Book Review "The Power of Purpose"

Even though I had heard of Michael Catt - more likely the movies he has produced- I had never read any of his writings.  This book made me eager to find everything he has written!

I underlined and highlighted so much of this book.  He had an extraordinary way of making sense of the obvious purpose of our lives as Christians.  I loved the organization of the book.  While there was a consistent, constant theme throughout the book, any chapter could be read on its own and be an encouragement and a rally to 'up our game' of purposeful living for God's kingdom.  It was certainly a timely book for me but I think one that would resonate with any one struggling to make sense of "why am I here?"

I am looking forward to reading more of Michael Catt's writings.  The Power of Purpose was certainly a delightful surprise.

Hold My Hand

“For I, the LORD you God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the One who helps you.”  Isaiah 41:13

Early in our children’s lives we teach them to hold our hands.  This is usually before they cross the street, are in a big crowd, or any time we need to make sure they need to stay near or away from danger.  Of course it is sweetest when they grab our hands simply to stay connected.

I love it when my grandkids grab my hand just out of the blue.  Some of my most precious photos are those where I am walking hand in hand with them. 

I am sure that I have read the above verse many times in reading the Bible through but today it jumped off the page and hugged me around the neck.  Listen up everyone….This is the LORD speaking!  ‘I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand.’ 

When the Bible mentions the right hand, it is usually symbolizing strength and authority.  Applying that thought to this verse it would intimate by God holding our right hand He is empowering us His strength and authority.  If that is the case, then there is no reason to fear!  He goes on to say “I am the One who helps you”.  I like to see that phrase this way “I AM (God’s name) the One who helps you.”  The great I AM, the name God revealed to Moses and to Israel, is the same One helping us.  It’s nice to have someone helping us but I have to say I don’t think there could be a better helper than God.  If I am going to have a teammate, a co-worker, a 'right hand man', I want it to be God, the LORD, the great I AM.

Just like children, we need the Father to hold our hand as we go through dangerous paths and uncertain circumstances but how He loves it when we just hold His hand for no other reason than we just want to stay connected! What a beautiful picture!

Book Review of "Love Lives Here" by Maria Goff

It was so interesting to me as I read Love Lives Here to notice the similarities to her husband's writing style.  Like Bob Goff, her husband, you are drawn into her stories as you relate to her love for her family and the Lord.  By relating to her stories, I don't mean I have had the same experiences as she has but I related to the questions and concerns she faced in her children growing up and difficult family circumstances.  Maria was honest in how she responds to those situations.  After reading both Maria and Bob's books, I would love to be able to have dinner with them.  They truly seem like two of the most fascinating people with fascinating stories to tell.  One of the things that I underlined in this book was "Jesus is more interested in who we are becoming that who we were."  His grace is new every day!

Trails of Toys and Boys

LEGO pieces hidden in the carpet, Matchbox cars parked under the couch, strange cartoons on the TV, and unflushed toilets.  It probably won't take a detective to guess little boys have been in our house.  

For two different weeks already this summer Bill and I have watched Brooks and Ford, our two youngest grandsons.  I honestly so enjoy this time and at the same time admit, it wears me out!  I grew up in a family of four girls and then had two girls so a girl world (as different as all that can be) is fairly familiar territory.  I find myself working a little harder when I'm with the boys.  Being a little more intentional in my play and thinking a little more outside "my box" requires more energy but always worth it.  

Ford, especially, wakes up and hits the ground running and really never stops until his little body is absolutely worn out (which is always after mine has worn out) and he finally falls asleep but this little guy wakes up singing and sings throughout the day.  Most of the time he is singing something he heard on Christian radio but sometimes it's a song from an ad or movie.  The funny thing is that when I am around him I find myself also singing more throughout the day and even approaching things with a little more enthusiasm.  His joy rubs off on me!

It reminds me of the story in Acts 4:  "When they observed the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed and recognized that they had been with Jesus." (v.13)  In Acts 3 and 4, we see some very beautiful and amazing things happening while at the same time disagreements and grumblings brewing.  In the name of Jesus, Peter had just healed a man who had been crippled from birth but instead of celebrating the high priests (super religious leaders) wanted to know how this could happen.  Peter had given a compelling sermon and about 5000 people were saved even as he and John were put in prison for healing this man.  The religious leaders again began to question Peter and so he preached to the leaders closing with the beautiful promise in verse 12 "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."   The high priests then were found scratching their heads wondering how these uneducated, untrained men could possibly be so bold and wise and then they recognized they (Peter and John) had been with Jesus!  I don't know exactly how they recognized it but they did and could not say anything in opposition because the crippled man was standing right there!  Jesus' teachings, promises, and influence was now shaping the ministry and work of the early church through these ordinary men.  

While it is not possible for us to sit on a mountainside or under a shade tree or beside the seashore and actually see and hear Jesus teach, it is possible for us to be with Jesus as we study the Word and pray.  We can put ourselves around believers who can teach, encourage and admonish us and the world around us will notice "they have been with Jesus."  They may even catch us humming a tune!

Lord, may it be evident to the lost world around us that we are marked by Christ's love and may our love boldly prove evident that we also have been with Jesus.  

Book Review for "Detours" by Tony Evans

I am a part of the B&H/Lifeway Blogger team and have the privilege of reviewing new books.  This book is definitely a favorite!

This was my first book to read by Tony Evans but it won't be my last.  Every chapter in this book seemed to speak directly to me.  Tony uses detours in the life of Joseph as he is sold into slavery in Egypt and later became one of Egypt's most powerful leaders as a parallel to our lives today.  He explains detours are not dead-ends but are actually necessary to our ultimate instruction and guidance.  I have already recommended this book to several friends and family!

If you struggle with situations and circumstances going on in your life and wonder what's going on, the book Detours by Tony Evans may be a wonderful resource!

Celebration Day by Bill Liggett

Passage:  “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.”  Acts 4:12

I have fond memories of Easter from my childhood.  It was a time to be with family that I usually did not see at other holidays like Christmas or Thanksgiving.  Lunch on that Sunday was usually at my Aunt Fanny’s house near Red Store west of Waurika.  Her yard would be covered in flowers and the house would smell of the finest of foods.  My aunt cooked for farm hands and harvest crews her entire life and was famous for her desserts.  

For some reason, Easter egg hunts were always held at Grandmother Bodenhamer’s house where my cousins, Mark and Jenny would hunt eggs and then hide them from our parents.  Every time we hid them there were fewer and fewer eggs.  I would always imagine what my grandfather would say when he mowed the yard later and would hit those rotten forgotten Easter eggs.

My birthday always falls somewhere around Easter, and sometimes even on Easter Sunday - I guess that is why this is my favorite time of year.  The weather can be exciting, nature is waking up from winter’s sleep, outdoor activities become more frequent and life seems renewed. 

Easter is the greatest celebration of the Christian year.  Christmas is the most anticipated but the most maligned.  Easter is a complete rebirth, in that we move from the darkest moment in history of man to the greatest moment in the Kingdom of God.  Death becomes life, despair gives way to celebration, hopelessness finds its way to possibility, fear folds into faith.  

Easter is more than a chance for absentees to make their yearly appearance and more than a time to feel good about Spring.  Easter is the quintessential manifestation of God’s long-term plan of salvation for mankind.  Jesus’ crucifixion paid our price, but his resurrection sealed the fate of Satan, death and sin. 

JESUS WON and Easter Sunday is our annual victory celebration. 

HE IS ALIVE, HE IS ALIVE, PRAISE GOD HE IS ALIVE. 

From Darkness to Light by Kara (Liggett) Baumann

Passage:  “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6:12

I know several people who have been through financial planning courses to help get rid of debt.  One thing that they all have in common is that they allocate certain amounts of cash to use as spending money throughout the week to help reduce spending as much money on frivolous items. 

I don’t know if having cash would necessarily help me spend less money, but I do agree that it is easy to swipe a debit or credit card to make purchases and not think about the balance in those accounts since, technically, they are out of sight.  It’s much easier to use a credit card than to pay off the balance.  I would definitely agree that the principle behind the philosophy of spending only the money we can see would help us be more conscientious about our spending. 

I recently thought about what if I could see the spiritual warfare going on around us when we make everyday life decisions?  For example, when we are choosing how to spend our time during the day or choosing the words to say to someone, what if we could see the powers of darkness trying to persuade us to be selfish, petty, or judgmental?  Would we make a different decision if we could in fact see the battle that is taking place in our soul?  I want to believe that light would win over the darkness because I would be frightened to allow any darkness at all to take over my being.   

If we are prepared to use the light in our lives, like cash, we are more equipped to make decisions that help us stand by the faith we have in that light.  It’s more than just picturing the angel and devil on your shoulder.  A simple cartoon cannot fully represent the battle of God’s angels fighting for your devotion over Satan’s slick marketing of earthly desires that will do nothing but destroy you little by little by blinding you to God’s grace and mercy. 

I want to be debt-free from darkness, I want to live with a wallet full of light. 

Jesus You are the Light of the world.  You shine in the darkness but the darkness cannot and did not overcome You!  May we be bright light of the good news to a lost world.

Peculiar Perspectives

Passage:  “I was born for this, and I have come into the world for this:  to testify to the truth.  Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice….What is truth? said Pilate.” John 18:37-38

Easter - The celebration that falls on a different Sunday each year. Sometimes it comes in March; sometimes in April.  We never know if it will still have the chill of winter or the warmth of spring. 

Even though this is a distinctively Christian celebration, the marketing world still has to bring on the eggs and chocolate bunnies.  I have no problem with chocolate but I have to say if that’s all we associate with Easter we are completely missing the point!

The cross is that beautiful, horrible symbol for us as believers.  I can’t read the scripture that describes the treatment of Jesus before and during his crucifixion without being completely broken.  As I recently reread this event in the gospel of John I am reminded of different perspectives of this same event. 

The apostles (minus Judas) either went running or followed tentatively only to deny any association with Him.  John is the only disciple we know that was at the cross.  The high priests are sadly disgusting as in John 18 they brought Jesus to the governor’s headquarters but didn’t enter ‘otherwise they would be defiled and unable to eat the Passover.’  There were much bigger problems than eating Passover as they were offering up the true Passover Lamb.  Pilate is somewhat confused and also spineless as he asks Jesus “What is truth?” then washed his hands of Him.  The crowds instead of waving palm branches were enraged asking for a notorious criminal over the Son of God.  Their perspective had certainly changed.  Mary and some other women were completely heartbroken as they cried at the cross.  After Jesus died, even though they didn’t understand Joseph and Nicodemus were merciful.  There was no one who was there who could see anything but the horror of the cross.  The price for sin was ugly and horrific.

Jesus knew what was on the other side of the cross.  While He was fully human, He hurt, He bled, and He died.  His perspective as fully God was an eternal one. His perspective was that they would have no authority over Him at all if it had not been give to them from above (John 14:11).  His love for a lost world trumped every lash, every slap, every nail, every thorn, and every piercing. 

When the women exclaimed three days later “We have seen the LORD!” the perspective of Jesus’ followers changed and from that moment until now we celebrate the risen Christ!  Jesus said “Because you have seen Me, you have believed.  Those who believe without seeing are blessed!” (John 20:29)

LORD, how can we ever thank You enough for the salvation of the cross and the power of the resurrection.  May our perspective, our eyes ever be on You!”