I’m starting up my monthly lists of links again. I’m always finding things I want to talk about or share. The problem is I don’t always have the time to write about them. So I’ll just keep a list and choose the best of the best to share.

So, without further ado, january’s ideas worth sharing:
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On words and speaking up:
Why? By Glennon at Momastery make surrr you watch the video. That is THE point. :)
Sarah Bessey with You’re Afraid:

“I’m not worried about boundaries and litmus tests, I’m not afraid of a slippery slope. I’ll lavish grace and invitation and proclaim love love love without fear. I don’t serve a God of Not-Enough, I serve a God of More-Than-Enough, More-Than-You-Can-Ask-Or-Imagine, a prodigal God, a lay-down-your-life God. You can warn me that I’m too generous, my arms are too wide open, too inclusive, as you draw your circles smaller and tighter until at last you’re the only one standing inside, alone. Narrative of scarcity or narrative of Christ’s abundance set before us, we give from what we have.”

and

“But I will speak the truth, even if my voice shakes. I will sing in the woods. I will stand here in the wilderness, head up, unashamed, following in the footsteps of Jesus as best as I know to do it, loving him into every corner of my existence, because, at last, at least, I am not afraid of you.”

Lisa Jo Baker with her introduction to last week’s Five Minute Friday: Why Your Words Matter:

“I write, because how can I not? Created as I am in His image. How can I not pick up the tools He gave me and speak a testimony into being.”

Glennon at Momastery with Save Your Relationships: Ask the Right Questions:

Questions are like gifts – it’s the thought behind them that the receiver really FEELS. We have to know the receiver to give the right gift and to ask the right question. Generic gifts and questions are all right, but personal gifts and questions feel better. Love is specific, I think. It’s an art. The more attention and time you give to your questions, the more beautiful the answers become.

Life is a conversation. Make it a good one.

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On building community:
Ellen at Sweetwater guestposting at Blue-eyed Bride with An Unexpected Beautiful Tribe:

“And then that first night in June happened and I sat there in my den as fat tears of laughter and joy rolled down my cheeks. And then another night when I heard a “Me, too” from woman to woman. And then another night as I listened to how God was taking deep hurt and turning it into hope.
Over and over again, I’ve been so thankful for this group of women. If I have a tribe, surely they are it. They may be gathered from all different corners but they are God’s faithfulness to me.”

Lisa Jo Baker with “When you wonder why everyone else seems to have friends”:

“So when I meet new women now I’m over assuming that they’ve got it all figured out. Especially the friend part.
Now I know that maybe all I have to do is ask and there’ll be a new friend waiting on the other side of the question.”

Tsh Oxenreider at The Art of Simple with How to Make Friends:

“We are made for relationships, of all sorts I believe. We need people similar to us, different than us, from different cultures and life stages and ages. We crave just one person to get us, the real us, and who’ll take our late-night calls.

And yet many of us settle for the convenient or the absent. We may look for awhile, but we give up when it’s not easy. We chalk it up to a challenging stage in life (little ones in the house), an environment that’s not exactly what we’d prefer (this church isn’t as perfect as I’d like), or simply a difference in personality (I don’t really jive with anyone I know).

Our lives are fuller and sweeter when there are kindred spirits to walk alongside. We find meaning and purpose when we have people to serve. God speaks to us in many ways, but in my life, He often likes to use people—we miss out on a unique perspective from Him if we don’t let others in our life.”

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On the controversial:
– Church:
Erik Parker at Millennial Pastor with Evangelical Drama Needs Mainline Experience:

“Evangelicals need us. They need our experience, our wisdom, our calmness. They need our depth, our ability to see the grey areas of faith, our comfort with the tensions. They need us because we have been where they are going as they grow up.”

And:

“And we need Evangelicals. We need their drama. We need their drama to remind us of how important this faith business, how important Jesus, is. Their drama reminds us of the passion we once had 500 years ago, of our own willingness to fight for every inch of the gospel.”

– Voice:
Osheta Moore at Shalom in the City with Oh Honey, Come Here, I Think Your Privilege is Showing:

“Since I wrote last on racism, privilege, and diversity, I’ve had several white bloggers, most of them happen to live or come from the South say to me, “I really want to talk about this but I don’t think I have the right to, I mean…I’m white”.

To which I say, because you’re white, you need to talk about it. Because you haven’t had to think about it, you need to think about it now. Because you’re in your homogenous bubble, you need to hear my story as a black woman in America so you can share it with your white, and at times, clueless readers.”

– Bible:
Rachel Held Evans with The Bible Was ‘Clear’:

“But these quotes should serve as a humbling reminder that rhetorical claims to the Bible’s clarity on a subject do not automatically make it so. One need not discount the inspiration and authority of Scripture to hold one’s interpretations of Scripture with an open hand. “

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Do you read many blogs regularly? What was your favorite piece you came across (or wrote yourself) this month?

I’d love to read it and hear what ‘s been running through your head if you take the time to share.