Saturday, June 15, 2013

What is Sin?

What is sin?  I recently heard a preacher define it as "not choosing God's best for you."  Really? Is that what sin is?  Are we trying not to offend anyone?  Heaven forbid!  Does that somehow make sin more palatable?  Do we feel less guilt if we define it that way?  I say call  sin what it is:  missing the mark, rebellion against God, disobedience.  And then I say, "Thank God for His mercy and grace."

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Read, Read, Read!!

"There's no end to the publishing of books..." (Eccleciastes 12:12a (MSG)

I love books!  I've loved them since I was a little girl sitting on my father's lap as he read Winnie the Pooh,  Alice in Wonderland, Treasure Island, and Tom Sawyer, not to mention stories and poems from World Book Encyclopedia's Childcraft!  I got my first library card as soon as I was able to write my own name!   My dad took me to the Boise Public Library once a week until I was old enough to walk the 13 blocks by myself.  The library had a limit to the number of books you could check out at one time and I ALWAYS checked out the limit!  Reading was my life!

I love books!  I like the way they feel.  I like their colorful jackets. I like owning my own books!  Getting a new book to read really excites me!  I hope there's never a time when we don't have books!  You can have your Kindle and your Nook, I want a real book!

The last few years while I've been raising my daughter I haven't had as much time to read as I would have liked.  I'd start a book, set it aside (or misplace it!) and later begin another one!  Now that my daughter's away at school I find I have more free time to read!  With a daughter in college, there's not much money for books, but I still have a library card!  However, before I make a trip to the library to check out my limit of books, I decided I would finish reading some of those books that I started and never finished.  So today I rounded up 10 books to read this year.  Some of them were started so long ago that I'll probably need to re-read the beginnings!  Here's my list:

  1. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
  2. Crazy Love - Francis Chan
  3. Radical Gratitude - Ellen Vaughn
  4. With My Whole Heart - Karen Mains
  5. The Story of the World Volume 1:  Ancient Times - Susan Wise Bauer
  6. A Life that Says Welcome - Karen Ehman
  7. Soul Keeping - Howard Baker
  8. Enjoying the Presence of God - Jan Johnson
  9. A Gardener Looks at the Fruits of the Spirit - Phillip Keller
  10. One Month to Live -Kerry and Chris Shook
So, good-by for now!  I'm off to read Little Women!  I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Friday, January 4, 2013

Start Now

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world."  Anne Frank

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Glorify God in Your Body

Wow!  It appears that I have sorely neglected this blog during the past year!  O well, it's a new year with lots of possibilities!

I gave up making new year's resolutions years ago, but I do like to choose a verse for the year.  It helps me to stay focused on things I need to change, improve on, or internalize in my life.  For 2013 I've chosen I Corinthians 6:19, 20:  "Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?  For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's."  Glorify God in your body and in your spirit!!  I wonder what that will look like for me in 2013?   It might mean losing some weight (always a good idea) or getting my blood sugar under control or letting the gray take over my hair (embracing my age!)  It might mean spending more time alone with God, praising Him, or bearing more fruit:  more love, more joy, more kindness!  Can't wait to see what God has planned for me in 2013 as I glorify God in my body and in my spirit.