Billy Graham--- "STORM WARNING"

WARNING!!!!!!!! What do you do take action or blow it off? Billy Graham’s book storm warning is about the signs of the times. He uses today’s newspaper headlines and world events and compares them with the book of revelation and Matthew 24. He takes the complexity of bible prophecy and simplifies it into tough questions for us to ask ourselves today.

Billy Graham is very intriguing in his relative ideas. He softly urges us to not stand idle, but to acknowledge the signs that Jesus predicted and prepare. He goes over Revelation 6 and describes (his own thoughts) on the horsemen, and the signs of their entrance.

All in all a great read. This was the first book by graham that I have read but wont be this last.

I acquired this advanced copy from Thomas nelson publishing in return for an honest assessment.

Prayer

I was at a men’s bible study the other night and we started talking about prayer. so I t got me thinking...What is Prayer? what was it intended for? and when did it start?

What is prayer? Webster's encyclopedic unabridged dictionary defines it as: "1: a devout petition to GOD or and object of worship; 2: a spiritual communion with GOD or an object of worship.
petition simply is: to beg for or request; communion..(hmm sounds like communication) is: and interchange of thought or emotions; I.e. intimate communication

so, prayer is a conversation that is held for GOD. (I personally don’t believe idols deserve prayer, so I’m not including an object of worship. sorry!) I said something that kind of made sense.." Prayer is the mortal tool for communicating to GOD" it is a tool just as a telephone is a tool. for all yall that have cell phones, you like mobility, well you've always had "spiritual service." and unlike some providers (*cough*Verizon*cough* J/K) you always have full bars.

ok so prayer is a communication tool. so what do I do with it? this is tough. I personally believe that I can talk to god (pray)about anything; help to control my attitude; peace in the house; get to work on time....lol. I’m sure he delights in everything that we say to him; Praise him!!!!! thank him!!!! be flooded with adoration for him. think about it..... don’t you like praise? we're in his image. what do you like to hear/) ask for his love and forgiveness. it don’t mater if you stole a million dollars or ate your wife’s last chocolate....(ummm I really wouldn’t suggest that by the way) we all are in need of his Grace, ask for your needs to be met, for it says " ask and it will be given; to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you" ( Luke 11:9 NIV )

ok prayer is communication to GOD for worship and praise, and for our needs and wants. So when did prayer start?

the first mention of prayer is in genesis 20:17 when Abraham prayed for healing of Abimelech, his wife and his slave girls. that’s the first prayer mentioned, but what about direct contact? Abraham, Noah, Adam all talked to god, held dialog, communicated, intimate conversations... they expressed desires, petitions to god, their needs and wants. in genesis 18 Abraham "haggles" or "barters" for Sodom. in vs. 27 Abraham says: "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord,..." he was praying...by definition he expressed his thoughts,. Even emotions, to GOD. and GOD answered ( albeit directly) but we to look for answers too? just a matter of weather we hear the answer that god gives us. but that is a discussion for another day.

summery... PRAY!!!!!! talk to god use your spiritual phone and talk. he's always there and willing to listen. tell him about your day, the trouble , the victories, and throw your burdens upon him. "PRAYER IS THE MORTAL TOOL USED TO COMMUNICATE TO GOD" Have you "called" your FATHER today?

changes

don't you just love the seasons? you have a gradual change from the cold of winter to the cool and refreshing of spring, then to the heat of summer(most in Texas know alot about summer as it takes up 9 month of the yr....lol, to the season known for change...Autumn! wonders abound, leaves change to different hues as the start to die and fall. but theres something funny about round here, not all the trees shed there leaves, some cling on to the last seasons foliage. resistant to change, refusing to let what they have to die. do you think those trees know that it makes way for new leaves, or rather new life. maybe they are comfortable, afraid maybe? That's kinda how i view our walk of faith, as a tree in autumn. we have all of these leaves, ( or carnal desires)and we've had them for the entire season of our life. they are comfortable, we cling to them. then the season changes, Christ enters our life. we are so enamored with the promise and the relief of our burdens, but only a few leaves fall. we find ourselves clinging to what we know instead of letting Jesus prune our death from us. now I'm not tring to imply that we are blatantly doing every sinful thing we can think of, but I'm talking about those Lil "no one knows" or "its so hard"s. like for me i used to smoke,(its been 6 mths...yea!!!) but that is one of the leaves that i dropped (might have been a branch) but i have no desire whats soever for one. but on other things like cursing, its hard to stop, iknow its not good and i know i need to stop,but i cling to it. with the wrong emotions it comes out. our carnal selves cling to carnal desires. so what can we do? we do whats hard for every man....ask directions. god gave us a map, instruction manual and a great example. with every word we take in in ernest, Jesus prunes more of our leaves. until we are bare, then we are "set apart" from the others. our winter.... cold and lonely with respect to the world. but (and I'm talking from texas view point here) it doesn't last long, soon we'll be filled with new life, and will be brighter than the ones who held onto the leaves of their former season. its one way to look at it any way. its kind of what i have to keep in mind, that god aint finished with me yet, and I'm really glad he has a lot of patience.
if anyone has a view id like to hear from anyone who visits my site

Classic Wisdom for the Professional Life edited by Bryan Curtis

OK i just got the book in and read through it. honestly, i was expecting a more or less self-help type of book. this book though is compilation of quotes and saying that pertain to different aspects of a work environment. its not broke into specific genre its just 164 pages of quotes. that being said if you are someone who like quotes from famous persons, then you'll like this book. i am only moderately interested in them, but i liked some of them I.e. "no man ever listened himself out of a job" quoted from Calvin Coolidge. they might be good to put on sticky notes and give Lil inspiration to yourself through the day.

all in all id say its a fair book,(might be better if i loved quotes), i would have like to see them grouped by subjects, kinda like Leaves of Gold. but i found the quotes making me think a Lil so its okay.


Classic Wisdom for the Professional Life edited by Bryan Curtis was given to me by Thomas nelson in return for a honest review

Captivating- by John and Staci Eldridge

i have read two of john and staci's books "love and war" and "Wild at heart". so i was kinda excited to get the complimenting book 'captivating". all i can say is WOW!! it is very eye opening as to the hidden allure of a woman and where, dare i say us guys just dont apperciate teh grand design that god intended... to paraphase what john and staci said, when god made the created order, you recognize that each reation is grander than the next, untill you hit gods piece de resistance woman.... captivating gives insight to how there is no iron clad do and dont of a woman, but a multitude of variations, each one that is in god own image. just need to dive deeper into a womans heart of hearts to gain insight into gods strength of love. i could go on fo ra while about the awesome power in this book, i definatly reccommend this book as well as "wild at heart" to both men and women for a deep understanding of each other. cant wait for more from john and staci.

(captivating was given as a free copy by Thomas Nelson in return for an honest review)

"if i could ask god anything" by kathryn slattery

ok this is a nice Q&A book geared to children. its more for the high age group i think more for 5+ (mainly because younger one ask why alot...lol) but it covers alot of the questions that arise like "who is God?, Jesus?, Holy Spirit?" of course not all of them are theological, ie.."what did Jesus wear?, is Jesus' last name Christ?" , and what i think every kid goes through at least once (maybe even some adults too), "Help! What should I do when I think a church service is boring?"

i think itll be an interesting read for children and parents alike. it will help parents to explain somethings in a way that kids will understand and parents may not feel so put on the spot. kuddos kathryn , i really enjoyed this book and im sure many others will too.



(the book "If i could ask god anything" by kathryn slattery was provided by thomas nelson publishing at no cost for a honest review)

"The Voice" new testament, commentary bible

i read " the voice" which is a commentay bible that is written uniquely as a screenplay.. has a very even and flowing layout with inserted blocks with background notes like a study bible. for me it would be more used as a compainon of, not instead of, a traditional bible. It uses newer termonology, that may be lilte confusing for some..i.e...in romans 1:1 says pual was " called by God to be His emissary" instead of apostle. but all in all i found it to be a good trans lation of the bible and a good read for those who, like me, like haveing a movie play out in their minds.




(Thomas Nelson has provided a free copy of "The Voice" in return for a Honest review)