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SNEAK PEEK: Outtake of Chapter 1 from The Bride Wore Blue by Mona Hodgson

July 26, 2012

Enjoy this look at a chapter from the third book in the Sinclair Sisters of Cripple Creek series that was left on the cutting room floor. Sometimes the editing process requires leaving even wonderful scenes behind…but it’s all for the best!

Don’t miss Mona’s new blog either, where she shares all sorts of stories and adventures about her journeys.

 

The Bride Wore Blue: Outtake (Chapter 1 that was not included in final book!)

Finding Your Blessings

July 25, 2012

Everyone goes through times when they feel excluded, alienated, or unloved. We all have our insecurities. Most kids fear they’ll be mocked because their noses are too big or their hair is too curly. Adults fear that they won’t be able to pay the bills or that they will fail to live up to expectations.

You will face moments of doubt and fear. We all do. Feeling down is natural; it is part of being perfectly human. Such feelings pose a danger only if you allow negative thoughts to stick around instead of just letting them wash over you.

When you trust that you have blessings—talents, knowledge, love—to share with others, you will begin the journey to self acceptance even if your gifts are not yet apparent. Once you begin that walk, others will find you and walk with you.

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Not Alone

July 24, 2012

You’re not alone. In fact, you’ve got Somebody on your side who’s taking more than His fair share of the load.

Look for a moment in the ninth chapter of John. Jesus is having a conversation with not only His disciples but also a man who had been blind from birth. “We must do the work of Him who sent Me.” Whom was Jesus talking to in verse 4? I can’t be sure, but I have a strong feeling He was looking directly at that disabled man.

I choose to think Jesus was reminding that blind man that he was not alone. He was not alone in his disability. He was not alone in his despair. The works of God were about to be displayed through him. The Lord wanted this man to know that God Himself was standing by [ … ]

Indicators of God’s Movement

July 23, 2012

We might never have known anything about David if God had not arranged for Goliath to arise between David and his kingship. It’s a compelling story—one day David was delivering cheese and biscuits and ended up killing a giant. The next day he was carried through downtown Jerusalem, with women hanging over balconies singing songs to his name. Would any of that have happened without a great enemy?

What would the nation Israel have been without Moses facing down Pharaoh before the great migration out of Egypt? Maybe those 450 years of slavery the Jews endured would have lasted much longer.

Even Jesus lived in anonymity until Satan determined that He was more than Joseph the carpenter’s oldest boy.

Here’s why I say an enemy is a necessity: There’s a Goliath, a Pharaoh, a Satan standing between you and [ … ]

Theater Shooting in Aurora, Colorado

July 20, 2012

12 dead and 38 injured in what is being called the #theatershooting in Aurora (which is very close to our office in Colorado Springs). Driving into the office and listening to the radio, I wondered, “How should I respond to this?” – Anger? Gun control? Concealed carry? I arrived at work and went to chapter four in Randy Alcorn’s book, If God Is Good (download it here)

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The Root of Love

July 19, 2012

Some may argue, “But love is a feeling and you cannot command a feeling. I just don’t feel anything for him/her anymore.” But agape love is not primarily a feeling. God would not command a feeling. Love is primarily an action. Love is the giving of oneself to another. It’s a skill one can develop in the strength of God’s Spirit. “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). In other words, love insists we do something. Feelings for enemies are not developed by sitting in a dark room thinking, but by doing. Feelings follow action. Feelings are the fruit, not the root, of love.

Excerpted from The Joy of Encouragement by Dr. David Jeremiah

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