Review: Guest Reviewer Janet Morris Grimes Shares Latest from Charles F. Stanley

How to Reach Your Full Potential for God


Best selling author, Charles F. Stanley, has a knack for identifying areas of struggle for his readers. Through this particular book, he unleashes the power God intended for each of us, giving us permission to claim a better way of life for ourselves.

Stanley first identifies the traps that ensnare us, including low self-esteem, the fear of disappointment or failure, laziness, etc. It is important to recognize the chains that hold us back if we are to ever make changes that last forever.

Stanley goes on to reveal the steps God shared with him through a 3:00 a.m. encounter that changed his life. In order to reach their full potential, the reader must reconnect with his or her own gifts and God-given desires of the heart. He proclaims that the best is yet to come, an idea that seems foreign to many in this day and age.

I recommend this book for anyone whose dreams were long ago replaced with the expectations of others. If we are ever to accept God’s challenges, we must get past ourselves enough to recognize that we are a part of His plan, rather than God being a small part of our own plan for our lives.

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Janet Morris Grimes (Click article title to visit Janet's site!)
Any day spent writing is the best day of my life...

Guest Adolfo Caso Shares Latest Poetry...

Measuring Immanence




                                                                                                          Adolph Caso




The blazing sunset

At my back,


Its multi layered colors


Suffusing the air


In front and around me,


The horizon opening to infinity


I stand on top of this earth


Gazing everywhere


And to nowhere special,


Neither on any plant


Nor on one specific creature,


All--


And both measurable


And immeasurable,


All


Touched


By the gilded light


In continuous change,


Without prediction,


Or consideration


On good or evil—


Thoughts


Of and within my mind


Feeling my feet


Anchored to the ground


And the imminent suspension


Of my body


In a trajectory into space:


I am


     Divining


          Immanence


               In me!

Guest Spencer DelCano Asks An Important Question!

Are Christians Suppose to be Poor Servants of God/Christ?

Most my life I have heard people speak in various terms about wealth, money and otherwise, as not being the will of God. It has always made me wonder how they could figure this gracious God could possibly want his servants to be paupers in the world. When it is an accepted fact that believers are charged with spreading the Word, are they expected to walk around to talk about their great Lord? Are they expected to nearly starve because it is the way of their Lord? Are they supposed to live in shacks because they are supposed to be poor?

I think not. I can’t and never have been able to wrap my mind around that sort of mentality. No one can make me believe this omnipotent God I serve wants me to be the dirge of society especially when he is charging me with spreading his Word. Haven’t enough people thought for themselves that no real God would want his message spread which tells others he is a God of poor outcomes and his people must be slaves to as little of the world as can be.

I actually believe this misunderstanding comes from those who claim to be Christians not studying the Bible, but either listening to misguided preachers and others or simply having a false grasp of their own understanding of the Word and have missed plenty of details in the Bible which counteract this theory of Christians needing to be poor if they are going to serve their God. I find just the opposite to be true from my study.

If we look at Joshua 1: 7 & 8 we see God speaking to his people about being courageous and strong where ever they go and following the commandments spoken by Moses as received from God they will be prosperous. Furthermore He speaks of the book of the law (commandments) which they should meditate on day and night that they should do accordingly and become prosperous.

In Deuteronomy 7: 12-16 God is telling his people if they follow his commandments He will enrich them, love them, bless them greatly and increase their riches. Is this something too many miss in their reading (not studying) of the bible? Some will say it’s just the Old Testament and means nothing in the teachings of Christ.

Am I to believe that God wasted his time laying out the laws and commandments which would be manifest in the New Testament with the coming of The Christ? I think not. If we look at sections of Mark with the idea in mind that Jesus was known to be a homeless wanderer by many (even today) we see hints of information which is contrary to those beliefs. When he was asleep in the boat while this great storm arose and frightened his disciples I am sure many miss a little tidbit. The scriptures say very clearly (Mark 4:38) he was asleep in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a “pillow” and they awake him, and say Master, carest thou not that we perish?

I have heard ministers preaching on this topic but all of them skipped right over the fact that there was a pillow mentioned in the bible yet no one addressed. My mind asked if this Jesus was a homeless person where did the pillow come from. Why was it mentioned in the bible? Why might it be important? Poor, homeless people normally do not have pillows.

As we read more in the Book of St Mark we see plenty of examples where Jesus is moving from place to place which has a few obvious results. It lets his disciples know he is not just yet in the process of building a kingdom. At least not building the sort of kingdom which most would consider. That the three years of his visit on earth was strictly for a limited mission. Not one to acquire earthly possessions but to spread the Word of God and to help the poor by giving and healing.
Look at John 13 during the Last Supper when Jesus told His disciples one of them would betray Him. In verse 27 Jesus said to Judas Iscariot, “that thou doest, do it quickly”. The others at the table had no idea what the purpose was for Jesus saying what he did. Because Judas had the bag (money bag) some of them thought maybe Jesus wanted Judas to go buy supplies or to give to the poor. I feel verses like this also help to dismiss the mistaken belief that followers are to be poor. What was the significance of the money bag? Obviously Jesus was not traveling as a poor man nor was his disciples.

There has been no mention that any of them worked or was operating businesses while they followed Jesus. With the twelve disciples plus Jesus that is thirteen totally who traveled, ate, had shelter, sandals, clothing and all they needed to do their duty. What poor persons could travel extensively and feed their group plus donate to the poor? By all accounts of the Bible, though, in verses many miss along the way none of those who followed Jesus initially were poor but business people with the means to have servants and operate thriving businesses. If not why would there be a money bag, in another verse a comptroller was mentioned and how could poor people give to the poor?

I feel God wants His followers to prosper and have all the wealth available so as to do his work.

NO, Christians are not suppose to be poor servants of God.

Spencer DelCano

A Heavenly Highlight! Lorna Barrett

"Frannie's handshake was as strong as any man's though not crushing. 'How's the book business? Doin' real well, are ya? I read romances myself. Love that Nora Roberts--but not those J.D. Robb ones she writes.' Frannie leaned closer, lowered her voice confidentially. 'They're set in the future, ya know, and that's just plain weird.

"Can't say as I've ever read any of her work." (p. 32)

I chuckled upon reading the above  from Murder is Binding, the first book in a new Booktown Mystery series.

The second person talking is Tricia Miles, owner of a mystery bookstore in Stoneham, New Hampshire.

Now, I must say, that anybody that runs a mystery bookstore surely has Nora Roberts on her bookshelves, don't you think??? I hope she knows Nora personally so her series won't be banned...LOL!

Anyway, this was a little like the tv show mystery bookstore so if you enjoy that program, you'd be advised to start right from the beginning with Murder is Binding.  I enjoyed the new characters and have trackled Lorna Barrett...even if she is missing out on my favorite author, J.D. Robb!

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Paperback of Jesus Interrupted Out February 2nd...

Jesus, Interrupted
by Bart Ehrman



Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie have not approved the message of this book – and nor, I’m guessing, will your evangelical friends. And yet Bart Ehrman has hit a nerve – as author of the most-used New Testament introductory textbook in America, the Chapel Hill bible scholar seeks to make the fruits of historical-critical biblical scholarship accessible to the average reader in a series of books including the New York Times best-selling Misquoting Jesus, the book that set the blogosphere a-buzz and actually incited three major-release books in response.

Now, in Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible (And Why We Don’t Know About Them), Ehrman goes even further, suggesting not only that the Bible is riddled with inconsistencies and outright forgeries, but that many of Christianity’s fundamental stories and doctrines don’t actually exist within its pages-they were later inventions by people trying to make sense of a disconnected collection of texts. The Scriptures did not come down to us through the ages in one, harmonious, unbroken version. The story of Jesus was, in fact, interrupted.

Based on years of scholarship, and just in time for your Easter blogging, TheOOZE offers you Ehrman’s most important work-to-date. Jesus, Interrupted argues:

Only 8 of the 27 books of the New Testament were actually written by the authors to whom they’re attributed. Others are likely forgeries.

The gospels provide remarkably divergent portrayals of Jesus. As an example, the crucifixion story varies greatly between the gospels of Mark and Luke. Mark’s account depicts a suffering Jesus crying out “My God, my God, why have your forsaken me?” as he dies. Luke, however, portrays a calm Jesus who simply says “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”

The message of the Apostle Paul and the message of gospel writer Matthew are completely at odds over the question of whether a follower of Jesus also had to observe the Jewish law.

The Nicene Creed and the Trinity were constructs of the later church and are not found in the Bible.

Traditional doctrines such as the suffering Messiah, the divinity of Christ, and the notion of heaven and hell are not based on the teachings of the historical Jesus.

Sure to influence conversations about the Bible among faithful, skeptics, and emergent types alike, Ehrman’s Jesus, Interrupted is sure to be talked about this Lenten season. Like every book we offer, we’re neither endorsing it nor expecting you to – we only ask for your honest and sustained feedback.


Viral Bloggers.Com

Guest Blogger Janet Morris Grimes Writes About Author Mary DeMuth

The Gift of Transparency

By

Janet Morris Grimes

The process of penning a personal story, for the writer, is similar to standing on a stage, donned in only a bikini, lining up for a beauty contest. Exposed and unprotected, the writer unleashes all that she has to offer, timidly waiting to be evaluated, judged and even criticized for doing so. But rather than focusing on the contestant’s physical beauty, smile, shape, walk, talk, etc., the spotlight falls squarely on her deepest emotions, betrayals, suffering, fears and dreams. And instead of a trio of judges, there are thousands; each one as valued as the next.

Such is the case for Author, Mary Demuth, whose personal memoir, Thin Places, hits bookshelves on February 1st.

“Why would you splay out your life in this way?” she was once asked.

“Because I don’t want them to feel alone,” she answered, referring to her readers, who in turn, also serve as the judges in her beauty contest.

Mary’s story is that of a little girl who faced sexual abuse, neglect, drug-using parents, fear, and even the death of a parent. Though she is forced to relive these experiences in order to share her story, the focus of the book is on the hope of God through these trials. As God rescued her from a past that could have easily led to a path of downward spirals, this story focuses on the “thin places” in her life, or places where she could clearly feel the presence of God, long before she recognized the need for Him or knew how to put her feelings into words.

“Jesus says truth sets people free. This is my way of doing that—of telling the stark truth on the page so others can be set free.” Mary explains, readily admitting that by sharing her story, she has been set free from the grips of her past as well.

Everyone has a story to tell; perhaps true healing only comes to those willing to tear down the walls and become truly transparent, even in front of strangers.

And today, as Mary stands on her stage, waiting to see how her story will be received, I suspect she may find herself in another of those “thin places.”

But such is required for those willing to give the gift of transparency.

For additional information on Mary and all of her books, see www.marydemuth.com.

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Janet Morris Grimes
Any day spent writing is the best day of my life...

 
Have you ever experienced a "God Incident?" I had never read Mary DeMuth until I read A Slow Burn, which I had just posted yesterday. Immediately after I received this: "This is more of a story on author, Mary Demuth rather than a book review." That's what I call a God Incident!

Thanks Janet! You may meet Janet on her web site by clicking the article title!