WORD up!

Dani Pettrey’s freshman novel and the first in the “Alaskan Courage” series, “Submerged”, is a phenomenal work of fiction!   A thrilling and suspenseful mystery and a solid romance, this novel has it all!   Bailey Craig escaped her past and everyone connected with it when she left Yancey, Alaska.   When she must return for her Aunt Agnes’ funeral, she is forced to face the mistakes of her youth and the true love she left behind.   Cole McKenna thought he was over Bailey until she showed up back in Yancey.   Now he wonders if he can go back to life without her when she leaves. These characters are supremely likable.   The plot is solidly crafted.   The dialogue is genuine, not contrived.   This was a completely enjoyable book! I am so glad I was able to take a little break from my normally strained blog tour schedule to read this wonderful book that has been sitting in my “to be read” pile for months!   I am anxiously awaiting the arriv...

Please forgive this rough draft format, as these are my raw study notes on the book of Joshua, although they are a bit better formatted than former efforts. I felt a great sense of urgency to publish them rather than waiting until I had the time to pretty them up. Thank you and I pray that God blesses and encourages you through this material. I’m not sure of the condition of the world at the time of this publication. But at the time of its writing, summer 2009, things are looking increasingly bleak with the economy and unemployment, there is a renewal and increase of racism, and godly principles of living being disregarded. Are these the first stages of birth pains? The last? God only knows. And He is very busy these days. Stay strong and very courageous. Encourage each other. Pray. Jesus is coming to deliver His people and judge the wicked… Stacey Take a few minutes to pray and savor chapter 19 of the Old Testament book of Joshua. Then return here and ponder the thoughts, answer the...

What I learned from the homework – This week was pivotal for me.   I am not the person I perceived myself to be.   I have lots to work on in this area.   I don’t like confrontation, so when honesty will cause a disagreement, I have sinned by avoidance. Proverbs 29:12 says that one of the consequences of dishonesty in leadership is that the leader’s officials become wicked.   I felt like that corrupted official this week.   I have served under a few leaders who have been closed-minded at times.   Rather than confronting the areas where we have a difference of opinion, I’ve kept silent and done things my own way (and encouraged others to do the same).   Not only is this behavior disrespectful to the leadership God has placed over me, it doesn’t give my leader the opportunity to change his or her behavior.   I need to pray for courage to live honorably in this area. What I learned from our class discussion – We must be honest in EVERY LIT...

Please forgive this rough draft format, as these are my raw study notes on the book of Joshua, although they are a bit better formatted than former efforts. I felt a great sense of urgency to publish them rather than waiting until I had the time to pretty them up. Thank you and I pray that God blesses and encourages you through this material. I’m not sure of the condition of the world at the time of this publication. But at the time of its writing, summer 2009, things are looking increasingly bleak with the economy and unemployment, there is a renewal and increase of racism, and godly principles of living being disregarded. Are these the first stages of birth pains? The last? God only knows. And He is very busy these days. Stay strong and very courageous. Encourage each other. Pray. Jesus is coming to deliver His people and judge the wicked… Stacey Take a few minutes to pray and savor chapter 18 of the Old Testament book of Joshua. Then return here and ponder the thoughts, answer the...

What I learned from the homework – Having a variety of counselors can help you make decisions by offering a perspective that’s different from your own.   But your primary source of counsel is the Word of God! What I learned from our class discussion – Pride and mistrust keep people from seeking out counsel – especially in financial matters.   We should seek our spouse’s opinion as a primary source of counsel.   Our parents should also be on our list of counselors.   Non-believers can also be our counselors if they are the subject matter experts who are educating us. Changes I have made/need to make – I need to broaden the base of people I count as counselors.   I need to seek God’s direction to identify the people He wants me to include in that group. Memorizing Scripture – Proverbs 12:15 is a wonderful verse!   I don’t want to be wise in my own eyes.   I do want to obey God’s Word and seek the counsel of the people He puts in my path. ...

Please forgive this rough draft format, as these are my raw study notes on the book of Joshua, although they are a bit better formatted than former efforts. I felt a great sense of urgency to publish them rather than waiting until I had the time to pretty them up. Thank you and I pray that God blesses and encourages you through this material. I’m not sure of the condition of the world at the time of this publication. But at the time of its writing, summer 2009, things are looking increasingly bleak with the economy and unemployment, there is a renewal and increase of racism, and godly principles of living being disregarded. Are these the first stages of birth pains? The last? God only knows. And He is very busy these days. Stay strong and very courageous. Encourage each other. Pray. Jesus is coming to deliver His people and judge the wicked… Stacey Take a few minutes to pray and savor chapter 17 of the Old Testament book of Joshua. Then return here and ponder the thoughts, answer the...

What I learned from the homework – Debt is slavery.   I am not promised tomorrow, so I shouldn’t manage God’s resources as if I am. What I learned from our class discussion – As His child, God wants me to be out of debt so that I may live gloriously for Him.   I don’t know if He will help me to achieve this lifestyle right away like He multiplied the oil for the widow or if the change will happen more gradually, but I know it will happen.   Hallelujah! I can sell what I’m not using!   Oh, my!   We tend to overlook the obvious, don’t we?   I want to get started on this idea right away. Changes I have made/need to make – I need to quit procrastinating and cancel the credit card that my husband and I agreed to get rid of.   I need to keep meditating on 1 Chronicles 29:11-12 and reminding myself that everything I have – including what I’m buying now – belongs to God.   I am continuing to be careful about the use of possessive pronouns ...

Please forgive this rough draft format, as these are my raw study notes on the book of Joshua, although they are a bit better formatted than former efforts. I felt a great sense of urgency to publish them rather than waiting until I had the time to pretty them up. Thank you and I pray that God blesses and encourages you through this material. I’m not sure of the condition of the world at the time of this publication. But at the time of its writing, summer 2009, things are looking increasingly bleak with the economy and unemployment, there is a renewal and increase of racism, and godly principles of living being disregarded. Are these the first stages of birth pains? The last? God only knows. And He is very busy these days. Stay strong and very courageous. Encourage each other. Pray. Jesus is coming to deliver His people and judge the wicked… Stacey Take a few minutes to pray and savor chapter 16 of the Old Testament book of Joshua. Then return here and ponder the thoughts, answer the...

What I learned from the homework – God owns everything! I have completed Destination 1 on the Crown Money Map!   Hallelujah!   Then the evidence of that disappeared when an unforeseen expense popped up.   Then, a week later, God provided the funds to complete that destination again.   Thank You, Jesus! Changes I have made/need to make – I need to get to work on paying off credit card debt and increasing my savings.   I have begun to think of everything I have as belonging to God.   I still need to remind myself of this at times. Understanding that God owns everything has given me a desire to get rid of some old habits:   like tolerating my kids’ lack of church attendance.   In the coming weeks, my husband and I plan to sit them down and explain that our home belongs to God, and as long as they live under His roof, they WILL attend church!   I’ll try to remember to let you know how that goes. My youngest daughter has already ...

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2y7TAz98NTqUZLHoZLam0XP3vl0SXvWXNwhwwdelw5HHlZukcHsHpQkVoJficSuGx945l5oOA013E0tRXh34LDjDdIqIScOT4kFbbjT8CO9OdEiMFYl47mQPUowjr4boXYu2R/s1600/FIRSTWildCardTours2.jpg"> href=" http://firstwildcardtours.blogspot.com/"> alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480264388542368882" src=" https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2y7TAz98NTqUZLHoZLam0XP3vl0SXvWXNwhwwdelw5HHlZukcHsHpQkVoJficSuGx945l5oOA013E0tRXh34LDjDdIqIScOT4kFbbjT8CO9OdEiMFYl47mQPUowjr4boXYu2R/s200/FIRSTWildCardTours2.jpg " style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 200px; margin: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 145px;" />It is time for a FIRST">http://firstwildcardtours.blogspot.com/">FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books.  A Wild Card ...

Please forgive this rough draft format, as these are my raw study notes on the book of Joshua, although they are a bit better formatted than former efforts. I felt a great sense of urgency to publish them rather than waiting until I had the time to pretty them up. Thank you and I pray that God blesses and encourages you through this material. I’m not sure of the condition of the world at the time of this publication. But at the time of its writing, summer 2009, things are looking increasingly bleak with the economy and unemployment, there is a renewal and increase of racism, and godly principles of living being disregarded. Are these the first stages of birth pains? The last? God only knows. And He is very busy these days. Stay strong and very courageous. Encourage each other. Pray. Jesus is coming to deliver His people and judge the wicked… Stacey Take a few minutes to pray and savor chapter 15 of the Old Testament book of Joshua. Then return here and ponder the thoughts, answer the...

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book! You never know when I might play a wild card on you! Today's Wild Card author is: Lynnette Bonner and the book: Spring Meadow Sanctuary CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (November 11, 2012) ***Special thanks to Lynnette Bonner for sending me a review copy.*** ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Born and raised in Malawi, Africa. Lynnette Bonner spent the first years of her life reveling in warm equatorial sunshine and the late evening duets of cicadas and hyenas. The year she turned eight ...

I felt the call upon my life last year to sign up for the Crown Financial Bible Study.   So, even though this is a seemingly chaotic season of new beginnings where I will begin teaching Sunday School and start back up with Bible Study Fellowship and continue my mid-week Bible study while still trying to fit in time to get to the gym, I signed up for Crown at its first offering after I felt the call.   I know that my obedience is key.   Because of the season, I am expecting God to show up mightily and teach me just how I can do all things through Him who gives me strength!   (Including memorizing all of the Scripture required to complete the course.)   Hallelujah! The first meeting is for record-keeping, passing out the books and getting introduced to the study.   You receive your first homework assignment at this preliminary meeting.   After two weeks pass to complete the assignment, the first meeting of the study takes place.   And I am an...