6 Things You Should Know About (+ A Giveaway!)

Update: Congratulations to Gayla Gower, Alana, and Alex - winners of a free copy of "Red Letter Christians" by Shane Claiborne and Tony Campolo...compliments of Thomas Nelson. 

1. Election Day Communion 

This is a brilliant idea that encourages churches across the country to hold communion services on the evening of November 6 so that Christians of all political affiliations and denominations can “share this sacred act of communion together, reaffirming our allegiance to Christ.”  The purpose is to bring people together on a day that often divides. Already, 265 congregations, schools, and groups in 44 states have pledged to participate. Looks like a group in Chattanooga will be holding one. Hope Dan and I can make it.  Be sure to check out the Web site for more information. 

2. Malala – A Young Woman of Valor 

Malala Yousufzai is a 14-year-old Pakistani girl who was shot in the head by members of the Taliban this week for her outspoken advocacy for the rights of girls in her country to go to school. She blogged for the BBC about education and won the National Peace Award in Paskistan last year. 

As many have noted, this happened just before the first annual International Day of the Girl, meant to highlight gender inequity around the world—particularly as it concerns lack of education, child brides, and slavery.  You can learn more about that, including how you can help, here. 

3. The Crowd, The Critic, and the Muse by Michael Gungor 

I just finished this one and really enjoyed it.  Beautifully and honestly written, The Crowd, the Critic, and the Muse explores some of the toughest questions confronting artists these days, particularly in our increasingly loud and cluttered creative culture. I read it while trudging through my own creative desert and it proved to be just the oasis I needed. Michael Gungor writes with humor, insight, wisdom, and grace. This is one of the only books on creativity I’ve read that speaks directly into some of the things I struggle with as a writer whose work is digested…and criticized…primarily online. You can get it here. 

4. Haiti Bloggers 

Help One Now Haiti has a pretty amazing team of bloggers reporting from Haiti this week, including Sarah Bessey, Jen Hatmaker, Mary DeMuth, Kristen Howerton, and Dierdra Riggs. (You can find them on Twitter with  #Help1Haiti.) Some great posts coming out of the trip this week include Sarah’s “In which God doesn’t look the same anymore,” Mary’s “5 Myths About Haiti,” and Kristen’s “Standing Firm and Looking Forward.” 

If you are interested in partnering with Help One Now with microfinance loans, you can make a one-time donation here.  You can sponsor a child in tent city here.

5. Launch Team update 

We had more than 300 people apply to be part of the launch team for A Year of Biblical Womanhood, and because I absolutely hate not including everyone—especially when just about everyone had amazing ideas and meaningful words of encouragement—I’ve left the selection process to my team at Thomas Nelson. They’ve got their work cut out for them, let me tell you. Expect to hear in the next couple of days if you’ve been chosen. (Ugh! This feels like Calvinism!) Thank you all so much for your ideas and enthusiasm. Brought me to grateful tears! 

6. Red Letter Revolution by Shane Claiborne and Tony Campolo

Red Letter Revolution by Shane Claiborne and Tony Campolo released this week and is a delightful read. Presented in a conversational format, in which Shane and Tony essentially talk through what it means to be “red letter Christians,” touching on everything from violence, to community, to Islam, to sexuality, to liturgy, to saints, the book is highly practical and, as always, incredibly challenging. This is a great book to start with if you’re new to the “red letter” movement, and I’m happy to report that Thomas Nelson has provided 3 copies for me to give away today!  So, if you’re interested, leave a comment indicating that you would like a copy of Red Letter Revolution by midnight (EST) tonight. I’ll randomly select three winners from the comment section (using random.org). 

Good luck!

**

So, what should I know about? What else is happening in the world? 

Something you should know about...

Half the Church: Recapturing God's Global Vision for Women

By Carolyn Custis James

If you had the privilege of catching PBS’ Independent Lens special, “Half the Sky,” based on the book by the same name authored by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, you will want to know that the Kindle edition of Carolyn Custis James’ amazing book, Half the Church, is on sale this week for $1.99!

In Half the Church, James argues that the Church’s emphasis on marriage and motherhood is not far-reaching enough to encompass every woman’s whole life within a multicultural, rapidly changing world. In order to take on the sort of injustices we encounter in Half the Sky, Christian women must be freed to lead and to capitalize on God’s positive, life-affirming vision for them. I named it as one of my favorite books on justice here. 

Just thought I'd let you know!

Giving away a little happiness today! (Win a copy of “Happier at Home”)

“Happiness is neither virtue nor pleasure, 
nor this thing nor that, 
but simply growth. 
We are happy when we are growing.” 
– W. B. Yeats

As a rule, I don’t like self-help books. 

I don’t think happiness or godliness can be taught in ten steps, a meaningful life created through a list of bullet points or a magic Bible verse. I am skeptical of writers who claim that we’re all just one book away from a more fulfilled life, and speakers who promise to unlock the single secret to joy. 

...Which is precisely why I loved Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project. 

I read this book as I was researching the (cleverly-dubbed) “schtick lit” genre in preparation for my “year of biblical womanhood,” and I didn’t expect to like it. 

But I loved it. 

I loved it because Gretchen never attempts to play the guru, but instead approaches her quest for a happier life with openness, curiosity, and pragmatism. It’s no wonder that one of Gretchen’s favorite teachers is St. Thérèse of Lisieux, for she tackles happiness the same way Thérèse tackled holiness—one little, practical, doable step at a time. 

The Happiness Project gave me permission to be more deliberate about the little things that positively affect my outlook on life—getting enough sleep, making the bed in the morning (even if nothing else gets done around the house that day!), recognizing that I’m an abstainer not a moderator, rewarding myself not by skipping a run but by completing it, tracking my growth, clearing away clutter, etc.  The first book provided super-practical tips that I cold tailor to my own lifestyle and preferences, and I can honestly say they have helped me find my happiness “triggers.” And so I was thrilled to receive an early review copy of Gretchen’s follow-up, Happier at Home, which released just this week.  

While the first book tackled happiness in general, Happier at Home focuses, as you might suspect, on the home: possessions, marriage, time, parenthood, etc. I’ve not yet finished reading Happier at Home but already I’ve resolved to: 

• Display more pictures in our home.
•  Replace our broken toaster. (Oddly enough, Grethen’s toaster was also broken and she kept putting off replacing it. We’re both what she calls “under-buyers”- not an inherently bad thing of course, but we can make life more complicated and frustrating by delaying simple solutions even when they are affordable and wise.)
• Offer to help Dan more often. 
• Embark on more little adventures. 
• Start crossing things off my list by NOT DOING THEM! 

I like that last one the best. 

Sometimes I think Christians especially fall into the trap of thinking of joy in terms of the lofty and abstract, which can keep us from doing those practical, daily things that bring us closer to God—prayer, contemplation, fellowship, gratitude, small acts of kindness and generosity.  Happier at Home is a good reminder that big change begins with little steps. 

Anyway, I’m sure I’m not the only Gretchen Rubin fan out there, so I’m pleased to offer a giveaway on the blog today. Just leave a comment about something practical that increases your sense of well-being (praying the hours, working out at the Y, baking bread, watching Nick at Nite with your spouse, whatever), and at the end of the day (midnight, EST), I’ll randomly select a commenter to receive a free copy of Happier at Home. (Be sure to log in to DISQUS in such a way that I can find your email address to contact you if you win.)

 Good luck!

[Check out Gretchen's blog.)

*** Congrats to Dana Spivey, who was randomly selected (random.org) as our HAPPY winner! ***

A small, strange victory for vaginas everywhere...

Some women run for public office. 

Others devote their lives to activism on behalf of their sex.  

Still others launch non-profit organizations that help lift women and their communities out of poverty. 

Me? I use the anatomically correct term to describe the female anatomy. (Be the change!)

That’s right.  The word “vagina” is back in the book. 

When I first mentioned that I’d been asked by my publisher to take the word “vagina” out of my manuscript for A Year of Biblical Womanhood in deference to the general preferences of Christian bookstores, I never expected you guys to care, much less do something about it.

But within a few days, you had written blog posts, started an Amazon petition, coined the term “Vaginagate", created “Team Vagina” t-shirts, called a bunch of Christian bookstores, and pleaded with me to stick to my guns and keep the word “vagina” in the book.

(You can imagine how proud my parents were to learn my vagina was getting all this attention online.)  

Emboldened by your response, I went back to my editor and asked to put the word “vagina” back in its context. I figured it was more important to listen to the voices of an impassioned readership than to objections within the Christian industry.

Well, good news— last week my editor informed me that “vagina” was a go. The word is back in the book! I’m not sure how this will affect purchases from Christian bookstores, but it doesn’t really matter to me anymore. You guys have reminded me that we have more power than we think, that writers in this industry need not accept the status quo, especially when their readers really care about their work. 

So thank you for being bold for me. This is your change, your editorial note; feel free to add your autograph to the margin when you read “vagina” in your copy in October.

This whole adventure has highlighted some problematic trends in Christian publishing and retailing that I hope will continue to be talked about. I can’t tell you how many current and former editors contacted me to commiserate. (No really, I can’t tell you. Folks are afraid of losing their jobs.) Clearly, something needs to change, and perhaps those of us without jobs on the line need to speak up more often.

Because Christians who wish to remain engaged in the culture can’t afford to be scandalized by a little ol’ vagina. 

***

(Note: A Year of Biblical Womanhood doesn’t release until October, but you can pre-order now.)

Review: Bob Goff and the Virtue of Whimsy (Enter to win a free book!)

“There is only one invitation it would kill me to refuse, yet I’m tempted to turn it down all the time. I get the invitation every morning when I wake up to actually live a life of completely engagement, a life of whimsy, a life where love does. It doesn’t come in an envelope. It’s ushered in by a sunrise, the sound of a bird, or the smell of coffee drifting lazily from the kitchen. It’s the invitation to actually live, to fully participate in this amazing life for one more day. Nobody turns down an invitation to the White House, but I’ve seen plenty of people turn down an invitation to fully live.” 
- Bob Goff, Love Does

Bob Goff’s new book, Love Does, is an invitation. 

It’s an invitation to live with a little more playfulness, a little more whimsy, and to actually go out and do something with the teachings of Jesus. 

“I’ve come to understand more about faith as I’ve understood more about whimsy,” writes Goff. “What whimsy means to me is a combination of the ‘do’ part of faith along with doing something worth doing.” 

Through masterful storytelling, Goff—a successful lawyer, professor, Honorary Consul for the Republic of Uganda to the United States, and founder of Restore International—gives readers a glimpse into the life that has made him something of a legend among those who know him. He writes about the sixteen days he spent sailing the Pacific Ocean with five buddies and a crate of canned meat, the time he took his kids on a world tour to eat ice cream with heads of state, his stubbornness in getting into law school by sitting on a bench outside the dean’s office for seven days until they finally let him enroll, his “office” at Tom Sawyer Island at Disneyland, the flowers he sent to the elderly woman who nearly killed him running a stop sign, the work he’s done to free Ugandan children from prison. 

But somehow, Goff manages to share these stories without showing off.  His writing style—no doubt influenced by his good friend Donald Miller—is down-to-earth and self-depreciating. He shares the spotlight with others who have influenced and inspired him, and he writes with an odd, but refreshing, combination of playfulness and urgency. He lives a big life, and he wants you to live a big life too. That's what the book is about. 

Now I confess that, occasionally, the cynic in me would pipe up and say, “Sure, Bob. I’d love to hop on plane and fly to London on a whim. Sounds like fun! But, unlike you, I don’t roll around in my money at night; I’m just barely paying the mortgage.” 

(Goff, as far as I know, does not in fact roll around in his money at night.) 

But, despite my cynicism, Goff’s message must have broken through, because ever since I finished reading Love Does, I’ve been acting a little weird. 

For example, yesterday, Dan and I were both at home working. It was a beautiful spring day, but we had a lot to do. Suddenly, I got the urge to go on a hike. But this time, instead of talking myself out of it, I urged Dan to come along on a mini-adventure. So we hopped into the Explorer and headed out to Pocket Wilderness. (I’ll take you there if you ever come to Dayton to visit. It’s beautiful!) We only stayed for about an hour, but we had a wonderful time together, taking pictures of flowers and bugs, and throwing sticks into the creek just to watch them float away. It seems like a small thing, but it was actually kind of big. We’d added a touch of whimsy to an ordinary day, and it helped us love one another better. 

“The language of love is laced with whimsy,” writes Goff. “It sometimes borders on the irrational. Like I’ve been saying, though, love is a do thing. It’s an energy that has to be dissipated.” 

So, if you want to start acting weird too, leave a comment with your first name and your hometown at the end of the post, (ex: “Carrie from Minneapolis!”), and you will automatically be entered to win a free copy of Love Does. (Be sure to log into DISQUS in such a way that I can find your email address if you’ve won.)

I’ve got two copies to give away, so there will be two winners!

To add a touch of whimsy to the whole experience, I’ll include a postcard from my hometown of Dayton, Tennessee (home of the famous Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925), and a note, in each package. I think it would be neat if we passed this book around a bit—each winner reading the book, and then mailing it to a friend with postcards from the previous owners included.  Obviously, if you win, you can do whatever you want with the book. But I suggest having some fun with it!

The contest will run for 24-hours. I’ll close the comment thread at 1 p.m. EST on Saturday, April 21. 

If you don’t win, do yourself a favor and buy Love Does...or, I suppose you can wait and see if it mysteriously arrives in  your mailbox one day! :-)