Having the Faith to Truly Embrace Grace: What I'm Reading Right Now

Currently reading: Freedom from Performing by Becky Harling

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this book. So many books that come out these days, seem so full of promise on the back of the book, but when you actually sit down and read them, those promises fall flat and never dig deeper than Christian Living 101 that you can find in any book.

I kind of expected that to be the case here, but fortunately it has been much more thought-provoking and stirring than I could have hoped! The book is written to those of us who struggle to truly embrace grace and stop putting our worth and value on what others think of us or even on what we can do for God.

In each chapter, she looks at different facets that play into this, whether it’s because we don’t know how to not be busy and doing a million things at once, because we struggle with perfection or envy,  or because we haven’t discovered our God-given purpose (and tips for how to unearth that in your own life).

One of the best parts of the book is that it really helps you recognize some of the feelings you have about yourself—your inadequacies, shortcomings, weaknesses—and provides steps toward healing those destructive and accusing thoughts. I really found that it stirred up an awareness within me about what I really feel toward myself and encouraged me make steps to bring those feelings to the Lord.

It’s also intended as a Bible study tool, so after each chapter there’s a dozen or so questions that you’re supposed to dig into. Personally, I didn’t find them all that engaging, but they can be helpful to those who don’t really have a Bible-reading plan in place.

A glimpse at some of the notes I took while reading Freedom from Performing:

• I cannot internalize grace on my own; I need Your help to truly grasp my righteousness in Christ
• When we do fail, we can say to God, “Thank you for this opportunity to experience your grace again.”
• The more we nurture and feed envy, the less we will experience God’s grace.
• In the parable of growing the seed, the man plants the seed but even at night—when he’s not doing anything—it grows on its own. We have to do our responsibility within God’s kingdom, but we don’t have to do everything!
• When we tell ourselves, “I should…,” we end up making ourselves feel guilty for our inactions. Instead, we should say, “I want to…”
• "Grace and gratitude belong together, like heaven and earth. Grace evokes gratitude like the voice of an echo. Gratitude follows grace as thunder follows lightening." - Karl Barth

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Lessons from Reading Through the Prophets

Right now in my Bible reading plan, I’m in the midst of the prophets, as they cry out to the people to stop sinning and start loving God again, as they once did.

One of the things that has struck me as I’ve been reading through these writings is how specific many of these prophecies are. In Isaiah, he points out that Jerusalem is going to be conquered by Babylon but someday a man named Cyrus will let the Israelites return to their homeland. By name, he calls this country and this leader, and both come to pass 150 years later. In Micah, we get the prophecy of the Messiah being born in Bethlehem. By name, he gives us the city where the Savior will be born.

I’ve also noticed how similar many of these prophets' messages are. In Isaiah, he talks about “a remnant remains,” that even though God will bring destruction to the Israelites for abandoning him and worshiping other gods, he will not destroy them all. A remnant will remain, and those he will bring back to himself. Then, in Jeremiah, I noticed it again. He didn’t use the same language, word for word, but he still says that he will save a few and they will return to God’s blessing. I am reminded through these texts how consistent God is.

But I also noticed something else. How God always comes back to restoration. Even in the midst of warning the people that destruction is coming, he always points toward the future when they will be redeemed, when they will come back to him, when heaven will wipe the slate clean.

A few weeks ago, I heard some upsetting news, which left me almost in tears. It was nothing against me personally, just a story I heard. But it moved me. And my thoughts flashed to what I'd been reading through these Scriptures. Curled up against my husband in a hug, I whispered, "Someday, none of this will happen." I remembered the words of the prophets and how they always looked far into the future, when the sheep will lie down with the lions and peace will reign. It encouraged me to look there, myself, when faced with hardship close to home.

There is hope.

And that is essentially what these prophets are crying out, at the top of their lungs. Through their anger and disappointment and frustration, they are screaming out that there is hope—if we would just look to it and see.

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A Trip to the Library and What I'm Reading Now

My husband and I went to the library yesterday, which—as bibliophiles who brought more books into our marriage than furniture—we both especially enjoy. Because who doesn’t like being able to pick up any book you want and take it home, without having to count your pennies?

Which is why I came home with an assortment of books (and had to restrain myself from bringing home anymore):



The Natural Formula Book for Home & Yard
We like to make things ourselves (remember the shampoo?!). And while the internet is filled with all sorts of recipes and variations to do so, I like the idea of having everything gathered into one, definitive guide. It seems pretty complete, but I’m not sure how accessible the recommendations will be (such as if they require going to a chemistry shop for ingredients or whether they make use of standard kitchen staples). We'll see...

How to Fix (Just About) Everything
With visions of future home-ownership still occasionally fluttering about, I have been on the lookout for a good, thorough resource filled with instructions about how fix common household problems. I even sat in a bookstore for a good hour flipping through their fix-it section and came up empty. I’m not sure whether this is the answer, which is why I brought it home with me: So that I could flip through it at leisure and see whether it will really live up to its name.

Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Recipes for Two
It’s summertime here in Atlanta, and that means that around dinnertime, the temperature gets pretty hot, no matter how much shade you have. Add a blazing oven to that and no central air, and it becomes a recipe for disaster. So, to minimize how much I have to use the oven (and how often we eat salads and pasta), I decided to look into using my crock pot more. I like that this one is geared toward making smaller portioned meals, but we’ll see if any of the recipes are keepers.

Moosewood Cookbook
I’ve heard about this cookbook and even had a copy on my Amazon wishlist for a time. But I didn’t really know what made it so special that people swoon over it, so I snatched it up to see for myself. Having only glanced at it briefly, I was thrilled to see that all the recipes are hand-illustrated. Such a visual treat! For that reason alone I wouldn't have put it back on the shelf. Now, whether or not the recipes will fit snugly into my kitchen is yet to be seen...

The last book that you can see in the pile is one I’m reading, but isn’t from the library: Growing Up Amish. It’s a memoir from author Ira Wagler who grew up Amish. In it, he describes his experiences and frustrations growing up within the conservative community and what eventually led him to leave the fold for good. I’m about halfway through and riveted by his experiences, many of which are not the typical fodder you’ll find in tales of the Amish. He showcases them in all their humanity—both good and bad—which quickly erases any presumption that their lives are perfect, in spite of their pious efforts.

What are you reading that you’re enjoying? Have you read any of these books?

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A Prayer for Love

"Show me your unfailing love in wonderful ways," David wrote in Psalm 17.

I stopped when I read that the other day. Because while I know God loves me and I've been overwhelmed by it at various times, when things are ordinary and simple and simply fine, it can be difficult to really understand, much less accept and appreciate, the immensity of God's love for me.

I find myself praying, over and over again, "God teach me how to love you more, how to love you better."

And that's part of it, but there's more to the equation than just me learning how to love him. There's another part: Simply letting him love me.

I don't know how to do that other than to ask him to do it, by repeating this verse from the Psalms and asking God to make his love for me not just some head knowledge but something real.

This is part of the premise of Joanna Weaver's latest book Lazarus Awakening, which she illustrates through the story of Lazarus' death and how Jesus raised him from the dead.

The part of the book that really provided the most practical application regarding learning to live in God's love was from an example Weaver provided of two friends: "When she'd asked Joan how she finally became convinced of God's love, Ann had expected a dramatic story—something about how God had spared her friend from tragedy or brought her through a dark time. Instead, Joan described a simple decision to 'set aside one month in which to act as though God loved her.' All that month 'whenever she was tempted to doubt his love, she simply shifted her thoughts and then put the full force of her mind behind believing that God loved her. And that settled it for her—for good.'" (page 94)

It reminds me of the father who so eloquently and desperately said it best: "I believe, help my disbelief!" We believe, and yet we still have to continue asking God to help us remove those bits of doubt that keep us from fully living in the truth.

So for now, I keep whispering, "Show me your unfailing love in wonderful ways. Show me your unfailing love in wonderful ways. Show me your unfailing love in wonderful ways..."

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What I'm Reading: March Update

I love the idea of being able to look back and see where the days and weeks went, see all the places where I rested my eyes and roosted my mind during the passing of the seasons. Which is why I recently decided to keep a running list of all the books as I read and complete them:

CURRENTLY READING

• Money, Possessions, and Eternity by Randy Alcorn
• Lazarus Awakening by Joanna Weaver
  

COMPLETED READING SO FAR THIS YEAR

1. Unstuff by Hayley and Michael DiMarco (my review)
2. One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp (see the posts i wrote as I read through this book
3. Sabbath by Dan B. Allender (my review)

(Also, if you're interested, you can also see many of the books that I'm hoping to get around to reading someday on my wishlist. Let me know if you've read any of them or any additional suggestions you might have.)

Here's to growing bookshelves and dogeared pages!

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Book Review: Sabbath

For the past few months, my husband and I have been trying to intentionally build Sabbaths into our schedule. Our Sabbaths included a break from work, errands, household tasks and we made sure to go for walks, play games and spend extra time in our Bible reading.

This is what we typically think of when we imagine "taking a Sabbath." But author Dan B. Allender says that we have greatly misunderstood what the Bible means by "rest" and stripped the Sabbath of its truest intentions into a litany of "do's" and "don'ts." He delves into this and more in his new book, Sabbath, which I received a complimentary copy to review from BookSneez Dan B. Allendere.com.

In Sabbath, Allender states that the kind of Sabbath that God envisioned on the seventh day was not one of rest from six days worth of hard work (because it was not hard work for Him!), but one of celebration and delight. That word there—delight—is the crux of Allender's interpretation of what a Sabbath ought to look like: Our Sabbath day should be one in which we take full delight, as we are simultaneously taken back into the Garden of Eden when the Sabbath was first initiated and as we look forward to the joys of heaven.

"The Sabbath is an invitation to enter delight," Allender writes. "The Sabbath, when experienced as God intended, is the best day of our lives. Without question or thought, it is the best day of the week. It is the day we anticipate on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday—and the day we remember on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Sabbath is the holy time where we feast, play, dance, have sex, sing, pray, laugh, tell stories, read, paint, walk and watch creation in its fullness. Few people are willing to enter the Sabbath and sanctify it, to make it holy, because a full day of delight and joy is more than most people can bear in a lifetime, let alone a week."

I've never heard anyone position the Sabbath in that light, and yet, it rings true in my heart. But what does delight even look like? That is one of the greatest hurdles to remembering the Sabbath, Allender points out. We hardly even know what brings us true, God-honoring delight. And that is the journey that Allender takes readers on in Sabbath, where he opens eyes to a new way of seeing and savoring the Sabbath and helps readers tap into the possibilities of what Sabbath can look like in their own lives.

Find Sabbath by Dan B. Allender on Amazon.

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What I'm Reading in 2011

With the "new year, fresh start" mentality running rampant, I thought that I might start a new practice with this new year of ours: Keep a running list of all the books as I read and complete them.

I love the idea of being able to look back and see where the days and weeks went, see all the places where I rested my eyes and roosted my mind during the passing of the seasons.

I'll continue to share book reviews from time (whether they're special favorites or ones that I've committed to reviewing). But, in the meantime, this list will have to suffice.

So, without further adieu:

CURRENTLY READING

• Money, Possessions, and Eternity by Randy Alcorn
• One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp (my initial thoughts, and trust me, more to come!)

COMPLETED READING SO FAR THIS YEAR

1. Unstuff by Hayley and Michael DiMarco (my review)

(Also, if you're interested, you can also see many of the books that I'm hoping to get around to reading someday on my wishlist. Let me know if you've read any of them or any additional suggestions you might have.)

Here's to growing bookshelves and dogeared pages!

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