Planning to Live Your Story 2019

Planning to Live Your Story 2019

Planning Can Be Fun

Welcome to 2019! Who’s excited?!
I know, not everyone.
I love the new year though. I do not make resolutions, knowing that I am more of a promise-breaker than a promise-keeper!
I do, however, love thumbing through the glossy pages of my new calendar and prayer calendar/journal, envisioning the stories that will be marked there in the coming year.

Even as I conceive of the things God might do in the coming year, I recall the “wonderful works,” “the great deeds,” the “abundant goodness” (Psalm 145:5-7) he has already completed in the year past. And to think, he has more of the same planned for us in the coming year:

Planning for 2019

All this newness lying ahead of us in the days marked out on our calendars, yes, but even more, by God….how can we not be swooped up in the hope? My heart pumps fresh blood to the muscles, my mind quickens with fertile imagination—what is this amazing brand new thing I get to do—and in partnership with God, who has planned these good works in advance (Ephesians 2:10)?

Not only that, this kind of planning is failsafe—even if our labors are not fruitful, God’s plans do produce abundant fruit. Two years ago, I planted some seeds for a new prayer planner; I tilled the soil with prayer and preparation. That garden, however, was not the one God wanted to grow.

Instead, he planted my family and me in what seemed more like a desert—a waiting room, many waiting rooms, where he would nourish our hearts through suffering and sorrow, where he would grow good, sturdy, surprising fruit that would sustain us for years to come. Here’s the thing—whatever happens to the plans we make for the coming year, God’s plan and plans never fail to yield an abundant crop of goodness and glory. (Jeremiah 29:11).

So yes, let’s make plans. And let’s place them on God’s altar, as Mary did so long ago, praying a simple prayer:

“I am the Lord’s servant; be it unto me according to thy Word” (Luke 1:38).

The Story Plan Exercise

Now, let’s get practical—let’s start planning! Today, I’m going to share with you a novel tool I created to help you create goals and plans.

Note: If you are a subscriber, you will receive (for free) my subscribers’ most-prized tool of all time: the Story Plan Exercise: eight beautifully laid out pages with prompts and tools and space to write and pray and plan. Soooo…if you’ve been thinking about subscribing but haven’t yet, now would be the time (I promise not to bombard you with lots of emails)!

SUBSCRIBE HERE!

But if you’re not a subscriber and don’t really want to be—good news!  I’m going to walk you through the “no-frills” version here:

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The “Where Have I Been, Where Am I Going” Planning Exercise

Background: This enlightening exercise helps us survey what God has done in the past and draws us to look for what he will do in the future. When we are persuaded that God is presently working his kingdom plan, we are motivated to set goals and keep running the race toward them with endurance.

Suggestions: Either schedule out four thirty-minute periods over the next week or one two-three-hour planning session (put it on your calendar or it won’t happen). Or, gather for a planning session with some friends or your small group or your spouse; work together and separately on it.

Part 1

  1. Ask, “Where have I been?”
  2. Pray. Ask God to remind you of the significant events, changes, accomplishments, and losses of the past year.
  3. Write down your top three in a short sentence or phrase. (Remember, things actually change in our brain when we write).
  4. Look at major areas of your life (relationships, spiritual and emotional health, work, finances, play) and write two-three sentences about changes you saw, for better or for worse, in 2018. (In the Story Plan Exercise, I provide a fancy grid for this, but you can make your own).

Part 2

  1. Ask, “Where are you going?”
  2. Pray. “Lord, show me where to go.”
  3. Write down the top three events/stories/challenges/goals you would like to see accomplished in 2019.
  4. Look at major areas of your life (relationships, spiritual and emotional health, work, finances, play) and write two-three sentences about changes you want to see in 2019.

Part 3: Write Your Story

  1. Pray about which story to write.
  2. Now, write for ten minutes. Choose one of the top three and write an imaginative story as if the goal were accomplished. Date it: January 1, 2020.

Here is my example:
Prayer: Lord, show me which goals matter to you the most.
Ex. I want to hear from at least ten people that my devotional, The Waiting Room, helped them find peace and hope as they waited during a health crisis.
So my story, which I hope to share with you later this week, will be “fictional” but also a faithful, hopeful account of how that happened.

To help you write the story, you can answer the following questions:

  1. What concrete actions did you take?
  2. What challenges did you meet?
  3. What actions did you take to overcome the challenges?
  4. Who prayed for you, encouraged you, kept you going?
  5. What did you see God do in the process?

Part 4: Make Your Plan
(In the Story Plan Exercise, there’s also a nifty chart for this, but you can make your own:-).

  1. Review the “imaginary actions” you took to accomplish your goal.
  2. Make your plan of action. Write down three things:
  • What four-five steps do I need to take?
  • Next to each step, write the date for it to be completed.
  • Put a reminder on your calendar to make a note about the outcome—if you completed the step and what happened if you did.

So, now, you know what to do! If you try it, I’d love to know how it works for you, what you learn through doing it, how I could improve it (there’s always room for improvement!)

A Prayer about Making Goals and Plans in 2019

Lord God,

We are so glad that you are the ruler over our lives. You planned and created the world, and yet, you have taken the time to make plans for the good works we will do to advance your kingdom. Thank you for the opportunities you give us. Thank you for the grace you show us. Help us to live the story of faith, hope, and love you have written for us. Amen.

Finding Holy in the Suburbs: Book Review

Finding Holy in the Suburbs: Book Review

Can you find “holy” in the suburbs?

Whether you are a suburbanite or a city-dweller, Ashley Hales’ new volume, Finding Holy in the Suburbs: Living Faithfully in the Land of Too Much, will invite and challenge you to consider what it means to live faithfully in a world of “too much,” consumerism, individualism, busyness, etc. In each carefully crafted chapter, she sheds light on how suburban and, (I would add), urban life can interfere with being a faithful citizen of God’s kingdom. Ashley calls us to a life of worshipping God more than soccer schedules and success ladders, a life of loving neighbors more than our well-insulated castles in the cul-de-sac.

Ashley plunges right in to the deep end describing how our granite countertops and the myriad consumer relics we crave have replaced golden calves as our contemporary idols:

And like all false gods—from golden calves to a Target haul—when we find worth by our affluence, it promises rest but brings stress, increasing demands, and a greater devotion to a god that will never love us and always forsake us (p.28).

After raising awareness of the contemporary golden calves we are tempted to consume, Ashley discusses the dangers of individualism, busyness, and safety, other idols found in suburbanites’ modern-day temples. Now that she’s got us squirming, Ashley invites us to repentance and encourages us with the sweet reminder of our belovedness:

God is that gentle parent who prepares a place for us. God—the one who is infinitely powerful, just, and merciful—looks at you like a starry-eyed parent fluffing pillows and washing sheets. You are his beloved (p. 90).

Throughout the book, She gives practical suggestions for moving toward God and others with chapters on belovedness, hospitality, generosity, vulnerability, and of course, my favorite— shalom.

Ashley’s gift for retelling the true story of Scripture will delight and surprise you. She reminds us that the Bible is not merely an ancient tome of tales but the actual history of God’s faithfulness to his people. Her interweaving of Scripture with sociology and theology strengthens her prophetic call. As she weaves this beautiful tapestry, Ashley draws us to repent from our indulgence in too-much-ness and invites us to return to worshipping the God who made us beloved and hospitable, generous and vulnerable.

Perhaps my favorite part of the book, though, is the section at the end of each chapter called “Practices,” what Ashley describes as “counterliturgies: new habits of seeing, being, and doing.” In this section, Ashley offers four-five practical suggestions for living out repentance in the areas she has discussed in that chapter. For example, in Chapter Two, I starred:

Get outside yourself. Begin imagining what practices you could take up that move you toward other people. Schedule thirty minutes to be available to your neighborhood. Notice its needs. Introduce yourself to a neighbor.

The practices she suggests are doable, practical, and effective. One of the practices led me to invite all of my neighbors over for an open house. Since our kids have grown up and moved away, we have few interactions with our neighbors; sadly, I wouldn’t recognize many of them if I saw them in the grocery store. Although I was a little nervous when the day came, around eighteen of my neighbors stopped in and ended up staying awhile. In this day of bitter divisiveness, it was a sweet gift of shalom, of hope for the day when every tribe, tongue, and people group will gather together to worship the Lord.

Although I may disagree that the -ism’s described in the book are unique to the suburban story (I think they look a little different in the city but still exist), and although I felt called outside my comfort zone often as I read (I needed to be), I highly recommend Finding Holy in the Suburbs. Ashley Hales is a modern-day prophet, holding up a mirror to help us see the terrifying image of what our golden calves might do to us if we continue to swallow their dust.  She gently and kindly invites us to run to the God who is running toward us. Together with God and others, she proclaims, we will celebrate redemption and move kindly into the world with a love that truly transforms.

Finding Holy in the Suburbs

5 Story Quotes to Make You Think

5 Story Quotes to Make You Think

I’m a story lover — are you?

If you read the Living Story blog regularly, you know that it is all about that story — that is, the Story God has written into his cosmos and into our lives.

Enjoy these 5 favorite story quotes along with some reflection questions to help you think about how you are living your God-authored story. If you enjoy them, be sure to share them!

01

Eugene Peterson

Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places

How do you think a story can be an act of hospitality?

02

Dan Allender

To Be Told

What redemption story might God be telling with your life?

03

Scotty Smith

Restoring Broken Things

What role do you play as a carrier of God’s Story?

04

Rachel Remen

Kitchen Table Wisdom

Schedule a time on your calendar to tell and listen to good stories!

05

Madeleine L’Engle

Walking on Water

What does your story reveal about who and what and why you are?

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A New Kind of FOMO

A New Kind of FOMO

A different kind of FOMO

FOMO: Fear of Missing Out, defined by Merriam Webster as the “fear of not being included in something,” is a thing.

Ever since my daughter, counseling student Mary Elizabeth Blake, shared with us the dangers of social media, I’ve been paying more attention to its effects on me. According to psychologists, social media can cause crippling social and psychological problems, including a sense of isolation and loneliness, negative self-image, and jealousy, among many others. Social media also gives rise to FOMO, because people observe others having a great time and believe that they are missing out.

In continuing this month’s theme of freedom, I thought about a new and different kind of FOMO available to us as Christians: the Freedom of Missing Out. This kind of FOMO, which roots itself in our identity in Christ, gives many benefits without all the negative side effects.

With the new FOMO, Freedom of Missing Out, we get to miss out on some of the anxiety caused by traditional FOMO…

Fear of Missing Out stirs up some of the worst toxins in our hearts, the kinds of things Scripture warns us are dangerous to our souls:

Comparison:

What happens in your heart when you see a friend’s Instagram post of her gorgeous self with her gorgeous boyfriend/husband/children in some gorgeous, exotic place? According to psychologists, what happens to many people is they compare themselves negatively to that person and feel less valuable.

What if, instead, we were to “set our minds on the things above” (Col. 3:23) and revisit Genesis 1, that tells us – yes, this means YOU –

You are created in the image of God. You are blessed by God. The Creator of the Universe has given you a task to do – “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!” (Gen. 1:26-28, The MSG).

Envy

The other thing that happens when we see our friend’s social media post showing off the shiny new car, new shoes, new jewelry, they just acquired, is we start to feel that devilish-est of emotions – envy.

According to 1 Corinthians 13:4, love …does not envy, so when we feel envy, we are murdering love. Envy eats contentment for lunch and tosses the remains in the trash. Because I am so vulnerable to the attack of envy, I am now trying to pay attention to how I respond to others’ good fortune and to be sure to count my own blessings before I start wishing I had others’.

In this new kind of FOMO, we will discover the freedom and joy we have in God and one another Share on X

Things we will NOT miss out on with the new FOMO:

On the other hand, the new kind of FOMO, the Freedom of Missing Out means that we will not miss out on things that are essential to a healthy soul:

We will not miss out on …God:

It occurred to me that we should actually have a healthy fearof missing out on God. Just yesterday I read this verse:

Be still in the presence of the Lord, And wait patiently for him to act. Ps. 37:7

When we enjoy the freedom of missing out on the many allurements social media holds out to us, we discover how our souls prosper and flourish in the presence of the Lord. Before his face, we bask in his delight, his grace, his forgiveness, his plans and purposes for us.

We will not miss out on…

True Community:

Don’t get me wrong – I love my “Facebook community,” but the images and words are no substitute for sitting across the table from a good friend or gathering with a group of friends and strangers alike to celebrate a wedding. Because God made us with bodies, because Christ appeared in the flesh, we must not forsake the joy of being together, face to face.

Dear friends, what would this world become if we lived into this new kind of FOMO, this Freedom of Missing Out and Fear of Missing Out on God and one another??

I just wonder…would psychologists start writing articles about this strange phenomenon of people enjoying new freedom because they have   dared to forfeit opportunities in the world in order to gain their souls? Mark 8:36

A Prayer for the Freedom of Missing Out

Lord, you know how our hearts, how we are so easily tempted to compare ourselves with others, forgetting how expertly you have crafted us. You know our needy, greedy proclivities towards envy, towards wanting things others have while forgetting the many benefits you have bestowed. Help, we cry, help. Help us to satisfy our hearts in you and enjoy the Freedom of Missing Out on cheap substitutes. In Jesus’ more-than-enough name, Amen.

Redemption Stories and Sister-Friends

Redemption Stories and Sister-Friends

What’s your redemption story?

This month, we’ve been focusing on stories, writing, sharing, living, and reading them. One of my favorite summer stories is one of redemption, pretty birds and bird poop, and authentic sisterhood.

The story I remembered involves three moms I have shared stories with for over 20 years. We have walked together through both pretty bird and poopy bird stories and seen God’s redemption story working through them all. I pray this simple story compels you to share your stories in community as a radical reminder of God’s wild and glorious ways.

My Redemption Story Part 1: Pretty Birds

Early on a humid Saturday morning, I was enjoying a vigorous workout walk on the beach with these three dear sister-friends.

Conversation meandered from the mundane,

“I wonder if it will rain later,”

to the musing and a-musing:

“How did we go from discussing diapers to dating without any signs of personal aging:)…?”

Sister-friend one spotted a flock of birds in formation and practically clapped her hands in delight at God’s creation, “Look how pretty the birds are!”

My Redemption Story, Part 2: Bird Poop

And I said….
I said…
Yes, well, I’m ashamed to say, I said…

“Until they poop on you.”

Yes, that’s what I said.  I don’t know what came over me.  Well, I sort of do.

One kind sister-friend burst into laughter and remonstrated gently, “ELIZABETH!!”

With her response, I too wondered at myself.  Why would I rain so liberally on my first sister-friend’s delight?  What was with me?

Redemption Story Part 3: Seeking Truth in Community

Though it was sort of a silly moment, I could not shake it from my mind.  God had been tugging at me lots about my cynicism and negativity.  I felt alternately sad and shocked at my remark.  The memory of the moment followed me for the rest of the day.

Later that night, I was talking with one of these stalwart sister-friends who had the grace to be shocked at my cynicism. We were discussing our fierce desire to put our toxic-tongue-disease behind us.

I said, “It’s like the comment I made this morning.  It seems like God is frequently revealing this tendency toward negativity.”

She explained, “What struck me about it is that you are NOT a negative person.  I don’t think of you as cynical.  It just seemed so out of character.”

With Spirit-prodding words, the Father urges me, “Live in and out of your redemption, my dear daughter. Share on X

And together we wondered about it.  She’s right.  My nature is to be an encourager.  But I do have a long streak of cynicism and a sin-natural bent toward criticism in me.

God is knocking on my door, saying, “Enough.”  With frequency, the Holy Spirit sneaks up on me and shines the light on my sin and shouts, “That’s not who you really are!”

I am grateful.  Grateful for the Holy Spirit who grabs my heart when I envision ugliness like bird poop dropping on a happy day. Grateful for friends who say, “But that’s not who you are…”

And most grateful for an odd God who sometimes in fact does allow bird-poop to drop on a sweet girl enjoying a sunny day in the park.

One good redemption story leads to another…

For indeed, part of what I was thinking about when I made my poopy comment was of something that had happened recently to my daughter.

She was in London for a Serge internship. Enjoying a sunny day sitting under a tree, she was sadly surprised when a bird rained on her parade. Somehow, my delightful daughter found a way to laugh at the insanity of it all! In fact, it led to an opportunity to share the gospel! But that’s another story – and it’s hers to tell!

Photo Credit: Frank McKenna, Unsplash

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Summer Reading: 5 Books for You

Summer Reading: 5 Books for You

Summer Reading

I’m that former English teacher who always loved summer reading, even as a kid. As a student, I loved poring over that glossy brochure of books our school handed us (even when I didn’t like ALL of the assigned books). When my kids came along and their schools required very little or no summer reading, I imposed reading on them but tried to give lots of good choices.

5 Favorite Summer Reading Choices

Mean Soup by Betsy Everitt

I am a firm believer that all adults should read children’s books regularly. Mean Soup was a school book fair find which I bought more for myself than my kids. I love the story of Horace’s bad day, the brightly-colored, louder-than-life illustrations, and the fact that his mother knew just what to do.

2. The Light Princess & Other Tales by George MacDonald

Christians always seem to include George MacDonald on their fiction reading lists — he did influence C.S. Lewis after all! I include the fairy tales because they’re funny and punny. The Light Princess plays on double meanings of words like “light” and “gravity,” and her romance and rescue will have you laughing and cheering. In 2004, we found Light Princess, and my daughter and I read it from the computer (A novelty then!). (Turns out PagebyPagebooks.com still exists!).

3. The Water Is Wide: A Memoir by Pat Conroy

I first read this one for summer reading as a first-year English teacher in Augusta, Ga. The story took place on a small South Carolina island not far from us, and it featured a new, funny, compassionate teacher, so naturally I enjoyed it. The eighth graders and I fell in love with “Conrack,” the young hero who bucked the system to teach kids no else thought worth the trouble. And, special bonus, there was a movie to watch when we finished discussing the book!

4. Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold by C. S. Lewis

Speaking of C.S. Lewis, I’ve read his tragic but redemptive tale of love, victimization, arrogance, and shame at least five times. Little blue post-it notes stick out of my copy, marking lines like, “”They used my own pen to probe my wound,” and “Then I did a thing which I think few have done. I spoke to the gods myself, alone, in such words as came to me, not in a temple, and without a sacrifice.” It’s intense, sad, strong, and beautiful.

5. East of Eden by John Steinbeck

True confession. I’m not, or at least, I wasn’t, really a John Steinbeck fan. I had been required to read The Grapes of Wrath and to teach The Pearl and Of Mice and Men. When I thought of Steinbeck, images of dust and long slow sorrow came to mind. But my oldest daughter finished this book this spring and urged me to read it. She promised me it wasn’t so sad, that it actually told a redemptive story, so I scheduled it for my convalescence from hip surgery a few years ago. With roots in the characters and concepts of the Book of Genesis, the vast story explores good and evil, love and envy, labor and fruitfulness. Whether you agree with the theological/philosophical conclusions or not, it is a really great story that will make you think hard. I miss it already, and I look forward to having a full conversation with my daughter about it.