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Thursday, December 31, 2009

Kona with Jonah by



In "Kona with Jonah" Bible study,
Time: 793-753 BC
Theme: God's mercy vs. Man's self-indulgence ~
we learn of God's love for the enemy of His people as well the need for forgiveness.

This book's introduction has practical anecdotal descriptions as well as historical and geographical descriptions. The introduction is very in depth. It also has text box quotes from other sources imbeded in the text, this helps the user get a feel historically for the book of Jonah.

This study is broken down into four weeks of study with each week then broken down into daily portions, with passage readings and assignments. It's great for personal study, but may be used in a group setting as well.

This study is fairly in depth...breaking down verses into words and phrases, and analyzing what some words actually mean and side studies on different topics. There are questions about the actually text, then questions on personal application.

There are also sidebar notes and text boxes highlighting key points or giving extra background on particular topics. Each section closes with a prayer and with a passage for memorization. This is a study that is rich, full, and deep.

The contents in the book is put into conversational style formating. Its spiral binding so it lays flat when you're reading or writing in it makes for a nice Bible study book.


See the main tour for this book series here.
See my review for Philippians in this series here.
For more "Coffee Cup Bible Study", click here.


A copy of this book was provided for review by KCWC





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Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Why we need Girlfriends by Frankie Sherman

This Bible study about girlfriends parallels the life of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. In this seven week study the reader will:
  • see the true beauty of friendship
  • see how friendships can impact others for Christ

Things to be discovered are:
  • God's timing is perfect
  • Friendships are God's unique gift for us to enjoy
  • Guidelines for healthy friendships

The Scripture readings and questions will help you dig dipper into God's Word. This study was designed to help women become more like Elizabeth and Mary will we prepare for the 2nd coming of Jesus. It will help women to become women in faith, who not only believes in God, but also believes God.

Become a Woman of:
F
aith
Reverences God
Integrity
Encourager
Nurture
Delights in God


A copy of this book was provided for review by KCWC






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Tuesday, December 29, 2009

2 Book Winners!








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WooHoo! Congrats to Edna!





Shining the Light on
Edna Tollison

Blog tour winner for
Edna left a comment at
Thanks Edna!

Edna will receive:
A copy of Sqeezing Good Out Of Bad,
mixes for lemon tea,
lemon cake,
lemonade and
assorted lemon candies.



books

Teaser Tuesday ~ Timber Lame Cove



Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along, so I thought I would play for fun! Just do the following:

  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I'm reading this one aloud to my daughter.

"Slipping through the brush, he went around to the other side, and from there, Dannie could see a window with a dim light inside. Someone was moving around in there, but the window was so dirty and the light was too dim for him to see more than the silhouette of the person."


~ p. 47, Timber Lane Cove by Carrie Bender


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Friday, December 25, 2009

Christmas Blessings...

Myspace Comments

Why Jesus is better than Santa Claus


Why Jesus is Better Than Santa Claus

author unknown

*Santa lives at the North Pole... JESUS is everywhere.

*Santa rides in a sleigh... JESUS rides on the wind and walks on the water.

*Santa comes but once a year... JESUS is an ever present help.


*Santa fills your stockings with goodies... JESUS supplies all your needs.

*You have to wait in line to see Santa... JESUS is as close as the mention of His name.

*Santa lets you sit on his lap... JESUS lets you rest in His arms.


*Santa doesn't know your name, all he can say is "Hi little boy or girl, what's your name?"... JESUS knew our name before we did. Not only does He know our name, He knows our address too. He knows our history and future and He even knows how many hairs are on our head.

*Santa has a belly like a bowl full of jelly... JESUS has a heart full of love.



*All Santa can offer is HO HO HO... JESUS offers health, help and hope.

*Santa says "You better not cry"... JESUS says "Cast all your cares on me for I care for you."

*Santa's little helpers make toys... JESUS makes new life, mends wounded hearts, repairs broken homes and builds mansions.



*Santa may make you chuckle but...JESUS gives you a joy that is your strength.

*While Santa puts gifts under your tree... JESUS became our gift and died on the tree.

Its obvious there is really no comparison! Jesus is still the reason for the season. Yes, Jesus is better, he is even better than Santa Claus.




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Thursday, December 24, 2009

Making Christmas Personal by Kathi Macias

“Making Christmas Personal”

Kathi Macias

It was Christmas Eve, my favorite night of the year, as we sat shoulder-to-shoulder on a rear pew in the quaint but packed country church. I had been a Christian for slightly less than ten years, but each day since that unforgettable moment in July 1974 when I had received Jesus as my Savior, I had prayed for my dad’s salvation. Dad was the last “holdout” in our family. Prior to 1969, none of us had known Jesus as Lord and Savior, but since that time we had all become Christians—except Dad. My stubborn German father, though raised by a praying mother, had rejected his childhood faith and now insisted he was an atheist.

That night my family was sure all that would change, for Dad had agreed to accompany us to the Christmas Eve service. We had been shocked but thrilled when he accepted our invitation, since we invited him to church quite often and he always refused. For the first time, on that night of all nights when the faithful gather together to commemorate the birth of God’s Son, my dad was with us.

As the service progressed, I found myself peeking out of the corner of my eye every few moments to make sure he was still there, sitting next to my mom, whose face literally shone with joy and excitement. But so far nothing was happening. Dad sat perfectly still, his big hands resting in his lap, his broad shoulders straight, his lined face expressionless. With the service about to end, I found myself fighting discouragement.

And then the lights went down and, as if on cue, the parishioners seated on the center-aisle end of the pews passed small unlit candles to everyone in their row. At the same time two ushers began to make their way down the center aisle, stopping at the end of each pew and lighting the candle of the first parishioner in each row. Those parishioners then turned and lit the candle of the next person in the row, and so on until everyone held a lit candle.

Clutching my own candle as I waited for the usher to reach our row, I glanced over at my parents and realized my ever-practical father must have decided the process was going much too slowly, for he suddenly fished his cigarette lighter out of his pocket and started lighting candles. Within minutes he had lit every candle at his end of the pew and was reaching over to the people in the pew in front of us to start on theirs.

Fighting humiliation, I closed my eyes and felt the sting of unexpected tears as I realized my dad was simply trying to be helpful. I heard a couple of chuckles in nearby rows, but no one said anything until the usher arrived at our pew. With the glow from his candle illuminating his face, the smiling man thanked my father for his assistance. Dad returned his smile and assured him he was glad to be of help, and the gracious usher moved on.

It was nearly fifteen years later before the last “holdout” in our family responded to the loving call of his heavenly Father. At eighty-eight years of age, less than one week before his death in October 1999, my sweet but stubborn German father received Jesus as his Savior—and then promptly went home to be with Him.

I have thought of that Christmas Eve so many times over the last couple of decades. With the exception of occasional weddings, funerals, or baptisms, Dad never came back to church with us after that night, though we asked him nearly every week. There were times we wondered how God would ever penetrate Dad’s seemingly hard heart with the gospel, but we clung to the knowledge that God is faithful and nothing is impossible with Him. And how we rejoiced when God finally broken through Dad’s resistance and we saw the tears of joy in his clouded eyes. Though a series of small strokes had left him bedridden and unable to speak, we were thrilled each time he grinned and lifted his finger to point heavenward at the mention of the name of Jesus. And we were so very grateful. But I have to admit that, despite my gratitude and joy, I also wondered why Dad had waited so long to receive such a truly awesome gift. As it turned out, because he died in October, he never got to experience the wonder of Christmas as a believer—or did he?

As I thought and prayed about that very issue, I realized how I had allowed myself to get locked into dates. I knew, of course, that Jesus may not have been born exactly on December 25, but I hadn’t really considered that Christmas could be celebrated at any time other than on that precise date. And yet, I reasoned, wasn’t Christmas the celebration of the birth of God’s Son into the world? What, then, had happened in October 1999 just days before my dad slipped out of his earthly body and was whisked into the presence of God? Hadn’t Jesus been birthed by God’s Spirit into Dad’s heart? If I believed that—and I certainly did—then that wonderful day of new birth for my dad, though it took place in October, had been his personal Christmas celebration here on earth.

I was thrilled—not just because of what had happened to my father, but because I suddenly realized that the day of our salvation—our new birth—is also the day of our own personal Christmas. After knowing and walking with Jesus for more than a quarter of a century, I had come into a new and fresh appreciation of the most beautiful of all holidays. In fact, I realized how much more meaningful Christmas would be if, when we get together as a family to celebrate the gift of Jesus, we also recount our own Christmas stories, telling of the day Jesus was birthed into our hearts. If we have guests who have never received Jesus, it would be the perfect opportunity for them to do so.

But we wouldn’t have to stop there. Why not have several Christmas celebrations throughout the year? Regardless of the date, each time one of us comes to the anniversary of our new birth, we could have a Christmas party in honor of the event. Guests could bring gifts, and the person celebrating his or her own personal Christmas could designate a charity to receive them. It would provide us with opportunities to invite unsaved friends, neighbors, and loved ones, and to present the gospel to them throughout the year.

I will always cherish the memory of my dear father “helping” the ushers at that Christmas Eve candlelight service so many years ago, and the opportunities that it generated to make Christmas personal all year long and to tell others about the greatest gift ever given—God’s own Son, born into a world of sin that He might also be born in our hearts and wash those sins away forever.

*Printed first in “Victory in Grace” Magazine, December 2005; second in Crosswalk.com, December 2006.

www.kathimacias.com








Communicating the vision… (Hab.2:2)
alandkathi@ca.rr.com
www.kathimacias.com

http://kathieasywritermacias.blogspot.com/






books

my review of The Christmas Glass


Today I've posted my review for this book over at my other blog. You may go there to read it. Click here.





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Twas the Night before Baby Jesus comes...

Myspace Comments

'T'was the night before Christmas and all through the town
not a sign of Baby Jesus was anywhere to be found.

The people were all busy with Christmas time chores
like decorating, and baking, and shopping in stores.

No one sang "Away in a manger, no crib for a bed".
Instead, they sang of Santa dressed-up in bright red.

Mama watched Martha Stewart, Papa drank water from the tap.
As hour upon hour the presents they'd wrap

when what from the T.V. did they suddenly hear?
'Cept an ad... which told of a big sale at Sears.

So away to the mall they all flew like a flash...
Buying things on credit... and others with cash!

And, as they made their way home. From their trip to the mall,
did they think about Jesus? Oh, no... Not at all.

Their lives were so busy with their Christmas time things
No time to remember Christ Jesus, the King.

There were presents to wrap and cookies to bake.
How could they stop and remember who died for their sake?

To pray to the Savior... they had no time to stop.
Because they needed more time to "Shop till they dropped!"

On Wal-mart! On Kohls! On Target! On Penneys!
On Hallmark! On Zales! A quick lunch at Dennys!

from the big stores downtown to the stores at the mall
they would dash away, dash away, and visit them all!

And up on the roof, there arose such a clatter
as grandpa hung icicle lights up on his brand new step ladder.

He hung lights that would flash. He hung lights that would twirl.
Yet, he never once prayed to Jesus... the Light of the World.

Christ's eyes... how they twinkle! Christ's Spirit... how merry!
Christ's love... how enormous! All our burdens... He'll carry!

So instead of being busy, overworked, and uptight
Lets put Christ back in Christmas and enjoy
some good nights! Merry Christmas, one and all!



Read other versions:
Twas the night before Christmas~Dieter's style
Twas the night before Christmas~ Mom's style
Twas the night before Jesus Came
AT P & P site they have
Filly version



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Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Christmas Cookie Rules...


Christmas Cookie Rules...

1. If you eat a Christmas cookie fresh out of the oven, it has no calories because everyone knows that the first cookie is the test and thus calorie free.


2. If you drink a diet soda after eating your second cookie, it also has no calories because the diet soda cancels out the cookie calories.



3. If a friend comes over while you're making your Christmas cookies and needs to sample, you must sample with your friend. Because your friend's first cookie is calorie free, (rule #1) yours is also. It would be rude to let your friend sample alone and, being the friend that you are, that makes your cookie calorie free.

4. Any cookie calories consumed while walking around will fall to your feet and eventually fall off as you move. This is due to gravity and the density of the caloric mass.


5. Any calories consumed during the frosting of the Christmas cookies will be used up because it takes many calories to lick excess frosting from a knife without cutting your tongue.


6. Cookies colored red or green have very few calories. Red ones have three and green ones have five - one calorie for each letter. Make more red ones!



7. Cookies eaten while watching "Miracle on 34th Street" have no calories because they are part of the entertainment package and not part of one's personal fuel.


8. As always, cookie pieces contain no calories because the process of breaking causes calorie leakage.


9. Any cookies consumed from someone else's plate have no calories since the calories rightfully belong to the other person and will cling to their plate. We all know how calories like to CLING!


10. Any cookies consumed while feeling stressed have no calories because cookies used for medicinal purposes NEVER have calories. It's a rule!

So, go out and enjoy those Christmas Cookies - we only get them this time of year!





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Wrapping up Fall reading challenge



I'm just posting my final wrap-up for the fall reading challenge. You my view my challenge book list here. I listed 15 titles for my challenge to read. I completed 10 of the titles plus many others that weren't listed. If you go to my challenge list you will then have the links available to read each book's review that I completed for this challenge. I want to thank Callapidder Days for all the work she put into hosting this fall reading challenge. I want to encourage you readers to get involved in a reading challenge. I have many posted in my side bar and more to come as we head into 2010.


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