“Sometimes I just need a little push.” Linnea told me as she climbed onto the swing.

For two years we were trying to teach Linnea how to swing by herself. She wasn’t very interested last summer, even though we’d see kids her age swinging by themselves at the park quite a bit. This spring at Grandpa and Grandma’s house, Linnea turned a corner and started to “pump her legs” thus allowing her freedom while swinging.

I hadn’t been to a park with her since she learned this skill until tonight. She jumped up onto the swing and I was expecting her to start by herself. She was struggling a bit. “Sometimes I just need a little push.” she said to me as I gave her one big push. 

Then off she went! And she LOVED IT so much!

“See dad. I needed just a little help.” she said loud enough that neighbors to the park could have heard. 

Don’t we all, Linnea. It’s amazing the wisdom that I’ve gained from the time I spend with my 4-year-old. 

We all need a little push sometimes, don’t we? I know that I certainly do. I started writing over two years ago, totally thinking that 6-9 months later there would be a book in my hand. I’ve taken some breaks from working on the book, started a blog, and taken some breaks from that as well. 

But there have been people in my life that have been giving me a push when I really need it. Rachel’s been such an encouragement as have countless numbers of you as well.

Thanks for pushing me to continue writing and sharing our story. Thanks for your support. And most of all, thanks for your prayers. My mission is to share the love of Jesus and the truth of the Gospel with the world and I thank you for joining me on that journey.

Book Recommendation:

The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry

by John Mark Comer

At the end of 2021, I set a goal for myself to read twelve books during 2022. For any reader out there, twelve is such a low number of books to read in a year. But I haven’t read that many books in one year since I had “required reading” in college, and I doubt that most of us ever count those books anyway. 

So far, through the first 5+ months, I’ve been doing pretty well on my goal. I like reading but I don’t always take time for it. What I have been really enjoying is adding regularly listening to audiobooks into the mix. I really enjoy it when the author is also the audiobook narrator. 

Last week I finished The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer. I’ve listened to Comer’s various podcasts in the past, one of them was even about this book. But, I learned so much and was so encouraged by his writing. 

The premise should be simple, eliminate hurry. The action step to arrive at that truth is that in order to eliminate hurry we must attack it, ruthlessly eliminate it. This is difficult for me. But when I pair the books I’ve been reading (Soundtracks - Jon Acuff, God Walk - Mark Buchanan, and my current read Undistracted - Bob Goff) alongside the sermons we’ve been learning from at church, I think this is a space I need to spend more time and resources.

Outside of the easy listening (reading) that Comer’s book is, my biggest takeaway was the action steps that can be taken to help build the muscle needed to eliminate hurry from our lives. Things like: don’t go over the speed limit, drive in the slow lane, stop completely at stop signs, kill your TV, and parent your phone are a few examples of practical things that we can do to slow down.

I’m not great at all of the list of 20, I’m not even great at the few examples that I shared in the previous paragraph, but he gives me a list that contains ideas. If you’ve been feeling rushed and that your life is moving at a pace that is unsustainable, pick up this book. If you like audiobooks, this is an excellent one.

One word of caution though, I got about half of the way through the introduction and realized that my “reading” speed on Audible was set to 1.5 - you might not want to read a book discussing the ruthless elimination of hurry at 1.5 speed…kind of defeats the point.

Scripture:

“28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” - Matthew 6:28-30

Do not be anxious. Do not worry. It’s for sure what I need to hear, and it might be what you need to hear as well. I love Jesus’ words to us…do not worry. God’s love for us is so much greater than how much God loves the flowers of the field, and he has given the flowers exactly what they need to survive. If that’s the case, God will certainly provide for us as well. 

Have faith. Don’t worry. God’s got this.

My Favorite Post of June

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