s.

1 Second Everyday

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

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Around the Web

• You’re (Probably) Saying It Wrong

Fifteen words you might be mispronouncing. Includes primer, conch, solder, and cupboard.

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• 9 Ways to Move Away from Privilege
by Branden Henry

“Here are 9 ways we can begin carrying a larger portion of the burden of inherent bias, racism, oppression, bigotry and discrimination that weigh on our minority brothers and sisters.”

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• Here’s How Much Businesses Pay To Get On Those Big Blue Exit Signs

Here’s who decides which businesses make it on the signs, and how much it all costs.

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• Why Your Car Thermometer Is Probably Wrong
by Greg Porter

I understand a little better. But it’s still close enough for me and I love it.

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• Why Do Men Harass Women?
New Study Sheds Light On Motivations of Street Harassment
by Malaka Gharib, NPR

What’s fun to men isn’t necessarily fun to women, especially when they don’t see the consequences.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Books and Podcasts

• Story Podcast: Episode 38 – The Enneagram

Great insight into all nine numbers of the Enneagram with guest Ian Morgan Cron.

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• The Liturgists Podcast: Christian Violence

Regardless of what you think about violence, this will make you think a little deeper.

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• TED Radio Hour Podcast: A Better You

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• What’s Your Reading Personality?

A fun little quiz at Modern Mrs. Darcy’s site. My type is “The Explorer.”

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• Infographic: Surprising Book Facts

Ugh. I hope some of these facts aren’t true.

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• 4 Books I Recommend
Here are 4 books I enjoyed this month, including the convicting novel Small Great Things and the nonfiction book, 12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You.

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• Books I’m Currently Reading

The Goldfinch
by Donna Tartt
The Better Angels of Our Nature
Why Violence Has Declined
by Steven Pinker
This Fight Is Our Fight
The Battle to Save America’s Middle Class
by Elizabeth Warren
Born to Run
A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen
by Christopher McDougall
Mindset
The New Psychology of Success
by Carol S. Dweck
Glory in the Ordinary
Why Your Work in the Home Matters to God
by Courtney Reissig

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Things I Love

• My Baby Girls

We made a quick trip to see Morgan on her birthday weekend. They may not look like little girls in your minds’ eye, but they’ll always be my baby girls.

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• Roadside America

Jeff loves roadside attractions. So we usually google RoadsideAmerica.com to find unusual things near our route on road trips.

A few weeks ago on our way to Kansas, we stopped at the Golden Driller: Titanic Oil Man. It’s 75 feet tall, one of the 5 tallest statues in the U.S.

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• A Day in the Salt Mines

Literally. In Hutchinson, Kansas, we toured an understand salt museum, Strataca. Very interesting! It’s the only salt mine accessible to tourists. It began operating in 1923 as Carey Salt Company.

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• Oklahoma City National Memorial

This was a sobering visit. The Memorial and Museum is so well-done. It honorably remembers the victims and rescuers after the April 19, 1995 bombing. 168 people died. The fence outside is still full of memorabilia in remembrance.

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• Beach Instagram Selfie

This just makes me laugh. If we could see the whole picture of the beautiful selfies we see online, what would we discover?

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On the Blog

I did a 4-part series in June on my 4 Agreements with God.

# 1 – Give the benefit of the doubt.

Do You Assume the Best or the Worst? And a Barking Lady
We rarely know the whole story. How can we learn to give others the benefit of the doubt? 5 ways to assume the best.

# 2 – Let go of being right.

Let Go of Being Right – When Being Right Is Wrong (and Dangerous)
When is being right, wrong? Here are 3 dangers to being right and how to let go of them.

# 3 – Don’t take it personally.

Don’t Take This Personally
Do we make too much of life about us? Everyone is the star in their own movie. Don’t take it personally.

# 4 – Just show up.

You’re Not Ready? Show Up Anyway
Even when you’re not prepared, just show up anyway. God will show up, too.

See all 4 agreements (click on individual infographics)

* * *

What was one of your highlights from June? What are you looking forward to in July? Please share in the comments.

previous Links and Books

On the Blog – June 2017

By LisaNotes June 30, 2017 Archives 2 Comments

Sometimes You Interfere (6/29) – Sometimes it’s hard to know. Speak up or be silent? But we need to get this better, this knowing when to interfere.
4 Books I Recommend (6/27) – Recommended reading list from books I finished in June 2017
You’re Not Ready? Show Up Anyway (6/26) – Even when you’re not prepared, just show up anyway. God will show up, too.
When You’re Anxious about Praying – Book Review of Flee, Be Silent, Pray (6/23) – How’s your prayer life? Maybe you can pray more by praying differently. Review of Ed Cyzewski’s book, Flee, Be Silent, Pray.
Is Your Phone Changing You? (6/21) – Do you realize that you are being changed by your smartphone? Tony Reinke lists 12 ways in his book, 12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You.
Don’t Take This Personally (6/19) – Do we make too much of life about us? Everyone is the star in their own movie. Don’t take it personally.
When You’re Spiritually Thirsty, Where Do You Drink? (6/15) – Nowadays we only walk to our kitchen sink for a glass of water. Where do we go when we’re thirsty for community? Where are our modern wells? Guest post at Do Not Depart.
Let Go of Being Right – When Being Right Is Wrong (and Dangerous) (6/12) – When is being right, wrong? Here are 3 dangers to being right and how to let go of them.
Being Right – Table of Contents (6/12) – We all like to be right. But sometimes we don’t do it well. Below are ten articles on how to be right and wrong in healthy ways.
Color Blind? Us vs Them (6/8) – Above all, we don’t want to appear racist. But too often saying no thing is the wrong thing.
Do You Assume the Best or the Worst? And a Barking Lady (6/5) – We rarely know the whole story. How can we learn to give others the benefit of the doubt? 5 ways to assume the best.
Links, Books, and Things I Love – June 2017 (6/1) – Links and pictures of articles, books, and things I love for June 2017

Sometimes You Interfere

By LisaNotes June 29, 2017 Compassion, Discrimination 34 Comments

1945 – Buchenwald Concentration Camp Wiesel – 2nd row from bottom, 7th from left

“And that is why I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation.

We must take sides.

Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.

Sometimes we must interfere.”
– Elie Wiesel, Night

Sometimes it’s hard to know.

Speak up or be silent?

I’ve sometimes spoken up when I should have kept silent.
And sometimes I’ve kept silent when I should have spoken up.

It’s almost been one year since Elie Wiesel died. He would have been 87 years old had he not died one year ago on July 2, 2016.

During World War II, Wiesel was a victim of the Holocaust, a slave laborer in Auschwitz, Buna, and the Buchenwald concentration camps. (If you have yet to read his book Night about his time in the Nazi death camps, now is a good time.)

“There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.”

Because we need to get this better – this knowing when to stand up.
This knowing when to interfere.

“The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference.”

May the Lord grant us wisdom to know.

And grant us courage to do.

For everything there is a season,  and a time for every matter under heaven.
Ecclesiastes 3:1

obit video at NYTimes.com

* * *

Is there something you need to speak out about?

How do you decide when to speak up and when to be silent? Please share in the comments.

revised from the archives

4 Books I Recommend – June 2017

By LisaNotes June 27, 2017 Books I Recommend 26 Comments

Here are four books I recommend from what I read in June. Once a month we gather at Jennifer’s to share what we’ve been reading.

Books I Recommend

1. Small Great Things
by Jodi Picoult

What a compelling and relevant novel! I hope this book is widely read. It begins with an African-American nurse prohibited to tend to a white supremacists’ baby (at the parents’ request). Both the plot and emotions run high from there forward. The author Jodi Picoult is an experienced novelist and it shows.

2. 12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You
by Tony Reinke

We don’t just use our phones; our phones use us. We’d be wise to pay attention to how that works and what kind of changes are happening to us because of our phones. This is a balanced book; Reinke doesn’t recommend throwing away our phones, but he does encourage us to set up reasonable boundaries.

My book review of 12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You

3. The Nightingale
by Kristin Hannah

This beautiful novel is set mainly in France in World War 2 (although it dips occasionally into America in our times) and chronicles how the war affects two sisters and their country. It moved me to tears several times. The author does a wonderful job drawing you into the individual stories as she weaves them together back and forth.

4. Flee, Be Silent, Pray
An Anxious Evangelical Finds Peace with God through Contemplative Prayer
by Ed Cyzewski

If you ever feel guilty or anxious that your prayer life is beyond saving, Ed Cyzewski gives you hope in this book that there is another way to pray. He provides a great overview of contemplative prayer practices, without the guilt or anxiety. I love all Ed’s books, including this one.

My book review of Flee, Be Silent, Pray

Reading Now

The Better Angels of Our Nature
Why Violence Has Declined
by Steven Pinker
This Fight Is Our Fight
The Battle to Save America’s Middle Class
by Elizabeth Warren
Born to Run
A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen
by Christopher McDougall
The Goldfinch
by Donna Tartt

* * *

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

My books on Goodreads
Previous reading lists

You’re Not Ready? Show Up Anyway

By LisaNotes June 26, 2017 Encouragement 60 Comments

[This is Part 4 of my agreements for life. See the other articles here.
1-Give the benefit of the doubt | 2-Let go of being right | 3-Don’t take it personally | 4-Just show up]

I have a few recurring nightmares.

Seeing a tornado coming
Navigating home from my grandparents’ house in Mississippi on various ill-equipped vehicles at night (tricycle, running, etc.)
Needing to take a shower but all the shower stalls are full

And being unprepared for a test at school. (They say 1 in 4 people have exam dreams. You?)

I’ve been out of school for 30+ years, but I still dream that it’s test day, and I had yet to attend a single class or cracked a book all semester. Which is NOT how I ever operated in real life.

I like being prepared (actually, I prefer overprepared). I want to be ready for whatever is to come.

But life isn’t that way.

It often calls on us to do things outside of the time we have available or the skills we have learned or the comfort zone we’ve created.

What do we do when we’re not ready, but it’s time to go?

I’ve been sharing my Four Agreements this month. Today is the last one, and it’s possibly my favorite and most useful:

# 4. Just show up.

3 Ways to Just Show Up

1. Show up imperfect.

I don’t like being called on to do something I’m bad at. (I quit bowling years ago because it was no fun getting gutter balls.) Not having the skills or knowledge or preparation can make us not want to show up at all. Perfectionism can shut us down before we get to yes.

But what better way to learn something new than to show up with your inadequacy?

Want to learn carpentry skills? Show up with CASA to build a wheelchair ramp; other volunteers will be glad to show you the ropes. Want to be a better mom? Spend time with a mom you admire and see how she does it. Want to change job positions? Visit your HR office and listen to what they say.

You don’t have to know the full plan.
You don’t have to have every answer.
You don’t have to be the most skilled.

You just have to be available.

You can love people without being perfect. Actually, you might love them even better when you lead with humility.

When we show up with our weaknesses, we get an opportunity to grow a new strength.

Don’t underestimate the power of your presence.

2. Show up scared.

Ugh. I’m scared of a lot of things: looking stupid, getting hurt, even being bored. But being afraid isn’t a good reason to not show up.

I’m learning this more and more: If I’ll just get my body in place, my spirit will follow.

I’ve bargained with myself on many occasions: If I agree to show up, that in itself is enough. And it usually is.

Putting our bodies in actual physical locations where we’re needed is important. Rely less on your abilities and more on your opportunities.

When we show up scared, we leave with more courage.

3. Show up empty.

Do you ever talk yourself out of showing up because you’re not “important” enough?

They don’t need me anyway.
Nobody will know if I’m there or not.
I won’t make a difference.
They can do it without me.

While, yes, many jobs can be accomplished with or without us, life is better when we partner together.

Not just for the job’s sake. But for our sake, too.

When we show up empty, we may be even more helpful than we realize.

Through our limited human bodies, we can still serve with fullness. When we have nothing to prove, we are more flexible to help however we’re needed.

When we show up among others with love, everyone benefits.

Pass the Test

When I dream about being late for school or forgetting the combination to my locker, I usually wake up before I actually get to the classroom to take the test.

That’s okay for a dream, but I don’t want an “Incomplete” grade in real life.

Even though I may make a mess when I get there, I want to show up and grow.
Even though I may have missed many classes, I want to take the test anyway.
And even though I may be the least skilled person in the room, I still want to be present with others.

That’s more than enough reason to show up.

* * *

Do you have a recurring nightmare? When have you hesitated to show up, but were glad you did? Please share in the comments.

See all 4 agreements (click on individual infographics)

1-Give the benefit of the doubt | 2-Let go of being right | 3-Don’t take it personally | 4-Just show up

More reading:

When You Show Up, You Bring Heat
Don’t doubt the potential of your presence. Showing up matters.
What? No Plan?
We don’t have to know the plan, just the presence.
3 Reasons to Let Go of Perfectionism
Perfectionism makes us say no when we want to say yes.
Dear Risk, I Know We’re Not Friends
But like it or not, we’re in this together. Just for today, we’ve got things to do. Let’s get going.