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SNEAK PEEK: The Northern Lights Trilogy (eBook exclusive) by Lisa Tawn Bergren

September 14, 2012

Three Historical novels for the price of one in this eBook-e-only omnibus.

Click here to download chapter one of The Northern Lights Trilogy eBook exclusive.

 From the hills of Norway to the coast of Maine, the streets of San Francisco and the Alaskan wilderness, comes this stirring trilogy about a group of Norwegian immigrants whose lives are forever intertwined. Set in the late nineteenth century, The Northern Lights series will captivate historical fiction fans. Lovers of family saga and adventure will be swept into the tender romances, as characters make important journeys toward growth and real faith.

Click here to download [ … ]

The Power of Connection

September 14, 2012

In a world torn apart by divorce and emotional detachment, we need heaven-breathed friendships and strategic relationships in order to train and protect each other’s children. To realize the rescue of the lost and at-risk children of our world, heaven-breathed strategies and answers will need to be implemented. No one is an island. We are in this together. Because of this dynamic, what you do has the power to affect me, and what I do has the power to affect you. With coordinated efforts we have a chance to turn the tide in our homes, churches, and communities. We live in a time when there is great opportunity for social networking. It is up to us to decide if we will use these connections for good.

Excerpted from Lioness Arising by Lisa Bevere

Daily Reflection:
How [ … ]

Your Child’s Doubts

September 13, 2012

When your SWC [Strong Willed Child] has doubts about what you believe and taught him all his life, it’s usually best to meet the issues head-on and face the questions honestly. You don’t need to provide all the answers, but your relationship will be strengthened if you empathize with his need to find them. He doesn’t want to feel he’s doing something horribly wrong if he expresses doubts about what he believes. You can be an understanding guide, provide the Bible as a guidebook, and help your SWC enjoy the journey of discovering who he will be and what he will stand for.

Excerpted from You Can’t Make Me (But I Can Be Persuaded) by Cynthia Tobias

Daily Reflection:
How else can you encourage your Strong Willed Child to come to you with doubts and grow in [ … ]

Childlike Faith

September 12, 2012

I once served as a counselor for third-grade campers at a Christian camp in the North Carolina mountains. It was an especially hot, dry, Carolina July. On the way to arts and crafts, I overheard one of my campers say thoughtfully to another, “I sure hope it rains soon. My grandmother’s garden needs water.”

Immediately his friend let out a confident war cry and began a primitive rain dance. A third child then chimed in, “Don’t be so silly. God’s not going to make it rain just because of your stupid dance.”

Now defiant, the original “rain wisher” made a grand theological statement: “God can do anything He wants to!”

The first step to a childlike heart is the most important one. You must admit that God can do whatever He wants—and that you can’t. It means [ … ]

Answering the Call

September 11, 2012

For you, the call is literally within your grasp. It’s the place you show up each day and the problems you encounter in the process. Possibly for you, it’s putting a dent in the never- ending cycle of poverty that destroys so many lives, neighborhoods, and nations. Or creatively addressing the malnutrition, poor health, and disease that’s wrecking so many families. Or tutoring, mentoring, and fostering fatherless children. Perhaps the addiction to drugs, alcohol, career advancement, affluence, or pornography is what enslaves and torments your friends the most. What ever it is that’s broken, whatever you see wrong, remember— God’s intention and method of restoration is to use you to bring his redeeming love to the world.
This is the “power of the ought” at work— the way restoration living begins to flood and transform our entire cosmos. [ … ]

NEWS: Valorie Burton Appears on Dr. Oz

September 10, 2012

On Friday September 14, Valorie Burton, author of What’s Really Holding You Back, joins the “Dr. Oz Show” and a group of women filled with emotional baggage making them fat, tired and sick who are given one last chance to turn it all around. Dr. Oz asks: what’s holding you back from getting healthy? A special audience has packed their metaphorical and physical baggage, but they have no idea Dr. Oz is taking them to Miraval Resort in Tucson, AZ – straight from the studio – for an intervention of a lifetime. Find out more details on how to watch here.

The Lover of Our Souls

September 10, 2012

Sometimes I fear we are like Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind. Throughout the entire story, Rhett Butler tried to win her heart, but Scarlett was smitten by the milquetoast Ashley Wilkes. Finally, as the story comes to a close, Rhett walks away in frustration. “I feel sorry for you, Scarlett,” he declares. “You are throwing away love with both hands and grabbing for that which will never love you.” As I watched the movie, I kept thinking, Doesn’t she see how much Rhett really loves her? He’d move heaven and earth to please her, if she would but let him. Why is she going after someone who would never make her truly happy? And we are Scarlett, ignoring the only one who can make us truly happy and chasing after figments of our imagination…things that will never make [ … ]