My Top 5 Favorite Books of All Time

Once I finish  book, I'm usually done with it and don't look back. Most books I've read I can't tell you what they are about. When I open the pages, I'm immersed in the book and once the book ends, that's it. I don't have much a memory for books, except for the ones I'm about to share. 

These books have impacted me far after I've closed the book. Even now, I can remember lines from these books and how they made me feel as I was reading them. Some of them I read more than 20 years ago. Indeed, carrying around words and feelings from a book is a mark of its greatness for me.

Here are my favorite books (in no particular order)

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison: The story of 11-year-old Pecola Breedlove who wishes for blue eyes so that she'll be seen as beautiful. The story is hauntingly heartbreaking but written with such beauty and prose that it's hard to put down. I read this book my freshman year at Howard University and still the story sits with me. 

One of my favorite passages showcasing Morrison's exquisite imagery: 

"Pecola stood a little apart from us, her eyes hinged in the direction in which Maureen had fled. She seemed to fold into herself, like a pleated wing. Her pain antagonized me. I wanted to open her up, crisp her edges, ram a stick down the hunched and curving spine, force her to stand erect and spit the misery out on the streets. But she held it in where it could lap up into her eyes." 

God's Chosen Fast by Arthur Walls: I bought this book shortly after I got saved at the age of 18.  It's a practical handbook on the subject of fasting that I have read many times over.

Your God Is Too Safe by Mark Buchanan: I also found this book early in my Christian walk and it was just what I needed at the time. I knew that God is good, but what I didn't realize is that He isn't always safe...and that's okay because He's taking us on the adventure of our lives. God is loving but He's unpredictable (just as He should be.)

One of my favorite passages:

The safe God asks nothing of us, gives nothing to us. He never drives us to our knees in hungry, desperate praying and never sets us on our feet in fierce, fixed determination. He never makes us bold to dance. The safe god never whispers in our ears anything but greeting card slogans and certainly never asks that we embarrass ourselves by shouting out from the rooftop. "

In His Face: A Prophetic Call to Renewed Focus: By Bob Sorge: I got hip to Bob Sorge from worship leader Judith Christie McAllister. I used to work for she and her husband and she told me about his ministry. After hearing some of his messages and his testimony, I was hooked. His voice was damaged at a time when God was using him mightily to preach. This book urges readers to keep a spiritual focus in a world that wants us to do anything but that.

One of my favorite parts of the book: "The enemy always accuses us in the first person, as though there were our own thoughts, when in reality  they are his thoughts injected into our minds. Let me tell you why the enemy steps up his accusations when you try to worship the Lord. It's because he knows that worship is transformational."

Reposition Yourself: Living Life Without Limits by T.D. Jakes: This book is just good practical advice. Yes, Jakes is one of the greatest preachers alive, but this book is not sermon-based but for real life. Awesome read that I want to dive back into now.

A favorite passage: "Mediocrity places the blinders of the mundane on you so that you cannot see beyond the trials of the present moment- the bills, the kids, the stress, the illness, the breakup. And if it can keep you preoccupied with its latest dart of potential poison, then it can wear you down to where you accept the poison as the only potion available. You end up feeling like there are no options, no choices, no resources to defend yourself with and use to overcome adversity and achieve victory."

What are some of your favorite books?

Surprised By A 6 Year Old's Faith: How My Son's Prayer Turned a Profit

A few days ago, my six-year-old son asked if he could set up an art stand (think lemonade stand) featuring his Charlie Brown drawings. I was hesitant. I mean, who is going to stop on our street and buy drawings from a kid they don't know?

He kept asking, so I finally relented. The first afternoon nothing happened since it was late and getting dark. I thought he'd forget about it. But today, he kept asking, so again he set up shop. I made sure to give him a pep talk so he wouldn't be let down. I let him know it's Sunday and most of our neighbors are at church. Plus, we live on a quiet street that doesn't see much traffic. Even with all that, he was convinced he was going to sell a drawing. He even asked if he could go door to door. 

He got his older brother in on the action yelling, "Charlie Brown pictures! Get your Charlie Brown pictures! $2." A few cars drove by with only one passenger turning to see what my son was doing. My heart sank.

After about 30 minutes of sitting out in the hot sun, I told the boys they'd have to come in for lunch. Just as they were about to pack up, a guy in Mustang drove by and waved. Then, he slowed down and backed up.

He asked my son, "what are you selling?"

"Charlie Brown drawings," my son replied.

The man got out of the car and asked how much.

"$2 for one and $4 for 2," my son announced.

"Do you have change for a ten?" the man asked.

"Aw man, we are not prepared," my 10-year-old son said. "We don't have change."

"I'll take three drawings," the man said as he handed my son a $10 bill.

I wish someone could have captured the looks on all of our faces.

"You have to sign each one of the pictures for me though, okay?" the man said.

My son happily obliged.

The man waved at me and said, "This is how dreams start." He took his drawings, shook my son's hand, told him to keep up the good work and drove off.

With just one customer, my son sold more than half of his inventory of Charlie Brown drawings.

When we got inside I asked him if he was shocked. He saId, "well, last night I prayed for a customer to come. I told God I would be patient and just do whatever He wanted me to do." His bedtime prayer turned into today's profit.

He had faith when I didn't. And I felt just plain bad about it.

Looking at it logically, it probably was unlikely that anyone would stop on our street and buy from him. But in the world of "with God all things are possible" this was definitely in the realm of possibility. 

I had to apologize to my son for not having faith in his endeavor. It's definitely a lesson that I'll be carrying with me for the rest of my mothering years. No matter how unlikely I think their dreams are or how it doesn't make sense to me, the least I can do is stand in faith with them. I'm amazed at how these children challenge me to up my faith at every turn.

Six Ways To Be in the Will of God: Saturday Night Sermon Notes

I love Saturday night church!

Getting all three kids ready for church on Saturday is so much easier that corralling them early Sunday for 8:45am service. Plus, it gives us a day of rest on Sunday.

The faintest ink is more powerful than the strongest memory. – Chinese proverb

My pastor mentioned this quote last night when he was urging the congregation to take notes to help the message sink in. For a few weeks now, I’ve gone back to handwriting notes after switching from using my iPad to follow along and take notes. I had to chuckle at myself tonight because I forgot my notebook so I had to use a scribbled up sheet I found in my Bible. 

Tonight’s message was good solid teaching so I thought I’d share sermon notes from my pastor's message at Saturday night church.

The topic: Six Ways To Be in the Will of God.

1. The will of God is sitting at Jesus’ feet. Mark 3:31-35  Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.” “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked. Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!  Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

We need to hear God’s Word and spend undistracted time in the Bible. Meditation = illumination = manifestation = action.

2. The will of God is giving to the Lord then through something He is doing through people. 2 Corinthians 8:1-7 

And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2 In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. 5 And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us. 6 So we urged Titus, just as he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. 7 But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you[a]—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.

We are to give of ourselves, our time and talents. Then we are to support the work that God is giving through others like missions, volunteering for programs, etc. When we see God moving through a work, it is His will that we give to it.

3. God’s will is that you work hard and enthusiastically.

Ephesians 6:5-8 Living Bible (TLB): Slaves, obey your masters; be eager to give them your very best. Serve them as you would Christ. 6-7 Don’t work hard only when your master is watching and then shirk when he isn’t looking; work hard and with gladness all the time, as though working for Christ, doing the will of God with all your hearts.8 Remember, the Lord will pay you for each good thing you do, whether you are slave or free.

This scripture should be read in the context of employer and employee. We should work as if Jesus is our boss and not man. Don’t just do enough to get by but do your work and be happy about it. Even if you think you have a calling on your life, still work as unto the Lord until you are moved to your next assignment.

4. God’s will is that you be sanctified. I Thessalonians 4:3 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality. Sanctified means set apart for God. We have to choose to live within the boundaries that God has set for our sexuality. God created us and sex. When God sets boundaries it’s for our benefit. He has our best interest at heart.

 3 Ways to Live Pure When You are Tempted:

1.     Run away! Joseph ran away from Potiphar’s wife who pursued him sexually—even to the point of leaving his beloved coat behind. 2 Timothy 2:22, I Corinthians 6:18 Flee sexual immorality.

2.     Make no provision for the flesh Romans 13:14 No provision = no advance planning. If you make provision for the flesh then you will fulfill the lust of the flesh.

3.     Renew your mind with the Word. Romans 12:1-2 . Change your thinking. Conform means to squeeze into a mold from outside pressure. The spirit of the age in which we live will squeeze you into its mold.

5.    God’s will is that you find something to be thankful for. I Thessalonians 5:18. Don’t be thankful for everything but in whatever circumstance you find yourself in you can find something to be thankful for.

6.    It’s God’s will that you turn to Him. 2 Peter 3:9 The first step in salvation is to turn from sin. There’s an SOS that goes out from every heart and God sent rescue through Jesus. This rescue can’t be fulfilled any other way or through any other relationship, not through noble works or religion.

The Gift List: Entering With Thanksgiving

Entering the Thanksgiving season with a continued list of blessings big and small. 

#151-196

151. Prayers offered up to God: holy incense.

152. Anticipation

153. Sweet watermelon

154. And ripe peaches

155. Floral skirts

156. Popsicles of every color.

157. Being humble enough to apologize.

158. My grandmother's recipes....passed down.

159. Afternoon sunlight pouring into the living room.

160. You Can Depend On Jesus

161.  The smell of freshlly baked muffins filling the house.

162. An unexpected overnight rain.

163. Sweet voice mail messages from family.

164. Standing on the edge of the Pacific Ocean.

165. God singing over me. 

166. Still loving his kiss after 14 years.

167. Summer strawberries.

168. Friendly neighbors.

169. And kind strangers.

170. Maxi skirts and sandals.

171. Grits

172. And eggs scrambled soft.

173. Sweet news of a friend's pregnancy after two miscarriages.

174. Skirts that twirl.

175. Hugs that hold tight and last a while.

176. My 10 year old leading us in prayer.

177. "It is well with my soul" sung loudly and with conviction.

178. Standing in the gap in prayer.

179. "Thank you" from my husband.

180. "He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. "

181. A glimpse of God working on the other side of the mountain.

182. A visit from my cousin-in-law who is just like a natural-born cousin.

183. Baby girl playing in my hair.

184. Leftovers for lunch.

185. The SoCal sky at sunset.

186. Warm showers.

187. Clean linens on the bed pulled tight.

188. Compliments from strangers.

189. Piles of books on my nightstand.

190. A fresh coat of polish on my toes.

191. A FaceTime call with my mother on the other end.

192. Leg hugs from baby girl when I pick her up.

193. That happy exhaustion after a work out.

194. A grocery cart full of food.

195. Sending thinking about you texts.

196....and receiving them too.

What's on your gift list?

What's On My iPhone Right Now

I love seeing what other apps people have on their iPhones. So I'm sharing in the hopes that all you iPhoners out there will share with me! 

I'm still rocking the iPhone 4S, but that's about to change now that I'm eligible for an upgrade. Can't wait. Anyway, since I recently cleaned up my app life, I thought I'd share what survived the purge. I keep a lot of my apps in folders named according to action like Watch, Listen, Navigate which is much easier for me to find things.

Home Screen

Tweetbot ($4.99): This is my favorite Twitter app because I can use my Twitter lists as my timeline and it's easy to switch between them. My only complaint is that when the app was updated the developer wanted another $4.99 for the app. So I'm still using the old version.

Downcast: ($2.99) I'm a podcast junkie. I downloaded this before Apple made an app for Podcasts. It's easy to organize apps and navigate.

mSecure ($9.99): All my passwords in one place. I like that it syncs between the iPad and Mac versions. It requires a password to open the app and you can encrypt the passwords in the app or just allow them to show.

Instagram (Free): Addicted. Need I say more?

PicFeed (Free): This is a favorite. It let's me create custom Instagram feeds based on any topic or subject I pick. I don't like following a ton of people on Instagram because then I end up missing posts from my favorites because my timeline is all clogged up with too many accounts. With this, I have feeds that I can look at when I'm in the mood without cluttering up my Instagram feed and it doesn't count against my following count. I have feeds for: DIY planners, menu planning/recipes, hair, and inspiration to name a few.

MoneyWiz ($4.99): My electronic checkbook register and the place where I keep budgets for eating out, groceries, etc. When I'm out and make a purchase, I immediately put the transaction in so my balance is always current.

Other Home Page favorites: Squarespace (my blogging software) lets me write and post to my blog. Feedly (feed reader to feed my blog reading habit). Words with Friends (I've had a game going ever since the game came out: screen name is NONSuperwoman. I'm always up for a game.) Navy Federal (my bank of choice since I kicked Wells Fargo to the curb.) Latergramme (let's me schedule Instagram posts.)

Other Favorites:

TeeVee:($2.99) Since we don't have cable, there's no DVR to help me keep track of shows. This app does the trick. It lists episodes and lets me check off what I've watched so I know how far behind I am on a certain show. 

Rowmote ($4.99): We watch lots of our shows online and this app let's me control my MacBook from the couch when it's hooked up to the TV. No more having to get up from the couch to navigate things.

IFTTT (If This Then That) is a nifty app that I recently started using. You can put in recipes to automate tasks based on: if this happens, then do that. For example, I set up a recipe for my Instragram photos to be backed up to Dropbox every time I post. The possibilities are endless.

Remote (Free): This app is much easier to use than the Apple TV remote because it's easier to use the iPhone keyboard to type in than navigate letters with the physical Apple TV remote. We watch lots of Apple TV around here so it comes in handy. 

Roku (Free): The Roku remote comes in handy when we misplace the physical remote.

What's on your iPhone or iPad? I'd love to see and hear.

Navigating Life in Two Seasons: Help for the Waiting Soul

The temps in Southern California today will reach 80+. The calendar says autumn, but the weather says summer….sort of.

This is typical fall weather here: warm, sunny days, but the mornings are chilly with cool evenings. I had to turn on the heater for the first time this week to knock the chill out of the house. But when I got dressed, I had to take into account that while chilly in the morning the sweater I’d layered over my chambray shirt would need to be taken off before mid-day. I might also add that I’m wearing sandals…in November.

Living in two seasons is like that. And it’s just something that comes with the territory when living in sunny Southern California.

But what about when you are in between seasons in your soul? There’s no bringing an extra sweater when it’s get chilly or removing a layer when the trials of life get too hot.

So what is one to do when you’re stuck between “waiting for” and “not having”?

I’m currently in between seasons so I know it well. Prayers have been uttered on bended knee before a great big God. Still no manifestation of what was uttered in faith. Maybe that’s you too today?

Praying for the plus sign on the pregnancy test.

Going before God’s throne for the salvation of a loved one.

Requesting God to help you through the fog of depression.

Prayers spoken but answers not seen yet. The land of in-between is a hard place to be. I think of road trips from Southern to Northern California. I’ve driven the route more times than I can count. Six hours of open roads, most of it through Central California on the 5 freeway where farm lands stretches far and wide. No scenery, just dirt for miles. Most of the drive looks like a no-man’s land. But if you look close enough, there are crops in the ground being formed into sustenance.

Most of our in-between time is like that: prayers planted in faith with no results in sight. I think of my oldest son. His 3DS broke a few months back. He’s been asking for a one and praying every night for God to replace the broken game console with a new one.  Just two weeks ago, my husband came into some extra money and was able to purchase it for him. Thing is, our son doesn’t know that a new 3DS XL is already purchased and waiting to be given to him on his birthday in less than two weeks on November 16. (He's getting more than what he even asked for with the XL version).

In the early days of the 3DS breaking, he cried, whined and complained. We had a talk about the best results for getting what you want. I told him prayers to God in faith would be more productive than all the whining. So he changed his attitude and did something surprising: he cleared a place on his dresser for his new 3DS and said nothing would go there until he got what he was praying for. Then every night instead of praying for the 3DS, he started thanking God that He already had what he’d asked for.

Such great lessons for surviving life in two seasons.

-          Stop whining and complaining.

-          Change your attitude

-          Expect what you’ve asked for

-          Change petitions to thanksgiving.

Faith in God is the bridge over the land of in-between. Walking over that bridge may look like laying out your interview clothes for the job interview that hasn’t even happened yet like my friend Tondra did when she closed down her in-home daycare and ventured back into the workplace. Walking over the bridge may look like buying baby clothes after the doctor tells you that you will never have children due to complications, which is a what another friend of mine did. Today she is the mother of a beautiful daughter.

Don’t wallow in the waiting. Put your faith to work for you and watch the season change.

DrCornwallace

currently: november 2014

Enjoying: a rare moment: a quiet house after a day of kid chaos....The kids are all sleep. Ssssh.

(Feed and email readers: click here if the above image doesn't show up).

Ready: for bed at 9:22 p.m. I've been staying up way too late and regretting it in the morning.

Planning: birthday and Christmas lists in my head. The boys have birthdays in November and December.

Gearing up: for Parent Teacher conferences on Friday. I enjoy hearing how the teachers see our kids.

Looking forward to: Fred Hammond's new CD I Will Trust.

Listening to: Laura Hackett Park's Love Will Have Its Day on repeat. Glorious worship music

Watching: a Steffany Gretzinger worship playlist someone created on YouTube

How Transparent Should Our Social Media Lives Be? Oversharing in the Name of Vulnerability

A while back I had to unfollow someone on social media because of too much transparency.

I'm all for sharing parts of your life on social media, but there is a line that can be crossed. There's a time and a place for sharing the details of the demise your marriage, or complications getting pregnant or losing or child or the sin you've dealt with. Dumping it all on social media just to dump in the name of vulnerability or transparency is just too much.

If you are going to fully bare details of your life on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or via blog, it should be to help someone who is struggling in the same area and to show them how God brought you through.

Second Corinthians 4:3-5 (MSG) says: All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too.

We are comforted to comfort someone else...and that very well may include sharing how we endured adultery in marriage or drug abuse in our 20s. These days, it seems the sharing is to boost readership and keep readers staring and unable to turn away like when they see a train wreck.

Some people feel they owe their readers something. The truth is, when we share part of our lives on social media, we don't owe readers an inside track into our personal lives. Sometimes it 's just too much...especially if what is being shared is present tense and there are other parties involved who may be negatively affected.

"One man's transparency is another's humiliation." -Gerry Adams

If we are going to lay our lives out like an open book, it should be done with a purpose: To help others along in life to get to the other side of a trial or difficult situation and it should ultimately point people to Christ. I'm all for sharing that is relevant and purposeful.

In Christian circles, where we pride ourselves on sanctification and purity, some bare their lives on all levels with reckless abandon. What is it about social media that makes its users lose all sense of boundaries with sharing? Sometimes reading what people share makes me want to cover my eyes because I just feel like I've seen and heard too much about people who I don't even know.

There are times when vulnerability is warranted: with our spouses, and those we love and care for deeply who have earned our trust and respect.

What do you think? Do you sense a spirit of over-sharing on social media? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Makes Me Happy Monday (number 6)

Did you know it's Housewife's Day? No, not those housewives! Apparently, November 3 is the day to honor stay-at-home moms. I've been one so I know how hard it is. Hats off to all the stay-at-home moms of the world.

(Email and feed readers click if you can't see above image.)

Just a few links I ran across this week that made me smile:

Loved this Facebook post from a father showing his 10 year old daughter the consequences of her trying to be older than she is.

Need to get back to gratitude? This challenge is for you then.

Maya Angelou talks about learning to con from her stepfather

Now that I'm a girl mom, this advice is important to me: 5 Ways To Let Girls Know Their Beautiful

Romance still exists...and waiting is always worth it.

And one from the archives: 10 Things I Want My Black Boys to Know.