{Five Favorite Books | 2016}

I start each year with a list of "Must-Read Books." I have to admit my 2016 list was a bit ambitious. Lots of books. Too many. I didn't get to all of them, but I did spend some time with some really, really good ones! Confession: I prefer a new book to a new pair of shoes. At least most days. Don't you just love a good book? One that makes you think and feel something. Reading is good for our brains. It makes us smarter, stimulates our imaginations, helps boost memory function, and even eases tension. It's like exercise for the brain and food for the soul. Good stuff.

Here are a few of my favorites from 2016 (in no particular order).  

1. Uninvited: Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely by Lysa TerKeurst |  Rejection. When I picked this book up, I wasn't sure what to expect. It's one of those books that walks you through some hard spaces with grace and ease. Not only does TerKeurst write with her usual charm and wit, but she lands on powerful biblical truth as our only hope in our struggle with rejection. But, there is hope. This book reminds us of that beautifully.

2. The Most Excellent Way To Lead: Discover the Heart of Great Leadership by Perry Noble |  How do you define good, strong leadership? We have loads of useful resources available to help us grow as leaders. But, this one? It ranks at the top of some of my favorites. The leadership principles in this book are rooted in 1 Corinthians 13. It's smart and engaging.  Read it. It'll make you a better leader.

3. Fervent: A Woman's Guide to Serious, Specific, and Strategic Prayer by Priscilla Shirer | This. Book. It's a game changer. I believe the enemy is actively seeking to destroy and devour (1 Peter 5:8). I believe in spiritual warfare. This book was like a shot in the arm for my prayer life, bringing focus and intentionality. I've revisited the pages many, many times over the past year. I imagine it's one of those books I'll keep in regular rotation - reading it over again for the rest of forever. It's powerful, insightful, engaging, and practical. Please read it. You won't be sorry.  

4. Looking For Lovely: Collecting Moments That Matter by Annie Downs | I needed this book. A lot. This book made me laugh and cry and breathe a sigh of relief. It was a powerful reminder to look for God in the everyday moments. Perspective matters. It provided space for a heart check: How do I tend to see things? Where is my focus? Am I looking for the right stuff? The thing is, we all get to decide that for ourselves. If you need a nudge toward a more healthy perspective on life, grab this book. The narrative is incredibly personal. It's like sitting down for coffee with a lifelong friend. That always makes me feel better. This book did, too.

5. Rising Strong: The Reckoning. The Rumble. The Revolution. by Brené Brown | "If we are brave enough often enough, we will fall. This book is about what it takes to get back up." Well, there you have it.  This book is about courage, vulnerability, & resilience. It's about dealing with struggle, disappointment, and heartbreak. The book is not a touchy-feely kind of book. It's challenging and thought-provoking. In the end, it's about embracing the process -- all of it, the highs and lows, the good and the bad -- and owning every part of your story.

These books left an impression. They made me think. They challenged me and encouraged me. Each one taught me something -- something valuable, something that changed me. That's a good read! How about you? What books did you read in 2016 that inspired you or otherwise moved you? Share some of your favorites!

Honorable mention: If nothing on the list piques your interest, these were great book too. Stars Over Sunset Boulevard (Meissner), Redeeming Love (Rivers), Boundaries for Leaders (Cloud), Anything (Allen), The Undoing of St. Silvanus (Moore)

{Improve Your Blog in One Simple Step}

Y'all might not know it, but blogging is one of my favorite things to do! My first post, nearly five years ago, was probably pretty lame. I know my blog design was pretty lame although it served its purpose well. But over time, the purpose evolved. Hopefully, it's all gotten a bit better. Even still, I had a hard time finding my groove - if you know what I mean. What I'm learning is that consistency is key, and you have to work at being consistent. How do you do that? I'm so glad you asked! Here's what has been working for me:

First things first! Get organized. Pick out a notebook or an app and start using it! Evernote is a great app for organizing your ideas, and any kind of notebook will do - as long as it has a sturdy cover and plenty of blank pages. Keeping all your ideas and inspiration in one place makes it much easier when you're wondering what in the world to write about next.

Once you have all your stuff in one place, you're one step away to a better blog! Exciting, isn't it!? So, what's one easy way to improve your blog?

Get a schedule. Yes, make a plan and work the plan. Now, before you throw up a red flag and claim that working from a writing schedule squelches creativity, hear me out. Having a writing schedule brings a sense of accountability to the table. Creating space to write will foster creativity and hone writing skills. I use a simple monthly calendar and schedule blog posts one month in advance. You can be as detailed as you would like. I make note of the category and/or title on the date the post will go live. I schedule writing time accordingly. Just get something on paper!

January was the first month I consistently put these things in practice. I set a goal for my blog and was able to hold myself accountable because I was organized and worked from a schedule. And, I did it!! Woo-hoo! If I can do it, you can too! So, because I love calendars and freebies, you can download a copy of a blank monthly blog planning calendar! Take a look!

Happy blog planning!

{#RealLife | No. 4}

Sometimes, you wake up tired. Yeah, that was me today. I was up at “normal” time but my sweet husband promptly sent me straight back to bed. I was so sleepy. Like my eyes felt like as heavy as softballs in my head.  For me that usually means that I haven’t been making rest a priority. True rest, the kind that creates space and breathing room. Yeah, I have a bad habit of that. I’m doing better. I figured out somewhere along the way that my inability to rest was directly related to my weak trust in God. My malady was Don’t-Know-How-to-Take-My-Hands-Off syndrome. Rest cures that. So, today I slept in and took a nap. 

So, because today is a rest day let's keep this one short.  Maybe you can find some space in your life for rest.  Be intentional. Schedule it. Make a date with that comfy chair or your favorite blanket. Go to bed early, take a nap. Get ahead of the exhaustion curve by making rest a priority. Oh, and just so you know, taking a rest doesn’t make you a slacker. So, go ahead and flip open your calendar and schedule yourself a nap. I promise it’ll make you feel better! 

{Five Minute Friday | First}

It's Five Minute Friday. That means unplanned, unedited, straight-from-the-heart-to-the-paper writing. Yep, you just write whatever comes out based on a word you're given. If you have five minutes, you should give it a try!  Find out how here.

This week the prompt is {FIRST}. 

Ready? 

GO. 

“I have this complaint against you, you don’t love me or each other as you did at first.” That’s the sentence I hear ringing loud and clear in my mind when I think of first. There’s something about what a first represents. There’s significance. Anticipation. Appreciation. Gratitude. Excitement. Those things are built in most of the time. But time ticks on and we forget. We forget those feelings that swell up deep in our gut and make us nearly explode with gratitude.

What if we get back there? What if turn the mundane and routine on it’s head by reconnecting with what makes our firsts special and significant? You know, what if we approached our tired, boring routines with the same amount of anticipation and gratitude as we do those first time moments in our lives.

Yeah. What if we do that.

Especially in our relationships with each other and with the Lord. I heard Dr. John Piper say something last weekend as he spoke at Passion 2016 that landed right smack-dab square in my heart. I’m paraphrasing here, but it went something like this: Our job is not to keep ourselves alive but to keep ourselves in love with Jesus. And, isn’t that the key to everything else we do? Yes. Love Him like we did at first. Then, we can love each other the way we are supposed to love each other. Let Him be first. And then we can approach our tired, boring routines with a fresh eyes and ears and soft hearts. It reframes everything else. And it's what we need. It's where we find strength and joy and hope. It's where we land - His unfailing love - when we think we can't handle another boring, mundane minute. 

Yeah. What if we do that. 

Stop. 

{God Take Me Back in 2016}

The Lord has been reminding me of something this week, and I am so thankful. I appreciate that He graciously and lovingly corrects us when necessary. I am especially grateful for those times He drops something right in front of me and whispers, "Beloved, this is for you." See, there has been ALOT going on. The last half of 2015 was challenging. I sat across from a sweet friend this weekend and she said, "You must feel like you've been through the ringer." And, I do. Mostly because there has been too much noise, too many voices, too many things competing for my attention. That's when He does it. That's when He drops that just for me something right in my lap. I can't ignore it. I can't explain it away. I can't deny it's exactly what I need in that particular moment. This time He used a song. 

I heard the song the Sunday after Thanksgiving at Passion City Church. They were leading it for the first time ever in a worship service. In a moment, one song said everything that needed to be said by me to the Lord. So I sang it prayerfully during that sweet time of worship and tears rolled down my face. He heard and saw. 

Somewhere between the Thanksgiving turkey and the Christmas tree, I forgot about the song.

On New Year's Day I saw something on social media about the release of the new Passion album. It was available! That's new. The album is normally recorded live at Passion Conference and released in March or April. I was so excited! Please Lord, let this album be available on Apple Music so I can download it with my monthly subscription. And, it was. YAY! I immediately added it to my music and started scrolling through the track list. You know where I'm going with this, right? 

Song number five. The title caught my attention. It was weird, ambiguous. Now, it makes perfect sense of course! I tapped the title, and as soon as I heard the first note, the Lord reminded me of that moment in a room of a thousand people where He saw me. And there were tears. Then He reminded me again a few days later when I was chatting with a friend. 

So, it's my prayer focus as I head into the new year. Here it is. Simple Pursuit. One that changes everything. What are you pursuing into 2016? 

Simple Pursuit | Ben Catelon, Matt Redman, Nick Herbert, Sam Bailey | Passion: Salvation's Tide is Rising

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