Scripture Memorization - Week 6

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. -- 1 John 1:9.

This is a wonderfully powerful passage reminding us of the big "IF". If we confess our sins to God, He not only is faithful and just, but He will also forgive us of our sins, and then He will cleanse us, purify us from all of our unrighteousness (sin)!

Thanks be to God!!

Amen!

THE CHURCH

As I've been thinking about the church lately, who we are, what we are about, what we are not supposed to be about, I came up with a short list . . .

What do you think? What would you add or subtract from my list?

If Jesus was living in me and in His church what type of fruit should I bear?

1. I should have a greater desire for Him.

2. I should have a greater love of people, all people.

3. I should hate sin . . . (yes, I know and love the sinner).

4. I should be humble, thinking others are better than me (aka humility).

5. I should be practicing the fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, goodness and self-control).

6. I should be generous (financially, with time and resources).

7. I should be taking care of my body.

8. I should be drawing closer to Him.

9. I should be obedient to Him, not because I have to, but because I want to.

If Jesus was living in the church, what should the church produce?

1. People that love one another.

2. People who are passionate about Jesus.

3. People who are open to receiving all people (since all people are sinners).

4. People who work together for His good, not ours.

5. People who seek to serve, rather than be serve.

6. People who are focused on bring others to a transforming relationship with Jesus.

7. People who are willing to put aside their 'rights' so that others can experience redemption
and acceptance through Christ.

8. People who are filled with His hope and love, power, strength and courage!

9. People who are filled with joy and passion, in the midst of sorrow.

On the flip side of that, Jesus Does Not Produce:

1. A critical spirit

2. Racism

3. Fighting within the church (aka - selfishness)

4. Bitterness / unforgiveness

5. Dead and self serving worship

6. Boring preaching

7. Gossip

8. Passionless followers

9. Fear

What else can you think of? I'd really be interested in your thoughts!!

Scripture Memorization - Week 3

Here is this week's Scripture Memorization ~

It comes from Joshua 1:9 ~ God is speaking to Joshua . . .

"Have I not commanded you: Be strong and courageous, but not afraid nor dismayed, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you may go."

Joshua is about to lead the people of Israel into the Promised Land. Moses is dead and he is the new leader! Imagine the fear and anxiety, but 3 times in the first verses, God says to Joshua, "be strong and courageous!"

I love this verse!! It's the reason we named Joshua, Joshua! Wherever you go, you can be strong and courageous, wherever you go, you don't have to be afraid or dismayed, all for the same reason . . . (drum roll please) The Lord your God will be with you wherever you may go!! How comforting, how reassuring to know that the God of all creation will be with us . . . ALWAYS!!!!!!!!

Scripture Memorization - Week 2

Here is week 2's Scripture memorization . . .

(Jesus said,) "The thief only comes to steal and to kill and to destroy; I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly." - John 10:10

Jesus gives us the great offer of living the super abundant life. Are you? Or have you accepted the life satan, the thief offers you, one in which he seeks to steal and kill and destroy your heart, soul and life?

The choice is always ours!!

Tebowing

Here is a great article about the heart of Tim Tebow. Whether you think he has football skill or not, he has an amazing heart and passion for people. Read the article by Rick Reilly from ESPN.

http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/7455943/believing-tim-tebow


Here is a snippet from Rick Reilly . . .

I've come to believe in Tim Tebow, but not for what he does on a football field, which is still three parts Dr. Jekyll and two parts Mr. Hyde.

No, I've come to believe in Tim Tebow for what he does off a football field, which is represent the best parts of us, the parts I want to be and so rarely am.

Who among us is this selfless?

Every week, Tebow picks out someone who is suffering, or who is dying, or who is injured. He flies these people and their families to the Broncos game, rents them a car, puts them up in a nice hotel, buys them dinner (usually at a Dave & Buster's), gets them and their families pregame passes, visits with them just before kickoff (!), gets them 30-yard-line tickets down low, visits with them after the game (sometimes for an hour), has them walk him to his car, and sends them off with a basket of gifts.

Home or road, win or lose, hero or goat.

Remember last week, when the world was pulling its hair out in the hour after Tebow had stunned the Pittsburgh Steelers with an 80-yard OT touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas in the playoffs? And Twitter was exploding with 9,420 tweets about Tebow per second? When an ESPN poll was naming him the most popular athlete in America?

Tebow was spending that hour talking to 16-year-old Bailey Knaub about her 73 surgeries so far and what TV shows she likes.

"Here he'd just played the game of his life," recalls Bailey's mother, Kathy, of Loveland, Colo., "and the first thing he does after his press conference is come find Bailey and ask, 'Did you get anything to eat?' He acted like what he'd just done wasn't anything, like it was all about Bailey."

Imagine if more people / athletes were like Tebow.

PRIVATE SELECTION!!

Went to a party prior to Christmas and thought we'd use our Private Selection coupons to purchase our food. We bought Southwest Style chicken trumpets; Pepperoni and roasted garlic pizza; and Vanilla Cream Puffs (30 of them). We supplemented our selection with the Petite Quiche and Fire Roasted Veggie Pizza.

We wanted to see the reaction people had regarding the food we brought for the party. Needless to say, they were impressed with the food selection and the quality. When we told people it was all store bought from the frozen section, they were surprised.

The food didn't last very long, the verdicts ~

• SW Style Chicken Trumpets ~ were a top choice. They were meaty and cheesy and excellent!!
  
• The Pepperoni and Roasted Garlic Pizza ~ was another hit. Although, it was not my favorite, as I really prefer deep dish or stuffed pizza, but to use this pizza as an appetizer would be great. It's too small to feed a family on one of these.
• The Vanilla Cream Puffs were excellent. We drizzled some chocolate syrup on some and left some without. They were all excellent. They were not totally thawed through, but people quickly ate them and raved about them anyway.

Overall verdict of the test items was very positive. The coupons were all handed out and many said they would purchase Private Selection in the future. Some didn't know what Private Selection was, but said they would look for them at the store next time they were at Kroger.

I told people I was a BzzAgent, which also got some interest.

The Final Summit by Andy Andrews

The Final Summit, by Andy Andrews, is the second in a series of books, the first being called, The Traveler. I have not read the first book. But you can still jump right into The Final Summit and not feel like you've been left behind.

My attention was captured pretty quickly, as I was not sure what to expect from this book. There were times, though where it was difficult for me to keep my interest, even though I liked the story line.

David Ponder is a Traveler, one who goes through time and meets some of the famous people from the past. In this book they all meet in Heaven where they are given a chance to save humanity. They are given five chances to answer a question from Gabriel. His question is this, and it's a great question ~ “What does humanity need to do, individually and collectively, to restore itself to the pathway toward successful civilization?” We hear from a few people from history, as they attempt to answer this question.

I wondered how some of the people from history were included, but that adds a little to the book and really shouldn't take away from what Andrews is trying to accomplish. There are some great conversations and decisions which are made during the course of the book. It is also a politically correct book. You can appreciate the research into history and the personalities which Andrews put into this book.

http://www.christianbook.com/the-final-summit-andy-andrews/9780785231202/pd/231201?item_code=WW&netp_id=833723&event=ESRCG&view=details

The Final Hour

The Final Hour is the fourth and last in a series of Christian fiction called the Homelanders series. The main character, Charlie West, is a teen who has decided to take a stand by agreeing to go undercover in a homegrown terrorist group in order to catch them and stop their plans to terrorize America. The series is action packed and moves us from adventure after adventure as we learn how Charlie deals with this new life. He is alone and has to face his fears and anxieties as he runs from the police and the terrorist group he has joined. Charlie has to believe that most everyone is out to get him, or at the minimum, they are not his friends. There are a few exceptions to this.

In this last book of the series, The Final Hour brings all of the adventures to a close. We finally learn whether or not Charlie will be successful and how he will live his life after this drama has ended. Will he be victorious, or will he become a villain? The Christian aspect comes in as we learn that Charlie and his sensei, Mike, are Christians. Because of his Christian faith we are given a minimal access into the decision making skills used by Charlie and Mike. Sometimes we need to assume we know Christian values. I would have liked it more if their faith in Christ was brought out a little more. Maybe that would hurt sales, but it would have been interesting to have a better blend in the story.

At times it seemed his values came more from karate than his Christian faith. There were a number of great issues brought up which cause the reader to look at, for example, issues of faith, politics, patriotism, personal risk. Overall, it was a fun and engrossing series to read. I would highly recommend the books and will see if my children would read these as well. There are discussion questions in the back of the book which helps if you are trying to do a study or a group study.

You can purchase this book from http://www.christianbook.com/the-final-hour-homelanders/andrew-klavan/9781595547156/pd/547156?item_code=WW&netp_id=872806&event=ESRCG&view=details

or

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1595547150/ref=rdr_ext_tmb

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program.

Private Selection

What a great cookie I ate!! You've got to try the all new Private Selection Chocolate Chip Cookies. They are much bigger than other packaged cookies and taste homemade.

Next time you go to Kroger (Pay-Less) you need to go to the cookie aisle and pick up a pack or two!! Happy dessert eating!!