Book Review - The Year of Living Like Jesus

Zondervan sent me a free copy of this book for my agreement in reviewing this book.

This book was about a very interesting journey that the author took over a period of a year. Just take a second to look at the beard on his book cover picture. That was just one interesting part of the journey. I found the book very thought-provoking. It continually challenged my heart and how I viewed others.

The book also gave me great insight into what living like Jesus was like under all the traditional Jewish customs of the times. Doing something like that today would be very difficult as Ed finds out. It is a great privilege to be living in the period of grace and not the law.

Though I am not sure I agree with everything Ed wrote in his book it was still his personal journey. It gave me some things to continue to ponder through. The journey in my eyes was a very admirable thing for him to do and I deeply respect the journey he undertook.

As a personal side note there were a couple of sections that ministered deeply to my heart about God and Jesus and illness. God used Ed to minister to those places in need through his journey and insights. I have disclosed my various health battles through these years and Ed is a man on his own tough journey. He did inspire me deeply.

To get your own copy from Amazon go here.
Check out Ed's website here.
To see what others are saying go here.

Girl's Devotional - Let The Water Flow

Today I am over at Radical Revolution, the teen ministry for Proverbs 31, Go over and check it out. Looking for relevant spiritual growth material for young girls, check us out. Here.

A Tribute - Marriage Monday

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To my sweet man, I know we started out way rough. Rougher than most. We had all odds stacked against us. We were not meant to last. But through Christ and His most amazing grace we have made it this far. I adore you. I respect you and would not want anyone else leading our family.

Though we were not sure if we would make it so many times, I can honestly say I am thankful. I got to have a front row seat and be a participant of God's amazing redemptive work. I got to see how trash could really be refined into treasure. I got to see miracles take place before my eyes. I would not be who I am today without you.

Thank you for sticking through it with me. Life is hard but we have each other with God at the center and with that we cannot fail. Thank you for being the vehicle that God used to teach me true and lasting love of the unconditional form. I am blessed beyond measure by you. I love you!

Homeschooling - Heart of the Matter Online

I just love that homeschooling can be something the entire family can experience together.

Just as not all people are gifted in all things, so perhaps they should not teach all things.

In our home, I teach from a curriculum just because it helps me stay focused and accountable. I adore the privilege I have to teach my children. I teach them best the things I like the best. All individuals are limited in certain ways and that is why we absolutely need a whole family approach. Read more.

Halloween

I love the fall. It is probably my favorite season. Yet there is one part of the season I dread. That is Halloween. Though I believe most participate in innocent fun, there is still a connection that this day has with evil. It is a very real evil that many of us fail to remember exists.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ~Ephesians 6:12

My former pastor has written a great post on Halloween. What real evil is happening out there close to home. It is good info and a good read. Check it out here.

God Confides in Me?

Then the LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?
~Genesis 18:17

Ponder that question? God came from Heaven with two other men to personally visit Abraham.
The purpose of this visit in the earlier verses was so that they could deliver the news that Abraham and Sarah were to have the child God promised this time next year.

What a personal God we serve! First He didn't have to deliver the news that way. He already told Abraham about 25 years ago when he made a covenant with him. Of course along the way and with too much waiting Sarah told Abraham to take her maidservant and have a child through her. That was not God's plan. They tried to rush it.

I like how normal Sarah and Abraham were. Don't we after all try to rush God as well. He has given us many promises and sometimes we think if we just help Him a bit then it will come to pass in our time frame. God is God. He doesn't need our help or us at all to accomplish anything. Yet the high honor is the He chooses to.

He delights in allowing us to partner with Him in His work. He delights in the personal relationship where He personally shares things with us. He delights in this. He created us for Himself. We are His children and what good-willed Father would not want to enjoy relationship their children?

Verse 17 above is God saying that He wanted to share His work with Abraham. He wanted to tell him what He was up to in the world. I am so baffled by that. God wants to share the things He is up to with us. Here is another verse I like regarding this then I want to get back to the amazing text on intercession.

The LORD confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.
~Psalm 25:14

The word for confides in the Hebrew text connotes the term in a way that a person would speak to a friend. I LOVE that. God as our Friend confides in those who fear Him. I believe Abraham had a great healthy fear of God. Was Abraham perfect? By no means. God is looking to people whose hearts are inclined toward Him. Abraham was one of those. He also feared God. The word for fear is simply the fact that we are so in awe of God. He could swish up like a bug but instead He chooses to make us His friend. It doesn't get anymore amazing than that. The God who places each star in place and tells the ocean where to stop. The God of all Creation. The God who raised Jesus from the dead wants to confine in us. He wants to be our Friend. Now that is something to really rejoice about.

Here is some more of the reason that God chose to share with Abraham.

¹⁸ Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. ¹⁹ For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him."
~Genesis 18:18-19

God knows the plans He has for us. It was through Abraham (and Jesus of course) that we became a part of this line of people. Galatians 3:29 says, "If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." So because of this he is part of our heritage and the blessings that come with it are also ours in a spiritual sense.

Then God tells Abraham the problem.

Then the LORD said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know." ~Genesis 18:20-21

Why would God tell Abraham something so hard to hear? Why would He chose to share this with Abraham? Abraham wasn't the first man God shared hard things like this with. Psalm 106:23 tells us where Moses also plead before God about the people. So we see Abraham respond in a similar way.

Then Abraham approached him and said: "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?"

The LORD said, "If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake."
~Genesis 18:23-26

Abraham is amazing to me. He knew God's heart. He knew He could approach God and ask Him questions about His ways. Abraham could not understand God's ways much like us. God's ways are God's ways, our minds are not like His to understand. Plus we do not see the entire picture that God does. But God loves our respectful questions. It is how we get to know Him better. To know His true heart. What bold question Abraham asked as well, "Will not the Judge of the earth do right?" Wow. That is a bold question. But I know he asked it in respect because he did not understand God's way.

I love God's response to Abraham. He did not have to change anything but for the sake of his intercession God does. Think on that for a second. Because Abraham stood in the gap for the city, God ceased to destroy it so quickly. God listened to Abraham and He did not have to. Yet He delighted in Abraham and His heart.

The rest of the passage Abraham continues to ask God about a smaller number of people by fives all the way until he gets to only 10 being left. God agrees in each request to not destroy it. When you read those remaining passages you get an even better glimpse of Abraham's heart and great fear of the Lord. At each new question he says, "though I am nothing but dust and ashes, what if" (v.27), and "may the Lord not be angry" (vv.30,32).

The last number they come to is if there are 10 righteous people left in the city it will not be destroyed. God is so good and merciful. We must understand thought that His ways are bigger than our ways. As it goes, the city was destroyed so there had to be less than 10 righteous there. I love though how God allowed Abraham to speak with Him and intercede for the people. It is an amazing privilege.

What people has God allowed you the privilege to lift before His throne?

Do you ever sense God sharing something with you that you know you need to bring before His throne? Ever been woken up in the middle of the night with someone on your mind? Pay attention to these cues, God may want to share something with you so you can stand in the gap in prayer for the person.

Redefining Beautiful - Jenna Lucado - Book Review

Seeing how I love to work with youth, I was thrilled at the chance of reviewing Jenna Lucado's book, Redefining Beautiful. I have received a free copy of the book from the publisher for an honest review.

The book is about how God defines beauty. Our world, peers, and many other things influence our opinion on what beauty should look like but if you are a follower of Christ that definition of beauty is different.

Jenna does a great job in defining this God-defined beauty in several relevant life areas. As a bonus there are also great little snippets in the book from her dad, Max Lucado.

I think this is a great read or Bible study for young girls to do alone or with a group. Jenna does give you some questions to ponder all throughout the book as well that would be great for personal study and small group discussion.

To purchase a copy from the publisher go here.
To purchase a copy from Amazon go here.