Anointed Transformed Redeemed

I'm currently studying Anointed Transformed Redeemed, written by Priscilla Shirer, Beth Moore and Kay Arthur following a Deeper Still conference.  It is based on the different stages of David's life.  It is a 6-week study, with each teacher spending 2 weeks on her topic.  I'm about to start Session 4 and I'm really enjoying it.  It's nice to have variety within one study.

Priscilla Shirer brought it when she talked about knowing who God is.  I really wanted a clip of that part of the DVD, but I don't think that's going to happen.  There's a woman, though, who posted the words and I'm going to share them here.  It's a powerful clip; these are some powerful words!

He is the first and the last, the beginning and the end.

He’s the keeper of creation and the creator of all.
He’s the architect of the universe and the manager of all time.
He always was, always is, always will be.
Unmoved, unchanged, undefeated and never undone.
He was bruised but brought healing. He was pierced but eased pain.
He was persecuted but brought freedom. He was dead and brings life.

He was risen to bring power. And he reins to bring peace.

The world can’t understand Him. Armies can’t defeat Him.

Schools can’t explain Him and leaders can’t ignore Him.
Herod couldn’t kill Him. Nero couldn’t crush Him.
The new age cannot replace Him and Oprah cannot explain Him away.
He is life. He is Love. He is longevity and He is the Lord.
He is goodness, and kindness and faithfulness and He is God.
He is holy and righteous and powerful and pure.
His ways are right, His word eternal, His will unchanging and His mind is on us.
He’s our Savior, our guide, our peace, our joy, our comfort, our Lord, and He rules our lives.
I serve Him because His bond is love, His yoke is easy, His burden is light and His goal for us is abundant life.
I follow Him because He is the wisdom of the wise, the power of the powerful, the ancient of days, the ruler of rulers, the leader of all leaders and His goal is a relationship with me.
He’ll never leave you, never forsake you, never mislead you, never forget you, never overlook you and never cancel your appointment in His appointment book.
When you fall, He’ll lift you up.
When you fail, He’ll forgive you.
When you're weak, He is strong.
When you’re lost, He is your way
When you’re afraid, He’s your courage.
When you stumble, He will steady you.
When you’re hurt, He’s going to heal you.
When you’re broken, He will mend you.
When you’re blind, He will lead you.
When you’re hungry, He will feed you.
When you face trials, He’s with you.
When I face persecution, He shields me.
When I face problems, He will comfort me.
When I face loss, He will provide for me.
When we face death, He will carry us all home to meet Him.
He is everything for everybody, everywhere, every time and in every way.
He is your God, and that, Sisters, is who you belong to!

- Priscilla Shirer (Deeper Still Conference)
 
Thank you to ilovebeingamomof4 for taking the time to listen to the video and record the words!

Reflecting Him by Carla McDougal (Guest Post)

It is my pleasure to be hosting a guest post from Carla McDougal regarding her new Bible study - Reflecting Him.  Enjoy!

The Burning Light

I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life – John 8:12

About twenty years ago, an experience opened my eyes to the light vs. darkness issue. After giving birth to Jake, our second son, I suffered from one of the common aftereffects of a natural delivery: hemorrhoids!

If you have ever experienced the throbbing pain of this annoying condition, you probably are empathizing with me at this very moment. A month after Jake’s birth, I awakened in the middle of the night to an immense pounding pain that ignited every nerve in my body. I quietly tiptoed to the bathroom to use the medicine I knew would provide immediate relief. As a thoughtful wife, I decided not to turn on the light because it might wake up my husband, Fred. I reached into the drawer for the tube of medicine, applied it liberally, and then staggered back to bed. Not thirty seconds later, I felt a fire ignite in my lower regions. Instantly, I realized the “hemorrhoid medicine” I had used was actually a tube of Deep Heat! Like a rocket in flight, I leaped from the bed to the bathroom, turned on the coldest water in the bathtub, stepped in, and bent over—well, you probably get the picture. In the meantime, Fred, awakened by all the commotion, walked into the bathroom and turned on the light to find his wife squatting in the tub with a horrid look on her face. He probably felt he was in the middle of a nightmare. I will leave you to imagine the rest of the story.

I learned a valuable lesson that night. If I had turned on the light, I guarantee I would have picked up the correct medicine. When we try to do things in the dark, we are apt to make wrong decisions. Equate this to our daily lives—if we live in Jesus’ light, He guides and helps us make the correct choices. By the way, in case you are wondering, the cold water did eventually relieve my throbbing pain, but my sweet husband continued to laugh for hours!

In Genesis 1:2–3, we read that the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and God’s Spirit was hovering over the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light,” and light appeared.

Imagine a world in total darkness. Think of the world before the creation of light. Light provides us with the ability to see the life on earth that God created. It produces energy, sustains the life cycle, supplies thermal heat, and much more. Without light, the world would cease to exist as we know it. Today, may your heart be enlightened as you focus on the gift of light.

This is an excerpt from Carla’s 10-week Bible Study, Reflecting Him: Living for Jesus and Loving It.

About Reflecting Him

Reflecting Him: Living for Jesus and Loving It is a ten-week women’s Bible study. Like Jesus’ parables (which teach important lessons by creating visual pictures for the reader), Reflecting Him uses familiar objects and situations (such as pottery, the human sensory system, and the sun-earth connection) and draws comparisons that help women become aware of Jesus working in various areas of their daily lives. The study is a unique and convenient lay-flat format, so you can write without that annoying bump (you know the one we're talking about.)

Each week is divided into five days (lessons), supporting the central theme for the week. Read the first two chapters (or weeks) online.

The study also has an online component through a Reflecting Him Bible Study Group on Facebook. Individuals working through the study on their own can still get the benefits of a group discussion while working at their own pace. Almost 200 people are in the group already and the discussions are really taking off.

This fall a leaders guide, videos, and music will be released to accompany the study.

About Carla

Carla McDougal is the founder of Reflective Life Ministries and Share Fair, an annual conference for connecting, equipping, and encouraging women in ministry. She speaks at women’s events, retreats, and conferences in the U.S. and internationally. Carla married her high school sweetheart, Fred, and they have four children ages 16 to 23 and live in Magnolia, Texas. Reflecting Him: Living for Jesus and Loving It (WinePress Publishing, 2010) is Carla’s first book, although she’s been involved in leading and teaching Bible studies for more than 20 years. Carla writes a Monday morning e-votional at her blog, Carla's Corner.

Want Carla To Lead a Lesson for Your Bible Study Group?

With every group purchase of 25 or more studies before August 1, Carla will lead a tele-lesson (over speaker phone) for one of your group meetings. Please email windy(at)reflectivelifeministries.org to purchase books. Mention the blog tour and tele-lesson at the time of ordering.

You can purchase Reflecting Him through Amazon, Christianbook.com, or Reflective Life Ministries.
The Reflecting Him Blog Tour, hosted by RedCouch PR, is June 20 - July 16. Yesterday's post was at author Janice Thompson's blog and tomorrow's will by at A Room Without Books Is Empty. Follow along to read a different guest post, interview, or review each day.

Radiant by Kate Carlson

CONGRATS CATHY! You won!

I am honored to tell you about this new EP (CD) by Kate Carlson, a Worship leader and talented musician!  I met Kate and her mom, Melissa, through twitter and an online bible study we did. (These are both some very talented ladies!)  You can go to Melissa's blog to read more about Kate and her calling as a worship leader.

The CD has five songs on it:  Saving One, How Marvelous, Desert Song, You Are Able and Revelation Song.  Two of these songs were written by Kate - Saving One and You Are Able.  Oh my goodness, I thought Kate wrote You Are Able just for me!  Such a beautiful song of redemption and God's love for us.

Kate has a beautiful voice.  When I picture angels singing, I can imagine they sound like Kate!  I don't feel I'm doing this CD any justice, but explaining how much I've enjoyed the CD is hard.  (You can tell I like it - look at all the exclamation points!)

Not only did Kate give me a copy of her CD to review but she also gave me an extra one to giveaway!  All you have to do is leave a comment.  For additional entries, you can tweet or Facebook about the giveaway - just leave a separate comment for each entry.  I will close this out on Saturday and announce the winner on Sunday.

If you cannot wait for the giveaway, you can go to Melissa's blog and order a copy of the CD or download it. Do it!!  You'll be glad you did!

Life in Defiance Mary DeMuth

Life in Defiance - Mary DeMuth

Set against the backdrop of Defiance, Texas, Life in Defiance, book three in the Defiance Texas Trilogy by Mary DeMuth, reflects a choice we all face: reveal our secrets or bury them forever ... and live with the consequences.

Summary:

In a town she personifies, Ouisie Pepper wrestles with her own defiance. Desperate to become the wife and mother her husband Hap demands, Ouisie pours over a simple book about womanhood, constantly falling short, but determined to improve. Through all that self-improvement, Ouisie carries a terrible secret: she knows who killed Daisy Chance. As her children inch closer to uncovering the killer's identity and Hap's rages roar louder and become increasingly violent, Ouisie has to make a decision. Will she protect her children by telling her secret? Or will Hap's violence silence them all? Set on the backdrop of Defiance, Texas, Ouisie's journey typifies the choices we all face---whether to tell the truth about secrets and fight for the truth or bury them forever and live with the violent consequences.
My review:
This was the third book in the Defiance series. I enjoyed the first two books (Daisy Chain and A Slow Burn) but the third book was my favorite.  I could relate to the mom and her struggles.  The only part about the trilogy that I did not like was that I had to wait until the last book to find out the whole story!  Talk about suspenseful!  The ending of the book did not disappoint and the various story lines were wrapped up so I wasn't left wondering what happened. I was very surprised by the ending. 

I would highly recommend this book (and the series) to anyone.  If you enjoy suspenseful books with a redemptive component, then this is certainly a series you want to read.

Thank you Mary for a great book!


I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.  Thank you!

IMPORTANT LINKS:

Life in Defiance on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0310278384
Mary DeMuth’s Website: http://marydemuth.com
Mary DeMuth’s Blog: http://relevantblog.blogspot.com
Mary DeMuth’s Facebook Profile: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mary-DeMuth/33200616570
Follow Mary DeMuth on Twitter: http://twitter.com/MaryDeMuth
List of all participating bloggers: http://blogtourspot.com/defiance-tour/defiance-tour-stops

India Memory

Erin Healy was having a countdown to her 40th birthday and asked people to write about his or her dealings with the unseen (I hope I worded that right) in 400 words or less. I didn't make it in time so my entry was entered, but here it is for you to enjoy.


Before I left for India in November 2009, I spent more time in prayer and reading God’s word preparing for spiritual warfare. We were taught that when we went into a thanda (village) to say “Peace to this thanda” and if a man (person) of peace was there, our peace would rest on him (or her). However, if we went to a thanda where our peace wasn’t returned, we were to knock the dust of the thanda off our feet and leave (Luke 10:5-12).

At most of the thandas we visited, we were warmly welcomed. However, we visited one thanda that made the hair on my neck stand up. It started as we were making our journey down the dirt road, through the fields, and we saw in the distance a huge statue. I started getting a very uneasy feeling as we neared it. It was a huge statue of the monkey god which people worshiped (approx. 30 feet tall). Now most of the people we visited lived in huts and none seemed to have running water. The children’s clothes were raggedy and torn. There was no wealth in these thandas, yet someone could afford to make this huge statue?

When we arrived at the thanda, all the people gathered and seemed cordial enough. However, as the team started presenting the gospel, I could sense an evil presence there. The people became argumentative and hostile. If I could have hit my knees, I would have. I walked around with my bible (as is standard when someone is presenting the gospel) and I could sense the Holy Spirit saying our team was not welcome and we needed to knock the dust off our feet and leave. After hearing Him speak to me for a few minutes, I started rounding everyone up to leave. I wasn’t sure I would be successful – would they even believe me? I probably wasn’t convincing but the Holy Spirit was and soon we were washing the dust off feet and leaving. One of the team members had witnessed something so evil, she could not even share it with any of us.

I thank God that I am one of His children and that He has given me the ability to recognize things not of this world. More importantly, He will never leave me nor forsake me and will light my path. (Eph. 6:12) (Ps. 119:105)

P.S. I just finished reading "Never Let You Go" by Erin Healy and it's really good.