Friday, October 18, 2013

Ask Me Anything Lord: A Book Review...

 


"Yes, individuals matter to God." 

Wow, such a simple statement but empowering one at the same time. 
To be fair, I want to say upfront, this post would have happened even if the book wasn't being reviewed by me. "Ask Me Anything, Lord" by Heather C. King is not the book I expected it to be... I am so grateful for that. There has been one problem though while reading it. 

This reviewer wants to soak up each word. The problem comes when we need to write a review for a book in a timely manner. See my dilemma? :-)

Heather's writing draws me in. I find myself not wanting to miss one iota of what she is sharing. 
Here is another snippet of what I read this morning concerning 'individuals mattering to God':

Individuals mattering, 
"is why He (God) framed the Bible the way He did. It tells of God's activity among humanity through the stories of people---broken, messed up, sinning people--- just like you and me...As we learn about these people, we ultimately learn about God." 
(italics mine)

This is so freeing and wonderful. Who wouldn't want to sit here for a day or two and meditate and ponder on just these words. Hence, where my issue of a timely review comes into play. 

Here is the nitty-gritty, thus far, on "Ask Me Anything Lord" by Heather C. King:

~ I am about 50% finished with the book. 
~ Loving the book
~Plan on finishing the book
~Writing review now because review should be done in timely manner

Check out this book, it is available through Amazon:


***An electronic preview copy of this book was given for an honest, unbiased review***

***Links are Amazon affiliate links. These links are used sparingly by this blogger***

Monday, October 14, 2013

Weak or Strong: Which Are You?

Print available for purchase here
"Remember everyone loves a come back story." 
Those words were innocently spoke to me at a conference.  
This simple comment got stuck in my crawl. 

Why? 

Because I never intended to be a 'comeback story'
Only weak people fall....right? 
Us, Strong people can make it through anything thrown our way...right?

WHAT A CROCK OF BULL!!!! 

The sad part is we have all gobbled up this manure.
Didn't God say, "when you are weak, I am strong?"

“My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.""-2nd Corinthians 12:9

It is right there, "My power works best in weakness," so, why are we walking around being 'strong' and spouting "everything is fine"

 Things are far from fine. Fine isn't even on our radar. 

In all honesty, would it make a difference if we answered any other way than fine. 
"Fine" has become the standard response.

 Yesterday, I did an experiment, my daughter and I spent 6 hours at our photography booth during a local festival. It was a simple experiment. I decided to see how many people would notice me not answering to the standard greeting:

"Hi, how are you today?" or one of its many versions. 

Would anyone notice or is the phrase so ingrained they wouldn't even notice me not answering? 
My response was just "Hi" or "Hello". 

The results:
 ~no one noticed me not answering their question~

My simple response of "hi" would elicit responses such as, 
"good" "that's nice", and "good to hear"

 WAIT A MINUTE?!?!?

I didn't answer their question of 'How are you?" 
A few people looked at me with a strange expression or a head nod but kept walking. 
We must not be harsh with my unknowning 'guniea pigs'
 because all of us have done the exact same thing. 

Why do I bring this all up? Because we need to get real and acknowledge (scripture states "boast") in our weakness then God's power can work best.  

Therefore, today I am stating here for all to see:

~I AM NOT STRONG. 
~I AM WEAK
 ~BUT GOD'S POWER WORKS BEST IN MY WEAKNESS

It was not my intention to be a comeback story. 
However, we all know it is not about my intentions...
IT IS ABOUT GOD AND HIS INTENTIONS. 

P.S. Also, on some days, "I am not fine"