Angela Beach Silverthorne's Blog, page 3

I Can See Clearer Now

I love this song by Johnny Nash, “I Can See Clearly Now”. It’s so upbeat, lifting spirits and filling the soul with joy. 
Don’t we all want to see clearly? I know I do. Even when I doubt life’s challenges, I know I am beginning to see clearer. God is pointing out the obstacles and stumbling blocks I continue to hang onto, giving me a plenty of time to work through them with scripture and prayer.
Seeing clearer is often amplified when scripture suddenly jumps off the page. All of a sudden, a verse I’ve read many times stands out bold and filled with truth. Just to think that verse had been there all along hidden from my eyes until that very moment is poignant. You know that “Aha!” feeling.  
Ephesians 1:17 is very special to me. 
How humbling it is to know that Jesus, in His timing, wants to give me special insight into scripture, life, hurting, and discipleship. I know on my own I could not begin to unravel the mysteries of the Father, faith, or fearlessness. God will give me wisdom as He feels I am able to incorporate it into my faith-living.
Thank you, Father that you give me moments of divine revelation by pulling back the curtains and supernaturally letting me peek in and glean from Your life, character, grace, promises, love, and blessings. Thank you for defining areas I need to grow in.
This is the opportunity we all have when we open the pages of God’s Holy Bible. We learn how to live, love, and follow Jesus Christ. And at just the right moment, we begin to see God’s truths a little clearer. 
Hope surges.
Faith abounds.
Love is richer and more meaningful.
I pray your time in scripture will be rewarding and enlightening. In God’s Holy name I pray, Angela

New Beginnings 2018

2017 has closed down.
In a short period of time 2017 will be nothing more than a mere memory. All the living. All the chaos. All the blessings. All the angst. Few things will make it through the memory-portal as the year slams shut.
Over the last few days, I’ve been richly embedded in 2017 memories. Some were laugh-out-loud moments. Others tugged at my heart. Then there were those times that highlighted my insecurity or picked at a wound that should have healed. 
What do we do with all these things? Do we drag them into a new year, a new beginning? I’ve been pondering these things for days. Why? Well, I think it was to get me to this day and read the scripture highlighted in my journal.
“Finally, whatever is true, whatever is pure, whatever is right, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” Philippians 4:8
If anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things. 
You know something, all those memories were priceless, even the hard ones. I think I grew closer to God when life sat me on the edge of a cliff. God certainly taught me a multitude of life lessons while I winced and recited “do not be afraid” a million times. I’m certain He laughed when I wondered “how long”. God knew the exact, perfect moment to ease the tension. I knew it, too.
Come to think about it, I’m going to take all my memories with me into 2018. I wouldn’t give up all the lessons for all the blessings. Every intervention, every wait kept me on the narrow path, following Jesus.
I know life in 2018 will present me with different kinds of confusion, calamity, and chaos, but I’ve had some great training. You know, I’m getting excited about all the opportunities and challenges the new year holds.  
Are you getting your praiseworthy thoughts ready for the upcoming year?
Think about such things.
God bless you, Angela

Common Thread of Suffering

Everyone suffers. We experience or watch it every day. But it seems harder to digest it this time of year. Thanksgiving. Christmas. Baby Jesus. A sense of everything glowing and bright. And the expectation of a new year, a new beginning.
In the last month, I’ve had numerous texts, emails, and phone calls asking me to pray for love ones and friends who are suffering. Liver cancer. Pancreatic cancer. Breast cancer. Cardiac issues. Opioid addiction. Death. Emotional crisis. COPD. Stage 4 kidney disease. An angry son who has left home. A pregnant teen just released from the hospital after a brutal beating by a boyfriend. The list goes on and on. 
When I turn on TV the world shatters into a thousand pieces as I hear unthinkable words: killing, death, murder, adultery, rape, and incest. Nothing about this brings joy. Quite the contrary, it brings grief, unforgiveness, bitterness, anger, remorse, brokenness, and sometimes turning away from God.
Suffering.
But wait a minute . . . let me attach God’s story to this whole theme of suffering.
When Adam and Eve sinned by eating the forbidden fruit, God pronounced suffering as a punishment for disobeying His only command. Eve would suffer in childbirth. Adam would toil a cursed ground for sustenance. For the first time, they felt shame. Then God drove man out of Paradise into a foreign world filled with suffering and death. Immortality came to a screeching halt when the cherubim raised the flaming sword to block reentry. 
By Genesis Chapter 3 paradise is over and suffering begins. Suffering is sin induced. But Praise God, He spends the rest of Genesis and the next 65 books in the Bible offering redemption to mankind by giving him the choice to honor Him and follow His commandments. That’s the good news. 
We have to understand the beginning of suffering to begin to understand where we are in our suffering. How do we manage it? Do we suffer well? By that I mean do we honor God while we are suffering, acknowledging His involvement in our life, and His continual love and care? 
David exclaims, “My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.” Psalm 119:50
David believed and followed God. Yes, David sinned and suffered, but David’s cries for help and forgiveness were to God. God blessed David even while he suffered, and David gave God the credit. David suffered well because he had a personal relationship with God and knew God’s mighty hand had saved his life on many occasions.  
In the New Testament God sent His only Son, Jesus, to redeem those who would follow Him. During Jesus’ ministry He called disciples and apostles to walk with Him so that they would continue the ministry after Jesus’ death. Following Jesus was filled with blessings, healings, and miracles. It was also riddled with ostracizing, hunger, thirst, beatings, prison, blistered feet . . . all forms of persecution and horrific deaths. Suffering.
We are told suffering will exist until the promise is fulfilled at Jesus’ return where He will set up His kingdom on earth.
From Adam and Eve until now, God has been weaving a tapestry of suffering. Our suffering is woven in and around other’s suffering as we share our concerns, hurts, disappointments, and brokenness. Thousands upon thousands of lives depicted in a giant masterpiece. Tears blending colors and overlaying landscapes of brokenness. Can you imagine its intricate complexity? Then go one step further and envision the tapestry’s border woven from Jesus’ suffering and blood. Each tear, each heartache, each prayer, every hurt, all threaded by God’s hands into a unique pattern, encapsulating every thread, binding every suffering to the border of Christ’s suffering.
Paul reminds us, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.” 2 Corn. 1:3-5
So, what do I do when I get news of suffering?
I do what Jesus does for me. I try to comfort. I cry with them. I ache as they talk or as I read their labored words. I pray that Jesus heals their hurt and heartbreak. I listen. I offer love. I follow up with cards, calls, or texts to get updates and send more encouragement afterwards. Then, I continue to pray.
I am part of God’s tapestry of suffering. I have a common thread with every other sufferer. Every day I pray:
I cannot live without You, Lord. I cannot trudge through valleys of disappointment alone.I cannot watch innocent people destroy their lives on drugs and maybe never know that You are with them, always. I cannot hear the cries of the destitute and hopeless without knowing You are the hope and anchor in their lives. I cannot listen to sounds of agony and pain without knowing You are with them, ministering to them.You, Lord, are our common thread in suffering. There is nothing we’ve been through that is foreign to You. You are the border that keeps suffering contained within the boundaries of Your love, grace, and mercy. Lord, weave us tightly and securely. Don’t waste a moment of our lives. Use all of us to serve You even in our affliction. You are the golden thread that binds us. Our love pours out to You.
In all these things I pray,Angela

Living Life In Gratitude

All week Thanksgiving has been prominent in my mind and heart.
“Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim His greatness. Let the whole world know what He has done.” Psalm 105:1 NLT
 
       1.  Give thanks to the Lord.  Faith. Family. Friends. The whole week has been living life in gratitude. My faith is fortifying. My family is Christ-bound in love. My friends are my anchor . . . God’s support group for me. I’m so thankful my husband and I will be going to Colorado to spend Thanksgiving with my oldest daughter and her family. I’m so thankful that our oldest granddaughter wants to take us to see her college of choice, CSU.  I will miss my other two daughters and their families, but so thankful they have wonderful Thanksgiving plans in place.
    2. Proclaim God’s greatness.“Through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere.” (2 Corinthians 2:14 ESV) I love this verse. I try hard to remember to smile and speak Christ’s name to everyone I meet. “God bless you.” “God loves you!” “God is greater than anything you are going through.” These are great and small things we can always do! People need to hear the good news . . . the Truth that does not alter. Proclaim the richness of knowing Christ.
      3.  Let the whole world know what He has done.As a writer, I get to share Jesus and His mighty works constantly. I have a card ministry where I share God’s love, grace, and mercy. God nudges me to call people, and I’m always amazed when they say, “I needed this call!” Or sending quick texts to do a Jesus-shout-out to friends, family, and acquaintances. I’ve even done this on Facebook with “friends” I barely know that are relatives of relatives, friends of friends. When their post-feeds come through mine and they are asking for prayer, I take it seriously. It’s a small thing to do for Jesus when he does so much for me.
Those are the big things I’m grateful for. But this week gave me a new sense of gratitude. Dash-moments of thanksgiving in the middle of real-everyday-life situations.
1     While sitting at BSF (Bible Study Fellowship), I had a woman come up and hug me. She was a total stranger amid hundreds of women, and she chose me to hug. She said, “God asked me to tell you how much you mean to Him.” I desperately needed that message. Before BSF I had been at the chiropractor’s office with back pain. Seeing my distress, the doctor adjusted my back, taped it up, and handed me pain meds. I left in tears, knowing I had to get on an airplane in two days and wondered how in the world I was going to accomplish it. God sent that sweet woman at BSF to give me God’s hug and let me know He had it all worked out. Praise God!
“In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18 KJV
2.     In the middle of listening to Matthew West’s song “Mended,” I received a call from a friend. Her daughter’s husband asked for a divorce. My heart broke with my friend’s. The words from West’s song rang in my heart. “When you see broken beyond repair, I see healing beyond belief. When you see too far gone, I see one step away from home.” A dash moment of thanksgiving, offering a hurting heart a healing message.“My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9 NLT
3.     Seeing the perfect gift for my sister-in-law and buying it, knowing it will cause her heart to rejoice, just as mine was doing holding it. She’s been going through some disruptive moments. Praying over the gift and asking God to use it as a token of His love and a reminder that He is always with her, providing the support she needs. “Having a grateful heart keeps our minds focused on the Lord.”
Dash-moments of thanksgiving, those spur of the moment happenings, occur every day. As I’m growing in my faith, God’s growing my ministry to touch others for Him. It’s nice being a vessel for my Savior. Thanksgiving can be expressed in a variety of ways. And the spirit of thanksgiving is a result of remembering all that God has done for us. Heartfelt daily thanksgiving has a powerful impact on us and everyone we come in contact with.
Faith leads to hope. Hope leads to joy and peace. Joy and peace lead to gratitude. 
“Gratitude to God not only honors Him, but it is good for us.” Psalm 92:1
“Gratitude honors God.” Psalm 50:23
A life of gratitude starts today. Begin a thanksgiving list and start writing down the things you are thankful for. Look back over it periodically to add more things God has revealed to you. Over time your thanksgiving list will be a remembrance memorial of all the things God has shared with you or shown you. 
J. Ellsworth Kalas states, “My place on Gratitude Street depends on constant awareness. So each morning . . . I list the three or four matters from the previous day for which I am grateful.”
Kalas lived on Gratitude Street. Can you believe that? But we can also live on gratitude street as we live a life filled with thanksgiving.
“May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father.” Colossians 1:1-12 NLT
Have a beautiful Thanksgiving. Let gratitude pour out of you as you proclaim God’s goodness,Angela

Truth on Trial

Jesus stated plainly that He had come into the world “to testify to the truth” (John 18:37). For Christians truth is not elusive. Truth is grounded on Biblical principles. Knowing the truth affects one’s concept of faith. Do you really believe the Bible is the inerrant word of God? 
 
“Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation” (Psalm 25:15).
 Everywhere I turn people are debating the truth about everything. There seems to be no real standards on truth. We are filled to the marrow with half-lies, white-lies, half-truths, broken promises, fabrications, bold-faced lies, exaggerations, fake news, and deceptions. That’s just a few techniques we have for altering the truth. 
Maybe nothing is real anymore. We’ve thrown character, integrity, and honor out the door. Is truth following the same pattern?
Rather than strain to find truth in a lie, why not find truth that is solid, truth that cannot be altered. It’s found in the Bible. 
When Jesus came into the world, His mission was to teach the truth to men who had altered the truth, defiling the name of God, His promises, and His ten commandments or moral laws. 
When my five-year-old granddaughter got miffed at her mother for challenging her words, she fumbled, twisted around, and finally blurted out, “I make the truth!” I just happened to have my phone in my hand when the conversation started and was able to catch her in action. 

For a few minutes, it was funny. Then the reality hit me. Everyone wants to make the truth easy and palatable for them, and they don’t seem to care if it’s right for anyone else. Children are having a hard time deciphering what is truth from a shallow-lie, a pocketed-lie. Forgive me, adults are struggling with deception and subterfuge. What’s happening to us?Truth is on trial again. It’s nothing new. Truth (Christ) was on trial with Pilot. How many stood by and watched an innocent man spat on, scourged, beaten, stripped, and hung on a cross? Are we standing by and watching while people tear God’s Word apart? 
Repeating illogical tunes and confidently elaborating on them carves lies into the very fabric of who we are. Satan would like nothing better than to blind and beguile Christians. He wants to disturb the mind, deceive the heart, and defeat those who belong to Christ. 
I want Wonder Woman’s lariat of truth to bind around our people, so when we lie it tightens and hurts. I bet after a few burn marks as evidence of our recalcitrant nature, we would stop before lying. 
I may not have a lariat of truth, but I have the truth of God’s Word. I’m going to gird on the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shoes of peace, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. 
Then stand firm and tall, knowing God will win the battle against the assault on His Word. Prepare for the triumphal victory, knowing God’s Word will prepare your heart, mind, and soul against cultural and worldview lies.
My prayer for you and me is a song by Micah Tyler. 
God bless you, Angela
Different I don’t wanna hear anymore, teach me to listen.I don’t wanna see anymore, give me a vision.Then you could move this heart, to be set apart.I don’t need to recognize, the man in the mirror,And I don’t wanna trade Your plan, for something familiar.I can’t waste a day; I can’t stay the same.I wanna be different.I wanna be changed.‘Til all of me is gone, And all that remainsIs a fire so brightThe whole world can seeThat there’s something differentSo come and be different. In me.And I don’t wanna spend my life stuck in a pattern.And I don’t wanna gain this world but lose what matters,And so I’m giving up, everything becauseI wanna be different.

Trusting God Through Cancer: Surviving on God's Word

Cancer touches everyone whether we like it or not. Cancer is the dreaded word. No one wants to deal with it, but we need to look it straight in the eye. Who knows if the next doctor’s appointment will verify that you or your loved one has cancer.
Ed Adams has offered us a beautiful book to examine cancer up close and personal from the stories of survivors who have found their strength and encouragement from God, faith, friends, and associates. 
A few authors revealed the words we associate with cancer: scared, shocked, and hopeless, but an overwhelming number spoke about the power of hope that poured over them while they were going through diagnosis, tests, chemo, radiation, loss of jobs, etc. The reader is given an intimate look at the heart of people going through devastating times, unknown times. And yet, each proclaimed a victory!
Paula Vera stated, “I believe God uses our prayers and the prayers of others to draw us to Himself for healing, guidance, and for everything. I praise God for His salvation, for His guidance, for His sovereignty, for His abundant love and grace for me, and for the future that I can share with Him in heaven.”  Byron Pink offered his favorite hymn. “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus’ name. On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.” And this is the wonderful message Ed Adams has compiled into real-life stories to help change our minds from cancer-hopeless to cancer-hope. 
On a personal note.
I worked in Hospice for fifteen years. This book is a sparking gem, a ray of hope. It’s an excellent book to give to those who are journeying through cancer, those who are caregivers, Hospice/home health workers, and anyone who ministers to someone with cancer. 
Don’t wonder what to say to a cancer patient or their loved ones. The authors who told their stories have offered the strength and encouragement to face difficult days and the enrichment of a newfound life in Christ. At the end of each story, each author shared their favorite Bible verse that emboldened them, reminding them of God’s love, grace, and mercy. The book offers you a template to encourage and help people realize that their illness does not define who they are, only their strength and courage in faith defines who they are.
God bless you,Angela

Trusting God Through Cancer by Ed AdamsAmazon link to book: 
https://www.amazon.com/Trusting-God-t...
Ed Adams' Facebook Author page: 
 https://www.facebook.com/praisestogod...

Letting Loose

When I first began writing, I dreamed of writing for children. I wrote short stories and poems about little ones who were always getting into trouble. It helped that my protagonist lived right under my roof, my little brother. He was forever up to no good to the point I thought my poor mother would go bald from running her hands through her hair. 
But writing about little brothers gets tiring. I wanted to let loose and do something no one else had ever done. My initiation into letting loose began on my 16th birthday. At that point in my life, my favorite author was Victoria Holt. Since there were no knights in shining armor or damsels in distress in my neighborhood, I decided to write about the characters around me. 
A character study is similar to stalking. At sixteen, stalking is not easy. The whole time I tried to be covert, I was stumbling over my own two feet or giving myself away by blushing. Instead of being reckless and daring, I was careless and timid. But I was determined.
At the top of our street there was a General Store. It was the perfect place to stalk. Customers strolled inside and took their time. Men chatted in groups of 2 and 3. Women lingered longest at the meat and cheese counter. I found the perfect corner to lean into and just watch. When Ms. Patty, the owner, glared at me I’d pick up a package and pretend to be reading the contents. After 30 minutes, I realized the task at hand was a lot more difficult than I had imagined. It was hard to hear what my subjects were saying and most of the time they kept turning their backs to me. 
Sighing, I decided to leave and think up another strategy to get writing material. As I turned to leave, a man three times my age with half my teeth grabbed me, pulled me through the throng of customers and pushed me past the screen door. He didn’t let loose of me until we were several feet from the building. I was terrified. He was huge!  
“You best go home now, you hear?” he yelled at me, still clutching my arm. “I ain’t lettin’ you go until you promise to quit trying to steal my aunt’s merchandise.”
I stopped flat-faced-still, looking up at him in total disbelief. “Steal? I’m not trying to steal anything.” Incredulous thoughts whirled around my brain until I realized how guilty I must have looked. “Oh, you’ve got this all wrong. I’m a writer. I’m trying to do a character study.”
“Character study?” he repeated, spitting out a wad of tobacco, “You’d best be trying to study school and not be dumb like me. Now git before I call the cops!”
I ran all the way home. It took me two days to write the whole event down . . . embellishing and letting loose on the best character study ever. Now when I even hint at having “writers block”, I remember being sixteen and pushing the limits. That’s the key to being a good writer. Letting loose.

God bless you! 
Angela

Discovering Josue: A Servant's Heart

Colossians 3:23-24 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."

God asks us to serve one another (Galatians 5:13). When we serve others, we are the hands and feet of Jesus. It's humbling to think that when we help others we are doing what Christ does for us every day. Whether we realize it or not Jesus is growing and stretching us for His kingdom by the service opportunities He presents us and the life situations He maneuvers us through. Every lesson we learn are tools to help others. We serve God with the fullness of everything He has given us, the joy, and the hardships.

I just finished reading Discovering Josue . If you ever wondered what a servant's heart looks like please read this book. Having a Jesus-style servant's heart is hard. There's a cost. That's the reason most of us pull back or rethink whether we want to jump in and help others. We have to set aside time. The situation might be messy or hurtful. Finances may come into play, also emotions. This is the sticky part . . . we might have to deal with listening and refrain from disagreeing. We might have to build a relationship to get people to listen to us. More time.

God was preparing Gloria Giovanna way before Josue entered her life. On a whim to learn something new, Gloria decides to learn Spanish. She was a hairstylist and often had customers who were Spanish-speaking. It just seemed a natural progression to learn their language. Then she got into Latino dancing and the exotic flavors of Mexican food. What seemed like a huge challenge ended up fun and exciting, a reprieve from being a single mom struggling to rear three children.

God also brought a client to Gloria that needed help with a patient, an eighteen-year-old Mexican boy who was dying of bone cancer. The client was an oncologist. His heart was breaking for this young man who could not speak English and didn't seem to have any family in the States.

It's wonderful when someone tells their story and doesn't leave out the angst or questions. Gloria struggles with the oncologist's request. How in the world could she add one more thing to her overfull life? She was struggling to buy food and pay the bills. Her time was spent working in her beauty shop and taking care of three kids. She had no time or money to run around helping anyone. But God had a different plan.

Reading Discovering Josue is discovering ourselves. Do we have a servant's heart? Are we willing to pay the cost?

For Gloria the cost was getting to love someone she would have never met without God's intervention. Once Josue entered her life, there was no backing out. Next thing she knew, she was rounding up everyone she knew to enter into the glorious opportunity of discovering Josue.

"I went to visit him every spare moment and called to check on him two or three times a day."

The urgency to tell Josue's story never left her.

"I needed to get the story out of my system. I told her that I had no formal writing experience and no degree . . . but I need to talk about this. I can't just let it go. So now seven and a half years later, this story is still clinging to me every day of my life, and so here I am."

With God's help, Gloria finally published Josue's story. But it's more than his story, it's God's story pressed into Gloria's, too. The book is infectious. You will love all the characters Gloria marshals to help her with Josue. Once infused with God's desire for her to serve Josue, Gloria worked incessantly.

I hope you will read Discovering Josue . God will show you what it means to serve others.

God bless you,
Angela

Amazon link to Discovering Josue by Gloria Giovanna
http://amzn.to/2viJM9O

If you haven't picked up the September 12, 2017 issue of the magazine, First, for women, you might want to. There's an article on page 48, "Unexpected Grace: A lovely language", which compliments the work God did in Gloria Giovanna's life.

God is alive and well and working hard in the lives of His children.

The Cost of Choice

Someone asked me why I loved to write. So many words ran through my mind, but one stood out. CHOICE.

I feel a need to write about the cost of choice, to show readers strategies that lead to success or failure. 
Life choices are complicated and serious. I’m not talking about picking your favorite flavor of ice cream. I’m talking about decisions that change, transform, and destroy. 
As a writer, I paint word pictures conjuring up good and bad characters and then throw them into a myriad of life scenarios. I allow their lives to touch one another in positive and negative ways. Once their lives are entwined, what erupts is not always pretty. Evil challenges good. One person makes an irreversible decision that often whiplashes onto other characters. Sometimes the weak become strong and the strong become weak. Other times the weak sink in despair and the strong get fiercer and more determined.  
As an author, this is where my role is pivotal.
The characters begin to ponder their choices. They look at how to maneuver through and around them. Once a choice is made it is hard to withdraw it without cost or stabilize it without regret and remorse. Choice shapes the course of one’s history, setting up internal conflict, igniting dry brush into forest fires or bursting a dry meadow into lush green.
I want readers to visualize the importance and cost of their choices. 
Why am I so passionate about this? Because I’ve made some poor choices. I see others do the same thing without stopping to think about the repercussions.
“Write what disturbs you, what you fear, what you have not been willing to speak about. Be willing to be split open.” ~Natalie Goldberg
So, I write and speak about what disturbs me.
Having worked as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for abused, abandoned, and neglected children and later working with their abused mothers, I am passionate about the topic of choice. So passionate I write about real-life characters (names changed to protect the innocent) whose lives are messed up because of poor choices, and the people that come alongside them to encourage better life choices and options for difficult situations.
God has had me on a journey, facing my own demons and ministering to those whose demons have cut deep into their joy. Cries of Innocence, Cries of Grace, and Cries of Mercy (2018) demonstrate how people can rise above abuse, disappointment, and brokenness.
 I have an awesome, but sometimes daunting responsibility as an author. When I write I am given the opportunity to touch the mind, heart, and soul of the reader. 
“The printed word only has the potential for meaning, implication, response, and result. The reader is the one who must activate that potential and breathe life into words. How else could the quiet printed text become an active interplay of ideas and feelings. Reading makes things happen as we imagine what the characters are doing, and how they are going to navigate through situations and critical choices. Reading prepares us for the unexpected. It helps us share in a common humanity, encourages us to see other’s views, and depicts a myriad of life’s experiences for us to contemplate. Reading can make us see a new world or the same world in a new way.” ~Angela Beach Silverthorne, SUNY Graduate paper The Power of Reading
Choice waits in the palm of a hand, never suspecting the muscle tension as one finger after another closes over it, obscuring the promise of security or calamity. That’s why good choices are so critical.
All it takes is one word, one action, one deed to change everything.
In the process of writing and reading, we learn strategies for making wise choices. Never underestimate the power of the written word. 
Here are three strategies I use when faced with a choice:
1.     Stop. Don’t make a hasty decision. The world will not fall apart if you wait. Psalm 27:14 “Be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord.”
2. Pray. Don’t feel pressure to make a rash decision. Psalm 62: 5 “My soul, wait in silence for God only.”
3. Write out the options. Choose wisely. Pray over your decision. Colossians 3:15 “Let the peace that Christ gives control your thinking . . . to have peace.”
Never underestimate the cost of choice. Make wise choices. Pray. Seek God’s will.
God bless you,Angela

Responsibility In Making Choices

Billy Graham speaks to my heart. In his devotional, Day By Day, Graham wrote about the power of choice. It seems the norm in our culture is to constantly point fingers and blame others for all their problems and everyone else’s. Sometimes I want to go into a rage over this, but that would only add to the problem. So here’s Billy Graham’s call to begin understanding that we are all part of the problem in what we do, don’t do, or say. I do believe God wants us to proclaim the liberty of owning up to your actions and stop putting blame on others. The end product of taking ownership would be liberty . . . the freeing of captives bound by the name-and-blame-it game.
Hope you enjoy Mr. Graham’s devotional.
Blessings, Angela~ ~ ~ ~ ~Viktor Frankl in his book, Man’s Search for Meaning, describes the reactions of two brothers with the same heredity, the same environment, in the same concentration camp under the Nazis. One became a saint and the other a swine. Frankl tells us the reason why. He said, “Each man has within him the power to choose how he will react to any given situation.” God has given us the power of choice. Some people today do not wish to accept the responsibility for their actions. They blame society. They blame the environment. They blame the schools. They blame the circumstances. We can’t blame it all on somebody else. We must accept the blame ourselves for our part. Society is made up of individuals. If we have social injustice, we’re the ones who are wrong; we’re part of it. Let’s accept our responsibility to do something about it.
Prayer For The Day: With you help, living Lord, I want to make the right decisions so that I may touch society with Your healing love.