“I’ve been thinking about an old story in Acts lately. In the heady early days of the Church, Peter and John were once again arrested for preaching Christ and His resurrection. The High Council was furious and wanted to kill them.
But a wise and well-respected Pharisee named Gamaliel stood up and said something incredibly profound: “Men of Israel, take care what you are planning to do to these men! Some time ago there was that fellow Theudas, who pretended to be someone great. About 400 joined him, but he was killed and all his followers went their various ways. The whole movement came to nothing. After him, at the time of the census, there was Judas of Galilee. He got people to follow him, but he was killed too, and all his followers were scattered. So, my advice is, leave these men alone. Let them go. If they are planning and doing these things merely on their own, it will soon be overthrown. But if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God!” (Acts 5:35-39, NLT)
I’m a recovering know-it-all. It seems that just when I finally have an opinion locked into place, exceptions abound. Black-and-white thinking has been denied to be repeatedly. Some days, I can’t figure out if this is a cross to bear or a mercy to enjoy.
The Spirit always sweeps into my opinions and preferences with holy disruption.
Now I’ve lived through enough evolutions of myself and enough transformation by the Spirit that I have learned to keep my mouth shut a bit more, to wait in kindness, to hold it loosely. I try to think critically without giving myself over to a critical heart. I try to be kind, to remember the ways that I have grown and changed, the ways that I will continue to grow and change and continue to sort it out.”
(an excerpt from my Book “Out of Sorts: Making Peace with an Evolving Faith“)
It’s almost been a year since my second book, Out of Sorts: Making Peace with an Evolving Faith came out!
When the book was released, my friend Taylor of Brave Little Taylor created a whole bunch of free printables to celebrate (those prints are here and are still available for you to download and have printed!).
But…. here’s a secret: there was one more printable that we never released publicly…..
And today, I have it for you to download! Isn’t it lovely? I love the little book spine in the “k” – LOVE it. (I personally find this print to be a helpful reminder right in my writing space!)
Click here or on the image to download the hi-res PDF.
P.S. As a special gift to all of you, Taylor is offering all of my readers an 20% discount to her shop! That’s right – everything is 20% off for you. Use coupon code SARAHBESSEY at check out. Discount codes will be valid until September 30, 2016. Enjoy! (My personal favourite is this one…..and this one….and I have this one already up in Maggie’s room…)
P.P.S. Taylor also designed two prints for my Jesus Feminist collection with Imagine Goods. I often send out her “Eshet Chayil, Woman of Valor” print to my own friends when they need some celebrating. Check the whole collection out here – everything there is on sale right now!
The post For you! The “Recovering Know-It-All” Print appeared first on Sarah Bessey.
And check out Sarah Bessey's critically acclaimed new book, "Jesus Feminist." “I’ve read countless books addressing the place of women in the kingdom, and I have never, ever read anything so lovely, so generous, profound and humble as Jesus Feminist. If you’re expecting anger or defensiveness or aggression, move on. If you are looking for intelligence and warmth and spirit, read this immediately." - Jen Hatmaker, author of "7: A Mutiny Against Excess" and "Interrupted"
