Book Review: City on Our Knees

I recently signed on as a book reviewer for Bethany House Publishers. They send me books for free in exchange for giving my honest feedback by writing a review of the books. My first book to review for them was City on Our Knees by music artist TobyMac.

Based on the hit song by the same name, the book is a compilation of stories of people who have stepped out in faith to minister to others and make a difference in their communities and, in some cases, around the world. While some of these featured activists are quite well known in the Christian faith (such as John Wesley and George Mueller), there are many other stories of those who you've likely never heard of. The stories range from the 1800s to present day, and cover a wide range of ages, backgrounds and circumstances.

The common denominator is a desire to make a difference in the name of Christ. Although several of the featured activists have been able to use their influence and celebrity to help others, most of the stories are of so-called ordinary people who have started small and have seen their cause grow.

The stories are pretty short, which made for a quick read. I found many of the stories to be quite inspirational, and I found myself questioning what I could do to make a difference in the world around me.

Snake in the Office

I wish that today's blog post title was merely the title of the sequel to a cheesey Samuel L. Jackson movie, but unfortunately it's not. When I got to work this morning, one of my co-workers informed me that a snake had been found outside our training room. I am terribly frightened of snakes. I can't even look at them on TV or in books or magazines. So the thought of having one in our office totally freaked me out, for multiple reasons:

1. Our offices (including the training room) occupy the SECOND floor of our building. We've had snakes get into our downstairs lobby before, but one has never ventured upstairs. Until now. So we have a very agile snake on our hands.

2. The snake was found by the cleaning crew last night. They put (or threw, not sure which) a dumbbell over it and posted signs warning us of the snake. The dumbbell didn't kill the snake, and apparently the cleaning crew was too freaked out themselves to actually get rid of it.

3. According to the signs left by the freaked out cleaning crew, they found the snake at 7:44 p.m. One of my co-workers and I stayed late after work last night to do a workout DVD in the training room. Did I mention that the snake was found right outside the training room? For all we know it could have been slithering around while Jillian was kicking our butts last night. Believe me, if I'd spotted it while we were working out, I would have run faster than any other workout in my life.

4. I was told that the snake is the same color as our carpet. So it was well-camouflaged. Which of course begs the question, how many other snakes are lurking about disguised as our carpet?

5. Yet another co-worker took the snake outside this morning, and left it alive. She claimed that it had been maimed by the dumbbell and couldn't slither back inside, but I'm skeptical. I contend that this was a scout snake, sent in on a reconnaissance mission to spy out our offices. Now that it knows the lay of the land, it will go back and tell all its snake cohorts how to get into the building and up to the second floor, the best places to hide, where we keep food, etc.

6. This same co-worker thinks that the snake was not some little harmless thing but a small copperhead instead.

I thus spent the better part of the day staring at the carpet looking for snake eyes and listening for hissing sounds. If the snake or any of his pals show up again, I won't need to blog about it. You'll probably be able to hear my screams from here.

De-cluttering

Lately I've been on a de-cluttering kick. I don't mind a little bit of dust on my coffee table (well, as long as I don't notice it), but I really hate having a cluttered house. For the most part I keep the house pretty neat, but every few months I let papers stack up and closets fall into disarray, and finally I get fed up and deal with it.

So for the past few weeks I've been de-cluttering different parts of my house, little by little. I've cleaned out the closets and now have a couple of bags of clothes to take to Goodwill. I filed important documents and shredded old bank statements that had piled up.

I have to admit that some of the de-cluttering has been challenging because it's necessitated letting some things go. For instance, clothes that I no longer wear because they either don't fit or don't flatter me or are uncomfortable or just out of style. Even though I haven't worn them in months (or years), there's still a reluctance to depart with some of them. But I have a rule that for every item of clothing that I buy, I have to get rid of at least one item, so if I want to pick up some new items for fall then I have to part ways with some old ones. Besides, it's silly to hang onto clothes that I don't wear and probably will never wear again.

My latest de-cluttering focus was my computer bookmarks. I love reading well-written, funny, challenging websites, and I have a long list of them bookmarked. There are several that I read every day, but there are also quite a few that I rarely get around to reading because I don't have the time to read them all, so several of those sites are getting the heave-ho. Ironically, one of the sites I'd bookmarked that I deleted was Unclutterer. A good site, but I need to pare down my "must-read" list.

How about you? Does the change in seasons put you in the mood to do some cleaning out of your own home?

Formulas

Life seems easier when there's a formula for it. If you do A, you get B. The reality is that life isn't so cut and dried, and there are plenty of times where you can do A and instead get F or N or Z.

Lately I've heard one too many sermons that seem to have a formulaic undercurrent. If you do A for God, He'll give you B. If you show love to someone, they'll love you back. If you tithe, you'll receive financial blessing in return. And so on.

That would be great news if that were indeed true 100% of the time. But raise your hand if you've ever loved someone who didn't love you back. Know someone who's given sacrificially to the church and didn't receive an unexpected check in the mail the next week? How about someone who quit a job that had caused them to compromise their values and beliefs and who are still unemployed months later?

While I appreciate the encouragement that such sermons strive to give (after all, reward is a great motivator), I think that sometimes there is too much emphasis placed on earthly blessings as opposed to eternal blessings. Yes, God does reward those who love and serve and obey Him--but that does not mean that we'll always receive rewards here on Earth.

There are plenty of Christians around the world who live in poverty and don't know where their next meal is coming from. They love and serve and obey God and yet they continue to struggle to survive. That doesn't mean that God loves them any less, nor does it mean He is not faithful to them.

Read the list of men and women in the "Hall of Faith" chapter, Hebrews 11. While some did witness earthly reward, "Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.

These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect." (Hebrews 11:35b-40)

Many times God does reward our faithfulness with earthly blessings, sometimes in material/financial form, sometimes in less tangible ways such as peace or joy or comfort. And sometimes He instead chooses to withhold the blessings until we get to Heaven. There's no formula for that, at least none that I've discovered. We just have to have faith that the good we do here on Earth doesn't go unnoticed by a faithful and loving God.

I wish that some of these sermons I've heard lately put more emphasis on the eternal and less on earthly things. I'm sure it's hard for ministers to balance the two perspectives, and so often we want to deal more with the here and now rather than think about eternity. I'm not the one standing on the stage so it's easy for me to criticize. I guess the best thing for me to do is pray that we (including me) would not measure God's love for us or faithfulness to us by whether or not He rewards us in the way we expect.

What's New with You?

Whenever I run into someone I haven't seen in a while--whether at church, at the grocery store, at Target, or some other random place--it seems that they always inevitably ask,

"What's new with you?"

I dread that question because, nine times out of ten, there is nothing new to report. No exciting new relationship. No job change. No fun new hobby like skydiving (which I DO want to do someday) or spelunking (which I DON'T want to do).

Aside from the mission trip I took earlier this year (which, I have to admit, was pretty exciting) and some added job duties (which is not all that exciting), my life really hasn't changed lately. And when so many people I know have recent changes in their lives such as getting married and having babies and changing jobs and moving to a new city and going back to school, my own lack of change makes me feel like a bit of a loser.

That sounds pathetic, doesn't it? I shouldn't measure my life by the amount of new activity in it. And I know that sometimes change isn't all that it's cracked up to be. But I am craving some changes.

I don't want change to happen for the sake of change or even for the sake of having an answer to the "What's new with you?" question. But perhaps God is stirring up this desire within me in preparation for some changes coming my way. Maybe it's time I undertook some changes as well. Time will tell...

Making a Great Life

The desire to fit in and be accepted doesn't end when you graduate from high school or college. Most days I find myself spending way too much time and effort wondering what other people will think of what I wear or what I eat for lunch or what I write on my blog. It's really quite ridiculous, because intellectually I know that most people probably don't notice (and certainly don't care about) what I wore to work today or what I consumed for lunch, but deep down there's still a desire to impress and to feel like I belong.

Sadly, one of the places where I struggle most to feel like I fit in is at church. Being a single woman in my mid-thirties who's never been married and has no children, I'm a bit of an anomaly to the typical churchgoers. Too old to fit in with the "young professionals" fresh out of college. Too young to hang out with the empty nesters. I've been in Bible studies and small groups and at social gatherings where I've been the only non-wife and non-mother, and I've sat silently through endless discussions of which OB/GYN is the most caring and which pre-school offers the best education. I'm not anti-marriage or anti-family by any means, but when you're single and so many church programs and sermons and events are focused on families, it's hard to not feel like you're on the outside looking in sometimes.

It's all too easy to compare where I am in life to where others my age are, which is why this post on The Simple Dollar blog really resonated with me today. The author debunks the myth of having an "exceptional life", which is typically based on comparing your own life to others. He talks about making a great life for yourself instead that's built around setting your own standards for your life. Here's a tidbit:

"A great life comes not from comparing my life to the people around me, but from having a life that brings me happiness whether I’m by myself or around other people."

I'm tired of wasting time and energy worrying about how my life looks in comparison to others. For one thing, looks are deceiving; I am sure that there are many people to whom my single life looks pretty sweet. The grass isn't necessarily greener on the other side of the fence.

What others think of my life really shouldn't matter. My main focus should be on pleasing God first and foremost--admittedly, far easier said than done. There are probably going to be certain places and crowds in which I'll never feel like I fit in, no matter how hard I try. I'm trying to let go of the need to make a good impression and just live my own life. I have to say, it IS getting somewhat easier the older I get, but it's still a struggle.

Book Review: Your Money God's Way

My latest Booksneeze review is of Your Money God's Way by Amie Streater. I've read several financial books over the years, from Dave Ramsey to Suze Orman. While many financial books (such as theirs) focus on the practicalities of money management, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Streater's book digs down deeper to address the emotional triggers behind money management (or mis-management) while also providing practical advice.

Streater is an associate pastor of financial stewardship for a church in Colorado, but her knowledge of making poor decisions regarding money comes firsthand. In the book she shares her own struggles with credit card debt and living way beyond her means. Her journey from debt to financial freedom has, I believe, given her greater credibility and makes her more relatable, which is a definite plus when dealing with what can be a very touchy subject.

Steater discusses seven myths that Christians often buy into (no pun intended) when it comes to dealing with money. She counters these myths with plenty of Biblical truths, which I appreciated. She shares stories of some of the people she's counseled over the years and discusses the myths they were buying into and the mistakes they made with their finances. At the end of each chapter she provides some summary points to remember and gives a list of solution steps to take to help put what you've read into action. There's also a prayer at the end of each chapter.

Books on finance can sometimes be rather dry, but I enjoyed Streater's honest, heartfelt writing style. She isn't afraid to tell it like it is but rather than feeling like I'd been beatdown about my finances, I felt encouraged to take more responsibility and make some positive changes as a result.

Waiting for a Change in Seasons

According to the calendar, September 23 is supposed to be the first day of fall this year. According to the forecast for my neck of the woods, September 23 is supposed to register a high in the low 90s. (If the calendar says it's fall but the outdoors doesn't look like or feel like fall, is it really fall?)

Fall is my favorite season of the year, perhaps anticipated so greatly due to what seem to be eternal summers. I love the cool crisp autumn air, the gorgeous show of leaves that are changing from green to gold and orange and red. Football and cappuccinos and all manner of things cooked in the crockpot are just better in the fall.

And so waiting for it can seem like agony. Especially when, according to the calendar, fall should be in full force. Sometimes it seems like these hot, humid summer days are never going to end.

A change in seasons, weather-wise, always reminds me of the changes of seasons of life that we go through. Believe me, I have been in seasons (and am still in some) that seem like they will never end. That's especially tough to deal with when by all outward appearances, I should be in a new season by now. And even harder when friends and family members and co-workers are in seasons that I want to be in.

Sometimes we know without a doubt that God is preparing us for a new season, but He just hasn't yet brought us that change and we don't know why. I think about people from the Bible who received promises from God but had to wait many, many years for them to be fulfilled. Abraham and Sarah had to wait 25 years for their promised son, Isaac, to be born. David was anointed king of Israel per God's command but then had to wait years before he could take the throne.

In the case of Abraham and Sarah, they tired of waiting and tried to "help" God along with His plan by having Abraham conceive a child with one of Sarah's handmaidens. That resulted in a world of trouble that continues to plague the Middle East even today. But I can understand their temptation to make things happen. Waiting is one of the hardest things we're called to do. Pretty much every time I've tried to make things happen they've blown up in my face, and you'd think that I would have learned my lessons by now. Yet I still struggle at times to wait peacefully.

The other day I glimpsed a tree whose leaves had begun to turn red. And we've had a few mornings lately when I've been able to make it from the parking lot to my office building without feeling drenched in sweat. These little signs give me hope that, yes, fall is indeed on its way.

I won't go to bed tonight in the summer heat and wake up tomorrow with fall in full swing (although how nice that would be!). The change in seasons doesn't happen overnight. As I wait, I'll continue to keep watching for signs of fall. And I'll continue to trust God to keep giving me signs of changes in my own seasons of life. Perhaps some change will be here before I know it.

Book Review: Outlive Your Life

My latest review for Booksneeze is Max Lucado's Outlive Your Life. The book is a challenge for Christians to respond to the plea to make a difference in a broken, impoverished world.

As with most of the other Lucado books I've read, I found this one to be an easy read with plenty of stories and anecdotes. While not as complex as other books I've read dealing with the subjects of poverty and famine, the book still challenged me to let God use me to make a difference for Him. One of Lucado's main points in the book is that we don't have be rich or famous or powerful in order to be used by God. He uses ordinary folk such as ourselves to change the world and meet the needs of the poor and needy.

The book includes a study guide at the back with discussion questions for each chapter and ideas for how to put what you've read into action. This would probably make a good small group Bible study.

I actually preferred Richard Stearns' The Hole in Our Gospel to Outlive Your Life, as I found it to be a bit more hard-hitting and challenging to my world views. However, if you're a Lucado fan you'll most likely enjoy this latest offering, and perhaps will find yourself challenged as well to make a difference.

Prescription for Today

For some reason I had trouble getting to sleep last night. I went to bed around 10:30, but it was well past 1 a.m. before I actually fell asleep. Not being able to sleep is such a frustrating experience. Had I known it would take me that long to count zzzs I would have done something productive like get up and do laundry.

This morning I'm paying for my lack of sleep, feeling bleary-eyed and rundown. On top of that, I woke up with some drainage and congestion, which I'm praying is just the onset of fall allergy season and not a cold or sinus crud. At any rate, I've definitely felt better.

In light of all this, today I'm clinging to this verse:

He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak. (Isaiah 40:29)

And because God keeps His promises, I'm trusting Him to infuse me with some supernatural strength and power to keep me upright at my desk today. I'm pretty sure my boss would appreciate that.

Facebook Rules

Dear New Facebook User,

Congratulations on jumping on the social media bandwagon. Like me, I hope that you will find Facebook to be a source of reconnecting with friends and family who may be scattered across the country (or around the world). I hope that you secretly delight in comparing your profile picture to that of your high school and college classmates and think to yourself, "Hey, I don't look so bad." I hope that your friends refrain from posting embarrassing and potentially incriminating photos of you and tagging you in them so that everyone is sure to know it is indeed you in that awkward photo. (Just remember the Golden Rule and be likewise thoughtful in your photo uploading.)

Before you get too far into the process of friending everyone you've ever met and taking pictures everywhere you go so you can show the world that you indeed have a wild and crazy life, let me lay a few ground rules on good Facebook etiquette:

#1. Please do not give in to the compulsion to tell us all what you're having for dinner. It's okay to let us in on your menu selection once in a blue moon, but giving us a dinner update every single night is not kosher. Guess what? Unless you're cooking for us, we don't care.

#2. Please don't overshare. We really don't need to know about your sex life. Or about the fact that your potty-training two year-old didn't make it to the potty in time. Or that you didn't make it to the potty in time. Really, you can pretty much leave any bodily function talk out of the update as far as I'm concerned.

#3. Please don't give cryptic updates that no one understands. For example: "John Doe can't wait for it all to end." Wait for what to end--baseball season? The war in Afghanistan? Your life? Or how about this one: "John Doe needs prayers for something really big going on in my life that I can't talk about." It's not fair to tease us like that. It comes across (to me) as attention-seeking rather than sincere. If you can't share what's going on, maybe you shouldn't mention it at all, at least not in a public setting like Facebook. Share it with your close friends who you can trust with the details.

#4. Please limit your communication with your spouse on Facebook. I don't mind if a spouse wants to say something like, "(Wife) has the greatest husband on Earth!" or vice versa. That's sweet. What's not sweet is when spouses leave gooey lovey-dovey messages on each other's Walls for the world to see. Get a room, people!

4a. Equally annoying is when spouses carry on conversations on each other's Walls that don't affect anyone but them.
Husband: "What's for dinner?"
Wife: "Tacos."
Husband: "Didn't we have that last week?"
Wife: "Yes, but the kids are asking for tacos and ground beef was on sale."

Seriously, can't you just sit down and talk to your spouse (or call or email or text them if they're not in the room at the moment) instead of letting us all share in your marital communications?


These are just a few of my personal pet peeves; I am sure I've annoyed others through my own Facebook activities so take this list with a grain of salt. And feel free to add your own dos and don'ts to the list. Happy Facebooking!