For 14 years our family called Charlottesville home. Three of our children were born there. And a fourth was welcomed into our family wrapped in the kindness, encouragement, and love of our Charlottesville community.

We love this place where we hiked the Blue Ridge, picked apples, built snow forts, and enjoyed deep friendships. Our kids rambled the hills around our home, climbed Big Rock, and had countless adventures across the creek in the beauty of the Roxaboxen town they created. We love this place.

To see the Grounds of UVA, and the parks and streets of Charlottesville become avenues of hatred, violence, and death  hurt my heart and angered my soul.

This is not our Charlottesville.

And it’s not. Charlottesville is the birthplace of presidents and explorers. But the way that these flawed men have been memorialized has been the source of controversy for years.

Lewis, Clark, and Sacagawea.  Sacagawea was a rockstar. And yet, in this statue, she’s cowering beneath the explorers. In 2009, a plaque was added to the statue noting her contribution to the expedition.

Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings. Jefferson, who wrote, “All men are created equal,” had slaves. And one of these slaves was Sally Hemings, who gave birth to six of Jefferson’s children. Monticello still stands, but both Mulberry Row, Monticello’s slave quarters, and Sally’s room is being restored. The reality of slavery is being addressed with tours focusing entirely on the Hemings family and the experience of enslaved people are being conducted.

And then there was the decision to take down the statue memorializing Robert E. Lee and rename Lee Park and Jackson Park to Justice Park and Emancipation park. Whether or not this was a good decision, I don’t know. But what I do know is that white nationalist, Jason Kessler, was there and made it clear that he already had plans for August 12th.

Charlottesville is a town like any other, except, in my opinion, a bit more beautiful than most. 😉 There are issues and problems, and dissenting opinions. And yet, up to now, the people of Charlottesville have kept town business town business.

But Jason Kessler, a Charlottesville resident, saw this as a prime opportunity to unite others who share his views. Coming out of the town meeting in which the decision was made to take down the Lee statue, he announced his plans for a demonstration and a self-described white supremacist took up the cause. “The fascists must not have the streets. We call on all anarchist, anti-fascist and anti-authoritarian groups in Appalachia and East South Central North America to converge at Lee Park on August 12th at 9 AM EST, and carry on the active resistance against white supremacy. We intend to win.”

But they didn’t win. Not in Charlottesville.

Was there violence? Yes.

Was there death? Yes.

But there was more. Even before the events of August 12th unfolded …

There was courage. 

UVA students stood in a sea of tiki-torch-carrying supremacists holding a sign saying, “VA Students Act Against White Supremacy.”

There was unity.

Christians from multiple denominations gathered to prepare, worship, and pray.

There was comfort.

In the wake of horror of the day, the beauty of humanity was on display as people linked only by tragedy reached out and care.

No, they didn’t win. But they want to. And they have plans to come back to Charlottesville. And they have plans to spread the hate.

In our church today, my husband made it clear. “We stand against racism.”

We stand against racism. 

What does this look like? What does is look like for you and me to stand against racism?

Start

Wherever you are, start. And I’m going to speak quite frankly to my white friends now. When you say, “I have a black friend,” that’s great. But having one black friend is one small step. Get into her world. Ask her about profiling, about “the talk,” about the challenges of the white ceiling. And listen. Read books and watch movies about racism and discuss them with friends, black and white, in every sphere of influence. Start.

Stand

Be on the lookout for racism. And when you see it stand against it in your schools, churches, workplaces, grocery stores, wherever. It might be a racist joke, or the use of a “black” accent by a white friend, or demands made of the black person in line in front of you at Target. If you’re not sure if something you see is racial injustice, it probably is. But feel free to ask your black friend. She’ll let you know. Stand.

Stay

Racism has deep roots in our society. It just does. And it will take tenacity from all of us to dig it out for good.  Right now, there’s media attention. But as summer turns to fall, it will fade. But let’s not forget Trayvon Martin, and the Charleston Church Shooting, and Ferguson. Let’s stay the course for more than a few days. Let’s stay the course until racism is truly eradicated. Stay.

On August 12th in Charlottesville, VA, they didn’t win. And they won’t.

Together, let’s stand against racism.  

“For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility.” Ephesians 2:14

Our family went to see Queen of Katwe last night. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it.

The story is beautiful, honest, inspiring, and true.  Take a look at the trailer …

One of the things I love most about the film is that it honors culture. Not only does it depict the beauty of the land, but the heroes of the story are Africans.

Harriet Naku is a fierce mom who displays raw and determined love for her children. She fights for them, provides for them, and ultimately releases them so that they can grow and become who God created them to be.

Robert Katende climbed out of the slums of Kampala, Uganda attending university with his degree in engineering. Out of college he began working for a Christian ministry, Sports Outreach teaching soccer and chess to kids in the slums. He refuses a position as an engineer choosing to stay in ministry and invest in children who faced the same tragedies he had face. He is still working with Sports Outreach.

Phiona Mutesi lost her father to HIV/AIDS when she was only 3 and dropped out of school when she was only 6 years old because her mother could no longer pay school fees. She followed her brother to Sports Outreach where Robert Katende was teaching kids to play chess. It was there that she was introduced to the game that would change her life.

This is rare. Most of the time, the heroes of stories that make it to film are white westerners who identify a need and come in to save the day. This is changing, and its for the better. We are learning to honor culture.

Although there are plenty of books on the subject, this is one of my favorites:

With RiverCross, we are working hard to grow a ministry that honors culture. This week we are laying the groundwork for a project that embodies this value.

Kathy Buchanan and Marshal Younger are coming to town to dream about an audio drama, like Adventures in Odyssey. But instead of Whit being the fount of wisdom, an African woman will be the one to shine light and show beauty. Instead of Eugene, Connie, and all the rest, the children will be street kids, and orphans, children impacted by war… And while we won’t shy away from the brutal realities, we will address the realities through a lens of hope.

Learning to honor culture. I’m not going to pretend that we’re doing this perfectly, but we’re trying.

So have you seen Queen of Katwe? What did you think? And what do you think the Bible has to do say about honoring culture? And how are you learning to honor culture?

Snowmaggedon is bearing down on the East Coast.

And normally, I love a good snow storm. But, I’m away from home and missing all the excitement.  Don’t feel too sorry for me because I am in the Dominican Republic.

The thing is, the conference concludes on Saturday night and I’m scheduled to leave on Sunday morning with a connection New York.  As much as I’ve enjoyed the conference, I’m eager to get home. And I really don’t want to be stuck in JFK.

In this situation, what would you do? Would you trust God that he led you to set up this particular flight and keep it? Would you ditch the conference and get on the earliest flight home?  Would you book a few more nights at your hotel? I texted my husband.

And then I prayed. I knew that there would be about a million people trying to do the same thing. Getting the flight rerouted would be a longshot. And if it didn’t work out, I’d deal with it.

When I woke up this morning, here’s the first email in my inbox.

He worked on this for an hour-and-a-half to get me home! What a guy!

The heart of a man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.  Proverbs 16:9

We lived in New England when I was pregnant with our first. Bill was youth pastor at our church and I led the high school girls’ Bible study. On a snowy evening after Bible study I drove one of the girls home. As we discussed the study, she turned to me and said, “Cindy, I wish I had a story like yours. Jesus is so real to you. He’s just kind of boring to me.”

I honestly have no idea what I said to her at that point.  What I remember is dropping her off and then driving through the swirling flakes with my heart in my chest. I was afraid of my child having a story like mine. But more than anything, I wanted her to find Jesus real. 

So with snow falling thick, I had a conversation with God. And he spoke to my heart.

“Love me. Live for me. This is how she’ll first know I am real.”

Love Jesus with your whole heart.  Live for Jesus with your whole life. Show your children that Jesus is real to you. This is your best hope of keeping your child from having a story like mine.

Is there something in your life that you’ve left hanging?  A charge that was given to you that you’ve failed to execute? A project you need to complete? 

I do.

In August, 2013, God spoke to my heart calling me to write a series called Riverside. For fourteen weeks, I walked verse-by-verse through the book of Philippians. On November 30th, I hit “publish” on my final post of the series.

But I knew that the project was not complete.  I knew I was supposed to take that work and turn it into something for print. But life got in the way.

Life often gets in the way, right? 

This past week, God reminded me that I still have Riverside to complete. So on Saturday, I opened a new document in Scrivener, and stepped onto the road to completion.

Riverside is my project.  What’s yours?  Do you have a project you need to complete?   

I would love your prayers for me as I work on Riverside. And, if you let me know about the project you need to bring to completion, I’ll pray for you too.

Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it.  2 Corinthians 8:11

This whole thing of  having a quiet time can be confusing. You may be like the people who messaged me on Facebook this week.  You’ve got questions, but have been too embarrassed to ask.

Here are the most common Quiet Time Questions for Inquiring Minds. 

1. Does my quiet time have to be in the morning?  

Absolutely not. I would encourage you to be intentional about when you’re going to have it, but it doesn’t have to be in the morning. Just look at the regular rhythm of your week and see when it works best for you.

2. You recommend having a “Quiet Time Spot.”  What does this look like for you? 

Here’s my spot!

You don’t have to have a spot. But, my kids know this is mine.  One of my daughters recently called if my “Jesus Chair.”  I love that!

3. You say that my quiet time needs to be with my Bible. Other people say that it can be a Christian book. Who’s right?

I have wonderful, godly friends who agree with other people. And that’s fine. I just disagree. For my quiet time, I don’t want to read what other people say about the Bible. I want to read the Bible.

3. You recommend reading all the way through the Bible. What about all those lists, and genealogies, really, really boring parts?

That’s one of the reasons I like this plan.

Bible-Reading-Plan

Because you’re in both the Old and New Testament every day, you’re not going to have long stretches of time in a boring part. And you might just find that one of those boring parts has a gold nugget or two.  Like this one:

Next to him Shallum the son of Hallohesh, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, repaired, he and his daughters. Nehemiah 3:12

In this list of people rebuilding the wall, we have this beautiful moment of a father and his daughters laboring together for a noble cause.  It made me think about my husband and our daughters and the way he’s taught them to use power tools, and repair dry wall, and lay hardwood.   I love this!

I also think there’s something to be said for just old-fashioned gutting it out and persevering through the parts that simply are not as interesting to you.

4. Cindy, I’d like to have a regular quiet time, but I just can’t find the time.   

I know! It is HARD!  Our lives are so busy. And we have so many demands on our time. And if you’re a mom with littles, I totally understand. With 7 kids within 8 years of each other, I get it. During these years, my quiet times weren’t so … quiet. And that’s okay. I will say that afternoon nap time was GOLDEN during those years.  Can you find 15 minutes?  Start there.

5. What kind of Bible do use? And you say you have a favorite pen? What about your journal?

So, my favorite Bible is the ESV Study Bible. This is the one I’ve just completed. I think I’m going to switch to the Personal Size ESV Study Bible. It’s 2.6 pounds rather than 4.1.  The text is 7.7 point rather than 9 point.  So that’s a consideration.

I prefer a hardcover over leather-bound.  The pages are just a bit thicker and can stand up to my writing.  I end up covering my Bible with duct tape after  few months. But, I’m okay with that.

My favorite pen is the Uniball Jetstream Retractable Roller with a fine tip. My kids know that these are my favorite pens and they also know that if they just want to give me a little gift, this is one that I love!

For journals, I like the Moleskine Classic Hardcover. I’ve tried off-brands, but always come back to Moleskine.  It feels good, wears well, and the pages are a good thickness.

6.  What do you do with your Bible once you’ve finished reading it all the way through? 

I do like to read it through and then start over with a new Bible.  And I LOVE what I have planned for the Bibles I’ve “completed.” But, I can’t share publicly because it’s a surprise. If you want to know, leave a comment or message me, and I’ll be glad to fill you in. I’m super-excited about it. And it’s something that you can do too!

Do you have more questions about quiet times?  Either ask in the comments or message me on Facebook.  If you have a question, you know that a hundred others have the same one!  

… this would be it.

Today, I’m going to share with you the one thing I have done for the past 15 years that has impacted my faith like nothing else.

If you join me doing this one thing, here’s what you can expect:

• You’ll never be at a loss for what to read for your quiet time.

• You’ll learn to hear God’s voice in all of Scripture, not just in your favorite verses.

• You’ll learn to wrestle with hard passages and ask God to help you understand.

• You’ll be able to trace themes and threads thoughout the Bible and see the connections.

• You’ll dig for treasure and find it in passages that most people overlook.

God’s Word will become so very precious to you. What’s the one thing I’m talking about? Reading your Bible systematically, consistently, and chronologically.

Interested in joining me? If so, here’s what you do:

1. Download this  Bible-Reading-Plan.  You’ll notice that there are NO DATES. This is in on purpose.

2. Cut the columns to fit your Bible and using clear packing tape, tape them onto the blank pages at the back of your Bible.

3. Start with Genesis 1 and read, engage, and write each day. You may only read half of a chapter, but that’s fine. You just pick up where you left off the next day. When you finish Genesis 1-3 and Matthew 1, put a check mark beside that line. The next day, start with Genesis 4. The goal is to read through the Bible systematically and consistently, not to read the Bible in a year.

I am telling you that there is NOTHING that you can do that will help you grow in your faith like reading your Bible systematically, consistently, and chronologically.  Nothing. If I could convince you to do one thing, this would be it.    

 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12