Lesa Rossick

After the #crabapplefire came within 7 miles of my home, I created these Top 5 tips for recovery from my 15 years of experience representing Texans impacted by wildfires facebook.com/share/v/1HxPuW…

Day 4 of #SXSW2025 and happy first day of the #SXSW Music Fest 🤘 Looking for resources? See attendee guide: ow.ly/NnNz50VeQYF Take a cool photo/video? Drop it here: ow.ly/QI2R50VeR1O

Let your priorities set the framework for when you say yes and when you say no. Say yes to people and activities that help you realize and fulfill the dreams, relationships, and pursuits you prioritized. Say no to the people and activities that push you further away.

"Oh, here's an idea: Let's make pictures of our internal organs and give them to other people we love on Valentine's Day. That's not weird at all." ~Jimmy Fallon #happyvalentinesday

Make your mental health a priority.

To anyone needing a Romantic Date idea for Valentines, I've got you covered! @keepaustineatin has a Top 20 Romantic list and the iPhone app is free! keepaustineatin.com/2023/12/02/mos…

Want to know the Social Media trends for 2024? Check out this great article by @Hootsuite hootsuite.com/research/socia…

Congratulations to my girlfriends, Lawton Cummings and Lisa Jauregui, for being named the Austin Woman's Changemakers for 2024. I am so proud of both of you! #austin #austinwoman atxwoman.com/change-makers-…

I went from thinking the Bible was the most boring book ever to seeing the magic in it. Years ago, I realized that the Bible is the foundational book of Western civilization. If I was going to be an educated person, I needed to know what it said. Though I was motivated to learn about it, I didn't have the patience to read it or the knowledge to understand it. Generally, I try to follow my 4th-grade English teacher's advice to read things first-hand. But the Bible seemed too hard, too boring, and too confusing to read on my own. It was a snooze fest. The stories felt outdated in a world of smartphones and fast Internet. Living in the modern world, shouldn’t I be rooting my life in modern books, modern studies, and modern authors? At the time, I was living in New York when a friend introduced me to the work of Tim Keller. I reluctantly found time to put down the self-help and picked up two of his books instead: The Reason for God and Making Sense of God. It was around that time when I discovered Keller's Questioning Christianity lecture series. Instead of focusing on the Bible directly, Keller focused on Christianity's relationship with culture and the modern world. He spoke to career-driven Gordon Gekkos who were driven by the glories of the material world, but sensed the emptiness at the heart of such a single-minded pursuit. Instead of referencing scripture directly, he spoke about big-picture themes like identity and purpose, morality and meaning. This was back when I thought all Christians had the intelligence of sidewalk pigeons. I would scoff at church-goers because I didn’t understand why anyone would worship a sky fairy or follow rules from thousands of years ago. Keller was the guide I needed. For the first few years, I looked at faith through a cultural lens instead of reading the Bible directly. I literally knew nothing about Jesus or Christianity — and I came to realize how little I knew about my own atheism too. In school, while studying the Declaration of Independence, I’d learned that it’s “self-evident” that “all men are created equal.” Turns out, this defining American ideal is only self-evident if you assume that every person has inherent worth because they’re made in the image of God. I was stumped. Where did my moral compass come from? Do people have inherent value? And if so, is it because every human is a child of God? In addition to advocating for the life of Jesus and the truth of his message, Keller revealed the many assumptions underlying my own atheistic worldview. He taught me that every worldview requires a leap of faith. Sure, Christianity couldn’t perfectly explain everything in the universe, but then again, neither can any worldview. Astrophysicists say that much of the universe is made up of “dark matter,” which is a scientific-sounding way to talk about a leap of faith Though I did some Bible studies, I never enjoyed them. They felt more like reading tedious academic papers than drinking directly from the fountain of God’s wisdom. Instead of reading Scripture directly, I joined a small Christian reading group where I was the only non-believer. By showing me coherent ways to interpret reality besides my science-based materialism, books like The Story of Reality and I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist loosened the screws on my atheism. My palate was beginning to change. Like a fine wine, the same flavors that were once repulsive to me started to appeal to my intellectual taste buds. I surrounded myself with wise Christians who were orthodox about scripture and eager to answer my hardest questions about faith. I asked them to dinner and invited myself to Church with them. This marked a new era. Once again, I found some guides: books, Internet sources, and an in-person leader to show me the way. On the Internet, I'd turn to The Bible Project to answer my big-picture thematic questions. I picked up the ESV Study Bible, which I still read every day on the white boucle couch in my living room (if you like reading on the computer, I recommend The Bible Study App by Olive Tree). For years, I’d stiff-armed the Bible. Now, I was skipping to a 7am Bible Study led by a devout believer who'd been reading God's word every day for almost a quarter-century, and wasn’t afraid to rebuke my theology. What surprised me most was how carefully we read. I admired the integrity of our study. We live in a culture of binge-reading where people boast about how many books they can complete in a given year. We did the opposite. We never read more than ~20 verses in a single session and dissected every word, every verse, and every story. (I once spent two hours studying John 1:1-4 — just four verses at a strip mall Schlotzsky's in the Texas Hill Country.) Never in my life had I read so deliberately. I spent months in the books of Ephesians, Romans, John, and 2 Corinthians, and there's no way I would've known how to read the Bible so diligently on my own. I learned to look beyond English translations, and I use the BibleHub to look up the original Greek and Hebrew whenever possible. For a translation, I recommend the English Standard Version (ESV) (no, you don’t need to read the King James Version). And If you're going to pick two books, I recommend the Gospel of John and the Book of Romans. Either find a guide to read them carefully with you or follow along with The Bible Project and The ESV Study Bible. Whatever you do, read slowly. I used to be a serial consumer who’d brag about how many books I read every year. I’d pick up anything and everything. The more, the merry. But the more I study the Bible, the more careful I’ve become about who I read and listen to. Gone are my days as a serial consumer. Frauds, charlatans, and false teachers abound, so be skeptical and vet your sources. In all this time, I’ve had no more than ten serious teachers. Fortunately, that’s all you need. I became a believer on March 20th of this year, four years after attending my first Tim Keller lecture, and the Bible is alive for me now like no book I've ever read. These days, I read the Bible and basically nothing else. Opening it up is the best part of my daily routine. The words twinkle. The stories are supernatural. It's a living, breathing document, and I wholeheartedly believe it's the Word of God, which makes every other book feel dim by comparison.

“I asked the Zebra, ‘Are you black with white stripes? Or white with black stripes?’ And the zebra asked me, ‘Are you good with bad habits? Or are you bad with good habits?’” – Shel Silverstein #quoteoftheweek #zebra #kenya

Thank you @forbes for this great article on achieving better work-life balance. A great topic for the January for starting off the new year! forbes.com/sites/bernardm…

To start off 2024, I thought I'd share things I've learned from my mom, who is battling terminal cancer. ✨ Find an excuse to celebrate every day! ✨ Treasure time with loved ones. ✨ Be adventurous. ✨ Go slow. ✨ Live a life of gratitude. #thanksmom #livelifetothefullest

When you're thinking about end of the year giving or planning for next year, @centerforcp is one of the best charities in Austin. Leading the mission for protecting our abused kids in Austin, and educating to help prevent and end the cycle. #protectaustinkids

O come all ye faithful Joyful and triumphant O come ye, o come ye to Bethlehem Come and behold Him Born the King of Angels O come let us adore Him O come let us adore Him O come let us adore Him Christ, the Lord #holyweek #christmas

Congratulations to my talented and amazing husband, @billrossick for becoming partner at @carlsonlawfirm. I couldn't be more proud! #carlsoncares #carlsonlawfirm

My mom has terminal cancer, but because of the miracles performed by MD Anderson she is still with us, surviving and living a great life. Her reports came back that all of her cancer has stayed stable and hasn’t spread. ♥️ #endcancer @mdandersonnews

🚨 New Restaurant Alert 🚨 Yucatán inspired @bacalaratx in the @44eastave building on Rainey Street will blow your minds! You will be transported to this state of Mexico with delish food and vibe created by @urbanspace. 📸 @lesarossick #keepaustineatin #bacalaratx

This Hidden Gem Resort in California Has a Secret Beach, Stunning Hiking Trails, and Incredible Sunset Views travelandleisure.com/hotels-resorts…

What a blessing to volunteer in @Maui . It’s a great time to visit and support their economy! The east side is untouched, gorgeous and ready to host you! 🏝️ and if you’re looking to help financially, #mauirapidresponse is doing great things! #mauistrong

@EllenTroxclair @Riley_Gaines_ Thanks for all of your hard work Ellen! We are blessed to have you

Let’s go! Thank you for your support of this bill and women everywhere @Riley_Gaines_ ! #txlege #women