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Showing posts from September, 2016

Take the Bible Challenge with Odyssey Adventure Club

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How much do you know about the Bible and its influence on our culture, history–and the whole world? Focus on the Family and Bring Your Bible have teamed up to create a quiz to test how much you and your kids know about the Bible. Take the quiz to find out! Don't forget to mark your calendars to celebrate religious freedom with other students across the U.S. on October 6— Bring Your Bible to School Day ! Students from kindergarten to college will be bringing their Bibles to school and sharing God with their friends in just a few short weeks. Sign up to be a part of the movement to protect religious freedom for future generations.   By signing up, you’ll receive a free guide with tips, downloadable posters, sticker and T-shirt designs, information on your legal rights, and other fun, interactive activities. You’ll also be automatically entered for a chance to win a free trip for four to hear the Newsboys, an award-winning Christian music band, in Dallas! Plus Bring Your

Experiencing God Through His Names by Sheryl Giesbrecht

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What’s in a name—God’s name? Walk with Sheryl Giesbrecht on a journey to discover God, His names, and His character in Experiencing God Through His Names .  Names are more than groups of letters that represent a person or identify objects. Names are powerful. A person’s character and destiny can be influenced by his or her name. God’s attributes and personality support His unique and distinct names. If we comprehend the meanings of His titles, we can know God more intimately. Sheryl is celebrating the release of  Experiencing God Through His Names  by giving away ten copies of the book.  Click here for details and to enter to win. {MORE ABOUT  EXPERIENCING GOD THROUGH HIS NAMES } (Bold Vision Books, June 2016) What’s in a name? Names are more than groups of letters that represent a person or identify objects. Names are powerful. A person’s character and destiny can be influenced by his or her name. God’s attributes and personality support His unique and distinct nam

Welby O’Brien’s ‘Love Our Vets’ Caregiver Comfort Pack Giveaway

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Do you have a loved one who has seen war and has Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder at some level? More than likely you who love your veteran will also be deeply and profoundly affected, which is why Welby O'Brien wrote  Love Our Vets , a resource for restoring hope for families of veterans with PTSD.  Sharing as a counselor and from her personal experience of living with a 100% disabled veteran with PTSD, Welby O’Brien gives hope, encouragement, and practical help for families and loved ones who are caught in the wake of the trauma. Love Our Vets answers more than 60 heartfelt questions, providing down-to-earth wisdom and much-needed tips for taking care of yourself. Take some time to care for yourself as the caregiver by entering to win a prize pack from Welby full of items to help you relax and de-stress.   One grand prize winner will receive: A copy of  Love Our Vets A picture frame to remind yourself to pray for your vet and the other veterans A wooden card to send

Giving children a name in life, dignity in death

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Linda Znachko’s small “yes” changed her life — and her community — forever When the evening news reported an abandoned baby had been found dead in a local dumpster, Linda Znachko ’s comfortable life changed. She was suddenly convicted, knowing God wanted her to provide a dignified burial for this tiny lost child. She obeyed, having no idea where that first small yes would lead. He Knows Your Name: How One Abandoned Baby Inspired Me to Say Yes to God (Kregel Publications/ September 27, 2016/ISBN: 9780825444043/$14.99) chronicles Znachko’s journey and challenges the reader to say yes to the Holy Spirit’s leading, no matter how insignificant or strange it may seem. As she continued to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, Znachko found herself in places she never dreamed she would be: at the graveside of the child of an abused mother, by the side of a mother fighting for her lost child and at the funeral of a Texas stripper who died two days before her baptism but left a l

Being a mom doesn’t mean you can’t live a Life Creative

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  A celebration of motherhood, creativity and the faith that binds them Creative moms often feel as though they must lay their passions down once the kids arrive, if for no other reason than there is no time. But God has something special in mind for creative women during this intense season of mothering. In Life Creative: Inspiration for Today’s Renaissance Mom (Kregel Publications/September 27, 2016/ISBN 978-0-8254-4410-4/$14.99) authors Wendy Speake and Kelli Stuart show that “a mother’s natural bent toward imagination doesn’t just wither and die with the
birth of a child. This core component remains part of her intricate design.” In our social media age of handcrafted children’s parties, artistic Instagram photos, tutorials for renovating old furniture into new treasures and blogs filled with poetry, prose and other expression, clearly a brand-new generation of inspired women is rising up. It is a renaissance born not in Italian cathedrals or Harlem jazz clubs, b

Jesus Loves Me

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Jesus Loves Me Jesus loves me this I know, For the Bible tells me so; Little ones to Him belong, They are weak but he is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! The Bible tells me so! Jesus love me he who died Heaven’s gate to open wide; He will wash away my sin, Let His little child come in. Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! The Bible tells me so! Jesus loves me he will stay Close beside me all the way, He’s prepared a home for me, And some day His face I’ll see. Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! The Bible tells me so! Jesus take this heart of mine, Make it pure and wholly thine; On the cross you died for me, I will try to live for Thee. Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! The Bible tells me so!

Any shows you're really into after week 1 of the new TV season?

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The new TV season. Not going to lie, I look forward to it more than Christmas (most years). Thankfully, my new DVR records up to five shows at once because I'm trying to find some new shows to get into in addition to my regular shows coming back on. I haven't gotten through everything I recorded yet, but I think so far I have watched four new shows. Here is a preview of each of the four and a quick yay or nay on whether I'm going to stick with them. I'm too lazy to give full reviews! ;) First up, This is Us . This is the show a lot of women gave a chance and a rave review of this week. It's what many are calling their replacement to Parenthood. I personally had a like/hate relationship with Parenthood, but that's another story. This one is going to be a yes on my continued watching list. Then, there was  Bull . Michael Weatherly left his role as DiNozzo on NCIS for his own show as a jury consultant. I don't have a real opinion yet. We'

See the Newsboys in Concert with Adventures in Odyssey

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  Want to be entered for a chance to win a free trip for four to hear the Newsboys, the award-winning Christian music band, in Dallas?  Sign up to be a part of the movement to protect religious freedom for future generations:  Bring Your Bible to School Day ! Students from kindergarten to college will be bringing their Bibles to school and sharing God with their friends on October 6. By completing the information on this page , you're automatically entered to win the chance to see the Newsboys with Focus on the Family and Adventures in Odyssey. Don't miss out on the chance to see a fantastic band with your family! Plus sign up for a free two-week trial of  Odyssey Adventure Club!   Getting used to a new school isn’t easy, especially for someone as paranoid as Buddy Norman. In “A Predicament of Biblical Proportions” he envisions wacky worst-case encounters with townsfolk who seem like mobsters, snoops and fairy-tale tyrants—until he gets to know them. He’s also

Jesus and the Beanstalk

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Get ready to topple the giants in your life with the help of Lori Stanley Roeleveld’s new book,  Jesus and the Beanstalk .  Using allegory and a bit of humor,  Jesus and the Beanstalk  explores a passage in 2 Peter 1 to uncover eight truths that will help you unleash a larger-than-life faith. Discover an unyielding strength when you tap the power of a God who is stronger than any beanstalk and bigger than your biggest giants. {MORE ABOUT  JESUS AND THE BEANSTALK } (Abingdon Press, September 2016) What if a fairy tale and ten Bible verses could free you to live an effective, fruitful life in Christ? We live in unsettling, challenging times. Everywhere we look, we see giant problems: giant obstacles to sharing faith, giant barriers to peaceful lives, giant strongholds of fear. But what if you knew eight small secrets to unlocking a strength big enough to overcome whatever obstacle life may bring? Using allegory and a bit of humor, Jesus and the Beanstalk explores a

Survivor: A sign of my age

I am glad that the new TV season has started this week, but I am already behind on the DVR. One thing I have watched is the premiere of Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen-X . Yes, by the way, people still do watch that. They must for it to have been on for 33 seasons. Simply watching the first couple of minutes before the theme music played confirmed something for me: I am old. All the Millennials annoyed me. You'll get a taste of that here.  

Is your house in need of a Total Family Makeover?

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New Book Offers Hope for Overwhelmed Parents Author and Bible Teacher Melissa Spoelstra provides practical steps to making disciples at home. In a culture where we’re all under the public eye, from everyday scrutiny on Facebook and the school pickup line, to media stories of affluenza teens and zoo trips gone wrong, the pressure to be a perfect parent is high, especially for Christians. Fortunately, God doesn’t demand parents to be perfect or to raise perfect children; instead He calls for faithfulness to Him. Christian parents are instructed to train and lead their children to Jesus, but kids are not a parenting report card. That truth can give the freedom to parent with love and patience, trusting God to do the rest. Many parents desire that kind of relationship with their children, but don’t know where to begin. In Total Family Makeover: 8 Practical Steps to Making Disciples at Home (Abingdon Press/ September 20, 2016/ISBN 978-1501820656/$16.99), Melissa Spoelstra gi

I may have to move to Arlington

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Last weekend at Wurstfest, we were next to a new vendor who was just starting to do shows. We were trying to fill her in on what kind of events to do -- and what not to do. Being there for hours upon hours... something like 10 hours... we talked a lot and got on the subject of Ranger games. The company she works for has season tickets, and she offered us a set. We could have gone on a weeknight, but we decided it would be more convenient to go on a Sunday afternoon. That was not our best choice. It's still hot here in Texas. Something like 95* hot. My arms are sunburned, but not as bad as I expected given that we forgot the sunscreen. I expected much worse. However, I sweated more than I have ever sweated while doing nothing more than sitting still in my life. I'll tell you how bad it was, we wouldn't leave our seats because the seats were so hot from the sun, we didn't want to get up the seats we had adjusted to in order to sit on the seat after it warmed up