Have an opinion on politics this year?
Do you know who you’ll vote for? Or if you’ll vote at all?
Here are 4 things to pray about during this political season, regardless of your political party.
It is possible to stay spiritually hopeful through this election cycle.
Join me at Do Not Depart to talk about countering our fears, cynicism, anger, and worries during this election season.
I was sitting with two of my white middle-aged friends at Zaxby’s. Laughing, chatting, eating.
When she came up . . .
She was a 20ish black lady. She asked if she could ask us a question.
Of course, we said.
It was about hair. She was in cosmetology school and was wondering about certain perms that white ladies use.
But was it really about hair?
No. It was much better than that.
This brave young woman was bridging a gap. Intentionally.
She said she’s always known about one kind of hair from just one kind of friends. She wanted now to branch out, to learn more about other people.
It made my heart soar.
This is why we’ll make it.
This I how I know it will all work out.
When one person approaches another person not just despite their differences, but because of their differences, we’re going to be okay.
We had a lovely chat. We did talk about hair. But we also talked about her little boy, our “strong” laughs (she said), and about our desire for her success in her upcoming career.
It may have looked like just one black woman and three white women at Zaxby’s.
But, oh, it was so much more than that.
* * *
How have you been encouraged lately? Please share in the comments.
Want more grace?
How much time do you have?
Whatever your situation, may you overflow with grace today.
It’s my 8-Year Blog Anniversary! I started here 8 years ago today.
Update: The Book Giveaway has a winner! Congratulations to Sharon at SharonSharingGod for winning Sheila Walsh’s, The Shelter of God’s Promises.
1. If you want grace
“If you want God’s grace, all you need is need, all you need is nothing.”
– Timothy Keller, Counterfeit Gods
2. Explain it or show it?
“I would far rather convey grace than explain it.”
– Philip Yancey, What’s So Amazing about Grace?
3. The trouble with grace
“I love to give charity, but I don’t want to be charity. This is why I have so much trouble with grace.”
– Donald Miller, Blue like Jazz
4. Grace > circumstances
“The abundant grace of God far exceeds any circumstance we encounter.”
– Stephen Altrogge, The Greener Grass Conspiracy
5. Don’t assume the worst
“Refuse to assume the worst when your spouse does something out of the ordinary. Instead, start with the assumption of good intentions.”
– H. Norman Wright, What’s Next?
6. Stay where you are
“In the Incarnation, God said, ‘Stay where you are. I’ll come to you.’”
– Mike Glenn, The Gospel of Yes
7. Is your soul thirsty?
“God’s response to the thirsty soul is grace.”
– Andy Stanley, The Grace of God
8. Heaven into you
“God’s dream isn’t just to get you into heaven but to get heaven into you.”
– Max Lucado, Grace
9. Grace is like a roller coaster
“Grace is like a roller coaster; it makes us scream in terror and laugh uncontrollably at the same time.”
– Tullian Tchividjian, One Way Love
10. Who needs grace?
“So who needs grace? All of us, the saint as well as the sinner.”
– Jerry Bridges, Transforming Grace
11. Grace always stoops
“Grace always stoops, to the point of being extravagant.”
– Leroy Garrett, What Must the Church of Christ Do to Be Saved
12. Even when I’m wrong
“Truth matters, but so does our attitude.”
– Joshua Harris, Humble Orthodoxy
13. The purpose of prayer is . . .
“The primary purpose of prayer is not to change circumstances; the primary purpose of prayer is to change us.”
– Mark Batterson, Draw the Circle
14. Jean Valjean, the Bishop, and grace in Les Misérables
“Is it true that I am to be released?”
“My friend,” resumed the Bishop, “before you go, here are your candlesticks. Take them.”
– Victor Hugo, Les Misérables
15. Own weakness to find strength
“Grace calls us to own weakness to find true strength.”
– Paul David Tripp, Lost in the Middle
16. He gives to us, not us to him
“Grace revolves around what He has given us, not what we give to Him.”
– Steve McVey, 52 Lies Heard in Church Every Sunday
17. Save me from myself
“Jesus came to save me from myself. He came to save me from self-effort.”
– Emily Freeman, Grace for the Good Girl
18. Not in our strength
“God’s grace is made perfect in our weakness, not in what we perceive as our strength.”
– Sheila Walsh, The Shelter of God’s Promises
19. You can’t exhaust God’s grace
“‘Stop asking so much! My grace reservoir is running dry.’ Heaven knows no such words.”
– Max Lucado, Grace
20. Grace pays it all
“Grace is not a matter of God’s making up the difference, but of God’s providing all the ‘cost’ of salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ.”
– Jerry Bridges, Transforming Grace
21. You’re not a pendulum, Christian
“The Christian is not one who swings like a spiritual pendulum, as if forgiven one moment and condemned the next. A Christian is one who is not now nor ever shall be condemned: no condemnation!”
– Sam Storms, One Thing
22. How to know if you’re self-righteous
“You’ll never know if self-righteousness is in your heart until something tragic happens to a fellow Christian that you know.”
– Frank Viola, From Eternity to Here
23. The gospel is good news about a person
“The gospel is good news about a person and what that person has done for us in our hopeless, helpless and hapless condition.”
– Carl Ketcherside, The Twisted Scriptures
24. If God sees no undesirables, me either
“Because God sees no undesirables, neither should we.”
– Philip Yancey, The Jesus I Never Knew
25. If you can buy it, it’s not grace
“Grace can neither be bought, earned, nor won by the creature. If it could be, it would cease to be grace.”
– Arthur Pink, The Attributes of God
26. Know God more, love God more
“As you come to know Him more, you will love Him more.”
– Steve McVey, Grace Walk
27. Do you dispense guilt or grace?
“Often, it seems, we’re perceived more as guilt dispensers than as grace dispensers.”
– Philip Yancey, Vanishing Grace
28. You can’t contain it
“He dispenses his goodness not with an eyedropper but with a fire hydrant.”
– Max Lucado, Grace
29. Words we long to hear
“Words we long to hear: I love you. I forgive you. Supper’s ready. Isn’t this the gospel?”
– Philip Yancey, Vanishing Grace
30. Jesus is the kingdom
“Jesus didn’t come to build a kingdom. He brought one with him. He is the kingdom.”
– Carl Medearis, Speaking of Jesus
31. Take grace too far?
“We can never go too far with grace because we can never go too far with Jesus.”
– Steve McVey, 52 Lies Heard in Church Every Sunday
* * *
How have you seen grace this week?
These excerpts are gathered from a previous 31 Days series.
Let’s just be honest.
We want to be happy.
It’s okay.
Somewhere along the way, Christians get a message not to admit that. Oh, we only want to be holy, we say. Happy or not.
“Isn’t happiness against the rules? Some of us may believe that we have to pick one or the other: happiness or Jesus.”
– Jennifer Dukes Lee
But who doesn’t also want to be happy?
Jennifer Dukes Lee comes right out and says this:
“It’s the underline of every New Year’s resolution, the reason behind every diet, the hope underneath every “I do” at the altar. Happiness is the aim of every human —from the free-wheeling squanderer to the most saintly woman under your church steeple. You and I just want to be happy. I don’t know one person in my life who prefers an unhappy marriage to a happy one; an unhappy heart to a happy one; an unhappy workplace; or unhappy kids.”
In her new book The Happiness Dare, she gives us all permission to seek happiness. Not over holiness, but alongside it. “We have learned that happiness isn’t separate from our holiness, but is a part of it.”
Who could be more happy than Jesus? He wants us to be happy with him. In him.
“This is what he showed me: My happiness was not apart from him. It was a part of him. My happiness all those years ago was not separate from my holiness. It was 100 percent entwined with it.”
When he came, it was to bring the gospel, the good news.
“If we say the gospel won’t bring happiness, any perceptive listener should respond, ‘Then how is it good news?’ We need to reverse the trend. Let’s redeem the word happiness in light of both Scripture and church history. Our message shouldn’t be ‘Don’t seek happiness,’ but ‘You’ll find in Jesus the happiness you’ve always longed for.'”
Jennifer has a plan. She found five ways we’re wired for happiness. Each person has one primary style (although we dabble in all five).
Take the “What’s Your Happiness Style?” assessment to discover your style.
Then she lays out specific suggestions for each style in the chapters that follow. She gets into the details, including what makes you tick, red flags, and questions for “Digging Deeper.”
The last section of The Happiness Dare includes things you can do for just five minutes every day that can increase your happiness.
For Thinkers, she suggests these:
“Spend five minutes crafting a poem. Read a short passage in a book. Listen to NPR. Take a brisk walk outside to give yourself the space you need to contemplate. Look out the window and simply wonder about things without feeling the least bit guilty over the work that must get done today.”
She also encourages us: Stop believing these four statements that interfere with our happiness.
But we’re also reminded that happy people do cry. “Happiness—genuine happiness—allows space for a person to be sad.” We just don’t have to turn cynical or bitter in the process.
“Because despite everything, this old world is still a beautiful place. No matter how hopeless it all seems, there’s always, always something to be thankful for. We can be grateful in times of hopelessness because we are gripped at all times by God.”
* * *
Which style are you? I’m primarily a Thinker. Please share in the comments.
My thanks to Tyndale Blog Network
for the review copy of this book
I ask Mr. T if he has lived in our town his whole life. He has. (I can’t guess his age. Late 70s?)
I push a little deeper. “So you’ve seen lots of changes through the years, yes?”
“Oh, yes. . . . but I don’t like to talk about it.”
So we don’t talk about it. It’s not what matters to him right now. Other things matter more.
This sweet black man has a new problem: lung cancer. This is what matters the most now.
Lots of things matter. But we can only focus on a few at a time. Our attention span is just that way. Life happens and diverts our attention here and there. Maybe to the most important thing; maybe not.
But here’s the thing:
If you matter to me (and God says you should), then what matters to you should also matter to me.
Right now, one of the things that matters in our country is improving race relations.
And that thing has picked up a name: #BlackLivesMatter.
That bothers some people. They counter with: #AllLivesMatter or #BlueLivesMatter.
But what I’ve been reading and hearing for a few weeks now is the significance of one little word, unspoken, that can change your perspective.
And which one word you choose makes all the difference.
If you hear “ONLY black lives matter,” you might feel troubled.
“Only” is divisive. Only me. Only you. Am I the only one?
But if you choose “black lives matter TOO,” you become a partner.
“Too” is together. You, too? Me, too. This, too.
We’re made to live together. For community. When we come together, we accomplish more. When we separate, we tear apart.
Will we come together to show respect to our black brothers and sisters who are saying they matter, too?
Listen to this African proverb:
“If you want to run fast, run alone. But if you want to run far, run together.”
Here are a few voices to encourage us to run together, to go the distance, to make it to the finish line.
Listen to this episode of Pass the Mic with Jemar Tisby and Tyler Burns discussing the Black Lives Matter movement and the Christian response. You don’t have to agree with everything. But if you listen, you’ll come away more informed.
This article was written by a “listener” at the RNC. Again, agree or disagree, but let’s learn to listen better. “Life isn’t a Facebook feed. Our love, our listening, must bring in, not edit out.”
A black writer responds to this question from her white friend: “So that I may be enlightened, can you please share with me some examples of institutional racism that have made an indelible mark upon you?”
Many people around us have problems. We need to care about them all.
But let’s hear the one who is speaking now. Help the one in front of us.
The next time I see Mr. T, I hope I’ll give him my full attention (I often fail at that). I want to hear his updates. I want to pray for his healing.
I want to show him that his life matters.
Not only. But too.
* * *
Once a month we share articles, books, and things we love at Leigh Kramer’s What I’m Into.
Here are some of my favorites from July and what I’m looking forward to in August.
[If you can’t see the 1 Second Everyday video, click here]
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• 4 Things You Should Never Say to Someone Who Is Hurting by Mike Foster
Two of the things are: “At least…” and “Why did you…?”
• Mamas, Please Quit Mourning Your Children Growing Up by Elizabeth Spencer
We don’t hear enough of this perspective.
“I well understand the temptation to weep for the past and to regret all things I’ll never do with my children again.
But I did do them.”
• The Body of Christ Needs Bad Teeth by Jonathan Storment
“. . . but if you don’t go to a church that is filled with cavities or dentures, I think something may be wrong with your church.”
• See It and Forget It: How Default Settings Rule the World by Lena Groeger
“But there is a more subtle way that design influences our daily decisions and behavior – whether we know it or not. I’m talking about defaults.”
Putting the salad bar in a hard-to-miss location drove salad sales up 200 to 300 percent. Source: AAEA
• The Science Is In: Exercise Isn’t the Best Way to Lose Weight
What do you think? Why working out is great for health, but not for weight loss, explained in five minutes.
~ * ~ * ~
• What You Read Matters More Than You Think
Researchers say that what you read influences your writing ability more than writing instruction.
• How to Increase Page Views on Your Blog
10 tips on improving your blog (regardless of whether or not your goal is to increase page views). From Amber @CrazyLittleProjects.com.
• 14 Children’s Books To Talk about Race with Your Kids
Here are recommendations from Alabama librarians on their favorite books for children to start conversations about racism.
I especially recommend Warriors Don’t Cry about the Little Rock Nine and I Am Malala about the Afghan teenager who was shot by the Taliban and lives on.
• Currently Reading
~ * ~ * ~
• Morgan with Aunt Nancy
On July 4, Morgan and Fuller spent some good quality time with Aunt Nancy.
• The Races?
I didn’t expect to enjoy this so much. I won free tickets to our local speedway. We convinced some friends and family to go with us and it was a fun (although loud!) evening.
Trey, Jeff, Jack, Kay, Lisa, Jenna
• 31 Days Coming Soon!
It’s time to think about it. Do you participate in the 31 Days writing challenges every October? I’m preparing to do a series on surprising ways to encounter God (that’s my topic so far anyway).
• When Worlds Collide
Volunteers from Jenna’s church chose Manna House as one of their projects for their annual SERVE day in July. So Jeff and I had fun getting to serve alongside Jenna, Trey, and his parents.
A sea of red! SERVE day alongside Church of the Highlands
~ * ~ * ~
• Are We Separating or Attaching?
As blacks and whites in America, we are more together now…or more separated?
• 4 Ways to Keep a Fresh Prayer Life
We don’t have the exact conversations with each other every day. Why should we have the same conversations with God every day?
• Remember What You Read – Choose One Thing Per Book
Do you remember what you read? Try this: Choose one important thing per book.
* * *
What was one of your highlights in July? What are you looking forward to in August? Please share in the comments.
