Recently in Books & Music Category

As my last post stated, I have been accepted into Living Water's Ambassador's Academy and I need a little help getting there. I only have a couple of weeks to send in my registration fee of $600 and then I will have to pay for my ticket to and from Southern California. I will also need cab fare and some money for meals. The hubby and I are doing everything we can to make the money as fast as we can, but we do need a little help.

This is such an awesome opportunity for me and I really don't want to miss it. I know that God is totally in this, as I wouldn't normally even have the courage to apply for something like this. I was beyond surprised when I was accepted! But, we do have eight kids and four dogs and that is a lot of money to come up with in a very short amount of time. Ha!

So, I have decided that I am going to have my very own give-a-away! If you will make a donation (in any amount) to help cover the cost of my trip, your name will be put in a drawing to win a copy of The Way of the Master by Ray Comfort. It was his ministry with Kirk Cameron that caused me to take a good, long look at myself spiritually and realize that I was not a good person and that I was also a false convert. It is an awesome book! I have read it myself and my poor copy looks pitiful. It is full of folded pages and highlighter marks ... so I have a brand new copy for the winner.

Also, if you will post about my give-a-away on your own blog or even tweet it ... you will get a double chance of winning. Just leave me a comment and let me know which you did. Trackbacks are also welcome. :)

Let me say a couple of things upfront. One: I haven't read a romance novel in over fifteen years. Two: I was not aware that there were Christian romance novels. I had never read one before now and after reading Beyond This Moment by Tamera Alexander, I wrote Bethany House Publishers and asked for the first book in the Timber Ridge Reflection Series. Beyond This Moment is #2.

Yeah. It was that good.

Tamera Alexander has a way with words and her characters have a way of drawing you in. I instantly fell in love with their depth and richness. I was so enthralled by them that I hated having to put the book down and sat up far too late on a few occassions to continue reading when I should have been asleep. I also found myself hoping that she will continue to write about many of the characters and give them their own stories.

The book is set in the Colorado Territory during the late 1800's and is about the life-changing journey Dr. Molly Whitcomb takes to the Colorado Mountains, the choices she makes, the people she meets along the way, and the love she finds ... in more ways than one. I give it 5 stars and highly recommend it.

- Beyond This Moment by Tamera Alexander was reviewed by me and I was not paid for this review.

One of the most awesome worship songs I have ever heard is People Get Ready by Misty Edwards. It is not your average worship song. No ... it is what we call worship music for warfare around my church. I literally get chills when I hear it. It is a lengthy song ... but well worth every second of it. Click the title and come back and let me know what you think.

Suggestion: Listen to it with your eyes closed, let your body feel the beat of the music, and let the words sink into your spirit.

Update 11/29/08: I have removed the song to conserve bandwidth.

Worship service was so good yesterday. Both services. I loved the song selection and the atmosphere. Sometimes I just wish I could just get off the balcony and go down there with everyone else. I would love to just get lost in adoration for our King. But, I remind myself ... what I do is just as important as worshipping our Lord. My service facilitates the worship of our Savior by the congregation. I am just one. They are many.

I still miss it sometimes.

But ... hey ... I did get a little praise yesterday. We had a guest speaker, H.L. Hussmann. He came up on the balcony for me to set up his powerpoint presentation. After service he complimented me on what a good job I do. I was a bit embarrassed, but it was nice.

Our worship leader says she believes I have a calling on my life for the service I do. I hope that is true. I know I do love it and I love serving the Lord. And, while I admit it is nice to get the occassional compliment and know that I am doing a good job ... I remind myself that it is about the treasure in heaven ... not the praises here.

Anywho ...

I really did enjoy hearing H.L. Hussmann though. He was really good and I am not just saying that because he complimented me either! :) Seriously, I loved his message. You can really tell that he has a heart for evangelism too. He is quite funny and he did a really good job of engaging the congregation.

I was able to pick up his book, God's Greatest Passion, and I cannot wait to read it. A review will be forthcoming as soon as I am done. In the meantime, check out the links in this post. Dude blogs! I love it. Plus ... you can buy a copy of his book.

A group from my church went to the Lakeland Revival a few months ago (June or July). During the week they spent there, I went to another church member's house and we watched the revival on GodTV. I wanted to see if I could catch some of them on TV. Instead, I got to see Catherine Mullins on the stage singing Revelation Song ... one of my favorite songs. She was awesome! She sang and sang and sang. She jumped up and down and still sang. She never missed a beat or a breath.

Catherine Mullins is the worship leader for Coweta Community Church in Newnan, Georgia. All you have to do is hear her sing and you will know she has an annointing on her. Her ability to lead worship is a God-given gift and she has her own CD now! I cannot wait until I get my copy!

Her website is catherinemullins.com. Go check out some of the videos of her posted on her site. She also has a blog too. If you love worship music ... you are going to love her.

I love this song. I love it so much that I have a CD I made with this song on it fifteen times. That is all that is on the CD. When I am on the balcony at church and I just want to worship by myself, I put on that CD. It is amazing how close you can feel to the Lord when you just open up your heart and worship Him.

And, since I said I would post it sometime, here it is! Click the link to download the song. It will only be available for a brief time and then I will remove it.

Update 11/29/08: I have removed the song file to conserve bandwidth.

I woke up today in not so good of a mood. It has been a little stressful these last couple of days. I have so much to do and I can't seem to get anything done without someone coming along and messing up what I already did. But, nothing picks you up like getting a present in the mail ... and I got the best present!

I don't want to name names because I don't know if she minds me saying, but one of my favorite online buddies/commenters sent me The Way of the Master! I have so been wanting that book and when I get done with it, I will definitely do a review! :)

Last night, Kirk Cameron and Lee Strobel had a wonderful discussion about The Da Vinci Code. They discussed how Christians should take the opportunity granted to us to have a dialogue with unbelievers, and our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ as well, who may walk away confused from the book or movie. Lee Strobel has even come out with two great ways to start those conversations. One is a very inexpensive book that you can give to people called Exploring The Da Vinci Code. The other is Discussing The Da Vinci Code, which includes 4-session DVD, a group discussion guide, and a bonus outreach book. It actually takes you to all the historic locations that are mentioned in the book and separates the fact from fiction. And, as Lee Strobel points out ... only 10% is fact and 90% is fiction. Kirk even brought one of The Da Vinci Code Gospel Tracts, which are a great way to break the ice and witness to unbelievers.

My favorite three words to describe The Da Vinci Code is ... "It's fiction, dummy." Many people are walking away from the movie and the book confused, not sure what to believe. Unfortunately, my way isn't the greatest way to witness to unbelievers about Christ or even explain to them who He is. And, as I came to realize listening to Kirk and Lee last night, this is a witnessing opportunity for all of us. As Lee pointed out, we should be thanking Dan Brown for it! He put the discussion on the table and now it is time for Christians to take it to the next level.

... Satan wants you to believe that Jesus was not the Son of God so he can have your eternal soul ... forever? That is the real question you need to ask yourself, not whether or not Jesus survived the crucifixion. Jesus did, but not in the way Michael Baigent would have you believe in The Jesus Papers.

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you."

So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me." - Matthew 28:1-10

And, that comes from the greatest book ever written ... The Holy Bible.