Kodak Moment:: Day Twenty-Three

Day 23 - A picture of your

favorite book.

(or in my case, more than one :)

1. God's Word

2. Pride and Prejudice

3. Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris- this book inspired me so much I helped bring the conference to Nashville!

4. I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris

5. Boy Meets Girl: Say Hello to Courtship

6. Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

7. Books by Jenny B. Jones

8. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

9. Witch of Blackbird Pond

10. Jane Eyre

And I could keep going... :) So I will just stop now :) Like movies, I may have to do another post!

~Lil

Wednesday Love: Take Two: Media!

This week I have a couple things I would like to share! (check out the links for more info!)

Two Books

Do Hard Things, written by twin brothers Alex and Brett Harris!

This is SUCH an awesome book- so good I even was the publicity coordinator to bring the DHT conference to Nashville! Looking for a good gift for a preteen/teenager/college student? (I even know moms who have done Bible study groups using this book!) It is an awesome book challenging its readers to DO HARD THINGS, and step out of our comfort zones to do what God has called us to do. It is very inspiring and my whole family has enjoyed it! Check out these websites for more info! Overview, Endorsements, List of places to buy the book. I highly recommend it!

I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris (Alex and Brett's older brother)

I LOVED this book! After reading this I made the personal decision to not date, but instead follow Joshua's guideline of courtship. Wonder what courtship is and why people decide not to date? Check out this wonderful book! Several websites: Josh's page about the book, buy it on Amazon, buy it on CBD. I have had the privilege of meeting Alex, Brett, and Josh! It was amazing to hear them speak at the Nashville DHT conference!!

A Songbook

Pride and Prejudice- music from the motion picture songbook

I LOVE the music in the newer Pride and Prejudice. And I love playing it! This sheet music book is awesome! From: Amazon, SheetMusicPlus.

Music

Awaken the Dawn- Keith and Kristyn Getty

(One of my favorites is Behold the Lamb: The Communion Hymn- especially since I was baptized a few weeks ago!)

In Christ Alone- Keith and Kristyn Getty

Beautiful!

Come Weary Saints- Sovereign Grace Music

(Love this CD!)

Sons and Daughters- Sovereign Grace Music

(Love this one too!!)

Tell Your Mama- The Vespers

The female vocalists are good friends of our family- we love them!

Music from a Farther Room- Flying Colours

These guys graduated from my tutorial last year- they are so talented!

Enjoy! :o)

Three days till Christmas! We may get a white Christmas here :o)

Lily :o)

Another post from Josh Harris

From here.

(http://www.joshharris.com/2010/11/abiding_isnt_complicated.php)

Abiding Isn't Complicated

"I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." - John 15:5 ESV

When we think about what it means to abide in Jesus our temptation is to ask for a checklist. But abiding isn't a program. Abiding is a relationship.

We live in an electronic world and we want to treat this like charging an electronic device. How long do I have to be plugged into God through a quiet time or prayer or reading a book to get the charge I need to then go out and do my thing?

But Jesus doesn't say "I am power cord you are the cell phone." He says, "I'm the vine. You're the branch." If you want life, there can't be any disconnect. Abiding is living in this constant awareness of total dependence. Abiding is what desperate people do who realize that they have no life, power, no inward resource of themselves.

When I think about abiding I can want to make it overly mystical. But it's not a special spiritual state that we work ourselves into. More than anything abiding is a posture of heart. It's opposite of self-reliance. It's the opposite of the "I can handle this" feeling. It is dependence and child-like faith that says, "All I have is Jesus and his life, death and resurrection for me."

Here's the truth: you and I know how to abide. When there's someone in our life that we know we can't live without, we know how to stay close to them. We talk to them. We listen to them. We don't go on long vacations away from them. We remember to call. We do the things that please them. We give up other things and relationships to prioritize them.

That's what Jesus tells us to do this in John 15. If you want to abide in Jesus, listen to his words. Read his Bible. Let his words live in you. Let his words and his gospel shape your thinking. Talk to him. Pray. Seek to love what he loves. Ask him to do the things that he loves. Abide in his love by keeping his commandments. Obey him even when it's costly.

Abiding isn't complicated. The secret to abiding is simply being desperate for Jesus. The secret to abiding is believing that apart from Jesus you can do nothing.

Excerpted from the sermon "Apart From Me You Can Do Nothing" in the teaching series called Desperate.

Words from Josh Harris

Post from his blog. (find the original post here)

Who Are Your Companions?

"Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise,
but the companion of fools will suffer harm."
- Proverbs 13:20 ESV

If you counted websites, television shows, and musical artists as companions, would you say you're walking with the wise or the foolish?

Update!

Hey friends!

Whoops! I have not blogged in a while! We have been very busy!

This past weekend, Friday-Monday, we went with the Dodds to the lake! It was so.much.fun!!!!! We went to Dale Hollow Lake, about 2 1/2 hours away, and near the KY line. We went tubing, went swimming in the lake, drove around in the boat, hung out at the lake house, did fireworks and sparklers... Pictures to come! I need to upload them! :o)

My dear mother and darling Ms. Kathy threw me a surprise party last week on Monday night! I was totally out of it and very much surprised! It was so much fun!!!! :D Ms. Kathy did an AMAZING job and it was so incredibly lovely!! The food was delicious and everything looked amazing! It was so wonderful and fun!!

Yesterday I had SO.MUCH.FUN with my dear friends Jenny, Mimi, Elaina Joy, Anna, Sarah Beth, and Julia (Cara has been a little under the weather). Anna is leaving for camp for a month tomorrow and gets back while we are at camp. Sarah Beth is also starting a camp tomorrow! Anyway, we went to the Frist to see the Chihuly and Couture exhibits! Ahhhhmazing!! We LOVED both!! If you have not seen them, do so!! The Frist is free for guests 18&under! http://www.fristcenter.org/site/visit/admission.aspx . And of course we spent like an hour in ArtQuest! :D

Well, conference work is going well! I emailed 20 churches the other day and will do a follow-up on Monday!

I am so excited to share that you can now order free brochures, download the flyer, and watch the new promo video on the website! Check it out!

I am also so excited to share with you some news about the conference! Joshua Harris will be at three DHT conferences this year, including the Nashville one! From his site: (http://www.joshharris.com/2010/05/the_do_hard_things_tour_2010.php)

The Do Hard Things Tour 2010

5 Comments

My brothers Alex and Brett have invited me to participate in three stops of their Do Hard Things Conference tour this summer. These events, designed for teens and their parents, call young adults to reject our culture's expectations for the teen years and to get serious about faith, family, and future. Alex and Brett both share challenging messages. My brother Joel leads worship. In my session I'll be sharing the message ofDug Down Deep and exhorting teens to build their lives on truth about God.

Here are the conferences that I'll be part of:

• Atlanta, GA - July 24, 2010
• Nashville, TN - August 14, 2010
• Washington, DC - September 25, 2010

I also have some sad news. :'( Please be in prayer for the Harris family! Here is the blog post from the Rebelution Blog.

Goodbye, Mama

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” — John 11:24-26

At 8:00pm (PDT) this evening our mother, Sono Sato Harris, went to be with her Savior. She went peacefully and painlessly. We all grieve, but we have hope. We rejoice with her — and we eagerly anticipate our reunion with her someday.

Fourth of July represents something even greater to us now, true freedom for our dearest mother — from a body wracked by cancer and life in a broken world.

Tonight, as fireworks lit up the sky, we like to think that they celebrated a life well-lived — and a recognition that it is not death to die, that we can still rejoice.

Our older brother Joel, who leads worship for the Rebelution Tour, wrote a song for mom yesterday called “Goodnight, Mama.” The lyrics beautifully capture our last several months with her — and are included below.

GOODNIGHT, MAMA
Written July 3, 2010

Walking through your door, sitting on your bed
Talking about everything together
We’ll talk into the night, till everything seems clear again
And there’s only one thing left to say…

Goodnight, mama, I’m so glad that you’re here to talk to
Sleep well, I’ll see you soon
Thank you, Jesus, for a mother who pours herself out
Always something more to do

Walking through you door, bringing you your food
Talking about how you slept last night
We only have a little while, till you need to rest again
And there’s only one thing left to say…

Goodnight, mama, I’m so glad that I got to see you
Sleep well, I’ll be back soon
Thank you, Jesus, for a mother who poured her life out
Please fill her anew

Walking through your door, to see you one more time
Thinking about all the times we’ve shared
Not much longer now, because He’s calling you home
And there’s only one thing left to say…

Goodbye, mama, I’m so glad that I got to know you
Farewell, I’ll see you soon
Take her, Jesus, to a place with no pain or sickness
To heaven with you

Copyright © 2010 Joel Harris