The Crimson Cord- Jill Eileen Smith

Big Thank you to Revell Publishers for sending me this book for an honest review!

 The story of Rahab is one of my ultimate favourite stories. When i was in bible college i took a class on the book of Joshua, so imagine my utter happiness when i was reading this story to see the wars, the treachery of Achan and the deception of the Gibeonites in here!

 This story was a really original retelling of Rahab and Salmon's story (which again, is one of my ultimate favourites) What I liked about it was the originality.

 I've read loads of Rahab retellings and none had her be sold into prostitution because of a husband, so this is awesome!

Also, many retelling stop after the Hebrews take Jericho. This one goes beyond that and shows what happens after!

 The characters were great, smith did what not a whole lot of Christian Authors do...she made the character, even the hero- Salmon flawed. Cool right?

 So for those who are not familiar with Rahab's story found in the book of Joshua, I'll do a bit of a plot description.

Is there any hope of redemption for a prostitute?
 Rahab didn't believe so.
 In the land of Jericho, filled with pagan practices and debauchery, fear has suddenly consumed the land.
 The Hebrews are coming.
 The Hebrews with their God- Adonai, who parted the red sea, who destroyed Egypt, the nomads who have wandered the desert for 40 years...are finally claiming their promised land.

 Rahab has lived a horrifying life, satisfying the wiles of men. So when destruction is inevitable and suddenly salvation comes knocking at the doorway... how could she refuse?
 Will the Hebrew God accept her?

 Read to find out!

 Okay now, what i wasn't a big fan of: Rahab in this story showed only minimal interest in the Hebrew God before the Hebrews took Jericho and then, she becomes devoted. I would have loved it if she had showed a stronger curiosity even before...because let's face it, why else would she put herself in danger?

 But apart from that is was original (as original as a biblical retelling can be) and it had biblical references for a lot of the chapters.

I liked it!

God bless!
-Em.

Don't get lost in translation

Hiya Readers!

So I was doing a Bible study and just praying and spending time with the Lord, when I got thinking.
Man, this has been the craziest few months of my life...Why, do i feel like I'm trying so hard for something but I'm messing up more than I'm succeeding?

So then like a whisper from the Holy Spirit, It's almost like i heard-

"You're TRYING so hard to be a good Christian that you're FORGETTING to be one."

biggest ouch of my life!

but also, how true is that?

Many of us want to be like the apostles and disciples...don't deny it, you know it's true.
However, whenever we fall short we feel like we're God's biggest disappointment...so we think, I just have to try harder!

And then, everything else gets lost in translation.

All the sudden we're everywhere trying to be a good christian, our deeds are there but our heart is grossly missing out of it.

biggest no-no.

What is the greatest commandment?
Yes, you're nodding going, Em, Its Mark 12: 28-34, give me something harder than this kid!

Yes, you'd be right, but I'll remind you. When I was in Bible college one of my teachers used to say- "When you think you know everything there is to know about the Bible, that's when you realise that you know nothing."

Anyway,
So we are to Love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and to love our neighbours as we love ourselves.

This is very true.

So when you're trying to be a good Christian, you're forgetting that you're doing it for Christ...Your focus is all about you and spiritually- you're dying a little.

So whatever you do, do it unto the Lord that's what I want to encourage you because at the end of the day, it's not what you do that matters, but why and how you did it that will stick with people the most.

A verse that really tugged at my heart strings this week

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your father in heaven" -Matthew 5:16

Maybe this post was for you. Don't despair...just return to your first love. Confess, Repent and thank him...He is good and will uphold you always.

Stay awesome and God Bless.

Em.

A chance to defeat stress?

http://thestressoflife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/stress.jpg

Hey Readers,

Today I'm dishing out a dose of reality that we all experience, and that my dear readers, is stress.
I don't know about you guys, but whenever i get stressed, i feel unbelievably guilty...do you?
why that is? easy! because i get told it is wrong to worry.
I mean, whenever i talk to anyone about my premature grey hair (just kidding). They always say that we are to trust! often times that's not exactly what i want to hear.

I want a pity- fest for crying out loud, is that too much to ask!?

the answer is yes, it is too much to ask. Sorry. 

 Now, now, don't go closing this page with an eyes rolling saying "here we go again, no one understands!"
because i do, seriously.

I am a teen girl in university studying youth work, which is like social work only focused on teenagers who have issues like abuse, mental, physical or spiritual, depression and suicide, and anything from alcohol to drugs, well, anything really.
Now tell me that's not stressful! Not only that, but as I'm sure most of you are experiencing that family life is.not.easy! It's enough to make you lose hair like crazy, and add in other factors,volunteer jobs, responsibilities, lack of sleep, work and sometimes, church could be a pressure you face.
We have now a recipe to reduce the toughest body builder to tears.

Sheesh, sometimes (most times) I like to imagine myself hopping on a plane and moving as far from life as possible! Canada became one of my favourite words when i think of running away.
However, like what my Pastor's wife tells me when i speak of my Canada fantasy, she'll say something wise like:

"No matter how far you run, your trouble will always catch up to you, so why not face them now?"
Yep she's wise and sometimes it's not what i want to hear, hands up people who huff when the truth is told?
i must say, i am positively guilty of pouting at such words.

praise the Lord for patient church leaders!

So what does the Bible say about the evil that is stress? Let's see, wow there's actually boat loads!

"Cast your burden on the LORD, and He shall sustain you' he shall never permit the righteous to be moved." -Psalm 55:22

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” - Matthew 11: 28 - 30

"Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.- Isaiah 40:30-31

AND SOOO MANY MORE VERSES! So Amen anyone? The Lord knows i'm young and weary! This week has been trialing for me, I'm facing things at the moment that are not fun, stress is making me sick (literally).
 You know those people who overeat when they get stressed? well, for me it's the opposite. When i get this badly stressed, i don't eat at all and when i do i feel horrible stomach pain, and feel like the food will come back up!
 So this results in me not having enough nutrition and having university friends ask me why I look like I'm about to faint.
Not good stuff! one meal a day is not enough to function at university...i'm learning that now!

So what's the right thing to do? I guess i may as well sing a bit of frozen "let it go, let it go, can't hold it back anymore! let it go, let it go, turn away and slam the dooorr etc..."

  okay, here is a few tips to let things go:

 1. acknowledge that you're stressed or you have a problem! (this may seem obvious, but majority of people don't know they are stressed until a meltdown happens!)

2. If you start crying, that's okay! (tears often help, i find when I'm bawling my eyes out, tears are the beginning of healing and prayer sessions get more intense!)

 3. Find a GODLY (and i stress the Godly) someone you trust that has a no judgement policy! (This helps! You need a Godly someone to open your heart to, how else will you get good and sensible advice? i have two people in my life and church, my pastor's wife and a youth leader! If you do not have these, maybe find a christian counselor or christian youth worker?)

 5. Be honest with yourself (any anger and resentment bubbling inside of you?)

 6. Remember, God loves you, he doesn't condemn you because you worry, he wants to give you rest and take your heavy load! (remember Matthew 11: 28-30?)

 7. Smile, and take time to go on long walks or start working out!

8. Nothing worries you less than taking the Bible and reading God's promises and his acts of love (I will never leave nor forsake you- Deuteronomy 31:6)

 9. Pray!

10. Think of the good things in your life and not just the nasty!

 11. Things will get better, Hope is the enemy of stress, anxiety and depression. Hope in God and he WILL see you through the storms of life!

12. You can't run away, face the issues now and the stress will one day be a distant albeit unpleasant memory, but you'll remember how the Lord came alongside to help you, because you asked him to be there with you :)  Hope that helps!

A Sensible Arrangement by Tracie Peterson

Book review

I was given this ARC by Bethany House publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

A sensible Arrangement by Tracie Peterson is a story of forgiveness as well as how love can bud through loss.
This story portrays two protagonist named Marty (Martha) and Jake, both no longer believe in love due to many hurts from the past and through a 'convenient marriage arrangement' both are either running away from something or seeking to please someone.

Now, let's get to business. I give this book a whooping 2.5 stars out of 5.

I will not lie, I love Tracie's books but this one did not amaze me, to be honest i found that it lacked depth.
I say that because we first meet a still grieving widow who can't bear to remain in her home state, so of course she seeks to run away from the daunting memories. Then we meet Jake, who is also a widower who feels much the same, and after many betrayals and hurts, he's sworn off love.

This book had some really nice themes but again, it felt like everything was too easy. The problems they faced were so easily fixed, faith in God restored without a large amount of struggle despite the fact that the characters appeared to have monumental issues and anger towards God, yet 'BAM!' easy fix...no worries. The Romance...it was too quick! no love comes softly and flourishes into something sigh-worthy, Jake and Marty despite Jake's unwillingness to love and Marty's broken heart, they fall in love so quickly that it made it feel so unrealistic.

But let's be a bit more positive shall we? Tracie Peterson is so amazing in setting the scene, the description of Denver and it's opulent society was really well done! I must say, I praise the Lord that I don't live in those days, i don't think I could handle it! but also i'd probably be a servant...but I digress. I truly enjoyed the household servants! Brighton and Mrs. Landry were so cute, to be perfectly honest, the secondary characters had more depth and complexities to them than the main 2 characters! What up with that?
What I did like though, was the one realistic quality to Marty's character, Tracie Peterson did something a lot of writers don't usually do, and that's to make the character a *wait for it* LIAR...so that was nicely done! I really liked Alice! She's so sweet and strong in the faith, she also had spunk! But again, that means I like a secondary character more than the main.

Now the no-no thing for me...a pet-peeve of sorts- is to finish a book without completing the story. I swear that when i got to the last page, i felt like a chunk had been left out! It didn't say anything on who Mr. Smith was, nor anything about Marty and Jake with the Texas situation nor didn't it explain why Mr. Morgan was investing so much in Jake, I mean, he could be plain nice...but it doesn't feel like the Morgans would invest in someone without an expected return. I know authors like to leave cliff-hangers to make the readers excited about the next book, but this one annoyed me frankly...too much was missing!

You'll like this book if you want an easy and very light read...without lots of conflict and a quick romance.

I'm sorry if I sound harsh, but I promised honesty.
.
Congratulations Tracie Peterson on your 100th book!    

- E