Love & Respect by Dr. Eggerichs

Love and Respect addresses the "crazy cycle" that many couples find themselves on in their marriage relationships. The main focus of the book addresses the hugely overlooked command that God gives wives in Ephesians 5:33. Husbands have been told to love their wives for a long time but wives have not been told to respect their husbands. Dr. Eggerichs addresses this and how through many conferences this approach to a happy and fulfilling marriage has been successful.

I personally found the book to be very helpful. I confess that I often find myself being disrespectful but not intentionally. There are times we can be disrespectful as wives and not even realize it. Also, there are things our husbands can do to us that make us feel unloved and in turn we respond disrespectfully. Then in turn a crazy cycle occurs.

Marriages are ending in very high rates of divorce these days. Couples in the church are not any exception to this fact. I believe this resource could be a very helpful tool to help couples learn how to understand one another and how to best meet each others needs through love and respect.

There are many insightful testimonies from couples who have tried this and have had success. Dr. Eggerichs doesn't claim it works in all situations. He addresses that as well. It is a good read and beneficial in my opinion to any marriage, that is if you desire it to be the best that it can be.

To purchase this book from the publisher go here.
To purchase it from Amazon go here.

A Slow Burn - Mary DeMuth Book Review

Really this preview video tells it all. This second book of the Defiance Texas trilogy is just as good if not better than the first. I have had the privilege of reviewing both of these now. Both great reads. Both stir your soul to search your own heart and faith. Suspenseful and spiritual all in the same read. I love it and highly recommend you reading it. I can hardly wait until the third one comes out now. Mary has done an excellent job indeed.

To see the review for the first book go here.

Buy a copy here.
Visit Mary here.
See what others are saying here.

As an added bonus, I LOVED both of these so much so I want to give you an opportunity to win my free copies. Leave a comment for a chance to win. Will leave it open til Sunday evening then choose a winner.

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller

Donald Miller, author also of Blue Like Jazz, explores his life and how God writes each persons life story. Yet we the main characters also have a big part in that. Some stories are good and others are not. A thought-provoking read on life and meaning. It had me pondering many things in my own life's story. It inspired me to want to make my story count for something.

This book was a book that really kept me reflecting on my own life. As Donald explores his own life when approached about making it into a movie, it forces him to ask the question, Why would anyone want to watch my life on the big screen?

Really if you were to live as if a video camera was taping your every move would you live any differently? That was pretty much the question that kept me pondering. Though it was not directly asked this way in the book it was how I processed this book.

Donald realizes his life could be so much more in order to make it into a better story. He goes on some interesting adventures because of this. He meets some really great people because of the risk. Overall, isn't that what life is really about anyway?

Though I do not agree with everything that Donald says or does in his book, I have been challenged to not be so judgemental of people who are different than me. I have really grown to like this man I do not even know through this review. I also have a copy of Blue Like Jazz that I could not finish earlier. I am now inspired to pick it back up and read it. Perhaps I will review it for you as well.

Because of the great generosity of Donald and the publisher, I have two copies of this book that are up for giveaway. Please leave a comment to be entered to win one of these two copies. I will post the winner on Saturday.

To purchase a copy yourself you can get it here.
You can also get it from Amazon here.
To visit Donald's book tour go here.

The Day My Heart Broke-One of My Greatest Hurts

I was hurt. Really hurt. I did not realize something so small could have crushed me in such a big way. We were returning from our annual retreat several years ago with our college group. We were being transferred in a school bus. On the way back we lose the air conditioning.

I find myself holding a child who has contracted hand, foot, and mouth disease that is feverish. The other child is sweating profusely. Students in the back are very hot, especially the ones sitting over the engine. We were in a very tense situation ourselves.

In the back of the bus grumbling started to rise up. You need to know that at the retreat, God did such great things in each person’s life. There was a new unity and new commitments to follow hard after Christ.

Now it seemed as what ground we had gained was slipping fast. Something within me stirred so strong. I jumped up to my feet and said, “NO! We are not going out like this! We are going to pray over this air conditioner and we are not going to complain. The enemy will not steal the ground that we gained while we were away. He will not have it!” I proceeded to tell them to lay hands on this air conditioner. I prayed a come back Jesus sort of prayer over this thing and I knew it would start right back up. After all God had always seemed to answer most of my prayers the way I prayed.

This not what happened.

I told the students to start singing praise songs to God. They started playing and singing. I took back my seat and wept. I think I wept for several hours. The air did not start working again. Why did God not answer this prayer? What will the students think of me? Most importantly, what will they think of God? Did I hear Him right? It was not my normal practice to pray over air conditioners. Did I let Him down somehow? Did I pray wrong?

I could not understand why God left me hanging out there like that. It took me months to recover from this moment. I am not sure why it took so long but it devastated me. It hurt my relationship with the One who I trusted so much.

God keeps reminding me not to worry about it. He keeps reminding me that I have no idea what He did in that instance. I just needed to trust.

God hears all our prayers. I believe He answers each one too. Maybe the answer was no that time. Maybe it was wait. I have no clue what God is doing in the lives of the others who experienced it.

I will tell you what I do know now.

I do not have a time in my life that I can remember not talking to God. Though no one really explained it to me it seemed to be a very natural thing. When hurts came my way God would draw me away to a quiet place and I would pour my heart out to Him. It was natural. It was a gift.

With that gift I had become spoiled. I have seen so many prayers answered the way I prayed them. It was a blessing. People started recognizing me as the "prayer warrior." The one they wanted praying about the big stuff. It was nice to be recognized. Although I did not intend for this to happen, deep down pride started building up in my heart. I started to trust in the blessings and provisions of God more than God Himself. Something had to be done. God had to teach me and draw me back to Him alone.
This was my too late submission to Pray Mag due to procrastination.

So, stirred by the Holy Spirit and with faith that could move mountains, I prayed that bus prayer. I was a fool in front of the entire bus because God said no that day. A crush to my pride had occurred.
God was not done yet. He had bigger and better things in store. Through this process of healing my hurt, He has deepened my walk with Him as I have learned to trust Him more. He has deepened our relationship and is teaching me to be a better prayer warrior. I am learning to trust His ways no matter what because even when I do not understand His ways are best.

On this side of the healing of my hurt. He has taught me how to pour out my heart like David. He has never ceased to be faithful.

I know can say I fully trust God as God not as anything else. May we will love Him just because of who He is not because of what He can do for us.

Copyright 2009 Refresh My Soul Ministries, Angela Parsley

Undercover Princess

Remember when we were little kids on the playground? We had silly disputes about our dads. We said things like, “My dad is stronger than your dad” or “My dad can beat up your dad.” Well, our Daddy as Christians is the King – The King of all Kings, God Himself. Read More. I am at Radical Revolution today.

Are You Creative?

I have been asked to speak at this conference. I am very excited about it because God the master Creator has made us in His own image. We are creative beings because of this. We take after our Daddy! There will be a great speaker line up and the best part is that you do not even have to leave your home.

I am giving away 5 free tickets for this conference. If you are interested just leave a comment about what makes you creative. I will post the winners on Saturday.
Thanks! Also, I would appreciate your prayers as I prepare for this.

To visit the conference website and also see other available conferences go here.

Fearless By Max Lucado

Max Lucado has done it again. I just love his ability to take tough topics and relate them to everyday life through brilliant stories and humor. We live in a society that can easily keep us paralyzed in fear, yet God has something different for us. Max's book will explore common areas of fear in our lives and how to combat them with the Word of God.

This is the kind of book that you do not want to put down. Brilliantly written and easy to read Max breaks down what Jesus has to say about fear. I was so inspired and motivated to walk stronger in the Lord after reading this. Max hits the nail on the head with key areas of fear that we struggle with and in such a timely manner. This book was written for such a time as this as we live in uncertainty of our economy, terrorism, and health care reform.

This book also has a great discussion section built in that would be very beneficial for small group use. I really encourage you to get this one. You will not be disappointed and will be able to move forward more confident in the Lord than ever before regardless of your circumstances.

Check out Max's Fearless Book site here.
You can get a copy of the book from the Thomas Nelson here.
You can also get a copy of the book from Amazon here.

Transparency

If you get a chance I want you to read this blog. post.

Prayers are appreciated and show some love if you can. This is a pastor that I deeply respect. He is my former pastor. He has always taught transparency and grace. I am thankful for him and what God did in our family while at his church.

Ministry can be so hard. You live in a fish bowl anyway. People judge you often. People misjudge your heart and intentions. When this happens in ministry it is even
more difficult especially in leadership. Though not perfect people expect it. The only perfect example is Jesus and as we behold Him we will love all of those around us more despite the imperfections. Please just show your pastors and other ministry leaders in your life love.

On a personal note the past two years I almost fell completely off the ministry call because I had gotten complained about, misjudged, talked about, gossiped about, and whatever else you can think of. Just because I wanted to help people to love God more. This almost crushed me. Almost made me quite. I fell into a deep pit of bitterness, anger, and depression. God though seemed too far away to get me out was never far. He was always there. He reached down and lifted me out of that pit. He strengthen me, healed me, and set me back on the Rock. I was free. Now I am stronger and know how to pray for others in ministry. It is no joke and not an easy thing. That is why we are to encourage one another DAILY.

I love you all and your support for me. I am forever grateful. You encourage me in ways I cannot even adequately express. Thanks for reading and loving on this ordinary girl who loves God and desires only to make Him known.

Hey all! Hope you have a great labor day weekend!!! I am over here today. Go check it out.

A Neat Ministry in Chattanooga for Working Women

Scenic City Woman's Ministry is a great ministry in Chattanooga. It's main focus is to women in the workplace. The ministry provides encouragement through Bible studies in the workplace, prayer walks in our city, monthly luncheons, and various events. Go check them out here.

I was honored to be asked to write an article for their newsletter this month. It is a testimony of mine about being lost in Christ so I thought I would post it here for you to read as well. I hope it encourages you in someway.

Finally I had made it to the place I desired in life. I graduated in the top of my class. I was ready to head out to graduate school. I had the job of my dreams in ministry. I was very happily married to my high school sweetheart and we had our first baby on the way. Life was great and all of my plans were quickly falling into place.

Oh, but the danger of all things focused on me. You see, all those things were great things but they were my things. God had other things in store for my life. Other things were coming. I came down with a debilitating illness, had to quit my job, drop my dreams for graduate school, raise a precious child while being very sick, and stay married. Marriage goes through some real tests in life’s school of difficulties.

I was disillusioned. All of my plans and dreams fell to the floor. It took me about a year to really sort that out with the Lord. It was a come to Jesus year. The Lord had other plans for my life but I was too stubborn at first to accept them. I thought I knew better. God sometimes has to teach us the hard way. Oh, and I learned but I didn’t like it at first. I lost the ability to be thankful in all things because again I was so focused on me not HIM.

After traveling through these difficulties and the years that would come along with them, God taught me what it was to be content in all things. He taught me how to grab hold of His Word and find in it His precious jewels to me. He taught me how much He loved me. He taught me how He desired the best for me. His plans were the better plans for my life. He would be my focus now, not me. I had to die to myself to live in Him.

Life is still hard. That is where we all are walking and learning as we journey this together in Him. That is where we need to come alongside one another and encourage one another like the Bible instructs us. We need to keep one another moving toward Him regardless the circumstances.

I can look back now and really honestly be thankful for all of it. I would not be the person I am today if I skipped those steps. I would not love God the way I do. I would not know Him the way I do. I would still try to avoid submitting to His plans. I have learned His ways are indeed the best ways.

Now I am well. I have two beautiful children that He has called me to home school (another story for another day!). He has given me and my husband a stronger marriage and a ministry of encouragement to other believers. He allows me to freelance for others. I get to now do the thing I love by being saturated in Him and His word. He knew what I needed. His ways are best. I hope you too can get lost in Him in whatever path He leads you on. It is worth it.