Our first meeting was this past Saturday and we had a good turnout of 14 people. Judging from the feedback I received, everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves and learn alot. Kathy Menk won our raffle copy of Redeeming Love; Congratulations Kathy! Everyone seemed to enjoy the door prizes and in the future if you would like to donate something for a door prize, please do so! Many thanks go out to our lovely hostesses at Beacon of Life Ministries, they did an excellent job and we look forward to having our next meeting there. If you read Traveling Light by Max Lucado and were unable to attend the meeting please post some feedback when you finish the book so we know if you enjoyed it or not. At the meeting we used the rating scale of 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest and among those at the meeting the book scored a 3 or higher with everyone. Many readers were happy to learn so much about the 23rd Psalm and enjoyed the light refreshing writing of Max Lucado. We missed those of you that could not make it to the meeting and hope that you can join us this next month!
As previously announced, our February selection is Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. This book is approximately 479 pages. The book has a note from the publisher, a prologue, 34 chapters, an epilogue, a note from the author and a study guide. If you would like to pace yourself through the month a suggested guide is as follows:
Week 1 = Publisher's note, Prologue, Chapters 1-9
Week 2 = Chapters 10-18
Week 3 = Chapters 19-27
Week 4 = Chapters 28-34, Epilogue and note from author
Many of you have already read Redeeming Love and look forward to reading it again with us. And many of you have already started and I am getting great feedback. I know this book is a little long for such a short month but please try to make the time to read it. It is well worth it.
Please, as always post any comments or questions. I will be blogging according to the above guide. Invite your friends and family, the more the better. I look forward to reading along with you! Happy Reading!
To comment on this post click on "comments" Type in your comment then where it has the drop down box click on "Name/URL" Type in your name, you do not have to have a URL. Then you can preview and post your comment.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
Forever.
Well we did it! We have read our first book! Or at least some of us have….! But that's okay!
Our last chapter is about how we will dwell in the house of our LORD forever. Truly this is the greatest part of the 23rd Psalm. Homesickness for our heavenly home is one bag our God doesn’t mind if we carry around. We have a great reminder that this home here on earth is NOT eternal but only temporary. So release those bags and as one of my favorite Mandisa songs say, “It’s only the world we’re living in.” Remember that as you wake up in the mornings and go about your days carrying around your baggage; all your problems are only the world we’re living in now, not what out true home is about. In the conclusion of the book, I love the way Max sums up the Psalm on page 163, make a copy of it and put it on your fridge. Let it remind you that God gives us everything we need to get through this life to the next and He is there with us following us along. I have to say though that my absolute favorite part of this book is the last paragraph of Chapter 18 on page 157 when Max writes about our homecoming into Heaven.
“By that moment only one bag will remain. Not guilt. It was dropped at Calvary. Not the fear of death. It was left at the grave. The only lingering luggage will be this God-given longing for home. And when you see Him, you’ll set it down. Just as a returning soldier drops his duffel when he sees his wife, you’ll drop your longing when you see your Father. Those you love will shout. Those you know will applaud. But all the noise will cease when He cups your chin and says, “Welcome Home.” And with scarred hand He’ll wipe every tear from your eye. And you will dwell in the house of your LORD – forever.”
If you haven’t read this book because you can't find the time or you have problems getting through self-help books, ignore those thoughts and excuses. I am pleading with you to READ it. It’s an easy read, the chapters are short and it is one you could even put in the bathroom! haha! Yes, self-help books are hard to get through but this is not your normal self help book. Every chapter has its own unique story and message. And this book’s message is something we ALL need to be reminded of at some time in our lives. If you are keeping a copy of this book for yourself I urge you to keep it handy and refer back to it whenever you feel yourself heavy burdened. Then pick up your Bible and look up all the great verses it mentions. Many thanks to Max Lucado for writing such a great book.
I look forward to our very 1st meeting tomorrow. I hope you are as excited as I am and I am equally excited already about our February book. I know you will love it.
Please comment on this post to let people know if you did or didn't like the book and if you would recommend it to others. Thank you to those that are reading the blog and you who have made comments!
To comment on this post click on "comments" Type in your comment then where it has the drop down box click on "Name/URL" Type in your name, you do not have to have a URL. Then you can preview and post your comment.
Our last chapter is about how we will dwell in the house of our LORD forever. Truly this is the greatest part of the 23rd Psalm. Homesickness for our heavenly home is one bag our God doesn’t mind if we carry around. We have a great reminder that this home here on earth is NOT eternal but only temporary. So release those bags and as one of my favorite Mandisa songs say, “It’s only the world we’re living in.” Remember that as you wake up in the mornings and go about your days carrying around your baggage; all your problems are only the world we’re living in now, not what out true home is about. In the conclusion of the book, I love the way Max sums up the Psalm on page 163, make a copy of it and put it on your fridge. Let it remind you that God gives us everything we need to get through this life to the next and He is there with us following us along. I have to say though that my absolute favorite part of this book is the last paragraph of Chapter 18 on page 157 when Max writes about our homecoming into Heaven.
“By that moment only one bag will remain. Not guilt. It was dropped at Calvary. Not the fear of death. It was left at the grave. The only lingering luggage will be this God-given longing for home. And when you see Him, you’ll set it down. Just as a returning soldier drops his duffel when he sees his wife, you’ll drop your longing when you see your Father. Those you love will shout. Those you know will applaud. But all the noise will cease when He cups your chin and says, “Welcome Home.” And with scarred hand He’ll wipe every tear from your eye. And you will dwell in the house of your LORD – forever.”
If you haven’t read this book because you can't find the time or you have problems getting through self-help books, ignore those thoughts and excuses. I am pleading with you to READ it. It’s an easy read, the chapters are short and it is one you could even put in the bathroom! haha! Yes, self-help books are hard to get through but this is not your normal self help book. Every chapter has its own unique story and message. And this book’s message is something we ALL need to be reminded of at some time in our lives. If you are keeping a copy of this book for yourself I urge you to keep it handy and refer back to it whenever you feel yourself heavy burdened. Then pick up your Bible and look up all the great verses it mentions. Many thanks to Max Lucado for writing such a great book.
I look forward to our very 1st meeting tomorrow. I hope you are as excited as I am and I am equally excited already about our February book. I know you will love it.
Please comment on this post to let people know if you did or didn't like the book and if you would recommend it to others. Thank you to those that are reading the blog and you who have made comments!
To comment on this post click on "comments" Type in your comment then where it has the drop down box click on "Name/URL" Type in your name, you do not have to have a URL. Then you can preview and post your comment.
No doubt
The story about Eric and Debbie in Chapter 17 paints such a realistic picture for Christ’s pursuit of us. He follows us wherever life takes us and He is there with us always. We sometimes doubt He was there when this or that happened or that He still is; but many passages in the Bible remind us that He follows us everywhere we go. Max makes a good point that even if we are faithless, God is still faithful and he still follows. He mentions several passages that are examples of when God has been following others in the Bible. It feels good to be reminded by Max that our feelings have no impact on God’s presence. Even if you are angry at Him, He is still there just following you along waiting for you to recognize His presence. Look up the examples he gives in this chapter about Christ following us all of our days. Release your burden of doubts. Just as David did, we should have no doubt of Christ’s goodness and mercy and that it will follow us all the days of our lives.
To comment on this post click on "comments" Type in your comment then where it has the drop down box click on "Name/URL" Type in your name, you do not have to have a URL. Then you can preview and post your comment.
To comment on this post click on "comments" Type in your comment then where it has the drop down box click on "Name/URL" Type in your name, you do not have to have a URL. Then you can preview and post your comment.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
My table is wet.
Jealousy. Envy. Both can come into our heart through our thoughts and cause us to rot inside. The more we concentrate on what others have; anger starts to come into our heart. We feel sorry for ourselves because of the stuff we don’t have. We are mad because someone’s husband did this for them and ours didn’t. Or someone’s child accomplished this and mine didn’t. Or someone got the bonus and I really needed it. Can you hear yourself thinking the familiar words? “I wish _______ was more like this.” Or “I wish I had that like _________.” Instead of focusing all that attention on the negative; think about the positive in your life. As Max states in chapter 16, our cup is overflowing with blessings and our tables are wet from it. Just look in the Bible and you will see your cup is overflowing with abounding grace and hope among many other things. I love the story Max gives about the Father and Son with the dirt. “One thing is certain. When the final storm comes and you are safe in your Father’s house, you won’t regret what he didn’t give. You’ll be stunned at what he did.” Take Max’s advice from the back in the study guide and make a list of some things you envy in others and then make a list of what God has given you in abundance. How does your list add up?
To comment on this post click on "comments" Type in your comment then where it has the drop down box click on "Name/URL" Type in your name, you do not have to have a URL. Then you can preview and post your comment.
To comment on this post click on "comments" Type in your comment then where it has the drop down box click on "Name/URL" Type in your name, you do not have to have a URL. Then you can preview and post your comment.
Redeeming Love Pre-Order
Kathy, our church secretary, will be placing an online order from Amazon.com on Monday 2/2/09. The book's are $10.19 each (free shipping; not sure if there will be tax on that). It is paperback with a study guide in the back similar to the one we are reading now. If you would like Kathy to order you one, She will need money on Saturday at the January meeting. She hopes you will be able to pick them up at the church by Sun, 2/8/09.
Books are also available at Books-a-million, Just Books and at the local libraries. If you have any questions or need anything please let me know or contact Kathy! Thanks!
To comment on this post click on "comments" Type in your comment then where it has the drop down box click on "Name/URL" Type in your name, you do not have to have a URL. Then you can preview and post your comment.
Books are also available at Books-a-million, Just Books and at the local libraries. If you have any questions or need anything please let me know or contact Kathy! Thanks!
To comment on this post click on "comments" Type in your comment then where it has the drop down box click on "Name/URL" Type in your name, you do not have to have a URL. Then you can preview and post your comment.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
You anoint my head with oil.
I hear that part of the verse and after having read these chapters it’s like a burden lifted off my heart. I am combining chapters 14 & 15 because I feel like the two go pretty well together, the burden of shame and disappointment. We do something we should not and feel shame which leads to disappointment in ourselves. Before reading this book I had no clue whatsoever about what that part of the Psalm meant. I just assumed it was something about blessing us. No doubt it is a blessing to have the LORD anoint our head with oil but I just did not make the connection with the sheep. Again I am in awe over how similar we are to the sheep. We need our Shepherd to take care of us.
None of us are perfect beings. We all slip up and have our moments when we feel shame. It’s so easy to fall in old habits and our shame can eat away at our heart. It will make us feel like we are not good enough for anything and it’s easy to start believing it. Well you’re not hiding anything from God, He knows your heart and He knows your shame. He wants you to bring what you are struggling over and lay it down before Him. Confess your shame over what you have done and He will lift your heart as you ask for forgiveness. And don’t’ forget to forgive yourself. Don’t carry around the emotional baggage. Go to the table the LORD has prepared and He will restore you.
Disappointments. We have them everyday. Sometimes big ones and sometimes lots of little ones. We are disappointed because someone didn’t take the trash out like we asked. We are disappointed because this is not where we saw ourselves in this stage of our lives. We are disappointed because we didn’t get the promotion. We are disappointed because we didn’t get in and out of the grocery store as quick as we thought we should. The list of thing we get disappointed on can go on forever. What have you been disappointed about today or recently? Where does it fall in scale to the big picture God has created for you?
It should come as such a relief the way the Shepherd takes care of His sheep; He also takes care of us. The sheep have to bow their heads to have the oil anointed on their head. Don’t you feel maybe you should bow your head in prayer letting go of your burdens to be anointed with the oil? Just because things don’t always go the way WE plan does not mean that they aren’t in God’s plans. You can ask “why” all you want now but it’s not for you to question his will. We have to trust him. I like the way Max Lucado wraps up the end of this chapter.
“The sheep doesn’t understand why the oil repels the flies. The sheep doesn’t understand how the oil heals the wounds. In fact, all the sheep knows is that something happens in the presence of the shepherd. And that’s all we need to know as well. “Lord, I give myself to you; my God, I trust you” (Ps.25:12). Go. Bow. Trust. Worth a try, don’t you think?” (Page 130 of Traveling Light)
To comment on this post click on "comments" Type in your comment then where it has the drop down box click on "Name/URL" Type in your name, you do not have to have a URL. Then you can preview and post your comment.
None of us are perfect beings. We all slip up and have our moments when we feel shame. It’s so easy to fall in old habits and our shame can eat away at our heart. It will make us feel like we are not good enough for anything and it’s easy to start believing it. Well you’re not hiding anything from God, He knows your heart and He knows your shame. He wants you to bring what you are struggling over and lay it down before Him. Confess your shame over what you have done and He will lift your heart as you ask for forgiveness. And don’t’ forget to forgive yourself. Don’t carry around the emotional baggage. Go to the table the LORD has prepared and He will restore you.
Disappointments. We have them everyday. Sometimes big ones and sometimes lots of little ones. We are disappointed because someone didn’t take the trash out like we asked. We are disappointed because this is not where we saw ourselves in this stage of our lives. We are disappointed because we didn’t get the promotion. We are disappointed because we didn’t get in and out of the grocery store as quick as we thought we should. The list of thing we get disappointed on can go on forever. What have you been disappointed about today or recently? Where does it fall in scale to the big picture God has created for you?
It should come as such a relief the way the Shepherd takes care of His sheep; He also takes care of us. The sheep have to bow their heads to have the oil anointed on their head. Don’t you feel maybe you should bow your head in prayer letting go of your burdens to be anointed with the oil? Just because things don’t always go the way WE plan does not mean that they aren’t in God’s plans. You can ask “why” all you want now but it’s not for you to question his will. We have to trust him. I like the way Max Lucado wraps up the end of this chapter.
“The sheep doesn’t understand why the oil repels the flies. The sheep doesn’t understand how the oil heals the wounds. In fact, all the sheep knows is that something happens in the presence of the shepherd. And that’s all we need to know as well. “Lord, I give myself to you; my God, I trust you” (Ps.25:12). Go. Bow. Trust. Worth a try, don’t you think?” (Page 130 of Traveling Light)
To comment on this post click on "comments" Type in your comment then where it has the drop down box click on "Name/URL" Type in your name, you do not have to have a URL. Then you can preview and post your comment.
February Book Club Selection
The February Selection for our book club will be a fiction novel based on the book of Hosea in the Bible. The book we will be reading is Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers.
California's gold country, 1850. A time when men sold their souls for a bag of gold and women sold their bodies for a place to sleep. Angel expects nothing from men but betrayal. Sold into prostitution as a child, she survives by keeping her hatred alive. And what she hates most are the men who use her, leaving her empty and dead inside. Then she meets Michael Hosea. A man who seeks his Father's heart in everything, Michael Hosea obeys God's call to marry Angel and to love her unconditionally. Slowly, day by day, he defies Angel's every bitter expectation until, despite her resistance, her frozen heart begins to thaw. But with her unexpected softening come overwhelming feelings of unworthiness and fear. And so Angel runs. Back to the darkness, away from her husband's pursuing love, terrified of the truth she no longer can deny: Her final healing must come from the One who loves her even more than Michael Hosea does... the One who will never let her go. A powerful retelling of the book of Hosea, Redeeming Love is a life changing story of God's unconditional, redemptive, all-consuming love. (The above is from the back of the book cover.)
The publisher has a warning in the front of the book that the content of the book is PG-13 material. There are two book covers available that I have posted here.
The local libraries have copies of the book available. I will post more information if a group order is placed. We will be raffling off a copy of this book at our January Meeting. Entry to the raffle is $1.00.
This book has been at the top of my reading list for a LONG time. SO many people have recommended it and for some reason in December I just felt called to read it. I did and I could not put the book down. I had to stay up till 2:00 one night finishing it and crying through the ending. It truly is a powerful story of God's redeeming love he has for us and how we will only be fulfilled with his love. After reading it I just knew it had to be our February selection.
I enjoy getting feedback on the blog and hearing that people are reading it. Sometimes I wonder if I am just writing for myself! hahaha! Please comment on the book and post any questions you have, we may be able to use them during our meeting. Happy Reading!
-Amber
To comment on this post click on "comments" Type in your comment then where it has the drop down box click on "Name/URL" Type in your name, you do not have to have a URL. Then you can preview and post your comment.
California's gold country, 1850. A time when men sold their souls for a bag of gold and women sold their bodies for a place to sleep. Angel expects nothing from men but betrayal. Sold into prostitution as a child, she survives by keeping her hatred alive. And what she hates most are the men who use her, leaving her empty and dead inside. Then she meets Michael Hosea. A man who seeks his Father's heart in everything, Michael Hosea obeys God's call to marry Angel and to love her unconditionally. Slowly, day by day, he defies Angel's every bitter expectation until, despite her resistance, her frozen heart begins to thaw. But with her unexpected softening come overwhelming feelings of unworthiness and fear. And so Angel runs. Back to the darkness, away from her husband's pursuing love, terrified of the truth she no longer can deny: Her final healing must come from the One who loves her even more than Michael Hosea does... the One who will never let her go. A powerful retelling of the book of Hosea, Redeeming Love is a life changing story of God's unconditional, redemptive, all-consuming love. (The above is from the back of the book cover.)
The publisher has a warning in the front of the book that the content of the book is PG-13 material. There are two book covers available that I have posted here.
The local libraries have copies of the book available. I will post more information if a group order is placed. We will be raffling off a copy of this book at our January Meeting. Entry to the raffle is $1.00.
This book has been at the top of my reading list for a LONG time. SO many people have recommended it and for some reason in December I just felt called to read it. I did and I could not put the book down. I had to stay up till 2:00 one night finishing it and crying through the ending. It truly is a powerful story of God's redeeming love he has for us and how we will only be fulfilled with his love. After reading it I just knew it had to be our February selection.
I enjoy getting feedback on the blog and hearing that people are reading it. Sometimes I wonder if I am just writing for myself! hahaha! Please comment on the book and post any questions you have, we may be able to use them during our meeting. Happy Reading!
-Amber
To comment on this post click on "comments" Type in your comment then where it has the drop down box click on "Name/URL" Type in your name, you do not have to have a URL. Then you can preview and post your comment.
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