The story behind a NEW book by Becky Beresford that releases today!

Join me in wishing my author friend, Becky Beresford, a "Happy BOOK Birthday" because her debut nonfiction book (She Believed HE Could, So She Did) releases into the world today (March 5, 2024) and it's going to be amazing! In fact it already is. 

But don't take my word for it, read all about her story in the post below.

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The story behind the book by Becky Beresford: 

I never thought I would be a serious writer, let alone write a book like the one God has asked me to write.

After working in ministry with women for five years, I got married and quickly became pregnant with our oldest son. I was used to meeting face-to-face with women and discipling them over a cup of coffee or in a small group setting. But motherhood (especially mothering a little one with special needs) soon proved to be a new season where I couldn’t pour into women like I once had. With the passion still in my heart, I asked God to either remove my desire for ministry or to somehow make a way for ministry and motherhood to coexist. He responded with a third option, something I had never considered before. The Lord expanded my idea of ministry and showed me that discipleship could also take shape in the form of writing, and now He was asking me to write for Him!

With shaky hands I sent my first blog post out into the world in 2015, not knowing if anyone would see it or if they would want to read what I wrote. Little did I know the plans Jesus had for the words He was inspiring. People began to respond and relate to the messages God was laying on my heart to communicate. And so, I decided to pursue the idea of writing an actual book. 

After three years of trying to publish a separate book that is not She Believed HE Could, So She Did, I felt worn down to the bone. Not only was I receiving rejection after rejection from publishers, my life was full of overwhelming circumstances, all of which left me feeling like a failure. With special needs parenting, financial strain, health issues, loss, and a marriage on the brink of divorce, I came to the end of my own strength and sufficiency. I tried hard to believe I could handle whatever life threw my way—that if I could just keep my head afloat a little longer, then everything would be okay. Instead of relying on God as my source and security, I kept taking matters into my own hands. Jesus had to show me I didn’t have to be the savior of my story. It was never my job to have, but His.

During this hard time I had a sign on my writing desk from my husband with the popular saying “She Believed She Could, So She Did”. But the more I stared at the statement, the more unsettling it became. Did I really think I could hold everything together and be enough for everyone always, including myself? I was weary from trying to do it all, a state many of us find ourselves in today.

But God never intended for His Daughters to live with the burden of carrying the world’s concerns or trying to make everything happen. Instead, He wants to bring us back to the message of the gospel where we come to Jesus in our weakness and allow His love, truth, and strength to empower us to face trials. We don’t need to believe solely in ourselves when there’s a God who is able to do immeasurably more than anything we could imagine or think. We can take a deep breath and lean into the care and capacity of Christ.

This is why I wrote She Believed HE Could, So She Did. It goes against the grain of culture’s popular self-empowerment mindset, but also challenges similar sayings within the church. We need to go back to the Bible and see what God truly says. I pray the message found within this book’s pages will inspire women to stop striving according to society’s standards and in turn, surrender everything to the God who can. 

True freedom is possible when we ground our whole selves in the Good News.

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Author Bio:

Becky Beresford lives in North Carolina and is happily outnumbered by her husband and three wonderful boys. She is an author, speaker and coach with a Master's Certificate in Spiritual Formation and Discipleship from Moody Theological Seminary. 

Becky loves encouraging God’s Daughters to embrace Christ-centered empowerment through the truth found in the gospel. Her work has been featured in large online communities including Crosswalk, (in)courage, iBelieve, HuffPost, DaySpring, and she recently became a writer for Proverbs 31 Ministries’ First 5 writing team. 

Becky’s book with Moody Publishers, She Believed HE Could, So She Did, releases in March.

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Buy Becky's book:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Target

 
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Connect with Becky:
Website: https://www.beckyberesford.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/becky.beresford/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beckyberesfordauthor
Sign up for Becky's Empowered Email Tribe: https://www.beckyberesford.com/sign-up

Devotionals for the Heart: Finding Contentment Amidst Commercialism

Where To Find Contentment
A devotional by Sharon Musgrove

“I don’t have a sense of needing anything personally. I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.”–Philippians 4:11-13 (MSG)

Contentedness is illusive in our culture. Everywhere we turn we are confronted with advertising that tells us that we need something more to make us happy in our lives. Even when we think we’re good, commercialism tells us we are not.

When the Apostle Paul wrote the above words to the Christians in Philippi, he was in prison for being an evangelist. It was a time of physical discomfort and great need for himself and his friend Timothy. Yet when Paul received a care package from the church, he responded by saying he is content.

My friend Josy is an amazing person who models for me the contented life. Born in rural Kenya, she knew poverty. Her family lived without running water or power in a home with dirt floors. Food was scarce while hunger was prevalent. To better her life for herself and her family, Josy married. But her husband was abusive. Going from bad to worse, she gave birth to a son with a serious heart defect. People believed her to be cursed and suggested she leave her baby in the wilderness to die.

But Josy believed in Jesus Christ and thought the advice given to her was wrong, as did an American medical missionary who connected them with a heart surgeon in the United States. Through a series of kindhearted gifts, Josy’s son received the necessary surgery to correct the defect and set the boy up to thrive.

The love and compassion that Josy received inspired her. She decided to leave the abusive marriage and move to the United States where she could become a person who gives in return. Josy’s American Dream looks much different than those of us born here. Rather than amassing stuff for herself, she gives to others. She and her son live in a small apartment and have often struggled to make ends meet. Despite the everyday difficulties, Josy has paid for a home for her mother in Kenya and began a nonprofit for Maasai children with disabilities.

Josy’s story illustrates Paul’s sentiments through her pursuit of showing love to others. Her desire mirrors God’s desire to see hurting people loved and cared for. This testimony reminds me of what the Bible says in Philippians 4:13 (MSG): “Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.”

Each of us is influenced one way or another—by the ads telling us what will make us happy or by the One (God) who gives us the recipe for lifelong contentedness. We get to choose.

Let’s Pray: Heavenly Father, Thank You for loving us so deeply and caring for our needs so well. Your holy scriptures help us to understand just how You have designed us to love and live for others and not just pursuing our own wants. You show us the contentedness in living aligned this way. We thank You for the examples in the lives of others and ask for Your help in centering our lives on what You desire. In Jesus’s Name we pray. Amen.

Song of Reflection: “The Mission” by Steve Green. Listen to it here.

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Author Bio:

Sharon Musgrove has a diverse background in business, fitness, and health industries. This background led her to a unique position writing curriculum and teaching for two private, Christ-based, residential recovery programs. Both programs primarily served women in the homeless community. 

Sharon has traveled multiple times to Kenya, serving on medical teams and teaching in the rural Maasai communities. She was privileged to participate in Leadership camps for maturing young women. These annual camps have a mission of encouraging and empowering the impoverished, underprivileged, and often abused young Maasai girls.

Identifying personally with the brokenness of the women she’s served, Sharon sees the great need for encouragement and connection. Within ministries served, Sharon has witnessed the transformative power of loving words spoken to the broken-hearted. Sharing God’s love and building cross-cultural communities has become her passion.

In her leisure time, Sharon enjoys nature, deep conversations, and a good story. She and her husband, Jeff, divide their time between Oregon and Hawaii. They have two grown children.

Currently, Sharon is encouraging others via her inspirational blog, writing devotionals for other websites, and is working on a nonfiction book titled The Whole-Of-Us: Putting Church Back Together.

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Connect with Sharon:
Email: sharon@sharonmusgrove.com
Website: Sharonmusgrove.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Sharon-Musgrove-Untethered-102208978041060
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sharonkmusgrove/

Devotionals for the Heart: When God calls you to love Him and the earth

Loving earth and loving God
A devotional by Jessica Brodie

As someone who was born and raised in the city, gardening is absolutely foreign to me. But I’ve always admired it. Deep down, I have a secret fantasy of being a homesteader, and I’m certain if I lived centuries ago, I would’ve been a farmer’s wife—maybe a farmer’s wife who somehow figured out time to write books on the side, but definitely someone on a farm.

I’ve made a couple of minuscule attempts to garden over the years, but they all ended in disaster. I did grow a tomato once, but something ate the rest of them, and I don’t know what I did wrong, but the other vegetables didn’t grow at all. And while I managed to grow one or two dahlias, that was it. I know the problem was with me, of course. I didn’t have a lot of time in that season of my life, and I didn’t put in enough devotion and care to really do it properly. Also, I gave up too quickly.

But in the last few years, for a variety of reasons, I’ve become increasingly convicted that I need to start gardening. More than that, I’m feeling a deep sense that not only my family but all people need to start returning to our roots—literally. By this I mean growing my own food. I’m entirely too dependent on my grocery store for food. Yet our ancestors were not this way. And frankly, between the prices of eggs and the shortage of some grocery items that we saw during the pandemic and its aftermath, it’s kind of scary to realize how dependent I am on stores.

What happens if catastrophe hits? How will I eat? Will I even know how to feed my family? I know God will always provide, and my earthly life is just temporary, but I also want to be equipped to help take care of people as long as God has me on this earth, and while I’m living here, I want to do so responsibly and thoughtfully. And I feel like God is telling me I need to start learning how to do some of these things for myself.

So this summer I’m going to start baby steps toward a garden. I’ll try a few vegetables, and my daughter is really interested in growing some flowers. We’ll see what happens.

It’s completely out of my comfort zone, but I feel like it’s an act of love and faith and obedience to God. Most of the time when I think of love, I think of it in relation to other people, or maybe even to animals. I might think of it as how I relate to my family or those I encounter in my community, and it’s also the wider community of people all around the world. But love also includes the earth. I know God loves the earth because God created it. God intentionally spent much time handcrafting the land and the seas and the heavens, and when He created people, He tasked us to take care of the animals and the land, to manage it well for Him.

As the Bible says in Genesis 2:15 (NIV), “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”

I appreciate technology as much as anyone. I use a cell phone, a laptop, electricity, running water, air conditioning, a microwave and stove, a dishwasher … all things of my ancestors did not have.

But let’s face the truth: Many of us are far too disconnected from the natural way of things, myself included. There’s no substitute for touching soil or leaves, for planting our feet in dirt or sand, for breathing in fresh air, for feeling the sun on our skin.

The Holy Spirit is nudging me to start gardening, and so I’ll respond. I’ll see what happens.

Whatever happens, I trust it’s going to help me appreciate creation more and, in turn, appreciate God more. For we are all connected—people, the land, the Lord, everything.

Let’s Pray: Lord, help me to love the earth as a way of loving You. Help me to honor You as I learn how to garden and tend and till, trusting and remaining open to whatever You wish to teach me. And help me always to love others in Your name. Amen.

Song of Reflection: “For the Beauty of the Earth” by BarlowGirl. Listen to it here.

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Author Bio:

Jessica Brodie is an award-winning journalist, author, blogger, editor, writing coach, and devotional writer with thousands of articles to her name. 

Since 2010, she has served as the editor of the South Carolina United Methodist Advocate, the oldest newspaper in Methodism, which has won 123 journalism awards during her tenure. She is the author of Feed My Sheep: A 40-Day Devotional to Develop a Heart for Hunger Ministry (2019) and More Like Jesus: A Devotional Journey (2018) and the editor of a number of other books from her newspaper’s Advocate Press, which she helped found in 2017.

She has won more than 100 writing awards and is a seasoned speaker and frequent contributor to Crosswalk.com, Christianity.com, and BibleStudyTools.com, among many others. She has a weekly faith blog at JessicaBrodie.com and is part of the team at Wholly Loved Ministries, with her work included in many of their devotionals and Bible studies.

Brodie holds a Master of Arts in English, and she graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in communications/print journalism from Florida International University. Born and raised in Miami, Brodie now lives in Lexington, South Carolina, just outside Columbia. She has also lived in Ohio and in the mountains of western North Carolina. She and her husband, Matt Brodie, have a blended family of four teenage children and stepchildren.

Brodie has written several novels and is actively seeking publication through her agent Bob Hostetler of The Steve Laube Agency. Her novel The Memory Garden won the 2018 Genesis contest for Contemporary Fiction from American Christian Fiction Writers, and her novel Tangled Roots won a third place Foundation Award in Contemporary Romance at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference in 2019. She is finishing the third in the series, Hidden Seeds, now.

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Connect with Jessica:
Website: https://www.jessicabrodie.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JessicaJBrodie
Facebook Author: https://www.facebook.com/authorjessicajbrodie
Facebook Personal: https://www.facebook.com/JessicaJBrodie
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessicajbrodie/
Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicajbrodie/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/shiningthelightjessicabrodie/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/jessicajbrodie

Devotionals for the Heart: Hope for when our world is in chaos

When Hope Seems Lost
A devotional by Mirachelle Canada

“Uphold me according to Your word, that I may live; And do not let me be ashamed of my hope.”– Psalm 119:116 (NKJV)

The world churns in turmoil.

It’s anywhere and everywhere one can see, hear, or go. There are constant calls to do something, say something, think or believe something. Act, fight, defend, accuse! People are scattered, isolated, anxious and fearful…What can they do? What should they do?

Among them hide the once faithful eleven disciples. Their Lord and Messiah, Jesus Christ, is dead. What else can they do when all hope seems lost?

Does the opening scenario sound familiar? It should. It could describe our world today.

Surmounting problems are bombarded at us from every source. And, to the many overwhelmed and heavy burdened, hope seems lost. So, what can we do to restore hope today?

Allow me to suggest two main ideas…

Idea #1: Renew and Sustain Your Hope

Hope is never lost. Hope must be renewed. How? Jesus says in Matthew 11:28 (NIV), “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” To come to Jesus with your troubles simply means to break away, find rest in a quiet place away from others, and focus solely on Him. Give Jesus your time. Jeremiah 29:13 (NIV) says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

When you give Jesus whole-hearted time, He offers us his own yoke, which is easy and light (Matthew 11:30) because He is “gentle and humble in heart.” He promises rest for the weary soul (Matthew 11:29) and to those who have suffered loss, He will change “mourning into gladness” by giving them “comfort and joy” (Jeremiah 31:13).

Hope renewed can be sustained by staying in and praying God’s Word. Staying in The Bible keeps us close to God and He to us. Psalm 119:116 (NKJV) offers the decree, “Uphold me according to Your word, that I may live; And do not let me be ashamed of my hope.”

God will give us understanding so that we may live and remain in hope (Psalm 119:144). As you dive into the Word, write out and post your favorite scriptures where you can see them. Let scripture come alive in your dwelling place! Ignite hope into the atmosphere.

Idea #2: Offer Hope to Others

The Bible verse of 2 Corinthians 9:7 (NIV) encourages us with these words: “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

Hope is an amazing gift to give! Everyone desires hope. Without it the heart grows sick, but when it is desired, it becomes a “a tree of life” (Proverbs 13:12 NIV). A tree, once planted, will grow roots. Throw a lifeline to others and plant hope in their life today!

How can we plant hope in others? Help carry another’s burden (Galatians 6:2 NIV) by willing taking up the yoke alongside with them for a while. Or set aside time to listen to their concerns without prejudice or judgement. It’s amazing what offering hope can do!

You don’t have to solve the world’s problems because Jesus Christ already did. For today, He wants to partner with you to renew hope, sustain hope, and give hope to our world in need. 

Let's Pray: Dear God, thank You for renewing and sustaining me with Your Word so that I might live unashamed of my hope. Thank You for setting me free to offer and plant hope in others according to their need. In Jesus’s Name I pray. Amen.

Song of Reflection: “Believe for It” by CeCe Winans. Listen to it here.

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Author Bio:

Mirachelle Canada is a writer, playwright, screenwriter, and theatre director/producer from Northern Virginia, where she teaches television production at her high school alma mater. 

She earned her Master of Fine Arts in Script & Screenwriting from Regent University and is an alumnus of Act One: Hollywood Film & Television Writing Program.

Mirachelle is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, American Fiction Writers Virginia Chapter, The Jerry Jenkins Writers Guild, and Your Novel Blueprint.

She is currently working on her first historical fiction novel set during WWII.

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Connect with Mirachelle:
Website: www.mirachellecanada.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mirachellecanada/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/miracan

Devotionals for the Heart: Lessons learned on obeying God's speed limit

Obeying God's Speed Limit
A devotional by Sarah Cole

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." 

–Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)

I looked at my calendar, and a feeling of dread came over me.

Over the next 24 hours, I planned to host a dinner party, make a meal for a friend, work at my volunteer job, rush to meet a writing deadline, and prepare my house to welcome a new foster puppy.

But when I woke up the following day with a respiratory virus, I realized God used my body to do the very thing I was not willing to do: slow down and rest.

Like many women growing up in today's culture, I was raised to live in the fast lane. My mother taught me to live by a handful of words that would drive me most of my life, and my father teased her for the "shoulds," and "musts" that were commonplace in her vocabulary. But carrying these arbitrary rules into my adult life served to push me beyond the point of exhaustion. And I learned the hard way that the payoff of running on empty wasn't worth the effort.

Perhaps, like me, you've realized that moving full speed ahead to pursue the world's version of abundant life is a recipe for exhaustion and burnout. But the good news is that we don’t have to live this way. When we slow down to God's speed limit, it can feel strange to go against the grain of how our instant gotta-have-it-now society lives, but it's the way He's designed us.

When Jesus walked this earth, He didn't sit on his laurels. But He knew the value of rest, and unlike most of us, He was never in a hurry. After a full day of ministry, He set an example for us by retreating to a quiet place to pray and recharge His batteries (Luke 5:16).

We are no different. If we want to experience the abundant life Jesus promised us, we must surrender our schedules to Him and wait on Him for direction. As our Shepherd, He leads us at His speed because He knows it fits us perfectly (Psalm 23:2-4).

If you're like me and find it challenging to slow down, here are ways to incorporate much-needed rest into your life:

1. Know ahead of time what matters and what doesn't. By doing so, you manage your to-do list before it manages you.

2. Remember to rest weekly. When God rested on the seventh day, He set a standard for us to follow (Exodus 20:8-11). Our Omnipotent Creator never grows weary, but He knows we do.

3. Listen to your body. It's God's temple (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Like our cars, our bodies have an internal dashboard. If we choose to ignore its warnings and neglect our need for rest, God knows they'll break down. Depression, pain, anxiety, stress are just some examples of our body's warning system.

4. Create margin in your schedule (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Think of ways to recharge your batteries and try one a week until it becomes a habit. Some ideas are a brisk nature walk, journaling, indulging in a creative hobby you enjoy, watching a movie, taking a bubble bath with scented candles, or curling up with that book you've had your eye on.

When you look at this week's schedule, are you trying to juggle too much or feel uncomfortable unless you are always doing something? That, my friend, is the hamster wheel that keeps you in danger of burning out. But there's hope! Instead of feeling overwhelmed, ask God to help you sort out your priorities and find tangible ways to live by His speed limit.

I promise you that you'll be glad you did.

Let's Pray: Dear God, You are an amazing Father and friend, and we thank you for teaching us the value of rest. When the world tempts us to live at breakneck speed, help us slow down long enough to remember what's truly important, so our lifestyle reflects Your kingdom values. In Jesus's Name I pray. Amen.

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Author Bio:

Sarah Cole’s interest in writing began in grade school when her poem was published in the local paper. As she got older, her mother’s chronic illness inspired her to design a line of greeting cards. 

Since then, she has written for her college newspaper and two community newspapers where she wrote restaurant reviews and articles for their “Best of” spread.

Her experience as an administrator in the marketing field gave her the opportunity to write ads for a local business journal.

After a 20-year detour and a three-year season of adversity, God reignited her passion to write. Two divine appointments later, the short story she wrote about her father appeared in the St. Paul Almanac, and a short story about her cocker spaniel Gigi was published in Guideposts (magazine) Mysterious Ways. She believes her adversity was worth the lessons God taught her.

During this year (2022) and the next (2023), Sarah’s devotionals will be published in The Secret Place by Judson Press, as well as David C. Cook’s Devotions and The Quiet Hour. To this day, she smiles, pinches herself and gives God all the glory.

When she’s not writing, Sarah enjoys watching cooking shows, designing cards and mugs, and taking day trips.

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Connect with Sarah:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smittyc65
Twitter: https://twitter.com/@SarahCo45835279
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarah.cole.52

Devotionals for the Heart: Why we need to spur each other on in love

Spurring Each Other On in Love
A devotional by Jessica Collazo

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” 

– Hebrews 10:24-25 (NIV)

Have you ever had a series of events happen within a short time frame, where you know that God was trying to get your attention? I have plenty of times, but this time, it’s a bit different. It’s a bit more urgent.

First, it started as a conversation, then I listened to a few podcasts, and then I watched a conference online (all within this week) and in all three instances the main topic revolved around life as we know it at the moment and how things need to change. What does that mean exactly? There is a lot that needs to change! We can absolutely describe this world as chaotic, uneasy, depressed, angry, and the list goes on … But as believers, the question is, “What do we need to do in the midst of all of this?”

I believe that the answer is simple. We need to do what Paul tells in Hebrews 10:24-25; We need to spur each other on! We need to encourage each other and hold each other accountable because people’s lives depend on it. We have been forced to stay home this past year and isolate from others around us, but all that has done is create more distance in a world that is already so cold and self-absorbed. 

As believers, we need to understand that meeting together is ultimately for the benefit of those around us. Meeting together helps us learn and lean in, and then we can go and pour out what we have learned into the lives of the broken and lost. Not because we are perfect and have it all together, but because we have experienced healing and wholeness in Christ Jesus. We have experienced hope. However, the HOPE we have in Jesus is not meant to be kept as a little-known secret among believers, it’s meant to be shared with everyone to the ends of the earth.

The reason I believe the Lord has stirred this up in me recently is because there is an urgency to address all the hurt and pain this world is experiencing. If we take inventory of our lives, we must ask ourselves, “Why aren’t we sharing Jesus with the people who are hurting the most?” “Why have we made Jesus more of a commodity that we have access to, and why don’t we live as though the King of Kings is on His throne and can handle all that is going on in this world?”

Our mission is simple: Love God and Love People.

Loving God means living in and for Him. Loving people means spending time with them and sharing Jesus with them.

We achieve that by continuing to meet with each other, encourage each other, and then spur each other on to go out into the world and share who Jesus is and what He can be in their lives.

Let’s Pray: Dear Heavenly Father, we ask You to open our hearts and our eyes to see if we have stopped going to You first. If we are not meeting with other believers, show us who to reach out to and teach us how to be creative in what meeting looks like as we continue to navigate the difficulties of the times we are living in. Do not allow us to be discouraged. Help us to remember that you, Jesus, are our living Hope! In Jesus’s Name I pray. Amen.

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Author Bio:

Jessica Collazo is a Chicago native with a heart that beats for Jesus. Her passion is to challenge women to think differently, gain a new perspective and live confidently. Because she knows, it’s possible.

Using God’s Word, a little bit of humor, strategic way of thinking and personal stories, Jessica offers a fresh take on where to go when women feel stuck, overlooked or overwhelmed.

Jessica’s greatest passion is to help women take off the identities they have been given by the world and realize who they are in Christ: known, dearly loved, set apart, and chosen.

Jessica is the senior manager of operations at Proverbs 31 Ministries who lives in Charlotte, North Carolina with her husband, Jerry, two sons and dog, Sawyer. Prior to working at Proverbs 31 Ministries, Jessica has over 10 years of experience working in women’s ministry, marriage ministry and outreach.

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Connect with Jessica:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_jessicacollazo/
Website: https://jessicacollazo.com

Devotionals for the Heart: Arguments

Foolish Arguments
A devotional by Christa MacDonald

“Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.” – 2 Timothy 2:23-26 (NIV)

2020 is shaping up to be another challenging year for my family personally and, it would appear, the world at large. In the U.S. we now have the COVID-19 virus on top of all the silliness and animosity of an election year. As a nation we’re more divided than ever, and those firmly in the right or left camps daily lob accusations and remonstrations at each other as well as those in the middle who refuse to join in. It’s a mess made far worse by social media.

Remove the interpersonal part of communication but keep the speed and ease (unlike mailed letters or even phone calls) and you get the unique set of circumstances that has created our current online interaction. While it truly is great that we can all connect, there are some serious downsides. Every day I see a Facebook post that makes me want to fire off a comment about how ignorant/hateful/wrong it is. It’s hard to scroll by, but I try my best to do just that. If that person is part of my non-virtual life I try to remember its important elements for when I can address them face-to-face and in love. Otherwise I honestly try to weigh it before I wade in.

This verse, among others, always come to mind. Paul is being blunt (and I love it). The message is straightforward; don’t get sucked into a stupid argument because eternity is at stake.

The Internet is full of foolishness and, boy, does it produce quarrels. If it seems as though a lot of posts in social media are tailor-designed to outrage you. SPOILER ALERT: They are! The Internet world runs on what is called engagement: likes, comments, clicks, etc. Content-producing web sites live and die by engagement. If you’re not clicking on their posts they aren’t selling ads or influence or whatever else they’re using to remain in business. The more outrageous a post the more engagement it gets.

The Internet rewards all of our bad behavior with access to content designed to confirm our worst opinions of those we disagree with and to share that confirmation widely with our like-minded friends. It’s no joke that some would say about Facebook that the website isn’t the product, the subscribers are.

While Paul probably couldn’t have conceived of a world in which people interact online, he knew plenty about human beings and how we act when we’re not putting Christ first, others next, and ourselves last. This passage is reminding us of what the standard is for how we act with each other so that the Gospel message that we are supposed to be bringing to the world is not lost. We are to be kind to everyone, and to be gentle with our opponents so that by the Grace of God, they will be led to the truth about Christ and their sin, repentance, and salvation.

We simply can’t allow the squabbles the world spends its time on to distract us from how God has called us to be. The next time you find yourself knee-deep in an argument going nowhere, take a breath, step out of that quagmire, and ask yourself how you got there to begin with. While you’re at it, make a decision to let go of any resentment, access the kindness element of the Fruit of the Spirit of which the Bible says in Galatians 5:22-23 that "against such things there is no law." You literally cannot be too kind! Remember that you’re here to help souls escape the devil and to find redemption in Jesus Christ.

Don’t let anything that the Bible defines as ‘foolish’ and ‘stupid’ be the thing that keeps you from fulfilling the Great Commission.

~*~
Author Bio:

Christa MacDonald is a 2017 ACFW Carol Award finalist for contemporary Christian fiction.

A native New Englander, she was inspired by her travels through the north woods of Maine to write The Broken Trail, which would become the first in the Sweet River Redemption series published by Mountain Brook Ink.

Christa's writing focuses on the real-life challenges of the modern world, love’s sometimes crooked path, and the redemptive power of Grace.

When not working or writing Christa can be found ferrying her kids around, reading, or attempting something crafty.

She and her husband live with their three kids, two cats, and one dog along the coast of New England. Connect with Christa at www.christamacdonald.com.

Book Review: Life Changing Prayers

Today, I'd like to share my review of a book that made a profound impact on the way I think about – and practice – prayer! 

Read on for my review. 

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Book Title:
Life Changing Prayers: How God Displays His Power to Ordinary People

Author: Michael Youssef

My Review:

This book contains a powerful message on the power of prayer!

Ultimately, the author advises the reader to look at prayer as a way of life.

He addresses issues that many a believer faces such as rushing through your time with God when we really should be enjoying and soaking in our time with Him. The author gives us a reality check in that, the Creator of the Universe is always available for us. Human resources like licensed counselors and crisis lines may have their limits and times when you cannot reach out for help but God is always ready and available to help us!

How do we reach God? Through prayer. How do we pray “life-changing prayers?” The author answers that question throughout this book.

He breaks down his message into a total of seven chapters that each focus on a Bible character (Hannah, David, Jonah, and Mary, to name a few). Though each character’s story is different, they are connected by one common trait—they were “ordinary” people who each prayed a prayer that changed their lives and made an impact on human history!

The author wraps up his message in the epilogue that teaches on the purpose of prayer. He opens the epilogue with mention of a British evangelist and early missionary worker in the Salvation Army. The person’s name was Rodney “Gipsy” Smith. The author says, “Gipsy Smith understood that the purpose of prayer is not to change God but to allow God to change us. The purpose of prayer is to bring God’s power into our lives, to open us up to God’s blessings and God’s power to change us.”

And that concludes my review of Michael Youssef’s book! It’s a powerful, wonderful read that will encourage the heart of the reader.

I highly recommend it and think that it deserves a five-star rating.

*I, (Alexis A. Goring), received a complimentary copy of this book (Life Changing Prayers: How God Displays His Power to Ordinary People) from the author’s publisher for me to read. My opinions in this book review are my own.

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Book Blurb:

They were just ordinary people--a loyal servant, a woman who desperately wanted a child, an old man who still had hope, and a young teenager who couldn't quite believe God's great love. 

Ordinary people who prayed extraordinary prayers to an extraordinary God. They weren't always eloquent. They weren't always the type of person you might think God would listen to. But they trusted God and his plans for their lives, and that made all the difference.

Life-Changing Prayers tells their stories and shares their desperate, hopeful, and gratitude-filled prayers, inspiring and emboldening readers to ask God for the desires of their own hearts. 

Anyone who desires to pray life-changing prayers, as well as anyone whose prayer life has grown stagnant or nonexistent, will find here the encouragement to pray confidently and expectantly to the God who always hears--and always answers.

*Buy this book on Amazon.

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Author Bio:

Michael Youssef, Ph.D., is the Founder and President of Leading The Way with Dr. Michael Youssef, a worldwide ministry that leads the way for people living in spiritual darkness to discover the light of Christ through the creative use of media and on-the-ground ministry teams (www.LTW.org). 

His weekly television programs and daily radio programs are broadcast in 25 languages and seen worldwide, airing more than 12,000 times per week. He is also the founding pastor of The Church of The Apostles in Atlanta, Georgia, with more than 3,000 members.

Dr. Youssef was born in Egypt and lived in Lebanon and Australia before coming to the United States. In 1984, he fulfilled a childhood dream of becoming an American citizen. He holds degrees from Moore College in Sydney, Australia, and from Fuller Theological Seminary in California.

In 1984, he earned a Ph.D. in social anthropology from Emory University. He has authored more than 30 books, including recent popular titles End Times and the Secret of the Mahdi, and Jesus, Jihad and Peace.

He and his wife reside in Atlanta and have four grown children and eight grandchildren.

Devotionals for the Heart: Faith

The Power in Our Faith
A devotional by Patrick E. Craig

"For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" ~Hebrews 9:13-14 (KJV)

One of the great dilemmas of the Christian faith is the spirit of unbelief that seems to permeate the lives of many Christians. We come to church and hear great teaching, we read the Bible and appreciate the truths therein, but then we live our lives as though the Word of God is merely a collection of myths and stories: ancient wisdom penned by prophets and psalmists who were men of a bygone age that really has no relevance for today except to encourage us that there is a better way to live if we can only follow some set of rules that will please God.

Take, for instance, the text at the beginning of this devotional. The writer is saying that the old Hebrew sacrifices that were performed daily to cleanse the Jews of the defilement caused by their sins were only capable of purifying them on the outside. But the sacrifice of Christ has the power to cleanse your conscience—that is, to purify you not just on the outside but on the inside, too. What does that mean? The fact of guilt and the feelings of guilt have both been dealt with forever and now we have complete unhindered access to God!

But somehow we miss the point. We no longer need to perform “dead works” to come to God as the Jews did in the old Tabernacle. What we don’t seem to “get” is that Christ has performed the work that purifies us once and for all and we now live in a permanent state of access to the throne. Yes! We really do!

My point is that if we actually understood what this means then we would not be constantly either hiding from God because we feel guilty about something we did or running to counselors or self-help books to find the answer. 

The answer is right before us and it is found on every page of the Bible. The answer is Jesus Christ. He is the purifier, the 13th step of every 12-step program, the healer and the access grantor. Take a leap of faith today and lay hold of this truth. Jesus has done all the work that is necessary for you to live a whole and happy life. Now go out and live it!

"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." ~Hebrews 4:16 (KJV)

~*~

Author Bio:

Patrick E. Craig is a lifelong writer and musician who left a successful songwriting and performance career in the music industry to follow Christ in 1984. 

In 2011 he signed a three-book deal with Harvest House Publishers to publish his Apple Creek Dreams series. His current series is The Paradise Chronicles. The first book in the series, The Amish Heiress, a romantic suspense novel, was published by Patrick's company, P&J Publishing, in August of 2015 and remained on the Amazon Top 100 best sellers list in three categories for seven months.

The second book in the series, The Amish Princess, a historical romance novel, was released in December of 2016 and was on Amazon's Hot New Releases for over a month. Harlequin recently purchased the print rights for both books for their Walmart Amish series. Patrick also just released Cracking The Indie Egg—A Recipe For Publishing Your Own Book and it is available in most major digital bookstores.

Patrick and his wife Judy, make their home in Idaho. They have two married children and five grandchildren. Patrick is represented by the Steve Laube Agency.

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Connect with Patrick:
Website - www.patrickecraig.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PatrickECraig
Twitter - https://twitter.com/PatrickECraig
Amazon Author page - http://tinyurl.com/n6sfagg

Interview with Sarah Monzon, author of Finders Keepers

Let's welcome Sarah Monzon! She first visited the blog almost two years ago when her debut novel, The Isaac Project was released. It was an instant success! Now, Sarah's back and her writing skills are better than ever with her latest book, Finders Keepers (A Carrington Family Novel, Book 1). Here's the cover to Sarah's latest book:

Lovely, isn't it? It releases today (Monday, May 23)! If you can, leave a comment for Sarah toward the end of this blog post, congratulating her on the "birth" of her newest novel. 

Today, Sarah's taken the time to answer my questions about her new novel.

Enjoy her author interview! :)

*Words by Alexis are in bold, words by Sarah are not in bold.

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Alexis: Congratulations on the May 23 release of your new novel! How does it feel to have another book on the market?

Sarah: Surreal. Exciting. Frightening.

Why did you write Finders Keepers?

It was the story God placed on my heart to write. I know that may sound like a simple, cliché answer, but it’s the truth. He’s the one who planted within me the love of words and story, and He is the one pushing me to share those stories with the world.

Explain what the term “dual timeline” means for those who may not know. Then explain why you took this approach to writing Finders Keepers.

Dual timeline is a book that has two different timelines, and in essence two different stories, woven together to make one “big picture” story. When I started Finders Keepers, I hadn’t planned on making it dual timeline. The thought didn’t enter my head until after I’d written the first two contemporary chapters. Then I went back and started the story from Isabella’s point-of-view. And I’m so glad I did!

Summer Arnet is the modern heroine. Tell us about her role in this story. What is she like? What makes her mad? What or who makes her happy? Why is her passion photography?

Summer has always wanted to be a photographer with the nature magazine Our World, but the publication’s editors don’t think her work is edgy enough. When treasure hunter, Trent Carrington, offers to split the loot in a sunken ship, she’s initially outraged at his plans at pirating, but eventually agrees in an effort to attain her dreams…and regrets it with each wink and smirk Trent throws her way.

What is it about Summer that makes Trent want to become a one-woman man?

She challenges him. She’s spunky and sassy and sees things in him he’s been trying to deny. She makes him face his past and is there to help him through the pain he’s been living with every day.

What is it about Trent that screams “caution” to Summer all the while making her heart beat out of her chest with desire?

Trent is a Harley-riding, leather-jacket-wearing, tattooed, hopeless flirt. He never takes “no” for an answer, and she suspects not many women even say the word to him. It drives her crazy that his crooked grin gives her heart palpitations, but she’s determined not to fall for that kind of man.

Isabella Castellano is the historical heroine on the side of your dual timelines that deals with the past. Tell us about Isabella. Where is she from? What is she running from and why?

Isabella lives in 17th Century Spain. Her stepfather isn’t the most noble of men, in fact she blames him for her mother’s death. So, when he turned his attentions on her, she flees—in a rather dramatic way. She steals some of her stepfather’s clothing and masquerades as a cabin boy on one of his majesty’s treasure fleet.

What makes Isabella special? Describe her role in the story.

Isabella is a mixture of vulnerability and stubbornness. She hides her fears behind a mask of false bravado, but in so doing, accomplishes more than she ever thought she was capable of—saving lives, uncovering mutinous plots, and surviving life-snatching storms.

If you could spend one day with one of your Finders Keepers characters, who would you choose and what would you do? Why?

Oh, that’s a hard one. Hmmm… maybe Captain Montoya could teach me how to sword fight. Because, seriously, wouldn’t that just be so fun?

What do you want your readers to treasure most about this novel?

I hope everyone is reminded that they are children of God. Not just in name, but really and truly God’s sons and daughters.

Thanks for the interview, Sarah!

~*~
Author bio:

Sarah Monzon is a pastor's wife and a stay at home mom to the two cutest littles in the world. 

Playing pretend all day with them isn't enough, she spends the evenings after their heads hit the pillow to create her own imaginary characters. 

When she isn't in the world of make believe, she can be found in a small desert town in central Washington taking care of her family, fostering friendships, and enjoying all the adventures each day brings.
~*~

Buy Sarah's book:
Amazon - http://amzn.to/1XpGvzf

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Connect with Sarah:
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/authorsarahmonzon/
Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/monzons/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/monzonwrites