WORD up!

Please forgive this rough draft format, as these are my raw study notes on the book of Micah, 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, spring 2009, things are looking pretty bleak with the economy and unemployment, natural disasters, 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. 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 4 of the Old Testament book of Micah. Then return here and ponder the thoughts, answer the questions, and be sure to leave comments about your ...

Homework : What a week! I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. This study gets better and better as the days go by. It seems that every week I approach the lesson with the attitude that this won’t be the lesson I need. And every week – without fail – the lesson has been exactly what I needed but I didn’t know it. Thankfully, this week, I am not currently experiencing a “trembling inside” moment. But I have been exactly where Angela taught about. Only I didn’t recognize the process that I went through. Next time, I will know. Video : The teaching for session 5, “I Am Trembling Inside,” comes from 2 Corinthians 1. This incredible teaching assures the student that God is in the business of comforting us. But this isn’t a feel good, warm and fuzzy kind of comfort. It’s a deep comfort that brings stabilizing peace. It’s the sort of comfort that must be shared with others. Hallelujah! I am thrilled that Angela wrote this part of the study while she was waiting for results...

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 authors are: Jedd Medefind and Erik Lokkesmoe and the book: Upended: How following Jesus remakes your words and world Passio (May 1, 2012) ***Special thanks to Althea Thompson | Publicity Coordinator, Charisma House | Charisma Media for sending me a review copy.*** ABOUT THE AUTHORS: Jedd Medefind serves as president of the Christian Alliance for Orphans. Prior to this role, he led the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives a...

As the Gilded Age comes to a close, Elena Bissette's once-wealthy family has nearly lost its fortune. The Bissettes still own a home on fashionable Mackinac Island, where they will spend one last summer in the hope of introducing Elena to a wealthy suitor. But Elena is repulsed by the idea of marrying for money. Quickly tiring of the extravagant balls, Elena spends most evenings escaping back into Mackinac's rugged forest. There she meets Chase, a handsome laborer who shares her love for the night sky. The two begin to meet in secret at an abandoned lighthouse, where they work together to solve a mystery buried in the pages of a tattered diary. As Elena falls in love with Chase, her mother relentlessly contrives to introduce her to Chester Darrington, the island's most eligible bachelor. Marriage to the elusive millionaire would solve the Bissettes' financial woes, and Elena is torn between duty and love. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Melanie Dobson has written ten contemporary and ...

Please forgive this rough draft format, as these are my raw study notes on the book of Micah, 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, spring 2009, things are looking pretty bleak with the economy and unemployment, natural disasters, 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. 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 3 of the Old Testament book of Micah. Then return here and ponder the thoughts, answer the questions, and be sure to leave comments about your ...

Homework : Wow! These subjects are way too deep to be studied in only one week. I think Angela Thomas could do a full length study on each topic! As I did my homework this week, it seemed that the topic got bigger and bigger as I chewed on it and it felt like I had to swallow it down way too fast. Sorry about the food metaphor, but I think most of us can relate to being undisciplined in the area of food. This weeks’ homework definitely brought more to the surface than issues with food. Each question seemed to stir the pot of my life and make me think about things that I don’t normally pay attention to or maybe deliberately ignore. I didn’t realize the many areas where I am undisciplined. Thank you, Angela, for helping me to be more honest about myself. Video : The teaching for session 4, “I Am Undisciplined,” comes from Romans 7:15. This video teaching contained beautiful stories that I could picture vividly in my mind because of my own experiences and because I have spent th...

First of all, I would like to extend a heartfelt “Thank you” to Rosslyn Elloit and her publisher for sending me a copy of "Sweeter Than Birdsong" to review for them. I am truly grateful for this generosity. I really appreciate the time, effort and expense it takes to make a reviewer copy available to me. Rosslyn Elliot’s second novel in the Saddler’s Legacy Series, “Sweeter than Birdsong,” is the engaging tale of Kate Winter, a woman who desires nothing more than to escape her dysfunctional home life. When she finds that her only path to freedom may lie in swallowing her fear of public speaking, she auditions to participate in a musicale being cast. Ben Hamby is also a student at Otterbein University. He is moved by Kate’s voice when she auditions for the musicale, and saddened by her situation at home. But his first concern is to help slaves on the Underground Railroad as his father did and to find the wife of the slave that died at his home when he was just a boy. Altho...

Please forgive this rough draft format, as these are my raw study notes on the book of Micah, 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, spring 2009, things are looking pretty bleak with the economy and unemployment, natural disasters, 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. 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 2 of the Old Testament book of Micah. Then return here and ponder the thoughts, answer the questions, and be sure to leave comments about your ...

Homework : This week’s homework was a bit of a let-down. I’m not sure what I was expecting from this weeks’ study, but I’m not one of those people who have absolutely “suffered a thorn”. In fact, this is one of those Christianese expressions that I don’t really understand. I suppose what I would have liked was a short explanation of what a thorn really is. By the end of the homework, I still struggled with the idea that a thorn can be a malady or a relationship or a hardship. I looked at 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 and Angela’s teaching on the barbs of a thorn to measure the characteristics of what I think might be thorns in my life. The criteria of a thorn according to Angela and Paul is this: It cannot be removed by my own power. Its originator is Satan. It torments with pain and doubt. It weaves discouragement into my life. Its piercing produces weakness. God decides when to remove it. It kept Paul from becoming conceited. What I determined is that my thorns are not what anyon...

Please forgive this rough draft format, as these are my raw study notes on the book of Micah, 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, spring 2009, things are looking pretty bleak with the economy and unemployment, natural disasters, 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. 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 1 of the Old Testament book of Micah. Then return here and ponder the thoughts, answer the questions, and be sure to leave comments about your ...

Homework : Although “Brave” is like many other Bible studies regarding a five-day homework format, the homework is rather unique and challenging. First of all, the layout is like a scrapbook, which I wasn’t sure if it would be a good thing because it looks so busy. But one of the lovely ladies in my group shared that, when she sees the neat, single-column layout of most study guides, she answers the questions as if she’s taking a test. This seems to promote rote “Sunday School” responses rather than more thoughtful answers. She likes the scrapbook format because it lends itself to more creative thinking. I completely agree! And I’ve discovered that I’ve spent more time contemplating the questions in this study. I also like that the scripture being studied is included in the workbook. But I do miss flipping back and forth in my own Bible. I suppose I could seek out the Scriptures in my Bible even though they’re included. Video : The teaching for session 2, “I Am Worn Out,” com...

First of all, I would like to extend a heartfelt “Thank you” to MaryLu Tyndall and her publisher for sending me a copy of "Veil of Pearls" to review for them. I am truly grateful for this generosity. I really appreciate the time, effort and expense it takes to make a reviewer copy available to me. MaryLu Tyndall’s latest masterpiece, “Veil of Pearls” is not your typical Christian romantic adventure tale. It is the entertaining and thought-provoking story of Althea Claymore, a slave who has escaped from a plantation on the island of Barbados. Since her fair complexion allows her to pass for a white woman, she changes her name to Adalia Winston and finds herself working as an herbal healer in Charleston, South Carolina. Her vocation leads to a meeting with Morgan Rutledge, the seemingly spoiled son of a wealthy South Carolina plantation owner, and a love that she never thought she would ever know. But will that love be enough to sustain her if the secret of her race should...