“I told you about my life, and you answered me; “I told you about my life, and you answered me; teach me your statutes. Help me understand the meaning of your precepts so that I can meditate on your wonders. I am weary from grief; strengthen me through your word. Keep me from the way of deceit and graciously give me your instruction. I have chosen the way of truth; I have set your ordinances before me. I cling to your decrees; Lord, do not put me to shame. I pursue the way of your commands, for you broaden my understanding.” Psalms‬ ‭119:26-32 CSB‬‬
18 months old and she’s joined the ‘lover of t 18 months old and she’s joined the ‘lover of the slide’ club
“We must reflect that, when we reach the end of “We must reflect that, when we reach the end of our days, our life experience will equal what we have paid attention to, whether by choice or default. We are at risk, without quite fully realizing it, of living lives that are less our own than we imagine.” William James

With the help of God, may we strive to become abiding and attentive people instead of distracted and defeated people.
The entire thing is He loved me first. And even wh The entire thing is He loved me first. And even when our surroundings are burning or when all we see is rubble, there is an unseen Kingdom to serve, a Family to be part of, and a powerful Love to give and receive. 

Every week it seems I’m inspired by a comment a friend and pastor made years ago — “Don’t be afraid to talk to someone about the truth of Jesus. Think of it as joining a conversation God might already be having with that person.” 

May we be conduits of that strong, courageous, welcoming, comforting, healing, transforming, sustaining, peacemaking, eternal Love. Or as Bernice King said, “Love puts in work.”
Call it ‘a Sunday stroll in Appling.’ Call it ‘a Sunday stroll in Appling.’
“God is always coming to you in the sacrament of “God is always coming to you in the sacrament of the Present Moment. Meet and receive Him there with gratitude.” Evelyn Underhill 

Such brokenness we see, such pain, such fear. Attend to Jesus — Lord, Savior, King — with all your honest thoughts and feelings, and let His power and love change you. Let Him form and re-form you into a help for the hurting, a bright spot for those in the dark, a presence for others to rest in. A ‘little Christ’ on the earth.

 ^ what I’m rehearsing to myself
Living life with the Holy Spirit — “you fulfil Living life with the Holy Spirit — “you fulfill the will of God through the inner influence of His Spirit instead of the outer influence of the law of God” (David Guzik).

This took me probably 15 years of following Jesus to grasp. It felt too easy, my willpower was my measuring stick, and the freedom was terrifying. 

But alas, God’s way is the best way, and there is no substitute for the Holy Spirit. I can’t muster spiritual fruit, but His goal, thankfully and marvelously, is vineyards and vineyards.

May we surrender this work to Him.
“The deeper our faith, the more doubt we must en “The deeper our faith, the more doubt we must endure; the deeper our hope, the more prone we are to despair; the deeper our love, the more pain its loss will bring: these are a few of the paradoxes we must hold as human beings. If we refuse to hold them in the hopes of living without doubt, despair, and pain, we also find ourselves living without faith, hope, and love.” Parker J. Palmer
I pose to you what the Holy Spirit posed to me rec I pose to you what the Holy Spirit posed to me recently: What if you made choices out of fear of missing out on God instead of fear of missing out on what others deem significant?

In all honesty, FOMO sneaks up on me not along paths of a friend’s travel adventures or home decor or even if friends hang out without me. My FOMO animal comes in the form of popular and effective Christian voices. Because of technology and social media, I have access, though not complete (because we’re not actual friends), to their lives and ministry, their work and the personality they choose to share online. While a good thing in many ways, it stops being good when it becomes an avalanche I can’t keep up with but am afraid to stop.

// new blog post: FOMO on God //
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books · 10/07/2015

Read & To Read

If I could have my pick at super powers, one of them might be to read a handful of books at a time, and absorb each book as if it was the only one I was reading. I have probably 3 I’m currently trying to read (obviously one wins out, but three are bumping around in my brain), 5 sitting on the bookshelf I want to read next, and 2 I recently read that I’m still mulling over. Haha, that’s me.

heartnatured

A friend suggested I check out Jodi Picoult, and I started with Nineteen Minutes. Man. It was heavy, but engaging. A story about a school shooting, fit with all of the detective investigation and emotional insights of the teens. It was one of those that you can’t put down once you start.

After I saw the movie War Room, I picked up Priscilla Shirer’s Fervent, a book about prayer. I enjoyed how Priscilla broke down prayer. She unpacked it in a way that was intriguing, inspirational, and convicting. She gave practical Scripture to pray with after each chapter, and spoke on the many values of an active, consistent prayer life. I highly recommend it.

The Practice of the Presence of God is one that I read a couple times a year. It’s a short book of letters/conversations between Brother Lawrence, a monk, and friends. I love this book because its entire premise is practicing, experiencing, and engaging with the presence of God in even the most mundane of tasks. It brings me to my knees every time I read it. It challenges me to simplify [desires, life, activities], to remember the intimacy that I can have with God, and to treasure my relationship with Jesus above all else.

Having A Mary Spirit truly changed me. Personal, authentic, life-pondering. It’s difficult to say more than that because it will probably touch and impact you in different ways than it did me. But, another high recommendation from me.

“I believe the ability to love people as we should only comes from the security of knowing we ourselves are loved. For you cannot share what you do not have. Which is another reason we need the Holy Spirit—for He bears witness with our hearts that we are God’s children, and dearly loved as well (Romans 8:15–16, 1 John 3:1).”

On my to-read list are similar books it seems…

heartnatured

I like Jen Hatmaker as a person, so I imagine I’ll enjoy For The Love as well. Also, the tagline is right up my alley: Fighting for grace in a world of impossible standards.

Disciplines of the Beautiful Woman is a recommendation of a friend of mine. This friend is one who is honest, caring, and dearly loves Jesus and people, so I’m excited to begin this book.

Another Jodi Picoult, The Storyteller. The friend who recommended the above book of hers said that this one was probably her favorite book of all time. Um, big statement. Naturally, I’m intrigued.

Lord, Change Me. I learned of this book because Joanna quoted it a couple times in Having A Mary Spirit. When I begin this book, I know my heart will be praying for the Lord to do a real, gentle, gracious, powerful work – to change. I’ll keep you posted.

Has anyone read any of these? I’d love to hear your thoughts before I dive in.

In: books · Tagged: books

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Comments

  1. Kaycee says

    10/08/2015 at 3:29 am

    I need to add some of these to my reading list. I’d love to read For the Love. You’ll have to let us know if it was a good read. :-) Stopping by from the Peony Project!

  2. Chelsea B.E. says

    10/08/2015 at 12:44 pm

    Cool! Thanks for the comment. I will definitely write about it I’m sure. :)

  3. Lori says

    10/08/2015 at 3:29 pm

    I am really interested in reading The Practice of the Presence of God…it’s cool that you read it several times a year! Also, Jen Hatmaker is super popular right now but I’ve never read anything of hers and this book definitely has an applicable tag line!

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“I told you about my life, and you answered me; “I told you about my life, and you answered me; teach me your statutes. Help me understand the meaning of your precepts so that I can meditate on your wonders. I am weary from grief; strengthen me through your word. Keep me from the way of deceit and graciously give me your instruction. I have chosen the way of truth; I have set your ordinances before me. I cling to your decrees; Lord, do not put me to shame. I pursue the way of your commands, for you broaden my understanding.” Psalms‬ ‭119:26-32 CSB‬‬
18 months old and she’s joined the ‘lover of t 18 months old and she’s joined the ‘lover of the slide’ club
“We must reflect that, when we reach the end of “We must reflect that, when we reach the end of our days, our life experience will equal what we have paid attention to, whether by choice or default. We are at risk, without quite fully realizing it, of living lives that are less our own than we imagine.” William James

With the help of God, may we strive to become abiding and attentive people instead of distracted and defeated people.
The entire thing is He loved me first. And even wh The entire thing is He loved me first. And even when our surroundings are burning or when all we see is rubble, there is an unseen Kingdom to serve, a Family to be part of, and a powerful Love to give and receive. 

Every week it seems I’m inspired by a comment a friend and pastor made years ago — “Don’t be afraid to talk to someone about the truth of Jesus. Think of it as joining a conversation God might already be having with that person.” 

May we be conduits of that strong, courageous, welcoming, comforting, healing, transforming, sustaining, peacemaking, eternal Love. Or as Bernice King said, “Love puts in work.”
Call it ‘a Sunday stroll in Appling.’ Call it ‘a Sunday stroll in Appling.’
“God is always coming to you in the sacrament of “God is always coming to you in the sacrament of the Present Moment. Meet and receive Him there with gratitude.” Evelyn Underhill 

Such brokenness we see, such pain, such fear. Attend to Jesus — Lord, Savior, King — with all your honest thoughts and feelings, and let His power and love change you. Let Him form and re-form you into a help for the hurting, a bright spot for those in the dark, a presence for others to rest in. A ‘little Christ’ on the earth.

 ^ what I’m rehearsing to myself
Living life with the Holy Spirit — “you fulfil Living life with the Holy Spirit — “you fulfill the will of God through the inner influence of His Spirit instead of the outer influence of the law of God” (David Guzik).

This took me probably 15 years of following Jesus to grasp. It felt too easy, my willpower was my measuring stick, and the freedom was terrifying. 

But alas, God’s way is the best way, and there is no substitute for the Holy Spirit. I can’t muster spiritual fruit, but His goal, thankfully and marvelously, is vineyards and vineyards.

May we surrender this work to Him.
“The deeper our faith, the more doubt we must en “The deeper our faith, the more doubt we must endure; the deeper our hope, the more prone we are to despair; the deeper our love, the more pain its loss will bring: these are a few of the paradoxes we must hold as human beings. If we refuse to hold them in the hopes of living without doubt, despair, and pain, we also find ourselves living without faith, hope, and love.” Parker J. Palmer
I pose to you what the Holy Spirit posed to me rec I pose to you what the Holy Spirit posed to me recently: What if you made choices out of fear of missing out on God instead of fear of missing out on what others deem significant?

In all honesty, FOMO sneaks up on me not along paths of a friend’s travel adventures or home decor or even if friends hang out without me. My FOMO animal comes in the form of popular and effective Christian voices. Because of technology and social media, I have access, though not complete (because we’re not actual friends), to their lives and ministry, their work and the personality they choose to share online. While a good thing in many ways, it stops being good when it becomes an avalanche I can’t keep up with but am afraid to stop.

// new blog post: FOMO on God //
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