De-junking!

   When you read that title, you probably have one of two responses. 1. "I love de-junking!" or 2. "I don't think I want to read this post!" Don't worry, if you're in either of those categories, I agree with you. I don't like to de-junk, but I also don't like things to be cluttered. With this warm weather we've been having, it makes me think of spring cleaning and going through closets and de-junking.

     In high-school, Mom had me read Clutter's Last Stand by Don Aslett.

    Honestly, I really enjoyed the book, and it motivated me to do some de-junking! Now I'm still not a clutter free person, but I've learned that there's certain areas of our lives that we can't afford to let get cluttered. For example, we can't let our minds get cluttered to the point where it's difficult to think on the Lord without getting distracted.

    This past week, I had a good conversation with a friend on de-junking books. Proverbs 23:7 says "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:..." My question for you today is what are you thinking about?  Because what you think about, is who you are, or will become. What kinds of books are you feeding yourself with? Are there books on your shelf that cause you to think in an ungodly way? Or do you read books that make you think godly thoughts? If you put godly things into your life, you'll get godly things out of your life, but if you put ungodly things in, you'll get ungodly things out.

     It's important for us to remember that just because a book is a "Christian" book, doesn't mean it's filled with the kinds of things we should be thinking about. People justify certain books by saying 'it's a Christian book,' or 'most Christian's have read it,' but that's not the point. I didn't ask you what kinds of books other Christian's read, I asked what kind of books YOU read. If you honestly trust the Lord with your reading life, you may find that you're getting rid of books that "all the Christians read," but it will be worth it.

     Go ahead and de-junk your bookshelf with the Lord's help. Don't compare your shelf to other people's, just think about what God wants YOU to be thinking about. It doesn't matter if people think you're weird for getting rid of certain books, what matters is what You're thinking in YOUR heart... because "as he thinketh in his heart, so is he..."

My time at R.S.C.

      Hi! I just got back from helping out at our regional A.C.E. student convention. I had a great time and was very blessed by the preaching and the good attitudes I saw. I know that among Christians, there's a lot of variety in convictions and standards, but no matter how different we may feel about different things, spending time with other Christians is always rewarding. As children of God we may sometimes disagree with our other 'siblings' but I love it when people can put their differences beside and just focus on building each other up in Christ! The Bible says that people will know we're Christian by our love for one another. Especially because of our love for the brethren.
       During the awards ceremony when the students were being awarded for the things that they had competed in, I thought a lot about what it's going to be like in Heaven when God rewards His people for the works they have done. At convention, there were students who had beautiful work that may not have gotten a ribbon because they might not have followed everything in the rule book. In Heaven there's going to be people who have done GREAT works, but because they didn't follow God's rule book, and they didn't have the charity that is supposed to fill our hearts, their works will be burned up. I also got a glimpse of how awesome it would be to have a handful of 1st place ribbons (crowns) to cast at Jesus' feet. I was really blessed by watching the students strive for excellence. I know sometimes in our Christian lives, we don't always get 1st place ribbons because our performances aren't done exactly the way God's rule book commands, but we should never be discouraged with 2nd or 3rd place, (or lower,) we should simply do our best with the Lord's help and strive for excellence, so that someday, we may be able to cast many crowns at Jesus's feet. We're not competing Against other Christians for prizes in Heaven, we're competing WITH other Christians.

    I Corinthians 9:24 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.

Colossians 3:23 - And whatsoever ye do, do [it] heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

2 Timothy 2:5 - And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.

Colossians 3:17 - And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, [do] all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

We enjoyed some special time of singing and praising the Lord together!

 I was able to help organize some of the ribbons before some of the awards were given out.

So remember to stay motivated. Allow others to challenge and provoke you to good works, so that someday in Heaven, you might have many crowns to cast at Jesus's feet!

Epilogues and Prologues

         I'll never forget the first book I read with an epilogue. It was The Disappearing Jewel of Madagascar and when I got to the back and saw the 'epilogue' I thought that it was like the rest of those "boring" pages that author's write at the end of their books. Since it wasn't marked as one of the chapters, I didn't read it. Weeks later, my sister made a comment to me about how the book ended and I went back to see because I didn't remember it. If you've ever read one of the Accidental Detective books, then you know that you HAVE to read the epilogues. When I realized that I had missed out on the best part of the book I decided to always read the epilogues.
       As you may know, Never Forget, ends with an epilogue and although it's not one of the 'chapters' it's just as important to the book as any of the chapters. So if you've never read a book with epilogues or prologues, here's a tip, ALWAYS READ THEM! I can understand if you don't read all of the acknowledgements and the notes from the author, but you HAVE to read the epilogues and prologues. Well... you don't actually have to, but if you don't, you'll miss out on part of the story. So if/when I write books with prologues and/or epilogues, please read them!
      
         If you're wondering what I'm doing now that Never Forget is published, I'm still writing. I'll tell you more about my current writing projects later, but for now, you can just know that I am writing.

IT'S HERE!!!

Alright, so for all of you who have been 'breathing down my neck:)' I got my final proof copies in the mail and have proofed them!!!!!!!

So now, all four of the 'Adventure of Amy' books are for sale on Amazon! (If you have the 'thick' 'Adventures of Amy' than you already have the first three)

I've also made all of my books available on kindle!:)

Now I realize that my books aren't perfect. Sometimes the printer gives them redish tints, or whitish tints on the covers, and I know you could probably find some grammar errors if you tried; but I can't tell you how excited I am to present these books. I've learned sooooooo much through the process of writing them, editing them, formatting them, and publishing them. I want to give a huge THANK YOU to everyone of you that helped me out in any way, especially those of you who prayed for me.

Now... drum roll please... I present to you NEVER FORGET, book four in the 'Adventures of Amy' series.

Unexpected trouble... slander of the innocent... and government agents. The fuse is lit and Amy feels that life as she knows it will be gone forever. After a year on the Penner farm, Amy doesn't want anything to change... but change does come. Brent is missing and the farm is falling apart. The new pastor and a new sheriff just complicate things. Amy can't figure out what is going on. What secrets does their land hold? Why is the government involved and how does Dr. Josh fit in? Join Amy as she learns to wait on the Lord.

Good Friends

I was looking through some old pictures and I came across this picture of me on my 11th birthday with two of my close friends/cousins. I've been really blessed with having good friends to grow up with. I don't think most people realize the power of friendships. We have the chance to provoke each other to good works, or we have the power to drag others down. I don't know about you, but I don't want to drag people down in their spiritual lives.

So here's a list of a few things that my friends have done for me over the years to keep focused on what's really important. 

1. They've encouraged me to hand out gospel tracts, and kept me accountable to make sure I actually was sharing the gospel.

2. A friend of mine and I both have notebooks that we write down what we read for our devotions in it, and every week at church, we swap notebooks. I can't tell you how much this has impacted me. It's so easy to forget to do my devotions, or to put it off, but when I know I'm being held accountable, it makes it harder to skip.

3. In recent years, some of my friends and I have been having a prayer meeting after church every Sunday. Being able to get together with other Christians, share what the Lord's doing in your life and your struggles, and praying for each other is a huge blessing. 

4. When I complain, or I'm having a rough day, my friends don't just tell me it's okay, they remind me that God commands us to be thankful in everything, and to rejoice evermore. 

So think about it, what kind of friends do you have? Do your friends point you to Jesus and remind you to trust Him? Or do your friends make you go against your conscience?

Or maybe the better question to ask is, "What kind of a friend are you being?" Do you make excuses for your friends so that they don't feel so bad when they're not serving God? Or do you challenge your friends to trust the Lord?

When you text, e-mail, write, or however else you communicate, do you show forth the love of God?

1 Corinthians 15:33 - Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.

Proverbs 27:17 - Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

Hebrews 10:24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:

So THANK YOU to all the people in my life who have taken the time to encourage me in serving Christ!!

On another note, yesterday, at our church, I was extremely blessed by a very talented group of musicians. It was such an encouragement to get to listen to their music, and see how they're allowing God to work through their lives. It was truly amazing to see how they allowed God to send beautiful music through their finger tips. If you're not familiar with the Mieczkowski Family, I highly recommend that you check out their family website by clicking here where you can listen to samples of their music and buy their CD.