The post Let Your Heart Be Light first appeared on Kristen lunceford.
]]>This post was originally published by She.ology in December 2018.
The clothes dropped to the suitcase in a flurry. I didn’t know how long I’d be gone, so I just kept piling them in. Clean, dirty, do I even have a bra to go with this? Doesn’t matter. I barely need one anyway.
Zip. Lift. Roll.
In the next room, my husband searched for a hotel.
“Which Scripps hospital is he in?”
“I have no idea. Let me call the number my brother gave me.”
The last time I dialed the hospital, I spoke to my dad, only it didn’t sound like him at all. It sounded like organ failure. Confused. Slurred. Adrift. Something was wrong.
“Scripps Green!” I shouted. “La Jolla.”
“Got it. You’re booked for two nights. We’ll figure out the rest once you know what’s going on.”
My husband left to officiate a funeral; I pulled our kids out of school early.
“Something’s wrong with Grandpa,” I said calmly, revealing nothing of my inner upheaval. “I need to drive to San Diego right now to help him. Dad will be home in an hour. Stay here and don’t worry. Things might not be good, but they’re going to be okay.”
Six hours and 380 miles later, I tucked myself into a corner table at the hotel bar with a glass of malbec, a plate of hummus, and a sinking feeling that a whole lot was about to get worse before it got better.
Across the room, a guitarist strummed the first few chords of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. As he did, he explained how the original song, written by Hugh Martin for Judy Garland in the 1944 movie, “Meet Me In St. Louis,” contained these lines:
Someday soon we all will be together
If the fates allow
Until then, we’ll have to muddle through somehow
A few years later, he said, Frank Sinatra wanted to cover the song, but only if Martin agreed to “jolly up” the ‘muddled’ line. “In the jollier Sinatra version,” the guitarist explained, “The ‘muddled’ line was replaced with, ‘hang a shining star upon the highest bough.’”
And with that, he started to sing.
Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Let your heart be light…
Surprisingly, he played through the more melancholy Garland version, and I was there for it. I was clearly headed toward some muddling, and maybe he was, too. The star hoisting, it seemed, would have to wait until next year.
I drained my glass as he finished the last note, realizing for the first time that the song doesn’t promise our hearts will be light; it instructs we let them be. Regardless of which lyrics we hum as we approach Christ’s cradle from year to year, the baby is there and our hearts are his. Our savior doesn’t change, even when the songs we sing at Christmas do.
As I paid my tab and stood to go, I didn’t know my 61-year old father had pancreatic cancer or that over the next eight months I would log nearly 4,500 miles between Phoenix and San Diego advocating for his care. I knew nothing of the pressure or turmoil I’d endure, nor the ways I’d be sustained along the way. I did, however, walk out of that bar aware of something Sinatra may have missed:
Merriment isn’t something that’s handed to us because we ask for it. To the extent that we can, we have to choose it; fight for it, even. Whether hanging on or hanging stars, the heft of our hearts depends on how closely we allow ourselves to get to the cradle. Our peace, in plenty or in want, is made possible by our proximity to the one who embodied it. Emmanuel. God With Us.
If life has you humming Garland today instead of Sinatra, lean in. Christ’s cradle is big enough to hold your troubles and strong enough to bear the weight of your heart. Reach for the cradle’s edges. Stay there and don’t worry. Things might not be good this December, but they’re going to be okay.
(Oh, and don’t forget to store your star someplace safe. Something tells me you’re going to need it next year.)
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]]>The post Table Matters: The Power of Your Presence first appeared on Kristen lunceford.
]]>Fixate on this for a few minutes with me.
Hiding in plain sight on countless pages of the New Testament is a rescue plan three words long:
He ate meals.
Go look. Jesus was always eating with people. He used his time around their tables to listen, teach, heal, and extend compassion to the very people the religious elite were intent on keeping at arm’s length.
It stands to reason, then, that every day, God sends us—as missionaries—to the table. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner, we all have to eat. Our tables look different, of course, but our mission is the same:
“Feed my sheep.” -John 21:17
Could it be loving people far from God is as simple as sharing meals with them? Since the table is where we consistently find Jesus advancing his kingdom, proclaiming peace, and displaying love, I think, yeah, it is.
Becoming more like him, then, means leveraging the power of meals in the ways he did—by being present at the table, inviting others to the table, and showing up to tables that don’t belong to us.
Be present at the table
I know this sounds obvious, but the statistics suggest otherwise. A study by New York University found that, in the past 20 years, the frequency of family dinners has declined by 33 percent. Another study revealed Americans now spend a higher percentage of their food budget on restaurants than they do on groceries. And, while the act of being physically present at our tables is declining, things like depression, divorce, teen suicide, and addiction are on the rise. Skyrocketing, in fact.
Assuming these statistics are connected, it’s time we re-prioritize coming to the table with the people God’s placed in our purview instead of rushing them around drive thrus or allowing them to eat alone or in front of their devices. It’s also incumbent upon us to not only be physically present at the tables in our homes, offices, and school cafeterias but to show up emotionally present there, too.
If you regularly come to the table frazzled, distracted, or begrudgingly, what shifts could you make in your daily or weekly routine to help you come to the table more often, less harried, and more present? Is breakfast a better time to pull your family together to share a meal than dinner? When guests come over, can you ask them to bring something? If you stink at meal planning, can you download this free guide I created to help you get right with the Lord in that area? Is there one night a week you could enlist your roommate, teenager, or Door Dash to make dinner?
Address whatever it is that’s keeping you physically or emotionally removed from your table, and then…
Invite others to the table
Jesus didn’t have a fancy house, matching dishes, or an eternity-scented Magnolia Home candle, but his invitation to the communion table remains open to everyone. The ultimate inviter, Jesus welcomes us—arm’s wide—to his table, then calls us to usher his love into the lives of others through the seats around ours.
The good news is that inviting people to come and eat doesn’t have to be weird or complicated because everyone needs to eat. People will turn down an invitation to a church event, but they’ll likely say heck yes to whatever you’re throwing on the grill this weekend. What happens next is looks a lot like connection because, no matter how different from you your guests might be, passing the mustard and ketchup has a way of leveling the playing field.
Author, food blogger and delightful Instagram hang, Bri McCoy says it like this:
“Sharing a meal at the table naturally leads to intimacy. Eating in front of someone is, by nature, a vulnerable act. When we create space for people to open their mouths, they just might do something more than eat. They just might open their hearts, too. In many ways, the fork is the most widely used and unrecognizable microphone.”
Try it. Before you do, remember this: Being hospitable does not mean being impressive. It means being a place of safety, rest, and nourishment for the poor and needy, the weak and wounded, the sick and sore. As the saying goes, when people leave your home, they should feel better about themselves, not better about you.
Don’t overcomplicate this or you won’t do it very often. At our house, we make the same thing every time people come over. If the group is larger than 10, it’s a taco/fajita bar situation with churros fried by the fine folks of El Pollo Loco. Fewer than 10 guests and it’s tri-tip, potatoes, and salad. If our guests offer to bring something, I always say dessert because baking is a fool’s errand.
We’ve served these two meals to church people, college kids, new neighbors, old friends, teenage garbage disposals, more than a few questionable relatives, and even a homeless woman who used to live behind our church in Las Vegas. And you know what I never did? Stress about preparing any of it.
Invite strangers and sinners to your table; keep it simple when you do. Your invitation may be the thing Jesus uses to interrupt their despair with his hope. He’ll be there with you, author Shannan Martin says, “bumping elbows under the Target umbrella, sucking sauce off his fingers, and laughing at our jokes. He’s shown us the way. Just invite people to come, bring whatever they have, and spread it around.”
Finally, to leverage the power of meals the way Jesus did, we must:
Show up at other people’s tables
There are tables set all over your city and beyond that are primed for your participation; tables where your gifts, life experience, and kindness just might change someone’s life. Are you inviting yourself to them like Jesus did the day he entered Jericho and a vertically challenged, jerk of a tax collector climbed a tree to get a better look at him?
In Luke 19:5 it says, “When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. ‘Zacchaeus!’ he said. ‘Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.’ Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy.”
If you’ve read the rest of the story, you know that by bestowing the unexpected honor on Zacchaeus of being his host, Jesus also bestowed on him dignity, which changed everything about the man’s life.
Are you noticing the marginalized, hurting, or lonely and making your way to their tables? They are desperately hoping you will. It might be the single parent in your office who is barely making ends meet. Or the widower next door who is just trying to get through the day. It’s definitely the kid sitting alone at lunch and probably the mom behind you in the bleachers who’s refilling her Yeti with more wine. I’d also venture to guess it’s that couple you kind of can’t stand but who keeps asking you to come over for dinner. Is it high time you said yes?
Find your way like Jesus did to the table. Bring your whole self when you do. It’ll cost you time and vulnerability, but it will be worth it.
It might even change the world.
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]]>The post My Favorite Books of 2021 first appeared on Kristen lunceford.
]]>We did it, y’all.
Another trek around the star that could’ve melted our mettle but didn’t. We’re here for the party tonight because we kept showing up—for the work before and within us, even as the world spun out around us. Our center held, as it always does. Hallelujah.
My gift to you this New Year’s Eve is a list of 25 books, curated from more than 100, that helped me show up in 2021 when I wanted to shut down. If I could wrap the titles in, say, a pretty Anthropologie box and deliver it to your front door, I…probably wouldn’t because I’m an introvert.
But if I did, it would be beautiful.
And the card attached would say:
Thank you for being a friend,
Kristen
P.S.
Affiliate links to follow. Ordering through them helps me cover the cost of getting The Last Word safely to your inbox—or lost in your junk folder—each month. Fist bump to you for your support. xo
Best Thriller
She was the girl who survived the ‘Nothing Man.’ Now she is the woman who is going to catch him.
This true crime book within a book is the most original, gripping, well-executed thriller I have ever read. Every page has a purpose; every character offers a compelling point of view. I could gush about it for pages, but I don’t dare ruin it for you.
Get your hands on it as soon as you can. Double check the locks on your house once you do.
Most Likely to Hug at the End
The People We Keep secured a spot on this year’s list for its young protagonist, April, and the found family she collects on her way to adulthood. I wanted to protect April, root for her, and help her get back home.
A book to hug if there ever was one, The People We Keep is a must add to your 2022 TBR.
Best Audiobook
I have to send you straight to the publisher’s description and reviews because, try as I might, I can’t wrap words around this reading (and listening) experience, the most unique I had all year. As she did in 2017 with This is How it Always Is, Laurie Frankel has given us a gift in Mab, Monday, and Mirabel, three incredible, unforgettable narrators.
You just have to meet them.
Most Transformative
There are books you read, and there are books that change your life. This Naked Mind is the latter for me. In wrapping my mind around the psychological and neurological realities of what alcohol actually does to my body, I slowly but surely came to know it as a poison, not a partner, in my life. A must-read for every drinker.
“While tradition, advertising, and societal norms condition our unconscious to believe that alcohol is beneficial, Liminal Thinking and the material in this book will expose that unconscious conditioning and recondition your unconscious, exposing alcohol and giving you freedom.”
Best Young Adult
This believable, feel-good YA rom-com about a 16-year-old navigating identity, friendship and her first job goes down easy and steers clear of the angst and sexy time most YA novels veer toward. It’s fun, heartwarming and I would hand it, without reservation, to any of my three teenagers (provided they read more than their phones which, at present, they don’t).
“But as my mom likes to say, ‘no’ is the end of a conversation, not the start of negotiations.”
Most Memorable Protagonist
We Begin at the End makes this list for its unforgettable characters, namely a 13-year-old spitfire and self-proclaimed outlaw, Duchess Day Radley. This protagonist, you guys. She’ll do anything to protect her five-year-old brother. You have to meet her. Have to. She’s so incredible that readers are comparing her to the Scout Finch from To Kill A Mockingbird.
Fans Stranger Things will recognize and appreciate the Hopper/Eleven vibe that exists between Dutchess and the town’s chief of police, Walk, another brilliantly drawn soul who you need in your life.
“Hope is secular. And life is fragile. And sometimes we hold on too tight, even though we know it’ll break.”
Best Backlist (2016) Romance
The five-star reading experience I didn’t see coming. This brave, intense, and compulsively readable story has deeply flawed characters you can root for as they try, fail, and try again to disrupt familiar, painful patterns they’ve acquiesced to all their lives. Be sure to stay for the author’s note at the end.
Trigger warnings here for domestic abuse, some racy scenes, and fractured family-of-origin relationships.
Most Underrated
A quiet novel about a mother and her teenage sons–who she aptly refers to as “the wolves.” Susan captures the nuance of this delicate season of parenting in ways that hit close to home, not just for mothers like me in the throes of it, but for the ones who’ve been there or will one day be.
“He’s sixteen and gangly, with poking collarbones like little car door handles. He wants to be a professional basketball player, but will settle for rock musician. His face has grown long and gaunt, so he doesn’t look like himself but the person he’s in the process of becoming. I tell myself it’s a beautiful face. It’s important to tell myself that many things about teenage boys are beautiful so I don’t panic.”
Best Sci-Fi
“Reading Project Hail Mary is like going on a field trip to outer space with the best science teacher you’ve ever had—and your class assignment is to save the world.”
– Ernest Cline
I don’t even need a whole hand to count how many sci-fi books I’ve read as an adult; I’m too much of a realist to go near them very often. After hearing Project Hail Mary, Weir’s follow-up to The Martian, contains as much heart and humor as it does science, I decided to pick it up and finish it no matter what. Thankfully it’s as entertaining and endearing as everyone says. I loved it.
Most Highlighted Lines
From the publisher: “Kate Bowler believed that life was a series of unlimited choices, until she discovered, at age 35, that her body was wracked with cancer. In No Cure for Being Human, she searches for a way forward as she mines the wisdom (and absurdity) of today’s ‘best life now’ advice industry, which insists on exhausting positivity and on trying to convince us that we can out-eat, out-learn, and out-perform our humanness. We are, she finds, as fragile as the day we were born.”
I’m not sure which is more impressive here—the wisdom or the writing quality. I exported SIX pages of highlighted notes from my Kindle. I’ll be gifting this book to all the people in 2022.
Best Historical Fiction
I’ve long been able to trust Susan Meissner to deliver me to place and time unlike my own and find easy footing there among characters who feel like friends. Her 2021 release was no exception. I dove in and found what I was looking for—an immersive ride through San Francisco during the 1906 earthquake recovery beside a cast of complex, resilient heroines whose unexpected solidarity is a thing of beauty.
I emerged from the last page healed and helped by a story well told.
Most Important Non-Fiction
This book is so hard. “Choose not to look, however, at your own peril.” Just when I thought I was enlightened to the atrocities of slavery and systemic racism, Isabel presents new stories, perspectives and another, more insidious, layer of reality to confront: Caste. Read this one slow, but do read it, in whatever format is easiest for you to take in dense, weighty, oh-so-important content.
“Caste is insidious and therefore powerful because it is not hatred, it is not necessarily personal. It is the worn grooves of comforting routines and unthinking expectations, patterns of a social order that have been in place for so long that it looks like the natural order of things.”
Best Celebrity Book Club Pick
Reese Witherspoon got this all the way right.
To be clear: At the start this presents as a rich-people-behaving-badly-and-having-lots-of-open-door-sexy-time situation. But then, wow. It evolves into something so much deeper, more tender, and more tragic. Its depth sneaks up on you. Good stuff.
“We drag our past behind us like a weight, still shackled but far enough back that we never have to see, never have to openly acknowledge who we once were.”
Most Fun
Only Rowley could set two kids and their GUP (Gay Uncle Patrick) together in their grief and make it buoyant. Put this story in your veins. It’s pure joy.
“Grief orbits the heart. Some days the circle is greater. Those are the good days. You have room to move and dance and breathe. Some days the circle is tighter. Those are the hard ones.”
Best Debut
This buzzed about memoir is worthy of the hype. Michelle’s tribute to her mother, her Korean heritage and the food that connected Michelle to both is powerful, painful and profound. Trigger warning for those who have a lost a parent to cancer.
“In many ways, food was how my mother expressed her love. No matter how critical or cruel she seemed—constantly pushing me to be what she felt was the best version of myself—I could always feel her affection radiating from the lunches she packed and the meals she prepared for me just the way I liked them.”
Most Eye-Opening
A history book that infuriates and enlightens in equal measure. It’s required reading, as Sean Michael Lucas says, for those who live and move and have our being within American evangelical denominations and churches. I bought a hardcopy to keep as a reference, but ended up listening to most of it on audio because it’s a tough hang. I’m reserving my thoughts about it for face-to-face conversations because there is just too much to unpack, but I can’t stress enough how important it is that everyone who has come within even an arm’s length of white evangelical subculture read this.
“A much needed and painstakingly accurate chronicle of exactly ‘where many evangelicals are,’ and the long road that got them there.” ―Tom Cox
Best 2021 Romance
Seven Days in June “is a hilarious, romantic, and sexy-as-hell story of two writers discovering their second chance at love.” I loved its likeable characters, the shade it thows at the publishing industry, and how the protagonist’s life with chronic illness was informed by the author’s lifelong struggle with debilitating migraines. If you enjoy author interviews, this is a good one with Tia Williams.
Most Poignant
Whether by choice or by circumstance, loneliness marks stretches of all our lives. For this novel’s 84-year-old protagonist, the grooves worn by sadness and isolation are deep. By forging a new path alongside others committed to ending loneliness in their community, he gives us hope for brighter, more connected days ahead.
All the Lonely People is the timely, touching triumph we could all use right now.
“You’ve got to refuse to give up on people even if they’ve given up on themselves.”
Best Memoir
I’ve read an absurd amount of cancer memoirs; however, this one is on another level precisely because of what NPR said about it: “Jaouad’s book stands out not only because she has lived to parse the saga of her medical battle with the benefit of hindsight, but also because it encompasses the less familiar tale of what it’s like to survive and have to figure out how to live again.”
Suleika writes from a place of dual citizenshipinthe kingdom of the sick and the kingdom of the wellwith such skill and perspective that you’ll have a hard time putting her story down. Along the way it just might inform your own posture toward mourning and gratitude.
Most Inspirational
I’ve read a lot of books over the years about the power of gathering around the table, but never one as biblically grounded, thoughtfully structured and generously offered as Come & Eat. It’s a reminder of all the ways Jesus used meals to love the lost and an invitation for us to do the same.
“The table in our homes is still one of the most vibrant places we can follow in the footsteps of Jesus and love others. Our tables should be places where we are deployed as his missionaries. They are more than a structure to carry a meal. Life can be born at the table when we simply serve our guests a meal, encourage them after a long day, and receive them the way Jesus received Mary Magdalene–tenderly, acceptingly, joyfully. The table can be a vibrant life source, creating disciples with the strongest of devotions to Jesus and revealing a love to people who have never met Jesus. If we will commit to show up, Jesus will show up. He is so faithful.”
Best Essay Collection
Beloved novelist and bookstore owner Ann Patchett shows her mastery of the craft in this collection of warm, affectionate and deeply personal essays about topics ranging from her three fathers to forgoing motherhood to the writers who inspired her plus the especially moving piece, These Precious Days, about her unexpected friendship during lockdown with Tom Hanks’ assistant, Sooki Raphael.
“Having someone who believed in my failure more than my success kept me alert. It made me fierce. Without ever meaning to, my father taught me at a very early age to give up on the idea of approval. I wish I could bottle that freedom now and give it to every young writer I meet, with an extra bottle for the women. I would give them the ability both to love and not to care.”
Most Practical
No matter the size of the personal or professional gatherings you lead, this book will, as its blurb says, forever alter the way you look at your next meeting, industry conference, dinner party, and backyard barbecue—and how you host and attend them.
“Gatherings crackle and flourish when real thought goes into them, when (often invisible) structure is baked into them, and when a host has the curiosity, willingness, and generosity of spirit to try.”
Best Backlist Gem
Three weeks before her husband’s death from cancer, a small plane carrying two pillars of Carole Radziwill’s support system—her best friend, Carolyn, and her husband’s cousin, John F. Kennedy Jr—plunges into the ocean en route to spend the weekend with her. Before the world learns they’re missing, Carole’s lost her world. What Remains is their story, one I won’t soon forget.
“Ultimately what remains is a story. In the end, it’s the only thing any of us really own. Some people write to explain their lives, others to escape them. I write partly out of a compulsive habit to keep things organized. Partly because our story is all that remains of our lives together, and I was afraid of losing that, too. But this is a story of my life, not THE story. Who could ever begin to tell it all?”
Most “Kristeny”
I said to my husband while inhaling this story about the unlikely friendship between 17-year-old Lenni, and 83-year-old Margo, “I’m so happy right now. This is such a Kristenbook.”
Loosely defined, a “Kristen book” is a heartbreaking, ultimately redemptive story about finding meaning in difficultly.
This is that and so much more.
“Death doesn’t look so big from close up.”
Best Look Inside
House Lessons so much more than a trip inside the century-old, trash-and-rat-infested house Erica and her family renovated in the Pacific Northwest; it’s a window into who we can become when we recognize our homes for the quiet partners they are, or could one day be. Whether renovating a house or building a life, this book, like the loveliest of welcome mats, is waiting for you.
“Time is not the enemy of beauty—in fact, it’s often quite the opposite. Time is what gives a plaster wall its luminous glow and then softens the wood of a canister into the shape of your palm. Time is what gets you past the first rush of love and into the parts that actually sustain you. And time gives you the chance to gather perspective, to see your life from the altitude of experience—a blueprint, continually subject to change.”
The post My Favorite Books of 2021 first appeared on Kristen lunceford.
]]>It doesn’t matter if you are ankle, knee, or neck deep in seeing your family through the “bleacher years.” When eating in bag chairs, you can only feed your people so many sub sandwiches and garbage from the snack shack before calling foul.
So don’t.
Instead, plan ahead, eliminate decision fatigue, and save money with these bleacher-friendly meals.
The great tragedy of parenting is that at precisely the time your kids start sleeping in on the weekends, you have to get them out of the house in the pre-dawn hours to head to [insert sport].
Resent the early mornings less by prepping breakfast—preferably something that can be eaten in the car—a night or two before.
Kodiak Protein Muffins + pre-prepped protein (ie: bacon, sausage)
Breakfast Burritos
Egg Bake
See 6 Make-Ahead Breakfasts for Busy Families for details and more ideas.
Pregame:
The next time you grill, throw on a few extra pieces of steak or chicken to have at the ready in you fridge or freezer for bleacher-friendly salads. Or, toss leftover rotisserie chicken together with some jar pesto.
Assemble salads in 3-compartment Ziploc containers up to two days ahead with fruit, nuts, string cheese, or whatever your people like to snack on.
Game Time:
Stack containers in your cooler in the order they’ll be eaten. I put the spectators’ containers on the top and the athlete’s near the bottom. Chances are you and your athlete’s siblings will eat first.
Don’t forget the forks and dressing.
The change up:
Assemble your favorite pasta salad instead. This can be as simple as tossing together some rotini, onions, tri-color bell peppers, and cubed cheese with Italian dressing or whipping up something fancier like this Turkey Cherry Salad.
Pregame:
Skewer fruit, wrap individually in tinfoil, refrigerate overnight.
Game Time:
Serve with sandwiches, wraps, muffins, or as a stand-alone refresher between games.
The change up:
Skip the skewers; pack mini-fruit salads in individual containers to distribute as needed.
These require a little more game-time effort, but I believe in you.
Click here for the play by play.
Pregame:
Chop up a head (or two) of romaine lettuce and throw it into a bowl with one can of rinsed black beans, two cups of corn (frozen, fresh, canned, whatever you have on hand), and a couple generous handfuls of shredded cheddar cheese.
Store and refrigerate in a plastic container that has enough empty room to allow you to toss the salad later.
Pack tortilla chips, ranch dressing, salsa, paper plates or bowls, forks and a serving spoon.
Gametime:
Add the ranch and salsa (eyeball it) to the salad with some chips. Toss and serve.
The change up:
Make it a taco salad served “walking taco” style in individual Doritos bags.
Pregame:
Bake your favorite frozen pizza or grab leftovers from Friday’s takeout or delivery. Divide among the 3-compartment Ziploc containers with fruit & veggies.
Game Time:
Pass out containers while the other bleacher parents Google the nearest fast-food place.
The change up:
Use a different brand/type of pizza each time.
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]]>The post My Favorite Books of 2020 first appeared on Kristen lunceford.
]]>I finished 94 books in 2020. Do with that information what you will.
The 20 that rose to the top are listed below, categorized this year by my favorite novels, most helpful non-fiction titles, and most memorable audio experiences. I hope you find something here to help you thrive, cope, or do a little of both in the New Year.
To get my 2021 reads (plus other fun/practical/inspirational resources) delivered to your inbox each month, subscribe to my monthly newsletter, The Last Word.
Until then, happy reading.
Greenwood by Michael Christie
My favorite novel of 2020 by a landslide.
The breadth, beauty, and brilliance of this multi-generational family saga grabbed me by the heart and didn’t let go. A ingeniously structured literary page turner, Christie’s novel starts in 2038 and travels back in time to 2008, 1974, 1934 and 1908 to reveal the secrets, tragedies, crimes, decisions, betrayals and passions that shaped a family as they faced the hopeful, impossible task of growing toward the light
If I could physically press this into your hands, I would. It’s that good, and it’s absolutely capable of making you more tender toward your own ancestry than you’ve ever been before.
A few weeks before I picked up Greenwood, I finally got the nerve to dig into newspaper archives and unearth the truth behind an event in my family’s history that explains nearly everything about my once fraught relationship with my dad. My grandfather’s imprisonment in 1968 for embezzlement shaped much of the remaining 50 years of my dad’s life, including his relationship with me, my brother, my mom, and alcohol.
Reading Greenwood challenged and compelled me to extend more grace to my late father than I already have because, my gosh, I’m only privy to one ring of the story. There’s so much I will never know or understand, even as it all shapes my frame today.
“Every tree is held up by its own history, the very bones of its ancestors…Jake has gained a new awareness of how her own life is being held up by unseen layers, girded by lives that come before her own. And by a series of crimes and miracles, accidents and choices, sacrifices and mistakes, all of which have landed her in this particular body and delivered her to this day.”
The (postponed) Olympic year reading experience I didn’t know I needed. I loved it for its refreshing premise (two female speed cyclists fighting over an Olympic berth instead of over a man), its plucky supporting characters, including a Star Wars-obsessed girl with leukemia, and an aging coach with an unbearable decision to make.
Having been a Level 10 gymnast and, later, a Division 1 high jumper, I identified with the book’s themes of ambition and sacrifice as readily as I did with the layered relational dynamic between the athletes and each other, and the athletes and their coach. In weaker hands, the story’s twists and emotional turns could feel contrived, but Chris Cleave’s trademark ability to make us care deeply for his characters lends itself to a memorable, satisfying ride.
“Just beyond your sight, life might be moving in ways that were moments away from being revealed to you. It was a mistake to take disappointment at face value.”
Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
Haunted house visits may not have been COVID-approved this year, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t stop by the one Riley Sager drew as the lead character in this shadowy, satisfying (though snake-infested) thriller. Equal parts murder mystery and ghost story, I was riveted from start to finish thanks to its palpable setting, flawless pacing, and book-within-a-book dual narrative.
If you’re in the mood for something spooky but not super scary, Home Before Dark is just the book to disappear into. It’s the right amount of creepy with plenty of sounds that go bump in the night and will keep you turning the pages while the world spins out around you.
“Every house has a story. Ours is a ghost story. It’s also a lie. And now that yet another person has died within these walls, it’s finally time to tell the truth.”
The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis
If you’ve liked any of Fiona’s other historical mysteries, definitely pick this up. I co-sign on this review from author Kristin Harmel:
“A captivating ode to the power of books, the bonds of family, and the beauty of finding the strength to be ourselves. Fiona Davis’s spectacular setting—the iconic New York Public Library—comes alive across the generations as two women—one in 1913 and one in 1993—struggle with their own identities, a compelling mystery, and a tragedy that impacts both of them. What begins as a search for vanished rare books becomes, for both women, a quest to redefine themselves and open their hearts. This is a novel for all those who believe in the transformative magic of the written word.”
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Tara Jenkins Reid
I avoided this 2018 release for more than two years because the cover and title screamed bodice ripper romance. I mean, just look at it, right? WRONG. I hereby confess to giving this book five emerald green stars. It was one of the most compulsively readable, poignant novels I cracked open this year. Steamy at times? Sure. But mostly it’s about an unconventional family avoiding—and then facing—hard truths. I’m so glad I read it.
“The epic adventures Evelyn creates over the course of a lifetime will leave every female reader mesmerized. This wildly addictive journey of a reclusive Hollywood starlet and her tumultuous Tinseltown journey comes with unexpected twists and the most satisfying of drama.” ~PopSugar
Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore
After a brutal stretch of 3-star reads, heavy reads, and a handful of DNFs last spring, this gem pulled me right up out of my reading rut in June. If you’re in the mood for a light, fun, inventive, perfect-for-summer read about a woman who has no idea what year of her life she’s going to wake up in each New Year’s Day, pick this one up.
“The day love makes sense, check the porkchops for feathers.”
Why We Can’t Sleep: Women’s New Midlife Crisis by Ada Calhoun
This book’s dedication says it all:
“For the middle aged women of America. You’re not imagining it, and it’s not just you.”
If you are a member of Generation X (born 1965-1980ish)–or if you raised one–Ada Calhoun’s exploration of the struggle and confusion that is the Gen X women’s experience in middle age will make you feel all kinds of seen. Sandwiched between the Boomers and the Millennials and fed the lie that they can “have it all,” Gen X women have arrived at middle age exhausted, terrified about money, under-employed, and overwhelmed. Calhoun explains the cultural and political contexts that have landed us in this abyss and what we can do to lift ourselves out of it.
“Generation X women, who as children lacked cell phones and helicopter parents, came up relying on our own wits. To keep ourselves safe, we took control. We worked hard and made lists and tried to do everything all at once for a very long time without much help. We took responsibility for ourselves–and later we also took responsibility for our work or partners or children or parents. We should be proud of ourselves.”
The Lazy Genius Way by Kendra Adachi
In The Lazy Genius Way, Kendra equips the likes of you and me to embrace what matters, ditch what doesn’t and thrive in each of our weird, wacky, wonderful worlds.
I can say with confidence that every woman I know needs this book is because, without realizing it, I’ve been applying nearly all of Kendra’s 13 Lazy Genius principles to my life for years, and they 100% work. Whether you are overwhelmed with meal planning, deciding what gifts to buy your kids’ teachers, cleaning your nasty bathroom on the regular, or making space for what you love, Kendra will help you create a less stressed and performative, more chilled out and generous, life.
“You have permission to let go, wonder, and go slow or to desire, hustle, and power through. Whatever you choose, make sure you’re focused on what matters to you, not what matters to Instagram, your mother-in-law, or the voice in your head saying you’re not enough. Every choice matters because each one matters to someone, but hold only the ones that matter to you.”
Be the Bridge by Latasha Morrison
I’ve watched Tasha grow Be the Bridge and empower people toward racial healing, equity and reconciliation from afar for years, but I haven’t gotten involved until now. I’m considering starting a racial reconciliation group at our church once we can meet in person again, so reading this book was the first step toward that and, hopefully, so much more.
“Forgiveness and healing cannot begin until we become aware of the historical roots of the problem and acknowledge the harm caused.”
The Bright Hour by Nina Riggs
In 2017, at the age of 39, Nina Riggs died of complications from metastatic breast cancer. While she was sick (and simultaneously losing her mother to multiple myeloma), she wrote The Bright Hour. Like When Breath Becomes Air, The Bright Hour a hopeful, honest and impossible-not-to-cry-at-the-end-of memoir on living with death in the room. Five stars.
“For me, faith involves staring into the abyss, seeing that it is dark and full of the unknown—and being okay with that.”
Burnout by Emily & Amelia Nagoski
If you’re weary of all the books touting expensive self care, creating margin and marinating in essential oils as ways to deal with and stave off stress and anxiety, pick this up. I found it helpful for its strategies on how to complete the biological stress cycle and befriend the inner critic.
“Reclaim rest and you reclaim sovereignty over your own life.”
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
I read a lot of heady and historical books on race this year, including The Color of Compromise (wowza), but Ijeoma’s was the most approachable and practical. It’s my new go-to recommendation for anyone looking for a solid place to start with racial reconciliation.
“When we identify where our privilege intersects with somebody else’s oppression, we’ll find our opportunities to make real change.”
Get Out of Your Head by Jennie Allen
Tired of falling victim to your thoughts? Get your hands on this book now.
Jennie does an incredible job momma bearing readers into seeing that we are in charge of our thoughts; they are not in charge of us. Get Out of Your Head will help you:
“Taking every thought captive is not about what happens to us. It’s about choosing to believe that God is with us, is for us, and loves us even when all hell comes against us.”
Try Softer by Aundi Kolber
Far more practical and accessible than The Body Keeps the Score, and a perfect companion to Burnout, Try Softer is a salve and a solve for our chronic over-functioning. Aundi, a licensed counselor, shows us how to stop white-knuckling our way through life by doing the sacred work of:
To know if this book might be for you, listen to Aundi talk to Annie Downs about it on Episode 196 of That Sounds Fun.
Quit Like a Woman by Holly Whitaker
Regardless of how many “rosé all day” shirts Target peddles, the level truth is that booze is so very bad for us, you guys. Quit Like a Woman is one of three books I read this year on sobering up and, with each one I finished, my relationship with alcohol became harder to justify.
If you are at all curious about what even your moderate drinking is doing to your body, mind and relationships, pick up this book, Sober Curious, or The Naked Mind.
Read this excerpt.
Welcome Home by Myquillyn Smith
Everything I learned about creating a cozy, uncomplicated home that serves people more than it impresses them, I learned from Myquillyn Smith. I have several copies of this, her latest release, stashed at the ready to gift to newlyweds, teachers, hostesses and new homeowners.
Pick it up today. You will not regret one second spent in its pages. Myquillyn is exactly the bossy big sister you need to help you finally understand what matters–and what doesn’t–as you prepare your home for the season ahead.
“Your house might not be perfect, but your hospitality is exactly what we need.”
More Myself by Alicia Keys
You don’t have to listen to Alicia’s music, or know anything about her, to absolutely love this memoir. It’s fantastic, especially on audio. I have so much respect for the fierceness with which Alicia learned to protect her art and her identity.
“And when I reveal my true heart, not everyone is going to approve. What I know now is that I don’t need them to.”
The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton
I was hesitant to pick this up. I didn’t think my heart could handle reading about a man who spent 30 years on death row for a crime he didn’t commit. But then I opened it up and found, as Richard Branson did, “an example to us all of the power of the human spirit to rise above complete injustice.”
You will fall in love with Anthony Hinton in these pages and marvel once again at the way Bryan Stevenson is spending his life working to see men and women like Anthony set free.
“Despair was a choice. Hatred was a choice. Anger was a choice. I still had choices, and that knowledge rocked me. I could choose to give up or to hang on. Hope was a choice. Faith was a choice. Compassion was a choice. And more than anything else, love was a choice.”
Open Book by Jessica Simpson
Jamie Golden green lighted this on the Popcast, so that was enough to make me pick it up on audio. Prior to reading, my interest in/knowledge of Jessica Simpson was limited to the time my husband I watched Newlyweds in 2003/2004 when we were newlyweds ourselves. I had no idea what came before or after for Jess, and I’m genuinely glad I took the time to find out. Jessica reads the book and does a wonderful, earnest job of it.
The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal
My most memorable audio experience of 2020 (I drove from Phoenix to Las Vegas and back in the same day and listened to this in one fell swoop), The Lager Queen of Minnesota goes down smooth.
I married into Minnesota and still own a home in one of the cities featured in this story, but you don’t have to have “Minnesotah” ties (or know anything about beer) to love the heck out of this heartwarming generational story of family, tragedy, perseverance and forgiveness. Five boozy stars.
“Her mother told her once that the nicest thing you can do for someone is be happy to see them.”
This post contains affiliate links, through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you).
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]]>The post 5 Make-Ahead Lunch Ideas for Distance Learners first appeared on Kristen lunceford.
]]>Below is the basic formula I’ve created and followed for years when prepping their lunches on Sundays, with a few modifications made to account for their now being able to use a microwave at home.
I hope this serves you well as you prepare for whatever online, hybrid, or in-person version of the school year your district has cooked up.
On Sunday afternoon/evening, make sandwiches, wrap in tinfoil, and label with your kids’ names. They will keep just fine until lunch the next day.
Tips: For variety from week to week, use different types of bread/buns/bagels/tortillas. Also, pre-wash and store all veggies and fruit on Sunday so your kids can easily grab something healthy to pair with their sandwich/wrap.
Every Sunday, grill an extra chicken breast or piece of steak when prepping your other meals for the week. Assemble individual salads in glass containers, stack and store.
Tips: Make one (or more) for yourself and/or your spouse, and try to always have some cut-up rotisserie chicken in your freezer to pull out and use for the weeks you don’t have time to grill.
On Sunday, make a big ‘ol batch of this Taco Pasta Salad. Store individual servings in glass or plastic containers for you, your kids, and your spouse to easily reach for on Wednesday.
Tips: Swap this recipe out for your kids’ favorite pasta salad or pasta recipe. This Southwestern Chili Mac is a staple in our house and can easily be made ahead on Sunday.
Bake a frozen pizza every Sunday (we like the options from CPK & Newman’s Own, but I usually just buy whatever is on sale) and divide into a divided rectangle container. Add fruits & veggies to the other two compartments, store, stack and save. These will keep all week long. The kids can either eat the pizza cold or warm it up.
Tips: If you have Trader Joe’s, bake one of their flat breads or fancier pizzas occasionally, or make some of these Pizza Egg Bites on Sunday.
Here’s your chance to get rid of whatever leftovers you have sitting in your fridge from dinner that week. On Thursday night, have the kids plunk servings of whatever leftovers they want into a container so that they are ready to grab and reheat on Friday.
Fridays can also be an opportunity for them to eat whatever pre-packaged garbage they like from your freezer or pantry that can be quickly microwaved. My crew’s favorites include Trader Joe’s Mac ‘n Cheese, Trader Joe’s Pesto Tortellini or Costco’s Grilled Chicken Teriyaki Rice Bowls.
For make-ahead breakfast ideas, see this post.
For more meal planning resources (among other things), sign up to receive my monthly newsletter, The Last Word.
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]]>The post Solidarity. first appeared on Kristen lunceford.
]]>We slow down. We pull over. We make way.
For panic to pass
And help to hurl toward need.
It’s lawful, yes, but sacred, too.
Mattering to people we’ll never know
Until, one day, we do.
We wait. We wonder. And then?
We wait some more.
Until, slowly, measuredly, we guide our wheels left,
Allowing each other time to find our way back
To where we were headed before the sirens forced these swerves.
Through our windshield, it doesn’t look like much.
But from where the stars are watching?
It shines.
Like love.
The post Solidarity. first appeared on Kristen lunceford.
]]>“What nicer thing can you do for somebody than make them breakfast?“
– Anthony Bourdain –
A few years ago, in an effort to open up more time for myself in the morning, I started prepping four-to-five days of breakfast meals on Sunday afternoons for my family of five. The result has been a cleaner kitchen, fewer bowls of cereal consumed, and kids who’ve learned the value of starting the day with a hearty, protein-rich breakfast.
Here’s what I make:
Scrambled Eggs
It sounds simple, but it’s not. It’s magic.
Before I head to church on Sunday morning, I scramble 24-32 eggs (you read that correctly) with some onion and whatever breakfast potatoes I have on hand in the freezer. I usually use these, or these, or these. Sometimes I’ll throw in spinach or leftover green/yellow/red peppers. I always add bacon because…do I really need to explain this to you?
All of that goes in a giant bowl in the fridge to cool while
we’re at church.
When we get home, I move a bunch of it to a glass container that I keep in the fridge, making it easy for us to pull out, scoop into bowls, add some cheese, salsa, avocado or whatever, and reheat throughout the week.
The rest gets rolled up in burritos.
Breakfast Burritos
My love for breakfast burritos is three-fold:
1. They can be eaten on the go.
2. They freeze well (and travel great on vacation to VRBOs and what have you).
3. They can be easily customized.
I plop a couple scoops of the cooled scrambled egg mixture onto tortillas, add cheese, roll up in tinfoil and store in the fridge or freezer. I don’t like sausage, but my family does, so I toss some precooked sausage (something I cook up every Sunday) into a few of them, roll them up, and Sharpie “sausage” on the tinfoil so that I don’t accidentally eat one.
Pancakes
My middle son loves to make pancakes, so a few Sundays a month he’ll make a couple batches and divide them up in three labeled Ziplocs—one for him, one for his brother, and one for his sister. In the morning (or for an after school snack), they warm a couple up with whatever cooked bacon or sausage is in the fridge.
Egg Bake
I make a version of this egg bake every, single week. Most weeks it looks like a layer of:
White Bread
Smoked turkey breast (regular doesn’t taste as good, trust me here)
Green Onions
Whatever grated cheese I have on hand
Bacon pieces
Tomatoes (whatever kind I have on hand)
You can really throw anything in. I’ve used mushrooms instead of bacon, ham instead of turkey, etc. Don’t overthink this. Use what you like.
On Sunday I assemble all the dry ingredients in a square or 9×13 glass dish and store it in our outside refrigerator until Wednesday or Thursday. I pour 8-10 eggs over the top and bake on 375 for 35(ish) minutes.
Egg Muffins
I don’t make these every week but, when I do, the process
goes like this:
I put five reusable, jumbo silicone muffin cups (I got mine from IKEA a thousand years ago, but you can find them anywhere like here) on a baking sheet and fill them with the hashbrown/cheese situation this recipe calls for. I cover them with a paper towel (because it’s fast, not fancy), stick a small container of precooked bacon or sausage on the baking sheet, and slide the whole thing onto a rack in my outside freezer. If space is tight for you, stack everything in a plastic container and store ‘em that way.
On the morning I want to bake them, I crisp up the hash browns and cheese for 10 minutes on 425. While that’s happening, I mix up a few eggs with some milk in a measuring up to make it easy to pour into the cups. (I found this tastes better than just cracking an egg into each muffin cup). I toss a few pieces of bacon or sausage into each cup and finish baking at 400 until they’re cooked through.
Smoothies
I like to pre-fill two-to-three Mason jars on Sunday with frozen berries, protein powder, juice, spinach and yogurt to quickly dump into a blender with ice in the morning. Recipes abound. Share yours in the comments.
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]]>The post My Favorite Books of 2019 first appeared on Kristen lunceford.
]]>Happy Reading,
Kristen
FAVORITE READING EXPERIENCE
Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (2018)
I can’t talk about this without overusing adjectives like lyrical, moving, original and luminous. It’s the most engrossing, enjoyable novel I read in 2019. It’s stunning (see, there I go again).
Runner Up: Ask Again, Yes 👇
BEST FAMILY DRAMA
Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane (2019)
This messy, heart wrenching family saga is a Top 5 read for me this year.
Two rookie cops meet at the NYC Police Academy and strike up a friendship, setting in motion a tragic chain of events that echo through the decades, through the lives of their children and grandchildren. There’s so much here, including questions like, “At what cost do we cling to our past? How much energy do we expend in the name of vengeance? What, exactly, constitutes a life well-lived?”
Mental illness and alcoholism triggers abound, so know that going in, but trust me when I say this is well worth your time.
BEST BAIT AND SWITCH
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides (2019)
Nothing is as it seems in this psychological suspense novel, and I loved it. Written by a former screenwriter, it had me turning the pages and wondering how long it’ll be before Hollywood gets ahold of it.
Runner Up: Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell (2017)
THE ONE THAT MADE ME UGLY CRY
Steve & Me by Terri Irwin (2008)
Thirty five minutes. That’s how long I cried on the couch at the end of Terri’s memoir about she and Steve falling in love and staring the Australia Zoo.
I love everything about these two and the legacy Steve left his children, Robert and Bindi. If you do nothing else over your holiday break, start watching Crickey! It’s the Irwins on Animal Planet, and then request this beauty from your library.
BEST HISTORICAL FICTION
Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Henry (2018)
I was completely swept up and along by this masterful exploration of the improbable love story of Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis. The prose is gorgeous, the insights are remarkable and the skill it took to intelligently marry fact with fiction deserves all the praise this book has received.
Runner Up: Finding Dorothy by Elizabeth Letts (2019)
MOST COMPELLING PIECE OF JOURNALISM
Parkland: Birth of a Movement by Dave Cullen (2019)
Moving, inspiring, and hopeful are not words ever used to describe books about mass school shootings, but this one is all three. For once the survivors became more famous than the shooter, and we are all better for it.
“Movements are born from hope, but they are built brick by brick.”
Runner Up: The Great Pretender by Susannah Cahalan (2019)
BEST BEACH READ
The Mother-In-Law by by Sally Hepworth (2019)
This domestic mystery is everything you want in a summer read. When Lucy’s mother-in-law, Diana, turns up dead from a questionable-looking suicide, it seems everyone in her family had a motive for her murder, including Lucy, whose relationship with Diana has been fraught since it began 10 years ago. So why does Lucy seem genuinely sad about Diana’s death? We find out in short, compelling chapters, told alternately from Lucy and Diana’s points of view, that keep us turning the pages.
Runner Up: From the Corner of the Oval by Beck Dorey Stein (2019)
MOST REDEMPTIVE
Every Note Played by Lisa Genova (2018)
This fictional story of a concert pianist whose career comes to an abrupt end when he’s diagnosed ALS took me by surprise. I didn’t expect to be so swept up in the narrative, invested in the characters, or impressed with the research (much of which aligned with what I learned about ALS from a friend’s experience seeing her husband through the disease).
Ultimately, it’s a redemptive story about finding peace inside forgiveness, and for that I am thrilled to have picked it up.
Runner Up: The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion (2007)
FAVORITE CELEBRITY MEMOIR
A Life in Parts by Bryan Cranston (2016)
A must read for creatives and Breaking Bad fans. I cannot recommend the audio version enough. Get it for free here.
“Storytelling is the essential human art. It’s how we understand who we are. I don’t mean to make it sound high-flown. It’s not. It’s discipline and repetition and failure and perseverance and dumb luck and blind faith and devotion. It’s showing up when you don’t feel like it, when you’re exhausted and you think you can’t go on. Transcendent moments come when you’ve laid the groundwork and you’re open to the moment. They happen when you do the work.”
Runner Up: Born Standing Up by Steve Martin (2018)
CRAZIEST
Educated by Tara Westover (2018)
This unbelievable story of one woman’s escape from her Mormon survivalist family to the halls of Cambridge University reads like a thriller. Excuse my language, but there’s no other way to say it: Westover’s life is crazy AF.
“My life was narrated for me by others. Their voices were forceful, emphatic, absolute. It had never occurred to me that my voice might be as strong as theirs.”
Runner Up: Bad Blood by John Carreyrou (2018)
FAVORITE PREMISE
The Dutch House by Anne Patchett (2019)
“…a richly moving story that explores the indelible bond between two siblings, the house of their childhood, and a past that will not let them go.”
Having grown up with a younger brother in a house that was taken from us as swiftly and remarkably as it became ours in the first place, I connected easily to this story of a paradise lost. I loved its setting, its siblings, and its thoughtful exploration of what people do when the things they love go missing (and who they must forgive along the way).
MOST WHIMSICAL
Harry’s Trees by Jon Cohen (2018)
Harry’s Trees is a story of loss and grief that turns into a tale of friendship, whimsy, and adventuring through tragedy to redemption. At its center are a tree house, some gold, a book, and a wise old librarian who knows the power reading has to assuage the heart.
I’ve pressed this into the hands of more friends this year than any other book. It’s a crowd pleaser.
“Because it’s worth it. Worth the risk and the pain. Of all the glorious enchantments of this world—spring, snow, laughter, red roses, dogs, books—love is by far the best.”
WEIGHTIEST
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead (2019)
An emotionally difficult, but necessary, read, Colson Whitehead brings Jim Crow-era Florida to life through the real story of a reform school in Tallahassee that claimed to rehabilitate delinquent boys and instead abused and terrorized them for over one hundred years.
Runner Up: Heavy by Kiese Laymon (2018)
MOST PROPULSIVE
The Passengers by John Marrs (2019)
Provocative, propulsive, and unnervingly believable, The Passengers is one heck of a ride.
The set up: Someone hacks into the systems of eight self-drive cars, sets their passengers on a fatal collision course, and leaves it up to the public on social media to decide who lives and who dies.
Considering how close we are to living in a world with autonomous vehicles, the premise is compelling because it’s not at all far-fetched. You could confidently recommend this to anyone, including notoriously tough sells like husbands, fathers-in-law and teenagers.
DREAMIEST AUDIO NARRATION
Stories I Only Tell My Friends By Rob Lowe (2011)
I’ve had a crush on Rob Lowe since I shared chips and salsa with him as a teenager while my mom showed him rental properties in Santa Barbara. He was as kind to me then as he was when I talked to him at a luncheon in Las Vegas a few years ago. Those are both stories for another time, but here’s the thing: He’s a class act and this book explains why. He reads the audio version and I “literally” loved it. Listen to it for free here.
Runner Up: Love Life by Rob Lowe (2014)
MOST FUN
I’ll Be There for You by Kelsey Miller (2018)
I ate this alllll the way up (and cried like a fool through Chapter 10: “The One Where It Ended, Twice”). A must read for anyone who lived through the ‘Must See TV’ era, owned the Friends DVDs, or has the show permanently slotted as ‘Recently Watched’ on Netflix.
“The memories we made on Stage 24 are better than any dreams we ever had.”
MOST GENEROUSLY (and beautifully) WRITTEN
Miracles and Other Reasonable Things by Sarah Bessey (2019)
I have none of the words and all of the feels about this woman, this book, and what it means to wrestle with God while holding fistfuls of grief and joy. Sarah is the. most. profound, prophetic voice in Christendom today. If you aren’t listening to it, you are missing an opportunity to have your breath taken away and returned to you stronger, surer, and full of things more sacred.
The last chapter is far and away the most generous, life-giving end to a book you’ll ever read.
Runner Up: Almost Everything by Anne Lamott (2018)
MOST SURPRISING
The Editor by Steven Rowley (2019)
In this fictional glimpse into Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’ career in publishing, we meet James, a struggling writer who gets his big break when the most famous woman in America falls in love with his autobiographical novel, one built on the fault lines of own dysfunctional family. Over the course of finishing the manuscript, the two develop a friendship that inspires James to finally see his mother as human, fallible, and as prone to heartbreak as anyone.
Layered with warmhearted and well-researched detail about a beloved historical figure, The Editor is a smart, witty, deeply-felt story about the importance of reconciliation. I was surprised to be taken on such an emotional ride.
MOST PRACTICAL
The Next Right Thing by Emily P. Freeman (2019)
If it’s transformation, peace, or clarity you’re after in 2020, this book will get you there by reminding you of the one who gives it. As she does so insightfully each week on The Next Right Thing Podcast, Emily guides us through a simple, soulful practice to cut through the decision-making chaos, quiet the fear of choosing wrong, and find the courage to decide without regret or second-guessing our next right thing.
Whether decisions loom large or small in your life right now, Emily’s here to remind you to take a deep breath and know that, no matter what you decide, Jesus won’t let you miss your future.
Runner Up: Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin (2015)
MOST IMPACTFUL
Here, Now by Kate Merrick (2019)
Kate’s call to presence in all of life’s seasons—be they bright with hope, dark with sorrow or clouded by the mundane—will make you weep and giggle (sometimes on the same page), reflect and repent, cut away and re-connect. Most of all, her hard-won insight will compel you to look up and around at what you have and see that it is good.
Runner Up:The Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates (2019)
BEST YOUNG ADULT
Hope and Other Punchlines by Julie Buxbaum (2019)
Worth putting in the hands of your teenagers, the generation born after 9/11, to humanize the legacy of loss their history textbooks can’t convey.
“I’m so, so tired of always worrying about our world splitting into a before and an after again.”
Runner Up: Dear Martin by Nic Stone (2018)
THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY
The Only Plane in the Sky by Garrett M. Graff (2019)
My biggest reading regret of 2019 is that I didn’t get on the holds list sooner for this oral history of 9/11. I’ve heard nothing but incredible things about it and will be reading it as soon as possible in 2020.
Runner Up: The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk (2015)
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]]>The post Christ in Us first appeared on Kristen lunceford.
]]>You’re convinced peace will come once he does, forgetting all the while that Peace came to earth to live among us and, now, He lives within us.
The God who came near as a baby 2,019 Christmases ago moved into our right-now lives through the Holy Spirit. This means we don’t have to wait for God to place us in new circumstances before we can join him in bringing hope to this broken world.
“The secret,” Elisabeth Elliot says, “Is Christ in me, not me in a different set of circumstances.”
When the Holy Sprit moves into our soul’s neighborhood, we have all we need, right where we are.
Paul tells us this in Philippians 4:11-13:
Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.
We waste so much time—especially this time of year—chasing and hoping for something that’s already in us, don’t we? We want purpose, power, peace, approval, contentment, and for our lives to count for something, but we forget that our lives already do count because the Prince of Peace dwells in us.
Romans 8:10 says that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, then you have access to his Spirit—one that can empower, equip, and mobilize you to do even greater things in the world than He did. A spirit that can bring meaning to your mundane, lend muscle to your fight, and fasten purpose to your circumstances, whether life be a joy or a struggle.
When the Holy Spirit moves in, we can either leverage the power of Christ in us for His glory, for His kingdom, or we can squander it by going our own way, building our own kingdoms, and living out of our own strength. The choice is ours.
I don’t know about you, but when the time comes for God to ask me what I did with the gift of his spirit, I don’t want tell him I wasted it because I was too self absorbed to give a rip; that I was too busy staring at the sky, waiting for things to be different before I lived differently. I want to live knowing that since he’s moved in, it doesn’t matter whether I am living in plenty or in want because the power of the Holy Spirit equipping and guiding me is bigger and more beautiful than whatever repetitive, remarkable, or catastrophic circumstances lay before me on any given day.
That sounds great, Kristen, but how do we actually live like this? How do we barrel into the holidays and New Year leveraging the power of Christ in us?
I’m glad you asked.
To start, we need to get over ourselves and get after Jesus.
The last thing Jesus said before he went to heaven was that we are to be his witnesses. We are to be like him in this hurting world. But we can’t be like him if we don’t know him. And in order to know him, we need to take our eyes off of ourselves and set our minds and our hearts on him.
Hebrews 12: 1-3 says:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
If we can get over ourselves and get after Jesus with all of our minds and all of our hearts, there won’t be room in either for selfishness or self-pity or for staring up at the sky while the world goes to hell right outside our doorsteps.
If we get after Jesus, we won’t have time to wait for things to be different before getting serious about loving justice and mercy and serving from—not just sitting in—the church His disciples began when the Holy Spirit showed up and said, “Let’s do this.”
Second, if we are going to be content in our circumstances and leverage the power of Christ in us, we need to be all there.
Ephesians 2:10 tells us that God prepared in advance the good works we would do with the power of Christ in us, and whatever those good works are, and wherever they are to be done, we need to own them and be all there.
But, Kristen…
Let me stop you right there. It doesn’t matter if you live behind a dumpster or behind a gate; if you are a teenager or a grandparent; if you love your job or if you hate it; if you are a new mom or step mom; if you’re healthy or if you are sick; if you have financial margin or not. God has something for you to do.
Are you doing it?
Are you all there—are you all in—where God has put you? Not where he’s put your friend, or your pastor, or the influencer in your Instagram feed. You.
Let this sink in from Jennie Allen:
“God’s priorities are beautiful, and they trickle down into invisible spaces — into neighborhoods and families and friends and strangers. He will call us to pour our lives into the cracks around us and sometimes into cracks far from our doorsteps. But wherever he calls us, we pour, not wishing for a larger crack or a more noticeable one, or even the one we were expecting.”
When God’s spirit moves in, we pour our guts out, ladies. There is no, “I’m too busy or too broke or too pregnant or too barren or too uncomfortable or too unqualified or too old or too sick or too scared or too young or too uneducated” to pour our lives out into the cracks around us.
We have the spirit of God in us. We cannot ever say he’s given us nothing to do. It’s on our doorstep. We have to be all there, and then do it. Will there be days when we do it half-heartedly or despondently? Of course. But his grace and his spirit will be there in our tiredness and in our challenges. It will be there beside still waters when everything is smooth sailing and on the battlefield when things are not. But we have to say, “I’m in. I’m here. Let’s do this. You’re with me.”
Just like our girl Mary did.
When she was told that God had impregnated her with the Savior of the World, she responded, “I am the Lord’s servant” [and I will be all here]. She knew she would have to endure rumors and ridicule (among other things), but still she embraced her circumstances and stayed the course. How?
Christ literally in her.
So listen: If we are going to leverage the power of Christ in us so that his will may be done on earth as it is in Heaven, then we need to live to the hilt in every situation, through every season, not wishing for things to be different but to live differently so that a watching world might glimpse the hope he came to bring through our lives.
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