"Never be afraid" and more quotes

~Saturday Stories~

“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” ― Corrie ten Boom

“Faith is not the belief that God will do what you want. It is the belief that God will do what is right.” ― Max Lucado

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” ― Jim Elliot

“God can't give us peace and happiness apart from Himself because there is no such thing.” ― C.S. Lewis

How about you? Which quote touched you? 

Take the time to... LISTEN

~Friday for Friends~

This is the first in the "Take the time to..." series. 

  "Stop listening to instruction, my son,

    and you will stray from the words of knowledge."Proverbs 19:27 (NIV)

"My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry," James 1:19 (NIV)

   "Sin is not ended by multiplying words,

    but the prudent hold their tongues." Proverbs 10:19 (NIV)

There are times to speak. And there are times to listen. Take time today to just be quiet and listen. 

What do you hear?  

The world's in turmoil

~Tuesday Thoughts~ 

Not long ago my best friend forwarded me an email: Into Iraq #2: What the News isn’t telling You & Why We Can’t Afford to Pretend It’s Not Happening [Sozan’s Impossible Choice — and Our Very Possible One]. It's about what ISIS actually does to families. And, believe me, this is not the worst. 

The place that touched me the most was this: 

“We had to choose…” Sozan looks up at me. Mawra’s eyes are squeezed tight — like she’s trying to forget.

“We had to choose which children we could take — and which we had to leave behind.”

I have not followed up on the ISIS news. I do not know most of what is happening in Asia. But now I want to do better. 

The truth is we cannot afford to ignore the problem. We cannot sit around and hope it ends. There are enough people in the world doing just that. Let's not be one of them. 

But what can we do? How can we help these people and others like them?

1) Pray. And I mean it. The Bible tells us that "The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." (James 5:16b, NIV). 

2) Donate. You might think that you don't have enough to give. But the widow did not have much to give, yet Jesus praised her. 1 John 3:17 declares "If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?" (NIV). 

3) Spread the word. Let others know that there is struggle in this world. 

Let's live out this verse in our lives: 

"Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth." 1 John 3:18 (NIV)

How about you? What can you do?   

Give me your eyes

~Monday Movies & Music~

"Give Me Your Eyes" is an AMAZING song by Brandon Heath. Here are the lyrics. 

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others." Philippians 2:3-4 (NIV)

Look around you today. What do you see? Who do you see? How can you help?

When trust backfires

~Saturday Stories~

Tessa Emily Hall does writing prompts every couple of weeks. Not too long ago I joined in.

I'd told one too many people what my dream job was. That meant I'd told exactly one and he told me exactly what I didn't want to hear. The evening was growing dark and the only light was my mom doing something in the kitchen. Swinging on the porch together I thought I might as well since we'd been together for about three months. And I'd prayed about it, right? That he -or somebody- would get it that my dream job wasn't just a silly ole cliche. But as I looked into his eyes and said that secret that nobody else knew I saw the spark die out in them. He was bored. He didn't care. He said that I made my own choices and, well, I didn't have to include him all the time. And then that guy slipped into silence for exactly three seconds before saying "I like another gal. Would you mind much?" So I guess boyfriends are just like an audition: about a thousand girls vying for that one that actually cares.  Only one gets him. It sure wasn't me. Anyway, on September 7th I stepped into New York on my own with absolutely no one beside me or cheering me on. Scratch that. I had God. I breathed in a sigh of relief. He knew. He cared. And He wasn't too bored to stick with me.

Have you ever trusted in someone just to have it backfire on you? What helped you get on your feet again? How has God proven to you that you can always trust Him and lean on Him?

Rebuke?

~Friday for Friends~

Our friends do wrong things. Sometimes on purpose, sometimes not, but they do sin. Just like us. And the truth is that it's often easier to let it pass than to mention it. We don't want to be judgmental so we just don't say anything and hope it'll go away. 

Yes, we are not supposed to judge. But sometimes we need to rebuke.

"“If your brother or sister[a] sins,[b] go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’[c] If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector."" Matthew 18:15-17 (NIV)

"Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted." Galatians 6:1(NIV)

Here's some more on the topic.

It might be hard to decide if you should rebuke your friend or not. So pray! A bunch. And let God guide your words.

The new Book Reviews page

Hey, everyone!

I've worked some and now have a new page for my book reviews. Instead of the reviews being shown one after the other, there are now a few lists. The reviews are classified as "Books I enjoyed", "Nonfiction", "Fiction:by age", and "Fiction: by genre." Do check it out! The link's also on the right-hand sidebar in the "pages" place.

God bless you guys!

"When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you[a] alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross." Colossians 2:13-14 (NIV)