BOBBY MCGRAW

speaker + instigator of hope

Monday Mentions 10.18.21

An Advent Devotional I Ordered – Advent 2021 She + He Bundle

Advent is a wonderful time to prepare our hearts for the significance of Christmas. He Reads Truth and She Reads Truth both have devotionals to help do just that. I ordered a “his and her” bundle today for Laura and I work thru this season.

From He Reads Truth:

Jesus spoke to them again: “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.” —John 8:12

Our Savior declared Himself to be the Light of the World. But this story of light piercing through the darkness didn’t begin with the birth of a baby boy under a shining star in the city of Bethlehem. From creation to the incarnation to the coming eternal city, Scripture speaks of Jesus’s life-giving presence and light in a dark world.During this Advent season, we celebrate that the hopes and fears of all the years were answered in Jesus, the everlasting light. 

This five-week Advent experience features daily Scripture reading that traces this theme throughout the Bible, preparing our hearts to encounter Christmas Day in a fresh way. It is also filled with thoughtful extras designed to help you engage this season as people of light, from daily reflection prompts to recipes, crafts, classic Christmas hymns, and more. Join us for Advent 2021 as we celebrate and contemplate The Everlasting Light.

Turo is basically the Airbnb of rental cars. It allows you rent other people’s cars. Turo has a wide-selection of “normal” everyday rides all the way up to really high end vehicles. With traditional rental car companies struggling to catch-up to demand, Turo is a great alternative. I recently rented a Jeep Wrangler and loved it. Thinking about buying a new car? Perhaps you can find the exact one on Turo to test drive for a few days!

A Podcast to Check Out – Living Centered

My friend Jim recommended this podcast to me a few days ago. It is hosted by some of the team at Onsite. Here is a brief description of the podcast: “Each week, we sit down with mental health experts, artists, and friends for a practical and honest conversation about how to pursue a more centered life—rediscovering, reclaiming, and rooting in who we truly are.” I am downloading several episodes now!

A Quote from I’m Thinking About

There are no good or bad emotions; there are just emotions. When we learnto identify, feel, and empathize with the full range of our internal lived experiences, we authentically connect to others and the world around us in a more sustainabletife-givingway.” — Miles Adcox

Monday Mentions 10.11.21

A Book I’m Re-reading – The Enneagram of Discernment

I initially bought this book a little over a year ago and loved it. I am re-reading parts of it now and find it really helpful. If you like having a clearer view of yourself, this is a great book to check out. If you want to go beyond a basic understanding of the Enneagram, this is a great next step.

From Amazon:

How does your personality type help and hinder your ability to make wise decisions?

We are too often rich in information and poor in wisdom. And when we encounter life’s decisions, big and small, we engage the information available through the lens of our personality.

The Enneagram of Discernment: The Way of Vocation, Wisdom, and Practice breaks new ground in the enneagram field, introducing Dr. Drew Moser’s innovative approach to exploring the enneagram to discover calling, cultivate wisdom, and develop habits that help you make wise decisions, whether they be important or mundane. This is not your ordinary enneagram book.

Weaving theology, spirituality, neuroscience, and psychology, Dr. Moser introduces you to The Way of Discernment: a journey of nine key questions each of us must consider when faced with a decision. Each of these nine questions are grouped into three triads: The Vocation Triad, The Wisdom Triad, and The Practice Triad.

This is an enneagram resource for anyone looking for help in making better decisions. Whether you’re new to the enneagram, or have been working with the enneagram for many years, The Enneagram of Discernment is an essential resource.

A Surprising Find – RaceTrac Empandas

RaceTrac is a gas station chain that is pretty nice. They seem to compete with QT (Quick Trip) for food, cleanliness, etc. I’ve noticed that RaceTrac sells empanadas on their hot food line. I broke down and tried them last week and was pleasantly surprised! I lived to tell about it! While they may not have a tasty salsa to dip them in, they were did the trick for satisfying my hunger on the go.

A TV Show We’re Watching – To Catch a Smuggler

To Catch a Smuggler is a TV series that has been on since 2012. Cameras follow customs agents as they screen travelers. It’s amazing to see how creative people are when they are trying to smuggle drugs.

A Quote from I’m Thinking About

The Enneagram does not put you in a box. It shows you the box you’re already in and how to get out of it.” — Ian Cron

Monday Mentions 10.03.21

A Book I’m Recommending to Dads – The Intentional Father

If you’re a dad, I highly recommend you consider reading Jon Tyson’s latest book – The Intentional Father. Jon is a sharp, reasoned thinker, pastor and author. Check out the book description below.

From Amazon:

Self-initiation is killing our young men. Without strong mentors, boys are walking alone into a wilderness of conflicting messages about who they should be as men. It’s no wonder that our sons are confused about what the world expects from them and what they should expect of themselves.

The Intentional Father is the antidote. This concise book is filled with practical steps to help men raise sons of consequence–young men who know what they believe, know who they are, and will stand up against the negative cultural trends of our day. Jon Tyson lays out a clear path for fathers and sons that includes specific activities, rites of passage, and significant “marking moments” that can be customized to fit any family.

It’s not enough to hope our sons will become good men. We need them to be good at being men. This book shows how fathers, grandfathers, and other male mentors can lead the way.

These doughnuts are AH-MAZ-ING! Laura and I tried these on an recent trip to Nashville. (Thanks for the recommendation Cory and Rachel!) I tried the Carmel Bliss and the Maple Bacon. Laura tried Blueberry Hill and one other that I can’t remember the name. All really good! Check out the webisite for locations across the country.

A Podcast I Stumbled Across – Bad Cops

I remember hearing about a case in Baltimore about a few bad cops. I stumbled across this podcast from the BBC that tells more of the story. It was very interesting to listen. It made me even more grateful for the good guys I know out there.

A Quote from I’m Thinking About

Raising a son is real work, but we have to get this right, because if we don’t teach our sons, the world will. If we don’t teach our sons about women pornography will if we don’t teach our sons about friendship, they’ll live a life of loneliness. If we don’t teach our sons about leadership, they’ll be followers all their lives. Being a father is not about efficiency. It’s about discipleship. Father is not about time management. It’s about heart development.” — Jon Tyson on the Dad Awesome Podcast

Monday Mentions 9.27.21

A Book I’m Reading – Live No Lies

John Mark Comer’s newest book releases tomorrow. I was grateful to receive an advanced copy and have found it really helpful. John Mark is a great writer and great thinker. In this book, he revisits an ancient framework for understanding the battle we find ourselves in. In a sense, it’s his manifesto. If you are looking for inner peace, I encourage you to check this book out!

From Amazon:

We are at war. Not with a foreign government or domestic terrorists or a creepy new artificial intelligence hell-bent on taking over the world. No, it’s a war we feel deep inside our own chests: we are at war with lies.

The problem isn’t so much that we tell lies but that we live them. We let them into our bodies, and they sabotage our peace. All around us in the culture and deep within our own body memories are lies: deceptive ideas that wreak havoc on our emotional health and spiritual well-being, and deceptive ideas about who God is, who we are, and what the good life truly is.

The choice is not whether to fight or not fight, but whether we win or surrender.

Ancient apprentices of Jesus developed a paradigm for this war; they spoke of the three enemies of the soul: the devil, the flesh, and the world. Live No Lies taps into this ancient wisdom from saints of the Way and translates the three enemies for the modern era, with all its secularism and sophistication. As a generation, we chuckle at the devil as a premodern myth, we are confused by Scripture’s teaching on the flesh in an age where sensual indulgence is a virtue not a vice, and we have little to no category for the New Testament concept of the world.

In this provocative and practical book, bestselling author John Mark Comer combines cultural analysis with spiritual formation. He identifies the role lies play in our spiritual deformation and lays out a strategic plan to overcome them.

Do you feel the tug-of-war in your own heart, the inner conflict between truth and lies? The spirit and the flesh? The Way of Jesus and the world? It’s time to start winning. It’s time to live no lies…

Apple recently released an updated iPad Mini. I picked one up last week and I’m loving it. I love the portability, the updated design, and (most importantly) the added support for the Apple Pencil 2.

An Entertaining Podcast – Dateline

My wife and I like watching true-crime tv shows. While traveling, we enjoying listening to the audio version of many of those shows. The Dateline podcast is a great example of one. These are great to listen to, especially while working out or traveling.

A Quote from I’m Thinking About

Love your enemies.” — Jesus of Nazareth

Monday Mentions 9.20.21

A Book I’m Reading – At Your Best

My friend Carey Nieuwhof has a fantast new book out called At Your Best: Hww to Get Time, Energy & Priorities Working Your Favor. This is a fantastic read. Carey does a great job of reminding us that while we have 168 hours in the week, not all hours are equal. There are hours that we are at our best. There are hours we are at our worst. And there is the in-between. Carey helps you sync doing what you are best at when you are at your best.

From Amazon:

Overwhelmed. Overcommitted. Overworked. That’s the false script an inordinate number of people adopt to be successful. Does this sound familiar:

● Slammed is normal.
● Distractions are everywhere.
● Life gets reduced to going through the motions.

Tired of living that way? At Your Best gives you the strategies you need to win at work and at home by living in a way today that will help you thrive tomorrow.

Influential podcast host and thought leader Carey Nieuwhof understands the challenges of constant pressure. After a season of burnout almost took him out, he discovered how to get time, energy, and priorities working in his favor. This approach freed up more than one thousand productive hours a year for him and can do the same for you.

At Your Best will help you…
● replace chronic exhaustion with deep productivity
● break the pattern of overpromising and never accomplishing enough
● clarify what matters most by restructuring your day
● master the art of saying no, without losing friends or influence
● discover why vacations and sabbaticals don’t really solve your problems
● develop a personalized plan to recapture each day so you can break free from the trap of endless to-dos

Start thriving at work and at home as you discover how to be at your best.

Laura took me on a day full of birthday fun on Saturday. We started the day with brunch in Midtown Atlanta at The Lawrence. Neither of us had heard of it before, but it looked trendy and fun. As it turns out, it was national cheeseburger day, so I tried their buger – The Larry – it did not disappoint! Imagine: Two 3.5 oz Beef & Pork Patties, American Cheese, Bacon, Pickles, Caramelized Onions, Lettuce, Larry Sauce, Mustard, coupled with garlic fries! So good!

A Powerful YouTube Video: Validation

A Quote from I’m Thinking About

Balanced people don’t change the world. Passionate people do.” — Carey Nieuwhof

Let’s change the world together!

Let's start the conversation.

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