Want to win a free book? If so, please e-mail me at marla_alupoaicei@yahoo.com or post a comment below and let me know your name and the book you are interested in. You may choose from the five books listed below. I will put the names into a bowl and randomly draw the names on Jan. 31 and post the winners on my site! I will also personally e-mail you if your name is selected as a winner.
THIS MONTH'S NEW BOOK GIVEAWAY TITLES ARE:
-Faith Tango by Carolyn and Craig Williford (an excellent Christian marriage book)
-God's Message for Each Day by Eugene Peterson (daily devotional)
-Growing Deep in the Christian Life by Chuck Swindoll
-Middle East Meltdown by John Ankerberg and Dillon Burroughs
-Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Please help spread the word about my book drawing. For each person you refer to the site, you will receive one additional entry to the book drawing for the book of your choice. Thank you for visiting! Happy New Year from Leap of Faith!
jueves, 20 de diciembre de 2007
miércoles, 19 de diciembre de 2007
Some Food for Thought
A man asked his rabbi: "Why does God write the law ON our hearts? Why not IN our hearts? It's the inside of my heart that needs God."
The rabbi answered, "God never forces anything into a human heart. He writes the word on our hearts so that when our hearts break, God falls in."
Christmas time is a meaningful, special, beautiful time for most of us. But many people in this world have broken hearts. A lot of men and women are grieving the loss of a beloved spouse, parent, family member, child, or friend. Many people are depressed, sad, lost, hopeless, and desperately in need of a Savior. Let's remember to "be Jesus with skin on" and reach out to the brokenhearted this holiday. Here are some practical suggestions:
-Invite your neighbors over for dinner one night before Christmas.
-Say "Merry Christmas!" to every salesperson you meet.
-Have an "old Christmas movie fest" with friends and family. Break out "White Christmas," "Miracle on 34th Street," "The Grinch," "A Charlie Brown Christmas," 'Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer," and some other fun classics. Make popcorn and hot chocolate and stay up too late!
-Give to the Salvation Army and encourage one of those people standing out in the cold!
-Buy a gift or donate a new toy to a needy child.
-Keep your eyes open for needs within your own family.
-Offer to babysit for a friend so she can do some Christmas shopping.
-Make a gift or bake cookies for a lonely person.
-Call someone you haven't talked to for a while.
-Turn off the TV and computer and spend some quality time with your spouse.
-Take your kids someplace just for fun.
-Have a birthday party for Jesus and invite family members, friends, and neighbors.
-Send a special holiday gift to a missionary or a person in ministry who lives on support.
-Invite a college or seminary student to your home for the holidays. At Dallas Theological Seminary, I knew many international students who had nowhere to go for Christmas.
-Tell your children the REAL reason for the season.
What other suggestions do you have for helping those with broken hearts this Christmas?
The rabbi answered, "God never forces anything into a human heart. He writes the word on our hearts so that when our hearts break, God falls in."
Christmas time is a meaningful, special, beautiful time for most of us. But many people in this world have broken hearts. A lot of men and women are grieving the loss of a beloved spouse, parent, family member, child, or friend. Many people are depressed, sad, lost, hopeless, and desperately in need of a Savior. Let's remember to "be Jesus with skin on" and reach out to the brokenhearted this holiday. Here are some practical suggestions:
-Invite your neighbors over for dinner one night before Christmas.
-Say "Merry Christmas!" to every salesperson you meet.
-Have an "old Christmas movie fest" with friends and family. Break out "White Christmas," "Miracle on 34th Street," "The Grinch," "A Charlie Brown Christmas," 'Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer," and some other fun classics. Make popcorn and hot chocolate and stay up too late!
-Give to the Salvation Army and encourage one of those people standing out in the cold!
-Buy a gift or donate a new toy to a needy child.
-Keep your eyes open for needs within your own family.
-Offer to babysit for a friend so she can do some Christmas shopping.
-Make a gift or bake cookies for a lonely person.
-Call someone you haven't talked to for a while.
-Turn off the TV and computer and spend some quality time with your spouse.
-Take your kids someplace just for fun.
-Have a birthday party for Jesus and invite family members, friends, and neighbors.
-Send a special holiday gift to a missionary or a person in ministry who lives on support.
-Invite a college or seminary student to your home for the holidays. At Dallas Theological Seminary, I knew many international students who had nowhere to go for Christmas.
-Tell your children the REAL reason for the season.
What other suggestions do you have for helping those with broken hearts this Christmas?
lunes, 17 de diciembre de 2007
It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
I just love Christmas time! I love to walk up the stairs and open the door to the warm, inviting scent of cinnamon spice candles and homemade cookies. I love setting out the pieces of my nativity each year, placing the delicately carved figures of Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus on the mantel with the shepherds, wise men and angels gathered around, gazing in awe at the Savior lying in the manger.
I also love hanging up our stockings and buying little surprises to put in my husband's stocking. I love making gifts and have made quite a few this year. (I won't ruin the surprise in case I made one for you!) Making gifts is so much more personal, fun and rewarding. I'm blessed to have had the time to do that this year. And I love all of the greenery and the lights, the shopping and the gifts. Although trying to wrap gifts has been a bit of challenge this year with my kitties trying to shred the paper and unroll miles of ribbon from their cardboard spools!
Truly, this IS the most wonderful time of the year. A time to remember Christ and his sacrifice, Christ and the amazing Incarnation that we can never fully explain.
It's also a time to remember those who do not know Christ.
As you may know, I am writing a book called Generation Hex (co-authored with my brother-in-law, Dillon Burroughs) and the Lord has really given me a burden this year for the many millions of people in the world who do not know God and are seeking truth in the wrong places. My concern was heightened this year by the following two things:
1. First of all, Christmas is becoming more and more secularized. We're beginning to see an emphasis on Pagan traditions such as Yule, and books like Pagan Christmas on the shelves. I also noticed that the window of our local Sephora store has a huge photo of a goth-looking model wearing heavy purple eye makeup. The caption says, "The Brilliant Sorceress." What does that have to do with celebrating Christmas? Pagan ideas and references to witchcraft are starting to become so commonplace that we hardly even notice them anymore. But we need to be able to identify these elements and separate them from our celebration of Christ's birth.
2. I've also noticed a sad trend this year of stores emphasizing what people are going to buy for THEMSELVES for Christmas. The window of one store (I think it was The Buckle) had a caption about "what I'm getting myself this year." And I have heard countless radio ads with the following basic message: "You've bought a ton of gifts for other people. But what are you getting for yourself this Christmas?"
Is that the message of Christmas? I find so much joy in focusing on the birth of the Christ Child. I also really like to spend time with family, and to make and buy gifts for my family and friends. The gifts don't have to be expensive. They don't have to be extravagant. My strategy is just to NOT wait until the last minute, and also to observe people carefully to see what they like.
So what's your news this Christmas? Any comments on what I've shared? Have you seen or heard any ads that have concerned you?
How can we help keep Christ in Christmas?
I also love hanging up our stockings and buying little surprises to put in my husband's stocking. I love making gifts and have made quite a few this year. (I won't ruin the surprise in case I made one for you!) Making gifts is so much more personal, fun and rewarding. I'm blessed to have had the time to do that this year. And I love all of the greenery and the lights, the shopping and the gifts. Although trying to wrap gifts has been a bit of challenge this year with my kitties trying to shred the paper and unroll miles of ribbon from their cardboard spools!
Truly, this IS the most wonderful time of the year. A time to remember Christ and his sacrifice, Christ and the amazing Incarnation that we can never fully explain.
It's also a time to remember those who do not know Christ.
As you may know, I am writing a book called Generation Hex (co-authored with my brother-in-law, Dillon Burroughs) and the Lord has really given me a burden this year for the many millions of people in the world who do not know God and are seeking truth in the wrong places. My concern was heightened this year by the following two things:
1. First of all, Christmas is becoming more and more secularized. We're beginning to see an emphasis on Pagan traditions such as Yule, and books like Pagan Christmas on the shelves. I also noticed that the window of our local Sephora store has a huge photo of a goth-looking model wearing heavy purple eye makeup. The caption says, "The Brilliant Sorceress." What does that have to do with celebrating Christmas? Pagan ideas and references to witchcraft are starting to become so commonplace that we hardly even notice them anymore. But we need to be able to identify these elements and separate them from our celebration of Christ's birth.
2. I've also noticed a sad trend this year of stores emphasizing what people are going to buy for THEMSELVES for Christmas. The window of one store (I think it was The Buckle) had a caption about "what I'm getting myself this year." And I have heard countless radio ads with the following basic message: "You've bought a ton of gifts for other people. But what are you getting for yourself this Christmas?"
Is that the message of Christmas? I find so much joy in focusing on the birth of the Christ Child. I also really like to spend time with family, and to make and buy gifts for my family and friends. The gifts don't have to be expensive. They don't have to be extravagant. My strategy is just to NOT wait until the last minute, and also to observe people carefully to see what they like.
So what's your news this Christmas? Any comments on what I've shared? Have you seen or heard any ads that have concerned you?
How can we help keep Christ in Christmas?
Falling In...
"Listen, are you breathing just a little and calling it a life?...
For how long will you continue to listen to those dark shouters, caution and prudence?
Fall in! Fall in!"
-From a poem by Pulitzer Prize winner Mary Oliver
For how long will you continue to listen to those dark shouters, caution and prudence?
Fall in! Fall in!"
-From a poem by Pulitzer Prize winner Mary Oliver
sábado, 8 de diciembre de 2007
Poetry Contest - Enter Today!
Hello! The Writer's Digest Annual Poetry Contest is accepting entries from now until December 20th. It's an excellent venue for you to enter your work! You can enter online or via snail mail. Check out the guidelines at the following link:
writersdigest.com/contests/?goto=closead
Enjoy!
writersdigest.com/contests/?goto=closead
Enjoy!
lunes, 3 de diciembre de 2007
Congrats to My WINNERS!!!!!
Well, folks, I apologize for being a day late and a dollar short posting this. SO sorry about that! I just returned from Indiana this week. I did hold my super-awesome November book drawing on the 30th, and here are the winners:
KAIREYEH won the book Beloved!
HEATHER G. won the book The Nanny Diaries!
ELIZABETH M. won the book The One-Year Mini!
JOHN R. won the book What's the Big Deal about Jesus?!
Congratulations to all of this month's winners! If you see your name on the list, please e-mail me your mailing address so that I can send you your book right away. Enjoy your free books and please tell your friends and family members about my FREE BOOK DRAWINGS! Thank you and blessings to you.
KAIREYEH won the book Beloved!
HEATHER G. won the book The Nanny Diaries!
ELIZABETH M. won the book The One-Year Mini!
JOHN R. won the book What's the Big Deal about Jesus?!
Congratulations to all of this month's winners! If you see your name on the list, please e-mail me your mailing address so that I can send you your book right away. Enjoy your free books and please tell your friends and family members about my FREE BOOK DRAWINGS! Thank you and blessings to you.
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