Breathing in Grace.

It's in the 20s outside, and I'm bundling up for a run before a day full of cooking begins. Tomorrow morning Courtney and I are catering a brunch for 150 women at Austin Christian Fellowship, and there are dishes to be prepped and cupcakes to be frosted and serving plans to be finalized. The run isn't just for exercise - it's to equip me for the Music City Half-Marathon in April and possibly (if I can figure out a way to make it work) for the San Diego Half-Marathon in June. The cooking isn't just for fun - it's to fund ongoing orphan care projects in Guatemala. When the running and cooking are completed, I'll continue work on a grant proposal for Red Page Ministries. I'll pack for a trip to Romania. And I'll finish my reading for Sunday night's small group Bible study.

Everything has purpose. Everything has meaning. Everything is busy. So very busy.

The Aqueduct

It’s raining outside. It’s of those gentle rains that soak the earth and fill the lakes and streams in a kind, nurturing way. I always hear my mom’s voice say, “it’s a soaking rain - the kind that gives life.” And today, I can almost smell that life in the heavy wet air.

It’s a beautiful thing, the rain that falls not just onto the ground but also tickles my face like an impish schoolgirl. Its work isn’t just in the immediate - its power will go on as it is carried by streams and rivers to farmland or as it is purified and used to quench the thirst of people in need. Flowers will bloom and wildlife will flourish and the air will be a bit better because of it. As it is carried along, today’s gentle rain gives life tomorrow and the next day and the next.

(musing)

Jesus, life is a vapor. I pray mine has the sweet fragrance of eternity as it is carried in the breeze. Let me live this day fully...and let me love this day fully.

Type A and Plan B.

"We're called to be faithful to God even when it seems He hasn't been faithful to us. We're called to love Him even when we feel abandoned. We're called to look for Him even in the midst of the darkness. We're called to worship Him even through our tears."

Pete Wilson is the pastor of Crosspoint Church in Nashville, Tennessee. His blog, withoutwax.tv, is a place I visit frequently to be inspired and challenged. And it's where I learned about his first book, Plan B. I was honored to receive an advance reader's copy.

So, my original plan was to finish reading Plan B several weeks ago. I even blocked time on my calendar - “read Plan B, “ponder Plan B,” “review Plan B.” But it seems this Type A has had to move to her own Plan B, because I haven’t finished it yet.

Now, please don’t get the wrong idea - it’s not that I don’t want to read the book (trust me, I’ve got a stack of books that have been started but not finished because they simply haven’t captivated me). Rather, it’s because I keep reading - and re-reading - chapter after chapter, finding myself and those I love in the stories, discovering new soundbites, and falling even more in love with the beauty of an imperfect life made perfect by a God who causes all things to work together for His good and His glory. Pete is unafraid to talk about a life that is messy, that doesn’t have all the answers - and about a God who is sovereign in the midst of the mess.

"In this life, many of your questions will simply not have answers. But through it all, God Himself will never change. That is why our faith must rest on His identity and not necessarily His activity."

Plan B reflects on the beauty of disappointment, suffering, surrender and community. It is practical and weighty without being heavy-handed. It will be a book recommended to many, including you. And it will be a book I read - and re-read- over and over again.

The Pesky Little Brother - Crave by Chris Tomlinson

“God is different. He's much more terrifying than I had imagined, but also so much more glorious and beautiful than I thought possible.” ~ Chris Tomlinson, Crave

There are people in this world who prod me on, like a pesky little brother I don’t want to be bothered with as I rush through my self-important days. Despite my efforts to appear brilliant and more mature, certain individuals can level me with just a few well-placed words. In Chris Tomlinson, I believe I’ve met my newest “leveler.”

It starts with the title of his book. Crave - Wanting So Much More of God. As if he knows that quaking in my heart as it moves between the here-and-now and the now-and-forever, Chris’ first book shares a real, unvarnished view of a questioning Christ-follower. He addresses the topics rarely discussed in “grown-up” bible studies - topics that reveal a vulnerability and transparency we Christians often try to hide, for fear we’ll be seen as lacking on the journey. The stories are woven into other stories - about pagers and hamburgers and lawn chairs and strangers on airplanes and Twin Draft-Guards - with a purposeful lack of pretense. Each chapter is a moment, tied in a beautifully uneven bow.

Prayer. Suffering. Faith. Pleasure. Doubt. Joy. Boldness. What it feels like when God pushes - and when God is silent. What it means to pursue Christ - with abandon and with apprehension. In Crave, Chris Tomlinson pulls up a a chair and starts talking. There are no forced “teachable moments,” no alliterative points to ponder. There are simply stories - stories from a most insightful pesky little brother.