101 Moments of Trust

The Guideposts Spirit Lifters series is an all-new eBook series from Guideposts featuring devotionals and story collections. The Spirit Lifters series demonstrates the powerful connection between faith and daily living, and offer readers hope to overcome life's challenges and to celebrate God's hand in our lives.

 

About 101 Moments of Prayer: Inspiring Thoughts for Listening to God

 Join Elizabeth Sherrill, longtime writer for the bestselling devotional, Daily Guideposts, as she takes you on a journey that will help you appreciate life's little moments where you allow yourself to truly listen to how God is speaking to you. With carefully chosen Scripture passages for each day and thoughtful devotional entries, 101 Moments of Prayer will be a refreshing addition to your quiet time. If you're looking to grow in your faith while enhancing your daily practice of prayer and reflection, you'll find a wonderful companion in 101 Moments of Prayer, part of the Guideposts Spirit Lifters series.

About 101 Moments of Trust: Inspiring Thoughts for Believing in God's Promises

Join Marion Bond West, longtime writer for the bestselling devotional, Daily Guideposts, as she takes you on a journey that will help you trust in God's abiding strength and love no matter what challenges life brings. With carefully chosen Scripture passages for each day and thoughtful devotional entries sharing real-life experiences, 101 Moments of Trust will be a refreshing addition to your quiet time. If you're looking to grow in your faith 

while enhancing your daily practice of prayer and reflection, you'll find a wonderful companion in101 Moments of Trust, part of the Guideposts Spirit Lifters series.

 

Link to buy these ebooks: http://ow.ly/g1Hxp   

Meet Marion Bond West: Marion Bond West is fascinated by honesty: honesty in others, honesty with herself, honesty with God. For almost forty years, she has written honestly about her life and God in a wide variety of books, magazines, and newspapers. Marion is a contributing editor of Guideposts magazine, having written for the internationally recognized publication and for the devotional book Daily Guideposts for more than thirty years. She and her husband, Gene Acuff, life in a Watkinsville, Georgia.

My Review:

Trust. This is not something that comes easily for me. In fact, I would say trust is something that I struggle with. 

I enjoyed reading the introduction of 101 Moments of Trust. To me the introduction tells the story of how the story or in this case the devotionals came to be. That process is intriguing to me. Her story caught my attention because she talks about picking some her favorite devotionals from the past. Pieces of her journey that have inspired not only her but thousands of people. 

It's Christmas Eve and it's been an emotional day for many reasons. Trust is something that seems a little far off right now. To be able to sit and read a few of these moments has been uplifting for me and my spirit. I love how the Lord can use another person's journey to be a challenge and an encouragement in my own life. We serve an active, mighty God and to read about His hand at work is water for my thirsty soul tonight. I'm thankful that there are people like Marion Bond West who are willing to be transparent with their lives and share their journey.  

I received a copy of the e-book for review purposes only. I was not compensated in any other way for my review. The opinions expressed here are my own. 

101 Moments of Prayer

The Guideposts Spirit Lifters series is an all-new eBook series from Guideposts featuring devotionals and story collections. The Spirit Lifters series demonstrates the powerful connection between faith and daily living, and offer readers hope to overcome life's challenges and to celebrate God's hand in our lives.

 

About 101 Moments of Prayer: Inspiring Thoughts for Listening to God

 Join Elizabeth Sherrill, longtime writer for the bestselling devotional, Daily Guideposts, as she takes you on a journey that will help you appreciate life's little moments where you allow yourself to truly listen to how God is speaking to you. With carefully chosen Scripture passages for each day and thoughtful devotional entries, 101 Moments of Prayer will be a refreshing addition to your quiet time. If you're looking to grow in your faith while enhancing your daily practice of prayer and reflection, you'll find a wonderful companion in 101 Moments of Prayer, part of the Guideposts Spirit Lifters series.

Link to buy these ebooks: http://ow.ly/g1Hxp   

Meet Elizabeth Sherrill: Elizabeth ("Tib") Sherrill has published some 1500 articles and authored more than 30 books, with sales in excess of 50 million.  Book titles, many co-written with her husband John -- include The Hiding Place, The Cross and the Switchblade, God's Smuggler,They Speak with Other Tongues, and Return from Tomorrow.  Her most recent book, All the Way to Heaven, recounts for the first time her own journey from atheism to profound commitment. For over 

sixty years, Elizabeth has been a writer and editor for Guideposts Magazine.

My review:

Walk closely with God. In 101 Moments of Prayer this is the title of one of the devotionals. A simple thought is presented; "Noah heard because of the faithful daily walk." While this may not be anything new or even profound it is a thought that resonated deep within me.  101 Moments of Prayer uses short devotionals that truly are moments taken from the bible and interwoven within a modern life.  These moments offer a snapshot of what is going on and a quick thought on how it can apply to our own spiritual journey. They cover a variety of situations. From times of struggle, to trust, worship, and forgiveness. Just to name a few. Each devotional sets you up to dive into a more thought-provoking conversation with God. 

If you are looking for a devotional to jump start deeper thinking and more pointed prayer this could be the right fit for you. Each moment has some daily scripture so you can delve further into the story and what God may be saying to you. This is a book, e-book rather, that you can custom fit to your own needs for a daily devotional. 

One thing reading through these moments has taught me is to look around at my world more closely. In the introduction, it is stated that to discover moments "you just have to notice." For me, this is a book filled with encouragement from the stories, scriptures, and life lessons. This is a book that teaches you moments can turn into life lessons if we take time to appreciate and notice them in our own lives.  

I received a copy of the e-book for review purposes only. I was not compensated in any other way for my review. The opinions expressed here are my own. 

Evan Burl and the Falling

A few months back I had the opportunity to read a book called Evan Burl and the Falling. A friend of a friend was looking for people to read his book and offer a short review on what they read. This was when I fell in love with Evan. He is a young boy searching for his place in the world, something we can all relate to. Justin Blaney has created a wonderful world of intrigue, mischief, and magic that comes alive through vivid storytelling. This is a struggle of good and evil at its finest as Evan wrestles with his fate. The interweaving of characters will have your mind on edge as you race to the end of Evan Burl and the Falling.

Through Sunday (Nov. 18) there is a great deal on Amazon where you can get this book. If you have a kindle you can get it for FREE! I recommend it not only for the fun you will have in reading it but also because 10% of the profits go to caring for orphans and supporting at-risk youth. 

Here is the link: Evan Burl and the Falling

At the Feet of Jesus

About At the Feet of Jesus: 

You were made for more than serving God; you were made to know Him.

Intimacy with God-to know Him and be known by Him. It is what our hearts desperately need, but somehow life conspires to keep us busy and distracted.

For anyone who struggles when it comes to daily devotions, At the Feet of Jesus extends an irresistible invitation to set aside your duties and find the amazing peace and incredible joy that come from time alone with Him. Drawn from Joanna Weaver's beloved Bethany trilogy, each reading in this 365-day devotional includes a Bible reading passage and reflection question. All-new material and "Going Deeper" sidebars are also woven throughout.

Discover for yourself the riches that come from spending a portion of each day alone with God. At the feet of Jesus-where true life begins!

Includes a unique One-Year Bible Reading Guide.

Meet Joanna:                   

Joanna Weaver is known the world over for her transparent and life-changing books, Having A Mary Heart in a Martha World and Having a Mary Spirit. Joanna has appeared on a wide variety of nationally syndicated radio and television broadcasts. She is also a highly sought after speaker and shares her message at intimate gatherings and several high profile events each year. But Joanna's greatest joy is found in being a wife and mother and her role as a pastor's wife.

Find out more about Joanna athttp://www.joannaweaverbooks.com/.

My Review:

   At the feet of Jesus-- isn't that where we all long to be? Yet life gets in the way, we get busy, and many things consume our thoughts and time. When this happens, at least for me, it's my quiet time that suffers and gets pushed aside. Joanna Weaver, author of Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, has compiled some of her beloved writings and created a year-long study designed to help you grow closer to the Lord and hopefully draw you to the feet of Jesus.

   She has skillfully crafted a study that intertwines reading, reflecting, and the going deeper strategies that allow you to find the rhythm that best suits you as you walk through the pages. I personally enjoyed the 'reflect' part of the day. Reading it in the morning, I was able to ponder the thought or question throughout my day. Many times I found myself having to add to my initial response by the end of the day.

   This is a study that encourages and challenges one in everyday living. Before the study begins, the author poses a thought about choosing to give God time and not just the time that's left over from our day. I hope you choose to give God your time and I highly recommend At the Feet of Jesus to help you along that journey. 

Link to buy the book: http://ow.ly/erC31

Link to Blog Tour

I received a copy of the book for review purposes only. I was not compensated in any other way for this review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

The Tangible Kingdom

Tonight is the night that my Missional Community meets. This is what we call our small groups at The Hallows Church. We are going through a study called The Tangible Kingdom and tonight we began telling our stories. You tell your story along the lines of four simple words; creation, fall, redemption, and restoration. While only six people had time to share tonight, I must say it was extremely encouraging to listen to the different stories. The way Jesus impacts our lives is so different and unique yet we can use those four words to find the common bonds. And every time it comes back to Jesus and the gospel. When we remember our creation, fall, and redemption we are reminded of the grace and love that Jesus has shown us. Hopefully our restoration is ever changing, meaning we are learning and being refined. In sharing our stories and hearing other stories we see the depth of the gospel and its all encompassing power in our lives and in others as well. So lets share our story.

I wrote this post last night.

One year and 23 days

The one year mark is something I wanted to write about but it was difficult to find the words. The past year has been many things; good, boring, bad, okay, amazing, hard, stressful, and most of all new. I have a terrible sense of direction and that hasn't changed. To be able to drive to and from work without my GPS was a big success. And despite what my rims may say, I have improved my parallel parking skills. It's been fun learning to navigate a new city. 

This time last year I was pulling out of my parents driveway, Waterfalls by TLC was playing on the radio, my car was packed with the items in life I felt I needed across the country, and I had no idea what lay before me on the open road. It's funny what you think is important enough to bring across the country. For Melissa it was vases and then for some it's two copies of Hot Rod out of only seven total movies that you bring. But that's another story.

Driving to work one day I began thinking about how it felt to pack up my life and leave home. I was wearing a shirt I had last washed at home in Wetumpka a few weeks ago. It smelled like home. In an instant I was being hugged by my mom, sitting at the kitchen table with my dad and my three favorite cats were slinking around the house. It was being within driving distance of some of my most favorite people. The small things are truly what you miss the most. 

In the past year I've asked myself numerous times "why am I here?" The question never comes from regret but from some place of gradual understanding. These are a few things I've learned. 

1. It's okay to cry

The tears will come. They can be both happy and sad tears but they will come. There was a sort of grieving process; the first big holiday away from home, when a family member gets sick, and then the realization that you are starting a life 2700 miles away from "home." It's the close of one chapter and the starting of another and with that, I have found, come many emotions. 

2. Relationships take work

When moving miles and time zones I learned real fast that effort must me made and maintained. Sometimes it's not even the words that I need to hear but just knowing they are on the other line is enough. Then you have the relationships here that are new. You have to learn to be vulnerable and share your life with new people. It's difficult and messy and there are a lot of things I am still learning, about people and myself. 

3. Life is always interesting, you just have to look harder some days

Some days I have to be at work before the sun is even up.  As I cross over the West Seattle Bridge I can just see the sun peaking out over the mountains. It's like some sort of reward for being up so early. Even though it's not fun leaving my warm bed I get to watch the world wake up and on those days where I really have to push myself the beauty of that sunrise is all the encouragement I need to keep going with my day.  

The gradual understanding comes when you realize that not every problem will be solved in a day, missing home comes in both happy and sad times, and being a grown-up is not always fun. The Lord is my provider and the life lessons I have learned, am still learning, and have yet to learn in this one year and 23 days have been well worth it.

Small Potatoes

I don't know how many people have the pleasure of watching Small Potatoes on the Disney Channel but if you ever get the chance I highly recommend it. It's about three minutes of the cutest British potatoes you'll ever see. That's right, they have British accents. And they sing.  Adorable! That is all, I just needed to share cute British singing potatoes.

My weakness (one of them)

I was having a nice night. Melissa and I were watching The Sandlot, I moved up a level on Bubble Mania, and my grilled cheese had been delicious. Then, out from under our coffee table a stupidly gigantic and might I add quick spider began racing towards my feet. I do not like spiders, not one bit. I think it goes back to when I was a kid and fished a spider out of the pool. When I went to kill it millions of babies poured out of that thing. Just like Charlotte's Web (one of the few animal movies/book that does not make me weepy). So anyways, this spider comes at me and I can't get away fast enough. We are both yelling and I throw down my phone and run to my room. Melissa yells for a shoe and my first response is "No!" I'm not sure why I said that but I'm also pretty sure I contemplated going into her room and grabbing one of her shoes, again not sure why. Spiders are gross and sneaky. And they are a weakness. Recently I threw down my grapes because there was a spider just hanging out on one.  I don't like spiders. I understand their purpose so I don't kill them or rather get others to kill them unless I'm threatened. And tonight I was. And he died.

This was the scene. Yuck. 

The collective "we"

       I love many things about my Gran Gran but in the  past few months there is one thing that has begun to stand out to me. He tells me "we" sure are proud of you or "we" love you. And I know exactly what he means. Six months could never erase the 65+years that he and Dot Dot spent together. And he is still able to speak for her because he knew her and shared life with her. It's a comforting thought and makes me miss her but also makes me remember her and the love that she  poured into my life for the past 26 years. Because I knew her as well I believe I am allowed to take comfort in that "we" phrase. She told me those things herself and just because she's not here that doesn't diminish the love. 

        In a lot of ways it makes me think about my relationship with Christ. I'm a part of a women's study through The Hallows and we have talked frequently about speaking evidences of grace into one another's life. It is to remind ourselves of the work that the Spirit does and to begin to take notice of it in others lives. There are many things I could say to be uplifting to people and to point out things in their life that might be of encouragement but if I'm not reading the Word or talking to the Lord then it's all for naught. I find it hard to speak about someone or something if you don't really know them and talk to them consistently. And that's the neat part about the collective "we," when I'm in the word I am closer to God's heart and can learn His characteristics and those of the disciples as well. Then, I am able to confidently speak evidences of grace to others and share the collective "we." It's a beautiful thing to see the Lord in everyday life and in that of friends and family.

From Bitterness to Beauty

            I am 26 years old. A few months ago this fact bothered me tremendously. It all started with the idea of singleness being this “gift” of sorts.  My roommate Melissa and I have this joke about people having “the gift” and how you cannot judge them for being single. Take for example Mike Rowe. He’s an attractive, older gentleman who is not married.  It’s easy to say, “There must be something wrong with Mike, he’s not married!” This was my mindset before the idea of  “the gift.” However, when I turned 26 I began to think a little more closely about “the gift.”

            I can’t say I ever imagined myself living in Seattle, working as a nanny, and single at 26.  It never crossed my mind and is not something that, at 16, would’ve sounded ideal to me.  It was never my plan and it led me to doubt God and myself.  I began to wonder what I was doing wrong.  Friends were getting married, having babies, embarking on careers—all good things that I desired, yet at 26 I saw them slipping further away.  Enter bitterness, stage left. 

            It crept in slowly—through Facebook, conversations with married and single people, even with my job.  Little things that would remind me of what I wanted and felt like I was missing.  (This is just a little side note, a fun fact if you will. When talking to a married person if the conversation turns to the topic of singleness, 10 out of 10 times they will say something to the effect of “Enjoy being single, you have nothing holding you back” or “I wish I still had the freedom of being single.” I don’t think they mean this but I also think they don’t know what to say and this becomes the phrase that we hear so often.)  At the end of the day it all felt like a waiting game.  I’m waiting until [insert phrase here.]  I mean married people didn’t even know what to say to me, so what was I to do but keep feeding that bitter feeling.

            Bitterness is not a pretty thing.  It is ugly and brings to light ugly emotions and thoughts that I have.  I began to look down on those who had what I wanted and would do anything to find fault with them.  My relationship with the Lord suffered because I carried my bitterness close to me.  I justified my thinking by saying these are good things that I want, why do I have to wait? It wasn’t that I desired evil or bad things, they were good but my way of pursuit was wrong.  I had allowed these “good” things to become my idols and two words were jumping out at me; want and deserved.  My perfect plan had absorbed my heart and imagination more than God and had become more important to me.  This realization hit me like a ton of bricks and left feeling about an inch tall.  I didn’t even know where to go from there, so I went to the only place I could, to the Lord.  And He taught me a lot about confession.  Many times I did not have the words to say so Hebrews 7:25 was a comfort to me, “Therefore He is always able to save those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them.”  Jesus intercedes for me! What comfort when I had no words.  Bitterness doesn’t just go away so easily though.  It was a struggle to free my mind and let go of my hurt and disappointment.  Tim Keller said something that really stuck with me, he said “Repentance without rejoicing leads to despair.” It is important to acknowledge my failings and bring them before the Lord but at the same time to remember what He has done and rejoice in forgiveness.  It’s the gospel in a nutshell.

            This is where my story moves from bitterness to beauty.  When I am reminded of what Christ did the focus is off of me and on Him, where it belongs.  It’s not easy and there are daily struggles but through my journey I have gotten a clearer picture of the gospel.  And that is beautiful.  I am now in the process of writing Mike Rowe an apology letter for doubting his “gift.”

Slowing It Down

"I hate writing when I haven't time and I just have to scribble a few lines. I'm saying all this so you'll understand-- hectic affairs of any kind are rather trying, so please let's write calmly and whenever we feel like it."
-Zelda Fitzgerald

I could not agree more with Zelda, hectic affairs really are trying. It seems that I always get the urge to write when I don't have the time to sit and compose my thoughts. Lately, it has been me writing down the few random lines and then hoping to pick it back up and recapture that train of thought. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't. Writing is a stress reliever for me, so I'm working on doing more of it. And more consistently.