Welcome

Greetings,
I invite you to join discussions, it enhances the reading experience for everyone. Please share your thoughts, opinions and knowledge in a respectful manner. May we all learn something in our endeavor to educate our hearts and minds. I look forward to hearing from you!
Sincerely,
TC AVEY

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Young and Purposeful: Book Review



Have you ever wanted more in your Christian walk? 

Do you ever feel bored in your relationship with Christ?

Do you think everyone has a calling but you?

Are you still searching for your purpose? 

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then you need to read this book.


This book blew me away! 

I had just finished chapter 4 when I felt God telling me to fast. 

It had been a few years since I’d fasted. Due to health reasons I can’t do a traditional fast- so instead I broke away from all social media for almost a week and spent that time connecting with God.

It was a great week! I didn’t want it to end.

God revealed powerful things to me about my walk with Him and the purpose He has planned for me.

While this book isn’t marketed to be used alongside a fast, the combination certainly blessed me beyond words. 

Moyo’s book really drove home important foundational scriptures about the goodness of God and how much God wants us to succeed!

I wish I could tell you everything this book taught me…but that would take multiple posts. (I don’t think there’s a single page not marked with highlights or notes.) 

I’ll simply say this, don’t let the title fool you. This book is for ALL age groups. In fact, I think had I read this book fifteen years ago I might not have appreciated the words of wisdom it contained. 

I’ve been a Christian for over half my life, but this book helped me realize who I am in Christ. It helped me understand I do have a God given purpose. It also showed me that the very same talents God wants to use for HIS glory, satan will distort in order to distract me from the purpose God has planned.

Example: academics have always come easy to me. I love to learn. God is showing me how to use this passion to help others in various ways. Satan spent years distorting that, making me think I had to BE somebody. That if I wasn’t “successful”, with multiple degrees, I wasn’t using my God given brains. Satan had me trapped in the “rat race” of society. 

While I left the “rat race” almost three years ago, I still struggled abiding in Christ and working FOR Him. Without realizing it, I was trying to CONTROL serving Christ. I was also limiting God’s blessings. 

I don’t have all the answers yet, but after reading this book I feel empowered to “wait upon the Lord”. God will reveal His will for me piece by piece. Today is my learning ground for tomorrow- Tweet Please

I don’t feel as if I’m doing this book review justice. It was a great book. I highly recommend it.

And while I’m at it, I highly recommend you disconnect from this world with a fast (either by abstaining from food or whatever else holds your attention more than God- though I’m not saying to quit your job!)



Monday, March 25, 2013

URGENT: Prayer Request!



I’ve been following the lives of two Christian Heroes: Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani and Pastor Saeed Abedini.

 Both men are being held in Iran for the “crime” of Christianity. 

Both are undergoing severe torture for their unwillingness to recant their faith in Christ as Savior and Lord. 

Both need our prayers.

If you read my Newsletters you’ve seen various News stories I’ve provided about the “crimes” these men (and others, including their lawyer) are being punished for. 

But that’s not enough. I must, we must, do more. 

My heart is breaking for these brave men and their families. 

Imagine your spouse being held in prison, suffering day and night. What would you tell your kids? Would you worry they would begin to hate Christ for allowing this to happen to their parent? How could you comfort them? How could you begin to explain such evil? 

I urge you: STOP WHAT YOU’RE DOING RIGHT NOW AND PRAY FOR THESE MEN, THEIR FAMILIES, AND THE ONE’S HOLDING THEM CAPTIVE!

Praying for other Christians is part of our responsibility. Numerous times in the Bible we read how prayer delivered God’s people. 

Please pray

If you’d like to read the most recent letter Pastor Saeed wrote his wife, you can do so here. Warning: It will make you cry. Such love and forgiveness for those who have hurt him is a true testimony of the Power of God ALIVE in him. 

Here’s the latest from Christian Today refuting allegations Pastor Youcef has been hung. Imagine his family…what a roller coaster of emotion they must be on. 

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people.” Eph 6:18 NIV

“And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil people, for not everyone has faith” 2 Thes 3:2 NIV

“But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion's mouth.” 2 Tim 4:17 NIV

Please help spread this urgent message...these men and their families need prayer more than we can imagine.  Thank you and God bless.

Monday, March 18, 2013

I Agree With The Atheists?



I have a confession.

Some of my closest friends are atheists!

As a Christian you may be wondering how my best friend on this planet (besides God and my mom) doesn’t share my core belief in Christ as Savior. 

Simple, we love each other despite our opposing faiths. 

Jesus did the same.

He didn’t come to save the righteous but the lost (Mark 2:17, Luke 5:31-32, 1 Tim 1:15). He hangs out with people many Christians wouldn’t/don’t associate with- drug users, pro-choicers, adulterers, atheists. 

Anyway, I was having one of many religious discussions with my best friend (we’ll call her Jane). 

I was asking Jane a question about another friend of mine who’s also an atheist (we’ll call her Doe) . I was trying to understand Doe’s point of view about people not having evil/bad inside. 

I can grasp that if you don’t believe in God, you don’t believe in satan.

But what I cannot comprehend is how someone can truly believe there is no such thing as “bad” people. 

How do you explain murder? What causes people to do vile things to others if it’s not something evil/bad within? 

When I brought this up to Doe, she couldn’t answer these questions. She also couldn’t satisfactorily contradict my point that we have to teach our kids to share. By nature we are born selfish. We must be taught “goodness” and have some form of moral code inside us in order to NOT give into our carnal selves.

Anyway, I was asking Jane to help me understand. After all, both friends are “good” people and this just didn’t add up. It blew my mind. No God. No satan. No good. No evil/bad. No right and wrong. Were humans really animals…slaves to their nature and not able or willing to bridle desires in order to have a structured society? How was society to function if there was nothing to govern? Did all atheists believe this? 

I was really confused.

Jane’s response made me laugh, It’s atheists like her that give us all a bad name.”
 
I could relate… certain Christians give us all a “bad name”. 

This conversation reminded me of the legend of Alexander the Great.  Supposedly Alexander the Great caught a soldier by the name of Alexander sleeping while on guard duty.  Instead of punishing the soldier he told him to, “Change your name or change your conduct.”
 
There are so many times I want to tell Christians this. 

Evidently this is a common phenomenon no matter what belief set you belong to. 

If you’re wondering about Jane’s answer to my questions:  

First, she does believe there are good and bad people. 

Second, she thinks Doe has probably done some things she feels bad about and is trying to justify them so as not to feel guilty. (Which makes perfect sense to me as Doe used to be a believer in Jesus Christ.) 

So now you have it: I agree with the atheist- “Change your name or change your conduct…you’re giving the rest of us a bad name!”
 
I could end this by asking if your conduct properly represents the name you go by… but instead I’m going to ask:

Do you have friends who don’t share your core beliefs? If so, do you engage in open conversation with them? 

If you don’t have this type of friend…why not? Not only does it make you a more rounded person, it makes you a follower of Christ- a Christian AKA “Christ-like”.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

God's Coming Tomorrow



My heart was heavy.

So much to pray for.

So many hurting and needing a touch from Heaven.

God, how can this go on? 

God, come back soon!

 I hung my head as my heart broke. Tears rolled down my face. 

God, your people need you.  The lost need you. 

Am I doing enough? What else can I do?

Then I heard Him speak, “What if I told you I was coming back tomorrow?”
 
My head snapped up.

Tomorrow? 

Now, I knew God wasn’t literally coming back “tomorrow” (Your reading this, so it’s a testament to that).

God was asking what I’d do differently if I KNEW He was coming tomorrow.

I stopped crying. I had my answers. 

No, I wasn’t doing enough.

There’s more work to do. 

So, I’m asking you…

What if God told you He was coming tomorrow? What would you MAKE SURE was done today?


Monday, March 11, 2013

I Lost My Temper!



Yes, it’s true. I lost my temper.

I’d like to tell you I had righteous anger. 

But that would be a BIG, FAT, LIE!

Here’s what happened…

There’s a new pizza place in town. They make good pizza. It was Friday Night. I called at 5:50 to place my order for pick up. I was told 30-35 mins and it would be ready.

I was already hungry and 35 mins seemed like a long time, but the pizza’s good so I waited 30 mins then loaded grandma and the toddler in the car and went down the road to get it. 

There was literally no where to park when I arrived, so I parked in the grass. A line was filling out the door. I left the car running so grandma and the kiddo wouldn’t get cold. (We figured I might have to wait an extra 10 mins or so to get our order.)

I made my way through the crowd to the register and gave them my name. I was told it would be another 15-20 mins. 

GRRR…but it smelled so good AND I’d already paid.

So I picked a place by the wall and waited. 

At 7:15 I still hadn’t gotten my pizza. I was losing my cool imagining my toddler crying in the car. I could hear the lecture I’d get from grandma when I finally got out of here, “You should have asked for your money back and we could have gone somewhere else to eat.” 

A short while later the guy next to me told me he had ordered his pizza 30 mins after me. He too was getting impatient. 

But then his name was called! 

About that time my son came running to me. Grandma had lost the battle of keeping him in the car. He was smiling but also covered in Gold Fish crumbs. Great, now he wouldn’t be hungry! 

Carrying my son, I made my way to the counter to ask on the status of my pizza. The young girl went to check and came back with a cold pizza. It had been ready awhile but they forgot to call out my name. 

I took the pizza and went home.

But the pizza was beyond cold, none of us ate more than a few bites. 

Angry, I did something I’m ashamed of…

I called the busy pizza place and asked to speak to the manager. 

I didn’t yell. I didn’t call names. I simply told them I was disappointed in my service (but since I’m confessing, I’ll also tell you my voice wasn’t pleasant. It was my mean voice, a voice I hate using). 

While this made me feel better, it didn’t make me a better person.

In fact, as the nice manager began offering me a free pizza on my next visit, remorse set in. 

I told him I didn’t want a free pizza, I simply wanted them to fix this type of problem so it wouldn’t happen to anyone again (AKA, I wanted to vent). 

He thanked me for the input and insisted on giving me the pizza. He went on to say his company believed in the “golden rule” and he wanted to treat me how he’d like to be treated.

I felt like a heel.  I too believed in the “golden rule” but my attitude, tone of voice and actions didn’t show it. 

Instead, I sounded like so many people today…complaining to get something free.

I asked again for them to not give me the pizza.

He refused and thanked me again. 

I hung up feeling like a huge baby.

Why had I lost my temper to begin with? 

It’s not like they held my pizza back on purpose.  They weren’t plotting to sabotage my evening. They had no clue I had a hungry toddler in the car. And I could plainly see they were beyond busy. 

I went to bed that night praying for forgiveness and asking God to teach me so I’d never again repeat such a silly mistake. 

God answered my prayer in my Bible Study.

I lost my temper because my eyes weren’t on God.

I wasn’t being about my Father’s business of Love and Mercy; I was being about MY business of satisfying my carnal “need”. 

While many would say my actions were warranted, that’s not how God views it and it’s not how I should view it.

I could have easily justified my actions and went to bed the same person I was…but instead, I sought God to make me more like Him. 

Matt 6:33 says to “Seek first the Kingdom of God…”
 
I wasn’t doing that.

When I put God first, all the small annoyances of life fade to the background. (tweet this

I’m reading “Young and Purposeful” by Moyo Mamora, page 104 says, “To fear God is to have reverence for Him, to honor Him, and to put Him first always…make the Word of God your final authority in the issues of life…choose to honor God above everything else.”  (Emphasis mine)

All I wanted was a pizza. Instead, I got humble pie and a good lesson. 

I feel better now that I’ve confessed.

How about you…do you have anything you need to confess?