Believe.....Kids Edition

If you remember a while back, I did a review on Believe by Randy Frazee. Love this book, especially when I go through the hard days (they have come) where I question myself and everything I believe and why I believe it, Believe is there to help ground me.

Well Randy Frazee has come out with Believe for Kids. It is aimed at the preteen years (8-12 years old) when children start to question everything. I requested this book for our oldest daughter who turns 8 this summer. She always has questions about God and Jesus and Heaven so I thought this would be good for her as the book address each one in its own chapter and even has discussion questions at the end of each chapter to help reinforce what she reads.

Thus far Kay, loves the book. She took it to Wednesday night at church (we go for marriage class and the kids get to socialize with the other families' children). 

She reads it constantly and I am thrilled. As a mom, a Christ following mom, this does my heart good as I want to give her the necessary tools to choose Jesus for herself and have a relationship with Him for herself. 

The goal as parents is to not only raise our children into productive adults but also to raise them into God-fearing adults.

{FYI: I received this book as a member of BookLookBloggers in return for my HONEST review. These are my words and my views.)

Seeking the Lord

Too often we are caught up in what we do. What we have to do, what we have plans to do. And we forget to rest in the Lord. We forget to ask the Lord for direction.

Then when things don't quite turn out the way we planned, we get angry and shake our fists at the Lord. But it is our fault because had we turned our plans over to Him and asked His direction we may have done something different and got different results.

This morning I am reading in the book of Proverbs and a few verses jump out at me. I'll share them then we'll discuss them a bit.

Seek his will in all you do,

and he will show you which path to take. (Proverbs 3:6 NLT)

For the Lord is your security.

He will keep your foot from being caught in a trap. (Proverbs 3:26 NLT)

Do you see this, I mean really see it, really understand it? The Lord is telling us clearly that if we just put our plans in His hands that He will show us the correct path to take, He show us what decision to make. And if we should be worried about the decisions we make or the paths we take, the Lord reminds us that HE is our security and HE will keep us from being caught in a trap.

Isn't that AMAZING?! 

I mean, this year alone, I have made some really bad decisions that could have destroyed my family yet the Lord has been there gently guiding (and at times not so gently) us on the right path. He has kept us from being stuck in the traps that we've gotten ourselves into. So now I am literally seeking the Lord on any & everything because I want His direction, His guidance, His protection in everything I do. I want to do the will of my Father.

And no, I am not saying I always get it right because the Lord himself knows I do not. What I am saying is that this is my desire. Thus this is what I need to do and come back to when I do mess up.

Remember this, store it up in your heart, and use it everyday.

Kris

Think, Act, Be Like Jesus

Something I've realized in my walk with God is that it is easier to read about Jesus' life and to believe that is the model for the Christian life than it is to actually live out what Jesus' life teaches us.

I will be more specific. It is easier for me to read and in theory understand the walk of a Christian than it is for me to actually apply and walk it out. I'll start out good, then my flesh will get in the way and I'll mess up. And thankfully God gives us grace.

So Randy Frazee along with Robert Noland has penned an excellent guide to aid us in living like Jesus. The book, "Think, Act, Be Like Jesus," helps us to read God's Word, think like Jesus would, and act on the Word of God to be like Jesus. This book is the companion book to Believe, the review of which is here. Believe took the bible and pulled the passages which aids in understanding our choice to believe in Jesus Christ. Think, Act, Be Like Jesus expounds on that by showing us how to live like we believe in Jesus Christ.

Think, Act, Be Like Jesus seeks to help believers, new and old. According to the blurb for the book: The Bible teaches that the goal of the Christian life is to become like Jesus—for our own personal growth and for the sake of others. Every believer needs to ask three big questions: What do I believe? What should I do? And who am I becoming?

This book seeks to answer those last three questions for the believer. For me, I need this book because I have always read, understood, could explain to the next person, but was faulty in application in my own life. Now I am learning to apply what I learn and become a completely new creature. I do NOT always get it right however I am taking baby steps to get there.

{FYI: I am a member of BookLookBloggers which allows me the privilege of receiving books for free in exchange for my HONEST opinion of the book.}

Also, I have recently become the Community Groups Director for Be Made Whole of Whole Magazine. On Monday June 1st, Be Made Whole will host its first corporate bible study of the book of James. I invite you to join us here.

Serve wholeheartedly as if you were serving the Lord, not people. (Ephesians 6:7)

Kris