Worth Saving / Book review

Worth Saving by William Crews

It has been a while since I have written a review for a book that I have read, and I have not written many reviews either. I have just finished reading a this book and I feel the need to recommend for others to read it as well. I am not a parent of any special needs children, but in the past I have worked with children with special needs that ranged from, Down’s syndrome, ADD, ADHD, Autism, and the list goes on. I only wish I had this book back then. It would have helped me so much to have a better understanding of both what the child and parents faced each day. Then I might have been a better help to them.

I was pulled into this family’s story from the very first chapter and I could not put it down. I will admit that their story was at times was difficult for me to read because of the battles they had to fight and did make me emotional. Their faith is inspiring and how they fought for their child is amazing. I would like to share what and how this couple and their family overcame so much but I do not want to spoil the story for you. I want you to be able to read for yourself and discover how with faith and love this family raised a child and never gave up on him no matter what challenges they faced.

If you do not have a special needs child in your life this book will still touch your heart. For those of you who are parents or know someone who is that have a child with any special needs please read this book. It will bring comfort and encouragement to you and them.

Here are some links where you can find this book;

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/worth-saving-william-crews/1125434852

https://www.scribd.com/book/624458632/Worth-Saving

Prayers Of A Nobody

It has been a few weeks since I last posted here and a lot has happened. Most of you who have been reading my posts know that I have not been able to work since last September because of an injury that happened at work. So I had decided to try and use my down time to do something productive. I began writing ‘Prayers Of A Nobody’. Over the past month I have faced many obstacles due to what I was told a computer error that had terminated both my employment and workers comp claim. Which also interfered with my writing time since my pain level limits my computer and writing time. I am happy to say that with God’s help I endured and not only was reinstated and my medical care has begun again, I was also able to finish writing this short book on prayer.

Now it is not your conventional prayer book and will probably not be accepted by those in the religious field. It is a book for those who feel that they cannot pray. Some feel that they are not good enough and that God wants nothing to do with them. Others may look at the what happens in this world and think if there was a God why is He letting all these terrible things happen. Others are too angry or depressed to pray. The list goes on. This book is for them and for those of us who want to reach out and let them know that God does love them, and He is listening.

This book is raw and filled with emotions that most do understand. The prayers included are not religious but they are real, and from the point of view of people who struggle with pain and suffering. People who feel rejected, unloved, and unwanted. You can find it on Amazon kindle books. Until this Friday June 18th you can get it for free. I hope that many of you will take some time and read it. I am sure there is someone you know who this book may help. Please feel free to share. Thank you and God bless.

Free for until June 18.

Pilgrim’s Progress / Movie and Book

In 1664 John Bunyan was in prison for holding services outside of the Church of England. while in prison he began writing, ‘The Pilgrim’s Progress’. This book is one of my favorite christian books that I have read. I have also enjoyed the movies made based on this book. A book written over 400 years ago is still speaking to us today. It has withstood the test of time. In short it is the story of a man named Christian, who goes on a journey. This journey is one we are all on, whether we realize it or not. I can relate to the trials he faces on this journey. I don’t want to go into too much detail because if you have not read it or seen any movie based on it, I do not want to spoil it for you.

Revelation Media has produced the most recent version of the movie and it is also animated so your children will enjoy watching it with you, as I have watched it many times with my grandson and highly recommend it. I have enjoyed every production I have had an opportunity to see.

Here is a link if you would like to purchase a copy. https://www.revelationmedia.com/donate/thepilgrimsprogress/

You can currently watch it on youtube as well as this version with Liam Neeson who plays Christian.

I hope you will take time to check the book out or watch anyone of the movies based on it. There are many things you can learn from it.

 

Gary Roe / Suicide Prevention

Gary Roe / Suicide prevention

https://www.garyroe.com/the-suicide-prevention-project/

Gary Roe, an author and grief counselor has a web page to help those who are battling with suicidal thoughts, and for their loved ones. His goal is to reach as many people as he can to help prevent this tragedy. For someone who has battled with depression and suicide attempts, I am grateful for the support I have received through his counsel and his books.

His latest book ‘Living on the Edge’ Teen addition is one I recommend to anyone. We all have teenagers in our lives and this is a useful tool to help you recognize and hopefully prevent a loss of life. You can find it on Amazon. There are 3 more books that will be released over the summer which I am looking forward to reading myself. With so many dealing with depression, anxiety, and grief, we are losing loved ones to suicide. We have to do everything that we can to fight this. We need to not only be there but we need to be informed in how we can best help.

I survived my suicide attempts, which I have shared in my testimony, “I gave up on life and survived’, but many who are on this path don’t make it because they are fighting a battle they can’t win on their own. Be the one who can make a difference, because you may be the only one to reach that person who is at the end of their rope.

Check out Gary’s website and get a copy of his book.

Book Review / Parents Rising author Arlene Pellicane

I do not normally write reviews for books I have read, so if I do it is because the book really had a message that is needed to be shared. I recommend reading ‘Parents Rising’  8  strategies for raising kids who love God, respect authority and value what’s right. I have read my copy of this book and even though my children are grown and one even has a child of their own, I still found this book to be a must read. Arlene not only shares what she has learned in raiding her own children but teaches us how to apply the lessons she has learned in this very informative book

Each chapter ends with a question, a prayer, and an action step, giving you a way to immediately put into practice the strategy she had gone over in that chapter. The discussion questions in the end of this book makes it a wonderful book to share with others and would be a great tool to use in a Bible study.

I Recommend you buy at least two copies. One for yourself and the other to give as a gift. It is published by Moody Publishers, and can be found on Amazon. Parents, soon to be parents, grandparents or any of you who have children in your life this is an excellent addition to your library.

 

#ParentsRising

December 20, 2017 / What is my purpose?

Tonight I was able to study with some women at church and the study was Rick Warrens ‘The Purpose Driven life’. I have enjoyed reading this book in the past and the Bible studies I had previously done with others. Some may say if you have done this before, why are you doing this again? For me the answer is simple, going back is like hitting the refresh button. It is a good way to remind ourselves of things we have learned and how important those lessons are still today.

I enjoyed going through day one of this book with these wonderful women, and being reminded that the purpose of my life is not for my own self but to serve the One who created me with His purpose. He has already taken care of my needs, and given me more love than I will ever deserve. If I can do anything to show Him my love in return that is a good purpose for my life and that is to serve Him in whatever way He asks. To share His love with anyone I meet, not just friends and family, but my neighbors and the strangers who I meet everyday.

I am thankful for all that the Lord has done for me and for the love Jesus gave to me when He died on the cross to pay for my sins, saving me from myself. I am to lean not on my own understanding but trust God with my entire being.

I am alive so I do have a purpose, thank You God that You have chosen me.

Thoughts / August 27, 2017 / Offenses

Who among us is not offended by one thing or another. This morning I watched a good message on being offended by Gregory Dickow.

I have been studying on how to handle offenses with a better attitude for a while but I realized this morning as I watched this message that I have slacked off ob this study. I can make many excuses, such as having to move has taken up so much of my time especially since there have been multiple plumbing issues and having a plumber come to make repairs 4 times in an 8 day period. Then being blamed for the plumbing issues even though they began before I was moved in. I then took offense. This however is just an excuse. So I am going back to my studies and listening to messages on how God wants me to deal being offended. When I remember 1 Corinthian 13 the chapter on love I am reminded of what God say love is and what it is not. The fact that I am still offended but what others do is a red flag to me that says that I am not operating in His love at that moment. I do not react to offenses in a loving way the way I know He tells me to do.

1 Corinthians 13:5 (AMP)  It is not rude; it is not self-seeking, it is not provoked [nor overly sensitive and easily angered]; it does not take into account a wrong endured. 

I also would like to share a great book on this subject titled Satan’s Bait by John Bevere, you can find it on Amazon if you are interested.

https://www.amazon.com/satan-bait-Books/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3Asatan%20bait

I have this book in my library and found it to be a good study tool on the topic of offenses.

2 Kings 18:17-37

Read 2 Kings 18:17-37

As I read these words written in the scriptures and saw how the king of Assyria went what I will call a messenger to discourage the people of Jerusalem. I saw a couple of things. The first thing I saw was that his message was to discourage the people, and to turn them against their own king Hezekiah. The next thing was I saw them being bribed with what was already theirs. I also saw that they were being promised a place like they already had they just needed to deny their king and turn their back on God. What I finally say as I read these scriptures is that the king of Assyria did not come himself but sent others in his place to speak for him who I see as both a coward who was afraid of being seen for who he really is. A liar filled with pride.  He is a bully who uses fear and pain to manipulate those who he is actually weaker than. A thief taking that which never belonged to him by making his prey doubt their own God given abilities and blessings. Who gets the people to surrender to him using their fears and false promises of a better life without God.  Which anyone who know Jesus will know all of this is a big fat lie.

Now to find what happens next you should read the following chapter for yourself to see what the people choose to do.

Do they give up and turn their back on Hezekiah and more important on God and His promises?

Or do they stand on God’s promises and trust in God for the victory?

2 Kings 18:17-37 (NKJV)

Sennacherib Boasts Against the Lord

¹⁷ Then the king of Assyria sent the Tartan,^[a] the Rabsaris,^[b] and theRabshakeh^[c] from Lachish, with a great army against Jerusalem, to King Hezekiah. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. When they had come up, they went and stood by the aqueduct from the upper pool, which was on the highway to the Fuller’s Field. ¹⁸ And when they had called to the king, Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came out to them. ¹⁹ Then the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: “What confidence is this in which you trust? ²⁰ You speak of having plans and power for war; but they are mere words. And in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me? ²¹ Now look! You are trusting in the staff of this broken reed, Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. ²² But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the Lord our God,’ is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and said to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem’?”’ ²³ Now therefore, I urge you, give a pledge to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses—if you are able on your part to put riders on them! ²⁴ How then will you repel one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put your trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen? ²⁵ Have I now come up without the Lord against this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me, ‘Go up against this land, and destroy it.’”

²⁶ Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, Shebna, and Joah said to theRabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it; and do not speak to us in Hebrew^[d] in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.”

²⁷ But the Rabshakeh said to them, “Has my master sent me to your master and to you to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, who will eat and drink their own waste with you?”

²⁸ Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out with a loud voice in Hebrew, and spoke, saying, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria!²⁹ Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he shall not be able to deliver you from his hand; ³⁰ nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, “The Lord will surely deliver us; this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.”’ ³¹ Do not listen to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make peace with me by a present and come out to me; and every one of you eat from his own vine and every one from his own fig tree, and every one of you drink the waters of his own cistern; ³² until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive groves and honey, that you may live and not die. But do not listen to Hezekiah, lest he persuade you, saying, “The Lord will deliver us.” ³³ Has any of the gods of the nations at all delivered its land from the hand of the king of Assyria? ³⁴ Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim and Hena and Ivah? Indeed, have they delivered Samaria from my hand? ³⁵ Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their countries from my hand, that the Lordshould deliver Jerusalem from my hand?’”

³⁶ But the people held their peace and answered him not a word; for the king’s commandment was, “Do not answer him.” ³⁷ Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and told him the words of the Rabshakeh.

Child of clay

I am reading a wonderful novel by Randy Alcorn titled Edge of Eternity. I am truly enjoying reading this book. The author definitely has a way of painting a picture in your mind with his words. One thing he wrote that caught my attention was when his main character was addressed as child of clay. The characters response was to say his dad’s name was Will. Yet the other character went on to say, ‘You were born of dust mixed with the water of life. Like all of us you are clay in the Potter’s hands.’

After reading this my thoughts went to God and how wonderful He is. He is our Creator, our Heavenly Father, and He is the Potter. Without Him we are nothing. He creates each of us individually and gives us life and purpose. If we submit ourselves to Him he molds us into the vessels He can use to carry His love to others who are broken and hurting, who are lost and need Him. How wonderful it is to know that He desires to be with us, and to teach us as we grow in Him. To know He wants to be in our lives and that He loves us.

He is the Potter and I am His clay.

I hope if you get the opportunity you will check out this book and enjoy the author tell a very intresting story which I think you will enjoy as much as I have.

Grief One Size Does Not Fit All

Everyone  grieves in their own way and in their own time. We all suffer one king of loss to the next. You grieve the loss of a loved one, a relationship, a job, a home, a pet, and anything you may have lost.

I have suffers various loss in my life. This does not make me an expert on grief though. I have sought counseling and read books to help me with my grief.This is the latest book that I have read.Please be Patient I’m Grieving Author Gary Roe. I first learned of this author on Facebook and took a course he offered for free. His teachings have helped me deal with the losses I have suffered and he even took time to write to me personally and encourage me as I heal. It is not often that I publicly recommend books or author so I am going to just suggest that you visit his page and learn for yourself about his teachings.

This is the web address for his page

Gary Roe – Author, Speaker, Survivor

He does not just teach on personal grief but also how to help others who are grieving.

I pray that this will help at least one person out there.

Prayers and of blessings of healing and comfort for you all.