tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89282448089105791672024-03-14T03:12:56.467-05:00Harsh Yet Beautiful IsolationThis is the story of my life. My life as a mom, as a wife, as a woman, as a daughter of God. A life that sometimes feels isolated and is sometimes oh so hard but a life that is beautiful none the less for it is a life given by God Himself.JenniferRMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920506748151590491noreply@blogger.comBlogger168125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8928244808910579167.post-80258242967449259582019-02-25T12:16:00.001-06:002019-02-25T12:31:28.607-06:00Called to Create or Called to be an Entrepreneur?? - A Book Review<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN-GB">Called
to Create or Called to be an Entrepreneur?<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">I’m starting with a deeper look at the Introduction,
as this is where Jordan Raynor really builds the foundation of his premise and
argument. By they way, ALWAYS read the introduction to a book as it nearly
always includes key information needed for the enjoyment and understanding of
the rest of the book!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“God was the first entrepreneur. … Before
the Bible tells us that God is loving, holy,<sup> <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8928244808910579167#_ftn1" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[1]<!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
</sup>or merciful, we learn that he is creative.” (p. 11) These are among the
very first lines of the book. Say what?? God an entrepreneur?? BUT the
definition of entrepreneur is:</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB">“a person who organizes and
operates a business or businesses, taking on greater than normal financial
risks to do so.” (dictionary on iPhone)</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB">“one who organizes, manages and
assumes the risks of a business or enterprise” (Merriam-Webster)</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB">“a person who organizes and
manages any enterprise, especially a business, usually with considerable
initiative and risk.” (dictionary.com)</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB">“someone who exercises
initiative by organizing a venture to take benefit of an opportunity and, as
the decision maker, decides what, how, and how much of a good or service will
be produced. An entrepreneur supplies risk capital as a risk taker, and
monitors and controls the business activities…” (businessdictionary.com)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Does any of this describe God? Other than
initiative (as He did take initiative in the act of creation), NO! However,
that last word in the first paragraph of the introduction is accurate – God <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">is</b> creative!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">So here we see the beginning of an
argument/premise that is founded on false logic. Mr. Raynor’s logic looks like
this <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(remembering that </span></span><span style="font-family: "symbol"; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">∴ means "therefore")</span>:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-GB">A =
B <span style="font-family: "symbol";">∴ </span></span><span lang="EN-GB">B = A</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">or</span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-GB">All
Entrepreneurs<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(A) are Creative (B) </span><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "symbol";">∴</span> All Creatives (B) are Entrepreneurs (A)</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">However, the proper logic formula here
should look like this:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-GB">A =
B <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">but</b> B ≠ A</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Because, yes, all entrepreneurs are
creative, to a degree, but not all creatives are entrepreneurs! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">I am creative and that’s the main reason I
chose this book! I <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">love</b> the idea of
being called to create! But this book isn’t, primarily, about being creative.
It’s about being an entrepreneur, and, specifically, one who uses his/her gifts
to glorify God.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">If this book were renamed “Called to be an
Entrepreneur” it would be more accurate. But, that’s just not as catchy a title
as “Called to Create”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8928244808910579167#_ftn2" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[2]<!--[endif]--></span></span></a>, now, is it?
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "wingdings"; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">So, what happens in the introduction is, in
order to make his presupposition work, Mr. Raynor actually redefines the word
entrepreneur in a way that is not at all supported by any existing dictionary
(as seen by the quotes I included at the beginning of this review). In doing
so, he is now free to call God an entrepreneur and claim that, in being
entrepreneurs, we are reflecting God’s image. <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8928244808910579167#_ftn3" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[3]<!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">If you ignore Raynor’s faulty logic and
poor presupposition and, instead, focus more on the idea of being called to be
an entrepreneur, this is a fantastic book and one that would be a very
beneficial read for Christian entrepreneurs everywhere! It is not a book for me
(being creative but not an entrepreneur) but I would readily recommend it to
Christian entrepreneurs!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Now, I focussed most of my review on the
introduction, as this is really where Mr. Raynor builds his argument. But I
will give a brief outlook on the rest of the book.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">There are other minor problems I have with
this book, one being Jordan Raynor appears to be a classic millennial (though
not ready to admit it) and this influences more of his arguments. It is easy to
look over though.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Positives: </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB">He is passionate about business
of Christians being to the glory of God. This is encouraging!</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB">He uses fantastic and
unexpected real life examples of Christian entrepreneurs who focussed first on
the glory of God which then lead to success in business. For example, Arthur
Guinness, C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, the founder of TOMS Shoes,
Chick-fil-A, …</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB">He does, rightly, show that God
has created in some the gifts to be successful entrepreneurs (in the first
chapter he shows this when quoting from Exodus 31:1-5).</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB">He presents an encouraging
argument for Christian entrepreneurs, which he divides into 4 parts: Calling,
Creating, Challenges, and Charge (or the purpose of being an entrepreneur). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">As I said, if you are a creative but not an
entrepreneur, this book won’t be a fabulous read. But if you are creative AND
an entrepreneur, read this book! It will encourage you, it will bless you, and
it will show you your purpose! </span></div>
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<!--[endif]-->
<br />
<div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8928244808910579167#_ftnref" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[1]<!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span lang="EN-GB"> FYI, I love the use of the Oxford comma! Raynor earns some bonus
points from me here. </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "wingdings"; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8928244808910579167#_ftnref" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[2]<!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span lang="EN-GB"> Short, snappy, use of alliteration makes a fantastic, if
inaccurate, title.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8928244808910579167#_ftnref" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[3]<!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span lang="EN-GB"> No, I’m not saying that entrepreneurs don’t or can’t reflect God’s
image. In fact they should! BUT in redefining the word entrepreneur, Raynor
almost makes it out that we should all be entrepreneurs as this would be the
best way to reflect God’s creative image. I don’t think he realized this
problem when he reworked the definition!</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-GB"><i style="color: #212121; font-family: "open sans", "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Disclosure: I received this book free from Baker Books through the Baker Books Bloggers www.bakerbooks.com/bakerbooksbloggers program. The opinions I have expressed are my own, and I was not required to write a positive review.</i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
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JenniferRMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920506748151590491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8928244808910579167.post-49254441790789598842018-12-21T11:08:00.000-06:002018-12-21T11:09:19.452-06:00Sequin Sparkle and Change Bible: Rainbow - International Children's Bible - A Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span lang="EN-GB">The new Sparkle & Change International
Children’s Bible from Tommy Nelson, an imprint of Thomas Nelson publishers, is
sure to be a hit with little girls everywhere! The sequins attached to a
variety of objects which children can rub in various directions to change their
appearance is a highlight, front and centre, on the cover of this Bible and I
know that many girls would be thrilled to own this. I love that the picture in
the sequins is a heart – indicating, subtly, that the words contained in this
book are directed at the heart and can change a person’s heart!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">The Bible itself is a great tool for
children. It features a Timeline, key verse highlights (an index of verses that
specifically deal with a certain thought/concept), an easy to understand Bible
dictionary, a list of the names of God throughout Scripture, a list of the
miracles of Jesus, a list of the 12 disciples, a list of kids mentioned in the
Bible, and easy to read maps! These features make it a great study resource for
Sunday School lessons or other Bible lessons!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">The text itself it not too large but not
very small either – just a perfect size font for young children who are
beginning to read! Throughout the text, there are feature pages which include
topics such as: “How Do I Know Jesus Loves Me?”, “Knowing Jesus Better”, “How
Do I Pray?”, and “How Do I Forgive?” just to name a few.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Comparing the translation with a couple
common translations (ESV, NIV), it appears to be a faithful translation of the
text. The danger in making a Bible for children is to “dumb down” the text in a
way that over simplifies it and really causes the meaning to be lost (and
sometimes changed completely). However, that is not the case with the ICB. It
uses language that a child can understand. But it also uses language/vocabulary
that will challenge a child to learn. Where something may not be fully
understood, it puts the word in bold (such as the word “chaff” in Psalm 1 or
“Word” in John 1) and references the Bible dictionary provided at the back or
provides a footnote to explain the word or concept. In this way, the
translation itself teaches a child HOW to study the Bible, making Bible study
an enjoyable and enriching experience, which is something we definitely want
for our children!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">This is a Bible translation and a Bible I
would recommend to all parents of young children! The publisher provides a
recommended age of 6-10. I would agree with this for children who are reading
on their own but I would also recommend this Bible as a read-aloud translation
to younger children. I also believe it would be enjoyable and beneficial to
pre-teen girls. It is certainly a translation that will get them in the word
and help them to understand God’s word better! What a beautiful gift this can
be!</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;">Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <</span><a href="http://booklookbloggers.com/" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #0c6bbf; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">http://booklookbloggers.com</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;">> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <</span><a href="http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #0c6bbf; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;">> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”</span><br />
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</style>JenniferRMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920506748151590491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8928244808910579167.post-91199146150828353472018-11-22T07:54:00.000-06:002018-11-22T07:56:09.694-06:00Let's Get Ready For Bed - A Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j2-9WSAwYjI/W_azJB4M--I/AAAAAAAADNw/T7UOPGuz_qQkz_i1CldaxS9SRtpjuL5RACLcBGAs/s1600/Let%2527s%2Bget%2Bready%2Bfor%2Bbed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="260" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j2-9WSAwYjI/W_azJB4M--I/AAAAAAAADNw/T7UOPGuz_qQkz_i1CldaxS9SRtpjuL5RACLcBGAs/s1600/Let%2527s%2Bget%2Bready%2Bfor%2Bbed.jpg" /></a></div>
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I took a break from my normal books to review and chose a children's book instead! This book is called <u style="font-weight: bold;">Let's Get Ready for Bed</u> by Grammy winner Michael W. Smith and co-creator of VeggieTales Mike Nawrocki, illustrated by Tod Carter and painted by Chuck Vollmer. This is the second book in the Nurturing Steps series by Michael W. Smith and Mike Nawrocki. It is currently available in hardcover format but will be released in board book format in 2019.<br />
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This beautifully illustrated book tells the story of a little puppy who depends strongly on his bedtime routine in order to have a restful, peaceful night's sleep (and about his friends who help him with it)! It is a great story for helping to keep a child's bedtime routine consistent. The lovely rhyme and rhythm make it engaging and enjoyable for both child and adult alike! The book is described as being for ages 0-4 and I can confirm that my 2-year-old and nearly 4-year-old both love this story! However, my 6-year-old also quite enjoys it so I wouldn't limit it to just the younger age group!<br />
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There are a few things I love about this book! I love that it includes Puppy praying before he goes to sleep which really reinforces the concept of ending the day in thanks to God. It includes a sweet bedtime prayer that would be easy for a child to follow and imitate for his or her own prayers. The authors do end the prayer with "Amen" in the story which is appropriate to teach children how to close a formal prayer but I find it awkward because it doesn't fit at all in the rhyming scheme of the poem format of the rest of the book. I also really love the adapted lyrics to "Rock-a-bye, Baby" (though in this case it's "Rock-a-bye, Puppy"). On finding a child loves the story, a parent or grandparent can easily adapt the lyrics to replace "puppy" with a child's own name). However, what I do find somewhat disturbing is that this song is sung by Puppy's friends, in spite of the fact that the lyrics of the second verse start include "Never mind, Puppy, Mother is near." The problem is, in the story, Mother is NOT near, nor is Father. In fact, there are no parents in the story at all. It indicates that Puppy is "too young to know how to read" which shows he's 4 or younger, but there's no parent around to guide him through his bedtime routine! Instead he's followed around his house by two young friends, whom he somehow doesn't notice until he remembers he needs a song, who look young enough that they should be in bed themselves, not helping him fall asleep and tucking him in! However, these concerns appear to be only parental concerns as my daughters didn't seem at all phased by this! I still feel that they're valid concerns.<br />
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In spite of that concern, I really enjoy reading this book to my children and they love to listen to it! Since it arrived a few days ago, they have asked to have it read to them multiple times a day! My 8-year-old is also quite able to read it to her younger sisters and the 6-year-old benefits from the reading practice, the rhyming helping her to decode words she may be unfamiliar with.<br />
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In general, I would recommend this book to parents of young children as a sweet addition to their bedtime routine!<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;">Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <</span><a href="http://booklookbloggers.com/" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #0c6bbf; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">http://booklookbloggers.com</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;">> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <</span><a href="http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #0c6bbf; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;">> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”</span><br />
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<br />JenniferRMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920506748151590491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8928244808910579167.post-72194525115784697402018-10-06T08:35:00.001-05:002018-10-06T08:36:38.496-05:00An Inspiring Account of God’s Work Through one Humble Woman<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 13pt;">Jesus said, “</span><span style="background: white; font-size: 13pt;">Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;">” (Mathew 17:20, NIV) Oswald and Biddy Chambers had such a faith!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">I recently finished reading <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Mrs. Oswald Chambers: The Woman Behind the World’s Bestselling Devotional</b> by Michelle Ule. This account of their lives together, and, more specifically, Gertrude Hobbs Chambers (Biddy Chambers), is an account of faith, of utter dependence on God for all things, knowing that He is the provider of all good things! Biddy Chambers is a beautiful illustration of what a Christian wife should be. Submitting to her husband, but submitting first to God, working well for her family to provide a good home for them all, showing such beautiful hospitality to all who cross their paths – this is what I hope to be! Her story is one of trial and triumph! But not triumph in herself or her own accomplishments but triumph in what God has done for His kingdom through her and her husband! THIS is what a testimony should be – pointing people to what God has done! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">This book does a beautiful job of pointing it’s readers to God, to Christ our saviour! Written by a woman trained as a reporter, it has the appeal of a feature story, drawing in readers to the facts, yes, but also to the deep emotion behind the facts. I will readily admit I cried at the point of Oswald Chambers’ death! The story takes us from Biddy’s young life to her death, illustrating her striving to live for God’s glory all her life! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">It is beautifully written and easy to read and, I believe, would appeal to readers from all walks of life!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is so much I could say about this book but it would fill a week’s worth of blog posts at least!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Suffice it to say, I would highly recommend this book and plan to loan out my copy to many!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">I’d like to close with a favourite quote from the book, a quote from Oswald Chambers: “God never gives strength for tomorrow, or for the next hour, but only for the strain of the minute.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #212121; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">Disclosure: I received this book free from Baker Books through the Baker Books Bloggers www.bakerbooks.com/bakerbooksbloggers program. The opinions I have expressed are my own, and I was not required to write a positive review. </span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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JenniferRMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920506748151590491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8928244808910579167.post-21554538956342561452018-04-09T10:18:00.002-05:002018-04-11T12:09:12.701-05:00The Heretical Foundation of "God's Best-Kept Secret"I received the book <u style="font-weight: bold;">God's Best-Kept Secret: Christianity is Easier Than You Think</u> by Mark Maulding free for review purposes from Baker Books.<br />
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Unfortunately, I can't give this book a good review. I can't even give it a complete review because I refuse to read any further. The reason? This book is built on a foundation of heresy! Sometimes it is beneficial to read books that are different than your own beliefs. However, sometimes, it's best to just leave those books untouched! Especially when the book claims to be God-honouring and, instead, leads it's readers astray! Very early in the first chapter, the reader will learn that Mark Maulding had a host of issues growing up. Then, rather than dealing with his issues within Biblical teachings, he distorts Biblical teaching and changes (or rather attempts to change) who God is to suit his fallen self, his own needs. Rather than growing and changing himself to honour God as He really is, Mark instead tries to change who God is. He is now, as a result, worshipping a false God, one crafted in an image he can accept. His views of God are heretical; that it, his views are contrary to Scripture. </div>
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"<span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #252525; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Regarding biblical Christianity, what is heresy? </span><a class="rtBibleRef" data-purpose="bible-reference" data-reference="2 Pet 2.1" data-version="esv" href="https://biblia.com/bible/esv/2%20Pet%202.1" style="background-color: #fdfdfd; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2c5571; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; margin: 0px;" target="_blank">Second Peter 2:1</a><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #252525; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> says, “There will be </span><a href="https://www.gotquestions.org/false-teachers.html" style="background-color: #fdfdfd; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2c5571; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; margin: 0px;">false teachers</a><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #252525; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.” From this verse, we see that heresy is anything that denies the teaching of Jesus. In </span><a class="rtBibleRef" data-purpose="bible-reference" data-reference="1 Cor 11.19" data-version="esv" href="https://biblia.com/bible/esv/1%20Cor%2011.19" style="background-color: #fdfdfd; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2c5571; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; margin: 0px;" target="_blank">1 Corinthians 11:19</a><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #252525; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">, Paul takes the church to task for having heresies among them—heresies that led to schisms in the body. These verses touch on both aspects of what constitutes heresy in the church: denying the doctrines God has given, and dividing the body He has created. Both of these are dangerous, destructive actions that are soundly rebuked by Scripture. See also </span><a class="rtBibleRef" data-purpose="bible-reference" data-reference="1 John 4.1-6" data-version="esv" href="https://biblia.com/bible/esv/1%20John%204.1-6" style="background-color: #fdfdfd; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2c5571; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; margin: 0px;" target="_blank">1 John 4:1-6</a><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #252525; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">; </span><a class="rtBibleRef" data-purpose="bible-reference" data-reference="1 Tim 1.3-6" data-version="esv" href="https://biblia.com/bible/esv/1%20Tim%201.3-6" style="background-color: #fdfdfd; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2c5571; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; margin: 0px;" target="_blank">1 Timothy 1:3-6</a><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #252525; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">; </span><a class="rtBibleRef" data-purpose="bible-reference" data-reference="2 Tim 1.13-14" data-version="esv" href="https://biblia.com/bible/esv/2%20Tim%201.13-14" style="background-color: #fdfdfd; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2c5571; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; margin: 0px;" target="_blank">2 Timothy 1:13-14</a><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #252525; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">; and </span><a class="rtBibleRef" data-purpose="bible-reference" data-reference="Jude 1" data-version="esv" href="https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Jude%201" style="background-color: #fdfdfd; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2c5571; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; margin: 0px;" target="_blank">Jude 1</a><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #252525; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">." (From </span><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">https://www.gotquestions.org/heresy-definition.html)</span></div>
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So, in this review, I will address the heresy that seems to be foundational to this entire book: </div>
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"Let me be clear, <i>God isn't interested in right and wrong.</i>" (Chapter 2, page 30)</div>
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Hmm, really? Let's check God's Word on that! And to do so, we need to define something: </div>
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Obedience: doing what is right, avoiding what is wrong</div>
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"... through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, ..." ~Romans 1:5 ESV Looks like obedience is pretty key to faith!</div>
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"Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?" ~Romans 6:16 ESV</div>
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"And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it." ~ 2 John 6 So apparently love can be equivalent to doing what is right!</div>
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What about the example of Christ? "And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." ~ Philippians 2:8</div>
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"Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants." ~ Exodus 12:24</div>
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"Now this is the commandment - the statutes and the rules - that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, that you may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son's son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long. Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, ..." ~ Deuteronomy 6:1-3a</div>
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"You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him." ~ Deuteronomy 13:4</div>
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There are many more references to obedience (doing what is right, following God's commands) throughout Deuteronomy.</div>
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"And Samuel said, 'Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.'" ~ 1 Samuel 15:22</div>
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"Teach me, O LORD, the way of your statutes; and I will keep it to the end. Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart. Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it. Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain! Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things, and give me life in your ways. Confirm to your servant your promise, that you may be feared. Turn away the reproach that I dread, for your rules are good. Behold, I long for your precepts; in your righteousness give me life!" ~ Psalm 119:33-40</div>
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Words of Jesus: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." ~ Matthew 28:19-20a Here we can see that, in writing, and therefore teaching, that God isn't interested in right and wrong, meaning He's not interested in obedience, Mark Maulding is purposefully going directly against the very words of Jesus Himself!! And in doing so, Mark is leading many others astray. Does this not illustrate what a heretic is? (I'm curious to know why Baker Books chooses to publish such twaddle!)</div>
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"Jesus replied, 'Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching." ~ John 14:23a</div>
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There are so many more verses that show how important obedience, doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong, is to our walk with God! I can only conclude that Mark Maulding is teaching heresy and is, therefore, a heretic against the Christian faith!</div>
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I cannot and will not recommend this book except to recommend that it be removed from bookshelves.</div>
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Mark Maulding is very concerned with grace. And we should be concerned with grace - as we learn in Paul's letter to the Romans, we are saved by grace through faith! So, yes, grace is incredibly important. But Mark goes into a hyper-grace mode and falls into the very trap that Paul warns against when he says "What shall we say then that we go on sinning so that grace may abound? By no means!" (Loose paraphrase.) I'm not saying that Mark is telling everyone to go on sinning, BUT by saying that God isn't concerned with right and wrong IS equivalent to saying that God isn't concerned with sin. And if God is not concerned with sin, what was the point of Christ's sacrifice and why have any faith in Him at all? Mark says that God "is interested in life - you and me living from his life within us!" (page 30). But what life is there with God if it does not first start with the complete forgiveness of all our sins which Christ accomplished on the cross?! God <u style="font-weight: bold;">HAS</u> to be concerned with right and wrong or our life with Him is a lie!<br />
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JenniferRMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920506748151590491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8928244808910579167.post-78760196277243121122018-02-11T11:51:00.002-06:002018-04-11T12:11:12.452-05:00She Is Free ... From What?! (A Book Review)<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN-GB">She is Free … From What??</span></u></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></u></b>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">*I received this book for free for review
purposes as part of the Bake Books Bloggers program.*</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">I had a very difficult time reading this book as it was filled with SO. MUCH. WRONG! As a result, it took way longer to finish than it should have!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">She is Free: Learning the Truth About the Lies that Hold You Captive, by Andi Andrew, is a book overflowing with shallow platitudes, prosperity gospel, mysticism, and statements bordering on heresy. What it lacks most is the true Gospel! I do not at all recommend this book and, should any choose to read it, do so with an open Bible of a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">reliable</b> translation and a heart open in prayer! </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Her introduction concludes with a lengthy quote from, for want of a better word, a paraphrase of Scripture called The Passion Translation. This so-called translation is one man’s paraphrase mixed with his own lengthy opinions interspersed throughout, under the guise of being actual Scripture (divinely inspired word of God). Apparently, he forgot about the verses indicating the curse that should fall upon the one who would choose to add or take away from the words of Scripture! See Revelation 22:18-19, Deuteronomy 4:2, Deuteronomy 12:32. This certainly doesn’t deserve the descriptor “translation” and it is hugely concerning that, not only in the introduction but also throughout her book, she relies so heavily on this “translation”!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Another translation she relies on heavily is the Amplified Version. This is another dangerous translation. It claims to reveal what other translations conceal (though they conceal nothing). It adds meaning to the text that clearly isn’t intended by the text if you were to view the text in its complete context! It allows readers to choose their own meaning of the text, by including alternate meanings of words, instead of looking at the context to understand the meaning! It does have its benefits, making us think, or rethink, how a verse is translated and what it means, but should be used with caution and with another reliable translation next to it! </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">She likes to encourage her readers to read the Bible (good) but to do so “in a translation that comes alive to you” (p 51). I have a problem with this! The word of God is a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">living word</b>!! A good, reliable translation is <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">always</b> alive!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">I struggle to know where to start with what is wrong with this book (there is VERY little right with it)! Chapter 1, Trapped by Pain, we are told that if we just feel Christ’s love, the Father’s love, we are freed from our pain. That this is the gospel, the Good News that Jesus came to bring. That we “are reconnected to this love” (p 22). What? I thought that the gospel was that Christ came to DIE for us! To give us COMPLETE forgiveness of all our sins! THAT is the primary purpose of His coming, the primary Gospel. Everything else (being connected to His love) flows from that! But NOT ONCE does she indicate that! Not until chapter 7 is there ANY mention of our sins being what separates us from God’s love, from God, nor is there ANY mention of the forgiveness of our sins and eternal life with God being the reason Christ came to die!! </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Instead, we’re given a lot of “I just need to choose” or “When I simply become aware of His unending presence in my life, …” (p. 23). What about repentance, Andi?! Not ONCE is repentance mentioned!! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So we have this message that we can be set free from all the bad thoughts, feelings, memories we have but nothing about being set free from sin. In addition, she gives the implication that, once we’ve been set free from these negative things, we will be completely free always, never having a struggle again, never facing depression again, etc! As thought faith is a magic happy pill! So what happens if, one day, I’m freed from anxiety and depression and then a few months later, it all comes back with a vengeance? Was my faith than not a true faith? This is what she would seem to imply! This is a dangerous false doctrine that is embraced by proponents of the prosperity gospel. She seems to be a strong proponent of this false gospel. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And then later, in chapter 3, she says, “Having Jesus doesn’t mean we won’t have storms; having Jesus means we are unshaken by them”, contradicting what she said in previous chapters!!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“I’ve woken up to the reality that our spiritual freedom is fought for an won on the battlefield between truth and lies.” (p 24). Really?? Was it not fought for an won by the only one capable of this battle (Christ) on the cross?? </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">She speaks of “our reality” showing that it is all really relative to our own desires, personalities, etc. Showing a complete disregard for the only actual reality – God’s reality! Instead, she’s embraced cultures view – reality is what we make it! </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“…certain areas of my life hadn’t been perfected in His love! To be honest, I’m still working on it – we all are.” (p. 25) And this is a sad quote that shows she’s still not truly free, not in the way Christ truly came to free us – from our sins! She still has the pride to think it’s up to her! But, read Hebrews 12:2 – “looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”! It is Jesus who perfects our faith! No amount of work we do will perfect it!!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Andi implies Christ is simply a presence that brings peace. But where does that peace come from? She doesn’t say! She misses the point of the person of Christ and what He accomplished on the cross! She gets SO CLOSE but, still, she misses it!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Make room for Him in a way that works with how you are uniquely created to connect.” (p 33) What??? No!! This smacks loudly of the postmodern ‘we make our own truth’!!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">She tells us to read the Bible daily and allow it to transform us. She misses the fact that we can’t transform ourselves, we can’t “allow” it to transform us. It will transform us but not because we allow it, rather because HE uses it to do so!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">This all, so far, is just from the first chapter! Much of the rest of the book is the same! Her philosophy that seems to form the basis of this book seems rather existentialist! A dangerous philosophy for one who is supposed to be Christian! “We need only become more aware…”, “we simply need to work…”, etc. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Page 44 – another example of where she gets SO CLOSE and still misses the mark: “We have access to a God that sees us, knows our brokenness, and loves us anyway. …” She continues along the same line – that we are loved while still in our brokenness (by which I assume she means to include sin). BUT she never indicates that we need to leave that sin and brokenness behind! We need to leave our life of sin in response to this love of God!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">She pushes the need to belong to a good community that demonstrates selfless love. Good! I agree! But no community can demonstrate such love purely, nor can they do so alone! Again, where is Christ in all of this?? Is the purpose of Christ simply to make us feel good about ourselves?? Because that’s what this book implies and sometimes outright states!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">She often contradicts herself. For example, on page 39 she talks about being alone in the pit and God is just waiting to be invited to come in and join us, to be with us (so we’re alone until we invite Him in). But on page 47 she says we’re never alone! She’s right, there; we are not ever alone! But then be consistent and say that ALL the time!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">We see a lot of “allow God”, “let God” and I wonder since when are we in charge of God?? </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Back to the prosperity gospel (health, wealth, and prosperity gospel), she states in multiple places that God doesn’t intend for us to experience pain, sickness, disease, or trial because “He is good, kind, and all things wonderful…” (p 49). But is she forgetting David, Job, and Paul to name a few? Or the countless godly people in this day and age who just never see healing on this earth (one famous example would be Joni Erikson Tada)?? I believe that the trials we face are part of His plan and I believe this is supported by scripture: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>you meet trials of various kinds,…” (James 1:2 ESV) as well as Jesus promise to His disciples that life would be hard and full of trials!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She, rightly, states “God does not tempt us or entice us to sin, nor does He give us sickness or pain; it’s not in His nature…” (p 50). And I agree with this! He doesn’t give these things, He’s not the author of bad things. BUT He allows them and we need to believe, then, that they are part of His plan. To say that God has nothing to do with these things is to say that He is not in absolute control and to say that they serve no purpose in our lives! Again in chapter 9, “He sent Jesus to heal my body…” <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">NO!</b> He sent Jesus to heal our <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">souls</b>! Sometimes, to do that, it means our bodies will be broken or sick! That’s OK!!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">As a side note, she does get certain Biblical facts wrong (specifically in chapter 3 when she was on a tour in Rome and went to one of the places Paul was imprisoned (not house arrest but actually prison before his execution). She implies, also, that the plan for Christ to come as a ransom was conceived after the fall into sin. However, I believe this plan was in place long before creation happened. I think the Fall was part of the plan because I believe in an all-knowing, all-powerful God!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">There’s a lot of contradiction (which is common when you’re relying on false doctrine): we need to invite God into our lives; oh but God is always with us and we can’t be separated from Him; oh but if we’re willing and allow Him, he’ll come into our lives; and so on. We are not in control of God!!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“… I felt God say to me in all my inadequacy and insecurity, ‘I have confidence in you.’ “ (p 67) Yeah, I’m pretty sure that wasn’t God! God who is all-powerful, almighty, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">our creator</b> is not one who will have confidence (which is actually defined as a feeling of belief or trust) in His creation!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“Jesus died willingly in order to connect with you…” (p 67). Again, NO!! He died willingly in order to pay for our sins!!!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“The Holy Spirit softly whispers to us, ‘You hold the key in your hands to let yourself out…’.” (p 78). There’s a good dose of works righteousness!! We can do it ourselves – the only purpose of God is to remind us we have the power to change ourselves!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">At this point, I’m not even through chapter 4 yet. I could go on with more of the same. This is such a discouraging read because she is so close and yet so <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">far</b> from the true gospel! I’m going to leave my review at this point because it is just going to be way too long otherwise (it’s already quite lengthy)! I will say that, finally, in chapter 7 she admits that Christ came to save us from our sins! Chapter 5 has a good practical section that encourages reading the Word, prayer, and worship.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Based on this one book, I would argue that Andi Andrew is a false teacher who is leading thousands of people to hell in a pretty hand-basket. She teaches the prosperity gospel, works righteousness and a good dose of existentialism! This is not in line with Scripture!!</span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">Yes, there are little nuggets in this book that I like, even though I believe she’s a false teacher. Shoot, even Donald Trump says SOME good things!</span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Speaking of an example of a marriage gone dry: “The ring on your finger has become a rock instead of a symbol of covenant relationship. The truth is, if we don’t live with a sincere awareness of our walk, the same can happen with Jesus.” (p. 29)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“There is no substitute for the presence of God.” (p 29)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“At any moment of the day, in any season, you can step away for a moment, give yourself a time-out, and connect to the Father’s heart.” (p 41)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">“When I hold on to unforgiveness, I become bitter and deeply offended, and a little piece of my heart hardens to intimacy with God.” (p. 77)</span></div>
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<style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language:EN-GB;} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:35.4pt; mso-footer-margin:35.4pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style>JenniferRMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920506748151590491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8928244808910579167.post-31663682237450560872017-09-28T10:22:00.000-05:002018-04-11T12:11:12.414-05:00Hope for the Prodigal ... A Partial Review<i>*<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Disclosure: I received this book free from Baker Books through the Baker Books Bloggers www.bakerbooks.com/bakerbooksbloggers program. The opinions I have expressed are my own, and I was not required to write a positive review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html.</span>*</i><br />
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<b>Hope for the Prodigal: Bringing the Lost, Wandering, and Rebellious Home</b> by Jim Putman with Bill Putman... Sounds like a promising title right? (In addition, as an aside, the wonderful use of the Oxford comma pleases the grammar geek in me.) I wanted to like this book. I really did! I wanted to enjoy it, learn from it, and grow from it. I had high hopes for this book! But I just. could. not. get. into. it!! I think the biggest reason for my struggle with this book was the author's flawed presupposition - believing that a person can lose his/her salvation and then has the opportunity to become resaved. This he speaks of already in the introduction and throughout chapter 1 (at least as far in the chapter as I could get), this theme is the foundation for all his arguments. I was just not able to get past this and see the good that may be apparent in his writing.<br />
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There was the odd point that I greatly appreciated. He speaks of how essential it is for parents to model their faith to their children. That, if parents truly believe their faith is important to them, they need to show this importance in their own lives and how they address issues in their children's' lives. Do you skip church to attend that sporting event? Or is church important enough that you are willing to miss the sport and perhaps forego advancement in that sport for the sake of Christ? Do we place the church, our faith, our time with God as the most important in our day to day lives?<br />
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So, I suppose this book has the potential to be a good book. I suppose someone might enjoy it very much. However, I, personally, could not enjoy it.<br />
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<br />JenniferRMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920506748151590491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8928244808910579167.post-75534600277661316892017-09-08T09:14:00.000-05:002017-09-08T09:19:25.861-05:00Work ... as those who love him (Five Minute Friday)These were my thoughts this morning. I thought they fit alright with the Five Minute Friday word for this week: <b>work</b>.<br />
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<b>Work ... as "those who love him"</b><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB">So, this school year, while I homeschool my girls, I’ve decided to work on memorizing the Fighter Verses (collection of verses put together by Desiring God). The very first verse is Deuteronomy 7:9. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><i>“Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.”</i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Last night, as I was lying in bed, I was reciting it to myself and feeling rather proud of how well I had already learned it. I was convinced I had the whole verse memorized! This morning, I opened my Fighter Verse binder and looked at it and realized I forgot one key part of the verse. See, I think we, as humans, err on the legalist side of things. “If we just work harder, if we just obey, if we just follow the rules, then God will love us.” Can you guess which part I had forgotten?? Yup: “those who love him”!!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">What is obedience without love? It is nothing! It is what the older brother did (in the parable of the Prodigal Son), proving that he was, in fact, the one that was truly lost! But isn’t that our tendency? In our minds, it is easier, probably because it’s more tangible, to measure God’s love for us by how well we work for him, how well we obey him. And yet we deceive ourselves because we cannot even come close to perfect obedience and, without love, all our work is defiled and imperfect and doesn’t meet His standards! “Be holy, as I am holy!” is, in some translations “Be perfect, as I am perfect!” (Leviticus 20:26/1 Peter 1:16) But we can’t attain this level of holiness or perfection. Only Christ can! And, thank God, He did this for us! But then there’s love. No, we can’t love perfectly either (though we think that if we do lots of loving things it means we love a lot … another deception we tell ourselves.) But if we love God, truly love Him, then obedience flows out of that – not out of duty (because we <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">have</b> to) but out of love (because we <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">want</b> to). Then obedience is no longer really work but it is a pleasure! Yes, there are verses in Scripture about work “work out your salvation…”, “work heartily, as for the Lord…” but I believe that this idea of work is really about delight and the outflowing of love for our Lord, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">not</b> about duty, which is our tendency. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Work, yes, but don’t forget to first love! You can work & obey, without love (but it is empty work, empty, meaningless obedience) but you cannot truly love without obedience. Otherwise it is empty, meaningless love – simply words to look good but not how you truly feel. </span></div>
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JenniferRMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920506748151590491noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8928244808910579167.post-15346114681243567982017-08-15T07:57:00.001-05:002017-08-15T07:57:53.645-05:00The Way of Hope - A Book Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The way of hope claims to be about "sexual identity, same-sex marriage, and the church" (subtitle). And it is. But it also isn't. It's more. It's about surviving abuse. It's about letting go of perfectionism and performing and embracing grace (though the author seems to focus more on us giving ourselves grace than God's grace). It's about facing your monsters - sins and addictions - and experiencing God defeating them.<br />
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We might not all be struggling with sexual identity, but we are all struggling with our own personal monsters and, for that reason, I would recommend this book to everyone who desires help through that struggle.<br />
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The Way of Hope opened my eyes to how the words I say and things I do can so deeply affect my daughters! It opened my eyes to how I treat others both in the church and in the world around me! It made me acknowledge the existence of personal monsters I'd rather pretend didn't exist and face monsters I already know too well!<br />
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Melissa Fisher takes us on a journey through her life - childhood through to now, through experiences of intense pain to embracing the same-sex lifestyle to encountering God and freedom from that lifestyle. It truly is a story of hope!<br />
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I would have liked to see more dealing with how the church needs to/can address this issue of sexual identity and same-sex marriage. It was very clear that we can't condemn the person, nor can we condone the lifestyle. She clearly acknowledges that it is sin. But it wasn't clear how we can do this as a church - how we can love but not condone (and make it clear we're not condoning sin). More can be written on this.<br />
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While I thoroughly enjoyed this book and definitely recommend it, I recommend with caution. THere is much good in here, much about God's love, much about hope and salvation from sin (through Christ). BUT the last few chapters reveal a works righteousness type of theology that concerns me. There is a LOT written about the work we need to put in to find this freedom, hope, etc. but nothing about God's grace. This is where I believe the book can begin to be discouraging for people on a similar journey.<br />
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That being said, Ms. Fisher does an excellent job of guiding her readers to The Way of Hope! This book will be on my list of books to re-read and books to lend out!<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Disclosure: I received this book free from Baker Books through the Baker Books Bloggers www.bakerbooks.com/bakerbooksbloggers program. The opinions I have expressed are my own, and I was not required to write a positive review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html.</span>JenniferRMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920506748151590491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8928244808910579167.post-64434255290595060442017-07-31T10:18:00.000-05:002017-08-15T07:23:09.052-05:00The Road to Paradise - A Review<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>~"You walked up that mountain a strong man and returned a Christian!"~ (p. 254)</i></div>
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This novel tells a story of two people in search for peace. It is set in Mt. Ranier National Park in the mid-1920s. We encounter two main characters, Margie (Margaret) and Ford, who struggle to find peace and faith, each in their own way, while fighting to protect God's great creation in this national park. As their lives intertwine, we meet a sinister Philip, a motherly Mrs. Brown, and a few other supporting characters, all of whom help them, knowingly or not, on their journey.</div>
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From the start, I knew this was primarily a Christian romance - definitely not my favourite genre. And yet, I found myself captivated, drawn to the story. Karen skillfully weaved in a story of struggling against people with dark purposes, struggling to reclaim a faith that was lost, struggling to find one's true identity, into a story of a realistic romance! Often, when I was away from the book, I found myself wondering what Ford and Margie were up to!</div>
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I have never been to Mt. Ranier but the author's descriptions painted such a perfect picture, I felt I was right there with the characters, like I could smell the mountain, feel the cool breezes, see and touch the same plants, walk the same trails! I also loved how little details of the characters' pasts weaved themselves so naturally into the story!</div>
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I thought I wouldn't enjoy the romance aspect of the novel but it really worked! It wasn't over-the-top and the romance was just a natural part of life, like any other struggle in the lives of the characters! This raises Ms. Barnett far above all other Christian romance authors I have read!</div>
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Yes, this is one of <i>those</i> Christian romances <b>BUT</b> the historical details, information about nature, and the sense of humour the author brings, mixed with alluring hints of hurt, danger, and darkness, make it a thoroughly enjoyable read!</div>
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I received this book, in ebook format, from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.</div>
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Find more information about the other and her books:</div>
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http://www.karenbarnettbooks.com/</div>
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http://www.karenbarnettbooks.com/3017-2/</div>
JenniferRMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920506748151590491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8928244808910579167.post-709011998508971662017-06-16T17:38:00.001-05:002017-06-16T19:23:55.289-05:00Five Minute Friday: Maybe Tomorrow {Worth}<i>I'm back at it with Five Minute Friday. Today's word is <b>worth</b> and, amazingly, I'm writing on Friday! Yay me! Today's writing is a piece of fiction. The beginnings of a story ... or a novel ... I don't know yet. :) It's called <b>Maybe Tomorrow</b>.</i><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB">She steps away from the mirror. Shouts, more than images, seem to reflect back. She closes her eyes, covers her ears, trying to block the sounds. “You’re worthless! Absolutely worthless! She’s prettier than you! She’s smarter than you! She’s more outgoing than you!” They’re right. Her sisters are all those things. Oh, they’ve never actually said those things to her. But she knows they think them. Her parents. She was the last. They wanted a boy. They got another girl. Worthless. What good is another girl? But at least the first three amounted to something! One has her beauty – that got her far. Modelling, acting, famous. The next got the smarts. Billions of things you can do with that! She chose law. Most successful lawyer in the province! Maybe even in all of Western Canada! She’s made a name for herself. And then there’s the third – super outgoing. That’s her greatest quality. She’s on TV – a journalist. Yeah, they all got a decent amount of brains, looks, character. She’s nothing. Never got good grades, yet somehow, miraculously, made it to college. What for? She’ll never amount to anything.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Follow your dreams,” the teachers said back in high school. What are her dreams? She doesn’t even no anymore. Are worthless people allowed to have dreams? Away from the mirror, away from that awful sight of her pale face and stringy brown hair, her mind strays to her grade school days. There was a day she thought she’d like to be something. Before she turned so ugly, before everyone realized how worthless she was. She wanted to be an author. You don’t need to talk to people to write. Your characters can be your friends! There’s plenty of recluse authors right? Adds to the mystery or something. Maybe… Maybe tomorrow … Maybe tomorrow she’ll talk to someone about changing up her classes. Maybe tomorrow she’ll switch to some English, Literature and Creative Writing classes. Maybe tomorrow she’ll start to have some worth. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><i>I need to stop writing sad stories ... it gets me down! Or, I just need to pursue this one further and find a happy ending for this girl ... whatever her name is. She hasn't told me yet. ;)</i></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZJG7-4lQBKQ/WURdO9iYIYI/AAAAAAAACnU/fZ3_0MSFcJgNe2opn2GxxQ0Xpt5iLo4CACLcBGAs/s1600/Blurred%2BMe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1062" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZJG7-4lQBKQ/WURdO9iYIYI/AAAAAAAACnU/fZ3_0MSFcJgNe2opn2GxxQ0Xpt5iLo4CACLcBGAs/s320/Blurred%2BMe.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image by Me</td></tr>
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<a href="http://fiveminutefriday.com/2017/06/15/christian-writing-life-worth/" target="_blank"><img src="https://i2.wp.com/fiveminutefriday.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/write-4.jpg" width="200" /></a>JenniferRMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920506748151590491noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8928244808910579167.post-62846943208669174872017-06-15T10:18:00.002-05:002017-06-15T10:19:17.004-05:00Expectations for the Future<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">I want to write. Not primarily so people will read it (though that would be totally awesome) but, mostly, because it feels good to write.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve let my writing slip to the wayside and that really sucks. I feel silenced. I feel like I don’t know how to find my voice back. And it’s my fault. Hmm. Well, I got an email that said Five Minute Friday moved. I LOVE FMF! So, naturally, I went to the new site and signed up. I joined the Facebook page and was eager to get going again! Because, really, there can’t be any “I don’t have time” excuse when it’s just a five-minute writing assignment! I saw the first word since my joining the new page: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">future</b>. I delayed writing. The Monday after that word came out, my second oldest (4.5-year-old) got really sick. I was too exhausted to think, let alone write. She was puking, not drinking, not eating. Fever kept spiking – it’s highest was 41 Celsius (about 106 Fahrenheit).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was frightening and we ended up at the Children’s Hospital. Got her sorted out, got her on some meds and she started improving – Praise God! The next Friday came. We were supposed to have a field trip with a homeschool group and considered not going since she was only just on the mend. She really wanted to go so we went. It was an exhausting day for her! But she was improving. The word that morning was <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">expect</b>. I told myself, “I’ll get to it on the weekend.” But my bad habit of not writing took control and I didn’t get to it right away. Then Saturday evening came and my 6-month-old baby had a febrile seizure. It came out of nowhere. He whole body was shaking hugely and her skin turned purple almost immediately. She was breathing funny, she was crying funny. We called 911. The seizure lasted at least 10 minutes (my husband thinks closer to 15). We were back in emergency at Children’s! I have never been so terrified in my life! Thankfully the doctor’s were able to determine why she had a fever (UTI) and gave us meds for her. It was still intense and stressful – she didn’t want her meds, often puked afterwards, still not drinking 100%, still fevering. But slowly she’s been improving. Today starts the 3<sup>rd</sup> day of no fever. And tomorrow brings a new FMF word. Today I want to write. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">All this week, those two words have been running through my head: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">future, expect.</b> I’m not limiting myself to 5 minutes this time. </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span lang="EN-GB"> The two words, I find, a very related. What do we expect for our future? For our children’s future? I will admit, I think more of our children’s future than my own. Especially considering the current government of my country. But when they are sick, my thoughts about their future and my expectations change. I’ve always expected that they will live long lives, that they will live God glorifying lives, that they will be happy and successful. But none of these is guaranteed! Not even that they will love God (though we pray they will and we guide them in the faith)! What is the only guarantee of the future? That God is faithful! The thing is, we don’t always know what that looks like. So do my expectations for my children change? I expect them to live long lives but the fact is, God could have taken two of my children to Himself this past week. So I have changed my expectations for today and tomorrow and all the tomorrows to come. I expect (and trust) that God will care for us, that He will guide us and will keep us close to Him – however that looks.</span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gaCaG7VP3_o/WUKfn67c6mI/AAAAAAAACmw/JaJ8y9Ion1ovAiHSyIr-Gw4XeRH-AkxcACEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_2331.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gaCaG7VP3_o/WUKfn67c6mI/AAAAAAAACmw/JaJ8y9Ion1ovAiHSyIr-Gw4XeRH-AkxcACEwYBhgL/s320/IMG_2331.jpg" width="240" /> </a> <a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1UQQGHYA334/WUKkUwx6bBI/AAAAAAAACm0/tSr99JQoZa4Lyw8hYcfbDXhQMvin4QqlwCEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_2439.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1UQQGHYA334/WUKkUwx6bBI/AAAAAAAACm0/tSr99JQoZa4Lyw8hYcfbDXhQMvin4QqlwCEwYBhgL/s320/IMG_2439.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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JenniferRMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920506748151590491noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8928244808910579167.post-10981444574180556212016-10-29T21:41:00.000-05:002016-10-29T21:41:00.064-05:00Absent in the SpringI just finished reading Absent in the Spring by Mary Westmacott (pseudonym of Agatha Christie) and it leaves me pensive, hopeful, frightened (but not in the sense of being afraid of something scary). It is not a mystery. Wikipedia labels it a tragedy and I can see that as an accurate description.<br />
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<b><i>Note: The following contains spoilers to an extent. I'm sure the book would still be enjoyable to read but if you don't want to know the ending (and some other details), don't read further. :) </i></b><br />
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Agatha Christie had a great gift of truly knowing and understanding human nature. In this book, the main character, Joan, is stranded in the desert with no one but herself to talk to. So there she is alone with her thoughts. And that's what is so frightening! At first, she fights the thoughts, makes excuses - not direct quotes but ideas like: "oh it's a fear of open spaces that makes me feel this way" or "oh, it's the heat that makes my mind play tricks on me" or "it must be a fever, that's it, I'm likely just ill"! Desperate for an excuse for what she is discovering about herself ... that she is not a likeable woman, that her children and her husband do not love her (though she does very much love them, she just has never acted like she has). She realizes how horrible and selfish and fake she has been all these years. That she's a picture of someone she'd admire but she's not really admirable. And then she has a conversion experience, something that a lady she met on the train home to England shows to her. Yet this lady looks at her doubtfully when she says that Joan has had a conversion experience, much like St. Paul and other apostles and great people of faith. And you wonder why this stranger is doubt-filled. What does she see that we, the reader, cannot see? Then Joan arrives home and she's faced with a choice: let her family see the change, start life fresh and seek forgiveness; or pretend nothing at all happened, pretend life is as it always was because that is what is comfortable and uncomplicated. And, as the reader, you're hopeful and you think, "She's going to do it! She's going to carry out what she wanted when she experienced this conversion! She'll seek forgiveness and they will start fresh! And they will live happily ever after!" But it doesn't happen that way. She chooses wrong and her miserable life continues and she chooses to live in the delusion that it is a good life.<br />
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And this is where my mix of emotions/feelings comes. I suppose this is why I both crave rest and fear rest. To truly rest, I feel that I would need to put away all distractions, including books I love to read, and just be! But then what do I have still with me? My thoughts and learning who I am. And what if I don't like who I am? And what if I realize that others don't actually like who I am either? What if I learn what all my failings are and how I need to change? This could be good but isn't it frightening to think of that as well? Something that will take you out of the comfortable and force you to change?! That is frightening and difficult! But it is also a hope-filled idea - imagine the joy and peace that comes from such a changed life ... well, a changed life if you have the courage to embrace it!<br />
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Do I dare? Do you dare? Take that rest, rest from all distractions (computer, books, art, anything that takes your mind from assessing you ... in light, of course, of who God calls you to be) and search for who you are. Are you the God-glorifying individual you think you are? Are you loved or even liked? What changes do you need to be making in your life in order to be the person you are created to be? Frightening, exciting, hope-filled exercise!<br />
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Do I dare?<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UYErSGmlHm0/WBVdYgy0fBI/AAAAAAAACbg/20e7iJZdJBodQYhJKSLSvfo8JkLvmwT1ACLcB/s1600/absent%2Bin%2Bspring.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UYErSGmlHm0/WBVdYgy0fBI/AAAAAAAACbg/20e7iJZdJBodQYhJKSLSvfo8JkLvmwT1ACLcB/s320/absent%2Bin%2Bspring.jpg" width="222" /></a></div>
<br />JenniferRMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920506748151590491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8928244808910579167.post-39189460589207276692016-02-17T12:21:00.000-06:002016-02-17T12:21:43.413-06:00Five Minute Friday: Limit<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-GB">A late post but I was drawing a blank ... until today. Here it is - 5 minutes of free writing on the word <b>limit</b>.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Two weeks of sickness in two littles. But
it’s ok. We keep going, my husband and I. I can handle the days because I know
he’s there to support in the evenings. But then the weekend hits, those girls
start looking worse. It’s been 2.5 weeks now and they are just not getting
better. Monday holiday comes and baby’s fever spikes and, worse of all, hubby
get sick too. I’m a man down and have to do it all. I feel like I’ve reached my
limit. Exhausted, running back and forth to the clinic and pharmacy – ear infection
(baby), sinus infections (both girls). It’s a long day. I want to cry. Meds
kick in, things look better. Nice evening supper. Then it hits, the virus that
kicks all other viruses butts. This one’s a doozy, this one’s violent beyond
all others we’ve seen. This mama is exhausted. I want to cry I want to give up.
But it’s hubby and the middle who need me. Hold my girl while the heaving rolls
across her body. She cries because it hurts, because she’s just tired of it
all, she just wants it to stop. Oh, I hear you baby girl! My limit has been
extended – my family needs me. Groceries. Need groceries. The baby needs her
milk, can’t do without that. Want to sleep. Is this my limit? Have I reached it
yet? Can I cry and sleep and cry some more? Last night I fell asleep with Chris
Rice’s lyrics: </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Can you spare an angel tonight</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">send a little help from your side?</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">‘Cause somebody’s lost down here.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Let him wing his way through the dark,</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">carry some of your love into her heart.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Can you spare an angel, spare and angle,
spare an angel?</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">My limit has grown. He spared an angel.
We made it through. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4PkeCI9ASTw/VsS3ZpRXlfI/AAAAAAAACN4/va7D1ZblVhQ/s1600/spareanangel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4PkeCI9ASTw/VsS3ZpRXlfI/AAAAAAAACN4/va7D1ZblVhQ/s400/spareanangel.jpg" width="297" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo credit to Chris Rice's website: http://chrisrice.com/art-shop/spare-an-angel</td></tr>
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<a href="http://katemotaung.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://katemotaung.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Five-Minute-Friday-4.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a>JenniferRMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920506748151590491noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8928244808910579167.post-23829267603336033762016-02-07T07:39:00.002-06:002017-08-15T07:27:24.270-05:00Journey to Relational Prayer: The PAPA Prayer - Relational Prayer is About God and MeI have finished reading chapter 6 of The PAPA Prayer by Dr. Larry Crabb, and finished writing my notes. I think this chapter might have been one of the most eye opening. There seems to be a continually increasing amount of words I hear and books or articles I read that coincide with what I read in this book and that is good! It means I think about it more and ponder the importance of it so much more!<br />
<br />
So I open first with a quote:<br />
<br />
"I'm afraid we'll merely play with the PAPA prayer for a day or two and not really pray it as a lifestyle, unless we get rid of the notion that the center of prayer is asking for things. The true center of prayer, it's real point, is relating to God" (p. 37).<br />
<br />
Isn't that the truth?!! The whole beginning of this book, even though, yes, I want a deep relationship with God, still at the forefront is the thought, "OK, I'll do this, I'll get prayer right, and then God will give me what I want!" Sounds an awful lot like Pastor Brian's sermon a couple of weeks ago (January 24) on 'life under God'!!<br />
<br />
The thing is, I <b>do</b> want a deep relationship with God, but I'm holding back! What's holding me back?! Darran (my amazing husband), says it's because I don't trust that God is good and I'm afraid He'll ask something of me that I don't want to do. Hmm, makes sense! In my head I <b>know</b> God is good!! But in my heart, do I trust Him with my life? Always we want to cling to control! And afraid of what He'll ask of me? Yeah, I'm terrified! For some reason, I think I like the way I am and my life as it is. Dare I say that, sometimes perhaps, it seems as though God is there but not entirely necessary? Wow! That sounds a lot like Pastor Brian's sermon this past Sunday (January 31) - 'life over God'! I think I'm really going to need to listen carefully to the rest of that series!<br />
<br />
So do you really want to be in relationship with God? Let's do this! Give up the idea that prayer is about <b>getting things</b> and embrace the fact that prayer is <b>first and foremost about relating to God - being in relationship <u>with</u> Him!</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
So I wonder, the person who has lived half her life with Rheumatoid Arthritis, and has a deep relationship with God, does she pray for healing? I don't think so! Do the people around her pray for healing for her? I think they do, at least most of them. I think they pray for her healing because they (we) assume that's what we're supposed to pray for. But, instead of praying for healing, should we not pray that God is glorified through that disease? Instead of praying for an end to suffering, should we not pray that God is glorified in that suffering? Instead of praying for an end to poverty, should we not pray that God is glorified in that poverty? Why does God allow hardships? That we might glorify Him through them. Why did God not remove the "thorn in the flesh" from Paul? That God might be glorified through it! What is the chief end of man? To <b>glorify Him and enjoy Him </b>forever! That means to be in relationship with Him!! Why did God create us? <b>For His own glory!</b> <b>EVERYTHING</b> is about glorifying God! How can we glorify God in all things? By being in deep relationship with Him!<br />
<br />
"But we don't naturally think of prayer as an opportunity to relate with God. Most of us find our prayer lives dominated by asking God for things. For most of us, that's what prayer is. ... But if we hold to it, if we keep on believing that prayer is more about getting things than getting God, not only will we eventually get thoroughly confused when prayer doesn't 'work', but talking to God will at some point feel boring as well. If we're honest" (p. 37).<br />
<br />
Dr. Crabb gives a personal example of praying a relational prayer. Much too lengthy to include in my notes but it was in regards to friends of him and his wife and the basic frame he gives, which they followed in their prayer, is:<br />
<i>present</i> yourself to God (tell how you feel, where you're coming from) (e.g. a rebellious child return's home)<br />
<i> attend </i>to how you picture God in the situation (e.g. The Father in the parable of the Prodigal Son who runs to meet his returning son)<br />
<i>purging</i> by confessing your weaknesses/sin (e.g. "Lord I feel really cynical of this person's apparent change of heart")<br />
<i>approach</i> God in relationship<br />
Then they could bring their petitions to God. "Relational prayer released petitionary prayer" (p. 39).<br />
<br />
"Petitioning without relationship - that's what our praying so often amounts to, even though it's well disguised" (p. 41) Rather a sad thought, really!<br />
<br />
"Our prayers of communion and worship sometimes have more to do with staying on God's good side in order to get more blessings than with building our relationship with Him. The idea of knowing God and being known by Him just doesn't seem that important" (p. 41). (Or, perhaps, just downright terrifying??)<br />
<br />
Dr. Crabb gives a couple of illustrations: children in the summer looking for the ice-cream man, not because they care about him but because they want ice-cream; children sit on Santa's knee, don't care to get to know him or see how he's doing, just give their list of things they want and hop right off. "We Christians call it prayer", he says (p. 41). Ouch!!<br />
<br />
Prayer, we're told (and, for those who've grown up in Reformed churches, memorized) is the most important part of our thankfulness. God wants us to know Him and how do we respond? "Gimme! Gimme!" If someone does something incredibly kind for you, how do you respond? With "oh that was nice, now I also want you to do this, this and give me this"?? No! That would be <b>ungrateful</b>! We respond by wanting to get to know that person, wanting to understand what motivated him, spend time just being with him, develop friendship with him! Why, then, is our "relationship" with God mor of a list of demands than a determined effort to really know Him?! If prayer is the most important part of our thankfulness, why do we show our so-called thankfulness by simply giving a list of demands?! "Oh, and I love You, Lord!!" we tack on awkwardly, like a child who thinks that simply saying "I love you" will get her what she wants. (I've seen it in my own children.) We try to <b>manipulate GOD!</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Dr. Crabb shows this when he says, "Petitionary prayers that are offered with no real thought of getting to know God through relational prayer eventually become the rantings of a spoiled brat. ... The devil stacks the shelves with tasty items, and, in our flesh, we pray, 'Give me this. I want that. In Jesus name and for His glory, amen' " (p. 41).<br />
<br />
"So many of our requests are good and legitimate. Some are truly other-centered. But we're still asking for things without really knowing who it is we're talking to, so we can't really hear His voice" (p. 42). There-in lies the problem, What we ask for might be good things, but if we don't bother to know the One we're asking, how can we discern if what we ask is His will??<br />
<br />
"We hear only ourselves and hope He's listening. ... Let the Giver stop giving, and we throw a tantrum. We think of it as fervent prayer" (p. 42).<br />
<br />
So this we must first understand if we are to enjoy the PAPA prayer, if it is to flow naturally from us, that "the chief purpose of prayer is not to get things from God. Neither is it to praise or thank Him from a distance. <i>The chief purpose of prayer is to get to know God, </i>to deepen our relationship with Him, to nourish the life of God He's already placed within us, and to do it all to satisfy His desire for relationship with us" (p. 42).<br />
<br />
And Jesus taught us to pray relationally, with a model prayer "to guide us in our conversations with Papa" (p. 43). This is, of course, The Lord's Prayer, and it looks like we get to learn more about that in the next chapter.<br />
<br />
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My series on this book on relational prayer can be found <a href="http://sahmlifeasiknowit.blogspot.ca/p/journey-to-relational-prayer.html">here</a>.</div>
JenniferRMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920506748151590491noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8928244808910579167.post-79464552843384954842016-02-02T13:06:00.002-06:002017-08-15T07:27:43.987-05:00But I Said Please!! (The PAPA Prayer - Chapter 5)I have finally made more progress in The PAPA Prayer by Dr. Larry Crabb. Here are my notes on Chapter 5: The Prayer of a Spoiled Child.<br />
<br />
John 14:14 - You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.<br />
<br />
"Petitionary prayer is a good thing. Jesus told us to ask Him for whatever we want" (p 25). But ...? I think this chapter answers that 'but'. :)<br />
<br />
We're given an example of the persistent widow - you know the story that Christ told, the widow who keeps petitioning the judge until he finally gives her what she wants? And Jesus says, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? ... " But all over the world we see sincere people, people we'd describe as godly or holy, constantly pleading with God but receiving no response! Why?!<br />
<br />
"Does praying make any real difference in what happens?" (p.28)<br />
What's the point of asking, you may wonder, if we never seem to get a response?? Then Dr. Crabb reminds us of the words of James 1:6-8 - "But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do."<br />
<br />
So how can <u>anyone</u> expect to receive what they ask for? Who on earth always has utter and complete confidence??<br />
<br />
Then in Matthew 17:20, Jesus tells us that even a little amount of faith (the size of a mustard see) will move mountains! Doesn't that show that it's not about complete confidence?<br />
<br />
"Don't many of us have at least the bare minimum? Then why are so many mountains in our lives still sitting in the same spot? It isn't that we haven't prayed, and with at least some faith." (p. 29)<br />
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We are shown one more verse, this one from the Old Testament: "How gladly would I treat you like sons and give you a desirable land" (Jeremiah 3:19).<br />
<br />
Says Dr. Crabb: "What's stopping Him? Maybe there's a problem with the way we pray. Or maybe it's the way we don't pray. Consider this: we do a lot more asking of God than relating to God. ... Here's a second thought, and it's revolutionary: maybe petitionary prayer is supposed to come after relational prayer" (p, 29).<br />
<br />
Dr. Crabb gives a personal story of a trip to NYC with his son (who was about 8 at the time). They were playing a little game of hide-and-seek in Central Park when suddenly the boy thought he'd lost his dad forever! When he saw his dad he wanted to stay close to him and keep his eyes on him at all times. Dr. Crabb says maybe our prayers need to be like that - nestled up close to Him, our eyes always on Him. Or, as Pastor Kasey said in his sermon yesterday morning (November 8, 2015), like a small child cuddled up in His lap, content and comforted.<br />
<br />
"The great need of people in the church today, and perhaps in your life, is to better relate to God. And the best way for all of us to do that is to find a plan for our time of prayer that draws us near to God for the sheer joy of encounter before we ask Him for a thing" (p. 31).<br />
<br />
The <b>sheer joy</b> of encounter! Where has that joy gone? When did monotony and lifeless, hopeless prayer replace that joy?!<br />
<br />
"We'll never understand petitionary prayer until we learn to practice relational prayer ..." (p. 31).<br />
<br />
So, this is about <b>relational</b> prayer! Build relationship with God before you ask for things. This relationship is foundational to petition. "Unless we become as little children who approach our heavenly Papa<b> just to be near Him</b>, something in our hearts will keep us confused and frustrated when we ask God for what we want" (p. 31, emphasis mine).<br />
<br />
We can restore our relationship pith God to what it should be.<br />
<br />
Larry Crabb speaks of petitionary prayer as a privilege that comes from relationship <b>with</b> God.<br />
<br />
"Relational prayer is the centre of all true prayer. The power of petitionary prayer depends on the centrality of relational prayer" (p. 32).<br />
<br />
"If you abide in my, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples." John 15:7-8 What does this mean? When you have deep relationship with God/Christ, your petitionary prayer will be effective. And how do you abide in Him and show this relationship? "Bear much fruit and so prove to be [His] disciples."<br />
<br />
"If we share Christ's passion for His Father and dedicate ourselves at any cost to the purpose of bringing heaven's kingdom to earth by revealing the Father's character in all our relationships, then our petitions will reflect the mind of Christ - and they will be answered" (p. 33).<br />
<br />
"Only on the ground of relationship with God, restored through redemption and nourished through relational prayer, can we properly worship, unselfishly thank God for blessings, intercede for others, and ask things for ourselves" (p. 33).<br />
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If you would like to see previous post in this series, they can be found <a href="http://sahmlifeasiknowit.blogspot.ca/p/journey-to-relational-prayer.html">here</a>.</div>
<br />JenniferRMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920506748151590491noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8928244808910579167.post-18950478700187230442016-01-29T19:43:00.000-06:002016-01-29T19:43:56.978-06:00FMF: QuietHere we are again, at the end of another week and on time for another Five Minute Friday. I couldn't get motivated to write this morning and, surprise surprise, my 5yo, little Miss A, decided she actually wanted to work hard on school today and got ALL her school work done before noon! Yay A!!! But it meant a delay in my writing, which was fine of course. And then the afternoon was spent doing the normal and mundane household things, and getting Misses A & E outside to play (unseasonably gorgeous weather permitted that) and now, it's evening, Miss R, the baby is sleeping soundly, Misses A & E are playing checkers and backgammon with Daddy and me? I have my glass of wine, my music, my computer and my quiet so I can write. My quiet. Yeah. :) And that's the word Kate has given us today! Read her post at the FMF <a href="http://katemotaung.com/2016/01/28/five-minute-friday-quiet/">hub</a>! So now it's my turn with the word. I never read her post before I write. I'm always afraid it will influence what I write about and how I write. :) But I set my time for 5 minutes and ...<br />
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<b><i><u><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Quiet</span></u></i></b><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It seems quiet in here. But the words, they
come from virtual voices, voices I’ve never heard before in my life but I give
characters to them. Names I have voices I create. But these soundless, quiet
voices, they speak volumes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“You
need to be fit”, they say! “Fit means looking like this, and doing these
activities, and drinking this and eating that!” But, other than a few minor
changes, I don’t eat that poorly. I actually eat pretty well! Activity? Try
keeping up with 3 active littles aged 5 and under! But why does fit need to
mean doing those activities with those repetitions or you will <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fail</i></b>?!
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“Be social”, they say! “Social is what
everyone needs to be! It means you talk to everyone and you’re always smiling
and happy and you never let anyone know you might not be having a great day …
emotionally or mentally or spiritually.” (I think it must be the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">extreme</b> extroverts that say that!)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“Be gracious”, they say! “Gracious means
never telling someone off when they say or do something that hurts you or is
just downright immoral. It might hurt their feelings, after all!” Is that
really grace?! I’m not sure Scripture would agree with that!</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“Be tolerant”, they say! “Tolerant means
that everyone is right and they are allowed to tell you that you are wrong …
but if you tell them they are wrong you’re an intolerant, fundamentalist Bible
thumper.” What happened to tolerance??</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And these virtual voices, the tones of
which I’ve created, they are loud. They hurt, the confuse, the exhaust
physically and mentally … and, yes, sometimes even spiritually.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I just want to say, maybe shout, “Be
quiet!!” </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Their voices can be quieted. Just turn them off! Listen to the Word,
the Word of God Himself. That voice, though quiet, speaks volumes, speaks
truth, speaks real grace and mercy and forgiveness and, well, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">LIFE</i></b>!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, the virtual voices I will silence
one by one. But the quiet Word of God, that still small voice, I will devour,
inhale so it speaks volumes to me, so it fills my life, fills my ears with
beauty, with righteousness, with mercy, with grace! That is the quiet that I
will embrace.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J5FrBTut-Ao/VqwUvOm6W6I/AAAAAAAACMs/Ac9JaJCIsSU/s1600/Quiet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J5FrBTut-Ao/VqwUvOm6W6I/AAAAAAAACMs/Ac9JaJCIsSU/s320/Quiet.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Image created by me on picmonkey.com</span></td></tr>
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<a href="http://katemotaung.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://katemotaung.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Five-Minute-Friday-4.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a>JenniferRMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920506748151590491noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8928244808910579167.post-77144536248010756672016-01-26T16:21:00.001-06:002016-01-26T16:21:28.376-06:00Rambling, Stumbling, PrayerSo, I was pondering things and needed to write. This is what came out. This is very, very much unedited. It needs work. And, yet, it works. Opinions and ideas are accepted in comments. :)<br />
<br />
<b><i>Rambling, Stumbling, Prayer</i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>How do I pray?</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>Do I just start talking?</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>What do I say??</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>Not one for small talk</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>but, then, I suppose, </i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>neither are you?</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>So, ...</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>jump in the deep end?</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>Is that what I need to do?</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>Start at the beginning...</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>it's a good place to start</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>... so they say.</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>Start at the beginning,</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>is this how to pray?</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>Slept in again</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>after another late night,</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>need to stop that delay</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>of turning off lights.</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>Sleeping in means I'm not ready</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>when my munchkins wake up,</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>can't seem to keep steady,</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>always manage to mess up.</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>Sheets to be changed,</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>means more laundry to do,</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>milk was spilled,</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>one can't find a shoe ...</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>Day in, day out,</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>not much changes,</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>the monotony continues ...</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>is it one of those stages?</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>Some days it's difficult</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>to embrace the mundane,</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>when everything goes on</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>just the same, just the same.</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>Just the same arguments</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>Just the same fights</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>Just the same troubles</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>Just the same "mights"</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>The "mights" of negotiations,</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>theirs and mine,</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>doesn't take long to admit,</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>we can't continue this routine.</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>I'm exhausted, they're grumpy;</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>I'm grumpy, they're lost.</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>My selfish apathy,</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>oh what is the cost!</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>Not all days are like that,</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>not all days are bad.</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>But the bad ones are what linger in my mind</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>and I wonder how to undo</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>all the damage I've done.</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>I need Your grace,</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>they need it too!</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>I need to remember to give them grace too!</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>I need to let go of my worries and fears,</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>to hold them, hug them, wipe away tears!</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>This mothering job You've given me Lord,</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>the hardest job ever, with the greatest reward.</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>This rambling prayer,</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i> yes, that's what it is,</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>just how I talk, it's just who I am,</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i> and this rambling to You</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i> brings me peace.</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>So, is that how to pray?</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>Just talk as I would</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i> to my father, my husband, my friend?</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>Just talk while You listen</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i> and also listen to You?</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>To grow in this life</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i> leaning on you?</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>Are you the ear that I need</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i> the shoulder to lean on?</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>Is it really this simple?</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>Oh, how could I have forgotten?!</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>Lord, help me remember</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i> Your eternal promise,</i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i>That you are <strong>God <u>with</u> </strong><strong>us</strong></i></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: FournierMT-Regular, palatino, palatino-linotype;">
<i> not 'far from us'.</i></div>
JenniferRMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920506748151590491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8928244808910579167.post-60066003176824145932016-01-24T20:28:00.000-06:002016-01-24T20:28:23.308-06:00FreeThis past summer we had gone on a road trip to BC. While there, I attempted to keep up with Five Minute Friday. One entry I had written in my journal. It was a couple of days after we arrived in BC. But, for some reason, it never seemed to make it here to my blog. So, here I write it now.<br />
<i><br /></i>
<b><u><i>Free</i></u></b><br />
<b><u><i><br /></i></u></b>
<i>Yesterday I took Annalise to visit my mom's grave. I needed to go there; I thought it would be meaningful to Annalise to go as well. I needed to talk to Mom. Oh, how many days there are when I need to talk to her! </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>But I didn't. I didn't talk to her - she's not there. She's living in perfect freedom. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>We brought her flowers - I think she would have liked them. And my big girl and I talked about her, about her faith, about where she is now. And I sang. I sang "her" Psalm - the one printed on her gravestone. From the Book of Praise (Canadian Reformed ... and an older version - the one I grew up with and still have mostly memorized):</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Psalm 84:1, 4</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>O Lord of Host, O God of grace,</i><br />
<i>How lovely is Thy holy place,</i><br />
<i>How good and pleasant is They dwelling!</i><br />
<i>O how my soul longs earnestly,</i><br />
<i>Yea, faints thy holy courts to see</i><br />
<i>Mid festal throngs and music swelling.</i><br />
<i>My heart and flesh cry out to God;</i><br />
<i>To Him I spread my hands abroad.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>From strength to strength God's people go,</i><br />
<i>And He to them His face will show</i><br />
<i>In Zion's courts, His holy dwelling.</i><br />
<i>O Lord, Thou God of hosts, give ear;</i><br />
<i>O Jacob's God, in mercy hear, </i><br />
<i>Thy steadfast promises fulfilling.</i><br />
<i>O God, our king and shield behold;</i><br />
<i>To him Thy power and love unfold.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>And I remember how mom clung to His promises, held on for dear life, and saw them fulfilled - she is with Him now!! She is free! And I can hear her tell me to stop living in the past, to stop dwelling on what was, but to live in the present, for the future, trusting always in Him!</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>And on the drive "home" to Dad's, with that echoing in me, part of a Switchfoot song (Yesterdays) comes to mind:</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"... A part of you in me is torn</i><br />
<i>And you're free</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>I woke from a dream last night</i><br />
<i>I dreamt that you were by my side</i><br />
<i>Reminding me I still had life</i><br />
<i>In me ..."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Then this morning, I woke and checked my email and saw that the FMF word is "Free"!! Thank-you God! </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Mom is living in perfect freedom and one day I will be too!</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Praise God, in Him we are free!</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />JenniferRMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920506748151590491noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8928244808910579167.post-68477962530164422532016-01-22T11:10:00.001-06:002016-01-22T11:10:47.391-06:00FMF: Be PresentToday my 5 year old joined me for Five Minute Friday (and it covered the writing time for her homeschooling so, yay, we killed two birds with one stone)! :) We each took a different definition of the word "present". I opted for the concept of being present in a child's life and Miss A opted for the present which is a gift that you open. :) She also opted for my drawing and less writing, but it's a start! I've taken a photo of hers and added it to the end of the post.<br />
<br />
So, five minutes from start to finish, no editing (and no overthinking ... not sure that is one of the rules but that's my rule ... bad things happen when I overthink. :) ) So, here are my and Miss A's submissions for today's Five Minute Friday.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">Be Present</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">She looks at you forlornly </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">wondering what distracts you</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">from loving her.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Her arms reach </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">but you push her away – </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">the newsfeed captivates your interest.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">She’s three.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">You’re life seems more important </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">than her few years.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">You look up one day</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">and now she’s 6. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">You wonder how you missed that.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Her curiosity and intelligence amaze – </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">where did it come from?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">how did it develop?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">She wants to read with you</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">but you have no time or patience</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">you push her away.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Shouts ring through the house.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">At 12 she rebels.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“what do you care?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Every day is a fight.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Every day is worse.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">you hurt</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">so you turn to where you are “accepted”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">You beloved newsfeed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">You’re lonely.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Where did she go?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Married, starting a family of her own</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">now at 24. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">But struggling, </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">forsaking all the values you preached</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">(but didn’t really live …</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">because your newsfeed distracted you)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“Do you want to see your grandchildren?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">She wonders.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Will you be present?</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Or will you loose it all?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<a href="http://katemotaung.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://katemotaung.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Five-Minute-Friday-4.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a>JenniferRMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920506748151590491noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8928244808910579167.post-47799566891753931252016-01-20T14:55:00.000-06:002016-01-20T14:55:17.932-06:00FMF: TimeFinally I'm returning to Five Minute Friday! Funny that today's word is "time" as every week Friday seems to slip by before I even realize it's come! :) Today's FMF is in poetry. Enjoy!<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN-GB">Time</span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Time stands still and you can hold the
moment forever –</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>the
first kiss</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>the
baby born</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>the
first baby smile … and giggle</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>and</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>the
call</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>she’s
gone.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">But then the moment’s gone and time …</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">it blurs by</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>many
kisses</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>many
smiles</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>many
tears</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>later</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>they’re
grown</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“he
asked me to marry him!”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>they’re
gone.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Where did the time go?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Cling to the moments in memories</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">And maybe</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>just
maybe</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>time
will stand still once more.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IDnpAv1n8es/Vp_zvxReasI/AAAAAAAACLc/qiEiSDnK3xk/s1600/watch_clock_pocket_watch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IDnpAv1n8es/Vp_zvxReasI/AAAAAAAACLc/qiEiSDnK3xk/s320/watch_clock_pocket_watch.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<a href="http://katemotaung.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://katemotaung.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Five-Minute-Friday-4.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a>JenniferRMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920506748151590491noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8928244808910579167.post-39405426989042504982015-12-21T14:17:00.000-06:002015-12-21T14:17:41.461-06:00Grace - OneWord365It's almost the end of 2015 and I need to choose my word of focus for 2016. This year (as last year) my focus was prayer. I do believe I've grown in that though I've not made near as much progress as I'd have liked. I will continue to work on that, of course, but I can't have Prayer as my word for yet another year ... then it will really be a copout! :)<br />
<br />
This time I have really been struggling to find a word of something I'd like to work on. Words that come to mind are: <i style="font-weight: bold;">Grace</i> - I'd like to extend grace more freely to those around me, as God extends grace to me; <i style="font-weight: bold;">Discipline</i> - I'd like to be more disciplined in many areas of my life, spiritual, health, relationships ... ; <i style="font-weight: bold;">Wisdom</i> - increasing my knowledge of God and His word and applying it in a glorifying way; <i style="font-weight: bold;">Discernment</i> - goes somewhat hand in hand with wisdom, "<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 17px;">It is the ability to make discriminating judgments, to distinguish between, and recognize the moral implications of, different situations and courses of action. It includes the ability to “weigh up” and assess the moral and spiritual status of individuals, groups, and even movements. Thus, while warning us against judgmentalism, Jesus urges us to be discerning and discriminating, lest we cast our pearls before pigs (</span><a class="lbsBibleRef lbsBibleRef" data-reference="Matt. 7.1" data-version="esv" href="http://biblia.com/bible/esv/Matt.%207.1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-transition: color 0.3s ease; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; transition: color 0.3s ease; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Matt. 7:1</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 17px;">, </span><a class="lbsBibleRef lbsBibleRef" data-reference="Matt 7.6" data-version="esv" href="http://biblia.com/bible/esv/Matt%207.6" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-transition: color 0.3s ease; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; transition: color 0.3s ease; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">6</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 17px;">)." ~</span>http://www.ligonier.org/blog/discernment-thinking-gods-thoughts/ ... I want to further develop my strengths in that area.<br />
<br />
But I think I've decided on <i style="font-weight: bold;">Grace</i> for this coming year. Maybe because I see in myself a rather strong lack of tact that I think I inherited (no disrespect intended to the dear one I inherited that from because she was also a woman filled with grace!) I think I am a rather discerning person and, on a number of recent Spiritual Gifts tests I've taken, discernment came up top either as #1 or in the top 3. But, I think because I have that discernment, I can sometimes be so quick to judge that I forget that I still need to extend grace. So, in 2016, my word will be Grace. I'm signing up with that on oneword265.com. Will you help me focus on this word? Will you hold me accountable?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7HEn37GobZk/Vnhd9LfjavI/AAAAAAAACF4/eVhk5V9GrSI/s1600/what-is-grace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7HEn37GobZk/Vnhd9LfjavI/AAAAAAAACF4/eVhk5V9GrSI/s320/what-is-grace.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />JenniferRMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920506748151590491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8928244808910579167.post-68499560480440773342015-12-08T13:08:00.002-06:002015-12-08T13:08:46.513-06:00Season - Five Minute Friday <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So I'm a few days late. I relocated my computer which meant I didn't have easy access to my email which meant I missed reminders of Five Minute Friday (and then wondered why I was struggling ... this girl needs her weekly writing!) So, today, this Tuesday, you get a Five Minute Friday. The word we've been given is "season". Remember, we have 5 minutes to write on the given word, no editing, no revising, just freely writing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN-GB">Season</span></u></b><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And when
the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never
again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil
from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as
I have done. While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat,
summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>~Genesis 8:21-22<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here we have a verse of promise of seasons. An
assurance from God of order and consistency. Great comfort in a world that
seems chaotic! The intention of man’s heart is evil. You don’t need to tell me
twice! Look at the evil that abounds in this world! Even, whether we dare to
admit or not, in our own hearts! (No one can claim to be perfectly good and
loving all the time … no one but God Himself!) And in the midst of this evil
that tempts us to live in fear, to worry, to, well, to freak out! In the midst
of all of this, we see an assurance from God – yes the heart of man is evil …
but God’s isn’t! And as long as this earth endures, seasons will continue! We
will have time for planting, time for harvest; time of cold, time of heat;
summer and winter; day and night – literally … and figuratively – a night of
the soul, a time of spiritual crisis, leading to redemption, to daylight and
union with Christ! Ah, it is so
easy to succumb to fear in this season the world is in, this season of
darkness. But the stress, the heartache! Why succumb! Reach for the light of
day! Reach for the light of Christ and live in peace and confidence, knowing He
holds all in His hands! This assurance from Genesis 8 is echoed in Ecclesiastes
3:1-8. Don’t fear the season you are in, rest in the assurance and confidence you
have in Christ!</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sOzHdo14dDA/Vmcovczy2PI/AAAAAAAACEQ/3LuPlqEJ36I/s1600/Genesis%2B8%2B21-22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sOzHdo14dDA/Vmcovczy2PI/AAAAAAAACEQ/3LuPlqEJ36I/s320/Genesis%2B8%2B21-22.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<a href="http://katemotaung.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://katemotaung.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Five-Minute-Friday-4.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a>JenniferRMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920506748151590491noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8928244808910579167.post-46567127474914170412015-11-07T10:52:00.003-06:002019-03-21T06:24:43.200-05:00Identity Crisis<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial";">Identity Crisis</span></u></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial";">She looks in the
mirror, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial";">“What do I see?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial";">Some stranger’s
face<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial";">staring back at
me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial";">Vaguely familiar<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial";">yet so very odd,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial";">the mask she
wears,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial";">it’s just a
fraud.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial";">Trying to be
someone<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial";">great or someone
small<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial";">but, with the
weight of that,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial";">surprising she
can stand at all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial";">More faces appear<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial";">“Be like me”,
they insist,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial";">“be like him, be
like her”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial";">Will she resist?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial";">She tries to
appease them,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial";">her failure is
great.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial";">They get what
they want,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial";">but what they
want, they hate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial";">She cries and she
shouts,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial";">“Just let me be
me!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial";">One by one, they fade,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial";">‘til just her
face she can see.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial";">This</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial";"> one is simply perfect<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial";">(though, of
course, it is flawed)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial";">this</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial";"> one she can love,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial";">it was a gift
from God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial";">Some days she
still battles,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial";">those faces and
clamour,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial";">but peace and
relief surge<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial";">if she holds true
to her demeanour.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial";">Because in the
end,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial";">what matters is
being true<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial";">to the character
God made,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial";">the incredible,
unique you!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Go_O7iEUyT8/Vj4rz4SNskI/AAAAAAAACC4/ZbCPB5K8NwQ/s1600/IMG_1951.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Go_O7iEUyT8/Vj4rz4SNskI/AAAAAAAACC4/ZbCPB5K8NwQ/s400/IMG_1951.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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JenniferRMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920506748151590491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8928244808910579167.post-20249947337829907722015-10-31T10:47:00.000-05:002015-10-31T10:47:10.492-05:00Almost (Write 31 Days, Day 31)This is it! I made it! This is the last day of Write 31 Days 2015! What a great month it has been! I'm so proud of myself, and all the other writers who stuck with it to the end and accomplished their goals! :) <br />
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Today's word is "almost".<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">Almost<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Almost is a word that, I think, often has
negative connotations. Like “almost isn’t good enough”. You know? But I like to
look at it more positively. I almost didn’t sign up for this Write 31 Days
challenge … but I did! I almost didn’t complete this challenge … but I did
(this last post is proof)! I almost didn’t stick with my new workout routines …
but I’m going strong (with adaptations when my body is uncooperative). I almost
slept in … but I kicked my butt out of bed and did what had to be done. I
almost gave up on watching what I eat … but I didn’t. I’m still focussing on
healthy eating.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">And what about other things: you can <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">almost</i> ruin a friendship if you don’t
bite your tongue, but, checking your words and actions, you build a friendship
instead. You can <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">almost</i> make poor
choices, but wisdom can keep you from folly. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">And sometimes we need help: The young girl
suffering from severe depression – she might <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">almost</i> commit suicide but a person who comes along side her at the
right time can prevent tragedy and provide hope. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Sometimes <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">almost</i> is the best thing for turning lives around!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">So maybe almost is “good enough”.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fGKgW24E7cA/VjTiQ6ax_CI/AAAAAAAACCU/TCAs6vw0t2o/s1600/almost.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="206" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fGKgW24E7cA/VjTiQ6ax_CI/AAAAAAAACCU/TCAs6vw0t2o/s400/almost.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture credit: http://weheartit.com/entry/39513537</td></tr>
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JenniferRMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920506748151590491noreply@blogger.com0