Flight and Pursuit

At times when I read my Bible, words just "jump out" at me. It's as if the Holy Spirit is impressing something special on my heart. It happened the other day while reading in I Timothy chapter six. I hope that it speaks to your heart as well.

You see there is something we need to flee. But the Lord doesn't leave us running away. He gives us instructions on what we need to pursue. Don't you just love how God shows us what we need to do?

In I Timothy six we see that we are to flee the following:

Greediness

Envy

Strife

Reviling

Evil Suspicions

Useless Wranglings

Wow - what a list! Six things to be exact.

On the flipside, here's what God says we need to pursue.

Righteousness

Godliness

Faith

Love

Patience

Gentleness

Guess what? That makes six. Six things God tells us to flee and six things God tells us to pursue. Amazing.

At the end of the chapter, Paul admonishes Timothy with these words: "Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge--professing it some have strayed concerning the faith. Grace be with you." (v. 20)

Let's run the race God's set before us.

Live the adventure,

Noteworthy Quote for March

Noteworthy Quote:

"God oftentimes asks of us the very thing we don't want to do, and when we do it, we find greater liberty than we'd ever known before."

Patsy Clairmont - Women of Faith Devotional Bible

Gold on the Trail

I was talking with a special friend on the phone last night who is going through a difficult time. Before I fell asleep and when I woke up, the Lord has been impressing on my heart the following Bible verses from Proverbs. I opened up my Bible to the familiar passage and read:

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths." Proverbs 3:5,6

At some point during a Bible study or church service, I must have jotted down a cross-reference in the margin of my Bible. I always delight when I find these nuggets. It's like finding gold on a trail. Here's what I discovered:

"Commit your works to the LORD, And your thoughts will be established." Proverbs 16:3

And in the margin of my Bible next to Proverbs 16:3, there was another nugget of gold shining bright.

"Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass." Psalm 37:5

Lo and behold, another precious nugget appeared on this trail, glimmering, beckoning me to pick it up and tuck it in the pocket of my heart.

"A man's steps are of the LORD; How then can a man understand his own way?" Proverbs 20:24

The trail continues with yet another shining nugget:

"There is no wisdom or understanding or counsel against the LORD." Proverbs 20:30

And here is where this trail ends... at least for now. What trail are you following today? Let's follow a trail of gold that God has given us through the promises of His everlasting Word!

Live the adventure,

Hop on Over

Hey my friends, hop on over and visit my friend Connie's blog. She is one AMAZING lady and she is having a book give away offer just for you! She also has a special announcement about our combined contributing author book signing event coming up. Like I mentioned a couple of posts ago, I have three stories in the Women of the Bible book just released this week.

If you're in the Lancaster, PA area on May 9th from 11am to 1pm, please stop by the Barnes & Noble on Fruitville Pike and say hi to me. I'd love to meet you in person. I'll have more info. on the book event and my own book giveaway on my blog soon. Keep watching for details.

In the meantime, please click "here" for Connie's book giveaway! I hope you'll enter. Have a great weekend!

Live the adventure,

Natural Wonder

This is Natural Bridge, Virginia in the good old US of A. We stopped here on our way home from visiting three colleges with our teenage son. Higher than Niagra Falls, it is considered one of the seven natural wonders of the world. It is 215 feet tall and 90 feet wide.

My husband, my oldest son and I walked the one mile gravel path along the winding river. I stood under the massive stone archway in awe. We will return again one day and bring our seven-year-old for sure.

At the end of the path, there is a waterfall. My teenager had to make the picture interesting. (grin) In fact my son was thinking of creative pictures all along the way.








This one gives a new twist to "tree hugger."




How about "tree climber?"




I've fondly dubbed this one " Dad Nabbed." (See my son's hand through the stone wall opening?)

Have a wonderful day!

Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God." Psalm 90:1,2 NJKV

Live the adventure,

A Triple Miracle

Miracles...

You know, a miracle is only something God can do. And it surely feels like a miracle every time a story I write winds up in a book. I submitted five short stories, devotionals, in July of 2007, to A Cup of Comfort Women of the Bible. Three were selected. I just found out in January of 2009, but I haven't said anything until I knew for sure my pieces made it to print. For all you aspiring writers out there, editors can cut a story at any time, even after you sign a contract for $20. (grin)

From what I can see on Amazon, the book is due out this week. I haven't received my complimentary contributing author's copy yet, but I'll be watching my mailbox.

Once I order a few books from the publisher, I'll have a give-away. (Yes, even as a contributing author, I have to pay for my books! I do get a slight discount if I order over ten from this particular publisher. Other publishers won't even give a discount!) Keep your eyes peeled. I've been busy lately with helping my mother-in-law and checking colleges for our teenage son. Thus my absence in the blogging world. I'm looking forward to doing some catch up on all your sites. I miss you all and what's been going on in your part of the world. I know Greg that your allergies are going bonkers again. I have bad allergies too. Oh, praise God there will be no allergies in Heaven!

In the meantime, if you're interested in this new book, below is the Amazon link. I don't get any royalties but it is a nice daily devotional book. Of course there's always some editing that happens to any stories and I don't get to see what they've done until it's printed. YIKES!!! One story I would have liked to see stay the same, but I leave that in God's hands. For example, when refering to reading the Bible, they used the phrase "spiritual perspective" when I wrote "God's perspective". This is one case where I feel I lost what an author calls "my voice". But my heart's prayer is that it is God's voice that rings clear through my words.

Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/Cup-Comfort-Women-Bible-Devotional/dp/1598697242/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236690929&sr=1-1#

Enjoy!

Live the adventure,