Book Review ~ Made To Crave

About the book: Just because a woman finally fits into her skinny jeans doesn't mean she's won her battle with food. Too often, women overlook the spiritual component to their physical struggle with healthy eating. Made to Crave taps into the desires God gave you to consume food without letting food consume you!

Made to Crave is the missing link between a woman's desire to be healthy and the spiritual empowerment necessary to make that happen. The reality is we were made to crave. Craving isn't a bad thing. But we must realize God created us to crave more of him. Many of us have misplaced that craving by overindulging in physical pleasures instead of lasting spiritual satisfaction. If you are struggling with unhealthy eating habits, you can break the "I'll start again Monday" cycle, and start feeling good about yourself today. 

Learn to stop beating yourself up over the numbers on the scale. Discover that your weight loss struggle isn't a curse but rather a blessing in the making, and replace justifications that lead to diet failure with empowering go-to scripts that lead to victory. You can reach your healthy weight goal - and grow closer to God in the process. This is not a how-to book. This is not the latest and greatest dieting plan. This book is the necessary companion for you to use alongside whatever healthy lifestyle plan you choose. This is a book and Bible study to help you find the "want to" in making healthy lifestyle choices. 224 pages. Companion Bible study DVD set also available. http://madetocrave.org/purchase-resources/

About the DVD series:

If you want to maximize your experience and bring these teachings to life in a way you’ll never forget, you’ll want to order the full set of resources. Adding the DVD teaching series and the workbook will motivate you to get healthy without feeling deprived, lose the weight in a permanent way, and find the peace your body, mind and soul desires. This DVD study can be done in a group or by yourself.

The Bundle is only available through Proverbs 31 Ministries, so click here to order! http://madetocrave.org/purchase-resources/

Lysa TerKeurst is an author and speaker who helps everyday women live an adventure of faith through following Jesus Christ. As president of Proverbs 31 Ministries, Lysa has led thousands to make their walk with God an invigorating journey.

Lysa wrote the book Made to Crave from the perspective of a woman who has never craved a carrot stick in her whole life. Having struggled with her weight her whole adult life, Lysa knows what it feels like to be in the vicious cycle of gaining and losing, but never feeling at peace in her struggle. Everything changed when Lysa decided to have her deepest desire met by God not food. Now, armed with the spiritual motivation she gained in her own journey, she is inspiring others to find lasting victory.

As a nationally known speaker, Lysa has been passionately teaching women God’s truths for years. Lysa’s personal adventures of following God led to appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America, The 700 Club, USA Today newspaper, Woman’s Day magazine, and Focus on the Family radio.

Today, Lysa and her ministry team at Proverbs 31 Ministries encourage more than 375,000 women through their daily online devotional. In addition, she co-hosts a 1-minute inspirational radio program aired on more than 1,200 stations around the world. Plus, she touches hearts through their monthly magazine, P31 Woman. Lysa’s blog averages over 70,000 avid readers per month. She is the award-winning author of 14 books, including her newest releases, Made to Crave and Becoming More Than a Good Bible Study Girl. Other noteworthy books include What Happens When Woman Say Yes to God, What Happens When Women Walk in Faith, Capture His Heart, and Capture Her Heart. Visit Lysa's website for more info and to visit her blog! http://lysaterkeurst.com

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Lysa is throwing a Made to Crave Party on February 8th!  

Made To Crave Party on Facebook!
Made To Crave Party on Facebook!
During the party Lysa will chat with guests, host a trivia contest or two, and give away lots of other fun prizes (copies of Lysa’s other books and Amazon.com, iTunes & Starbucks gift certificates) – including a live Author Chat with Lysa for your small group!

Don’t miss the fun! Lysa is looking forward to learning more about you – so be sure to stop by Lysa's Facebook Author Page on February 8th at 5:00 PM PST (6 PM MST, 7 PM CST, & 8 PM EST).

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My Review:

I absolutely adore Lysa TerKeurst and love what God is doing through her at Proverbs 31 Ministries, her blog, and now this a-ma-zing book!  It hits right to the heart of the matter...and does so with so much love and grace.

Lysa's easy to read conversational style puts you at ease to talk about and tackle such a sensitive topic.  Let's face it, this is not an easy thing to talk about, but there is never any judgment or condemnation only grace and mercy from someone who has been there and done that.

The DVD's are funny and informative and make you really feel like you are sitting down on the couch with a trusted friend.  There is biblical truth packed into each video and by the end of the series there is a fresh new outlook on the cravings of our soul.

If you have ever struggled with food in any way, shape or form, then run, don't walk to your local Christian bookstore and pickup this book...you will be so glad you did!

For more reviews on the Made To Crave book, make sure to stop by the Blog Tour...where you'll meet lots of amazing people and hear all about their experience with the book too.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received the preview book & DVD set free from Lit Fuse Publicity Group as part of their Blogger Review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Godly Gals ~ Cherie Zack

 

Create In Me a Pure Heart

By: Cherie Zack

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from you or take your Holy Spirit from me." Psalm 51:10-11

The hard part about being a praying wife, other than the sacrifice of time, is maintaining a pure heart.  It must be clean before God in order for you to see good results.  Writing down what I'm thankful for in Bill did just that…it's hard to harbor ill will toward someone when you are being reminded of the good things about them.  Cleaning our hearts of things that can betray us toward our loved ones helps our hearts to be pure.

Have you ever prayed, "Lord, change him now!"?  I did just that many times before realizing I wasn't helping Bill or myself.  I was coming before God with a dirty heart.  How do I know?  My attitude was bad and I was expecting God to perform a miracle without accepting that I wasn't any better than him.  

One of the things I love about reading the scriptures and learning how to effectively pray for our husbands is that we learn so much about ourselves.  God began to draw a picture of what my own heart looked like on the inside and it wasn't pretty.  I had a lot of cleaning to do.

This reminds me of Matthew 7:13, "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?"  Plank!!! I had a plank in my own eye...it was easy for me to bring to God all that Bill was doing wrong while leaving myself out of the equation.  This isn't what God wants from us.  As wives, we need to come before God each day and confess any sin we have in our hearts.  

On those rare days when I feel like I made the right choices, held my tongue, and reacted in a godly way in all situations, God brings to my remembrance something I did.  My point is this:  we always have something to ask God to forgive us for.  We are human--created from dust. But God is faithful to answer our prayers as we seek him.

Can I encourage you?  Correction is always good when it comes from our Heavenly Father.  

He wants to change our husbands, but wants our hearts right before Him first.  Why?  Because we are the one who is coming to Him. When you have time, go back and read all of Psalm 51. You will be encouraged, enlightened and comforted as you are reminded how Great our God is and how His mercy endures forever towards us!!

Heavenly Father, create in us a clean heart and renew a steadfast spirit within us.  Remind us in those moments when we feel our husbands have more work to do in their walk than we do in ours that our hearts need to be right before You. That You love them even more than we think we can. Thank You for the husbands you have given us.  Help us to remember that we are nothing without Your Spirit within us.  In Jesus' Name we pray, Amen!!  :o)

Cherie is the wife of 17 years to her Navy Man. Mommy to 4 blessings and Grandma to 1. She is one of many daughters of the Most High King. She loves Jesus, her family, friends, hot tea and flowers. Cherie's passion is to see marriages strong and vibrant and shares her walk with God and her marriage with women every where. She is the co-founder of The Imperfect Wives. You can check Cherie and the rest of the wives out at www.TheImperfectWives.com

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Cherie, what timely words of wisdom! What better way to love and cherish our husbands than by first cleaning out our own heart.  Good words my friend!  Thank you for sharing with us today...I can't wait to see what God does with the Imperfect Wives site in 2011.

Each week we are blessed to peek into the hearts of some truly remarkable women and each week I am blown away at just how timely their message is...BUT...I also know that some of YOU have been waiting for just the right time to share how you are "Taking your everyday, ordinary life and placing it as your offering to Him".  

I'd like to challenge you that the time might be RIGHT NOW!

If you are interested in writing something for the Godly Gals series, then take a minute to send me an email at melsworldministry {at} gmail {dot} com and I'll send you a copy of the submission guidelines.  

Come on...what are you waiting for?

Book Review ~ The Rhythm of Secrets

The Rhythm of Secrets

A Novel

By: Patti Lacy

Books can be the great escape...can't they?  They allow you to step outside your everyday life for a little while and open doors to your imagination.  Over the years I have grown to love Christian Fiction, which is really saying something because just six years ago I thought it was a complete waste of time.

No really...I did, but I am so grateful for my friends who insisted that I open that door to my heart and allow God to use the creative and gifted words of some truly amazing Christian Fiction writers.  Now I consider some of these books some of my greatest treasures that I am honored to share with you, my friends.

The Rhythm of Secrets is an adventure waiting for those looking to go on roller coaster of ups and downs.  The story is beautifully written and from the minute you open up the pages you are instantly drawn to the main character.  There's so many twists and turns throughout the book that you literally cling to the book waiting to see what's next.  I absolutely loved it and look forward to reading more books from Patti Lacy.  

If you are looking for a great getaway adventure from the comfort of your home, then The Rhythm of Secrets might be the book for you.


About the book: Since 1955, Sheila Franklin, a talented musician, has perfectly performed the role of devout pastor’s wife, locking away her past as Sheba Alexander and Sylvia Allen. Her carefully constructed façade crumbles with a single phone call from a young Marine named Samuel, the illegitimate son she secretly put up for adoption. Samuel begs Sheila to use her government contacts to get his fiancé, Mali, a Thai prostitute, into America. 

A dangerous mixture of love and guilt spurs her to help her only child even though it devastates her husband Edward and exposes her questionable past. After a quarrel with Edward, Sheila and Samuel board a C-130 for Thailand and then search Bangkok’s steamy streets for a Madonna-faced prostitute. The two whisk Mali from a brothel but are seized by a warlord who considers Mali his “number one girl.” In a teak “ghost house,” Sheila discovers God’s grace and gains the freedom she needs to find her own identity—Sheila, Sylvia, and Sheba. 

A framed story, this novel has roots in the bohemian 1940s New Orleans French Quarter and spans three decades, including the turbulent Vietnam era.

About Patti: Baylor graduate, taught community college humanities until God called her to span seas and secrets in her novels, An Irishwoman's Tale and What the Bayou Saw. She has two grown children and a dog named Laura. She and her husband can be seen jog-walking the streets of Normal, Illinois, an amazing place to live for a woman born in a car. For more information, visit Patti's website at www.pattilacy.com, her blog at www.pattilacy.com/blog, and her Facebook daily Artbites.

Patti Lacy is celebrating the release of her latest book with a NOOK Giveaway, blog tour and Book Club Party!

Follow the blog tour and read the reviews!

Patti and her publisher, Kregel Publications, are giving away a NOOK prize package worth over $150 to one lucky winner!!!! 

Enter the Nook eReader Giveaway and you could win:

• A brand new Nook eReader with Wi-Fi
• $25 gift certificate to Barnes & Noble

To enter, simply click on the icons below to fill out the entry form/s, then tell 5 or more friends about the contest. Oh, and enter soon! Winner will be announced on February 16th at Patti's Rhythm of Secrets Facebook Party.

Patti will be announcing the winner of The Rhythm of Secrets NOOK giveaway at her Party on Facebook  February 16th! 

She’ll be hosting a book club discussion of The Rhythm of Secrets and giving away other fun prizes! (signed copies of her books and gift certificates to Barnes & Noble, Starbucks, & iTunes!). Don’t miss the fun at Patti’s FB Author Page on February 16th at 5pm PST ( 6 pm MST, 7 pm CST, & 8 pm EST)!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Lit Fuse Group as part of their Blogger Review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Word Filled Wednesday ~ Snapped Like Matchsticks

Only Jesus knows how far He has taken me away from my own personal jail. 

Only Jesus knows how much I have changed.

Only Jesus knows how far I still have to go.

Thankfully He rescued me, 

thankfully He saw me, and 

thankfully He is slowly transforming me.

I pray I never forget just how grateful I am that He did!

 

WFW is not about books, authors, artists.. it’s about God and HIS WORD ONLY. WFW is about celebrating the gift of creativity through God’s Word.

We pray that WFW can be a place where women can come for a bit of visual inspiration and encouragement from the Father.

Join myself and some other wonderful ladies as we share by going over to the Internet Cafe Devotions site.

Raising Godly Men

From the very first moment I found out that I was pregnant with my first child, I just “knew” that I was going to be a “boy mom.”  I don’t know how or why, but I just knew that God knit me together to raise boys. The exciting, adventurous, rowdy days could be a challenge, but the sense of purpose was like a mission for me.

Twenty-two years old, married less than a year and completely overwhelmed with this next stage in my life, I cried out to the Lord and asked Him into my heart. I had no idea how to be a Christian, how to be a wife, how to be a mom but I sought His direction with every bit of my heart and soul.

As I grew in my own faith walk, my child grew right along with me. I read every single parenting book I could get my hands on. I took pages and pages of notes on what my son was doing, what he was eating and how often he went to the bathroom (yep, I was one of “those” moms).  God brought me this child for such a time as this and I intended to do the best that I possibly could.

I started by praying.

I prayed this prayer for my sons…”That my sons would be good godly men who knew, loved and feared the Lord. That they would be the leaders of their families, that they would love their wives and treat them with honor and respect. That they would be the leaders that God created them to be, that they would stand firm in the face of temptations, that they would seek Him first in all they do and that they would do the right thing even if it is the hard thing.”

To this day, I still pray this prayer over them. If you have absolutely no idea where to start in raising godly men, then let me suggest that you always start by covering them in prayer.

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Mark 11:24 NIV

Now that my boys are knocking on the door of becoming adults, I see the seeds that we planted while they were little have been watered over the years and God has been doing a good work in their lives.  It doesn’t happen overnight and it is never too late to get started on raising godly men.

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For more on "Raising Godly Men" head on over to 5 Minutes for Faith for some practical insight as to how to raise godly men.  

I did a two part series called;

Raising Godly Men, Part 1

Raising Godly Men, Part 2

where I address some very specific steps that have helped me on my journey as a boy mama.  

I'd love to hear what you are doing as well.