When I was given the opportunity to review this brand new devotional Bible, I absolutely had to say yes! There has been a lot of buzz around the Christian Standard Bible translation.  It is a relatively new translation that was developed by more than 100 scholars from 17 different denominations. This translation was designed to faithfully and accurately capture the original meaning without compromising the readability. I love to read different translations and have been wanting to check this version out. Often, when I am studying something, I will cross-reference several different versions.

I was expecting a nice Bible, but was very impressed when I received it in the mail. It is a beautifully made, hardcover Bible with so many extra features. Each book has an introduction that includes historical background information, what the book is about, and why the book is important and applicable today. There are also reading plans that coincide with 10 different themes (Beautiful Brokenness, Better Together, Daily Grace, Everyday Leadership, just to name a few). There are 52 reflective devotions that are designed to begin each week of scripture reading and are the anchors of the reading plan. There are also 260 devotional pieces that are written by various authors with personal stories and written to help further understand the scriptures. Fifty women throughout the Bible are also highlighted for various aspects of their character in articles called Women of Courage. Finally there are also theme verses and plenty of journaling space.

I have really enjoyed this Bible. The devotionals are just the right length for a quick read, but are also tied with verses that reflect what they are talking about. This Bible will definitely be my new personal Bible. I really like this translation so far, and have found that it associates well with my regular go-to translation, The New Living Translation. I hope you will check this one out for sure!!! If you would like to win your own free copy of this Bible, click here.

 

This is not my typical book review. I usually try to stick with Christian non-fiction or Devotionals but how could I say no to reviewing this book? My middle child is absolutely obsessed with cows. She has a stuffed cow that she has slept with for as long as I can remember and last year when she was in daycare she had everyone call her moo-moo cow. Her dad and I even lovingly refer to her as Maci Moo Moo. I got this book just for her!

I absolutely loved this book. It is incredibly illustrated and has the cutest story. All of the farm animals are jealous of what they perceive are the advantages of being a different animal. So, one by one, they start acting like the animal they are jealous of. The cow wants to run free like the horse, the dog wants inside like the cat, even the farmer gets in on the chaotic action. Such a sweet book. My girls loved it so much that we had to read it a few times.

If you are interested in getting a free copy click here.

Get some free coloring pages here.

 

Growing up, I never really knew people who had dealt with real persecution. I grew up in a pretty safe town where I never had to worry about discrimination or persecution due to my faith. I would hear stories on the news about those things, but they seemed worlds away.  I had absolutely no personal experience that would even come close to what so many Christians around the world are dealing with on a daily basis.

About 9 years ago, my world broadened exponentially. I started teaching at a school where many of my students were refugees from Burma or Thailand. My very first teaching experience was with early elementary ESL (English as a Second Language) students during summer school. This group of kids was made up of mostly refugee students who spoke either Burmese or another dialect called Karen. My teaching aide was an incredible man who I still work with that was also from Burma. Most of those kids lived in a kind of poverty I have never seen. During that summer, I grew to love those kids and learned so much from my aide about the world in Burma and Thailand (where many of the Burmese live in refugee camps). He would tell stories of life in the jungles of Burma, how corrupt many of the soldiers were, and of how he and his wife escaped the dangers and horrors of that country. During that time I developed a compassion I had never had before for the people I use to pass judgement over.

When given the opportunity to review Reload Love: Transforming Bullets to Beauty and Battlegrounds to Playgrounds, I was intrigued after reading what it is about. Reload love chronicles the journey of the author, Lenya Heitzig, as she steps into creating her ministry called Reload love. This ministry was born when the author saw the atrocities happening to refugees and innocent children half a world away as she watched the news from the safety of her own comfortable home. That became a springboard for her to start a ministry that would eventually bring her into the heart of the war-torn middle east and into Burma and Thailand, something that has transformed her life forever.

Reload Love ministers into the hurting people of so many countries ravaged by war. They now make and sell jewelry that is manufactured from spent bullet casings. They also fund the building of playgrounds that are built in areas that have been annihilated due to battles or ISIS attacks in order for children to be able to have a place to, even for a moment, forget about the atrocities they have seen and just play.

This book is such an eye opener for me and anyone who reads it. So many of us live safe, relatively easy lives here in America, and don’t even have a clue about the violence and fear so many people live in.  I recommend that every person who sits in a suburban church every Sunday, never experiencing what it feels like to live in fear, read this book. We all need to have our eyes opened to the suffering going on in our world.

If you would like to enter to win a copy of your own go here.

 

There is a phrase, one that we were taught from a very early age, that holds a lot of power. That simple phrase is the difference between being assumed to be grateful, or thought of as having a sense of entitlement. The phrase, of course, is ‘thank you’. As a mom, hearing a genuine thank you that I don’t have to ask for from my little girls makes my heart happy. On the flip side, when they don’t say thank you, especially to people outside the family who have done something kind or have given them something, I can feel like I am failing a bit in raising them to be grateful.

As a teacher, I deal with so many occasions where I go out of my way to help a student and never hear the words “thank you” uttered. It comes with the territory. It is somewhat expected when it comes to teenagers, because honestly, they don’t have enough life experience to know when someone is going out on a limb for them. What shouldn’t be as common, however, is not hearing gratitude from adults, whether it is parents, coworkers, or members of the community.

“Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18 NLT

All over scripture we are told to give thanks. It isn’t optional. We are to be grateful, and show our gratitude. One of the most frustrating things for me is when I have gone out of my way to do something or give something to someone else, and they either don’t acknowledge it, or don’t say thank you. Don’t get me wrong, when I do things for others I don’t do them to receive any kind of recognition, however, a simple thank you is just the courteous thing to do.

Jesus even recognized gratitude. In Luke 17:11-19, we read the story of Jesus healing ten lepers. When he healed them, only one came back to thank him. Here is what Jesus had to say (verses 17-19), “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.”

Maybe it boils down to simply not recognizing the things that others do for us. If that is the case, my prayer is that our eyes would be open to see what others are doing on our behalf. Perhaps we do recognize what is being done, but are selfish and have come to a point of feeling entitled to having others meet our needs. If that is the case, I pray for humility. Whatever it is, my prayer is that we would start an epidemic of gratitude. Not false, insincere mumblings of “thanks”, but true, heartfelt gratitude. Help us Lord, to appreciate others, and treat them as we would like to be treated.

Thank You!

 

Envy. It is one of the biggest relationship killers that exists. It is also one of the biggest thieves of joy in so many people’s life. Some people get so consumed by envy that they go deep into debt trying to live like people they are jealous of. Whether you find yourself in the extreme category of envy, or simply struggle from time to time with twinges of jealousy, we all fall prey to the green-eyed monster from time to time.

Seeing Green goes through the many different forms of envy we may experience. Some of these things include envy of intellect, creativity, influence, and relationships, just to name a few. The author, Tilly Dillehay, uses personal stories of her own struggles with jealousy along with lots of scripture to explain why we struggle the way we do. She focuses a lot on glory, specifically the glory of God and how envy comes from us chasing after shadows of that glory in the wrong places.

This book is so needed in the world we live in right now.  Here in the US, keeping up with the Jones’ is a way of life. So many people can’t even find joy in the success of others because of jealousy. At work, if someone receives a promotion, rather than being congratulated, coworkers will often gossip around the water cooler. This kind of thing even happens within families. Brothers and sisters often can’t celebrate each other’s success because they are too busy trying to outdo each other.

I highly recommend taking a look at Seeing Green.  Whether you struggle tremendously to overcome that “green-eyed monster”, or only notice jealousy being an issue every once in a while, you will find some truth in this book. If you are interested in purchasing a copy of your own, you can get it for 25% off using the code SEEINGGREEN25 from now through September 30th here. You can also enter to win a free copy here.

 

 

 

I absolutely love Christmas. So, when given the opportunity to review an advent calendar, of course I am going to jump on it! Here is a little sneak peak at what it looks like. You can also check out this video to see more of the pictures!

The first thing I was incredibly impressed by was how large and durable the calendar is. This is something that can be used year after year without worry of it getting tore up. The entire calendar is like the cover of a sturdy, hard cover book. The inside flaps were also pretty thick and seemed like they would endure wear and tear pretty well.

This is not your typical advent calendar telling the traditional story of the journey Mary and Joseph took en route to Bethlehem. Rather, it tells the story from the viewpoint of the shepherds. It goes through the angels appearing to the shepherds and talk of their King. The artwork is absolutely gorgeous and the way the story is told helps to really bring out the human side of the shepherds.

I love the concept of this calendar, however, if I was to recommend it, it would be to families with a little bit older children than the ones I have (6, 4, and 2). This would be a great change of perspective for kids that are already very familiar with the story of Mary and Joseph. It could be a conversation starter about how God uses ordinary people for extraordinary purposes.

If you are interested in helping the creators of this calendar getting this product in retail stores, you can purchase your own at a discounted price here. I hope you will consider helping the creators in this grassroots project!!!

 

 

This book’s title alone is enough to be intriguing. There are a lot of things that are often considered sin in the Christian realm; excessive drinking, doing drugs, sleeping around, just to name a few.  However, the issue of being overweight is often a grey area. Some people consider being overweight, or as the author insists, fat, as a sin. Gluttony is what they call it. Others, look at it as a minor thing that would not fall in the category as sin. Lack of self control, yes. Sin, not so much.

When I had the opportunity to review this book, I wanted to see what the author had to say on the issue. I have to be honest though, as I read this book I had mixed emotions. The author, J. Nicole Morgan, has struggled with weight issues her whole life. She tells much about her struggles throughout the pages of this book. She is referred to as a leader in “Fat Positivity” in her bio on the back cover. I thought I would go through a few of the high and low points I saw in this book, to explain my mixed emotions.

Let’s start with the negatives. My first struggle with this book was with how the negatively the author referred to Christian men who didn’t only focus on inner beauty, mostly because they don’t necessarily look the way of an overweight woman. She almost seemed angry that a Christian man would care about outward appearance. My second struggle may be a little controversial. She tells a story about a long term boyfriend who sweet talked her into sleeping with him. The thing that bothered me is that she called it rape. The way she describes the situation, the physical part of their relationship continued for four years, even adding that that is how she kept him toward the end. I struggle with referring to something as rape in hindsight when she continued to engage in the activity. Dysfunctional, for sure, but to use the word rape is pretty strong. Granted, I was not there, only her and him know exactly the situation, I can only gauge by what she wrote. The third negative was how she referred to Christians in the weightloss world. Specifically those who had written books about it. She referred to a book by Lysa Terkherst, Made to Crave, which is actually a book that is more geared toward craving more of God but is told through the personal stories of Lysa in her struggles with weight. Rather than appreciating that book, she tears it down because the author longs for the day when there are more books on how to live well in the body you are in, rather than change your body. Although, I can agree on one point with that statement, I also believe there is nothing wrong with working each day to be a better you than the day before, including physically.

Now to the positives. I really appreciate how the author wants each person to love the body they are in. There is so much self-hatred in our world, that learning to love your current self a little more is so important. I also applaud how she actually includes many ideas about how she overcame self hatred and started to love herself just as she was.  Some of these included practical things like knowing your exact measurements so that you can order clothes online that will fit you better, understanding that sizing runs differently in different brands (she used an example of being a 3x in one brand and a 6x in another), and learning how to actually accept compliments. Finally, toward the end of the book she mentioned some ideas for the culture as a whole, specifically churches, to do to be more welcoming to people of any size. She talked about how having pews in churches are much more accommodating than stadium seating. She even brought up the spacing of the isles as something to consider.

As you can see, I definitely had mixed emotions when it comes to this book. I cannot paint it as all bad, although I also can’t say I agreed with everything. It did open my eyes to some things as I read it though. I am sad for her and people like her who have struggled not only with weight, but with harsh words from Christians about their weight. Now matter what your personal convictions are about another person, it is never okay to be condemning. Jesus showed us that in how gently he handled the sinners he dealt with. I also realize that as a culture we need to be more focused on the person rather than the body. I would encourage anyone interested in this topic to grab a copy and read it for yourself. If you want a free copy click here to enter in the giveaway.

 

 

 

Fear. It is one of the most powerful motivators on the face of the planet. Fear is a double edged sword. On one end, fear can keep us safe. It is nearly impossible for me to pull out of my driveway without looking both ways for fear of getting hit. However, on the other end of the spectrum fear can stop us from trying something new or doing something we feel called to. I have experienced my share of both ends of that spectrum, like most people.

My senior year of college, I decided to face some nerves and a little fear of the future and go on a date with a guy that I ended up marrying a year and a half later. Sometimes facing our fears is the very thing that propels us into the next phase of life.  Straight out of college, I landed a job 8 hours away from home, 2 states away from my hometown. Talk about a little bit of fear.  I pushed through the fear, made the move, and 3 1/2 years later got laid off from the job. Sounds terrible, but turned out to be a blessing. If you know much about my story, you will know I experienced a lot of fear during that time. That fear drove me to getting another job fairly quickly. A job I HATED after just 3 weeks. Fear kept me in that job for 6 months before I finally left it to go to a job that I was fearful to admit I wanted to try…teaching. Facing that fear turning into a great change in my life’s direction!

Time and time again, we will hit times where we are fearful. Healthy fear has kept me safe from danger, while irrational fear has held me back from taking a leap of faith. However, one of my favorite verses from one of my favorite stories in the Bible, the story of the Israelites crossing into the promised land, says it perfectly: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:6. Oh how true this is!

So what are you afraid of? More importantly, what might you be missing out on by not facing that fear? Who knows where a leap of faith could take you! I know for me that first step is terrifying, but when I look in the rearview mirror, I am so glad I did it. I truly believe that if you have prayed about something and still feel like you should do it, God will protect you even if it is a bit of a detour. Some of our best lessons can come from a not so well-beaten path. So what’s stopping you! Take the leap!

 

 

 

We all have something. A goal, dream, or “someday” aspiration that we hope to achieve. So, why are so many of us not achieving them? Why do we keep those hopes and dreams locked into a secret compartment somewhere. The term “someday” should be a curse word. It’s almost a crutch we use to kick the can down the road.

For me, writing and publishing a book was that thing. I sat around with that “someday” thought, but kept sitting around. My 30th birthday was a wake-up call for me. I decided at that point that someday had to happen. It was like salt on a wound when 31 rolled around and it still hadn’t happened. I was determined not to let that happen again. Over the next year I made myself write. It was actually pretty frustrating at times, especially when I felt finished but had hours and days of editing. However, when I officially had it published just a couple of weeks before my 32nd birthday, it was and amazing feeling.

Reaching a goal sounds great when you make the goal. Then, the new wears off. Realization that reaching a goals is hard sets in pretty quickly. It’s easy to start with passion and fire, just to lose that passion in a matter of days. It doesn’t matter if you are trying to lose weight or trying to reach a life goal, it is way easier to just dream about it rather than actually doing it.

Easy isn’t always right though.

We all want comfortable, low stress lives, but is that what God has called us to? I don’t recall Jesus ever saying “Sit on your couch, take up your remote, and binge watch Netflix”. No, he said to take up our cross and follow Him (see Matthew 16:24). For Jesus, God’s calling for Him was that literal cross. He had to endure the struggles that came with that cross in order to fulfill His calling. So what is your cross? For me, writing was a part of that but becoming a teacher was something  I also felt a lot of calling in. I resisted for a while, but finally jumped in and did it. It was incredibly hard to do, and continues to be a huge challenge, but worth it. Our callings in life are not going to be easy. As a matter of fact, when we are operating in what God has for us, we will often get a lot of resistance. That doesn’t make it not worth it.

I am preaching to myself today. I have a few more things up my sleeve that I feel God asking me to do, but sitting on that couch with remote in hand binge watching something feels a lot easier. It seems like every time I am determined to do what I feel called to, the distractions are non-stop. Whether it is technology or my toddlers, something is always taking my eyes off the prize. So, I want to challenge all of us:

What’s stopping you?

More importantly, what are you going to do about it?

 

 

There is an old saying that states “actions speak louder than words”. We have all heard it but to we really all believe it? More importantly do we live our lives in a way that our actions speak the message of Christ? This is something I have felt challenged over during the past year. It is something that God has really been teaching me and dealing with in me. Our biggest witness is our day to day lives and how we deal with others during the more mundane parts of our day. It’s the attitude we have with the lady checking us out at the gas station, how we handle when we get cut off on the highway, and how we treat people who aren’t in our “social circles”.

 

Many of the teachings of Jesus revolved around the hypocrisy of simply saying religious things and not following through to do them. As a matter of fact, the very religious people of the day, the Pharisees, were even referred to as both a brood of vipers and as white-washed tombs by Jesus himself. The thing I love about Jesus the older I get and the more I read his teachings, is that He was not afraid to call it as it was. He never shied away from pointing out the hypocrisy of the religious leaders. However, he was also quick to extend grace to those who desperately needed it. As I have been thinking through all that God has been dealing with within me, I have seen times where I have been extended great grace, as well as times that hypocrisy has been shown within me. As I walk through the four areas that I have found actions speaking louder than words, I hope that you will take a moment to pause and honestly reflect on your own actions. I know that for me, as I reflected, and continue to reflect, I see some areas where I have had success, as well as areas that I still need lots of work.

In order to more easily remember the four areas I will be using the acronym ACTS.

A- Acceptance of others

Growing up, I was probably one of the most judgemental people that you would meet. Now, mind you, you likely wouldn’t realize that I was that way, however, I judged people based on everything imaginable; what they wore, what music they liked, where they lived, even which church they went to. Jesus adamantly spoke against this kind of attitude. This couldn’t be more clearly stated than it is in Matthew 7:1-2. I especially love the Amplified version of this verse:

7 “Do not judge and criticize and condemn [others unfairly with an attitude of self-righteous superiority as though assuming the office of a judge], so that you will not be judged [unfairly]. 2 For just as you[hypocritically] judge others [when you are sinful and unrepentant], so will you be judged; and in accordance with your standard of measure[used to pass out judgment], judgment will be measured to you.

What a terrifying thought. As harshly we pass judgement on others, we will be judged in the same manner.  Jesus never judged the people he came in contact with. I think specifically about the woman caught in the act of adultery in John 8. She was caught red-handed. However, rather than condemning her Jesus extended a hand of grace. Now, he never excused the sin, after all he told her to go and sin no more, but he did give a loving hand of grace.

C- Compassion for others

Jesus tells a parable that so many of us are familiar with that we call the Parable of the Good Samaritan. In this parable a man is robbed, beaten, and left for dead on the side of the road. Time after time, “religious” men pass him by without as much as a glance of compassion. Finally a Samaritan man, who would have been considered an outcast in that day, had compassion on the man and helped him.

I have heard it said that the church is the only institution on earth that shoots it’s wounded. We are often quickest to pass judgement on each other. However, when we fall, the church (which is all of us who are followers of Christ) should be the first place to forgive and rehabilitate. Churches have lost members over internal fighting, hypocrisy, and wounds. We should be making allowances for the shortcoming of others, rather than running away from each other the moment we feel offended.

We also need to be careful how we treat others when we are the one who is hurt. Do we lash out when someone hurts us? Are we quick to get defensive and rude when things don’t go our way? Do we chew out or treat rudely the teenage kid that is serving us at a fast food restaurant because he got our order wrong? Do we gossip about our boss at work because he or she doesn’t listen to every bit of advice we give them? Jesus teaches us to do the opposite. He states in Matthew 5:38-48:

38 “You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. 40 If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. 41 If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. 42 Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow.
43 “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. 44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! 45 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. 46 If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. 47 If you are kind only to your friends,how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. 48 But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

T- Togetherness with others (especially those not like us)

This is a challenging one for many of us, myself included. We like the comfort of being like people who live in a similar way, have the same hobbies, and believe like we do. We form friendships around that concept, and raise our children to not hang around kids we don’t feel comfortable with. We often isolate ourselves from people who don’t act or think like we do. We look for schools for our children and shop for houses based on that criteria.

My judgemental upbringing often makes this an area of challenge for me even to this day. However, I think back about 9 years to the first time I had actually met a refugee. I was teaching summer school the year before I officially started as a teacher. I was teaching kids 1st-5th grade from Burma who knew little to no English. My assistant was also a former refugee from Burma. That experience was so eye-opening to me. Those kids were so sweet and my assistant would tell me stories of his home country that were unimaginable. My heart broke for the refugees. It had been so easy for me to pass judgement over them when I had never met one. However, when I got into the trenches my heart was softened for those people. My time working with those kids taught me a little about the heart of Jesus.

Jesus did the same thing. He didn’t hang out only in the temples and avoid the trenches. No, he jumped head first into those trenches and did life with the people that most religious leaders avoided. Everyone from prostitutes to tax collectors to lepers. No one was unwelcome when Christ was around. Do we present ourselves that way?

S – Service toward others

This may be one of the most important things that Jesus showed us during his time on earth. The king of the world chose to humbly serve his disciples by washing their feet. He served his followers by time and time again feeding the multitudes. He served the sick and hurting by healing them. Jesus said in Matthew 16:24 24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” This verse always challenges me because I want to follow without the denying and especially without the taking up a cross thing. I want to be a follower of Christ without the whole sacrifice thing. That isn’t what Jesus calls us to do though.

Whenever missionaries come around I am always challenged. They often start out having had a perfectly fine “American Dream” type of life. Yet, for the cause of Christ, they turned their life upside down to serve Him. I don’t by any means think that everyone is called to do that. However, maybe we should make a bigger effort to serve the people God has placed in our lives. Maybe that means volunteering somewhere or perhaps it means simply serving the person at work who you really don’t like. We have all been placed in our own mission fields for such a time as this.

Final Thoughts

Our actions really do speak loudly. Whether you are standing in line at the grocery store, driving down the highway, or standing behind a pulpit, we are all preaching a sermon, whether we realize it or not. The way we handle ourselves during adversity speaks loudly. How we treat others outside the four walls of a church building means so much more than we even realize. My prayer is that as we all grow in our faith, our walk would also mature. I want people to know that I am a Christian without a word.

D.L. Moody said it perfectly when he wrote in his Bible. “I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything but I can do something. What I can do, I ought to do, and what I ought to do, by the grace of God I will do.”