Lisa notes

Do You Have to Try So Hard?

By LisaNotes July 5, 2023 Encouragement, Memorize Matthew 6 6 Comments

I’m doing absolutely nothing to keep it alive.

I don’t water it. I don’t fertilize it. I don’t add extra soil in the spring.

Yet the lantana by my mailbox doesn’t care. By spring each year, it starts all over with fresh green growth. The intricate yellow blooms show up shortly thereafter and remain prolific all summer long.

I like things that bloom without me having to force them.

I need to remember that about myself as well.

When life gets hard, I hunker down inside my head. I try to understand all the details of what’s happening. I journal more. I make lists of new practices to try.

And those things do help.

Outward things help, too. I talk with faithful friends. I read books by experts. I listen to inspiring music.

But the hardest thing for me to add in?

Nothing.

While taking responsibility for ourselves and working hard IS essential and 100% valuable, we don’t always have to push ourselves quite so hard.

This week’s memory verse is encouraging me to not feel so compelled to work, work, work, as I think of the lantana flowers in my front yard.

“Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”
Matthew 6:29

For context, Jesus had just said that the lilies of the field don’t have to toil or spin (Matthew 6:28), yet, wow, aren’t they beautiful?

If that’s a flower, how much more a human?

So I want to do a little less toiling and spinning this summer. And a little more trusting that Love can bloom around me and in me without my constant effort to make it happen. The love of God is foundational, with or without my push.

Maybe my lantana would be even more bountiful if I took more time tending it. I do pull weeds occasionally and prune it back when it begins taking over the driveway. Small acts of care.

But that’s enough. Its beauty returns year after year just the same.

Perhaps that’s the same with us, too. With love all around us and in us, maybe we don’t have to try so hard either.

And trust the beauty to return year after year just the same.

Share your thoughts in the comments.

Read more musings on Matthew 6:

On the Blog—June 2023

By LisaNotes June 30, 2023 Archives No Comments

Here are brief summaries and links to posts on the blog, Lisa notes, in June 2023.

See previous months’ archives here

9 Books I Recommend—June 2023
—Grace & Truth Linkup

By LisaNotes June 30, 2023 Books I Recommend, Grace & Truth Link-Up 14 Comments

“Books are the training weights of the mind.”
– Epictetus

Here are 7 nonfiction books + 2 novels I recommend from what I finished reading in June. 

I used my free month of Kindle Unlimited in June, so I’ve noted those books below if you’d like to read them for free, too. 

[See previously recommended books here]

NONFICTION

1. Imagine Reading This Book
How Mental Pictures Influence Your Decisions
by Nick Kolenda

Imagine Reading This Book

I adore books like this one. Kolenda pulls back the curtain on why we make unconscious decisions. For instance, if you have an August 1 deadline, you’ll be much slower to make progress than if you have a July 31 deadline, even though there’s only one day’s difference. Highly recommend!

“Every decision is dictated by the ease and vividness of a mental picture. Instead of ignoring this flaw in our brain, we need to acknowledge and understand it. If we understand motivation, the true motivation behind our decisions, we can make better decisions.”

2. I Am a Human
A Memoir on Grief, Identity, and Hope
by Pierce Taylor Hibbs

I Am a Human

After losing his father at a young age, Hibbs wrote this short book connecting the humanity in all of us, especially in light of death. Hibbs reminds us that instead of denying our uniquely human traits, we need to embrace them: transience, limitation, perspective, and hope. This book fits perfectly into my One Word: Human theme this year. [Available for free on Kindle Unlimited.]

“​Loss is devastating. It brings us down to the dirt. But that is where plants grow. That is where we grow. ​Transience. Limitation. Perspective. Hope. Our humanity is here.”

3. Write for Life
Creative Tools for Every Writer
by Julia Cameron

Write for Life

The infamous writer of the classic book The Artist’s Way guides us through six weeks of tapping into our creativity. Whatever your project, Cameron offers a soothing, gentle, yet practical voice to prod you along your path to get it done.

“Writing leads to writing. One topic leads to the next. What I write matters, but that I write matters more.”

4. The Enneagram of Emotional Intelligence
A Journey to Personal and Professional Success
by Scott Allender

The Enneagram of Emotional Intelligence

I was reluctant to read yet another book on the Enneagram, a personality tool I find useful, although as art, not science. [See my Enneagram series here: 20 Ways to Practice the Enneagram.] But I’m glad I read one more book. Allender connects the dots between our Enneagram type and emotional intelligence. I discovered new thoughts here worth exploring. [Full review later.]

“Emotional intelligence, it turns out, is the single biggest predictor of success—of far greater importance than IQ. . . .Eurich’s research concluded that 95 percent of people believe they are self-aware, but only 10 to 15 percent of people actually are.”

5. All About Love: New Visions
by bell hooks

All About Love

I’ve always heard about bell hooks but never read her works other than occasional quotes that pop up many places. This book gave me more insight into her prioritization of love in our everyday spiritual lives. [Available for free on Kindle Unlimited]

“A commitment to spiritual life necessarily means we embrace the eternal principle that love is all, everything, our true destiny.”

6. The Wrong End of the Table
A Mostly Comic Memoir of a Muslim Arab American Woman Just Trying to Fit in
by Ayser Salman

The Wrong End of the Table

This was my June pick for the Spiritual Memoir Challenge. Salman writes with both humorous and serious tones about her experience as a Muslim American, and her questions about being Muslim enough. She is expert at educating you as she entertains you through her stories.

“It’s okay even if my Muslim behavior is different from the Muslim behavior you expect—all I know is it’s real and authentically mine. And I hope that if any of you question your own authenticity or legitimacy, you’ll give yourselves a break, too.”

7. Uncultured: A Memoir
by Daniella Mestyanek Young

Uncultured

Excellent! Another memoir, Young writes of her experience in The Children of God cult. Her stories are harrowing of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. But at fifteen years old, she walked away. Her story continues through her years in the Army. You hate that her stories are true, but we need to hear them and bear witness.

“The first rule of cults is we are never in a cult. It’s always them, not us. There is always someone else to blame: the others, the outsiders, the unchosen.”

FICTION

8. The Love of My Life
by Rosie Walsh

The Love of My Life

In this perplexing mystery you meet Emma, a marine biologist with a past you can’t quite figure out. Walsh does a superb job pulling you into a story you don’t understand (for awhile), but that you care about. Emma’s husband Leo is in the same position. I really enjoyed this one.

“She’s very smart, my mother, and until that point I’d thought her to be quite robust as well. But my silence broke her. She developed an emotional destitution that she still can’t seem to rein in.”

9. Winter Garden
by Kristin Hannah

Winter Garden

This isn’t my favorite Kristin Hannah book (some sections felt slow), but once the story ramped up about Meredith and Nina’s strange Russian mother Anya, I wanted to keep reading. Anya’s mother tells a story within the story that is as riveting as the main story. [Available for free on Kindle Unlimited as syncing ebook and audiobook.]

“They would always be a family, but if she’d learned anything in the past few weeks it was that a family wasn’t a static thing. There were always changes going on. Like with continents, sometimes the changes were invisible and underground, and sometimes they were explosive and deadly. The trick was to keep your balance.”

WHAT I’M READING NOW

  • The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
    A Memoir of Life in Death
    by Jean-Dominique Bauby
  • Thank You for Listening
    by Julia Whelan
  • The Measure
    by Nikki Erlick
  • All My Knotted-Up Life
    Beth Moore

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What’s a good book you’ve read lately? Please share in the comments.

sharing at these linkups

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Grace & Truth Featured Post

Maryleigh writes, “There’s more to June than meets the eye.” Read the personal story behind her statement, and see why we sometimes need to be daring in our relationships.

“The Grace of June”

Then link your own blog posts below.

Review the rules here about adding your most recent Christian Living posts and how to be the Featured Post. Visit all four hosts social media here or websites here: Maree Dee, Lisa notes, Lauren Sparks, Tammy Kennington.

Now Let’s Link Up!

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What Does Your Shirt Say About You?

By LisaNotes June 28, 2023 Encouragement, Memorize Matthew 6 15 Comments

I pile another load of clean clothes from the laundry basket onto the bed. This batch has a lot of Jeff’s t-shirts. My husband has many, many t-shirts. I fold them and put them away in his dresser drawer.

Yet last week Jeff told me he needs a few more t-shirts. Why???

Because he wants some that don’t say anything.

And I get that.

I take a quick glance on my side of the closet. I have multitudes of t-shirts, too. Are they all noisy as well? Do we not have any quiet t-shirts?

Many of my t-shirts have a logo, like PAR (Prepare and Respond, our disaster recovery group). Some shirts are advertisements, like Golden Eagle Syrup. Others are from events, like “I survived Hurricane Iniki” (yes, I still have this shirt from our honeymoon in 1993 after we got slammed by this hurricane). Still others have inspirational sayings, like “I am resilient.”

Every single t-shirt says something.

But out of the multitude of shirts I have available, I wear the same few again and again. The others just take up room collecting dust on their hangers.

Why? Partly because I like wearing clothes that feel comfortable on my body. But more so because I want to wear clothes that reflect on the outside who I am on the inside.

What we wear does say something about us. Maybe our clothes say we enjoy a party with their bold prints and loud colors. Or that we embrace change with our trendy outfits. Or that we’re minimalists and hate to shop because we wear the same basic items again and again (my hand is raised).

When Jesus asked his followers why they were anxious about their clothing (Matthew 6:28), he answered his own question by pointing to the lilies. He said the lilies didn’t fret about their appearance; they just wore their God-given colors.

What are my God-given colors? What are yours? Is our outward appearance matching our inward selves?

Ultimately, we’re most comfortable in clothes that most accurately reflect who we are. One of my favorite t-shirts this year is the one that contains my One Word 2023: “Be a nice human.” That’s what matters to me. It’s how I want to live. It’s who I want to be.

When each of us are wearing our true colors, we’re creating together a beautiful garden.

I wish Jeff luck in finding plain t-shirts to replace some of his logoed ones. They are few and far between these days. Advertisers long ago realized that we’d be walking billboards for them if they’d give us a free t-shirt with their message on it.

But whose message and what message do we want to advertise? What is our truest message we want to put out into the world?

Back in my closet, I pull out a few t-shirts that I no longer wear, that no longer reflect who I am. I put them in the donate pile.

Now I reach for one to put on for the day. It’s one of my well-worn shirts, of course. It says, “Choose love.”

That’s the message I’ll share today.

It fits just right.

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This week’s memory verse for our Summer Memory Challenge is Matthew 6:28.

“And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin.”

Do you have trouble choosing what to wear (especially if you’re going outside the house)? Share in the comments.

Share Four Somethings—June 2023

By LisaNotes June 23, 2023 Life updates 16 Comments

Near the end of each month, I share four somethings at Jennifer’s linkup that I’m loving, reading, learning, and eating. 

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

What I’m Loving

  • “SKIP INTRO” SETTINGS

I’m an avid podcast listener. I used to listen using the default Apple Podcast app on my phone, but the past few years I now use the free version of the Overcast app (available only for iPhones for now). And I love it!

Overcast Podcast App

Among my favorite features is the “Skip Intro” and “Skip Outro” options. For certain podcasts that don’t really start content until the 1 minute mark, for example, I set the “Skip Intro” to 1 minute for that podcast. So every time a new episode plays, it automatically starts at 1 minute.

The “Skip Outro” feature works the same. For podcasts that end with the same message every time (“If you like this podcast, rate and review…”), you can adjust the settings to cut off the final 30 seconds (or however much time you want).

The settings comes in 5-second increments so you choose the appropriate time you need cut off. (Sorry, advertisers.) Our time is valuable. We hear enough clatter as it is, so I love deleting some when possible.

 ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

What I’m Reading 

  • TRANSCRIPTS OF YOUTUBE VIDEOS

Because I absorb content better through reading than hearing, I sometimes prefer to read a transcript instead of listening to a podcast or watching a video if the audio or video isn’t particularly additive.

So occasionally I’ll click on the three dots underneath a YouTube video to “Show transcript” on a laptop (or click through Description on a phone). If it is a video that has closed captioning (not every video does), the transcript will appear on the side of the screen.

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Granted, the transcript is in a roughly second-by-second format. But I can still scroll through much quicker reading instead of watching an entire video, especially if I’m only looking for a certain piece of information or just want to get the gist of the message.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

What I’m Learning

  • ONLINE BOOK CLUB

I’m a little nervous about this one. I’ve agreed to host an online book club for Alabama’s Mom Demand Action volunteers. I have participated in zoom book clubs before with friends & family (especially during the pandemic), but this new book club will be mainly with people I don’t already know, with no set guidelines already in place. We’re starting from scratch.

Our first meeting with be this Monday night to talk about The Violence Inside Us. I’m hoping all will go well and that my excitement will continue to outweigh my anxiety about it. 

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

What I’m Eating

  • WATERMELON

My dad used to grow watermelons in his garden every year. Now that he’s gone, I miss those fresh ones straight from soil to picnic table.

So I now buy a whole watermelon or cut-up pieces from the grocery store during the summer. They’re not always as good as my dad’s, but they’re still a yummy guilt-free pleasure on hot summer days. 

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This is my afternoon snack today. Do you put salt on your watermelon, too? 

What’s something you’re learning or loving this month?  

Share your thoughts in the comments.

At the Halfway Point, Remember Why
{One Word 2023 June Linkup}

By LisaNotes June 22, 2023 Human: One Word 2023, One Word Community 5 Comments

Link all of your ONE WORD blog posts below. Share an update about your One Word in the comments.

You’ve made it to June! You’re halfway through the year with your One Word.

This is a good time to remotivate yourself by remembering WHY you chose your word.

If you filled out , wrote a blog post, or talked to someone about your word back in January, go back and reread your thoughts or rehash the conversations.

Answer Two Questions

How do you answer these questions at this halfway point?

1. Why did I choose this word?

2. Why do (or don’t) I want to continue with this word in the second half of 2023?

Why did I choose my word HUMAN? Looking back at my first blog post this year about HUMAN, I see this: I’d grown frustrated with my own humanity. I was being hard on myself for my ordinary human traits. I knew I needed to bring more kindness to myself as a human and to other fellow humans all year.

How am doing with it? Well, I’ll give myself at least a passing grade (humans give grace, right?), but I’m far from earning an A+. But that’s okay. No human is perfect, including this one. I can’t control the outcome, but I can continue on the journey.

I want to continue forward with HUMAN as my word. I’m learning (and accepting) much about myself and others. 

Back to the Beginning

If you find yourself stuck with the why about your word, here’s a quick exercise to try. Go back to the beginning of your word.

Look up your word’s etymology at the Merriam-Webster Dictionary or the Online Etymology Dictionary.

See if the roots of your word nudge you to rediscover the original reasons you chose this word.

Looking at the origins of my word HUMAN, I see it comes from the Latin word humus, meaning earth or ground. Our English word humility also comes from humus.

These roots remind me that we are from dust and to dust we shall return. All humans are more alike than they are different, so there’s no need to feel either cocky or shamed by comparison.

We are all ordinary. We are all spectacular.

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~ * ~ * ~

If you blog, link a post below with ANY updates about your One Word. You can also share updates with our One Word Facebook group or with our Instagram group @onewordcommunity. 

This June linkup for One Word updates will remain open for two weeks through midnight on Friday, July 7. Each link shared here will also be shared with our One Word Facebook group. 

Next month’s One Word linkup will open on Sunday, July 23.

If you’d like to receive our monthly One Word emails and ideas, .

If you chose One Word for 2023, do you remember why? Does the origin of your word reveal any insights?

Leave a comment here about your One Word.

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