The pull of storytelling is powerful. No wonder we are left with a book of stories by God to teach us about Him and how to live. Cultures are built around stories shared. The stories we speak to ourselves direct our lives. This quote from Parenting with Presence sums up what I know to be true: "...we humans learn best from the stories of others." 

(Source: Upsplash Photos)

A few days ago I shared on Instagram (read here) and Facebook about my thoughts on President Trump’s most recent comments and Dr. King and the fight for justice. It was sparked by seeing this picture come across my feed about the impact of a book. It really opened up my eyes to how little we can do to gain a new perspective. It’s as simple as reading a book! I love it because I am a bookworm.(Let's start a new thing: #bookwormsforjustice!) 

In my post, I challenged my white friends to read a book by an author of color and I got a few requests for recommendations. I thought gathering up some books & resources that have helped open my eyes and widen my perspective into one place would be a good thing.  

This is something that I am still working on and I am not an expert and I will not pretend to be. This is just a starting point. 

(Source: Upslash Photos)

Changing your Perspective Resources:

Fiction Books: 

While fictional in nature, the authors paint a picture of what it is like to be a different race. 

-The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez

 A Young Adult Novel about a Mexican Immigrant family and what they sacrifice to give their daughter the best education possible. It’s heartbreaking but this story has stayed with me since I read it.  

-The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas 

Also, a YA novel about the Black Lives Matter movement and follows Star, a black high school student as she feels torn between worlds when violence strikes close to her heart. I am still working on this one, I highly recommend the audiobook version because the narrator is amazing! This book does have strong language, FYI. (also it's being made into a movie!) 

-The Conjoined by Jen Sookfong Lee

This is a suspenseful mind-bender about two Chinese sisters and their experience with foster care. It focuses on one of their foster families and the shocking secrets they hide. 

Non-Fiction Books

-Lies My Teacher Told Me by James W. Loewen

I had this as a textbook in college and it was eye-opening. The title is pretty self-explanatory but takes you through things we didn’t learn in history class but actually happened. 

Book Lists:

100 Books by Christian Authors of Color

Books to Spark Conversations about Race with your Kids 

34 Books by Women of Color to Read this Year 

@Lightreadsforth Instagram account specifically for books

Diverse Children's Books

Other articles that have been helpful:

Woke White Christians

10 Ways White Liberals Perpetuate Racism 

7 Stages of White Identity 

Is that Really Helpful? Considerations for Aspiring Allies

 -Do yourself a favor and just search Lindsy's race tab on her blog because it's solid GOLD. 

Podcasts: 

Upsidedown Podcast Three white ladies throwin' it down about issues that are typically taboo in Christian circles.

Truth's Table Podcast Three black women sharing the straight up truth. 

Instagram accounts:

@lightbreaksforth

@truthstable

@upsidedownpodcast

@confessionsofamuslimmom

Before you dive in, pray for an open heart and commit to listening even if you disagree.

If you have any questions, I would love to discuss these things further! I would especially love to have a #bookwormsforjustice bookclub! (Hit me up seriously.) 

I hope this helps you along your journey to a new perspective on Racism. 

If you have any resources that have helped you, I would love to know what they are!

xo.

To Blog or Not To Blog?

That is the question that I ask myself regularly. Should I put my thoughts out on the interwebs? Is that self-seeking or prideful to think that I have something to share with the world (or rather with my Facebook friends who are the only ones who read it anyway?)

 I love to write. I’ve kept a journal since I was in middle school and one day my dream is to write a book. 

But figuring out how to make frequent blog posts and have time to start a book plus live my regular life is overwhelming to me. I have a lot of ideas but trying to get them implemented is proving very difficult. 

I know it takes work to make your dreams come true and I am currently trying to figure out how that works in my life. 

I’m still unsure how to answer the blog or not to blog question. What are your thoughts? How do you make your dreams happen in your daily life?

3 Takeaways from The Contentment Challenge

Keeping our eyes out for beautiful places while we run errands. 

The Contentment Challenge is over, how'd ya do? (Not sure what I am talking about click HERE! to find out more. )

Challenging myself to focus on gratitude every day for 7 days really opened my eyes about where I put my focus. I think that I learned a lot that I want to keep implementing into my daily life.

My 3 Takeaways from The Contentment Challenge 

1. What I read and put into my mind makes a HUGE difference in my thought life.

While I was on the Contentment Challenge, I was reading two vastly different books. One was a very sad story about motherhood and the other was Uninvited by Lysa Terkeurst. Each story was impacting me in different ways. I would feel uplifted or depressed depending on which one I was reading. I remembered something I heard when I was in a college group at church: "If you put garbage in, you get garbage out." The pastor was referencing what we allow into our minds. 

If I dwell on depressing stories or negative thoughts, it impacts how I feel about myself and my life. 



2. Just because a thought comes into my mind doesn't mean I have to think it.

This is something that I learned while reading The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis (which is an amazing book!) The whole premise is that we each have a demon that is assigned to us to tempt us from following God's will for our lives. And that is something that I truly believe. 

It is good for us to check our thoughts and align them with the truth of God's Word. If it doesn't line up with that, we can literally dismiss it and move on. We do not have to dwell on it because it might not even be from us or God. 


And the BIGGEST thing:

3. We have a choice on what we will do with our thoughts: Dwell on them or expel them. 

I feel a little like Joyce Meyer when I make up rhymes about God's truth but it's so catchy! We have the choice on what we focus on. It is something that is easy to forget. 

The Contentment Challenge helped me to remember to be intentional with my thought life. 

Did it help you remember important truths or teach you new ones?