Set your mind on things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

12.19.2013

Book Review: Blessings for the Evening


Blessings for the Evening: Finding Peace in God's Presence
By Susie Larson

I love this book! Each devotional is a simple yet calming read before bed. I love how it includes Scripture with each reading. The encouraging and peaceful words are perfect to read after a long day. Each page has a new and beautiful colorful picture! My husband and I have made it routine to read one every evening and I am looking forward to using this book with my kids each night when tucking them in bed. Also would be a wonderful book to give as a gift! I received free copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers as part of their book review program in exchange for my honest review in my opinion.

2.09.2013

Book Review: To Honor and Trust

To Honor and Trust
Bridal Veil Island
By: Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller

This was the third book of the Bridal Veil Island series. I haven't read the first 2. I received this free copy from Bethany House to review. I really liked this story and finished the book in a few days. I never found it dull, maybe a tad predictable like most romance novels, but I still really enjoyed reading it! I liked what period it was written in and really felt like I was back in 1913. I could really relate with the main character and her heart break and learning to trust a man again. How both main characters were very unsure about their futures, but consistently trusted in God and sought Him out in prayer with a desire to do what He wanted. In the end their futures were joined, two paths became one, and they were off to Africa to serve. It was and encouraging book and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it!

1.31.2013

ten dollars

How much does $10 dollars mean to you?
A few months ago I signed up to receive a glam bag once a month for $10 a month. Glam Bags apparently are all the rage now and there are several options and sites to sign up on. I opted for one that I could cancel anytime. Basically what it is are beauty product samples that are sent in a little makeup bag. It can range from mascara to nail polish. It was really fun to receive it every month and you never knew what you would get, but you got at least 5+ things each time! I recently started cutting back my spending and cancel my subscription.
Then I was checking out a friends facebook page and for their birthday they wanted a $10 donation to an orphanage in Kenya instead of people giving her a gift. There was an option to do it monthly. I have been supporting an orphan in Togo since last year so I didn't select the monthly donation at this time, but it made me stop and think. I was paying $10 a month for several months for this silly little glam bag, which I don't NEED I just WANTED and the products I don't use as much. And here was an orphanage that could make my $10 go alot farther for the furthering of God's Kingdom...ALOT farther than makeup.
I've been reading Managing God's Money by Randy Alcorn. The person marrying us is having Ryan and I read it. I highly recommend it! There is one part that talks about strategic lifestyle and a simple one. IF you are living a strategic lifestyle then what you invest your money in will be used for Kingdom purposes. It is all about perspective...! This website might help you see that. It is quite eye-opening to see where you land on the scale. I'm in the top 11% percent  of the richest people in the world! And even if I only made $1500 I would still be richer than 75% of the world!
After spending almost 2 weeks in Togo I started realizing how much I really have! Right now planning and spending money on a wedding sometimes seems a bit ridiculous to me when I saw how little money there could go so far! I could help a family with a goat and a bible (a goat to help their lifestyle and a bible for their souls) for just $35. If I took all the money from this wedding and put it towards that it would help over 170 families in Togo. I'm not trying to be ridiculous here....I want a nice wedding and it's a once in a lifetime thing...but this has still crossed my mind.
Another part in the book I enjoyed was about what you leave behind, your legacy. Why save up bucket loads of money when I can use it for God's Kingdom now! Some parts in this book are quite radical, but it this part makes sense to me. He also does address the need to enjoy vacations and little comforts for the renewing and refreshing of our mental, physical, and emotional health. So it's not like he is saying to leave everything and "follow" Christ, but there is a part about that I really like to, which I won't go into right now.
"What may strike us as radical, when compared to those around us, even in our Christian culture, seems not to be radical at all when compared to the teaching of the Scripture."

1.15.2013

First Book Review

I received a free copy of this book from Bethany House to review! This is my first time writing a book review and I'm so excited to have this opportunity! This book is non-fiction.

Real Life, Real Miracles: True Stories That Help You Believe
By: James L. Garlow and Keith Wall


This book is inspiring! I received a free copy from Bethany House to review it. I started reading it right away and couldn't put it down. It went in spurts though. When I would pick up to read I would read several at a time, but it wasn't always the first book I would want to pick up and read. Some of the stories get repetitive. For example, the medical stories of how certain illnesses are miraculously cured! It is always amazing to read that, but I felt that there could different subjects of miracles.
Otherwise, the stories are short and directly pointing at how miracles do still happen to this day! I felt overwhelming emotion reading some of the stories and they were so encouraging. They leave no doubt that God is at work in our lives and He is all-powerful and a loving God!