Author Archives: Marie

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About Marie

Happily married to the same awesome guy for many years. Love God, reading, cats, and travel. Avid crafter especially counted cross stitch and crochet.

Sunday Psalms

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Psalm 5

O LORD, each morning I send my prayers to You and You only.  Hear me!

You take no pleasure in wickedness or evil of any kind.  The proud, liars, murderers, and deceivers will not stand in Your presence.

Because You love me I am welcome to worship in Your temple.  Lead me, LORD!

Let those who speak against me, even those who flatter me, be counted as guilty.  

On the other hand, let those who are protected by Your shield REJOICE!

Let all who love You BE JOYFUL!

This is Psalm 5 in my own words.  Psalm 1, 2, 3  and 4 are also posted.  Check them out by clicking on the number.

Blessings to you and yours!

Marie

Stumbling Toward Wholeness – – Book Review

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The Parable of the Prodigal Son is one the most well-known stories (parables) that Jesus told.  Most of us can see ourselves in the self-centered, wayward son.  In Stumbling Toward Wholeness, author, Andrew Bauman, delves deeper into the characters and proposes that we are actually all the characters.  At different points in our lives, we model the characteristics of the Loving Father, the jealous, frustrated Older Son, and the wayward, selfish, Prodigal Son.

Personal change begins when we see ourselves accurately and are willing to dig into the stories of our lives to become the person we were meant to be.  There has to be a willingness to see clearly the different people we are in different parts of the stories of our lives.  We also have to include others in the search for our purpose in life.  (The author makes a great point in saying we must be careful who we include in working through our story because there is always the potential for damaging relationships.)

The book is divided into three sections.  The Runaway Son deals with that part of us that deals with shame, self-contempt, and considering ourselves the victim.  The Entitled Older Brother looks at contempt (of others) and betrayal.  The Welcoming Father helps us understand the need to grieve our mistakes and being kind to ourselves.  Each chapter ends with questions that dig deeper into our own life experiences to draw us closer to understanding ourselves.  Questions like, what purpose has been served by your own pursuit of pleasure or avoidance of pain?  Or, reflect on a time when you felt shamed by another person.  And, identify some ways you have been resistant to kindness.

My favorite quotes include:

  • pg. 47  “To journey toward change, we must first make a commitment to be on our own teams.”
  • pg. 78  “Jesus continually calls us to look at ourselves in the mirror and tell the truth about what we see.”
  • pg. 125  “…no matter how hectic our lives or crazy our mental states, we can be still and know God (Psalm 46:10).  He is always available, even when we are not.”
  • pg. 152  “…superficial standards of perfection have no actual relation to personal piety or spiritual maturity.  If we have no safe places to bring our real struggles, doubts, and heartache, we are likely to stray further from the truth and deeper underground with our pain.”

If you really want to take a close, personal look at the person you are I highly recommend reading this book and truthfully answering the questions.  In fact, find a friend who you can trust and work through it with them by your side.  I guarantee, it will be worth it.

Blessings to you and yours!

Marie

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Tyndale House Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Sunday Psalms

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Hear my prayer, Righteous God, and have mercy on me.

There are so many who want to turn away, who love lies and worship what the world has to offer.

LORD, You have set me apart for Yourself.  I know You hear when I call out.

In your prayers search your inner self and be still.

Trust God!

Shine Your light on us!

When others are finding joy in shopping sprees and worldly gain give me joy.

As the day ends let me sleep in the safety of You.

 

This is Psalm 4 in my own words.  Psalm 1, 2, and 3 are also finished.  Check them out by clicking on the number.

Blessings to you and Yours!

Marie

Brick Builders Illustrated Bible For Children – Review

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I have just spent a delightful two hours reading through God’s story.  As the Word always has and always will, this version of the Bible speaks the simple, yet profound, truth in the language of children.

Storytelling is the favored method of Bible writers to point the way to the truth, particularly in the New Testament in the many parables used by Jesus.  In this collection of Old and New Testament stories, by Emily Dammer, the same thing is accomplished in the language of children.

I’m sure young children will love this ‘Bible’.  The illustrations, by Antony Evans, use brick-like figures to illustrate each story.  Each page colorful and eye-catching.

The building blocks at the end of each chapter give life applications in children’s language.  For instance, in the story of Moses God keeps His promises and He will keep you safe are the takeaways.

All in all, I enjoyed reading Brick Builders and can imagine parents and children reading the stories to one another over and over.

Blessings to you and yours!

Marie

Volcanic Momentum – Book Review

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How are you spending your time?  Do you have a plan, a goal? Where is your focus?  What is most important to you?  Can you honestly say you are totally aware of the moments you have on this earth?

Volcanic Momentum answers these questions, and more, with valuable words of wisdom from author Jordan Ring.  I found this book to be one of the most usable and sometimes profound books I have read this year.  I’m going to order it in paperback just so I can have this valuable resource at my fingertips.  I know I’ll be reading it again and yes, maybe again.

One of the things I do each year is to select One Word to focus on.  I was delighted to find that recommendation straight away.  One word, one focus, one idea, one goal…  If we don’t know what we’re looking for (i.e., our focus), we have little chance of growth and change.

Being a person who loves lists and being aware of where I am in whatever process I’m involved in, I was delighted with the ones that are in this book.  Some are prompts to get the thought process moving, others are questions to put concepts and goals into focus.   (However, this is not a book of lists.)

Being still, sitting quietly, getting away, whatever you call it is necessary to the creative process.  Our busy world will rush in and take over if we’re not careful.  Sometimes we waste time by being so busy we’ve lost our direction in life.  Finding, actually making, time to know and plan out our direction is hugely important to success and well-being.

One of the most important sections in this book is about being mentored.  Mr. Ring suggests that we meet every week with a mentor.  Interestingly, he makes the point that a mentor doesn’t have to be a live person.  It can be in the pages of a book (Daily Bible reading is mentoring from God.), videos on YouTue or CDs of a favorite speaker, TED talks…  Anything or anyone that encourages you is necessary to your personal growth and needs to be deliberately pursued.

As I commented before, this book is worth the time to read more than once and use as a continuing resource.  Well done, Jordan!

Blessings to you and yours!

Marie

 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author.  I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”