Sunday Song: Kind

~ Allison ~ Leave a comment

I’ve had a great deal of time this week to listen to new music.  This lovely snowstorm is likely giving me a five day weekend which gave me ample time to do all my homework, clean the house, and read for pleasure.

Bethel Music’s Amanda Cook has a great album “Brave New World” that is a perfect background for writing.  Fortunately/Unfortunately, there were many times I had to stop writing academic papers and meditate on a lyric.

One that keeps giving me pause is “Kind”.

You are not a tyrant King
You do not delight in suffering
Your power doesn’t compensate for insecurity
‘Cause You are not a tyrant King

You are not an angry man
You do not treat us with contempt
Your voice is sure, Your eyes are soft, Your smile confident
‘Cause You are not an angry man

You are kind
You are kind
You are kind
You are kind

Your love is a fury all its own
Sweeping the dust and turning feet towards home
Carrying the orphans and resetting broken bones
Your love is a fury all its own

You are kind
You are kind
You are kind
You are kind

And love is powerful enough
Without the fear of punishment

Be at rest, oh my soul.  My God is not a tyrant.  He is kind.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/e9dP8IvGUEo?feature=player_embedded

Sunday Song: Broken

~ Allison ~ Leave a comment

Better late in the day than never…

I love me some Lecrae and I’ve been listening to Anomaly while cooking lately.

This song, “Broken” has some beautiful truth.

I’m just a broken instrument in the hands of the Greatest…

…All the pieces on the ground
I shattered all the dreams I thought I found
And you put me back together
I need your grace for my flaws
God, I’m broken in this mess I’ve made
I need You to restore me…

…Tryna hold onto our lives with these clumsy hands
Fell off the wall of purity doing the Humpty dance
Forget the king’s horses, forget the king’s men
The King is coming to put us back together again…

Your presence in me
Is all the strength that I need

https://www.youtube.com/embed/3Cr3tSWGHHc?feature=player_embedded


Sunday Song: Out of Hiding

~ Allison ~ Leave a comment

My dad introduced me to this song while I was home for Christmas.  It’s absolutely beautiful and goes along well with what I am currently studying: the concept of shame.

I’m slowly working my way through Shame Interrupted: How God Lifts the Pain of Worthlessness & Rejection by Edward T. Welch…and this week happened upon the Fall and Jesus’ first miracle in my Scripture reading.  I never thought about the role of shame in turning water into wine and it is an altogether beautiful picture that I plan to share in the coming days.  I’m still studying the idea — I don’t want to post something that is entirely off- base theologically.

So here’s the song, with the lyrics in the video.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/XFkDqQtfs0w?feature=player_embedded

Oh, as you run,
what hindered love
will only become
part of the story…

Hot 100: All the Books I Read in 2015

~ Allison ~ 1 Comment

This time one year ago I made a New Year’s Resolution to read more.  I’ve always loved to read but college, grad school, and work distracted me…a ten year black hole in which I hardly read for pleasure at all.

I set what I thought at the time was an unrealistic goal of reading 52 books in 2015 — averaging one per week.  If you’d told me then that I’d hit my goal the first week of July I wouldn’t have believed it, but here we are on December 31 and I have read 100 books.  100 books!

Below is a list of all the books I’ve read this year, categorized as best I can.  I’ve also listed my top 5 fiction and non-fiction, although I must say it was hard to choose.  I didn’t enjoy all the books I read this year, but there were certainly more than 10 great ones.

(Also, I apologize for not including links/pictures on this list….I thought about it but it would take so much time.)

**I’d also like to point out that this list does not include books read to babies, textbooks, Bible study workbooks, and cookbooks.

Christianity/Religion
1. Every Bitter Thing is Sweet by Sara Hagerty
2. Breaking Free by Beth Moore
3. A Long Obedience in the Same Direction by Eugene Peterson
4. The Envy of Eve by Melissa Kruger
5. Recapture the Wonder by Ravi Zacharias
6. Depression: Looking Up From the Stubborn Darkness by Edward T. Welch
7. Jesus the King by Timothy Keller
8. He Chose the Nails by Max Lucado
9. Sabbath by Wayne Muller
10. Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis by Lauren Winner
11. United: Captured by God’s Vision for Diversity by Trillia Newbell
12. For the Love: Fighting for Grace in a World of Impossible Standards by Jen Hatmaker
13. Grace For the Good Girl by Emily P. Freeman
14. Simply Tuesday by Emily P. Freeman
15. Out of Sorts: Making Peace With an Evolving Faith by Sarah Bessey
16. Messy Grace by Caleb Kaltenbach
17. My Name is Hope by John Mark Comer
18. Lord Willing? by Jessica Kelley (to be released in 2016)
19. Jesus in the Present Tense by Warren Wiersbe
20. The Greatest Gift by Ann Voskamp
21. Ms. Understood by Jen Hatmaker


Memoir:
22. Shakespeare Saved my Life: Ten Years in Solitary with the Bard by Laura Bates
23. A Little Salty to Cut the Sweet by Sophie Hudson
24. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling
25. Yes, Please by Amy Poehler
26. Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
27. Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
28.Nobody’s Cuter Than You by Melanie Shankle
29. Interrupted by Jen Hatmaker
30. 7 by Jen Hatmaker
31. Call the Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy and Hard Times by Jennifer Worth
32. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehesi Coates
33. Cold Tangerines: Celebrating the Extraordinary Nature of Everyday Life by Shauna Niequist
34. Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling
35. Bossypants by Tina Fey
36. Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman


Other Non-fiction:
37. Quiet: the Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain
38. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
39. Something Must be Done About Prince Edward County by Kristen Green


Self-Improvement:
40. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
41. The Fringe Hours by Jessica Turner
42. The Nesting Place: It Doesn’t Have to be Perfect to be Beautiful by Myquillyn Smith
43. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo
44. The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to be and Embrace Who You Are by Brene Brown
45. A Million Little Ways: Uncovering the Art You Were Made to Live by Emily P. Freeman
46. The Heart Led Leader by Tommy Spaulding


Historical Fiction:
47. The Invention of Wings (Sue Monk Kidd)
48. Year of Wonders (Geraldine Brooks)
49. Orphan Train (Christina Baker Kline)
50. The Outer Banks House by Diann Ducharme
51. Return to the Outer Banks House by Diann Ducharme
52. The Lost Wife (Alyson Richman)
53. The Nightingale (Kristin Hannah)
54. March (Geraldine Brooks)
55. The Other Boleyn Girl (Philippa Gregory)
56. Cutting for Stone (Abraham Verghese)
57. Life After Life (Kate Atkinson)
58. The Dressmaker (Kate Alcott)
59. The Boston Girl (Anita Diamant)
60. Toward the Sea of Freedom (Sarah Lark) *to be released in 2016
61. Go Set a Watchman (Harper Lee)


For the Young at Heart:
62. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (Alan Bradley)
63. The Magician’s Nephew (C.S. Lewis)
64. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (C.S. Lewis)
65. The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag (Alan Bradley)
66. A Red Herring Without Mustard (Alan Bradley)
67. If I Stay (Gayle Forman)
68. I am Half-Sick of Shadows (Alan Bradley)
69. Speaking From Among the Bones (Alan Bradley)
70. The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches (Alan Bradley)
71. The Curious Case of the Copper Corpse (Alan Bradley)


Christian Fiction:
72. Angels Walking (Karen Kingsbury)
73. Chasing Sunsets (Karen Kingsbury)
74. Bridge to Haven (Francine Rivers)
75. Covenant Child (Terri Blackstock)
76. One More Wish (Robin Jones Gunn)


All the Rest:
77. Big Little Lies (Liane Moriarty)
78. The Good Girl (Mary Kubica)
79. Three Wishes (Liane Moriarty)
80. The Things We Do For Love (Kristin Hannah)
81. The Next Always (Nora Roberts)
82. The Rosie Project (Graeme Simsion)
83. The Rosie Effect (Graeme Simsion)
84. Summer Island (Kristin Hannah)
85. Attachments (Rainbow Rowell)
86. Speak (Lauren Halse Anderson)
87. The Last Anniversary (Liane Moriarty)
88. The Girl of the Train (Paula Hawkins)
89. Her Husband’s Secret (Liane Moriarty)
90. Eyes on You (Kate White)
91. Still Alice (Lisa Genova)
92. What Alice Forgot (Liane Moriarty)
93. The Royal We (Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan)
94. Afterwards (Rosamund Lupton)
95. Salvage the Bones (Jesmyn Ward)
96. The Language of Flowers (Vanessa Diffenbaugh)
97. Luckiest Girl Alive (Jessica Knoll)
98. The One and Only (Emily Giffin)
99. The Giver (Lois Lowry)


100. The BIBLE (NIV) — I’m pretty proud of this one. I know I’ve read the whole Bible before but I don’t remember ever sticking to a one-year plan.

Top 5 Fiction (in no particular order):
The Royal We
The Rosie Project
The Invention of Wings
The Nightingale
Go Set a Watchman

Top 5 Nonfiction (in no particular order):
Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis
Out of Sorts: Making Peace with an Evolving Faith
Just Mercy (it’s going to be a movie–so pumped!)
Nobody’s Cuter Than You
Jesus the King


So what’s ahead for 2016? I haven’t decided. I will certainly continue reading and posting about it, but I have no goals for a total. This was fun though. 🙂

I Forgot How Much I Like Dorothy Sayers

~ Allison ~ Leave a comment

“Perhaps it is no wonder that the women were first at the Cradle and last at the Cross. They had never known a man like this Man — there never has been such another. A prophet and teacher who never nagged at them, never flattered or coaxed or patronized; who never made arch jokes about them, never treated them as “The women, God help us!” or “The ladies, God bless them!”; who rebuked without querulousness and praised without condescension; who took their questions and arguments seriously; who never mapped out their sphere for them, never urged them to be feminine or jeered at them for being female; who had no ax to grind and no uneasy male dignity to defend; who took them as he found them and was completely unselfconscious. There is no act, no sermon, no parable in the whole Gospel that borrows its pungency from female perversity; nobody could possibly guess from the words and deeds of Jesus that there was anything “funny” about woman’s nature.”

Dorothy L. Sayers in Are Women Human? (1971), p. 47.

Sunday Song: Advent #3

~ Allison ~ Leave a comment

Today, on this third Sunday of Advent, we light the candle of Joy.  His arrival is close — the light is growing brighter.

Joy:: our time of rejoicing is almost here.  Jesus came that we might have JOY.  In all things, in spite of all things.

Sarah Bessey wrote about it beautifully, so please take the time to read her words here.

Today’s song is from Meredith Andrews. It’s a modern take on “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” that I first heard the Sunday after the Newtown shootings three years ago.

He came to redeem it all.  To bring us joy in all things, in spite of all things.  He brings light to the darkness.

The hope for all mankind.  Born to give us life.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/cTACntEL7ls?feature=player_embedded

Sunday Song: Advent #2

~ Allison ~ Leave a comment

Today we light the second candle.  The candle of peace.

The past two weeks have yet again revealed that peace is surely missing in the world.  Yet we know that He came…He will come again…to bring peace on earth.

Isaiah 9:7 says this peace will not have an end.

So we light the candle…a glimmer a hope in this dark December,….and breathe in the promise that brings us peace.  Emmanuel.  He is with us.

He was. He is. And He will always be.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/xCDpYXISuyM?feature=player_embedded

When Grace gets Messy

~ Allison ~ Leave a comment

There’s been a lot of talk in Christian circles lately about how to address issues like same-sex marriage.  For those of us who realize protests and posters of Bible verses is only creating more problems, we must walk a fine line of holding true to what we believe and loving others with the love of Christ.

Enter Caleb Kaltenbach.  Now a pastor in California, Caleb was raised by gay parents and participated in gay pride parade.  He experienced his own “coming out” when he shared with his parents that he’d become a Christian.  In his book, Messy Grace, he offers a unique perspective about how Christians should engage the LGBT community.
If you’re looking for a black and white how-to, you’ll be disappointed.  However, Caleb does give the reader a lot of issues to consider and pray about and always, always, returns to Scripture.
**I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for this review.

What I Read in November

~ Allison ~ Leave a comment

November seemed like a slow reading month, but as I look at the list I realize my perception was wrong.  I actually did quite well.  The list below brings my total for the year to 87.  One more month to go.  Can I make it to 100?


The One and Only by Emily Giffin – it’s a book about football so I liked that part….but whoa.  I don’t want to give it away but the plot made me crazy and the ending made me uncomfortable.


One More Wish by Robin Jones Gunn – way too young for me but I simply must read anything that continues the story of Christy and Todd.


The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant – This is a fictional memoir of a Jewish immigrant living in Boston in the first half the twentieth century. I listened to it on audio and loved it.


I am Half-sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley – definitely my least favorite in the Flavia de Luce series but I’m determined to keep pressing through.  The first three were awesome.  This one seemed to be missing something.  I’ve already gotten book 5 in the series from the library so on we go.


Simply Tuesday by Emily P. Freeman – surprisingly, this wasn’t my favorite of her books (I was surprised anyway). I think it would be a great book for a SAHM.


Out of Sorts: Making Peace With an Evolving Faith by Sarah Bessey – one of my favorites for the year.  I love Sarah’s heart.


Messy Grace by Caleb Kaltenbach — I will be posting a separate review of this one in the next couple days..

Sunday Song: Advent #1

~ Allison ~ Leave a comment

Today marks the first Sunday of Advent: a time of preparation of the arrival of a notable person, in our case, the King of the world.

It seems the world and most Christians forget this step. I guess in some ways, I do too.  My tree is set up and decorated in red and gold, not purple, which is the advent tradition.  I started listening to Christmas music last week.

But this year I am also going to focus on preparation for His arrival.  I bought my first advent wreath and I’m going to devote time to prayer and fasting.  I created an “advent playlist” that consists solely of songs of waiting.

“Let every heart prepare Him room….”

With that in mind, the next four Sunday songs will follow this theme of Advent.  Songs of meditation, of preparation, of joyful expectation.

Today’s song came to mind while reading Psalm 136 this morning.  I’ve always known it as the “His love endures forever” one, but today I focused on the other half of the words.

“He remembered us in our low estate and freed us from our enemies.”

He remembered us in our lowliness.  No, He did so much more than that.  He joined us there.

 <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29380J" data-link="(J)” style=”box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;”>Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29381K" data-link="(K)” style=”box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;”>who, though he was
in <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29381L" data-link="(L)” style=”box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;”>the form of God, did not count equality with God <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29381M" data-link="(M)” style=”box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;”>a thing to be grasped, but <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29382N" data-link="(N)” style=”box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;”>emptied himself, by taking the form of a <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29382O" data-link="(O)” style=”box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;”>servant, <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29382P" data-link="(P)” style=”box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;”>being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29383Q" data-link="(Q)” style=”box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;”>becoming obedient to the point of death, <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29383R" data-link="(R)” style=”box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;”>even death on a cross. 

He joined us in our low estate.  He took on our lowliness.

Today’s song reminds us of how low He stooped to join us.  May my lowly heart be ready to receive him.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/5vspb7xpWdw?feature=player_embedded