I can hardly believe it’s already the end of July 2020. We’re halfway through the most insane year of my lifetime and if there was ever a year to rush through it is this one. Yet I have so many things coming up in the next 6 weeks I want to make sure to slow down and savor and enjoy them all! Have you ever participated in Heather’s monthly link up Share Four Somethings before? If not, there’s no time like the present to join us!
Something Loved
This month I loved hopping on Zoom to chat with my friend Anne Rulo about Pursuing Your Calling in Difficult Seasons. Anne is a fellow coach’s wife and is SO insightful when it comes to how we process stress internally and externally. It was great to dive into Scripture with her, laugh, and talk about ways to re-frame challenging times in positive ways.
Something Read
David French wrote an interesting article The Case for Religious Liberty Is More Compelling than the Case for Christian Power
The longer the American culture war persists, the more convinced I am that the distinction between religious power and religious liberty is the key to understanding the incredible angst felt by so many white American Christians. White Christians feel this angst even in spite of a string of court victories that have secured religious liberty from state interference to a degree that’s unprecedented in American constitutional history. And the difference between power and liberty explains why many other American religious communities do not feel similar anxiety and thus make dramatically different political choices from their white Evangelical friends. Simply put, religious liberty is increasing even as white Christian religious power is decreasing.
I’m finding more centrist voices speaking out and distancing themselves from the craziness of what some might call a “holy war.” It’s refreshing to hear logic from more conservative voices again. (Oh, and if you don’t think French is conservative or a centrist that says more about how far you’ve swung right than where he sits.)
Something Treasured
This month we were able to sit outside at a restaurant for the first time since March. It felt halfway normal to have a breakfast date with my favorite coach. We wore our masks inside to order and when our food was delivered, but the food service at the middle eastern restaurant and grocery in town was impeccable and I was thrilled to support a locally owned business and have a real date. Now, if I could only figure out what was in that omelet besides an insane amount of butter…
Something Ahead
Next month is going to embracing our new normal without fear. We’ll be maneuvering through school, football season, and a book launch through a pandemic. I have no idea what any of it looks like and yet I’m hopeful for all of it. Hopeful that we’ll figure things out as a team, that we will continue to prioritize healthy choices, and that we will find something to be grateful for each day.
There are so many things in this season that I can’t control, but God is bigger than all of it, and I’m striving to rest in his strength rather than mine.
For more Share For Something link ups head over the Heather Gerwing’s blog and see what other people are saying!