Jennifer L. Wright's Blog, page 15

Revolutionary Love

My ten year-old son is not a singer.

Don’t get me wrong. He likes music. He’ll often ask to listen to specific songs, but he usually sits in quiet reflection while they play rather than in animated karaoke (which is much more my daughter’s speed). So when my reserved, pensive child starts singing (even if it’s quietly), this momma listens.

Such was the case a few days ago. He requested the song “Revolutionary” by Josh Wilson. If you haven’t heard it, I highly recommend it. You can listen here, if you wish. I love Christian radio, and I’d heard the song a million times. But there was something striking about hearing my son’s quiet voice from the backseat say:

“Why does kindness seem revolutionary? When did we let hate get so ordinary?”

From the mouths of babes, right?

Because it’s true. Kindness is revolutionary in our culture today. So much so, in fact, that doing something simple like paying it forward at drive-through often makes the news. Hate has become our default state-of-mind. Getting flipped off in traffic, being treated rudely at the supermarket check-out, even hearing elected leaders spout off nasty rhetoric is almost a mundane experience; it’s expected. More than that, sometimes it seems as if it’s being taught. Whether it be because of different political parties, different skin colors, different religions, ethnicities, backgrounds–for the culture that professes to idolize “tolerance,” we sure do have a lot of categories in which to place “us” vs. “them” and which, therefore, gives us liberty to not only feel superior, but also denigrate those in a different group.

“Agreeing to disagree” no longer exists. “Forebearance” is only for those who are like me. And who has time for kindness in this “me first” world?

Yet, for professing Christians, this is the most basic commandment. As Jesus said in John 13:34-35: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

If we are followers of Jesus, we are called to love one another. Plain and simple. But “loving one another” doesn’t just stop at your friends or fellow believers. In Luke 6, Jesus expanded on this idea by saying:

“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you” (verses 27-31).

As I read this over this very famous and oft-quoted piece of Scripture, something occurred to me that hadn’t before. Sometimes, as a Christian, I can feel like I’m doing okay in this whole “love your enemy” department because I’m not actively seeking harm against those who oppose me. I’m not “cursing” them. I’m not retaliating against them. When someone comes up against me, my default reaction is to walk away. My “kindness” is in non-confrontation.

But that’s not what Jesus is saying here. Loving our enemies doesn’t come from passivity; it comes from action. It’s not about rolling over and turning the other cheek in the cultural sense; it’s about being intentional and engaged in loving those who don’t love us. It’s not walking away. It’s opening our arms.

Proverbs 25 puts it this way:

“If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.” (verse 21)

If our enemy sat before us, hungry and thirty, the natural, “human” response would be to scoff. A so-called “good person” may simply walk away. But we are called to action; we are called to offer food and drink.

Why? Because that’s how God loved us.

“Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior” (Colossians 1:21). This verse makes clear that, at one time, we were God’s enemies because of our sin. And God could have just left us like that, but He didn’t. Because of His great love for us–because He IS love–He chose to love us. And that didn’t mean just looking the other way.

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Intentional, engaged, sacrificial love. Active love.

Love we cannot ever hope to be able to do on our own.

And that’s the point. God not only gave us an example of what it means to love our enemies, He gives us a way to do it–through the Holy Spirit, offered to us upon acceptance of the gift of salvation and faith in Christ. You see, Jesus’s command was meant to be challenging; it was meant to be impossible. We cannot hope to live in obedience to it without Him.

Hate is ordinary. We are called to be different.

And what makes us different is Him.

“This is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” –1 John 4:10-11

Through Jesus, we can see others as God sees us.

Not as enemies, but as human beings in need of His love.

In need of Him.

Let’s be active in our love, friends. Let’s be revolutionary.

Come Down Somewhere PRE-ORDERS!

Pre-orders are now LIVE for my newest release, Come Down Somewhere, coming September 6, 2022 from Tyndale House Publishers!

For fans of WWII fiction comes a powerful novel by Jennifer L. Wright about two young women coming of age during the Trinity nuclear bomb test in 1945.

Sixteen-year-old Olive Alexander has lived on a ranch in the Jornada del Muerto region of southern New Mexico her entire life. But when World War II begins, the government seizes her family’s land for the construction of a new, top secret Army post.

While her mother remains behind, Olive is forced to live in nearby Alamogordo with her grandmother and find a place in a new school. When Jo Hawthorne crosses her path, Olive sees a chance for friendship—until she learns that Jo’s father is the Army sergeant who now occupies her beloved ranch. Already angry about her new reality, Olive pushes Jo away. But as she struggles to make sense of her grandmother’s lapses into the past and increasingly unsettling hints about what’s happening at the ranch, she slowly warms to Jo’s winsome faith and steady attempts at friendship . . . until one devastating day when the sky explodes around them and their lives are torn apart.

Seven years later, Jo returns to Alamogordo, still angry and wounded by the betrayals of that fateful day. Determined to put the past behind her once and for all, Jo hunts for answers and begins to realize the truth may be far more complicated than she believed, leading her on a desperate search to find her friend before it’s too late.

Click here to order from the retailer of your choice (or here for the amazing Baker Book House!) You can also click the ‘Come Down Somewhere Pre-Order’ tab above!

The Small Fry Club

Let’s go back in time together.

Back before Netflix and Hulu, before satellite dishes and cable providers, back even before a plethora of available local stations like Fox and PBS. Back to the 1940’s, when television was in its infancy and there were only 3 networks. Three! ABC, CBS, and NBC.

And the only thing they played were shows for adults.

It’s hard to imagine, isn’t it? Children’s programming is such a hot market, there are now entire channels dedicated solely to entertaining kids (though whether this is a good or bad thing is a discussion for another time). I’m old enough to remember a time without these channels but, even at my age, it’s still mind-boggling to think of only having three stations from which to choose. We didn’t get satellite until I was in middle school, but I still remember having at least 10 local channels.

But, before 1945, three channels was the reality…until a man by the name of Dr. Allen B. DuMont decided to change that.

DuMonth was a scientist and founder of DuMont Laboratories, which began operating in 1931 from his garage. The lab became known for producing a superior type of cathode ray tubes, essential in the operation of a television set, and eventually for making televisions themselves. In fact, DuMont Laboratories became the first company in the United States to make television sets. But, after conquering the hardware, DuMont decided to try his hand at the software, or programming, side instead.

The DuMont Television Network began experimental broadcasting during World War II, but the first scheduled series, “Serving Through Science,” didn’t begin officially airing until August 15, 1946. It was the first of what would be DuMont’s major legacy-low budget programming done with imagination and even with a touch of style. The main income source came from television set sales, unlike ABC, CBS and NBC, which had radio stations to help subsidize television. It aired virtually no filmed programs during its history; much of the network’s lineup was broadcast live from the network’s studios at Wanamaker’s Department Store in New York City. 

And yet one little low budget show set a course to change history.

“The Small Fry Club,” which aired for the first time on March 11, 1947, became the first networked children’s television program. Initially a weekly offering, its popularity grew such that it soon aired five days a week and, eventually, seven. Hosted by Bob Emery (known affectionately as “Big Brother Bob”), the 30 minute show sought to teach kids about good manners, self-discipline, and respect for others. Bob often sang and played the banjo, while also offering up cartoons, demonstrations, and short animal sketches encouraging good behavior and healthy habits. Puppet shows such as “Peggy the Penguin”, “Honey the Bunny”, “Mr. Mischief the Panda”, and “Trina the Kitten” were also popular. In addition to the program, the network offered an actual Small Fry Club for kids who watched the show. Among other activities, they could submit artwork and written material and participate in contests. More than 10,000 children had joined the club by the end of 1947. Three years later, the number of members had reached 150,000.

Children’s programming, it seemed, had a market. And other networks began to notice.

Soon, a plethora of kids’ shows began beaming into American homes, including “Cartoon Teletales” on ABC, “Foodini the Great” on CBS, and perhaps the most famous, “Howdy Doody” on NBC.

“Small Fry” ended in 1951 and the DuMonth network itself ceased operations in 1956, causing some to refer to it as “the forgotten network.” But its pioneering legacy lives on through its ground-breaking children’s programming.

Something to remember as you’re watching yet ANOTHER ‘Peppa Pig’ re-run this afternoon.

The Sacrifice of Praise

I love praise music.

Regardless of your preference–old school hymns, contemporary Christian, soulful gospel–there is something powerful about using your voice and your body to worship our Creator. I usually try to start out my day with praise music, listening to it as I do my hair and ready myself in the morning; to me, it’s almost as if praising God in this way reminds me to put on my armor, if you will, and redirect my focus to Truth. Even if I wake up tired or a bit grumpy, a little praise music goes a long way in reshaping my attitude for the day ahead.

Except on those days when it doesn’t.

You know what I’m talking about. There are days where our bad moods transcend just a lousy night of sleep or case of the Mondays. It’s those days when a medical test came back positive. When a spouse says he or she wants a divorce. When a wayward child makes another choice that could end up ruining his or her life. When you get a pink slip at work. Or maybe it’s just another day in a long line of days where it just seems as if everything has been going wrong and there is no light on the horizon.

Those days, weeks, months where it seems as if God isn’t acting like He should.

When He isn’t showing up like He should.

When everything we think we ever knew about God seems to be a lie and praise is the absolute last thing we want to do.

Why in the world would we want to praise God when the world is crumbling around us?

Paul speaks to this in Hebrews 13:15 when he says, “through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise–the fruit of lips that confess his name.”

A “sacrifice” of praise. It seems like an oxymoron. But, in reality, it’s one of the most beautiful acts faith a person can perform. You see, it’s easy to praise God when all is going well. It takes extreme faith to do it when they’re not. When you’re mad, hurt, ill, broken down, frustrated, or in all other ways defeated…and yet still you come to the feet of Jesus and offer up worship to Him simply because of who He is.

Paul’s audience for this letter–Jewish Christians–would have been familiar with the story of their ancestors wandering in the desert with Moses. He reminds them of this story, however, a few chapters earlier in Hebrews 3 to make a point about this notion of the “sacrifice of praise”:

“So, as the Holy Spirit says: ‘Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert, where your fathers tested and tried me and for forty years saw what I did. That is why I was angry with that generation…so I declared an oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.'” –verses 7-11

Sometimes we like to scoff at the Israelites for their stubbornness–God had just rescued them miraculously from slavery! He LITERALLY made food rain from the sky!–but I think at times we may be more like them than we care to admit. The Israelites were in unbelievably difficult circumstances; the wilderness of the Middle East is no joke! They were tired, they were hungry, they were thirsty, they were scared–so much was unknown. Yes, they knew God was good and faithful but life, at that moment, was just plain hard.

We may not be wandering in the desert, but most of us know what’s it’s like to be in a stage of life that’s just downright difficult.

The caution here comes from remembering how the Israelites dealt with this hardship. Rather than remaining faithful to God and offering up that “sacrifice of praise,” they chose hard hearts and disobedience. They chose to step away from Him instead of pulling close. And this, rather that solving any of their problems, actually prolonged their suffering by keeping them out of “God’s rest” for 40 years.

Now, in the Old Testament, “God’s rest” was a concept that meant “security from disruption or enemy attack on land which has been given as an inheritance” (see Deuteronomy 12:9-10). In this story, the Israelites were kept out of this rest, which manifested physically as the Promised Land, for 40 years as a result of their sin and rebellion. As New Testament Christians, the concept of “God’s rest” is demonstrated by the presence of Jesus. In Him, God’s work was finished and we can find our rest, our salvation, and our peace.

“There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his.” –Hebrews 4:9-10

Although we are now on the other side of the cross, the ramifications of disobedience–both with us and the Israelites–should still serve as a lesson. We may not lose our salvation. We may not lose God’s love. But hardening our hearts and turning away from God during times of difficulties, while it may feel good in the moment, only succeeds in moving us out of God’s rest. And, in doing so, prolongs the very suffering from which we’re desperate to escape.

That’s why this notion of a “sacrifice of praise” is so important. Sacrifice costs us something, be it our time, our effort, or even our pride. When life isn’t going well and praise is the last thing you want to do, offering it can feel as if it doesn’t just cost you something–it costs you everything. And yet it is in these moments that we have to make a conscious effort to lean into God rather than away, to soften our heart to His presence rather than harden it, to commit to obedience rather than fall into rebellion. Because God is able to comfort and lead us in our sufferings; we just have to be willing to follow.

As Paul writes, “let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their [the Israelites] example of disobedience…for we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are–yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” –Hebrews 4:11-15

Let us approach His throne, not run away from it. Let us offer our praise as a sacrifice “for here we do have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.” (Hebrews 13:14)

Because our circumstances are temporary, but God is eternal.

For Love of the Land…

The Allegheny forest of Northwestern Pennsylvania was once a sight to be seen. Brimming with acres upon acres of Eastern hemlock, American beech, sugar maple, chestnut, and other distinct trees, this old-growth forest was home to wolves and cougars, which kept the deer population at naturally regulated low levels. This, in turn, allowed the understory vegetation to remain dense and richly diverse beneath the multi-layered canopy. It was a picture of God’s intricate design, a perfect ecosystem full of checks, balances, and beauty.

And then people came in.

Beginning in the early 19th century, European settlers entered the land and began clearing trees away to create homesteads–land for farming and timber for houses. Soon, recognizing the wealth to be had in the plentiful hardwoods, saw mills began to sprout up. As America grew, so did the demand for wood–everything from houses to furniture, paper to planks called for wood to sustain the appetite of the country’s industry.

And the Allegheny forest was a goldmine.

By the late 19th century, the land had been cleared almost to eradication. Gone were the white oak, red maple, and other trees. Gone, too, were the deer (a result of overhunting) and with them, the predators and other animals who depended on the land for survival. The bare soil and logging slash made floods and wildfires a constant danger. Many settlers and entrepreneurs abandoned the land. Those who remained now sadly referred to the area as the “Allegheny Brush Patch.”

But in 1911, Congress passed the Weeks Act, which authorized the US Secretary of Agriculture to “examine, locate and recommend for purchase … such lands within the watersheds of navigable streams as … may be necessary to the regulation of flow of navigable streams….” This meant that the federal government would be able to purchase private land if the purchase was deemed necessary to protect rivers’ and watersheds’ headwaters in the eastern United States. Furthermore, the law allowed for land acquired through this act to be preserved and maintained as national forest territory.

In 1923, under this new act, the Allegheny forest became the Allegheny National Forest, a land now protected by the federal government.

But was it too late?

Much to the amazement of many locals who believed the land too far gone to be safe, the Allegheny National Forest thrived under the supervision and conservation under the Forest Service. With the right care, right management, and right attitude, areas of the country could be safe-guarded from over- and ill-use.

It was a lesson one local man never forgot.

Howard Zahniser was born February 25, 1906 in Franklin, Pennsylvania. He spent much of his formative years in nearby Tidioute, wandering through the Allegheny forest and developing a deep, life-altering love for nature. He witnessed both the destruction and rebound of this beloved land before leaving to pursue a degree in humanities at Greenville College in Illinois as well as a master’s degree from George Washington University. After school, he worked as both a teacher and a newspaper reporter, but neither career satisfied the inner outdoorsman that dwelled within his heart.

He soon left those jobs, signing on with the United States Bureau of Biological Survey and, later, the United States Bureau of Plant Industry, Soils, and Agricultural Engineering. Never forgetting what he had seen and experienced in the Allegheny National Forest, Zahniser used his work to begin seriously studying conservation efforts and environmentalism movement. He wrote articles for essays and journals stressing the importance of these ideas and pushed for the government to do more to protect the land.

In 1945, he left his job with the federal government to become the executive secretary of The Wilderness Society, a newly formed non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of natural areas. Their goal was to create a system of wilderness areas, which would be both protected and utilized for public benefit. In 1956, Zahniser first attempted to write what would eventually become known as the Wilderness Act. In it, he wrote:

“In order to assure that an increasing population, accompanied by expanding settlement and growing mechanization, does not occupy and modify, all areas within the United States and its possessions, leaving no lands designated for preservation and protection in their natural condition, it is hereby declared to be the policy of the Congress to secure for the American people of present and future generations the benefits of an enduring resource of wilderness. For this purpose there is hereby established a National Wilderness Preservation System to be composed of federally owned areas designated by Congress as “wilderness areas”, and these shall be administered for the use and enjoyment of the American people in such manner as will leave them unimpaired for future use and enjoyment as wilderness, and so as to provide for the protection of these areas, the preservation of their wilderness character, and for the gathering and dissemination of information regarding their use and enjoyment as wilderness; and no Federal lands shall be designated as “wilderness areas” except as provided for in this Act or by a subsequent Act.“

He went on to create the first legal definition of wilderness, saying:

“A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.”

After eight years and 66 re-writes, the act was formally signed into law on September 3, 1964 and became officially known as “The Wilderness Act of 1964.” 9.1 million acres of land were now protected and preserved, thanks to the efforts of Zahniser and others within the Wilderness Society.

Sadly, however, Zahniser didn’t live to see his hard work come to fruition; he died on May 8, 1964, just months before President Lyndon Johnson signed his act into the law. But since that day, more areas have been added to the designation and today, over 109.5 million acres are protected under the National Wilderness Preservation System. There are more than 750 wilderness areas from Alaska to Florida that provide habitats for endangered and threatened species; protect watershed and provide safe drinking water; as well as filter and clean the air we breathe.

Most of all, though, these wilderness areas provide a place for millions of Americans to retreat from the modern world and enjoy the beauty of God’s creation.

All thanks to one man’s passions and the lessons he learned in the forests of northwestern Pennsylvania.

Change Your Why

I HATE cleaning the bathroom.

Like, Hate-with-a-capital-H.

I’m a writer by day but a momma by night and, with a military husband, many of the household chores usually fall on my shoulders. And, for the most part, I don’t mind. I don’t mind packing lunches. I don’t mind doing laundry. I don’t even mind tidying the living room every. single. day.

But when Friday rolls around and I know it’s time to clean our bathrooms, I get sour, sometimes even downright pouty (depending on my level of sleep and coffee intake). I grumble under my breath as I scrub the toothpaste globs from the sink, turn up my nose at the splatters on the mirror, and don’t even get me started about the things I think as I scrub the toilet (I live with a ten year-old boy and a husband who might as well BE a ten year-old boy at times, after all). I spend my whole week joyfully (for the most part) serving my family but come Friday, it felt as if I had clothed myself in a woe-is-me blanket. The weight of all those chores suddenly would feel like too much once it came time for the dreaded bathroom scour. The love I felt for my family would go right down the drain with the gallons of bleach I needed to clean up their messes.

We ALL use the bathroom. Why am I the one who has to clean it? Why am I the only one who doesn’t treat the space like a pig sty? I shouldn’t have to scrub this disgusting mess each week when I’m not the one who creates it. I should not have to work for this family; I am NOT a maid.

Please tell me I’m not the only one who has days like this. Maybe it’s not cleaning the bathroom, but another particular chore or job that really gets your goat. Or perhaps not a WHAT, exactly, but just a day (or a week, month, year) where you just get overwhelmed meeting the needs of others. Where helping others feels like a burden rather than a blessing. Where your love for people just runs dry.

I’d been living my life in the ebb and flow of this cycle for so long, alternating between servitude and cynicism, when I came across a quote one day that stopped me in my tracks. It said:

“Change your why.”

What a simple, yet powerful thought that has the capacity to transform not just our minds, but our hearts, too. There is a “why” behind every single thing we do, whether we are conscious of it or not. For example, I run every day. Why? Because I want to keep my body strong and healthy (and enjoy all of the delicious Mexican food available in my town with less guilt). I read a lot of books. A. Lot. Of. Books. Why? Partly because it helps me be a better writer and partly because I enjoy the escapism. I wear black stretchy pants more than I care to admit. Why? Because they’re comfortable and I work from home.

These are silly examples, of course, but you get the general idea. There is a motivating force–a “why”–behind everything we do. And it’s easy to pinpoint when it’s something we enjoy doing. But what about the things we do that we hate?

What about those chores or acts of service we really don’t want to do? Like cleaning the bathroom or folding laundry? Or maybe it’s sacrificing Saturday morning–your ONE morning to sleep in–to go an event with your kids or do volunteer work for your church? Maybe it’s staying a few minutes after work to help a co-worker with a problem or agreeing to pet sit for a friend when you really don’t like animals.

Unfortunately, it’s the sad reality of life that–gasp!–it’s not always about what we want. It’s not always about what we enjoy. But what do we do when things come up in life (as they inevitably will) that we have to do but we don’t want to do? That is when it’s all too easy for bitterness or cynicism to creep into our hearts.

And that, my friends, is when we have to change our “why.”

Don’t do it for people. Do it for God.

You see, when we do things for people, it’s easy to get our priorities twisted. When we do things for people, our sinful natures naturally want compensation in some way. Money, gifts, or even just a verbal “thank you” or “job well done.” And, more often than not, when we don’t get a form of acknowledgement, we can become embittered. Imperfect people doing work for other imperfect people leads to disaster. But when we adjust our perspective to imperfect people doing work for a perfect God–that, my friends, is a recipe for miracles.

Brother Lawrence, a 17th century monk, wrote that “our being set apart for Him does not depend on changing our works, but in doing for God’s sake all those things we commonly do for our own. The most excellent method I have found of going to God is that of doing common business without any view of pleasing men, and as far as I am capable, doing it purely for the love of God.”

And he should know. He spent most of his life in a monastery and most of that time in the monastery’s kitchen, scrubbing and cleaning for others. It would have been easy to have gotten discouraged with those around him, as their sloppiness kept him from doing what he most wanted to do in this life–spend time in prayer and reflection of God’s Word–and yet he wasn’t. Rather than viewing this mundane task as a burden, he viewed it as yet another way to serve God. The motivation–or why–behind his task is what made all the difference, not only in his attitude but in his heart.

“Men invent means and methods of coming at God’s love, they learn rules and set up devices to remind them of that love, and it seems like a world of trouble to bring oneself into the consciousness of God’s presence. Yet it might be so simple. Is it not quicker and easier just to do our common business wholly for the love of him?…We can do little things for God; I turn the cake that is frying on the pan for love of him, and that done, if there is nothing else to call me, I prostrate myself in worship before him, who has given me grace to work; afterwards I rise happier than a king. It is enough for me to pick up but a straw from the ground for the love of God.”

Let your “why” in all your love be a genuine love for God. Do it for Him, not for others. Do it because He’s given you the opportunity and strength to serve. Do it because He’s given you a home to care for and people to call your own. Do it because He loves you so much that He gave His one and only Son that you should find forgiveness and salvation in His death.

Do it for Him. No matter how mundane. No matter how inconvenient.

Because He is our everything.

Including our “why.”

585 Minutes to Change Music History

On February 11, 1963, a record producer by the name of George Martin met four musicians at EMI Studios in London in the hopes of recording an album. The group had already released two singles, one of which had hit number 1 on the New Musical Express and Melody Maker charts. The UK was positively abuzz about the band’s fresh, new sound and Parlophone, a division of EMI, was eager to cash in on this by very quickly releasing an album featuring both singles.

So at 10:00 A.M. on Monday morning, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr gathered together to begin recording. The only problem was the band currently only had four tracks ((“Love Me Do”/”P.S. I Love You” and “Please Please Me”/”Ask Me Why”)from the A/B sides of their singles. Martin knew they would need at least 10 more songs to have a complete album–ten more albums in an extremely limited amount of time.

Like, a day.

In a 2008 interview with Billboard magazine, Martin recalled, “”I asked them what they had which we could record quickly, and the answer was their stage act.”

And so that’s exactly what they did.

The marathon recording session “was a straightforward performance of their stage repertoire – a broadcast, more or less,” full of songs from their time at the Cavern Club in Liverpool. On this day, the Beatles worked their way through their live set song by song, the number of takes varying on each, and finished at 10:45 p.m. – less than 13 hours later. It was a day, Martin joked, that “lasted three weeks.” Tracks included the title track and number one single “Please Please Me” as well as other soon-to-be classics such as “I Saw Her Standing There” and “Twist and Shout,” the latter being the last song recorded because Lennon had a cold and Martin knew, due to the intensity of the vocals on the track, “John wouldn’t have any voice left” afterwards.

Although slight tweaking came in the weeks afterward (for example, on February 20, Martin Martin overdubbed piano on “Misery” and celesta on “Baby It’s You”), most of the original recordings remained intact, and Please Please Me, the first Beatles album, was released in the UK on March 22, 1963. It hit the top of the UK album charts in May 1963 and remained there for 30 weeks–before it was replaced by the NEXT Beatles album, With the Beatles, which was released in November of 1963.

Of the 14 songs included on this debut album, 8 were written by Lennon-McCartney, an impressive and revealing foreshadow of the band’s achievements to come. The 585 minutes spent in studio on February 11, 1963 marked the beginning of Beatlemania and changed the landscape of pop music forever.

Cover Reveal for ‘Come Down Somewhere’!

GUYS!

I am so excited to reveal to you the cover for my next book, ‘Come Down Somewhere,’ available in September from Tyndale House!

Isn’t it gorgeous?

I love the desert-like colors and the subtle southwestern overlay, which hints at the book’s New Mexico setting. Most of all, however, I love the close-up of Olive and Jo, their interlocked arms, and the look on Jo’s face, which could either be seen as tense or endearing…or perhaps both.

What do you think? Tell me what vibes you get from this cover in the comments!

When God Calls Us to Hate

The Bible is full of commands to love.

In Matthew 22, Jesus, when questioned about the greatest commandment, replied, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (verses 37-40)

In John 13, Jesus again emphasizes his call to love by saying “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (verses 34-35). He reiterates this again just a few chapters later in John 15, saying: “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” (verse 12)

Paul continued this theme of love in several of his letters to first century churches. In Galatians 5:14, he reminds readers that “the entire law is summed upon a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'” In Colossians, he expands on this idea, telling us to “clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive what grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” (Colossians 3:12-14) And, perhaps the most famous passage on love, 1 Corinthians 13, Paul outlines why we should love, what it means to love, and also what it looks like to love.

But did you know the Bible also gives a directive to hate?

In Romans 12, Paul talks about living a Christian life and using our spiritual gifts as a means to serve both God and others. He talks about offering ourselves as living sacrifices, “holy and pleasing to God.” (verse 1). He then goes on in the second half of the chapter to discuss what this looks like. Right off the bat, he says “love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.” (verse 9).

At first glance, this verse seems pretty innocuous. Absolutely love should be sincere. Yep, hating what is evil is pretty standard. Clinging to the good? Gotcha.

But…can I really honestly say I hate what is evil?

The Greek term here is apostygountes, which implies a dislike or revulsion towards something. We are to be revulsed by evil or, more specifically, the things God sees as evil. In other words, sin. And I think, at a superficial level, most of us who identify as Christians can claim to be revulsed by sin: murder, abuse, theft–anything that does visible harm to another person–as well as things like blasphemy or idol worship–things that directly dishonor God.

But what about other sins?

Proverbs 6: 16-19 gives us a list of things the Lord hates, which we in turn should hate, too. But you might be surprised to learn that the things of this list aren’t the things to which our mind usually turn.

The first thing listed is “haughty eyes.” If the eyes are the window to the soul, then haughty eyes reveal the arrogant pride lying just below the surface.

The Lord hates pride. Not only does it make the list here, but it’s also a sentiment reiterated throughout Scripture (see the book of James for an example). But do I?

On the contrary, I would say pride is the sin with which I struggle the most. Some of my most shameful moments came as a result of pride. And though I may repent time and time again, if I’m being honest, pride is something I just can’t seem to let go.

Though frustrated by my sin, can I honestly say I’m revulsed by pride?

(Here’s a hint–my pride won’t let me answer that).

What about a lying tongue? I don’t like being lied to, of course; no one does. But does that stop me from telling lies when I’m trying to avoid hurting someone’s feelings or offering an excuse for ducking out on a social event? Again, yes, I may feel guilty about it, but am I revulsed enough by lies to keep my mouth from permanently speaking them?

Nope.

But it’s not just this list. Our culture is full of “socially acceptable sins” that, according to most, don’t even really count as sins anymore. Turn on any television show or movie and you’ll be bombarded with words, images, and situations that should cause our skin to crawl and stomaches to turn. Things such as drunkenness and lust are no longer taboo–they’re used as storylines in popular media or even to sell products on commercials! Sins such as these–and many others–have become so commonplace, many–including some Christians–don’t even bat an eye. In fact, many sins have gone from not only being tolerated but celebrated by our culture.

But just because our culture has changed, it doesn’t mean God has. His standards are still the same; a sin is a sin is a sin….and we are still called to “hate what is evil,” whether that be in our society at large or in our own lives. We aren’t just supposed to look the other way; we are to be “revulsed” by it.

For me, it’s easy to follow the command to love God. It’s also easy to love people (within reason–I’m not perfect at this part!). But it’s not always easy for me to hate what God hates. From the beginning of time, humans have tried to cover the shame of their sin by tapping into our common sin nature and pulling others into it with them, until the sin becomes so prevalent, it no longer even seems like a sin. What was true in the Garden of Eden, with Eve sharing the apple, is multiplied 1000-fold in 2021. Being a part of this world, it’s almost impossible not to be influenced by it; in my attempt to live in harmony, I’ve allowed sin to become commonplace and benign, forgetting that any and all sin–in me or the world around me–is in direct contrast to the holy nature of God. I’m not to accept it. I’m not to coddle it. I’m to recognize it and call it what it is. Sin. And I’m hate it. To reject it. To be revulsed by it.

This can feel so out of sync with the love of Jesus. But I think sometimes we focus so much on the love of Jesus that we gloss over the HOLINESS of Jesus. Sin and holiness cannot coexist in peace. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23) and God hated sin so much, He was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to save His people from it.

God hates sin. So why don’t we?

We have been saved by grace, set free from from the slavery of sin, but that doesn’t mean sin cannot still ensnare us by making us numb to its presence. I don’t believe it’s any coincidence that Paul’s directive to “hate what is evil” comes in the same chapter as his charge to “not [be] conform[ed] any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing, and perfect will.” (Romans 12: 2)

Only by making a conscious effort not to be conformed to the pattern of world–our culture’s way of thinking–and to actively seek out a renewal of our mind’s into God’s way of thinking, can we truly hope to test and approve what God’s will is–to see things as He does and to make decisions based on obedience and love for Him. Guided by the Holy Spirit, we can break free from our tolerance of sin and truly begin to view it as our Savior does: something hated but also defeated. In our attempt to “hate what is evil,” let us not forget the second half of the sentiment: “cling to what is good.”

And what is good is God. Always and forever. All of the time. Let us follow hard after Him, making it our life goal to become more and more like Him each day, as He fills us with His spirit and transforms us into Christ’s ambassadors here on earth.

***One last note here, as stated in Proverbs 6, these are “things” the Lord hates, not people. God never commands us to hate our fellow man, regardless of sin. Many balk at the saying but it still remains true: we are to hate the sin–in our own lives and in others–but never the sinner (and that includes ourselves).***

Heartbreak Hotel and Other Humble Beginnings

On January 8, 1935, in a two-room shotgun house in East Tupelo, Mississippi, a woman named Gladys gave birth to a son, Jesse Garon. The child, unfortunately, was stillborn. Thirty-five minutes later, the second of the twins arrived alive, to the great relief of both mother and father. They named the child Elvis Aron (later spelled Aaron) Presley.

The world would eventually know him simply as Elvis.

But, before all that, beginning from the day of his birth and the heart-breaking loss of his twin, Elvis’s life was one marked by hardship and poverty. His father, Vernon, worked odd jobs to provide for his family, though both money and basic necessities were often scarce. They were often forced to rely on help from neighbors and government assistance. Times were so tough, in fact, that in 1938, Vernon was sentenced to three years in prison for forging a $4 check. Though he spent less than a year behind bars, the family lost their house and were forced to move in with relatives.

Despite the difficult circumstances, Elvis’s childhood was filled with the love of a close-knit family. He had a close bond with both parents but especially his mother, who made him the center of her world after the devastating loss of Jesse. He was also surrounded by cousins, grandparents, uncles, and aunts.

He also had music. It was at the Assembly of God Church in Tupelo, which he attended weekly with his family, that Elvis was first introduced to the deep, soul-touching sounds of gospel songs. He was further inspired by the blues musicians who played around his neighborhood as well as the country music radio programs enjoyed by his family. Music awoke something deep within him, something for which he, from a very early age, already showed a natural talent to pursue.

On October 3, 1945, ten year-old Elvis, at the encouragement of a schoolteacher who’d heard him sing during morning prayers, entered a talent show at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show in Tupelo. Standing on a chair so he could reach the microphone, he belted out a version of Red Foley’s song “Old Shep,” which was broadcast locally over WELO Radio.

He won fifth place. His prize? $5.00 in fair ride tickets.

Even the greatest have humble beginnings.

A few months later, on his 11th birthday, Elvis received his first guitar. It wasn’t the bicycle he had actually wanted (his parents couldn’t afford it), but he accepted the gift gracefully and soon after began lessons with a few of his uncles and a new pastor at his church. Despite his initial hesitation, he soon became taken with the instrument, even taking it to school and playing it during lunchtime, despite the teasing he often suffered at the hands of classmates who viewed him as a “loner hillbilly.”

Elvis began to sleep, eat, and breathe music. He became enthralled with the Mississippi Slim show on WELO. Slim’s younger brother was a classmate’s of Elvis, and he often took him into the station. Slim supplemented Presley’s guitar instruction by demonstrating chord techniques and, when he was twelve years old, Slim scheduled him for two on-air performances. Presley was overcome by stage fright the first time, but succeeded in performing the following week.

But by late 1948, things had become so economically dire for the Presley family, that they were forced to pack up their belongings and head out in search of better opportunities. Loading all their belongings into a trunk, which they strapped to the roof of their 1939 Plymouth, they journeyed to Memphis, Tennessee. But the change of scenery wasn’t the magic fix-all they had hoped for.

The family lived for nearly a year in rooming houses before finally finding a two-bedroom apartment in a public housing complex known as Lauderdale Courts in a poor area in the northern part of the city. Vernon and Gladys continued to struggle with steady employment, instead floating from job to job, while Elvis attended L.C. Humes High School and also worked odd jobs, such as an usher at Loew’s State Theater, Precision Tool, and MARL Metal Products.

But what Memphis lacked in monetary freedom, it more than made up for in musical culture. Elvis continued to practice and improve his guitar skills, studying under a neighbor by the name of Lee Denson, and played frequently around the Courts with other boys, including Dorsey and Johnny Burnette, future members of the rockabilly band The Rock and Roll Trio. He spent a lot of time on Beale Street listening to the blues and was a regular attendee of the all-night gospel sings held downtown. He was a mediocre music student in school but could play by ear; his time spent at record stores, in listening booths, and beside juke boxes taught him more songs by more artists than any class. And by the time he graduated from high school in 1953, he felt confident enough to attempt his first demo, which he did at the Memphis Recording Service. For $4.00, he made a recording of “My Happiness” and “That’s When Your Heartaches Begin” as a birthday present for his mother.

Several demos and band auditions followed, none of them successful, and Elvis continued to work odd jobs around Memphis in order to survive. It wasn’t until Sam Phillips, president of Sun Records, which housed the Memphis Recording Service where Elvis had made his first demo and was always looking for the “next big thing,” invited Elvis to play with two local musicians, guitarist Winfield “Scotty” Moore and bass player Bill Black, to see what happened.

What happened was nothing. The three players didn’t mesh and were unable to find a smooth sound until late into the night when Elvis suddenly broke into a rendition of Arthur Crudup’s “That’s All Right.” Moore and Black joined in. Phillips began recording. Three days later, popular Memphis DJ Dewey Phillips played it on his Red, Hot, and Blue show.

And Elvis’s days of working as a truck driver in the slums of Memphis were soon numbered.

The single set off a wildfire of interest that eventually led to appearances on the Grand Ole Opry and Louisiana Hayride radio programs, as well as an eventual record contract with RCA Records, with which he releases “Heartbreak Hotel” in 1956. It sold over 300,000 copies in its first three weeks on the market and soon reached #1 on Billboard’s pop singles chart, where it remained for 8 weeks. It became the first Elvis single to sell over one million copies, thus earning Elvis his very first gold record award. 

And then, on January 28, 1956, 66 years ago today, Americans got their first look at this unique, soulful, hip-swinging sensation when Elvis, Moore, and Black, as well as drummer DJ Fontana, who joined the band in 1955, made their first appearance on network television on the Jackie Gleason-produced “Stage Show,” starring Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, on CBS. 

The days of Elvis were here.

And American music has never been the same.