"LIFE APPLICATION STUDY BIBLE DEVOTIONAL" BOOK REVIEW AND GIVE-AWAY"

Good Evening and Lots of Smiles to Everyone!
Tonight's post is dedicated to a WONDERFUL Book titled "Life Application Study Bible Devotional" written by Tyndale and Livingstone. The Subtitle is Daily Wisdom from the Life of Jesus - the GOSPELS. I am still in the midst of reading it of course, but I am really getting a lot from it. I received this complimentary copy from Tyndale Publishing Company.

This book has a tendency to "suck you right in" to the devotion, because of the way it is written. It makes you feel like you are there while it's happening.

It is easy to read and understand, yet a person gets so much from it. It is constructed in a way which causes reflection. It has four short sections to each days devotions: reading the word (where you read a specific passage from the Bible), Talking to God ( where it helps you to understand what you need to pray for to help you understand better in the specific devotion), Setting the Scene (which give the background of what is happening in the passage along with reference verses), and last but not least, Getting Personal, (which asks reflective questions, along with a summary of what lessons should have been gained by reading and studying this devotion.

As an example, today's Devotions is for Week 40, Day 3, "The Way Of Blessing". The Passage it is about is John 13:12-20 and is written from the NIV version. I won't type the whole passage, but it is about when Jesus washed the disciples feet and His explanation to them. After reading that comes the section of Talking to God, which gives us an idea for prayer such as Acknowledging our own human tendency to focus on our own needs, instead of others. It says to ask God to give us a central focus of worshiping Him and enjoying His presence, and a secondary focus on the needs of those around us. In other words help us to realize that our main focus should not be on ourselves, but others.

Setting the Scene gives us the picture of what is going on and the actual lesson which Jesus is teaching His disciples.

The devotional then "Gets Personal". It asks questions for us to ponder. Not quick yes or no answers, but questions like When have you received unexpected service? What settings might give you opportunity for service?

At the end of the devotion is a piece of wisdom we can always put to use such as,

We cross a significant threshold in spiritual maturity when we set aside our own needs and desires and watch for God's direction in meeting the needs of others.

I truly am enjoying this book because I don't have to read, and re-read the devotion as I do with many others , because I forgot what it said. The way this Devotional is set up makes it a fantastic study guide as well as a daily "reflective" Devotional. I look forward to each day's devotional, and sometimes even continue on through several days because it is so easy and informative.

If I were to have to rate this book, I would give it 4.75 stars out of 5, (the quarter missing is because I like Hard Backs rather than soft as I am very hard on bending the bindings). Of course this DOES NOT take away from the content or the beautiful writing style of the book.
I would recommend it to anyone and everyone. My favorite books to read (next to the Bible) are Daily Devotionals and so far this is the best one I have found. It's simplistic format, the way it is broken down makes it easy to keep up with and understand.

It is a great book from teens on up.

Thank you for also letting me share tonight's devotional with you, even if it was the abbreviated version.

I am also hosting a GIVE-AWAY for this Wonderful Book! The only entry requirements are to Follow my blog and leave a comment stating just that and how you think this book will help you in your daily life. Unfortunately, it is limited to U.S. entries only.

Hurry and Enter as it's only going to last a week. Remember to comment for each separate thing, one for following and another for how it will help you in your daily life. Be sure and leave your e-mail address on your comment as well, so I will know how to notify the winner. I will use Random. Org to determine the winner on October 6, (Thursday) night at 9:pm.

Good luck to those who enter. This is a really nice book, even though it is a soft cover. I know whoever wins it will gain lots of knowledge and get lots of enjoyment out of it.

Good Night To All and May God Bless!

Give Away Results and The Spirit of Holiness

Good Evening to All!

I realize I'm running a bit behind and I apologize for that I have been trying to figure out how to put the Random.Org generator in my post, but as of yet I have not figured it out. I got to thinking (and that's dangerous) I only had 3 people enter, I can have up to 3 winners, so guess what ? WE ALL WON!
Congratulations to

Lynette of Crazed Mind

Lori of Lori's LOLs

Lidg from Crown of Beauty!

I will be sending each of your names and mailing addresses (when you send them to me) to the Hachette Book Group company. So please get you shipping addresses to me remember they have to be in the US or Canada as soon as possible preferably within 2 days ( by Saturday by the latest). Thank you!

That shows how excited I was about the Give Away, I was hoping and giving more time to get more entries, but you three caught it lucky ! Yay!
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And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead... (Romans 1:4 KJV)

According to the Amplified Version it states: [As to His divine nature] according to the Spirit of holiness was openly designated the Son of God in power [in a striking, triumphant and miraculous manner] by His resurrection from the dead, even Jesus Christ our Lord (the Messiah, the Anointed One). ( Romans 1:4 amp)

Now, I didn't realize this before, but I kind of have a problem with these 2 versions not quite matching up to my understanding. While the King James Version uses a lower case "s" on spirit (meaning not the Spirit of God), the Amplified version capitalizes it which gives the verse a different context. What I am saying is there are many "spirits" there is a spirit of anger, a spirit of poverty, a spirit of hatefulness, and likewise a spirit of holiness. These are all attitudes, and mannerisms, if you will . For example you have probably heard someone say there was an "air" of disappointment in the room, meaning a feeling of people being disappointed or there was tension in the room, meaning you couldn't touch it, but you knew it was there because you felt it in your being. Those are spirits. The Spirit is pertaining to God, the Holy Spirit. So with that being said the spirit of holiness pertains to the way we act, dress, talk in essence the way we are. If we act like a Child of God, we abide by His ways, read His Word, pray to Him ask Him for His input in our lives, then we have the spirit of holiness within us. Yet, when we are baptised into Christ, and are buried with Him (under water) in the Name of Jesus, and our sins are washed away, then according to Acts 2:38, we SHALL RECEIVE the Holy Spirit.

Now As I have said many times, I am not a preacher, I am just a lover of God and His Word, so there are a lot of questions which I do not have the answers to , and I am not a "learned Christian, meaning I have never attended a theological college or studied the Bible except in a normal Bible study under someone a lot more knowledgeable than myself, so I might not be looking at this verse closely enough to understand it's full meaning. Actually, this difference I had not noticed until I started my post tonight and looked at the devotional I was going to read and post about, but I believe God showed my that difference for a reason. I mean to glance at it, a person normally wouldn't have thought much on it, but it REALLY POPPED out at me.

God definitely want us to be holy. He instructs us in 1 Peter 1:15-16. This is why
He died, and sent the Holy Spirit back as a comforter, and a teacher to give us peace in our hearts and to teach us and guide us into All truths. We could never make it to heaven without Him. We alone cannot resist temptation. The devil is too sly, too subtle. He mixes just enough truth in his lies to be able to deceive us. Without the Holy Spirit to guide us we wouldn't know the difference. The Holy Spirit ( God within us) touches our hearts and tells us what to do to be holy, what "junk" to get out of our lives and hearts to cleanse our souls. This is the Spirit of Holiness working of the spirit of holiness in our lives.

Give-Away Winners PLEASE SEND ME YOUR SHIPPING ADDRESSES. NO P.O.BOXES PLEASE. The faster I get them the faster I can e-mail the Company, the Faster you get your Book.

Lidj, I hope you have a shipping address that isn't a PO Box, maybe a relative or someone if not your own home.

Good Night to All and May God Bless!

GOD USES ALL KINDS

CLICK HERE to Enter the Book Give-Away for "Raising The Dead" by Chauncey W. Crandall IV, MD

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And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; (12) For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-12)

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I had originally planned to go a different direction and explain the difference between each of the callings, but after reading and researching here is what I discovered. The main thing is that ALL of them were and are called to declare the Word of God to the People.

Pastors have the highest and most important post because He is responsible for guidance, as well as preaching and teaching the Word. It is his responsibility to preach and help us to know what God expects from us, and how to live for God. The "teachers" are just that. They are suppose to teach us lessons from God's Word to help us get along in this life, yet still maintain being a Christian unless we have the knowledge and the "spiritual weapons" to do so. Evangelists: These are "traveling preachers", although their main concern in their messages are people receiving Salvation.

As Children of God, it is all of our responsibility to spread God's Word. This is one reason God says to hide His Word in our hearts. There may come a time when we come across someone who is in real need of encouragement from God, or guidance from Him and we may be the one who is there to give it. He has given each of us certain gifts, but it is up to us whether we choose to use and develop them or not.

While we need to be cautious about who we listen to because God does warn us about false preachers, God uses all kinds of people. some may not be well educated, (even the Bible says some of the disciples were unlearned), but that is the purpose of the Holy Spirit. He is to teach us and lead us into All Truths. So this tells me that someone who studies the Word (even on their own), spends a lot of time with God in Prayer, and has an intimate relationship with Him is one whom I would trust to give me a Word from the Lord. I have several ladies in my church to whom I can go to with questions and would take their word just as easily as I would my Pastor's, because I know their hearts are as close to God as one can be. I sincerely believe that He places people in our lives for a specific time and specific reason. He places these people in our lives specifically to help and build up believers, for "the full equipping of the saints" to help us in our spiritual warfare.

I can't and won't say that I was specifically chosen by God to proclaim the Word of God. What I will say is that I feel that it is my duty as a "True Christian" to do so, especially because of the demoralization of the world's status. Not only that, I enjoy talking about God. He is my favorite subject. I can't help but feel that if He is the main thing I talk about, then somewhere along the line, something I say to someone will be just what they NEEDED to hear, and will change their life for the better. We need all of the outspoken Christians we can get to proclaim the Word of God and Salvation we can get. The latter days are here, and the time is drawing nigh for Jesus' Return. When it's my turn to stand in front of my Creator, I want Him to see that I did all I could to bring people to Him and lead them toward Salvation. I look forward to hearing the words "Well done, thy good and faithful servant".

I encourage you to allow God to speak to you through whomever He chooses and to not resist a message from Him by rejecting someone He sends to speak His word to you. After all, He used a donkey to talk to Baalam, so why is it so difficult to believe that He would use an "average" person to send you a word from Him?

Another way of edifying God or building up "the church" is by the use of "Spiritual Gifts".
The Spiritual gifts are Wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, divers kinds of tongues, interpretation of tongues. God divides these gifts among His people as He sees fit.

We must pray, and focus on God's Will, to know which He has given to us. Then use it. The main key, though, is faith. We must have faith that Our God will hear our prayer and do as we ask. according to His Word. After all, His Word does say in John 15:7, If ye abide in Me and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. This is only one of many verses that say if we know His word and will believe in Him, and His ability, what we ask, He will take care of. Without faith, our gift is useless. After all, it is God that works through us. not our own abilities.

Remember: God places certain people in our lives for a reason. Learn to enjoy a variety of people and the gifts God has placed in them for your benefit.

Good Night to All and May God Bless! Don't forget to enter my book give-away! Remember you get one entry for each way that you follow me and also one for letting me know your Blog Frog Identity!

I don't know why it keeps disallowing comments, hopefully it's fixed.

"Raising The Dead" GIVE-AWAY!

Good Evening to All!

Give-Away! Give-Away! Give-Away!

Hatchette Book Group.com is allowing me to have a Give-Away for"Raising The Dead" even though it has been a week since I posted the Book Review. I wanted to refresh your mind on what the book was about so I re-posted the Review. Unfortunately, this Give-Away is restricted to the US and Canada only.

There will be 3 count them THREE winners. I don't like Give-Aways that last very long, (I even have to wait til the last minute to buy Christmas presents otherwise I tell everyone what they're getting!) Anyway, it will only last a week so be sure and enter. The way to do that is Follow on Google, Twitter, and Facebook. Separate comments for each letting me know that you are doing it, and also for an extra one let me know if you are on Blog Frog and how to reach you. That way you will also get something even if you don't win a book. You will get a new follower! Be sure and leave a comment for that. That will be four comments in all. Oh! Before I forget, also be sure and leave your e-mail address in your comments so I can get hold of you if you win! Ok . The Give-Away starts now at 7:30 PM on October 14, and will last until 6:PM on October 21, 2010. Good luck. This is a fantastic book. I wish I could get you all a copy! Enter! Enter! Enter!


RAISING THE DEAD

This book titled “Raising The Dead” by Chauncey W. Crandall IV, MD is about faith and obedience. The book opens in an emergency room where a man was brought in having a massive heart attack. The doctor on duty, Dr. Crandall, worked and worked to save him, but to no avail. Dr. Crandall felt compelled to defibrillate him one more time. This was the shock which brought Jeff Markin back to life after being dead for 43 minutes and being prepared for the morgue. I received a complimentary copy of this book from Hachette Book Group and no other compensation.


by Chauncey W. Crandall IV, MD

“Raising The Dead by Chauncey W. Crandall IV, MD tells Dr Crandall’s personal story of the journey that his faith took him on and the way it intertwined with his profession as a Cardiologist. I must say, as a person who is just getting back in to the world of reading, I, who finds it hard to read more than 3 or 4 pages before having to put the book down (because of eyesight) found this book so riveting and encompassing, I could not put it down for at least a chapter at a time. The only reason I had to put it down was because my eyes got tired. I called it encompassing because Dr. Crandall brought me into his book. It was though I was right there with him and his family as they went through the turmoil of his son’s illness. He talked about how the leukemia affected his whole family, including their other son, Christian who was Chad’s twin brother. Yet, all the while, not only keeping their faith in God in tact but increasing it.

I have read quite a few inspirational stories in my day, but this one brought me to my knees. I cried with them when they hit brick walls with the doctors, I felt the discouragement with them when the treatments didn’t last, and rejoiced with them when Chad went into remission, but most of all I was inspired and felt the love of God from them and the love for them from Him.

Their faith even made me take inventory of myself. Yes, I have faith in God. Yes, I act on my faith “sometimes”. Their story made me sit up and take notice. I am going to start not only believing on what God can do, but acting on it also. This is a must read for anyone who’s faith is shaken, or even those who “think” they have a lot of faith. This family LIVED in faith.

I definitely recommend this book for EVERYONE, people of all walks of life, from the richest to the poorest, for all denominations, faith should be had in all religions and denominations. Even those people who don’t seem to think they have faith. I guarantee if they read this book it will change their outlook.

In accordance with the FTC Rules, all of the comments and opinions expressed in this Book Review are my own.

Good Night and May God Bless!

UPRINTING DIE CUT CARDS GIVE-AWAY

Good Morning Everyone!

Well, this is my first actual Give-Away for anything other than one book. These designer cards are really nice, and after checking out their website, to actually order from them seems pretty reasonable also. Anyway, back to what y'all are mainly interested in. THE GIVE-AWAY.
Believe it or not, before this Give-Away, I did not know what "Die Cut" meant. They can make them in different shapes and sizes. They are really neat looking! I hope you will check out their website (link below).

Have you priced business cards lately? They are not exactly cheap! Well how would you like to try your hand at winning 250 self-designed cards? UPrinting is having a great give-away for them. You can use them for everything from promoting your blog or your business to like I am going to do and put my blog's title and url on one side and an uplifting scripture on the other to hand out to people when I see them. Who doesn't need uplifting on a daily basis? I know I do.
It always makes me feel happy when I receive a card with a sweet saying or a scripture on it.

There is no limit to what you can dream up to use these neat little cards for! UPrinting has some really neat looking cards with all kinds of options which you can design from. Get your imaginations going for what you can use them for and what you want them to look like. Get ready to get noticed. Get ready for more business. Appearance means so much in business today! There is so much competition! Get the edge by designing a "snazzy business card that will tell people to "sit up and take notice". Everything from flamboyant to ultra-business-like. It's your decision. I just clicked UPrinting.com and they have some beautiful examples of their work. Check them out!

Give-Away Entry Deadline September 29, 2010.

Giveaway Prize:

250 Die Cut Business Cards for One (1) Winner

2 x 3.5”, 2 x 2” (square card) or 1.75 x 3.5” (slim card)

Die cutting options available: Rounded Corners, Leaf, Rounded One-Corner,

Half-Circle Side, Circle

Paper Type: 14pt Cardstock Gloss, Matte, or High Gloss; 13pt Cardstock Uncoated

Color: 4Color Front, Blank Back; 4Color Front, Black Back; 4Color Both Sides

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Just 2 little entry requirements:
Separate comments for each requirement please

Follow my blog - leave comment
Leave comment and give an idea of what you would use them for if you win.

Limited to US residents only 18 years old and above

Disclosure: This Giveaway is sponsored by UPrinting. The giveaway prize will also be given to me for hosting the giveaway.

Book Review - "Should We Fire God" & GIVE-AWAY

Good Evening to All!

My First Book Review, so please be gentle.....LOL!
The Title of the Book was called "Should We Fire God?" by Jim Pace and comes to me through the the generosity of Hatchette Book Publishers . Yes, I know, I must admit at first when I saw the title I was a bit offended abut then I noticed the "subtitle "Finding Hope in God When we Don't Understand, so that reassured me. After all, He is our Creator. He can do NO WRONG... Right?

Please forgive the photography. One of these days, I'll learn how to take a picture.

BOOK REVIEW

Jim Pace is a Co-Pastor at New Life Christian Church at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. He not only was the Co-Pastor there, he had just graduated from there some years earlier. He helped found the Ecclesia Network, a group of churches devoted to discussing and learning from the emergent church movement.

What got him started on this book was when a lady in his church e-mailed him questions about where God was during the September 16, 2007 Virginia Tech Shootings. There were 32 dead, and 17 injured, not counting the people who were injured trying to get away. Anyway, Pastor Pace was at a near by coffee shop when the first shots rang out. Needless to say, there is A lot of personal feelings poured into this book, which makes me feel closer to the author.

I really enjoyed the book. It is definitely one that I will read over again. It is very thought provoking and it has "reflection questions" at the end of each chapter which I like. This book is full of information. It covers Biblical history about how even great people of the Bible such as Abraham, and Gideon doubted God's ability or His reasoning, it has Pastor Pace's personal experiences and his reservations, and he talks about his family.

When we think about God, for some reason we tend to think about what He can do for us "in the now" rather than what He did for us when He was here, walking on earth. We spend our time thinking why didn't He keep that tornado from doing so much damage. Why did He let that gunman kill all those people. That's all well and good, but when we start doubting His ability and His reasoning, we need to think about what He did back then. Healing those He came in contact with and even those He didn't. ( The centurion's daughter) The Centurion had the kind of faith that We need to have today. Jim Pace brings that back to my mind today. We act like spoiled little children when God doesn't come to our rescue EVERY TIME. (My words not his), but he does say that we start to EXPECT God to do something all the time and therefore we take HIM for granted and don't show our appreciation when He does help.

This book covers instances stemming from individual losses to massacres, to World Problems, and Pastor Pace discusses how we should NOT give up on God, nor "Fire Him". He knows better than we do what needs to be done. After all He knows the past, present and future of everything and everyone. Pastor Pace brought up the Parable in Matthew 14:24-30 about the farmer and his wheat, where the farmer's workers went to him and said there were weeds in the wheat that needed to be removed, and the farmer told them to let the wheat and weeds grow together until the harvest then they would separate the weeds from the wheat. If they had tried to separate it too soon, then the wheat would have been uprooted also. Thereby destroying both the good and the bad. That is why God holds off at helping us at times. Well, why couldn't we just tighten the belt a little bit. Just help a little more? Another point he brought up was the fact that if someone started making a list of what God should help with, where would it end? I've heard people say take away the pain. The problem there lies in the fact like Pastor Pace says, we need pain. If all pain is taken away and someone steps on a piece of glass, but doesn't have any pain, complications would definitely set in. Infections would be inevitable maybe even foot or leg amputation. God knows best. We need to let HIM do His "job" and praise Him all the time, whether He helps us right then, or not.

He brought up the fact that even though we know God's there, we wonder if he can handle everything life throws at us. Which of course the answer is "yes", but at the time of our trials and tribulations, the doubt sets in. We don't stop to think that there is a reason why God does not intervene EVERY TIME, and NO it's not punishment. He always comes back to the conclusion that even though we have our doubts at the time, God has a GOOD reason for not intervening in EVERY instance. He reiterated what I have said many times. If everything is good all the time, and if He got us out of our problems EVERY TIME, then we would have lost our freedom of choice, and not only that, we would begin to take it for granted that HE would be there and expect it rather than appreciate it. I think this book should be number one on a reading list of those who have gone through personal loss, doubt, and anger at God. I'm not sure, but I think that includes about everyone of us that breathes.

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PLEASE BE SURE AND LEAVE A COMMENT FOR EACH ACTION you do, be it Following on Google, Facebook or Twitter. If you already follow, leave a comment saying you already follow and would like to be entered in the Give-Away. Don't miss out by not leaving comments. The book is really good.
Thanks! PJ

BOOK REVIEW GIVE-AWAY

PLEASE, PLEASE, Leave a comment for each action. Each action is one entry. Therefore each entry is one comment.
The Give-Away will last 2 weeks, at which time I will turn to Random. Org. for the winning numbers of the comments. the Afternoon of March 27 is the deadline for entries. You have up to 4 chances -1 for each requirement. The conditions will be the normal ones, such as Leave a comment maybe giving me a little advice how to make my book reviews more interesting. Follow me on Google AND Facebook (if possible for you) as I am trying to get past 20 followers on Facebook so I don't have to search for my blog every time I go to Networked Blogs site, and Twitter. Be sure to leave a separate comment for each thing you do as they will count one entry each. There will be 3 winners.

Good luck to y'all! I know whoever wins this book will definitely enjoy it.

May God Bless!

Challenge Answers, Give Away and Inspirational Words

Good Evening to All!

First let me say thank you to all that entered my Give-Away! I realize that it was a quick one, but patience has never been one of my virtues, and I was excited about it. Anyway, I should be having another one pretty soon, and it will go on for at least a week.

Now I would like to Congratulate Valerie, at Sew Not My Day as the winner of the Devotional Book by Bob Perks.

I hope you like it.

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Bible Challenge Answers:

1. c) with Paul in Rome under house arrest, preaching and teaching (Acts 28:16-31)
2. Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians,
3. 1 & 2 Thessalonians
4. c) he wrote part of it in large letters (Galatians 6:11)
5. b) Galatians (Galatians 5:22-23)
6. a) the church at Colosse (Colossians 1:2)
7. c) Thessalonians (2 Thessalonians 3:10)
8. b) 1 Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians 4:16)
9. d) by Paul to Timothy (1Timothy 1:1-2, 2 Timothy 1:1-2)
10. False--Philemon was a slave owner. (Philemon)

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Daily Inspiration from the NIV

Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 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.

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Ephesians 6:11-13

This has got to be one of my favorite verses in the Bible. I have recited this so many times. It reminds me that I am not alone fighting the battles that intrude in my life. It helps me not only to feel more equipped to handle what may come, but also that actually, these are not my battles at all. They are the LORD's . If I let Him, He will fight my battles for me. Just like He fought Joshua's battle, David's battle, along with many more. He did that back then, and He does it today, but ONLY IF WE ALLOW HIM. He gives us the tools to protect ourselves, such as His Word, Faith , Righteousness, and others but when it comes down to it Prayer and Fasting is the best weapon, because when we are at our weakest that is when we are strongest because we let go of our pride and ask God for His help in any dilemma or problem which may come up.

Good Night and May God Bless!

Bible Challenge-"Books of the New Testament "& Give Away

Good Evening to All!

I'm doing something a little different tonight. I am typing the Bible Challenge, but for one thing even though there is another part to the Old Testament Books Challenge, I chose to move on to the Next challenge which is the New Testament Books. It seemed as though not as many people were commenting or enjoying the last couple of Challenges (the Old Testament Books). Now, the difference I am talking about is that I am also going to have a Give-Away. I have a neat little Devotional Book Titled "I Wish You Enough" Embracing Life's Most Valuable Moments one wish at a time by Bob Perks, to give away for taking part in my challenge. The rules will be as follows: (1) Follow me. (2) in my comment section, leave the answers to at least 2 of the challenge questions. Be sure to leave the number of the questions you are answering as well. (3) Click on Lynette's Blog Crazed Mind and tell her you participated in the Challenge. ( She provided me with the Wonderful Devotional Book. Out of the entries, I will then put your names in for the drawing from Random. org for this book. I wish I had more to give away, but I am planning another Give-Away hopefully soon. This is my very first Give-Away so I am excited to see what happens! This is a beautiful little book, well written and would be a wonderful "coffee-table" addition, or to start your day off in the right frame of mind with God in the fore-front. I know whoever wins this will enjoy it. Good Luck to All who participate! I will accept entries through 7:pm tomorrow night so that I can post the winner along with the answers to the Bible Challenge about 8:pm. Please forgive me as photography is definitely NOT one of the gifts God gave me.


Speaking of Give-Aways, There is a really neat one going on at Red Wagon Flights by Just Joany, so be sure and check her blog out and enter.

On with the Challenge. Books of the New Testament

1. How does the book of Acts end? (Acts 28:16-31)

a) with Peter's death
b) with Paul's death
c) with Paul in Rome under house arrest, preaching and teaching
d) with Nero ordering the destruction of Philippi


2. Put Paul's letters to the Colossians, Ephesians, Galatians, and Philippians in the order in which they appear in the New Testament.

3. In which of Paul's letters do we read of Christ's return?

4. What was physically odd about Paul's letter to the Galatians (Galatians 6:11)

a) he wrote it on the inside of a cloak
b) he wrote it in tiny, almost unreadable letters
c) he wrote part of it in large letters
d) he wrote part of it with red wine

5. Paul listed the fruits of the Holy Spirit in which epistle?

a) 2 Corinthians
b) Galatians
c) Ephesians
d) 2 Thessalonians

6. Who, exactly were the Colossians of Paul's epistle? (Col.1:2)
a) the church at Colosse
b) the church at Colossius
c) the church at Columbus
d) the Christian gladiators of the Roman coliseum

7. Paul taught the ____________that if a man doesn't work, he doesn't eat.
(2 Thessalonians 3:10)

a) Romans
b) Ephesians
c) Thessalonians
d) Hebrews

8. In what letter did Paul state that "the dead in Christ shall rise first" at Jesus' return?

a) 2 Corinthians
b) 1 Thessalonians
c) 2 Timothy
d) Hebrews

9. The two letters of Timothy were written: (1 Tim. 1-2) and (2 Tim. 1-2)

a) by Timothy to the churches in Antioch and Smyrna
b) by Timothy to the churches in Antioch and Jerusalem
c) by Timothy to Paul
d) by Paul to Timothy

10. True or False: Philemon was a Roman slave. (Philemon)

Once again, Good Luck on the Give Away!



Good Night to All and May God Bless!

Allowing God to Mold Us Only Makes Us Better

Image via Wikipedia

Inspirations from the NIV

Oh LORD, you are our Father.
We are the clay, you are the potter;
we are all the work of your hand.

Isaiah 64:8

We are God's workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus to do good works, which
God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:10

May you be blessed by the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

Psalm 115:15
The Lord is our Creator. Shouldn't it be fitting that we allow Him to continue to shape our lives the way He sees fit? He is the Alpha and Omega, Beginning and the End. Therefore, He sees us from before we were in our mothers' wombs until the day we die. He knows what our futures hold, and what is best for us. He knows us better than we know ourselves. I would think that He could do a much better job at making our decisions and running our lives than we can alone. I would like to challenge everyone that reads this post to pray about every decision you make, and give Him a chance to answer and tell you what would be the best approach to whatever your question or decision to be made. If you don't already do this, please try it for maybe just 3 days and see what happens. Then let me know how it made a difference. Not the personal things necessarily, just in general. I know your decisions will be for the better if you let God have the reins.

Good Evening to All!

First thing before I do anything else, I should confess I feel so ashamed. I totally forgot to mention a public thank you to Nessa of Ramblings of a Texas Housewife for the book I won from her Give Away. It's called Extraordinary. I haven't got to start on it yet as I have been trying to read some others which she so kindly allowed me to borrow. I do however look forward to reading it. Just from her review and the jacket, it definitely sounds like one I will enjoy. I have to say, this is great! I wish I'd known about blogging a long time ago. I belong to Crossings Book Club, and the books I usually buy from them range from 16.99 to 34.99. I have drastically cut my housekeeping clients because my hubby wants me "free" to go on trips or grocery shopping (we go to the military bases) without having to rearrange my schedule all the time. Anyway, I've gone from 9 to 3 in the last few months. Needless to say, not only were my clients decreased, so were my wages. I haven't bought a book from Crossings in quite a while as a matter of priority, so these books which I have won in the Give Aways, (I also won Sleigh Bells from Cathy at http://www.latte4me.blogspot.com/. I'm excited about receiving that one as well.

Yaya, I want you to know that I am keeping you in my prayers continually about your adoption chances. Those kids are adorable. Oh, to be 30 years old again. When I tried "way back when", we didn't measure up because "the powers that be" said because we were military we couldn't provide a stable home life for children, and well, I think I told you about the other reason. I don't wish for any couple that want children, and that would love children to be barren. As old as I am now, I still regret not being able to have children or adopt.

I got tickled when I was reading your blog about The Buzz. I remember Brandi saying that she would like to put more of herself in her blog instead of filling it up with Give Aways and so on, yet I, myself would like to be able to add some Book Reviews or Give Aways to mine. I'm always afraid the post is "too wordy" and too much to read. As you can tell, I have a tendency to go on, and on, and on...... maybe some "fillers" will help that. My husband always tells me I talk too much. The problem is, I type like I talk. LOL.

I think I will give y'all a break and close for tonight.

Good Night to All and May God Bless!

PJ

"AN INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD"

Image by Ampliato [ Edu ] via Flickr

Good Evening All!

It is so important for each individual person to have that special, intimate relationship with God for our Salvation.

Not just because it will help us to get through our troubles, depression, or darkest hours, but also being able to feel the joy of knowing that He loves us so much and all He asks in return is that we love Him enough to trust Him and do His will.

Our Salvation should be the "cornerstone" of our being, as it determines where we will spend our lives in eternity.
In my last article, I wrote about what you might call the "pre-requisites" of Salvation, although I consider Acts 2:38 to be one of the most important scriptures in the Bible. The reason I say this is because those 3 steps Begin the process of "being saved". From the accomplishment of those steps, it is a life-time journey and a life full of choices we must make as to whether we are going to live for God or not. These constant choices will determine whether or not we will stay in line with God's will and be saved.
Not only are we to repent, be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit, but we are to live our lives for God. This is where that "special" relationship comes into being. The more we get to know Him, the closer we will feel to Him and the easier it will be to live according to His will. It is not in the "human nature" to make sacrifices, especially for something or someone we cannot see or feel in a tangible manner. This is the reason to grow into this special relationship with Him.

We are to show people His love through our love and consideration of others. He wants us to be "doers" of His Word and not just "hearers", putting His words into actions. He placed us here to do just that. The Bible says, 1And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'

God wants a two-way relationship with us. He loves us so much that He died for us and all He asks in return is that we love Him also. When you love your spouse you would do anything for them, you talk to them, and you are constantly getting to know them better and better each day. The same applies to God. To love Him, we must get to know Him by reading and studying His Word, as this is where we find His characteristics, His desires, and His expectations for us. To love Him means to pray to Him. He wants us to pray without ceasing. We should continually lift Him up by our Godly actions, speech, and attitudes. Also He wants us to need Him; to ask Him for things. 2And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

We must show our faith in Him, and things will come to pass for we cannot please God without faith. 3And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

People have said "I don't know how to pray". In God's Word, it states that 4there is a friend (Jesus) who sticks closer than a brother. It calls Him our "friend". Why then do people have trouble "talking" to God? If He is our friend, why can't we speak to Him like one in a regular conversation? It has been done many a time and gotten results just like when prayers are spoken in the format of "dear Father", or Our Father who art in Heaven. As long as you talk to Him it doesn't matter how you say it.

The song "Unanswered Prayers" comes to mind. There is no such thing. He ALWAYS answers prayers. The trouble with people is if they don't see positive or tangible results, they tend to believe He isn't answering. He is. It might just be No, or Wait, it's not time yet. We have to remember, with God, there is no beginning and no end. He sees the past, He is in the present, and He sees the future. He always knows what is best for us because He knows where we came from, where we are and where we're going. Whatever the case, you will get answers whether they are the answers you are expecting or not.

If you think about the content of this article and maybe even implement some of what has been brought to light within the last article and this one, you will have a richer walk with God and if you don't have any kind of relationship with Him at all and start praying and reading, you will notice a BIG difference within your spirit. Take "baby steps". Even God says babies have to drink milk before they can eat meat. You have to start out small and work your way up. Our God is so vast that a person could study their whole life and still not know everything about God. It is not meant for us to know everything.

It is hoped that you have been given some "food for thought", and that you enjoyed the meal. Receive many blessings from this article and God Bless You ALL.


References: The New King James Version Holy Bible
1Matthew 25:40
2Philippians 4:19
3Hebrews 11:6
4Proverbs 18:24

Give Away and Good Vision In a DownPour

Hi Y'all!

I keep starting my blog a little earlier and a littler earlier hoping eventually I'll be able to get it completed before midnight. I first wanted to tell y'all about a Book Give-Away.

Nessahttp://www.texashousewife.com/ is where you can find this really neat Book Give-Away. It sounds like it will be a very interesting book. The name of the it is Cult Insanity. (Please forgive me. I was always taught in school to underline the title of a book, but I don't see a place on here that enables that function. I will leave the description and review up to Nessa, but check it out.

I did however, get another tid-bit of information through an e-mail. As I have said before, you may have received this, and if so, please forgive me, but I enjoy bringing either important news or alerts and useful hints to those who may not have received certain e-mails. So here it is:

GOOD VISION IN A DOWNPOUR

How to achieve good vision while driving during a heavy downpour. I can vouch for this!!
We are not sure why it is so effective just try this method when it rains heavily.
This method was told by a Police friend who had experienced and confirmed it.
It is useful...even driving at night.
Most of the motorists would turn on HIGH or FASTEST SPEED of the wipers during heavy downpour, yet the visibility in front of the windshield is still bad.......
In the event you face such a situation, just try your SUN GLASSES (any model will do), and miracle! All of a sudden, your visibility in front of your windshield is perfectly clear, as if there is no rain. Make sure you always have a pair of SUN GLASSES in your car, as you are not only helping yourself to drive safely with good vision, but also might save your friend's life by giving him this idea..
Try it yourself and share it with your friends! Amazing, you still see the drops on the windshield, but not the sheet of rain falling. You can see where the rain bounces off the road. It works to eliminate the "blindness" from passing cars/trucks spraying you too. Or the "kickup" if you are following a truck or car in the rain.
They ought to teach that little tip in driver's training. It really does work.
(End of E-mail)

It's hard enough for me to see in good weather with sun shades on, so I'm a little leery of trying this myself, but if any of y'all try it, let me know for sure if it works. Hey! I guess if we drove cars and trucks like this one we wouldn't have to worry about the glare, huh? We just have to worry about catching pneumonia Ha! This is a 1917 4-wheel drive Model B Pickup Truck.

Well, guess I'll close for now. Hey! Juls, if your out there, get to feeling better!

Good night All and May God Bless! (I love that! I remember listening to Red Skelton say that every week on his variety show when I was growing up! OOPS! Did that date me?

PJ