08 September 2011

The Me Project by Kathi Lipp Blog Tour

The Blog Tour for Kathi Lipp's The Me Project 21 Days to Living the Life You've Always Wanted is stopping right here in my own living room! This is what Harvest House Publishers say about this new book:

Most women in the midst of careers, marriage, raising children, and caring for parents set their personal goals aside. The Me Project provides women with fun and creative ways to bring back the sense of purpose and vitality that comes with living out the plans and dreams God has planted in their hearts. Kathi Lipp’s warm tone and laugh-out-loud humor will motivate women to take daily steps toward bringing purpose back into their lives and give them the confidence they can do it in spite of busy schedules.

A woman who reads and applies The Me Project will:


•discover the unique plan God has for her life and her role as a wife, mother, worker, or volunteer


•gather a community of like-minded women who want to make their goals a priority


•change her attitudes toward her roles in life, as well as how she approaches her personal goals


This handy guide coaches women to do one simple thing toward achieving their goals each day for three weeks, bringing a sense of vitality and exhilaration back into their lives.


I look forward to working my way through these pages allowing the Holy Spirit to lead me in the ways He desires me to go, making His dreams come to bear fruit in my life.


Kathi Lipp is a busy conference and retreat speaker, currently speaking each year to thousands of women throughout the United States. She is the author of The Husband Project and The Marriage Project and has had articles published in several magazines, including Today’s Christian Woman and Discipleship Journal. Kathi and her husband, Roger, live in California and are the parents of four teenagers and young adults.  You can visit her website HERE


07 September 2011

Word Filled Wednesday - Open doors

Enter into His gates
 with thanksgiving and a thank offering
and into His courts with praise!
Be thankful and say so to Him,
bless and affectionately praise His name! 


The thing I miss most while I'm away from home is the time early in the morning when I sit down, (in what is now called my "Jesus chair") open my journal, and wait on the Lord to speak His truth into my heart.

This is what He shared as the sky grew light this morning:

I will teach you peace and contentment, like the great apostle Paul, in both need and abundance.

You will know in a deeper way that all you see, all you dream of, from the smallest provision like manna on the ground belongs to Me.  Humility will open your eyes to see the truth - you deserve nothing - yet I sustain you.

A heart of gratitude will take you places most never go, down a road walked by My side.

Thankfulness will open doors where beauty and glory shall multiply.

Praise prepares the way as it prepares your heart.


Come visit Internet Cafe Devotions for more wonderful combos of pictures and the Word.

Earthen Vessels by Matthew Lee Anderson

Does your body really matter?  Does it matter too much?

This is how the back cover describes Earthen Vessels Why Our Bodies Matter to Our Faith
In this provocative book, Matthew Lee Anderson explores how our bodies interact with our faith. How have recent generations of Christians been shaped by the culture around us in this regard? What can we do to push back? Through a deeper understanding of our physical lives, God can bring the dry bones of our faith back to life.

As a Christian woman living in the 21st century I have struggled with much of what Anderson addresses here, and though he gives no pat answers or formulas he does provide much to ponder and pray about.  Are we shaping the world or allowing the world to shape us?

In a world striving to attain an impossible standard of beauty, I was moved by these words:
The power and the pattern for our bodies are those which we see in Jesus Christ.
We need bodies that ae shaped by the gospel within gospel-centered communities and trained by gospel-centered practices.
As I continue to learn what it means to abide in Christ I recognize in deeper and deeper ways that life is not about what I look like, or sound like, or feel like, but rather I am called to allow the life of Christ to manifest in me.  I believe there is much here that will help us with that quest.

I believe parts of this book require a second or even third reading.  If you are interested in maintaining your current mind frame, leave this book on the shelf.  If you are willing to allow the Lord to lead you into fresh revelation, I encourage you to dive in.

I received a free copy of this book from Bethany House a division of Baker Publishing Group.  The opinions I have expressed are my own.

06 September 2011

Reading poetry on a Tuesday afternoon

Nancy Rosback of a Little Somethin' has created a place for us to share our poetry the same way I believe we are to share our faith, out loud.

This is a poem I wrote some time ago that seemed to want a voice.

Moments still
take me
by surprise
late evening’s coyote chorus
curls in the edge of a leaf
as it tumbles
to the ground
in the crackle
of finality

Fireball of sun
streaking sky with glory
as it fades
the gentle tug
in my spirit
by the One Who says
“I made this all for you”

Reading poetry on Tuesday afternoon by HisFireFly

Come on over and see what others have shared HERE

04 September 2011

Oh Canada!!

I know that I have truly taken this nation as my own!

When Rick and I crossed the border back onto Canadian soil I could almost feel a difference in the air.  There certainly was a change in spirit.

This is the place God led me to eleven years ago and it is the land I love.

02 September 2011

More peace

After more hours on the road today we checked into Bemidji, Minnesota with lots of time to walk around the lake front, take pictures and relax.

The restaurant we picked for dinner claimed to have outdoor seating only "a stone's throw" from the beach and I was imagining a balcony over the water with perhaps a bit of a view.  What do you think?  Were they true to their advertising?

I could almost imagine being in Mexico or some other southern retreat.  Peace fell fast and hard as we shared salads and watched the seabirds.

I may be unplugged for the rest of the weekend, connecting instead to my God, my beloved, and good friends.

01 September 2011

Breathing Him

Away from the noise
static, harsh spirits
on the road
I inhale Jesus
and peace comes

Finding home in Him again
as kilometers click away
we find each other
and the Christ identities
that seemed lost

This was the view from my seat during a relaxing meal along the shores of the Chippewa River.
I soaked in the beauty only God could fashion
and exhaled "yes"
Amen