Amanda Stephan's Blog: God is Good, God is Great, page 49

Business Card Bling

One of the purposes of handing out business cards is you want to garner someone's interest. Their attention. Most business cards don't deliver on this. Mind you, I didn't say business cards weren't  needed or effective, just sometimes they lack something.



Like staying power.



I'm going to go out on a limb here and come out of the closet. I'm a business card addict. I have a box full of these critters.



The good. The bad. The downright ugly... I keep them. Why?



Because I can learn something from each of these cards. I guess talking to myself shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone as I'm a writer (yes, I have voices in my head and yes, I talk back to them...) so whenever someone hands me a business card, I ask my little voices questions like:



Do I like this card? Why/why not?

What about this card is unneeded?

Is it too busy? Is it professional?

How is the quality? <~ again, don't be surprised here. I'm a sensory person and if a card feels cheap, it's noted immediately and the person suddenly doesn't look professional. Very bad impression if you want to present yourself as a professional. If you need to watch your budget (like we all do) check out Vistaprint - they always have a sale going on.



One of my favorite business cards is from a woman I met two years ago at the Polly Crockett Festival in Cowan, TN. Her name? Jennifer Redstreake. (Check out her site on Etsy. She's a gifted artist!)









But, sadly, most of us aren't this talented when it comes to drawing. So we must get creative in other ways. Like, bling. There's all types of bling, but you want to make the purpose two-fold. Make your business card difficult for someone to throw away. Make your business card stand out from the crowd. Make them think they're getting something special. Because they are!



Being in a particularly creative mood one afternoon, I decided to repurpose some pages from one of my damaged books (see more ideas Here!) and I came up with these.








What started out as a ...what in the world am I going to use these for...project, ended up being a hot item at my last book signing. In a four day event, I was wiped out of these on the first day. People were flocking to my table.




Want the tutorial on how to make these? Sign up for my newsletter and I'll send you the link! (Yes, you can unsubscribe at any time, but I promise I won't drive you nuts with tons of newsletters. So you could stay, couldn't you?) ;)








Email







There are tons of different ways you can spice up your business card and make it memorable ~ your only limit is your imagination.



What are some of your ideas?








Lonely Hearts ~ a sweet Christian Romance
The Price of Trust ~ Christian Romantic Suspense
http://www.booksbyamanda.com

Day to Day Fun

Well, we here at the Stewart house have made it through our first full week of summer vacation without mishap or incident and have managed to keep busy with normal everyday kind of doings. Nothing spectacular, mind you, just day to day stuff. Emily started the week of by spending two nights at my brother's house playing with her extremely beloved cousins.When she came home she decided that she needed to work on a project, one which she made up all by herself. She loves to wear an old t-shirt acquired from my husband to bed but absolutely insisted that plain white just wasn't cool enough. "May I color this shirt with markers," she asked with her eyes shining brightly. I figured there was no harm in it especially since she was keeping herself occupied.



After she was done, she propped it up against our bookshelves in the family room for all to see. Of course all only consisted of  my husband, myself, and our cat Max, but she was proud to share none-the-less. This little girl that we consider a gift from God never ceases to amaze me. As you can see from the picture, she decorated her shirt with things that are important to her: her love for my husband and I, the names of her classmates, the sun, and the cross of Jesus! She is basically a tender hearted soul, a trait which I hope she never outgrows.



She then finished her week out by signing up at the library for the summer reading program, spending the night at my mother-in-law's house, spending the evening with my mother while I grocery shopped in peace, and visiting garage sales with me. During our garage sale jaunt, she found a Webkinz bear for a quarter at one house and a Webkinz gorilla at another house where the older girl who was selling it gave it to her for free.



I started my summer by changing out the children's display case at the library. Since it is summer reading time again, I decided to go with the reading theme: Sale on in and dig up a good book. I also found some garage sale bargains: a pair of aqua colored jean shorts for Emily (her new favorite piece of clothing which will probably be on her bum every day she finds them clean and in her drawer) and a pair of blue jeans which I am going to cut off and make into shorts for her.



Like I mentioned before, nothing spectacular went on this week; but still a great week when you consider that it is the day to day things that comprise about 95% of our lives. So what day to day things do you and your children take pleasure in doing?



So ends another episode of Kids Korner with me, Children's Author Aileen Stewart. Join me next week for another exciting episode same krazy time, same krazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal blog Aileen's Thoughts any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, and life in general.Lonely Hearts ~ a sweet Christian Romance
The Price of Trust ~ Christian Romantic Suspense
http://www.booksbyamanda.com

Sundays with Kristi - Blessed: Humility

How are humility and power related?

This is an interesting question to me because contrary to popular belief, humility is not the absence of power. We’ll look in more detail below, but just to set the stage, these last couple of weeks we’ve been looking at The Beatitudes, a set of verses that Jesus uses to explain how to be “Blessed.” These qualities and attributes are not typically praised in today’s society, nor do they come naturally. Yet, Jesus indicates that they are the key to being blessed. The first week discussed being spiritually bankrupt, last week talked about mourning, and this week the focus turns to humility.

Matthew 5:5—“Blessed are the humble, for they shall inherit the earth.”

Other versions of the Bible use differing words listed for humble; some versions say meek, others say gentle. By thinking of all these words, we can get an idea of exactly what type of trait Jesus is referring to. Humility, meekness, and gentleness all share a common idea; they refer to the use
of power.

Power
In the United States, the pursuit of power and position are such ingrained ideas that even from a small age, children are taught to strive to be in power. Those in power make the rules. Those in power enforce the rules. Those in power are supposedly happy because they are in control…at least that is what we are taught.

However, contrary to some beliefs, humility and gentleness are not about weakness. These words are not opposites to the word power. Humility and gentleness refer to a specific use of power and also the knowledge of where the power comes from. God gives us a certain amount of power. We have our ability to make choices. We can choose how to use our power. The question becomes two-fold: how do we use our power and who gets the credit for giving us the power. For example, humility doesn’t say “I’m worthless, everyone is so much better than I am.” Instead, humility would say, “God has given me my abilities and He gets all the credit for the good things that I do.” Humility recognizes that we each have worth because God is the one who bestows worth. Humility takes no credit for what occurs, but instead freely and joyfully gives credit to others and to God for the things that go well. Blessed are the humble.

Inherit the Earth

What is the reward or the blessing for humility? Why, nothing less than the whole earth. Think about it, the iron-fisted ruler who believes that he has the power, is in charge, and should be in charge spends the whole rest of his life fighting to protect his view. He can never rest for at some point another will arise to challenge him. His goal is to be over as much of the earth as possible. There is a constant state of anxiety and fear that accompanies that position.

For the one who is humble, they do not have to worry about another coming up and snatching away something that they know they don’t really even possess in the first place. Since they recognize that their power and possessions are a gift from God, they are not stressing over who might take something of theirs or who might get credit for something they contributed to. They are content, knowing that God is ultimately the one who should get the credit. This is a very freeing position to be in.

As you look at your life today, where are you? Humility is not an easy path to take and it is often met with cynicism and disdain by people who are still struggling to exert an illusion of control and take credit for it. Have you chosen to be humble, for it is indeed a choice. Remember, humility and gentleness both refer to a specific use of power and also the knowledge of where the power comes from. How are you using the power you’ve been given and who gets the credit for it?

RESPONSE:
Father, I feel the pull to exert my own power to try and control people and to take the credit for myself. Help me to know and understand that You are power itself and that You are the one who has given me any power that I have. Help me to consciously choose to give You credit for anything good You allow to be done through me. Help me to use this power to be obedient to You so that I may be blessed.

Kristi Burchfiel, Christian devotional author and speaker
Living in the World – Living out the Word
Check out my daily devotions either on my blog or on my Facebook page

Lonely Hearts ~ a sweet Christian Romance
The Price of Trust ~ Christian Romantic Suspense
http://www.booksbyamanda.com

It’s Not About You



Available at http://www.cafepress.com

The first sentence of the first chapter of Rick Warren’s
book, The Purpose Driven Life , reads: 
“It’s not about you.”  Why is it,
then, that some of us are prone to make everything in life about us?  When others hurt us we are quick to play the
part of victim, blaming the other party for every transgression and accepting
the blame for none.  Of course, there are
times when we are victimized by someone else’s words and actions toward us,
plain and simple.  Through no fault of
our own we are mistreated or maligned, sometimes in traumatic ways.  But just as often, perhaps, we are partly to
blame for the dysfunctional relationships and painful trials in our lives, like
family feuds and financial stress resulting from poor stewardship of God’s
resources. 






As I have thought about my ongoing relationship struggles, I
realize that I have been guilty of making things all about me by twisting
around things that are said, misjudging motives, and trying to heap guilt on my
offenders by playing up my own hurt.  How
sick is that, really?  Why should any of
us think ourselves immune from the hurtful words and actions of others?  Even our Lord was betrayed by some who walked
closely with him.  Jesus himself said, “Blessed are you when people insult you
and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me” (Matthew 5:11, NIV).  Blessed
are you.  Somehow I don’t feel
blessed when I am in a heated argument or staring an overdraft notice in the
face.



When life is just too difficult and the hurt cuts deep, our
best weapons are prayer and a solid grasp of God’s Word.  We can face most anything if we know that we
can pray to God, solicit the prayers and encouragement of caring friends, and rely
on God’s promises that he is standing with us and fighting for us.  The key is remembering to pray, knowing God’s
promises, and walking in obedience to his Word. 
Easier said than done, right?  According
to Jesus, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are
possible with God” (Mark 10:27).



  



Copyright © 2012 by Dee Dee
Wike.  All rights reserved.  www.deedeewike.com







































Lonely Hearts ~ a sweet Christian Romance
The Price of Trust ~ Christian Romantic Suspense
http://www.booksbyamanda.com

That Little Mark

F. Scott Fitzgerald said, "Cut out all those exclamation marks.  An exclamation mark is like laughing at your own joke."




The exclamation point.  A favorite punctuation mark of every exuberant young girl or despairing teenager.  We use it to show the depth of our feelings, either joy or sorrow.  But many instructors will say that this particular form of punctuation is sadly overused.  I once read an article where the writer said as a rule there should only be one exclamation mark for every *several* hundred words (the exact number escapes me now).  

My personal pet peeve is the growing exclamation garden:  "Wow!  That's so cool!!  I just love this gift!!!  Its the best thing ever!!!!!!!!!!"




I recently came across a website with a blog entry on this topic.  The author writes much more eloquently than me, and I thought I would share his very well articulated thoughts.  Dan Hersam writes on his website, Amidst a Tangled Web:







In emails, there isn't an easy way to convey emotions, inflection of the voice or sarcasm. If you type something in an email, it can easily be misinterpreted since you have little control on how they read it. The use of smiley faces, underlining words to show emphasis and putting comments in parentheses all help to express a thought more clearly. Using these additions has a side affect of augmenting their meaning. When someone uses all uppercase letters, I imagine them screaming their entire message at me. By the same token, when a sentence is followed by an exclamation mark I read the sentence as if the person is exuberantly declaring their message. Two exclamation marks indicate the person is so animated they are falling out of their chair. Three exclamations means they're soiling their pants with excitement. I doubt such extreme levels of enthusiasm are intended by the writer. I also submit that five exclamation marks is right out.









The saying, "Less is more" rings true in the case of exclamation marks. One will suffice for almost any occasion, and forming a small army of exclamation marks to attack your reader with excruciating force is entirely unnecessary. Another appropriate analogy would be the boy who cried exclamation mark. If you use it all the time then people will begin to realize that you really don't have anything to exclaim. They will probably assume you have become addicted to their use and can't stop. One of the worst cases I have ever seen of exclamation excess was in the greeting from a personal ad. Every single sentence ended with an exclamation mark. One would think that generally, people want to make a good impression, but shouldn't that be even more true in a personal ad? What kind of person has so much exuberance bubbling from them that everything they say is an exclamation?






Thankfully, I don't see this type of overuse much in published works.  However, many times I think we simply put an exclamation point at the end of our sentences without really thinking about how often we use them.  It should be our words that show emotion, not the punctuation mark at the end.  We should take the time to find the right set of words to portray our joy or frustration or sorrow.  Then the reader will inject his own emotion as he is reading.  He won't need our exclamation points to tell him to.




Happy writing,







Lonely Hearts ~ a sweet Christian Romance
The Price of Trust ~ Christian Romantic Suspense
http://www.booksbyamanda.com

Gifts for God's Glory!

When God created us, he gave each of us special gifts, some call them talents, that are unique to us. Do you recognize the gifts God has given to you? Have you thought about the gifts you’ve been given? Do you know why you were given those gifts?







One of the gifts that is prevalent in my family, that was passed down to me was the gift of song. My growing up years, and still today, one thing I love is singing. I love music. Right out of high school I went to college. My chosen major was voice, performance. I received several scholarships and had big dreams that included a very popular street in New York City, Broadway. I wanted to be a star. I was good. I knew I was good.



The college I attended was a Christian based college. We had chapel services and I regularly attended. I was a Christian. That is what Christians do. So, I went. My voice professor approached me one day and informed me I was to sing for chapel. A solo. I was excited. The chapel was enormous. The acoustics were fabulous. And, I could invite everyone I knew so they could come and hear me sing. The year was 1985, that kind of dates me, so please, don’t do the math. The Christian music scene was really gaining momentum with Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith’s entrance into the genre. “Friends” by Michael W. Smith, was a huge hit and that is what I decided to sing. I practiced. And practiced some more.



The day came. I stood and looked out at my adoring fans, all neatly line up in rows. I was always in the gym during college. I was friends with the whole basketball team. They took up a few rows, front and center, and they all gave me the thumbs up. I simply smiled and nodded to my fellow music student who was seated at the grand piano center stage. I stood right next to the piano.







I turned to him again, this time I smiled a little harder with a bit of a nod, letting him know I was ready. I wasn’t nervous. I grew up with this gift. It was like breathing to me. He looked at me, with a question in his eyes. I looked down and realized he was playing. I couldn’t hear anything. It was like God reached down and literally put his fingers in my ears. I was horrified. There were hundreds of eyes, staring at me, wondering what I was doing. I tried to sing. I could see people whispering. I knew I was singing in a different key than what was being played, but there was nothing I could do. Finally the horror ended and I made my escape. I walked the halls with my head down, in shame. I questioned God. Why did this happen? And I heard that still small voice say, you made this gift I gave you, all about you. When you invited all those people to chapel, it wasn’t so they could hear about me; that I love them and died for them so they could live with me for eternity, You were puffed up with pride. You wanted to take the glory for yourself. I brought you this far, through so much, I am not going to let you ruin yourself.



It was one of the hardest, most humiliating times of my life. I also learned one of the most important lessons of my life. Everything, and I mean everything I do, is for him. With each volleyball serve, I whispered, this is for you. With each song I sang, this is for you. Everything, especially anything I was apt to take pride in, was to give God the glory.



Thanks for taking the time to grow with me this Wednesday!

Blessings, DarleneLonely Hearts ~ a sweet Christian Romance
The Price of Trust ~ Christian Romantic Suspense
http://www.booksbyamanda.com

DIY Book Art

and creative things to do with books. Yes, I see all those old books you have on your shelf over there in the corner. Ahem. Yes, I was talking to myself... ;)



Anyway, being the proud owner of *many* books and very little shelf space, I've had to go on a rampage. Yesterday, the kids and I went to the library and I donated six books to them. Six! After some serious deliberation and staring at my books for about an hour, I finally, finally made my daughter take them to the nice librarian. Who was looking at my stack of books. And licking her chops. And the reason I made my daughter do it is because I'm weak. But I digress. As usual.



I was cruising around Pinterest and found a very cool couple of pictures. Which, happily, actually linked to what the picture was about. *It drives me  crazy when these pictures don't link to the proper sites. Seriously not cool, people. (By the way, you can follow my boards here if you want to. Shameless plug out of the way.)



- There was a book igloo - don't think hubster will want this sitting in the livingroom, but I plan on trying 



- A table runner with a decorative edge cut into the page edges



- A receipt book



- Origami bookmarks (I've made some super cute ones, see the picture below for a link to the tutorial!)



- Envelopes



- A Fall Wreath



- Recycled Scrapbook



and my favorite that I'm going to try today...



- A Pumpkin!



As you may or may not know, I'm an author. And being an author, I have some books that I wouldn't be able to sell. They're either proof copies (where I re-read the book and nit pick it to death and find all the mistakes. Well, I try anyway...) or they were damaged in transit from my publisher. (I'm very nice to the UPS man, so I really don't know why he takes things out on my stuff. Just because he has to deliver stuff to me quite often, doesn't mean he should be ornery!) ;) Here are a few things I've made with my own books:



- paper beads,



- I've made a business card holder (You'll have to excuse the picture. I'm a writer, not a photographer)







- business card flowers (because I love bling)







- Origami Bookmarks (trust me. Little paper bulldogs are the bomb)





















- and I've even made my own paper (Didn't take a picture of this one, but I'm sure you can use your imagination. I mean, hey. It's paper, right?)



I bet you can't tell I was raised with the 'use it up before you throw it out' mentality...



What types of projects have you tried with books or book paper? Leave a link in a comment so we can find your project!Lonely Hearts ~ a sweet Christian Romance
The Price of Trust ~ Christian Romantic Suspense
http://www.booksbyamanda.com

Entertaining Summer Choices

Last week, with the onset of summer vacation, I made a trip to the library. My trip was actually two-fold since I had to switch out the children's display case, but I also wanted to check out some great summer books for Emily that would provide her with different forms of entertainment. I brought home four books that day. 













The first two books I brought home were I Can Make Music by Michael Purton and Make Your Own Musical Instruments by Anna-Marie D'Cruz. Although we have yet to try any of the ideas in these two books, I thought they would provide some interesting projects for the summer months. When I looked up the second book online at Amazon, I found that Miss D'Cruz has a whole line of "Make Your Own" books. There was a Make Your Own Puppets, a Make Your Own Slippers and Shoes, a Make Your Own Purses and Bags, a Make Your Own Masks, and a Make Your Own Books book. That is quite a selection and would probably keep any family in projects for an entire summer vacation. I know I am looking forward to creating some instruments!











The other two books that I brought home were Simple Steps to Drawing - All Around Town by the GarethStevens Publishing Company and How to Draw Sea Creatures by Barbara Soloff-Levy. Since Emily was old enough to hold a pencil in her hand she has been drawing, so it was no surprise to me at all that she immediately began to work with the drawing books. At first she tried drawing sea creatures but they seemed a little complicated so she moved onto drawing items from the All Around Town book. She actually drew a really nice fish stand, a tractor, and a dog. Later she did go back and work on sea creatures and became quite proficient at drawing blue whales, sword fish, star fish, and clams. When these books are due back to the library I think we will see what other entertaining books we can find. I can safely say at least a few of them will probably be additional drawing books, but that's okay because we have lots of scrap paper!







So ends another episode of Kids Korner with me, Children's Author Aileen Stewart. Join me next week for another exciting episode same krazy time, same krazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal blog Aileen's Thoughts any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, and life in general.Lonely Hearts ~ a sweet Christian Romance
The Price of Trust ~ Christian Romantic Suspense
http://www.booksbyamanda.com

Sundays with Kristi - Blessed: Mourning

How do you respond to death?

Today we’re going to build on our study of The Beatitudes by looking at mourning. Last week we looked at the Poor in Spirit. As we begin today looking at blessings in the midst of mourning, I also want to invite you to look back at the previous lessons found under the “Sunday” tab above.

Mourning
Matthew 5:4 – Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Mourning is an interesting word choice. Mourning refers to a very specific type of sadness. It’s the grief that follows a loss. Now the Jewish people in the audience would have had a very specific understanding of what it means to mourn. In fact, they have an entire ritual of mourning that is to be carefully followed upon the death of a loved one. You can read more about that entire process here but suffice it to say that Jews took mourning very seriously.

Jesus is specifically talking about blessing those people who are in mourning; those who have experienced a loss. What loss is he referring to? Remember back to last week where Jesus says He will bless the poor in spirit. How are we poor in spirit? We’re poor in spirit by sacrificing all that we have and all that we are and aspire to be. In essence, we die.

Paul puts this another way in Galatians 2:20. "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God; who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

So, I died with Christ on the cross. My sins needed to be paid for and He paid for them. I sacrificed everything I am and am poor in spirit, receiving the blessing of the kingdom of heaven. When we have sacrificed ourselves and all that we are to God and become poor in spirit, God wants us to truly understand what we are doing. He understands the enormity of the sacrifice. He understands that we need to repent of that sin that we have just given up. He also knows that we can’t possibly live the life He desires for us on our own.

Comfort
Once we surrender everything to Him, what happens? According to Paul, Christ lives the life for us. From these words of Jesus, He comforts us that we don’t have to go this alone. We don’t have to struggle through it. He is there for us and He will walk through the difficulties for us on our behalf. We just have to allow ourselves and our desires to die, so that we can continue to live by faith with Jesus taking the lead because He loves us and gave Himself for us.

Think of these Beatitudes as steps in the process of becoming more Christ-like so that we may be blessed to the fullness of God’s desire for us.

Step one – become poor in spirit by giving up all that we are to God. He’ll bless us with the Kingdom of Heaven

Step two – recognize and mourn for the effect that our wrong doings have had since they caused Jesus to be put to death. He’ll bless us by comforting us and being there to walk us through the paths of life we could have never gone through on our own.

We’ll take a look at the next step in the journey next week as we look at meekness.

Father, I have sacrificed who I am and all that I was trying to do on my own. It’s all yours now. I see the high price that You paid to be able to accept that sacrifice from me. I will never forget what my wrong doings have cost. I pray You will comfort me and lead me from this point forward so that I am walking in the way you would have me to walk.

Kristi Burchfiel
Living in the World – Living out the Word
Check out my daily devotions either on my blog or on my Facebook page

Lonely Hearts ~ a sweet Christian Romance
The Price of Trust ~ Christian Romantic Suspense
http://www.booksbyamanda.com

What If They Don't Change?

All of us have someone in our lives who makes us crazy.  Whether that person is a menacing co-worker, judgmental parent, or rebellious teenager, it seems nothing helps when it comes to coping with the contrary personalities of people who don't quite see life the way we do.  If we are walking with the Lord and know that someone's behavior and choices are clearly wrong, we often pray for God to change them so they will be more Christlike and easier to get along with.  Then we try countless ways to persuade them to see the error of their ways.  But what if they don't change?



This is a problem that I have struggled with the past four or five years as the parent of a rebellious teenager.  Many times I have recalled what it was like to be an adolescent and marvel that my own mother never raised her voice at me the way I have with my son.  And she had six of us!  When I went through a lengthy season of rebellion in my late teens and early twenties, I don't even remember her "discussing" my derelict behavior with me, but I know she talked often to God about me.  She learned that sometimes only God can change a wayward heart, so she simply prayed for me and left it up to God to fix me. 



In his book, Handle with Prayer: Unwrap the Source of God's Strength for Living , Dr. Charles Stanley writes:

A college student was having trouble getting along with her unsaved father.  Regardless of how sweet she was, they just could not get along.  She soon found herself becoming bitter.  As she prayed, the Lord revealed a strategy to combat her bitterness.

She was to understand that the conflict wasn't between her and her father but rather between Satan and God.  She saw that Satan was using her father as an instrument to overcome the Christ in her.

When she adopted this attitude, things at home began to change.  She no longer saw her father as her enemy.  On the contrary, she saw for the first time how he really loved her.  When conflicts would arise, instead of reacting to her father, she would go to her knees in prayer and deal with the real enemy.

It is so easy to become bitter when our words fall on deaf ears and the person who is clearly wrong doesn't change.  We become angry and self-condemning when others bring out the worst in us, and Satan just loves that! Could it be that we are so caught up trying to change others that we are getting in the way of what God wants to do in their lives? Could it be that the one who truly needs to change is us?



If you are struggling with a difficult relationship right now, get alone with God and pray it through.  As much as it is possible, isolate yourself from that individual or simply refuse to engage in an argument by leaving the room or discontinuing a phone conversation.  After all, it takes two to tango and nothing is ever solved in a heated debate. 



We cannot win others over with God's love if we allow Satan to quench it in us by arousing our anger toward them.  If you feel less than loving toward a family member or close friend, draw near to the One who loves you unconditionally and tell him about your dilemma.  Pray for that one you find it so difficult to love.  Forgive the hurt they have caused you and ask God to forgive you for whatever hurt you may have caused them.  Even if they are too stubborn to make a positive change, don't you be.  Ask God to change you first and fill you with his grace and love so that you can reflect his love to others.



Love your enemies and remember these words from Jesus:

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.  Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you falsely and say all kinds of evil against you because of me.  Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Matthew 5:9-12 (NIV)

 Copyright © 2012 by Dee
Dee Wike.  All rights reserved.  www.deedeewike.com

 

 

Lonely Hearts ~ a sweet Christian Romance
The Price of Trust ~ Christian Romantic Suspense
http://www.booksbyamanda.com