Book Review: Together with Christ

My Review of Together with Christ: A Dating Couple’s Devotional

(The author of this book is Chelsea Damon)

This book contains 52 devotions and Bible studies to nurture the reader’s relationship with their significant other. It is an easy read that offers answers for life’s challenges and doesn’t shy away from tough topics.

The author encourages the reader to, in the author’s words: build a strong foundation on mutual love, faith, and understanding before saying “I Do.” It’s definitely a field guide for relationships from the dating stage to the wedding day and beyond. This book is filled with nuggets of wisdom from a young woman (Chelsea Damon) who has learned a lifetime of lessons on love and is willing to share it with the world.

Chelsea is a blogger at Living the Sweet Wife where she shares advice on marriage and family to an audience of 100,000 each month. In this book, she shares her heart with sweet stories about how she met her husband Josh. But she doesn’t shy away from giving the reader a real glimpse into the conflict that they have experienced in their relationship.

The way that Chelsea offers advice to readers is honest, relevant and captivating. I read this book in one sitting. She knows how to catch your attention in the start of this book with situations that everyone experiences (the first chapter is about open communication) and she smoothly segues the reader from one page to the next. Before the reader knows it, they would have consumed 157 pages of valuable information and may want more.

For the reader who wants more, there is an option of revisiting the chapters and delving deep into the advice for your prayer life that Chelsea has included for enrichment. Revisit the chapters and seriously make those prayers your own and if that still isn’t enough then read Chelsea’s blog.

I enjoyed reading this book and found it to be something to treasure. If you are a woman who wants to get married and have a Christ-centered marriage or you’re already married but having struggles, this book is for you!

Together with Christ is worth every bit of a five-star rating. Bravo to the author for creating content that inspires the heart and encourages the reader.


*I, (Alexis A. Goring), received a complimentary copy of this book (Together with Christ: A Dating Couple’s Devotional) from the author’s publisher for me to read. My opinions in this book review are my own.

~*~
Author Bio:

Chelsea Damon is the owner and creator of the blog, Living the Sweet Wife, where over 100,000 people read her advice on marriage and family each month. She also works as a content marketer for the New York City tech startup Scouted. 

She, her husband, Josh, and their two children spend their time looking for new places to hike and explore beautiful Washington State. Chelsea and Josh met while attending Liberty University, where they grew in their faith and dated for three years. They were married on the windy coast of Washington in 2013. Six months later they found out they were pregnant with their son.

Throughout their dating and marriage relationship and into parenthood, they’ve been learning what it means to live loving God and loving others in a self-love world. 

For advice on marriage and family, read her blog or follow Chelsea and her family on Instagram @chelsealeighdamon.

Devotionals for the Heart: Service

On Service
A devotional by Lisa Lickel

“If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.” – John 13:14-15 (ESV)

Before I moved to a new community last fall, I had volunteered for a number of years, driving people to medical appointments or shopping, or helping service organizations or non-profits with bookwork, cleaning, and the like. I helped out with secretarial duties at our church. I enjoyed those activities; they felt like service. But I realize service shouldn’t be relegated to volunteer activities.

The example Jesus gives is for everyday life. To me, in my modern lifestyle, that means actions of kindness like filling the car with gas, washing dishes or laundry, making the bed, taking care of the yard, or cleaning the bathroom. It’s not a matter of your job/my job. It’s a matter of “ought to.” It’s a matter of giving way or giving in to each other. It’s a matter of outdoing each other with showing honor (Romans 12:10, ESV).

A Christian discipline of service rises from gratitude, not from authority. It is seeing a need and meeting it, not forcing “help” on someone just because it would be easier or faster if I performed the task. It is patience, not self-righteousness, never self-serving. Service is Christian humbleness. “When we choose to be a servant, we give up the right to be in charge,” Richard Foster says in Celebration of Discipline. “There is great freedom in this.” Amen! When we allow others to direct our efforts we surrender any form of ulterior motive for service. We might even allow others the dignity of seeing their own mistakes and correct them without needing to point it out.

There is great joy in loving Christ so much that it spills all around me. I can’t help but stop and be that third temporary hand, the one who picks up dishes so the conversation can continue, who changes the diaper, who lends a ride, who gives a drink when asked, to shut up and listen. I don’t pretend to hear every internal cry. I haven’t yet done more than meet my own need to volunteer in two areas I love in my new community.

Some days I’m still growly and grumpy when things don’t go my way. I’m unhappy when I don’t feel appreciated. In every sunset, every hymn, every blooming wild geranium, the Lord breaks through and reminds me that life isn’t about me. I’m released from the cage of narrow vision, of narrow-mindedness in which I’ve locked myself. I don’t have to be the greatest (Luke 9:46, ESV) and I can allow myself to be used as the servant of all (Mark 9:35, ESV).

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, as it would please you, bring me someone today whom I can serve.

~*~
Author Bio: 

Lisa Lickel is a Wisconsin writer who lives in the rolling hills of western Wisconsin. 

A multi-published and award-winning novelist, she also writes short stories and radio theater, is an avid book reviewer, blogger, a freelance editor, and workshop leader. 

She is a member of Chicago Writers Association and part of Novel-in-Progress Bookcamp and Writing Retreat, Inc., mentoring writers from across the US and Canada. 

~*~
Connect with Lisa:
Website: http://www.LisaLickel.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lisalickelauthor
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/lisalickel
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lisajlickel
Amazon Author page: http://amzn.to/2bPxi2X

A New Year's Devotional for your heart

Today marks the first day of a new year! Welcome into 2017!

Are you looking forward to this new journey? I am hopeful, for many reasons.

Please welcome a new face to the blog, Lynn Kinnaman! She's an author and ministry leader with a heart for Jesus Christ. Today, she's here to share a devotional about taking a fresh start in life.

I hope that your heart will be encouraged by her message.

God bless you!

~*~

A New Beginning – A Fresh Start

A New Year 2017 post by Lynn Kinnaman

I’m not much for resolutions, but I do feel a renewing with the beginning of a new year. After all, we’ve just come off the season of the birth of Jesus, the hope of the world, and we know the promise of salvation that He brings.

However, one January many years ago found me desolate. I felt no hope and couldn’t imagine a future. My life, as I’d known it, had disappeared.

I was getting a divorce.

I’d met my husband at church when I was 15, and on my 16th birthday he gave me a ride home from a youth event and we became an item. A little over three years later we got married and a few years after that we were blessed with two children.

Having a family meant everything to me. As an only child of divorced parents, I’d never really experienced the closeness and warmth I’d read about in books, and I relished the idea of building new traditions.

Then it was gone. After 28 years of marriage I had to begin again. The problem was, having gotten married so young and identifying myself as a wife and mother, I didn’t think I was anyone by myself.

In addition to the divorce, we’d also gone through bankruptcy. I had no job, no credit and no ideas.

Stripped of all the things that I thought had defined me, I was forced to figure out who I was and what I should do with the rest of my life.

I could crawl under the bed and hide, which was very appealing, or I could make some changes.

I knew I wasn’t alone. Through the darkest times of the divorce and bankruptcy I prayed and God sustained me. I was angry, I was frightened, I was hurt, I was shattered. I went to church and cried. Yet He never left me.

I felt unloved. He loved me and rejoiced over me (Zephaniah 3:17).

I felt betrayed. God was constant and He keeps His promises (Deuteronomy 7:9).

I felt abandoned. God is faithful (Deuteronomy 31:6).

I felt tired. God gave me the strength I needed (Isaiah 40:31). 

I moved, for the third time in months, and stayed with relatives in another state. I found a church, got a job, and learned a new skill, building websites.

It’s been years since I had to make that massive new start, but I haven’t forgotten the lessons I learned about how to do it.

First, I needed to get grounded. I needed to reconnect with God and find a community of friends who would support my faith and encourage my focus on Him.

Then, I needed to honor my losses but also go beyond myself so I could begin to count my blessings. This wasn’t immediate, it’s a process, but I got a job working with an organization that used animals for therapy for people who had injuries or other disabilities. It was a daily reminder of healing potential.

Finally, I wanted to help others. In 2 Corinthians 1:4 it says that God is the father of compassion and all comfort, “who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” I wanted to make that a reality so I took a coaching course and later becoming a Divorce Care Facilitator.

I’ve written books on divorce recovery, comfort verses and began a group called Solo Sisters to create a community for women, who are single for any reason, to support and encourage each other.

My fresh start opened a new path for me, but it worked because I committed it all to Him. As I remember that dark January long ago I realize God has blessed me beyond my imagining. Today I appreciate this new year, and feel full of joy and possibilities.

You don’t need a life-changing event to create a new beginning. If you don’t like where you are, imagine where you’d like to be, commit it to God then put one foot in front of the other. Before you know it, you’ll be on your way.

~*~
Author bio: 

Lynn Kinnaman is a published author and website designer. She’s a Stephen Minister and founder of SoloSisters.com, welcoming women who are single for any reason. 

She’s been published in Chicken Soup for the Soul. You can see a complete list of her books and publications on her official website, LynnKinnaman.com.


~*~
Connect with Lynn:
Website - LynnKinnaman.com
Ministry - SoloSisters.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/LynnKinnamanAuthor/

Words of Faith: Terry's story about finding what was missing in his life

One Man’s Forty-Year Itch
A Words of Faith story by Terry Dodd

For the forty years following high school I lived without the guidance of the Holy Spirit. I don’t mean I lived a life of crime or addiction, or even of randomness. No. It was worse than that. I was at the top of my profession. I had a wonderful marriage, my three grown children were all happily married, and my golf game was better than at any time since my early thirties.

What was the problem? All I knew was that I had an overwhelming feeling of something important missing in my life. In retrospect, I think of the Israelites who wandered in the desert for forty years. Moses did his best for them, but he may as well have been herding cats. In my case, other than for a rare wedding or funeral, I had not darkened a church door in forty years. One routine I rarely missed, however, was a Saturday golf game.

Although I did not know a lack of Christian faith was my problem, I was anxious to scratch the unrelenting itch in my life. One day, I received a flyer from a church I had driven past innumerable times over the previous sixteen years. It read: “Instead of watching Elvis re-runs this Saturday night, come as you are directly from the golf course at 6:30 to a new Saturday Sabbath service and hear about the true King.” From the golf course! I found that curious, but dismissed the idea. The following week a second flyer arrived. It, too, said to come from directly from the golf course. I thought, "Why not? I can then check that item off the list."

My first thought coming out the door of the church afterward was curiosity about having remembered the words to the hymns of my youth. I was certain the experience was nothing more than a fluke. I said as much to my wife of thirty-seven years, who I did not know had been praying for me since our first date in high school. I told her I would repeat the experience the following Saturday, but I doubted Jesus was my problem.

The second time I came out of the church my thought was slightly different: Have I come home? My wife and I began attending church on a regular basis. Sadly, however, I also had an ulterior motive. I had just shelved the first draft of a manuscript for a novel I had been writing during the previous year. It was built around conversational conflict through a casual golf match involving an atheist, an agnostic, a skeptic, and a Christian. The story didn’t work because I hadn’t a clue as to creating a fictitious resume for the believer. My veiled thinking was that perhaps if I better understood the “born again” concept, I might be able to salvage my manuscript.

Therefore, merely for the purpose of research (or so I thought) I would begin reading through the Bible. I was energized by the stories in Genesis, Exodus and the first ten chapters of Leviticus. But as the action slowed, I decided to jump ahead to the gospel. Things started out well in the book of Matthew. I only got as far as Matthew10:32-33, however, before I hit a stumbling block. Verse 32 was fine in that Jesus was saying, “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.”

Verse 33 was the problem: “But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.” Disown? That person would be personally disowned by God? Guilt crushed me. That had come on the heels of absorbing the idea of man’s sin being so great that the sinless Jesus came down from paradise to be born of woman, to live among man, to give up His life for us, and be raised from the dead. All for me! The thought of being disowned by God was emotionally and spiritually overcoming. It was at that moment He revealed Himself to me. I realized I had to respond. What else could I do but go to my knees in surrender.

I shared the experience with my wife and then with a pastor at the church. A few weeks later, we joined the church. Two months after that, on Christmas Day of 1996, at my daughter and son-in-law’s home in Jacksonville, Florida with my wife, mother, and granddaughter present, at age fifty-eight I prayed aloud in publicly confessing that I was a sinner in need of forgiveness. I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior and asked Him to come into my heart.

Not only had my itch cleared, but much more importantly I had become a new creation. Not only that, but through God’s having freed me from my captive state I was also enabled to rewrite my manuscript and independently publish it. Ten years later The Foursome would win for me the 2012 Eric Hoffer Book Award in the Legacy Fiction Category.

God tells us in His Word that He created us to worship Him. If we do not understand and accept that Jesus came down to Earth as man to save us from ourselves, then we are missing the single most important thing in life. 

~*~
Author bio:
Bullet Biography – Terry Dodd

· Survived life-threatening burns to ten per cent of his body at age seven

· BA degree in Geology from Florida State University

· Forty-year career as an advertising executive and entrepreneur

· Fifteenth year editing a bi-monthly Christian newsletter

· Author of a dozen Christian novels and inspirational narratives

· 2012 Eric Hoffer Legacy Fiction Award Winner for The Foursome, a golf novel of one man’s faith matched against doubt, ignorance and pride

· Lifetime member of Northside Hospital-Forsyth Auxiliary and former auxiliary board member and V.P. of Orientation & Placement

· Current active volunteer with There’s Hope for the Hungry, a 501(c)(3) food-and-faith outreach to the needy of north Georgia

· Juggling hobby led to a two-year Christian ministry to north Atlanta metro area assisted living facilities, which formed the basis for his book, Journey with Outstretched Hands

· Served as president of Georgia Association of Promotional Products Practitioners

· Married, with blended family of four adult children and seven grandchildren

· Active member of First Redeemer Church in Cumming, GA

· Leader/facilitator of a small men’s Bible study group

· Member of Atlanta Writers Club and American Christian Fiction Writers

~*~

Connect with Terry:
Website- terrygdoddbooks.com
Email - dodd@bellsouth.net

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True Love Stories: I Was Blind But Now I See

"Love at First Sight" apparently not only happens in real-life, it lasts for a lifetime! Such is the story of Ginger Marcinkowski who knew she loved her now husband from the moment their eyes locked. 

God works in mysterious ways-- a saying that rings true for most things in life. But who would have thought that God would bring two people--an American soldier and a rebellious teenager hitchhiking across Europe with her best friend--together at the famous Hofbrauhaus in Munich, GERMANY?

And who knew that after only two days of dating, a marriage proposal would happen? God works in mysterious ways indeed. 

Read on to find out how in Ginger's true love story...

~*~
I Was Blind But Now I See

Ginger Marcinkowski's true love story

An old man kneeled at the foot of a featherbed crowded with children and quietly prayed. He knew their lives were filled with the pain of an alcoholic and abusive father and a rebellious mother. With his voice just above a whisper he asked God to direct the lives of those children and someday provide them with spouses who had hearts for the Lord. I was one of those children and the old man was my grandfather. 

At the age of 17, my best friend and I, both unsaved and rebellious, boarded a Freddie Laker airplane and departed for Scotland where we spent several months hitchhiking across Europe. More than one time, we found ourselves in dangerous situations, but God’s hand was upon us. Late on August 4, 1971, we sat in a Rome train station trying desperately to panhandle enough money to get to Munich, Germany, where money from home awaited. I tried to sell my graduation watch to passing tourists, but no one spoke English. We sat in the cold terminal, lonely and discouraged. Moments later, a woman who’d been watching our dilemma finally spoke. “Girls,” she said in perfect English. “What do you need?” Excitedly, we explained our situation. Without hesitation, she gave us the needed money and promised to pray for us.

Our next day arrival into Munich gave us reason to celebrate. It was my eighteenth birthday. We cleaned up at our youth hostel and departed for a night on the town at the famous Hofbrahaus. As we cautiously stepped inside the doors of the local meeting place, hoots and hollers of joyous patrons filled the air. The sweet smell of bratwurst and hops permeated every corner of the building.

“Hey!” My head swung around in time to catch the wide smile of a uniformed soldier. “American girls!” Another soldier was standing on the table waving his arms. “Over here.” Too young and foolish to refuse, we made our way to the long wooden table where eleven soldiers stood politely, each eager to find a place beside two girls from their homeland. I squeezed in between two of the young men, when one of them exclaimed that the seat next to me belonged to another soldier who had gone to the rest room. We talked and laughed for a few minutes, sharing news of where we were from and what we were doing in Germany.

Signaling my friend that it was time for a powder room break, we excused ourselves and rushed toward the back of the building. As we rounded the corner, I almost bumped into the backside of a soldier bent over a cigarette machine. I gasped and then giggled, poking my friend in the side. “That’s the man I’m going to marry,” I said. The soldier stood and turned around. Our eyes locked and in that one moment, I knew I loved him. Two days later, under the clearest star-studded sky I’d ever seen, he asked me to marry him. 

It’s been forty-three years now. I reflect continually on how the prayers of my grandfather and the grace of God worked to bring us together. Without the kindness of a stranger in that Rome train station, I might never have met the man I so love. Had it not been my birthday, I might have never gone to that restaurant. Had it been any other day, my husband’s Special Forces team would not have been in Munich.

I didn’t come to know the Lord until my late twenties. My husband’s salvation came years later. For thirty-nine years, we never fully recognized how God’s hand had brought us together. Even as Christians, we failed each other so many times in ways that would tear most marriages apart. Forgiveness was difficult and trust elusive. Through it all, God gave us a reason to hang on. Finally, as we fully submitted ourselves to God, we came to recognize His plan for our marriage.

Looking at my precious husband today, I see the true beauty of God’s hand on our lives. Drifting into retirement, our hearts are again as joyous as when we were newlyweds. God brought us full circle so that we’d recognize the promise we made to each other even before knowing Him as our Savior. He made us realize that His hand was on that special moment we first met. It was He who directed every scene to draw us fully into the blessings He has given us today.

Now, when night arrives, my husband and I sneak into our visiting grandson’s bedroom and kneel at the foot of his bed to pray for the Christian woman he will marry some day. As we rise, he kisses me gently as a reminder that someone prayed for us.

~*~
Author Bio: Ginger Marcinkowski is the author of newly released, The Button Legacy: Emily’s Inheritance, a story of one man’s legacy of faith, told through buttons, and widely acclaimed Run, River Currents. She currently writes a monthly column for Book Fun Magazine which boasts over 400,000 subscribers.

~*~ 

Buy Ginger's books: 

Click here to purchase Run, River Currents 

Click here to purchase The Button Legacy: Emily's Inheritance 

Connect with Ginger: 

Email: grm55@yahoo.com

Blog: http://gingermarcinkowski.wordpress.com/blog/ 

Facebook Author Page

Website: http:///www.gingermarcinkowski.com

Twitter: @grm55grm