Posted on

Memorize The Sermon On The Mount – Week 40

Matthew 7 is full of passages that inspire me.

This weeks passage is no different. Take a look at it: Matthew 7:13-14.

Matthew 7:13-14

Keep the main thing the main thing.

Go against the flow.

The road less traveled.

There are dozens of sayings that reflect this passage, that reflect the idea of taking care to follow God’s way instead of the world’s way

The world’s way is easy. God’s way is more difficult.

The world’s way is broad. God’s way is narrow.

The world’s way is popular. God’s way is not.

The world’s way leads to hell. God’s way leads to life.

Which way are you headed? Let me know in the comments.

Posted on

Book Review: Answers Book For Teens by Bodie Hodge, Tommy Mitchell and Ken Ham

Answers Book For TeensSome of my favorite books are the Answers Books, a series created by Answers in Genesis.

In these books, dozens of questions are answered. Most of them are about creation, or related issues. But there other questions included as well, involving several of the other fundamentals of the Christian faith.

When I learned that Master Books was producing a version of these books geared towards teens, I was excited!

Upon receiving my copy of what I hope to be the first of a series of several, I devoured it within hours.

I was impressed!

Written specifically for ages 13-17, AB4T answers fifteen different questions, half of which are specifically related to Creation issues. The rest deal with questions that frequently plague teens: questions of identity, pain, sex and faith.

Written in an engaging manner, sure to grab and hold the attention of the reader, AB4T is hard to put down, even for an old guy like me!

I’m so impressed with this resource, that I will be purchasing several copies for our youth ministry, making them available for any of our teens who would like read it.

If you have a teen in you home, I would suggest you grab a copy of AB4T for them for Christmas. They will love it! Or, make a few copies available to the youth in your church. It’s a resource that will come in handy.

Have you read the original Answers Books? If so, what did you think? Would you consider AB4T for the teens in your family? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

If you are interested in reading Answers Book For Teens, Answers Book 1, Answers Book 2, or Answers Book 3, you can purchase them at Amazon.com.

Disclosure of Material Connection:
I received this book free from New Leaf Press/Master Books as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Also, some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links”. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. 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.“

Posted on

Book Review: Charlie And Trike In The Grand Canyon Adventure by Ken Ham and Karen Hansel

Charlie And Trike In The Grand Canyon AdventureBeing a father of five can be a full time job.

One of the benefits of that job is getting to read to my kids. I love spending time with them, and reading to your kids has several benefits, both to you and to your children.

Recently, I read Charlie And Trike In The Grand Canyon Adventure to my three older kids. It’s a cute story about a monkey and a triceratops who hike deep into the Grand Canyon with a mysterious tour guide. As they examine rock layers, fossils and local wildlife, they arrive at some stunning conclusions about the origins of the Grand Canyon.

Normally, when I review a book, I give my opinions about it. This time, however, I thought it appropriate to allow my kids to express their thoughts concerning Charlie And Trike In The Grand Canyon Adventure.

Titus (Age 7)

TitusJR – Did you like Charlie And Trike In The Grand Canyon Adventure?
Titus – Yeah!

JR – What was your favorite part?
Titus – The part when the Captain saved him (Charlie).

JR – Who was your favorite character?
Titus – Charlie the monkey.

JR – How do you think the Grand Canyon was formed?
Titus – The flood.

JR – Should your friends read this book?
Titus – Yeah!

Lydia (Age 9)

LydiaJR – Did you like Charlie And Trike In The Grand Canyon Adventure?
Lydia – Yeah!

JR – What was your favorite part?
Lydia – The part when Charlie fell into the river.

JR – Who was your favorite character?
Lydia – The Captain.

JR – How do you think the Grand Canyon was formed?
Lydia – Noah’s flood.

JR – Who do you think should read this book?
Lydia – I think Kayna and Belle should read this book!

Hannah (Age 12)

HannahJR – Did you like Charlie And Trike In The Grand Canyon Adventure?
Hannah – Yep!

JR – What was your favorite part?
Hannah – The part where the captain saved Charlie.

JR – Who was your favorite character?
Hannah – I liked Trike.

JR – How do you think the Grand Canyon was formed?
Hannah – When God sent the flood.

JR – Who do you think should read this book?
Hannah – I think younger kids that are just starting church and that don’t understand should read this book.

And there you have it. Three kids, three exuberant expressions of enthusiasm for Charlie And Trike In The Grand Canyon Adventure!  I fully recommend that you grab a copy of this book and read it to your kids.  It will be worth your time!

If you have kids, do you read stories to them? How have you seen your relationship with your children grow from this? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

If you are interested in reading Charlie And Trike In The Grand Canyon Adventure, you can purchase it at Amazon.com.

Disclosure of Material Connection:
I received this book free from New Leaf Press/Master Books as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Also, some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links”. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. 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.“

Posted on

Memorize The Sermon On The Mount – Week 39

I love this week’s passage! As a father of five, this serves as a powerful reminder that as much as I desire to give my kids good things, God desires so much more for me.

I love that thought!

Take a look at this week’s passage. It’s a bit bigger than normal, but we can handle it: Matthew 7:9-12.

Matthew 7:9-12

I have to admit, though, it kind of bothers me that Jesus refers to me as “evil”. I’d much prefer to sanitize it and say something like “needy” or “stumbling” or even “sinful”. But Jesus pulls no punches. He calls it what it is.

And if I fall into that category, and still want to give my kids great things, God will do so immeasurable more! That is absolutely incredible!

Jesus then wraps this passage up by giving us the Golden Rule: do to others what you would have them do to you.

God desires to pour out good gifts on us when we ask him. But in the very next sentence, he ties that to how we treat others. We often overlook that connection. We call for the good gifts, but don’t treat those around us like God expects us to.

Do you see the disconnect?

I’m not so sure that this is as difficult as we make it out to be.

Maybe Jesus‘ description of me is more apt than I’d realized…

Are you asking God for good gifts? How are you treating others? Let me know in the comments.

Posted on

Book Review: Average Joe by Troy Meeder

Average JoeEvery once in a while, a feel good book is just what I need to read.

Normally, I prefer to read material that either engages me, as certain fiction authors do, or challenges me to grow.

Average Joe didn’t really do either of those things. But it did fill me with encouragement. And every once in a while, that’s just what I need.

I have a confession: Sometimes I feel like a failure. Sometimes I feel like I just don’t measure up. I wonder what my wife sees in me when there are so many other marriages that look more appealing. I wonder what my kids think about their dad in comparison to the fathers of their friends.

I find myself falling short.

Neither my wife nor my kids will tell you that I’m a terrible husband or father. But I know that I’m not the man I want to be. I’m average.

And that’s what Average Joe is all about. Troy Meeder issues a call to men, helping them to understand that God uses “ordinary” people to do extraordinary things.

Meeder doesn’t give any instructions on how to get past our culture’s perception of what men “should be”. He hasn’t examined why we feel this way, or why we shouldn’t.

What he’s done is give us example after example of “average” men from his own life and from the Bible who have been used by God.

Stories like that are worth hearing. Stories like that bring me the encouragement that I need occasionally.

Do you feel like you don’t “measure up” to cultural expectations of manhood? What do you do to fight this? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

If you are interested in reading Average Joe, you can purchase it at Amazon.com.

Disclosure of Material Connection:
I received this book free from Multnomah Books as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Also, some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links”. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. 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.“

Posted on

Praise Him For Our Freedom – Guest Post At New Leaf Press

This week, I had the opportunity to write a guest post for New Leaf Publishing Group‘s blog. You can read my post here.

NLPG Banner

NLPG started a new series this month, titled Praise Him. I was asked by Jennifer White, marketing director and social media strategist for NLPG, to write a guest post for the series. Little did I know that my post would be the first part of the series! You can imagine just how excited I was to learn that!

Go ahead and check it out.  And don’t forget to enter to win a copy of Marilyn Boyer’s book For You They Signed!

New Leaf is one of the publishers I review books for. They have two other imprints, Master Books and Attic Books, beside the main division. Master Books does a significant amount of publishing for Answers in Genesis; and I have dozens of books from them on my shelves.

I appreciate what New Leaf does in the Christian publishing industry. If you get a chance, head on over to their website and check out their list of titles. You’ll be sure to find a few that you’ll want to read!

If you took the time to read my guest post at NLPG Blogs, what did you think?  You can leave your thoughts in the comments below.

 

Posted on

Top Posts For October 2011

October has come and gone. My writing schedule has tightened up a bit, and will continue to do so through the fall.

Last month, I mentioned that I have some exciting things in store this fall, including several give-aways and a couple of opportunities to guest post. More on those as they approach.

I’m also knee deep in writing a book. Some of the content for that project will probably end up here in the near future. Keep an eye out for that.

Word Picture from Wordle.net

In case you missed them, here are my top seven posts for October:

  1. Hubble Deep Space Field
  2. Video Review: Book Book Cases For iPhone 4 and iPad 2
  3. Book Review: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
  4. Book Review: Sacred Pathways by Gary Thomas
  5. The Maniac And The Messiah
  6. Why You Need To Develop A Philosophy Of Ministry
  7. Book Review: Eat Mor Chikin; Inspire More People by S. Truett Cathy

As usual, my post containing an image of the Hubble Deep Space Field generated far more traffic than anything else.   Also, my About Page made the cut.  This continually reinforces the need to make this page as incredible as possible.

My book reviews continue to surprise me with how often they show up in this list. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised; after all, reviewing books for several different publishers is one of the main reasons I blog.

October also provided the opportunity for me to meet with two different photographers. Out of those shoots, I have several new portraits of myself that will help update the site and keep it current.

My personal favorite post this month was 10 Benefits Of Consistent Journaling. Which one was yours?

If you are a blogger, leave a comment with your top post for the month. If you don’t blog, leave a comment with a favorite post or blog that you read this month.