In another life, I might have been a hairdresser. When I was in college, I often fixed hair for friends who were headed to sorority formals. I wasn’t part of a sorority or club myself, so there weren’t any events that called for an updo, but I loved fixing hair and my friends would hand me a fiver if they had it and pay me to curl, style, straighten, upsweep—whatever they asked for. I’d have done it for free and often did. I copied out of magazines (this was pre-Pinterest) or whatever I’d seen on television. I wouldn’t touch a pair of scissors for love or money, but I could bobby pin with the best of them. A few weeks ago, our church received a request to help a faith-based ministry that takes women through job training. The women completing the program were getting ready to graduate, and the ministry asked for volunteers to conduct mock interviews and to help the women with hair and makeup on graduation day. Now, I’ve never worked for HR and I’ve not been to an in-person, official job interview since my son was born almost fifteen years ago. But, communication is my actual job, so I figured if they needed volunteers, I could at least help someone sharpen their communication skills. A church friend, Wendy, signed up to volunteer, too. Though we both felt under-qualified (Wendy was by far more qualified than me), we both had the time and we both really enjoyed it. I met with five women one-on-one. Using a script of questions an employer might ask, I questioned them about their skills, their strengths and weaknesses, their hopes for the future. It wasn’t what I expected—such a mash-up of hard and good, hope and trepidation. These women were either recovering from addiction or on the other side of jail time. I could see just how much they wanted to work. How getting a job would chart a new path for their lives, keep their hands and minds busy, help them get their kids back under their roof. All of them spoke of the Lord, how He had helped them get to this point of recovery. I left those interviews feeling…I don’t know. Unsettled. Would I be so resilient if my decisions had upended my life and led to such hard ramifications? Would I trust Jesus so implicitly, be so honest about my temptations? Would I be willing to do whatever it takes to mend it all? Their determination was inspiring, their honesty about their struggles convicting. It would do me well to be so forthcoming. The next day was graduation day and, armed with a curling iron, I stood and created “beachy waves” for three hours. I combed and spritzed, curled and styled. And I loved it. I might not be a great interviewer, but I can curl hair and I can listen. Some of the women were quiet, some chatty, all thankful. Another volunteer did full faces of makeup on the women, false eye lashes and all. They looked so lovely. Those smiles. But it was the sense of accomplishment that lit them with beauty more than the hair or makeup. Graduation day was the first sentence in a new chapter for them. I sat through the ceremony and clapped and cheered with Wendy sitting next to me. I barely knew these women, but tears pooled in my eyes and clogged my throat. We laid hands on them all and prayed over them at the end of the ceremony. It was moving. I’ve wondered how those women will fare in their real job interviews, how the next chapter will go. I’m sure there are people in their lives who expect them to fail. Relapse. Start over. And some of them might. I know from my own areas of acute temptation that we are not nearly as strong as we think we are. It makes me think about repentance. I used to think that repentance was a one-time decision. Like, when you first believe the gospel and repent from your sins, that’s it. You’re done. No more repenting. But, as I grew in the faith, I realized it couldn’t be quite so cut and dried as that because I kept sinning. Surprise, surprise—I wasn’t immediately perfect after the Lord saved me! Positionally holy, absolutely. But I was also progressively becoming holy in the Lord’s daily sanctifying work. And that begs the question: if we keep sinning, do we keep repenting? Well, yeah. The thing about following Jesus is that it is a lifestyle of repenting. Yes, there is that initial “repent from your sins and believe in Jesus’s sacrifice for your sins at the cross” repentance. That’s a must. At salvation and by God’s grace, you are turning away from your old life characterized by sin and rejection of the gospel and turning to Christ, running towards Him, walking with Him, living for Him. It’s a big turn. A big, drastic turn. But repentance is also a regular turning back to Jesus when we’ve sinned…which is a daily thing. It’s waking up in the morning and confessing the areas where you’ve disobeyed, where you let your anger rule your heart, gossiped, lied, harbored bitterness. It's saying to the Lord, “I’m sorry for sinning against You and I repent! Help me to walk in faithfulness and holiness today.” Repeat tomorrow. And the next day, and the day after that until you see Jesus face-to-face. The apostle John wrote in his first epistle that Christians shouldn’t be characterized by sin. But then he says that if we do sin, we have an advocate in Jesus. So while the Christian life isn’t characterized by “the passions of our former ignorance” (as Peter phrases it in 1 Peter 1) but rather by following Christ, there still will be times when we do disobey the Lord because we are still being sanctified. We'll still sin. More than we want to. And we'll hate it, which is right. But what do we do? We repent. We turn our faces away from sin and back to Jesus. And we fight our sin. Because there’s a difference in fighting your sin and giving yourself to it. Repentance. Some people might be watching for us to fail, to sin, to relapse into former sinful patterns. We might do those very things. In fact, we probably will at times. Here’s the part that should give you hope: Jesus’s blood is enough to cover your sin today and His power is enough to help you say “no” to it tomorrow. I thought about that while curling hair and spraying hairstyles into place and listening to transparent confessions and cautious hopefulness. John says this when we’ve messed up deeply and the ugliness of our sin is revealed: “But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous…By this we may know that we are in Him: whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked” (1 John 2:1, 5-6). See it? Jesus is your advocate. Believe it. Repent of your sin. And walk like Jesus. And tomorrow? Again. The mercy of Christ is the first sentence in your next chapter. Sin is not your master. Jesus is. __________________ |
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Now on to regular newsletter content! |
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If you're new here, my Links + Loves email is like my "best of" everything list from the past month. You can scroll and skim the categories and hopefully find something to read, listen to, try, or enjoy. Every book and most product links take you to one pictorial page to help you find what you're looking for. You can find past links here. |
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The books I really love make it on to my recommended reading page where I have book summaries, reviews, and links to each title. You can find the rest my book reviews on my GoodReads page, so feel free to find me over there. - The German Wife by Kelly Rimmer. If you enjoy WW2 novels, then put this one on your list. The whole time I read this, I asked myself the question, “What would I have done?” I love that in reading historical non-fiction, I learn about aspects of history I've never known before. This story revolves around a project that brought German scientists involved in the Reich to the rocket program in Alabama. It's a doozy of a story. I stayed up way too late finishing this one night—it was one of the better books I read this year.
- Exalting Christ in Proverbs by Jonathan and Daniel Akin. I'm using this commentary along with my study of Proverbs right now, and I love it. So accessible, engaging, and Christ-centered. I love that this was written by a father and son as Proverbs is structured as a father passing wisdom to his son. I highly recommend these commentaries to complement your study!
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- If you are in your early 40's and listened to Christian music in high school and college, you will love the remake of Caedmon's Call's original album. I am having all the college feels and memories listening to it. (Spotify + Apple Music)
- “Abide” by Dwell Songs. I've got this one on repeat and we're hoping to learn it for corporate worship at church. (Spotify + Apple Music)
- “Villian & Saint” by Antoine Bradford (Spotify + Apple Music)
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recent blog posts, articles, + appearances |
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- My talk, "Cultivate Faithfulness for a Lifetime," from The Gospel Coalition's 2021 Women's Conference is now available in both audio and video. You can watch here and listen via your favorite podcast app. (Spotify + Apple Podcasts) This is one of my favorite talks I've ever given. Though I can't bring myself to listen to it, I remember stumbling over the title right at the beginning because it was titled for me, it was long, and I had trouble getting it out! I was running on no sleep, and I was dealing with grief as my close friend, Sue, had passed away just three days prior. I wasn't prepared for the size of the crowd or the way my brain was trying to vacillate between grieving friend and conference speaker. The Lord carried me through this talk, and I knew it. I am forever thankful.
- Daylight Saving + Spiritual Disciplines (my one and only life hack!)
- Responding to Harsh Words in Ministry
- When
- Joy in the Morning
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random extras: recipes + products |
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- Korean Beef Bowls. I'm pretty sure I've shared a variant of this recipe before, but I've mashed up several different recipes and created my own version that makes me so happy. Here's what I do:
- Make some rice—whatever your favorite kind is. We like organic brown basmati rice. Two cups cooked rice should be sufficient for a family of four, even if you want some leftovers.
- Brown 2 lbs of ground beef. While that's browning, whisk together ¼ c. coconut aminos, 2 Tbsp sesame oil, ½ tsp red chili flakes, 1 Tbsp honey, 2 Tbsp rice vinegar. When the beef is browned and drained, add the amino mixture and simmer on low until most of the liquid is absorbed. If you want it more “saucy,” just double the mixture.
- While everything is cooking, do a quick pickle of some red, green, or nappa cabbage and an onion. Whisk together the juice of a lime, 2 tsp honey, ½ tsp salt, and 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar. Add the chopped cabbage and thinly sliced onion. Mix everything together thoroughly and allow it to sit for at least 10 minutes.
- Dice an English or Persian cucumber (I recommend seeding them with a spoon first).
- Chop some cilantro.
- Toast some peanuts in a pan on the stove.
- Assemble your bowls: rice, beef, cucumber, peanuts, cabbage, cilantro. Top with gochujang or sriracha and sesame seeds. My husband likes to add chili crisp and jalapeños, too. Devour and be happy.
- If you're thinking about getting your child or young teen a phone for Christmas, may I suggest a Gabb Phone? My teen has used a Gabb phone for three years, and we're still pleased with how safe it is. No browser. No apps. No risk of stumbling over inappropriate anything. It looks like a smart phone, allows texts and calls, and you can decide if photos can be included in texts. There's a GabbMusic option, as well, if your kiddo likes to stream music. Use this referral code for 30 days of free music and a free accessory: 5734750967.
- The holidays are just around the corner. Here are my favorite, tried-and-true Advent resources.
- If you travel often, here's the invention you didn't know you needed. When you can't pack that ginormous perfume bottle that exceeds the TSA limits on liquids, this little thing allows you to pump your perfume into it without losing any of it. Brilliant.
- These gluten-free almond shortbread cookies truly have that buttery shortbread texture that I miss from regular baked goods. I recommend zesting an entire lemon into the batter and adding a splash of vanilla. Or, throw in some chocolate chips. I've not tried it yet, but I'm going to replace some of the maple syrup with molasses, add some spices, and try for a gingersnap flavor. I think this base recipe could be the springboard for lots of variants. Reduced baking time results in a chewier cookie if that's your thing.
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For my North American readers, don't forget to set your clocks back tonight! And if you missed my posts on harnessing the power of the end of Daylight Saving Time for spiritual disciplines, let me encourage you now. If you've ever wanted to become a morning Bible reader, this weekend is the time to make that change. Now, mornings aren't for everyone, so I'm just saying if you are wanting to make that change, don't wait until January 1st. Start this weekend. Get everything ready on Saturday. Pick out a Bible reading plan, put all your study materials and a place for your coffee in one spot, set your clocks on Saturday night, and go to bed at a reasonable hour. Then, on Sunday morning when you wake up at 5 a.m. instead of 6 a.m., it will still feel like 6 a.m. to your body. You won't be so tired even though you got up earlier (according to the clock). You'll likely be a little more tired in the evening, but it won't kill you to go to bed a little earlier so you can continue getting up to meet with the Lord, right? Right. ________ Okay, that's it for this month! You're always welcome to let me know what you're loving lately by replying to this email. I don't get to respond to every email, but I do read each one. May you taste and see that the Lord is good in every season of your life. I'll pop back into your inbox next month. Blessings, |
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P.S. If you have a friend who might enjoy these emails, feel free to share this sign-up page with them. P.P.S. Emails are not your thing? No problem. Hit unsubscribe at the bottom of this email. I won't take it personally.🙂 Feel free to find me on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. |
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