It is my pleasure to invite you over to my new home on the internet - The Breathing Room! If you're looking for real rest and a chance to catch your breath, this is the place for you...
Here's a peek inside : )
Wednesday, July 1, 2020
Tuesday, June 30, 2020
On Comparison and Community with Richella Parham {PODCAST}
If you are anything like me you struggle to find a healthy way to engage social media. That is just one of the important topics we tackle on the podcast this week. I'm thrilled to introduce you to my friend, Richella Parham. Our conversation was rich and life-giving. I can't wait for you to listen in.
Enjoy, friends...
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| LISTEN on iTUNES |
FROM THIS PODCAST:
Wednesday, June 17, 2020
What If We Stopped Trying and Started Training {PODCAST}
Do you ever feel like you try SO hard, but some things never change?
Me too.
I'm learning that if I have a primary posture of 'trying' it makes me (and everyone around me) tired, but if I instead focus on 'training' there is a chance for transformation.
I explain more about this on the podcast today. I hope you will be encouraged that sometimes even our most complicated problems have a simple solution. I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences related to trying and training.
Enjoy, friends...
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| LISTEN on iTunes |
FROM THIS PODCAST:
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| The Spirit of the Disciplines by Dallas Willard |
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| SONG: Unraveling by Shelly Moore |
Tuesday, June 9, 2020
An Antidote for Your Anguish: Poetry & People {PODCAST}
social media breaks,
and how spiritual practices can come to life in community.
I'm also inviting you into ALL of that with me so listen in for the details.
My favorite quote of the episode? Here it is -
"I'm talking about social media.
And the reality is, your world will not fall apart, and you will not die if you take a few days away.
In fact, you may find your life again. And I'm not saying that to be dramatic.
I'm being completely honest."
Don't you love it when I get dramatic, but not dramatic : )
Enjoy, friends...
Some of my favorite poetry collections to begin with:
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| Why I Wake Early by Mary Oliver |
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| Given by Wendell Berry |
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| And, of course, Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein |
Wednesday, May 27, 2020
Black and White
Below is a post I wrote almost exactly five years ago. I was wrestling with the reality of racial injustice then, just as I am now.
But do you know what?
There is a distinct difference in my life today and my life five years ago. Today I have true, amazing, forever friends who are women of color. All those years ago I began praying for God to grow true friendships for me outside of my very white world.
He did.
On days like today I reach out to some of them and ask them what to do. I lament with them. I wrestle with them. It doesn't seem like much, but I wonder if we all did those simple things how different the world might be. I won't give up hoping for that.
REPOST from June 2015:
When I was around ten or eleven years old I watched a TV drama that depicted life during the civil rights movement. I was equal parts disheartened and inspired. I declared out loud that I should have lived in the 1960's so I could have been a part of that fight for freedom and equality. It would be several more years before I realized that fight was still going on. And yet, what have I done about it?
I've been aware.
I've been interested.
I've wanted to bridge gaps.
But have I really?
In elementary school when I was asked to write a paper about someone famous I chose Jackie Robinson. I chose him mainly because he was black and I didn't know a lot about black people and that didn't seem right. So I read his story and wrote it in my own words and I've always carried it with me, but has that really made any difference?
I am white.
Most of my friends are white.
Most of the people in my church are white.
Most of the people in my neighborhood are white.
That has been the case for most of my life.
There is nothing inherently wrong with being surrounded by a bunch of white people but for as long as I can remember I have felt like there IS something wrong with it.
Some of my favorite friends in elementary school were African American.
Danny was always making me laugh so hard my stomach hurt.
Pam was always so kind and gentle and easy to talk to.
But I never really got to see them outside of the classroom. I always wished I could.
When I graduated from college I took a job as the Education Director for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. I was placed in a small rural town in South Carolina. For the first time in my life I spent most of my time as a minority. All of the kids at the club were African American. The club director was a black man named Vincent who would become one of my dearest friends. The other employees were black. There were many days that I didn't see a white face unless I went in the bathroom and looked at my own.
I loved that job.
I think those kids taught me more than I taught them.
There was a beautiful, tall, slender, full-of-grace girl named Leah who would braid my hair on Fridays. There were a gaggle of little boys who educated me on the meaning of words and expressions that I didn't understand. There was a first grader named Tyler who asked me one day in complete seriousness - Miss Elizabeth, we've been wanting to ask you, what happened to your butt? I mean, where did it go?
I laughed out loud.
I guess I had some physical differences more obvious than my skin color.
I spent time in their school and their neighborhoods and their homes. I went on a peace walk around the whole community one time, holding hands and singing songs. We prayed together, laughed together, and cried together. But I wonder - did it really matter?
As much as I would like to turn a blind eye to it,
as much as I am ashamed to say it,
there is still significant racial tension in my country.
Has their been progress? Of course.
Is there more work to be done? Absolutely.
But sometimes things happen, like those riots in Baltimore and that shooting in Charleston and I feel overwhelmed and discouraged. I wonder if we aren't just completely neglecting an issue that could slowly and quietly destroy us.
This whole business of black and white - it's not really black and white. It never will be.
But we have a choice.
We can decide it's too complicated or too overwhelming or too difficult. We can deny the problem or determine it doesn't have anything to do with us.
OR
We can decide it does matter enough to get messy and it has everything to do with us.
We can acknowledge that every little step we take towards someone who is different than us matters. Every step brings us closer.
And the closer we get the more clearly we see each other and the more clearly we see each other the more difficult it is to hate or hurt or hurl threats and accusations.
The closer we get to each other, the closer we get to
understanding
accepting
forgiving
healing,
and the further we get from
judging
rejecting
blaming
hurting.
Maybe the most significant thing we can do - black or white - is to reach out and grab somebody's hand and say
I want to know you better.
And the reason why?
Because you are a child of God, created by the same divine hands and made in the same divine image and given the same divine mission. And so I love you with the same divine love.
For all the things that are different about us there are dozens more that make us the same.
I promised my husband that I would finally get the mountains of laundry all over our bedroom put away this morning. But hanging up dresses and folding underwear does not seem like an appropriate response to what is going on in the world. I think we are all wondering - what is?
Maybe it's this simple.
Take a step.
Make a connection.
Offer acceptance and understanding.
Be intentional about moving closer and closer to one another
until our differences are met with appreciation and not opposition
until we are less often offended and more often offering grace.
There is a man named Ambrose.
We 'met' on social media, of all places. Ambrose has a friend named TyWanza who was killed last night in Charleston. Ambrose says that his friend had worked hard to make big changes in his life, changes that were leading to great things for his future. Tywanza's most recent post on Instagram was made last night just before he was killed. It was a quote by Jackie Robinson.
A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.
And under the post was the hashtag #giveGodcredit
So in honor of Tywanza and the other eight victims, let's do. Let's live a life that impacts others. And let's give God all the credit. In life and in death. In the black and white and gray seasons of life, let's do that together.
But do you know what?
There is a distinct difference in my life today and my life five years ago. Today I have true, amazing, forever friends who are women of color. All those years ago I began praying for God to grow true friendships for me outside of my very white world.
He did.
On days like today I reach out to some of them and ask them what to do. I lament with them. I wrestle with them. It doesn't seem like much, but I wonder if we all did those simple things how different the world might be. I won't give up hoping for that.
REPOST from June 2015:
When I was around ten or eleven years old I watched a TV drama that depicted life during the civil rights movement. I was equal parts disheartened and inspired. I declared out loud that I should have lived in the 1960's so I could have been a part of that fight for freedom and equality. It would be several more years before I realized that fight was still going on. And yet, what have I done about it?
I've been aware.
I've been interested.
I've wanted to bridge gaps.
But have I really?
In elementary school when I was asked to write a paper about someone famous I chose Jackie Robinson. I chose him mainly because he was black and I didn't know a lot about black people and that didn't seem right. So I read his story and wrote it in my own words and I've always carried it with me, but has that really made any difference?
I am white.
Most of my friends are white.
Most of the people in my church are white.
Most of the people in my neighborhood are white.
That has been the case for most of my life.
There is nothing inherently wrong with being surrounded by a bunch of white people but for as long as I can remember I have felt like there IS something wrong with it.
Some of my favorite friends in elementary school were African American.
Danny was always making me laugh so hard my stomach hurt.
Pam was always so kind and gentle and easy to talk to.
But I never really got to see them outside of the classroom. I always wished I could.
When I graduated from college I took a job as the Education Director for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. I was placed in a small rural town in South Carolina. For the first time in my life I spent most of my time as a minority. All of the kids at the club were African American. The club director was a black man named Vincent who would become one of my dearest friends. The other employees were black. There were many days that I didn't see a white face unless I went in the bathroom and looked at my own.
I loved that job.
I think those kids taught me more than I taught them.
There was a beautiful, tall, slender, full-of-grace girl named Leah who would braid my hair on Fridays. There were a gaggle of little boys who educated me on the meaning of words and expressions that I didn't understand. There was a first grader named Tyler who asked me one day in complete seriousness - Miss Elizabeth, we've been wanting to ask you, what happened to your butt? I mean, where did it go?
I laughed out loud.
I guess I had some physical differences more obvious than my skin color.
I spent time in their school and their neighborhoods and their homes. I went on a peace walk around the whole community one time, holding hands and singing songs. We prayed together, laughed together, and cried together. But I wonder - did it really matter?
As much as I would like to turn a blind eye to it,
as much as I am ashamed to say it,
there is still significant racial tension in my country.
Has their been progress? Of course.
Is there more work to be done? Absolutely.
But sometimes things happen, like those riots in Baltimore and that shooting in Charleston and I feel overwhelmed and discouraged. I wonder if we aren't just completely neglecting an issue that could slowly and quietly destroy us.
This whole business of black and white - it's not really black and white. It never will be.
But we have a choice.
We can decide it's too complicated or too overwhelming or too difficult. We can deny the problem or determine it doesn't have anything to do with us.
OR
We can decide it does matter enough to get messy and it has everything to do with us.
We can acknowledge that every little step we take towards someone who is different than us matters. Every step brings us closer.
And the closer we get the more clearly we see each other and the more clearly we see each other the more difficult it is to hate or hurt or hurl threats and accusations.
The closer we get to each other, the closer we get to
understanding
accepting
forgiving
healing,
and the further we get from
judging
rejecting
blaming
hurting.
Maybe the most significant thing we can do - black or white - is to reach out and grab somebody's hand and say
I want to know you better.
And the reason why?
Because you are a child of God, created by the same divine hands and made in the same divine image and given the same divine mission. And so I love you with the same divine love.
For all the things that are different about us there are dozens more that make us the same.
I promised my husband that I would finally get the mountains of laundry all over our bedroom put away this morning. But hanging up dresses and folding underwear does not seem like an appropriate response to what is going on in the world. I think we are all wondering - what is?
Maybe it's this simple.
Take a step.
Make a connection.
Offer acceptance and understanding.
Be intentional about moving closer and closer to one another
until our differences are met with appreciation and not opposition
until we are less often offended and more often offering grace.
There is a man named Ambrose.
We 'met' on social media, of all places. Ambrose has a friend named TyWanza who was killed last night in Charleston. Ambrose says that his friend had worked hard to make big changes in his life, changes that were leading to great things for his future. Tywanza's most recent post on Instagram was made last night just before he was killed. It was a quote by Jackie Robinson.
A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.
And under the post was the hashtag #giveGodcredit
So in honor of Tywanza and the other eight victims, let's do. Let's live a life that impacts others. And let's give God all the credit. In life and in death. In the black and white and gray seasons of life, let's do that together.
Monday, March 23, 2020
{PODCAST} The Breathing Room::Sabbath for Beginners
A global pause button has been pushed in response to the spread of the coronavirus around the world. Joey and I discuss how certain practices have prepared us for this unprecedented time more than any trip to the grocery store ever could (Hint: We need Jesus and inner peace way more than we need toilet paper and chicken!). This might just be the perfect opportunity to adopt some new rhythms into your life. The first one we will discuss is a weekly Sabbath and what that looks like for their family.
This episode just scratches the surface on Sabbath. If you have specific questions you'd like us to answer or comments about your own experiences with Sabbath we would love to hear from you! Leave a comment below or email us.
You can listen to the podcast below or on iTunes. We would love for you to pop in your ear buds and take us along as you fold laundry or go for a walk...
Want to give Sabbath a try? Don't overthink it. Feel free to utilize the resources below, but ultimately...just do it! Here are a few practical tips.
SHOW NOTES
Here are some of the things we mentioned in today's episode:
Sabbath by Dan Allender
(a great book to help give you perspective on how to observe Sabbath in a delightful way)
The Chosen
(the first-ever-multi-season TV show about the life of Jesus - watch with your entire family!)
An article that simply outlines Sabbath
(this article is from Peter Scazzero and his book Emotionally Healthy Spirituality is one we will be referencing in this series - it is also one of my all-time favorite resources)
This episode just scratches the surface on Sabbath. If you have specific questions you'd like us to answer or comments about your own experiences with Sabbath we would love to hear from you! Leave a comment below or email us.
You can listen to the podcast below or on iTunes. We would love for you to pop in your ear buds and take us along as you fold laundry or go for a walk...
Want to give Sabbath a try? Don't overthink it. Feel free to utilize the resources below, but ultimately...just do it! Here are a few practical tips.
- On a wipe board or a piece of paper write down lots of things that may bring delight to your family (drawing, reading, listening to music, singing, dancing, taking a nap, going for a walk, creating something, etc.). Make sure to do this brainstorming together so you get the input of all family members. Post your list of ideas somewhere visible on your Sabbath day.
- Do a little prep work on Saturday: have easy meals available, set a time for 15 minutes and have everyone pitch in to tidy up the house, set out any supplies or inspiration you might need, think ahead to what might need to be done for Monday and go ahead and do that.
- Consider your 'boundary markers'. You may want to eliminate technology (with the exception of a family movie maybe) and other things that may distract from your day of delight and engagement.
- Sabbath is all about ceasing our striving so we can delight in God and each other without the need to 'accomplish' anything so keep that in front of you at all times.
- If your first attempt is a flop (like ours was : ) - don't give up! Try again next week!
SHOW NOTES
Here are some of the things we mentioned in today's episode:
Sabbath by Dan Allender
(a great book to help give you perspective on how to observe Sabbath in a delightful way)
The Chosen
(the first-ever-multi-season TV show about the life of Jesus - watch with your entire family!)
An article that simply outlines Sabbath
(this article is from Peter Scazzero and his book Emotionally Healthy Spirituality is one we will be referencing in this series - it is also one of my all-time favorite resources)
 |
| One of my kids' favorite things to do on Sabbath - SWING! |
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