10. A random challenge on a blog I occasionally follow called In over your Head.

9.  Seth Godin wrote this article on how the digital revolution is impacting us. Loved it. 

8. I’m still mulling this article over by Al Mohler.

7. This was by far the grossest thing I saw all week.

6. I loved Chicago Tribune’s Phil Vettel’s Summer Eating List which is probably only useful if you live in Chicago, but a great list to have!

5.Favorite Bible Passage this week: Psalm 56: This I know that God is for me.

4.Best Picture of the week.

3. Favorite Follow on Facebook or Twitter: Heather Headley!

2.New show I’m addicted to: Sherlock on the BBC.

1. A place you need to go to this weekend if you aren’t already planning on it!

Everybody’s sharing their Summer reading list, and I’m no slacker in that area.

So here’s my Summer Reading List. Feel free to share yours in the comments section!

1. Forever by Paul David Tripp.

2. In the Land of Burqas by Kate McCord.

3. The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson (I technically already started it but am not done. It is an awesome book on prayer).

4. When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert.

5. Freedom is Blogging in your underwear by Hugh MacLeod.

6. Linchpin by Seth Godin (my blogging hero and personal favorite creative genius).

7. Empty Promises by Pete Wilson.

8. Bossy Pants by Tina Fey (Sorry to disappoint some of you, but she is hi-larious).

9.Platform by Michael Hyatt (it will come out this summer and will be great!).

10. La Gloire de mon Pere by Marcel Pagnol (because I need to clean up my French).

The truth is this should carry me through mid June. I’ll give you a follow up list later in the Summer.

I asked for your help last week, and I’m going to do it again this week. I’ve been spending lots of time thinking about Biblical Womanhood and Feminism lately. I’d love your thoughts on this question. Leave a comment if you like to think.

Do you think Feminism has affected the church in a good or bad way? Explain.

She went for her usual appointment with her pediatrician, 3 children in tow.

I should begin by telling you about my friend.

She is as calm as I am hyper. She is young, and pretty, and married to her high school sweet heart since the age of 19. She is educated and artistic. She even has a blog.

She has 3 lovely well kept and well nourished kids who regularly show up on her blog: two boys and a girl, ages 8,6, and 4ish.

The entire family goes to church, eats Sunday dinner together, prays at night before going to bed.

They are the quintessential Norman Rockwell family. The dad even has abs he can brag about.

All this to say, she did not expect the 5 minute conversation that took place in her pediatrician’s office.

In the middle of the visit, the pediatrician got really serious and went eye to eye with kiddos, completely ignoring mom who sat just a few feet away.

The following line of questioning soon began:

“Hey kids, what kind of rules do you have in your house?”

“And what does your mom do when you don’t keep the rules?” We get in trouble.

“How do you get in trouble? What are the consequences?” We get spankins.

“Mom – how else do you handle the kids when they disobey?” Oh, I beat them like I’m going to do to you any second now.

I’m being glib about my friend’s response as she was much more diplomatic than I would have been.

But I need you to understand my perspective please. I’m a Pediatric ER doctor. Nobody knows better than I do the realities of child abuse. Few doctors have seen as much physical and sexual abuse as I have.

But the incident that took place between my friend and her pediatrician brought to my mind 4 controversial situations every mother will face with her wonderful pediatrician in the next decade. How you deal with each situation, moms, will require your wisdom and knowledge and maybe a little bit of research ahead of time.

1. Vaccination. This is an oldie but a goodie. Doctors, including this one, believe in vaccinations. And while I fully support immunizing your kids, I firmly believe it is your right to decide what is good for your family. In an effort to promote vaccinations, pediatricians are now encouraged to refuse patients who do not want to immunize their kids. I find that deplorable in a culture that encourages us to refuse to leave any child behind. Shame on doctors who do that.

2. Breast Feeding vs. Formula. We can thank Time magazine for bringing this issue back to the forefront when they posted a caricature of a mother breastfeeding her 6 year old child last week. Do you know any mothers who breastfeed their teenagers? I sure don’t. The title is intentionally provocative but regardless of Time magazine, the reality is that your pediatrician will have a strong opinion on this issue and will push you to adopt their notion. Forget about that. Sure – breast milk is healthy and cheap, but it doesn’t work for everyone for a million reasons. Don’t get me started.

3. Spanking. This is a hot button – no pun intended. Here’s a fact: spanking is still legal in the United States of America. I’ve blogged about spanking before, and I’m certainly aware of the lines between spanking and abuse, but unless godly Christian parents start advocating for their Biblical viewpoint on matters, you will not have the freedom to raise your kids the way you want to pretty soon. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: Wake up Christians! This is no time to be politically correct.

4. Sex and the Teenager. Last but not least, did you know that your doctor is legally protected by HIPPA laws to talk to your 12 year old daughter without you in the room and does not have to share the information with you when it comes to conversations about sex, STDs, abortion, contraception and a few more topics? And while I’ve enjoyed that right when dealing with an obnoxious mother, the reality is that most Bible believing families I know would be aghast by this.

Look, we are living in dangerous days. Your rights as a Christian parent are at stake. I don’t have any kids and I’m sure the worst I’ll endure is some negative backlash for this blog by my liberal pediatric colleagues.

But isn’t it worth your time, mothers and fathers, to investigate and ask questions and start doing something to protect your kids?

I’ve compiled a few resources for you to help you navigate the web on some of these issues. I hope they get you thinking.

On Vaccination:

 http://aapnews.aappublications.org/content/33/4/1.1.full

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/21/us/21vaccine.html

On Breast Feeding: 

http://healthland.time.com/2012/02/29/why-pediatricians-say-breast-feeding-is-about-public-health-not-just-lifestyle/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/28/aap-breastfeeding-recommendation_n_1307866.html

On Spanking: 

http://kidjacked.com/legal/spanking_law.asp

http://livingwithpower.org/what-does-the-bible-say-about-spanking/

On Adolescent Confidentiality:

http://www.disabilityrightsca.org/opr/PRAT2004/HIPAAAdolescentConfidentiality.pdf

http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/3608004.html

http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/tgr/08/4/gr080406.html

If you have any other resources to share, or opinions to express, leave a comment!

You’re lucky you don’t have one of your own, I hear them say. It’s a scary world out there, they mumble.

If I had a 10 year old boy, here are 5 things I’d want him to know.

1. God loves you and has a plan for your life. Yes, I mean you. He loves you. He made you just the way you are, with your face and your height and your brain and your personality because He loves you and has something special for you to do. He knew you before you were born, before your mama met you, before you even had your first thought. And you will spend the rest of your life getting to know this God and learning to love Him.

2. Whatever you do, learn to live by principle and not by feelings. I know a lot about life. Some days you will feel like doing the right thing and some days you will not. Some days you will feel like getting out of bed, and some days you will not. Some days you will feel like lying and cheating while other days you will feel like a super hero. When you have to choose between what feels good and what is right, choose what you know is true based on God’s word! Feelings come and feelings go, but God’s word lasts forever.

3. Find a woman who loves God while you’re still young and marry her. Then spend the rest of your life loving her. I’m speaking openly and candidly to you now because you’re 10. You’re not too young to hear this. Part of God’s plan for your life is to marry and have a family. When you meet the right girl, you will know it. If you can’t tell, ask your mama. She’ll be able to see things you don’t. Above all, don’t be afraid to be a man. Make a plan and stick with it, even if it’s as simple as which restaurant to go to! And always pay. That’s one way a girl can tell you  really like her.

4. Study hard. Work hard. Play hard. Don’t be lazy. Whatever you do, put your whole heart into it. Whether you’re working or playing, you were made to be strong and to live for God’s glory. Don’t settle for average. Go for great instead. The world needs super heros. Take risks and jump into the deep end first. Others will follow.

5. It’s not what you do but how you do it that matters most. What you do matters. Of course it does. But people get easily focused on what you do, that they miss the more important issue: how you do what you do. So make sure that whatever you choose to do, you do it with honesty, and integrity, and with patience and love. Don’t go with the short cuts. Don’t wait for the applause of your friends. Whatever you do, do it for God.

Well we all know that 10 year old boys have short attention spans.

So I’ll leave it at that.

What would you tell your 10 year old boy if you could?

This post is dedicated to my nephew Micah who turns 10 today.

If you’ve participated in it and have memorized 17 out of 17 verses, I have a feeling someone is high fiving you up in heaven.

If you’re done your best and have even a couple of verses memorized, your efforts are not wasted either!

You can still enter a verse to memorize over the next 2 weeks. We will then take a break for the summer, and I will let you know what our fall Scripture Memory plan will be as we get closer to September!

Happy Tuesday!

It was amazing. It was invigorating.

And it was utterly impossible without the 16 Small Group (SG) leaders who ran the course with me.

If you go to an evangelical church in the western world in the year 2012, odds are you know what a SG leader is. Odds are you’re familiar with every awkward pause they’ve allowed, you’ve squirmed under their slit eyed scrutiny, and you have likely developed a pretty strong opinion on what your SG leader should or should not be doing.

You’re a monday morning rear-view mirror SG leader.

Welcome to the club. We’ve all been there. But being a SG leader isn’t as easy as it looks. I should know. I’ve done it before.

And now that I’m the women’s ministry director of a multi thousand people church, I tend to spend a good chunk of my summer time staring at my computer racking my brains sweating out prayers that God would miraculously raise up the 100 some women I need to lead Small Groups in the year to come.

Yikes.

It shouldn’t be so hard, and I’m sure I make it harder than it ought to be. That’s my natural charm. But I also wonder if it’s not because the actual definition of a SG leader isn’t as easy as one would think.

I came across a great explanation of what a SG leader is by comparing a SG leader to a Spiritual Safari Guide. The guide doesn’t just tell you about the trip ahead, but must also walk you into the jungle and help you get through it. I love that analogy.

Simply stated, a SG leader is a person who makes the spiritual transformation and growth of the Small Group members his/her highest priority.

That sounds intimidating.

Well it is and it isn’t. It is because spiritual transformation is a big job. It isn’t because spiritual transformation is primarily and ultimately a work of the Holy Spirit in the believer’s heart.

By now you may be thinking: what does all that have to do with me?

The answer – if you’re a follower of Jesus Christ – is: Everything!

In Mark 1:17  Christ said: “Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men.”  So at a foundational level, every Christian is called to be a disciple of Jesus and to then to disciple others in following Christ.

You may also be familiar with the great commission. In Matthew 28: 18-20 Jesus tells his disciples to “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Wait….does that mean that God has called you to make disciples?

I’ll let you decide.

Meanwhile, let me give you 5 questions to answer to see if you’re Small Group Leader material:

1. Do you know Jesus Christ as your Savior? Let’s start with the obvious. You probably haven’t lasted this far in reading this post if you’re not a follower of Jesus Christ. But if you have and still don’t know Christ as your Savior, you may want to read a post I wrote a while ago. Otherwise, go to number 2.

2. Are you growing in His Word? There is a cool though a bit scary saying in the medical world that goes like this: See one, Do one, Teach one. You obviously can’t teach someone how to fish if you’ve never fished.  But you don’t have to know every single thing about fishing to take someone out in a boat for a day. Spiritual maturity is essential for SG leading, but you’re not always the best judge of how mature you are. We tend to over-estimate or under-estimate our own spiritual maturity. Pray for wisdom in this and seek your current leader’s thoughts on this one.

3. Are you willing to Commit? An critical part of SG leading is your ability to commit. If you’ve got too much on your plate and you break out in hives just thinking about showing up on a weekly basis to meet with some gals, then this job is not for you right now! When you commit to SG lead, you’re actually committing to be most concerned about the spiritual transformation of your group members, and that can often be a full time job!

4. Are you willing to Submit? The beauty of SG leading in a church is that you’re not on your own. You’re part of the church with a structure of support and leadership to back you up. That’s a great thing when you need help. It’s also a great thing when you need correction. Are you willing to take it? Are you willing to submit to the leadership of your church for the unity and growth of other followers of Christ?

5. Do you love people? I used to jokingly say that “I love my ministry job if it weren’t for all the people”. That’s a lousy joke because ministry is the people. The depth of your intimacy with God is reflected in your growing love towards people. I like what the apostle Paul says about love in II Corinthians 5:14. He says “The love of God compels me”. The power that turns the engine on is the Holy Spirit of God in you, but love is the oil that keeps it running.

Every Christian is called to disciple other Christians. If you answered yes to these 5 questions, perhaps the time for you to do it is now.

I know that’s a lot to chew on for a Monday, but I also know you are up for the challenge!

So if you live in Chicago and go to my church – call me!

It’s a reminder of dreams unfulfilled, plans unaccomplished, love unrequited, and wombs still empty.

If you’re in my over 40 crowd, the feeling is even worse because hope is now dimmer than it used to be at 30.

I’m sorry.

I’m really really sorry.

In an effort to cheer you up – which is the only thing I feel like I can do – I thought I’d break my “no blog on Sunday” tradition and give you 10 things to do to get you through Mother’s day if you’re not a Mother:

10. Bring a carnation to church with you and whip it out with everyone else after the ushers have passed them out to all the mothers in the crowd.

9. Go to the mirror and spend the next 10 minutes practicing smiling for the next person you run into who says “I’m sorry today is so hard for you.”

8. Turn off your phone. Trust me. You won’t want to read any other blog posts about how great it is to be a mother today.

7. Go to brunch with people and have some fun. It’s a radical idea, but why not?

6. Alternatively, get a pint of ice cream and eat all of it alone. Don’t tell anyone. You will feel so sick it will make being a non-mother on mother’s day feel like a picnic.

5. On second thought, a pint won’t do it. If you’re like me, you’re used to eating that in one sitting. Try a gallon instead.

4. Volunteer in the church nursery – both services.

3. Adopt a cat. Ok, that was lame, but my friend just eulogized her dead cat on facebook and it almost sounded like she lost her child.

2. Check your bank account. Now take the total amount of money in it, subtract three times the total and multiply by two, then divide by five. Ok, now you have a better idea what it’s like financially to be a mom.

1.Do 10 loads of laundry. Today. Fold them. Unfold them. Do it again.

So there. All better now.

The truth is that I don’t have any Christian platitudes like “God loves you and has a purpose for your life” (even though the truth of it is that He does) and I won’t bore you with unnecessary cliches.

But I will tell you this: I know how you feel and this day will be over soon.

You are loved.

He was thrown into prison more than a couple of different times.

He was beaten almost to death.

He was stoned.

He was cold.

He was mocked.

He was harrassed.

He was ridiculed.

He was wrongly accused.

He suffered from a handicap.

He sometimes went hungry.

He was often unpaid for the work he did.

He was regularly misrepresented.

He was occasionally afraid.

He was often alone.

And he was finally beheaded.

You may have heard of him at one point or another.

His name was Paul.

Here’s how he felt about it all: “Whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everythign as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” Philippians 3:7-8.

I’d say popularity is overrated. Wouldn’t you?

Yeah. Me too.

So I’ve been thinking that it’s time to shake things up a bit on the blog.

Are you ready for it?

Don’t sweat if you’re not a big fan of change. This isn’t a big shake up. Just a minor one.

I’m throwing out the Friday Give Away. I’ve noticed that it takes me at least 2 weeks to go out and buy the gift card to mail to you which stresses me out and makes me feel inadequate, especially when I get emails from you wondering if the card got lost in the mail – a legitimate question to which I must answer: “No. I’ve just been lazy, or distracted, or too busy”.

So I’m canning the give away.

I hope you don’t can me in return. But if you do, I understand.

If you’re wondering what I intend to do on Fridays now, well, I’ve got a few ideas.

I’m calling the new Friday: Random Friday since I’ll be doing random stuff like giving you summer reading lists, or dating updates (yeah, the non existent dating updates), or random playlists etc. I’m also toying with doing video interviews and video posts on Fridays as the Spirit leads.

Is that vague enough for you?

Saturdays will remain my short under 200 word post. Don’t you love that?

Sunday is my day off.

And I’m considering doing a weekly post for Small Group leaders from now until September.

That’s it. See? I told you it wasn’t a big shake up. Just a small one.

Oh, I almost forgot. Friday is a great day to leave a comment because I put $5 into the LWP fund for each comment you leave.  All you have to do is answer the question at the end of the post.

And lastly, I’ve made 2 additions to the blog:

• The Store Page: Check out the new store page and order a Bible study or other resource.
• The Donations Link: Look over to the right side bar for the easy to use donations button. All of your donations are tax deductible.

Hey did you know I’m planning to write a book for singles this summer? I could use your help. Whether you’re single or married, why don’t you answer the following question today:

What do you think is the #1 difficulty singles face today? __________________ .

Click here for comments page.

The Bible is a book full of culturally unpopular notions that makes anyone who believes it literally, pretty much unpopular.

In case you haven’t picked up on this yet, I’m one of those people who believes the Bible is the literal infallible inerrant word of God.

I guess you know what that makes me.

The funny thing is that on first glance I am as cool as they come. I am a single, professional, urban dwelling cool kahuna. But ask me what I think on pretty much most current event topics, and you’ll find that I’m as unpopular as they come.

Let’s examine, for instance, these Biblical truths:

That homosexuality is a sin.

That marriage is an institution created by God joining one man to one woman for life.

That there are absolute truths in this world.

That God is a spirit but has revealed himself only in the male form.

That Jesus is the only way to God.

Yeah… There’s nothing post-modern about my views.

But that doesn’t mean that I don’t struggle with certain tensions in my faith.

Like how to love the sinner while hating the sin.

Or how to stand up for what’s right without alienating the people I love and want to influence.

Or what to tell my gay friends who are kind hearted and loving and upright human beings.

I don’t want anyone to go to hell.

I believe that God is mercy.

And that no one is perfect.

I believe that men and women are created equal and that each has a unique role in influencing our children.

I believe in the moral fiber of a society and in the importance of love and grace.

I believe that judging others is wrong, and that ultimately only God knows your heart.

It’s an election year and it’s easy to get caught up in political debate and campaign rhetoric.

Everyone wants to know what you believe about abortion and contraception and same sex unions.

Who will you vote for?

What do you believe?

Can kids say the pledge of allegiance in schools without dropping the “God”.

Church vs. State.

Christian liberal vs. Reformed conservative.

Complementarian vs. Egalitarian.

Republican or Democrat.

Which one are you?

Pick a side. Now. Stop stalling. Stop hiding.

Speak up.

We want to hear what you have to say.

Or do we?

I’m so tired of people’s opinions on each and every topic.

I’m so tired of relativistic variations of the truth.

The Bible is a book full of culturally unpopular notions that makes anyone who believes it literally, pretty much unpopular.

But when you think of it, Jesus wasn’t very popular when he hung on the tree.

The truth hurts.

But whatever you do, don’t hide the truth.

Speak up.