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Showing posts from June, 2021

31 Days to Building Better Friendships

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An Interview with Amberly Neese, Author of The Friendship Initiative After a long year of separation, we long for connection. Despite faster internet connections, better WiFi hotspots, and more ways to stay connected than ever before, our lives still feel less and less connected. We desire healthy friendships but feel less equipped to make and foster them. In The Friendship Initiative , Neese dives into the friendships and connections Jesus made to reveal 31 keys for building relationships such as: exercising grace, asking/answering questions, having compassion, exercising humility, being present, reaching out to those who are different, and more. Each devotion includes Scripture, a devotional reflection, practical application ideas, and suggestions for reflection and prayer. Readers will find encouragement and practical help for connecting with others in their everyday lives by focusing on loving others as Jesus did. Q: In addition to the Common Ground Bible study, you also

Lead Them to Jesus: A Handbook for Youth Workers

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Click here to request a digital review copy or scroll down to the form at the end of this post.     Do you feel overwhelmed with the logistics of starting or keeping a youth ministry going? What about the tricky theological questions that keep you and your fellow youth workers on your toes? It’s a lot for what is usually an “all-volunteer army.” Help is here! Veteran youth pastor Mike McGarry offers a practical, comprehensive tool to jumpstart your youth ministry and help youth workers with biblical answers to the tough questions students ask.  In a two-part approach, he tackles both the practical skills and biblical depth needed for effective gospel-centered ministry to today’s youth. He leads readers through theological truths they should be equipped to discuss with students and offers practical skills every youth worker should cultivate.  Lead Them to Jesus  offers insight into the religious worldview of Gen Z and illustrates how to connect the gospel to their questions and core des

I've Got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy, Down in My Heart

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My goal is to have a new video next week, but maybe I should do this song here. We sang this at VBS a couple of weeks ago, and after the first verse, not many kids knew it! What is wrong with these kids? I’ve Got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy By George W. Cooke I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy Down in my heart, Down in my heart,  Down in my heart, I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy Down in my heart,  Down in my heart to stay. Chorus And I’m so happy, so very happy I’ve got the love of Jesus in my heart,  Down in my heart, And I’m so happy, so very happy, I’ve got the love of Jesus in my heart. I’ve got the love of Jesus, love of Jesus  Down in my heart, Down in my heart,  down in my heart, I’ve got the love of Jesus, love of Jesus  Down in my heart,  Down in my heart to stay. Chorus   I’ve got the peace that passes understanding  Down in my heart, Down in my heart,  Down in my heart, I’ve got the peace that passes understanding 

Looking for Reviewers for Consider Your Counsel

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    Biblical counseling is not an easy calling. How do you effectively communicate the gospel to hurting people? Theological training and learning from other counselors are both key to growing in the wisdom, love, and skill needed to apply Scripture to yourself and others. Preparation is key, but sometimes the most effective training comes after you’ve jumped into the ring—when a coach puts his arm around your shoulder and helps you take a look at what you’ve done well and where you can grow.   In  Consider Your Counsel,  Bob Kellemen comes alongside counselors and shares where he and others have missed the mark. Drawing on more than three decades of counseling supervision experience, he unpacks ten of the most common missteps that he has noticed in his own counseling, as well as those he has mentored.   Fr

I've Got Peace Like a River

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The still shot in this video says so much about these kids. They are going into high school in the fall. The one on the right? He looks like he could be a freshman in college and absolutely no one would question it! I’ve Got Peace Like a River I’ve got peace like a river (2x) I’ve got peace like a river in my soul. I’ve got peace like a river (2x) I’ve got peace like a river in my soul. I’ve got love like the ocean (2x) I’ve got love like the ocean in my soul. I’ve got love like the ocean (2x) I’ve got love like the ocean in my soul. I’ve got joy like a fountain (2x) I’ve got joy like a fountain in my soul. I’ve got joy like a fountain (2x) I’ve got joy like a fountain in my soul. I’ve got peace like a river. I’ve got love like the ocean. I’ve got joy like a fountain in my soul. I’ve got peace like a river. I’ve got love like the ocean. I’ve got joy like a fountain in my soul.

Carolyn Miller’s New Series Tells the Stories of the Regency’s Wallflowers

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Part 1 of an Interview with Carolyn Miller, Author of Dusk’s Darkest Shores While most stories set in Regency England focus on the rich, the young, and the beautiful, award-winning author Carolyn Miller decided she wanted to give readers something different for a change. Her new Regency Wallflowers series follows the commoners, away from the hustle and bustle of 1810s London, out in the Lake District of England. The new trilogy begins with Dusk’s Darkest Shores ( Kregel Publications), which tells the story of a meek wallflower who finds herself helping a returning war hero whose dreams have been plunged into darkness. Q: Please introduce us to your new Regency Wallflowers series, and specifically to your latest release, Dusk’s Darkest Shores . After writing nine books in the Regency Brides trilogies, I wanted to focus on stories that were less about the rich, beautiful, and titled aristocracy and more about ordinary people. Specifically, I wanted to tell the stories of women

Blogger Sign-ups Are Open for The Whole Life

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Click here to request a digital review copy.     Many of us live at a pace that is impossible to keep. Unrelenting busyness might feel necessary, but it can lead to chronic stress and burnout that hinders our love for God and others. Instead of adding more to our long to-do list, counselors Eliza Huie and Esther Smith guide readers in how to think biblically about their whole life. They give Christians a framework for biblical self-care that will help them live for Christ by stewarding the spiritual, emotional, relational, and physical aspects of life.  The Whole Life: 52 Weeks of Biblical Self-Care  outlines a balanced life of stewardship, offering practical strategies for Christians to g