Lauren Sparks

The Sparks Notes

October is On the Way Out…and Grace and Truth Link Up

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As this goes to print (figuratively), tomorrow is Halloween.  That means November and Thanksgiving lurk just around the corner.  This season continues to look much different than previous years, and far fewer people talk about the gift of time they received from the pandemic back in March.  It seems busyness returned for many of us, but the inconveniences and difficulties linger.  And yet we find ways to modify and keep going and I am more thankful than ever for the normalcies we still have.

 

My 15 year old stays moving with a challenging course load and driver’s ed!  She has only scared me a few dozen times – actually she is progressing well.  She can taste the independence and she wants it BAD!  She sings constantly – around the house as well as rehearsing with three different choir ensemble groups.  And we finally got to have a full-blown, but socially distanced, choir performance.  Sing Off is an annual solo competition.  The directors selected my girl to open the show and she KILLED it!  I might not be unbiased in that analysis.  But we loved seeing her perform again in the first school performance since their Christmas show in mid December!  Check out her song below!   Taking the PSAT and celebrating her BFF’s 16th birthday basically rounds out her month.

Chuck and Shelby continue to plug along with school and work.  Shelby is having a little more trouble with seizures in the classroom this month and Chuck continues to work hard to learn everything he needs to learn and access all the required systems for his new job.  I would love you to cover both of those things in prayer, if you think about it.  Shelby’s annual ARD (meeting with educators for special needs students for curriculum planning) lasted only 15 minutes online as compared to the usual hour or longer.  I was very aware, however, that Shelby is a short-timer with this school.  I don’t want to think about the next step!!

 

I got to celebrate a dear friend’s birthday at a yummy local restaurant dubbing itself “Tuscan Texan”.  We Texans will claim anything.  (Even our own independence once upon a time.)  I lunched with another friend and meet once a week with a great group of ladies to study Beth Moore’s Chasing Vines.  I had a little hangout with my sister and our friend from high school/ college, but this is still not enough social time for this social girl.

 

My joy at the return of Baylor football last month did not last.  The Big 12 canceled multiple games due to Covid-19 outbreaks within the ranks of the Bears, or their opponents.  And the Dallas Cowboys disappoint me more every week.  Don’t they all get that I need something to look forward to every week!?!

 

I read My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman.  I’m not sure I recommend it.  The plot was interesting, but sometimes hard to follow.  Next I dove into Dennis Jernigan’s Giant Killer:  A Heart Like David.  I really enjoyed this, learning some things about David and Goliath that I don’t think I’ve ever heard before.  I think I would recommend using it in your quiet time or daily bible study, though.  Jernigan formatted the chapters well for this and filled them with scripture.  I am back to a novel now.  I’ve alternated non-fiction and fiction lately to keep from getting overloaded on any one thing.  I’ve only just cracked the cover on The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls by Anissa Gray.  I don’t think I would have chosen this book for this particular time in my life if I had known it was so dark, but I will probably persevere through and hope for something happy.

 

The hubs and I tried the series Ted Lasso on Disney +.  Many people recommended this, but I couldn’t handle the language.  Disappointing.  I could really use something funny right now, but with four F-bombs in the first five minutes, we turned our attention to Mrs. America on Hulu.  I love history and this one interests me, at least so far.  It does cover some sensitive topics, though.  Fair warning.  We watched the movie Men of Honor about the first black master diver in the US Navy, and Patriot’s Day – a retelling of the Boston Marathon bombing.  I guess my love for history is pretty obvious.  This one was edited for TV, though, so I cannot vouch for the unedited version. 

 

The Epilepsy Foundation gave me the nerve wracking opportunity to testify before the Drug Utilization Review Board of the Health and Human Services Commission for the State of Texas.  Say that three times fast.  Our association with the foundation grants us cool opportunities to fight for those with seizures like Shelby.  I am always grateful.  And I voted early.  Not as much due to a sense of civic duty (although I have that), but because I wanted to get the thing over with!

 

I close with one of my favorite literary quotes from Anne of Green Gables.  It turns my heart to gratitude, even if this month doesn’t look exactly like I want it to.  “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”  And I hope November treats you well.

 

And now for this week’s featured post!

 

Self-doubt and self-condemnation come easy to me.  I am my own worst critic in so many areas of life.  Parenting, evangelism, health and fitness, you name it.  Sarah Howley of Inspirit Encourage wrote a post that was a balm for my soul.  Self-control:  Thoughts of Self-Doubt reminded me how much God loves me and is pleased with me – no matter what.  Click over to read if you struggle in this area too.

Grace and Truth_Rules

1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

Grace Truth_Button

Grace and Truth_Meet Hosts

We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

HEATHER HART & VALERIE RIESE – Candidly Christian
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LAUREN SPARKS
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

Now Let’s Link Up!

 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

 

Sharing is caring! If you liked this post, do me the huge honor of using the buttons below to share it to your favorite social media accounts. And if you want to get these essays emailed to you once a week, subscribe!  Lastly, my posts may contain affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy anything from one of these links, I will receive a few pennies to help offset the cost of this website at no additional charge to you. Thank you in advance for your help.

 

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Haunted Tales and Stormy Gales…and Grace and Truth Link Up

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I want to start by letting you know about my new e-book This Was Not on My Bingo Card:  Essays on Cancer and Other Related Surprises.  It is FREE, but the only way to get it is to subscribe to my blog.  Do it today in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month!  I pray you will be blessed.  Now…on to the post: 

 

It was a dark night of the soul.  So begins our spooky tale.  Gather around the campfire – if you dare.  We won’t encounter any ghosts or need to run from hockey mask wearing murderers.  No monsters or other-worldly creatures.  But I guarantee you spine-tingling, gooseflesh inducing terror as we recount…the year 2020!  Muah-ha-ha-ha!

 

Ok, maybe this year hasn’t been haunted; but it has been crazy, unexpected, unplanned, isolated and ( if you haven’t heard this enough) unprecedented.  When you roll all those things together, you get a ball I want to kick to the curb!  As my daughter said recently, I would rather swallow a jean jacket than relive the horror.

 

The Australian bush fires carried over into the first quarter of the year killing untold numbers of animals.  The California wildfires followed.  Covid-19 built steam until it shut the whole world down, killing and infecting huge portions of the population and forcing us all to wear masks – long before Halloween.  George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others died.  We mourned, we protested, and we rioted.  Loneliness and isolation still run rampant as schools, restaurants, stores and churches adapt to changing social distancing rules.

 

Presidential election years are always a disaster, but did you see the first debate?  I’m not sure what’s more frightening than that!  And somewhere in the mix a murder hornet made an appearance?  That’s the subject of a horror flick if I’ve ever heard one!  There are many other components of 202o that I lack space and time to mention, or I have blocked them out to preserve what’s left of my sanity.  But you get the gist.

 

In my family alone we have seen physical dangers, mental illness, broken bones, depression, job loss, and spiritual warfare.  Now before you log off the internet wondering why you signed up to read these depressing posts, I do know the light at the end of the tunnel.  I don’t know when the pandemic will be over.  I have no clue when or if life will resume some measure of “normalcy”.  I can’t promise an end to racial strife or guarantee that any politician ever will be civil and above board.  (Get to the point, Lauren).

 

But God…

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.  Psalms 46:1 NIV  He promises to always be with us and lend us the same power that He used to raise Jesus from the dead.  That doesn’t mean we won’t still have problems.  In fact, He guarantees that we will (John 16:33).  We live in a messed up world, after all.  But He promises to comfort us in them, so we can pass that comfort on to others (2 Corinthians 1:14).

 

God assures us in Revelation 1:17 that he was here before anything in this world and that when Coronavirus and governments and our earthly bodies are gone, He will remain.  And Romans 8:28 says, And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose.  No matter how bad it is, He can use it for good purposes if you are His.

 

John 3:16 gives us the instructions for becoming His.  For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 NIV  You only have to believe.  Trust Him.  And once you’ve been justified through faith, God brings peace( Romans 5:1).  You may not always feel it in a moment of struggle or sadness, but the peace is always there.  Knowing what He has saved you from and what you are being saved to can usher that peace back in.  Just lean into Him.

 

Conclusion

 

I guess our story is not so scary after all.  If you would like to hear more of the story of God’s love for you, I would like nothing better than to share it with you.  Contact me at lauren@laurensparks.net and we will email, text, call or go to coffee if you are close by.  It’s my favorite story to tell.

 

And now for this week’s featured post.

 

Engage multiple senses with Jeanne Takenaka’s Desert:  How to Trust God to Provide in Worrisome Times.  This gorgeous post combines breathtaking scenery photos with a message we might all need to hear right now.  Thank you for linking up, Jeanne.

 

 

Grace and Truth_Rules

 

1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

 

Grace Truth_Button

 

Grace and Truth_Meet Hosts

 

We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

HEATHER HART & VALERIE RIESE – Candidly Christian
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LAUREN SPARKS
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

Now Let’s Link Up!

 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

 

 

Sharing is caring! If you liked this post, do me the huge honor of using the buttons below to share it to your favorite social media accounts. And if you want to get these essays emailed to you once a week, subscribe!  Lastly, my posts may contain affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy anything from one of these links, I will receive a few pennies to help offset the cost of this website at no additional charge to you. Thank you in advance for your help.

 

To find some great places where I might be sharing this post, click here.

Take Off the Gloves! A Guide to Political and Other Discourse

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I want to start by letting you know about my new e-book This Was Not on My Bingo Card:  Essays on Cancer and Other Related Surprises.  It is FREE, but the only way to get it is to subscribe to my blog.  Do it today in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month!  I pray you will be blessed.  Now…on to the post: 

19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.  James 1:19-20  NIV

 

I often pray the words, “Lord, come quickly.”  I recently added the prayer, “Let the election pass quickly.”  People seem to lose their ever loving minds over presidential elections.  Social media turns into a hotbed of hatred and vitriol – even more so than usual.  And from my vantage point, Christians often shout the loudest and fling the most poo.  This both frustrates and saddens me.

 

There is a reason people say we should never talk about politics or religion at the dinner table.  And it’s not because those topics aren’t interesting.  We have simply forgotten (or maybe never taught) how to listen to people we disagree with.  I use the election as a current and relevant thorn in my side, but we could just as well substitute racial equality, differences in theology, our response to COVID-19, or a slew of other hot topics.

 

John 13:35 says, By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.  NIV  What I have never seen in the Bible is that we will show others we follow Jesus with our anti-fill in the blank rhetoric.  I don’t know how “love one another” got translated to “convince you to think just like me”.  And even if it did, I don’t see the arguing leading to much convincing.  If anything, it’s just causing more arguing.

 

I think our conversations become so cyclical and fruitless because we fail in the art of listening well.  In a debate (friendly or not), we most often listen only long enough to formulate our counter-point instead of listening to understand.  It’s a problem as old as time.  I mean, did you see the 1st presidential debate?  Or some would say debacle?  Proverbs 18:13  NIV states, To answer before listening—that is folly and shame.  But that foolishness is exactly what most of us do.  So how can we listen better, and as a result, conduct healthier dialogue?  

 

1.  Be About the Relationship

 

God is love, and the Bible tells the story of His love relationship with us from beginning to end.  His word commands us to love others because He loves us (1 John 4:19) and love is about relationship.  Our goal in any interaction – whether in person or online – should be to show Christ-like love.  If we are primarily motivated by forming, maintaining or furthering relationship with another, we will naturally use language that encourages, builds up and shows compassion.  Care more about the person than your point.

 

2.  Ask Clarifying Questions

 

In a sermon a couple of months ago, my pastor suggested saying, “Help me understand… (what you said, what you’re feeling, what lead you to your opinion or ideas).  How did you arrive at that conclusion?”  Knowing where someone else is coming from leads to fewer misunderstandings and promotes empathy, which benefits the relationship.  It also gives you the opportunity to think twice and speak once, which also leads to fewer misunderstandings.

 

3.  Present Your “Side” with Permission

 

This suggestion came from my wise pastor as well.  Ask permission to ask questions about what’s been said.  Then say, “Is it okay if I share some thoughts on some things I see differently?”  Become less of a bulldozer.  You are entitled to your opinion, but you aren’t always entitled to share it.  Having the humility to ask for permission shows respect for the individual (remember relationship is the goal).  And let’s be honest, mowing over someone with your ideas or beliefs never really works.

 

Let’s open our ears and rain down grace on those we come in contact with.  2020 has been hard enough.

 

And now for this week’s featured post!

 

I just featured Barbara Harper of Stray Thoughts last week, but I had to do it again.  I think she is somehow reading my mind and my struggles!  In What Do You Look for When You Read the Bible, she touched on reading the Bible for truth and not just to speak into our current struggle or feeling.  I believe God often does that for us with His word, but this seeking out this type of study is a slippery slope to twisting God’s word to meet our narrative.  Thank you, Barbara, for this glimpse of the whole of God’s Word.

 

Grace and Truth_Rules

1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

Grace Truth_Button

Grace and Truth_Meet Hosts

We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

HEATHER HART & VALERIE RIESE – Candidly Christian
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LAUREN SPARKS
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

Now Let’s Link Up!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

 

Sharing is caring! If you liked this post, do me the huge honor of using the buttons below to share it to your favorite social media accounts. And if you want to get these essays emailed to you once a week, subscribe!  Lastly, my posts may contain affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy anything from one of these links, I will receive a few pennies to help offset the cost of this website at no additional charge to you. Thank you in advance for your help.

 

To find some great places where I might be sharing this post, click here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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