Unexpected

I am a reader.  I LOVE to read!  I like a pretty large variety of things, but in the summer I love to crush some fiction.  There’s just something about getting carried away to another place.  A whole nother world, where the people are new and their lives are not mine.  I believe it’s probably good for the soul to let your mind drift off every once in a while.  However, you cannot live there forever.  At some point you have to sail back to real life, and in my real life I need all the wisdom I can get.

So far this summer I’ve read three books.  One was really bad, boring & no real point.  I won’t even bother to tell you the title or author because you know what they say, “if you don’t have anything nice to say, just leave it alone”.  Next, I read a really good book by Mitch Albom called The First Phone Call from Heaven. I totally enjoyed this one.  It’s a story of hope lost and found, and the importance of friends, family and community.  I’ve started one more fiction book that I hope to finish this weekend at the beach.  The beach is my absolute favorite place to read!  Nothing like the sun and waves to help with that whole “getting carried away” thing.

Along with my summer fiction I also decided to start my very first book club this week, which is the real reason I am posting today.  Having never been in a book club I have no real experience, but I would imagine the whole point is to share with others what you are learning, so I thought maybe this would make for a few good posts.

The book is called Unexpected and it’s by Christine Caine.  I love Chris! She is a really good writer, and one of the best Bible teachers I have ever heard.  She is FULL of passion and it is so contagious!  I highly recommend looking her up if you are not familiar with her yet.  She has a spot on TV, and tons of YouTube videos.  

I started the book on Monday and I haven't even finished with chapter one yet, but already the Lord is working on my heart.  I love this quote from page 17 by Tom Robbins:

“True stability results when presumed order and presumed disorder are balanced.  A truly stable system expects the unexpected, is prepared to be disrupted, waits to be transformed.”

I pray that my heart and the hearts of all who are reading this book with me will be transformed over the next few weeks.

So in chapter one, Chris starts the book with some things she’s gone through, and the faithfulness of God in it all.  It pulls you right in and let’s you know you are not alone in your pain, suffering and often pure chaos.  She tells you in chapter one exactly what she did to get through it all.  First, she purposed in her heart to trust God. On page 26 she says, “I also called on a few faithful and faith filled friends whom I could trust to pray for me - friends I knew in the coming weeks would speak faith to me when I might not be strong enough to stand alone in the face of fear”.  This is where I was first convicted.  Am I that friend?  Do I pray for my friends? Yes, of course I do.  Do I pray for my friends enough?  No, I have to admit that I do not lift them up nearly as much as I should.  I hate admitting that, it breaks my heart, but I know I can do better.  We are a needy people everyday, so we need to be lifted up everyday.  There is so much power in prayer. Not only does it move mountains, but it brings you in close to the King of the universe, and there is no better place to be than in His presence!  Next, am I speaking faith to my friends?  Not always, that’s for sure!  Those of you who know me, know I tend to be a glass half empty girl, a negative Nancy so to speak, but you know what?!  I can do better here too.  From this day forward I am going to do my best to speak life and encouragement, but I might need help.  For all of you who are in my life, I ask that you would encourage me in this.  If you hear that negative hobunk coming out of my mouth, call me out on it, please!!  The bible says in Proverbs 18, “the tongue can bring death or life” and I pray that mine would bring life.  

Chris also says on page 27 that she stayed in the Word and found key verses to pray and believe.  She kept them on her phone so that she could read them throughout the day.  She said she would read them aloud and committed to only speak the Word.  She said we can either “feed our fear or feed our faith”, and she chose to feed her faith.  I choose to feed my faith too, and commit this day to helping my precious friends and family choose faith as well.  Will this be hard on some days?  Of course it will, but like Chris says on page 29, we can choose hourly and sometimes minute by minute to fight and stay focussed.

We can do this y’all.  We can love and pray and encourage one another every singe day!  

Today I choose God. I choose life. I choose my friends and family!

I would love the opportunity to pray for you.  I would love for you to pray for me.  Please comment below if you have a need, or if you just need to pour out your heart.  

Father, I thank you for this day, I thank you for this book, and I thank you for incredible writers who help us understand how pleasing this journey can be when we are surrendered to you.  Be with all of my friends and family this day.  Let them KNOW your presence and feel your love deep in their hearts.  Help us be committed to you and to each other in all that we do.  In the sweet name of Jesus I pray amen.