// VOX Podcast – Mike Erre
If you’re comfortable with your life, theology, and thoughts about faith and the evangelical church – and you’re happy that way – do not listen to this podcast. Fair warning.
I’ve been listening to Mike for about a year now, at the encouragement of my buddy Jace who attends Mike’s church in southern California. It took me awhile to warm up to him, but now I’m hooked.
A few things I appreciate are the candor, the forthrightness, and the commitment to scriptural authority. I am grateful for the insights which have pushed me to ponder why I believe what I believe and challenged me to consider Jesus’ perspectives on a range of important areas of life and culture, specifically how His seem to differ from mine.
If you were raised in evangelical church as I was, you may need to prepare to be offended – and then keep listening. 🙂
// Garden City – John Mark Comer
In the spirit of challenging a lot of things I used to think I believed about my faith and church, why not overhaul my theology of work too?
I picked up this book after finally facing the reality that I am supposed to stay in my current job; two failed attempts to get out of it in a six month period of time proved to be convincing enough. A JMC fan already, I was drawn to this book like a magnet, approaching it with a heart full of hope that he would enlighten me to truths that I wasn’t aware of and/or unwilling to grasp.
Expectations fulfilled, and I’m only halfway through it.
Surprisingly (maybe to no one else, but me), I didn’t have a theology of work. I fell into the group that JMC describes as those believing that work is just something we have to put up with until our life/God brings about a change that allows us to do what we actually love.
As it turns out, that’s a lie.
In fact – we (humans) were designed to work (see Genesis 1). Work was not the Curse after the Fall, as I formerly thought; work is actually good and beautiful and to co-create and co-labor with our Father is actually a privilege, if we accept it as such.
This concept was pretty life-altering for me, in that after processing and praying through what I was reading, I realized I was excited to get up and go to the office everyday for the first time in two and a half years.
// liquid Vitamin D
Talk about an instant attitude shift! Living in the PNW basically guarantees that I’m deficient in Vitamin D, but I didn’t make the connection between the deficiency and my slight decrease in “happy” during the winter months – until now!
You know it’s effective when your high school students comment about how peppy you are at 6:30am Bible study.
This is the one I take – 5 drops a day!
// Darling blog
Even as an avid blog reader, I don’t typically read any one blog every single day. Except for this one.
First of all, what is not to love about the first printed (and online) magazine to feature un-retouched photos?
Second of all, they are consistently writing really good articles about things that I (and my people) care deeply about and things that matter. So it’s applicable, inspiring, interesting, and informative.
Here are links to a couple of my favorite posts that I shared multiple times with girlfriends (yes, I’m that girl) to whet your appetite.
Why Embracing Sorrow Paves Our Way to Joy
How to Wait (For Anything) Well
Should You Detox Your Armpits? A DIY
The Most Important Time of Day to Digitally Disconnect
// high schoolers
This year, I did something crazy and launched/wrote/taught/led 24 high school students in my church through a Leadership/Discipleship program. We just wrapped up the program last weekend and I am feeling all the love for them and the other amazing students in our youth ministry.
Professional photograph in title image taken by Madison Kay Photography © 2017
