One of my favorite things about reading through the Bible is finding verses that I’ve never noticed before.

A few weeks ago, I found a little nugget tucked away in Exodus.

The Israelites are camped out at Mt. Sinai and God is promising them that when they go into Canaan, they will be victorious. There’s all sorts of awesome promises about angels going before them to guard the way and how God would be the enemy of their enemies. There’s even a really interesting one where God promises to send hornets into the land to drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites.

Then, God drops in this little aside.

“I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you. Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and possess the land.” (Exodus 23:29-30)

Honestly, it seems pretty obvious to me why He did this. With what we know about the Israelites abysmal short term memory, if He’d cleared out the Promised Land in one fell swoop, they would have forgotten before they got half a mile in. Then they would have complained about wild beasts and overgrown fields while calculating how many days it would take to get back to Egypt.

I can see this so clearly when it comes to the ancient Hebrews, but I don’t like it so much when God applies this same principle to my own life.

I want God to give me a nice yellow brick road. A straight, obstacle free path leading from where I am to where He wants me to be.

Instead, He shows me my own Promised Land, promises He will never leave me or forsake me, and teaches me to trust Him in and through each obstacle—the ones He chooses to clear aside and the ones He chooses to allow me to endure.

All the while, I’m growing, learning, changing, and preparing to possess the land.

When I get there, I’ll appreciate every square inch of it, because I will have seen—and will remember—how God cleared the way.

Books: Recently read Desperate by Sarah Mae and Sally Clarkson and Undaunted by Christine Caine. Both were excellent and I highly recommend them. Stay tuned for my reviews.

Writing: Thinking about entering my first 1500 words in the Frasier contest. Terrified.

Scripture: Our church is going through a Bible reading program called Eat This Book. (You can read about it here). Each day we read 2-4 chapters and then a Psalm. I’m thinking about having t-shirts printed that say “I Survived Leviticus”! Seems like there should be some sort of Christian merit badge for such an accomplishment (I’m kidding. Sort of). Of course, we went right into Numbers, and so far, Numbers is worse. So many, well, numbers.

Food: I’m avoiding wheat, refined sugar, and most dairy products for at least the next 30 days. I feel better…except for the part where I think I could tackle someone for a Reese’s cup.

Music: Completely hooked on Spotify. Have you tried it? Right now, I’m listening to the score from Pride and Prejudice. Love!

TV: Recording The Bible series on the History Channel. I’ve heard great things. Looking forward to watching!

Wonders AND Weirdness: While I’m thrilled to be past it, I have to say that in a weird way, I enjoyed Leviticus. There’s so much imagery, so much Law, so many ways to mess up. Which leaves me in fresh wonder when I contemplate Grace!

May your week be filled with wonders and weirdness!

Grace and peace,
Lynn

I have not been in a “bloggy” mood lately, which is weird for me. I love this blog. I love opening up my laptop and watching my scrambled thoughts morph into something that makes sense. At least to me.

Most of the time, I have three or four blog posts ready to go, but for the past couple of months, I’ve felt dry. Uninspired.

Empty.

Which is why I decided to take an unscheduled blog break.

For two weeks, I haven’t attempted to blog at all. I’ve journaled some during my quiet time (with a pen if you can imagine it!), and I’ve spent several hours on my fiction work-in-progress (the opening scene is my absolute favorite thing I’ve ever written, which probably means I’ll have to delete it, but for the moment, I’m quite pleased), but I’ve avoided anything that could look like a blog post.

I’ve been busy living my life instead.

  • I’ve planned and more or less succeeded in pulling off a double birthday party for my ten-year-old daughter and two-year old son.
  • I’ve taken my children for a long overdue trip to the Children’s Museum (we now have annual passes—that place is awesome)!
  • I’ve done a lot of normal things like laundry and meal planning.
  • I’ve played all sorts of random games with my kids. 
  • I’ve enjoyed an oh-so-peaceful afternoon sitting in our “library” with my husband while snow fell in fancy flakes and piled up on the ground until we couldn’t stand it anymore and he retrieved all three kids from grandma’s house so we could build a snowman together.
  • I’ve started training for a 5K (that’s going to be interesting).
  • I’ve gotten a new haircut. I love it and have almost figured out how to fix it on my own.
  • I’ve been reading Leviticus, which everyone agrees can be a bit of a slog-fest, and have been stunned to discover how much great stuff is in there. Sure, there’s a fair amount of repetition with regards to long lobes of the liver and fat and entrails. And there’s no question that it’s a bloody book. Despite that, over and over again I find myself in awe, because unless we get just how onerous the Law was, how can we ever hope to appreciate the beauty and generosity of Grace?

After a few weeks of giving myself the margin to do a lot of ordinary things and a few things out of the ordinary, my heart is full and my thoughts are scrambled. I’m itching to start making sense of them again. I hope you’ll join me in the weeks ahead.

Grace and peace,

Lynn

It can’t just be me.

Please say it isn’t just me.

I love Pinterest! I see the those little rectangles filled with beautifully staged food, artfully arranged mantles, adorably posed children, and I think…

How hard could it be?

Well, I have some homemade hand soap that feels like snot, a goofy looking Valentine’s Day door wreath, and some apples with a caramel filling that refused to stick to prove that just because something looks easy, it doesn’t mean it is.

My most recent Pinterest disaster fiasco experience?

A workout.

Now, I don’t claim to be fit, but I regularly make it through an hour-long Body Combat class and am able to walk to my car unassisted. So when I saw an at-home workout, I thought it might be a great thing to add to my repertoire for the days I can’t make it to the gym.

This particular workout had nine elements. It said to repeat it three times and it should take approximately 25 minutes.

Um. I don’t think so.

I thoroughly intended to do the whole thing three times. About 15 jumping jacks in, it occurred to me that this might be harder than I’d imagined.

When I finished the final element—a 60 second plank (which took me 2 minutes)—I collapsed on the mat with the sure knowledge that there was no way I would be repeating it once, much less twice.

Nothing is ever as easy as it looks.

You know that friend of yours who has it all together? The co-worker who is sailing through life? The Size 4 neighbor with the perfect children?

Don’t believe it.

Nothing is ever as easy as it looks.

I’m not sure why we look at the Pinterest version of the lives around us and assume the snapshots we are allowed to see tell the whole story.

Think about your own life. The hard stuff no one knows about. The health scare. The marriage that’s struggling. The kids that are wandering. The finances that are tighter than anyone suspects. The depression that’s closing in on your mind.

Why do we assume no one else is laboring under a heavy load?

Can I make a suggestion? This Valentine’s week, take some time to pray for the women who mean the most to you. Pray for their relationships, their health, their jobs, their families. Pray for discernment and pay attention to any prompts from the Holy Spirit.

Our real lives are not Pinterest boards.

Let’s quit acting like they are.

A few months ago, I introduced you to my friend Emily when she reviewed Life with Lily by Suzanne Woods Fisher and Mary Ann Kinsinger. Emily is a fantastic writer and a great lover of books and I was thrilled when she agreed to come back and review the second book in The Adventures of Lily Lapp series for us.

Here’s a little info about A New Home for Lily:

Lily Lapp is moving with her family to Pennsylvania to join
a new Amish community. In this small town where changes –
and newcomers – are greeted with suspicion, Lily must adjust
to a new school, new friends and Aaron Yoder, an annoying
boy who teases her relentlessly. Still, there are exciting new
developments, including an attic full of adventure and a new
baby brother. But why, Lily wonders, can’t God bring her just
one sister?

Now, once again, please welcome Emily.

A New Home for Lily was very fun to read. Lily is getting used to a new Amish community and new friends. The books starts where the last one ended (I really like when books do that). Lily has to wear new clothes in the new community and I like how she had to wait for them. 

The thing that I did not like in this book were the children Aaron and Effie. They were very mean to Lily and her family.

The great thing about The Adventures of Lily Lapp series is the chapters are not too long. I can always squeeze in a chapter before bed or after my work is complete at school. I enjoyed this book and cannot wait to read number three.

I would recommend this book to any girl who wants to read something kind and good.

~~~~~~
Lynn here: Thanks, Emily! Great job!

Emily is 10 years old and in the 5th grade. She plays the piano and loves to read. She enjoys spending time with friends and singing in the choir at church. She plays basketball, makes crafts, and loves to bake. Emily loves science and math. She also loves anything the outdoors has to offer—hiking, swimming, catching bugs, riding bikes or just running.
A New Home for Lily  – Available February 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
The super fine print: I received a free copy of this book (which I promptly delivered to Emily) in exchange for my honest feedback. All opinions are, in this case, Emily’s!

It’s the first Thursday of February, so I’m over at The Write Conversation today, talking about Rumors of Water by L.L. Barkat.

Come join the conversation!

There is not enough of me today.

 
Today begins in the deep dark

When muscles lay heavy and frozen in the middle of a dream
Driven away by the call of “Mommy” and unrecoverable,
Even after the little one sleeps again in dry pajamas.

The day looms long as I lay back on my bed and pray
Until daylight filters under the door and the little one returns to cuddle.
The phone rings too early and the princess sleeps too long and I already know that
There is not enough of me today.

 
Laundry covers the room like confetti shot from a cannon.

Bills wait to be paid, messages to be returned, floors to be swept.
I’ll never finish today and the list in my mind swirls
While the little ones and I pretend to be dogs searching for imaginary bones.

The princess wakes miserable and the pretend puppies have to wait to play tag.
They don’t like waiting and everyone tries to snuggle in one chair
Spilling over the sides and bumping heads and noses.
There is not enough of me today.

 
I grab a shower and the only clean clothes available are gym clothes.

There is way too much of me and the irony is thick as
I leave my room to find the little ones tag-teaming an entire box of cookies.
They sit with chocolate rimmed mouths watching too much TV.

No one wants lunch so I grab bites of leftovers while I unload the dishwasher.

Diet experts say to sit down with each meal and focus on each bite.
I’m sure they are right but it’s not an option because
There is not enough of me today.


The baby spills water and pours out chips.

The little one whines and complains about cartoons.
The princess alternates between lethargy and activity.
The day wears on and I lean harder into grace.

In the middle of my mess, in the middle of my tears

His strength never fades, His compassion never runs dry.
When I falter there’s no condemnation, only His whisper,
“There is always enough of Me today.”


2 Corinthians 12:9 ~ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficent for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (ESV)

These songs have been on repeat in my head today…

Last week, I shared the Eat this Book program with you. After a full week, I have to say this is the easiest “read the Bible in a year” program I’ve ever tried. (And yes, I’ve tried to do this before. Pretty sure I’ve never made it past February).

Our pastor recommended that we make an effort to read at the same time and in the same place each day, as part of the way we establish the routine. I agree with him. I’ve had a spot and a time (chair in my bedroom, first thing in the morning) for the past couple of years. I move out to the deck when the weather cooperates and I start as many days this way as I possibly can.

But I have kids.

Three kids.

Kids who, on occasion, wake up way too early, or wake up sick, or wake up cranky. I also have been known to hit cancel instead of snooze on the alarm and for some reason, the kids never wake up early on those days and then I go into full blown tornado mode.

Tornado mode does not include me curling up in my chair with a cup of coffee and the Word. Tornado mode looks more like me praying “Jesus, help me not strangle anyone” as I race around the house, tossing lunches into boxes, pulling shirts over little torsos, and cramming shoes onto tiny feet.

Needless to say, tornado mornings often roll into frantic days where the chair and the Word, while longed for, just aren’t going to happen.

Which is where the YouVersion Eat this Book app has saved the day!

We are on Day 9 and I’ve already done some of my reading everywhere from the car to the bathroom. (TMI? Sorry. I have three kids, remember. Sometimes the bathroom is the only place I can get any peace. At least until they find me and stand outside the door, banging on it, begging for water, or sliding fingers under the door and asking if I’m in there…)

I’m convinced that technology, while full of pitfalls and time-suckers (Pinterest, anyone?), can also be one of our greatest assets as we seek to put on the full armor of God.

Which is why I’m ridiculously excited to be joining The Romans Project, hosted by Ann Voskamp and available for free through Scripture Typer and on her website, A Holy Experience.

Ann Voskamp challenged her readers to memorize the Sermon on the Mount last year and, frankly, I thought she was nuts. I’ve memorized a lot of Scripture, but the vast majority of it was as a child in Christian school and AWANA. My recent attempts have been feeble and unsuccessful. The odds of me memorizing three whole chapters were negative to nonexistent.

Of course, she makes very compelling arguments about why we need to be hiding the Word in our hearts. Arguments I could not refute. Arguments that had been tumbling around in my heart for a while, but I’d refused to give the time of day.

So this year, when she mentioned memorizing three chapters of Romans, I thought it might be worth considering.

To my intense surprise, I am having a blast!

You’ve got to check out Scripture Typer for yourself. You can join a group, such as The Romans Project, or set it up to help you memorize any verses you choose. Then, you type them over and over, to help you get them in your brain. You can set it up so you type the entire word, or just the first letter of the word if spelling’s not your thing. ~wink~

There’s also a Scripture Typer app which is not free, but is worth every one of the 599 pennies it will cost you, especially if you’re like me and are finding you spend way more time with your iPad than your laptop.
 
(By the way – if paper is still your thing, and goodness knows I do love a new journal – Ann Voskamp has some lovely free printables so you can make a little notebook of the memory verses and dive right in. Imagine, learning off-line. It can be done!).

With The Romans Project, we are learning two verses a week, which is quite manageable (and you could catch up in no time if you’d like to join in!).

I know you’re busy.

You are NOT too busy for this.

Books: Loved Short-Straw Bride by Karen Witemeyer. You should read it!

Writing: The two main characters in my WIP are named Heidi and Blake and they are really hitting it off. I’m having a little trouble not jumping ahead to the kissing…

Scripture: I am loving our Eat this Book program. It’s great to literally be “on the same page” with so many of my friends!

Home: We took the baby gate down. I’m okay with it. Really. I am.

Movies: I still haven’t seen The Hobbit. This makes me sad.

TV: I have developed a ridiculous addiction to Castle. And a crush on Nathan Fillion. TNT keeps running Castle marathons. I keep recording them. And watching them. It’s getting a little, well, ridiculous.

Wonders: God sees me. I think El Roi may be my favorite of the names of God. Love so many things about that name, including that it was first used by a woman. Maybe God knew His girls would need to know—really know—that He sees us.

Weirdness: I think the Castle addiction is enough weirdness, don’t you?

May your weekend be filled with wonders and weirdness!

Grace and peace,

Lynn

Now that I’m well on the road to recovery from my ridiculous thumb injury, it’s time to start talking about my One Word for 2013 – Margin.

One of the things I love about this word is that it has several different meanings. Which one do you think of first?

I tend to think of margin as the blank space around the page. The space where there’s room to write a note or add a thought. When this meaning is applied to my life, it’s the room I make on the edges of my responsibilities to allow me to say “Yes” to things when I feel God leading me in a new direction. It’s also the space that gives me the freedom to be spontaneous, should the mood strike.

(I’ll be talking about spontaneity in a few weeks and it’s sure to be entertaining given that “spontaneous” is the last word anyone would ever use to describe me, so stay tuned).

But there is another meaning. “Margin” is also used to describe the boundary or the place where we set up some priorities.

So while you might expect me to talk about all the things I’m removing from my life in an effort to establish some healthy margins, instead, I’m going to spend the next two weeks talking about some things I’m adding. I’m not adding them because I’m a glutton for punishment or because I’ve been pressured into it. I’m adding them because I believe both of these things are critical to the establishment of margins in my life.

Matthew 6:33 says to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Ultimately, I don’t want to be the one setting my margins. I want God to do it. But I won’t have a clue as to how He wants those margins set if I’m not saturating my mind with His Word.

Which is why I’m so excited about the Eat this Book program our church just started. For the next year, Southsiders (and anyone else who wants to join us) will be reading through the Bible. We just started on Monday, so it is not to late to jump in!

You can find all the details on our church website. I’ve chosen to download the YouVersion app to my iPhone and iPad to help me keep up with it, but there are free printable schedules on the website that you can print off if you prefer paper to digital :-).

One of the things that is fun about this program is the Bible in Five videos (also on the website). If the Bible seems like an overwhelming and complicated book to you, these five minute videos will help you get the big picture of what’s going on in each book. They are very interesting and even if you don’t want to dive into the Eat this Book program, you still should check out these videos.

Our pastor, Charlie Boyd, pointed out a few weeks ago that “Every Christian should be a Bible geek.” So join me? We’ll have fun. We’ll learn a lot. We’ll be able to say we read the whole Bible in a year.
Most importantly, we’ll be filling our heads and hearts with the greatest Story every told.

Who knows what God might do if His people became people of His Word?

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