Maybe I'm Not God's Type
No matter how good I am at something, someone will think I’m the wrong kind of good at the wrong kind of thing.
No matter how good I am at something, someone will think I’m the wrong kind of good at the wrong kind of thing.
I’m a homeschool mom, but am I the right TYPE? Other moms share perfect photos and “my kid reads ancient Greek at 9 years old”. We’ve never had a professional family photo, and my kids do not read Greek.
I’m a woman, but am I the right TYPE? Oh boy. I won’t even touch this one. Women, you know all the pain points here.
I’m a Christian, but am I the right TYPE? Yikes. This one can cut SO deep. What if one group thinks I’m wrong, bad or dangerous for belonging to another? Even within our pretty homogenous denomination, disagreements feel like an existential threat! Do I still belong??
The pressure is EXHAUSTING. I mean it. I am literally tired right now having made the mistake of letting myself listen to that critical voice for the last couple days. If everyone constantly disparages and despises each other for being the wrong type, how can I know which type is the best? Which type is acceptable? Which type is God’s type?
The critical voice says I’m not good enough. I don’t like me; why would God? I’m stuck in the chaos in my brain!
Stuck. Do you feel it too, friend?
As long as I keep demanding that the world answer my questions, I will be stuck in an echo chamber of doubt, anxiety and condemnation.
But there is another voice. There are other words to listen to that can break up my swirling inner dialogue.
Am I weak? Let me hear 2 Corinthians 12:9–10
Paul says that he begged God to free him of some failure or suffering, but God said to him, ‘ “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.’ (ESV)
Am I naive and unsophisticated? Let me hear Matthew 19:13-14
‘Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” ‘
Am I stuck in guilt and feel like I’ll never be good enough? Mark 2:15–17
And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (ESV)
So, are you Jesus’ type?
Well, are you one of these: childish, ignorant, prideful, needy, suffering, curious, skeptical, earnest, trusting, untrusting, desperate, afraid, sinful? He specifically speaks with love and welcome about all these types and more!
I’m not a spectacular sinner or a glowing saint. I’m a woman, living in the U.S. in 2026 with troubles and joys and lots of confusion. And Jesus wants to gather me up to himself and wipe away my tears. As though I was just the right type. Because I am. And so are you.
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Reading the Bible for The Stories
Reading the Gospels with Your Imagination
A Zoom Workshop taught by Liv and Brandon Booth
Sat, March 21, 11 AM - 12:30 PM Mountain Time
$35 or Pay-What-You-Want
What if we stopped overthinking some of the Bible stories?
While there is absolutely a time and place for deep dives into Greek and Hebrew, word studies, and applications, sometimes this leads us to over-think and over-intellectulize the stories found in the Gospels.
What if we changed that?
What if we took some time to unlearn the need to make everything into a lesson or a concept that we needed to “grasp,” and allowed ourselves to connect with the stories for what they truly are - stories?
Jesus spoke in parables to help his listeners connect on a soul level. His stories were not mere information; they are “living and active” invitations to encounter him! In each Gospel story, we are invited to stand right alongside Jesus, to hear his tone of voice, see the emotions on his face — to let Jesus catch our eye and ask: “what about you?”
If this is something you are interested in, please consider signing up for our upcoming webinar, “Reading the Gospels with Your Imagination.” Suggested ticket price is $35, and we also make this workshop available at a pay-what-you-want rate.
This workshop will be hosted by Brandon and Liv on Saturday, March 21 | 11:00–12:30 PM Mountain Time | Located on Zoom
P.S. If you miss the workshop, a private recording will be available to registered participants for a limited time.
Provisions for the Road
That Thing Liv Wrote - A Substack
Join Liv on a journey of welcoming delight! Over on her Substack she is, in her own words: "inhabiting the immediate and leaving gratitude for another day. I’m letting what is be what is. I want the God’s-eye-view. The one that looks and says, ‘It is good.’ Without agenda or anxiety - the welcome of what is becomes delight in what is.”
Here’s a recent post:
Hello, Grand Viceroy of Cabbages.
Be prepared! You too may open a red cabbage and find yourself in the presence of the Viceroy of Cabbages. And he is not pleased.
Food for Thought
Things the team found interesting this week, no endorsment implied.
This Paradox Splits Smart People 50/50
Watch the math and science types grapple with free will, rationality, and virtue ethics! (And wind up endorsing virtue ethics!) It’s a slow build, but stick with it and then hit reply to this email and let us know: are you a one-box or two-box kind of person?
Here’s our teams votes:
Brandon: 1 box
Liv: “I don't play stupid stupid games.”
Ashley: 2 boxes
Paul (Ashley’s husband): 1 box
(Paul is not “officially” part of the team, but runs a local ministry we all love, The Bridge Youth Center!)
Booth family poll:
Torben: 2 boxes (“And you’re stupid for asking!”)
Leif: 1 box
Lily: 2 boxes
The Spiritual Windfall of AI - First Things
“Artificial intelligence promises to automate aspects of white-collar work once thought immune to mechanization. That shift offers an opportunity—not merely economic but spiritual. If machines can draft briefs and conduct audits, we are forced to ask a deeper question: What is work for?”
This article is partially paywalled, but there’s enough available for free to be worth your read!
Friday Reflection: A Culture of Pickiness
“In the nineteenth century, Americans worried that children were not picky enough. Today, we assume the opposite. Children are widely believed to be ‘food rejectors by nature.’ The shift began not with marketing, but with reform. The result was a culture of anxiety and guilt, layered atop expanding consumer choice.”
