I think contentment is cultivated. I believe that joy and peace are a by-product of resting in faith, waiting on God…in the little things even more so than the big things. It’s the little things that happen constantly, so what better training ground for the “big” things, right?

Certain unpleasant happenings will always come our way…but we can choose not to react, or get bent out of shape, or waste time worrying and fretting over how to handle the latest glitch to mar our lot in life. How much better, rather, to wait and see how the Lord wants to work? He’ll never let you down!

Here are a few “for instances”…

God gave it back to me…

When my b&sil’s house burned down, we helped all we could but it never seemed like enough, you know? Our savings accounts have never been fat, so what we did give may have looked like little, but it came from our hearts. At the time, I’d really been ministered to by my Point of Grace CD, How You Live, the album I raved about here on the blog, that dh slipped in my Christmas stocking? Well, I was deeply moved to get it out of my CD deck one day when I stopped by their “new” rental. I loved that CD, but felt like my sil needed its message of hope and peace more than I did at that point. Knowing that she isn’t a Christian music fan had me second-guessing–I almost felt like I was throwing my CD away…I still haven’t heard from her whether she even listened to it, or thought about it twice after I gave it to her…but that’s okay. I could have chosen to get upset, to wonder why I’d given it, or whatever, but honestly, I acted on something stronger than your average impulse, so it was okay.

A couple months went by and I almost ordered a new CD twice, but held back. We needed the money for other things. Guess what God did for me? He gave me a new one. My hubby came home from work and handed me the day’s mail, which included a packet from our local Christian radio station. He’d been the winning caller on the exact Point of Grace CD that I’d given away! Can anyone say AWESOME?!? I missed that CD so much, and God knew. He knew! He cares about the little things. And he let dh be the gift-bearer–twice!

God’s into Pool Pumps

A few years ago our in-laws gave us one of those 12 foot by 3 foot inflatable pools, the kind that come with a pump to circulate the water. We set it up a couple of weeks ago, and our girls enjoyed seven days of water play–spending HOURS each afternoon and coming in sun-browned and *exhilarausted*! Well, almost a week ago, the pump on the pool quit working! Within two days the pool turned green! Horrors! We only got a week in it and after checking the price of replacing this particular pump ($60!!) we were trying to remain hopeful that daddy could work a miracle and FIX. THE. PUMP.

So we drained the pool, hubby and I scrubbed it out and we refilled it. That was this past Sunday night. Meanwhile, I had a pool pump on my ebay watch page…and I was thinking, if dh can’t fix that pump, we’re wasting a 1,000 gallons of water and I’m not exactly thrilled about having to scrub this pool out yet again!

He took the pump apart, fixed a broken washer, and hooked it back up to the pool again. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Okay. I hadn’t really let myself be anxious about it. These things happen, but man. To have a nice pool one week…that’s like torture, to-have and then not-to-have. The next day my mother-in-law called and found out about our dilemma. Guess what? She still had the pump to her old pool, which had been tossed last summer after the sun and weather damaged it. She brought it right over, along with more chlorine pellets and we’re back in business. Just like that. Only went four days without our water fun–three days actually, b/c we spent Monday afternoon at the lake!

Milk for the “babies”…

This last example is humbling to admit…but who cares, right? I haven’t gotten used to hubby being on half-pay yet–fyi, during the summer, he puts in half the hours at his “real” job, so that he can catch up on saddle and leather projects here at home. Problem is, he’s been spending more time catching up on “fix-it” projects than paying “leather projects”…so anyway, I overspent (not to the point of overdraft–thank God!). Our daughter had a birthday and birthday meals with family over get expensive, our Saturn hasn’t been running reliably so gas expenses have been hugely noticeable…anyway, we’re basically making one week’s worth of groceries stretch to two. Which really isn’t a hardship, b/c I have a full pantry, and beef/chicken in the freezer etc. My hubby joked with me when we stopped at the grocery store for ten gallons of drinking water only (when you live out of town you make the most of your grocery stops!) that you know you’re pathetic when you feel rich because the water jugs are full!

So we ran out of milk. I do keep nonfat instant dry milk around to cook with, so we HAVE milk, you understand. It’s just not that palatable for a couple of my milk drinkers. So guess what!? My parents are headed out of town for a while, and they brought over their perishables! Part of which was over a half gallon of milk! We can make that last till the next paycheck, easily! Also among the goodies were fresh veggies, several of which were on my internal wish list!

**Please don’t feel shocked or badly for us, if I could have hubby home half days forever I’d gladly get by on half the pay. Summer is my favorite time of year b/c of his time at home with us. It’s totally my fault that we have found ourselves strapped this month…I just wanted to share how you can take a dismal situation and not let it ruffle you. And then watch God provide. Yes, even when *you* got yourself into this mess in the first place!

If we didn’t have the hard times, we wouldn’t know or realize or appreciate what God can do.

His mercy and grace ever astound me. What has He done for you lately? I’d love to hear your testimonies of His goodness…

O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together…Psalm 34:3

My 4 year old (she just had a birthday, btw!) found something very special nestled under some leaves and cottonwood tree fluff. Right out in the open where they could accidentally get stomped was a nest of 12 baby bunnies! One escaped the hatch as we clicked away.

Sad update…my 10 year old went to check on them and a HUGE black snake caught her by surprise…feet away. She ran for her daddy, which is what all able-bodied females should do when confronted by such a threat to wee small furry friends…and Daddy shot snake dead. But there were only eight bunnies left in the hole. No, we didn’t perform an autopsy to see if he’d done the dastardly, but that would have been a neat science lesson.

This second picture shows the little escapee on the far left, straight across to the right is their hidey-hole. Can you believe it’s there? Good camo, mom rabbit, but what happened to burrows way down deep? Is that just stuff for storybooks?

Moral of the story? You never know what surprises God has for you in the underfoot muck of life. Look for miracles in the ordinary and you might actually find some. And watch out for snakes. They seem to appear after every miracle. To make you doubt His goodness?

Never!

Donned my painting clothes yesterday morning, determined to get back in the house-painting groove. Yes, the vacation is definitely over. *smile* Is there any other chore more tedious to home-owners than painting? Or scraping, preparatory to painting? If there is, please let me know in comments, it might help me complain less!

It’s a long nasty story, but I’ve been trying to get my house painted for at least 7 years now. It wasn’t a priority to Hubby, and then when it was, he wanted us to spray the paint on, but our sprayer is very touchy–it’s definitely a two-person job. Have I mentioned yet that my hubby hates painting? He and I spray-painted one side of the house about four years ago, and another side two years ago. So this last May, I decided to start painting with a paint brush and I’m gettin’ her done! Eight hours slapping paint just today, Woo-HOO!

With every brush stroke I’m loving this house more. Its tattered exterior has long been an embarrassment to me…so to see pristine whiteness take over the weathered gray is magical. I find myself strangely exhilarated. Hubby is even impressed, and has forgiven me for resorting to a lowly paint brush.

How many times have I talked myself out of extending hospitality because of the sad shape of my siding? Too ashamed to count… Why do I worry so much about what people think? It really boils down to “first impressions” doesn’t it? We want our best face forward when we invite people over. Especially people who haven’t seen our home yet or who live in “House Beautifuls”. So we either dither ourselves into a panic over clutter in the corners or, like me, peeling home exteriors and falling-down barns, or we shrink back within ourselves and wave limply at the nice hospitable thought as we say bye-bye to an opportunity that could have blessed both parties. Us and them.

It’s really crazy that we worry about it at all. Here’s a question for you, do you really *care* what your friends’ homes are like when you walk in the door to visit them? If they look lived in, doesn’t it instantly relax you? It does me. One of my best friends is exactly like me. Her home was an old farmhouse till they built new last year, and her back porch and mine could have been twin sisters–they both looked like a twister had ripped through the night before. And we laughed about it. It bonded us. Silly but true. (So quit worrying about your houses!)

I’m so glad our Heavenly Father isn’t concerned with first impressions. If He was, good night, who could stand? His first impression of all of us? Black with sin! Yet He loved us sinners so much that He gave up His only son for our salvation. That’s amazing. We didn’t have to clean house first, or dress in white linen and go through a ceremony. Nope, He took us as is. Even when we continue in sin, He still loves us and forgives us and cleanses us from all unrighteousness. Best of all, He doesn’t see us as sinners once we accept His gift of salvation. He sees us through the filter of His holy Son. That is grace. Grace we could learn a thing or two from.

So extend grace on yourselves and try not to let your lack of House Beautiful keep you from enjoying life. Here’s a little secret: I’m more in awe of friends who welcome drop in’s despite their messy houses, than I am of friends who have impossibly clean homes. Now doesn’t that make you want to invite the neighborhood over ASAP?

I was raised by a Mary-heart! And I’m such a Martha. This non-fiction gift edition spoke to my heart, whispered to me of “living room intimacy with God”, “fruitful living”, the wisdom and desirability of keeping God at the center of my busy life, how to work through the “Lazarus Moments” of life…I highly highly recommend it to you all, may it re-awaken your soul as it has mine.

About Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World:

An invitation for every woman who’s ever felt she isn’t godly enough, isn’t loving enough, isn’t doing enough.

The life of a woman today isn’t really all that different from that of Mary and Martha in the New Testament. Like Mary, you long to sit at the Lord’s feet…but the daily demands of a busy world just won’t leave you alone. Like Martha, you love Jesus and really want to serve him…yet you struggle with weariness, resentment, and feelings of inadequacy.
Then comes Jesus, into the midst of your busy life, to extend the same invitation he issued long ago to the two sisters from Bethany. Tenderly, he invites you to choose “the better part”–a joyful life of intimacy with him that flows naturally into loving service.

With her fresh approach to the familiar Bible story, Joanna Weaver shows how all of us–Marys and Marthas alike–can draw closer to our Lord: deepening our devotion, strengthening our service, and doing both with less stress and greater joy.

About Joanna Weaver:
Joanna Weaver was voted the Most Promising New Writer of 1997 at the Mount Herman Writer’s Conference. She has authored Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World and written for publications such as Focus on the Family, Home Life, Aspire, and The Evangel. A pastor’s wife for more than eighteen years, she and her husband have counseled many couples, both those approaching their wedding and those struggling in marriage. The Weavers live in Montana and have taught young married classes and spoken on the topic of marriage throughout the northwestern United States.

Contests:

Joanna will be giving away 7 copies of Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on Joanna’s blog tour post.

She is also giving away 7 copies of With This Ring, her latest release. To enter that contest, simply leave a comment on Joanna’s blog tour post (same link) telling her which chapter of Having a Mary Heart was your favorite and why. Fun and easy! Believe me, you’ll read this book and want to gift all your friends with a copy.

Places to find Joanna:

Joanna’s blog: http://joannaweaver.blogspot.com

Joanna’s website: www.joannaweaverbooks.com

Buy the book here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400074037?&camp=212361&creative=383841&linkCode=wss&tag=sprightly-20

Blog tour schedule: http://joannaweaver.blogspot.com/2008/06/having-mary-heart-gift-edition.html

Hebrews 11:6,

But without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

What a great verse. Faith is the key to pleasing God.

John 6:28-29,

Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”

Faith is also the key to being about His business. Not ours, mind you, His.  Faith isn’t a tool by which we gain earthly treasures, but rather, eternal ones.

But faith without works is dead. Sometimes what He asks of us isn’t at all simple or welcome or good. It’s hard to hold on and keep your eyes on Him, much less to do it without questioning, or complaining or wishing for better-case-scenarios. Sometimes you just have to have childlike trust, simple faith. Take the next step. Always remembering John 16:33:

“In this world you will have trouble but take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Hebrews 11 is the faith chapter of the Bible. I find it so inspiring to see what the Old Testament heroes faced head on, strengthened by faith. It makes my little challenges seem like shoo-ins.

We can do everything through Christ!

Run the race with me?

Which is more important to the average Christian today, God or sports?

This is probably a touchy subject to cover here, especially this time of year. Most of our friends and family members are gearing up for the early summer blitz of ball practice-filled afternoons and evenings, several games a week (multiplied by however many children they have participating), not to mention all the drive time and day long tournaments, etc. It makes me tired just reading the schedules my sister-in-law emails me. And I do see the draw, don’t get me wrong. Sports are a fun & challenging way to keep our kids in shape and teach them some invaluable lessons about teamwork. But I think active pursuit of sports teaches our kids more than the above.

Growing up, we had a family rule regarding sports. If a game fell on a Sunday morning or evening, or on a Wednesday night, we didn’t go. Non-negotiable. Church always came first. You see, when church becomes “optional”, or when we make exceptions to allow for sports, we’re saying that some things are more important than God. At least in my humble perspective.

I know some parents who view children’s sports as a training field, something they hope may eventually pan out in the form of college scholarships, etc. If only we viewed the spiritual journey of a child’s life in the same way. Planning for their successful future as God’s emissary, rather than hoping they’ll “go pro” in the big leagues where so many players catch headlines with drug charges, DUIs and disorderly conduct at bars. I mean, really, which future does God want for our children?

I know, I know. It sounds like I’m totally against sports. I’m not. We haven’t signed our kids up yet, for the main factor that the hustle and bustle of it doesn’t appeal to our preference to keep life simple and unfettered by spiritually insignificant activities.

My resolve deepens with every Superbowl Sunday. Fans in the pew anxiously eye their watches in church, wanting to get home and get lunch over with before the pre-game show. Evening services are canceled to accommodate this every year. Something in my soul hurts when I see how excited the millions in the stadium get, cheering their teams on as if this game will change history and be more than a blip on the screen when compared to eternity. There is definitely something addictive about sports. Sports are probably more central to conversation among believers than scripture or ways that God is working in our lives. That is so sad! Am I the only one bothered by this?

Matthew 16:26,

“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

Why do we actively pursue the things of this world and idly stand by while our loved ones die without Christ? Yes, we need Christian athletes out there making a difference for Christ, especially in this culture that worships the arena…but the question remains.

If a stranger spent a day with you, by day’s end, what will they have noticed? Will our speech and passions and collections reveal Christ, or is He just something we reserve for Sundays…if we even give Him that. If a stranger can see it, our kids sure can. What a message. And I know for some of us, it’s not sports, really. It could be our job, our hobby, a person in our life, a different addiction (computer, TV, books, food).

Does He delight us, or is our primary happiness found in other activities? Dangerous questions, and I for sure don’t have all the answers. But I do know this:

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33, NASB

God doesn’t require that we pursue Him only. But He does require that we seek Him first. It’s a case of keeping prioritized. Not always easy to do, is it?

Sorry, Snoopy, had to steal your great line there.

Ran into problems tonight on my way home from our Monday night VBS workshop…thunderstorms and driving rain, that is. Not normally a problem if you have two working windshield wipers, but alas, hubby stole one of my windshield wipers in a pinch to use on his work truck and I didn’t realize rain was in the forecast when I chose our more-economical-on-gas-mileage vehicle, the Saturn. Couldn’t even make use of the one good wiper, as the other one’s metal base would have gouged the windshield!

Talk about a crazy drive home. What normally takes us 30 minutes took 55, easily. Picture me, nose to the steering wheel, trying to keep between the lines…trying to SEE the lines, especially when other traffic approached from either direction causing the wet pavement/road signs to glare everywhere. I kept thinking that I was so focused on the yellow and white lines that a deer could cross the road, or the road could be flooded, and I wouldn’t realize it till it was too late. Thank God we made it home.

You know me though, there’s a moral to this tale.

In the storms of life, keep your eyes on Jesus. My yellow and white lines kept me on the road tonight and gave me a shot at making it to the end in one piece. We had our moments of terror, panic, tears, anxiety, hilarity, of doubting that God heard our pleas for the rain to stop, or the oncoming traffic to be light, but I just gritted my teeth and didn’t let my eyes waver from that yellow center line down the highway. My worst moment came when a vehicle had been following me, unable to pass because of the curvy, hilly highway…his lights in my rear made the visibility even worse, and then ahead I saw another vehicle approaching. Boy, we thought we were goners for sure! And then my daughter said, “Mom! It stopped raining!”

And I could see clearly again. So hang in there through the ups and downs. God’s there, He’ll keep you between the lines…if you follow Him!

Healing Promises, book 2 in the Defender’s of Hope Series, is a fantastic romantic suspense by Christian author and homeschooling mom, Amy Wallace. Let me tell you it is TOP among my fiction faves this year! Just for fun, read my initial response to the book (emailed to Amy):

“Amy, this is as good a time as ever to let you know I devoured your book. I honestly am so impressed with your gift for not only a superb story, but one that is SO inspired by God! I loved every word of it, Clint and Sara were so real…I have such a greater appreciation of what people–married couples esp–must go through when facing cancer together. Wow. I especially loved seeing Gracie and (edited out so as not to spoil the Ransomed Dream experience!) continue their relationship to the altar (!!!) and am very anxious to read Hanna’s story! You have all the exciting elements my dear. I’m not gushing to build you up, I’m truly being honest here. I hope you take this as a compliment, you are up there with Karen Kingsbury in my favorites, and she’s always been at the top. I just love how she makes God so real in the lives of tragedy, and here you are doing the same thing. Thank you for following your calling, and keep up the awesome work! Do we have to wait till next April to read the third book??? ;O)”

As you can tell, this is a book I’m HIGHLY recommending you read and promote to all your friends!

Back Cover Copy:

FACING A NEW THREAT. When FBI Agent Clint Rollins tkes  abullet during a standoff, it might just save his life. But not even the ugly things he’s seen during his years working in the Crimes Against Children Unit could prepare him for the overwhelming powerlessness of hospital tests revealing an unexpected diagnosis. If only Sara weren’t retreating into doctor mode…he needs his wife now more than ever.

FROZEN IN FEAR. Sara Rollins is an oncologist with a mission–beating cancer when she can, easing her patients’ suffering at the very least. Now the life of her tall Texan husband is at stake. She never let the odds steal her hope before, but in this case, the question of God’s healing promises is personal. Can she hold on to the truth she claimed to believe?

FAITH UNDER FIRE. As Clint continues to track down a serial kidnapper despite his illness, former investigations haunt his nightmares, pushing him beyond solving the case into risking his life and career. Clint struggles to believe God is still the God of miracles. Especially when he needs not one, but two. Everything in his life is reduced to one all-important questions: Can God be trusted?

Read Ransomed Dreams first! (Visit this link to read my blog review of it)

IMPORTANT! Be sure and read Ransomed Dreams, Amy’s first book in the Defenders of Hope Series. Healing Promises can stand alone, but there are some spoilers in the first chapter that refer back to Ransomed Dreams, so keep that in mind. And you really don’t want to miss out on Ransomed Dreams, it’s a wonderful read! Curious? Go here to read the first chapter!

What makes you come alive? Think about this.

Last night at our weekly Bible study, this question was asked by the DVD host, John Eldridge…FYI, our small group is watching his series, Wild at Heart. John made the statement, “Don’t ask what the world needs of you–ask what makes you come alive?” The point being, if you are passionate and cognizant about pursuing your calling, you’ll be fulfilled by and effective at whatever God has for you to accomplish.

John addressed the fear factor as well, bringing in Abraham’s faith in leaving everything but his family behind to follow God across country. Most often, following our dreams means facing certain fears, going on total trust and obedience to whatever God asks of us. I was especially sobered by this passage that John read in Revelation 21:7-8:

“He who overcomes shall inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.

But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

Notice the first group described in that list? The cowardly. Ouch. I know I’ve been content to swim the placid waters of my “small story” (as John put it) afraid to brave the rapids and waterfalls in my journey to the “big story” God’s inviting me to join…

Also contributing to my thoughts on this… Last week my hubby, girls and I watched a World View Weekend DVD featuring Mark Cahill, titled, Lukewarm No More! Listen to it here, if you want. (You can find the Biblical passage on the importance of being hot or cold, but not lukewarm in Revelation 3:14-22) Mark Cahill, as I shared in my post recommending his book One Heartbeat Away, is extremely burdened for the lost. In this DVD he shares that he knows a family whose children beg their parents to take them street witnessing on their birthdays. Anybody else’s jaw fall off at that one? He also mentioned that he queried the hotel clerk at the hosting quarters of a national conference for youth pastors, asking this person if they’d been working the desk all weekend…to which they answered “yes”…Mark then asked them if any of these youth pastors had shared the plan of salvation with them…and the answer was “no”.

I’ve heard that when polled, most Christians haven’t shared their faith or Christ with others in the last year, much less in the last month.

What concerns me, is how comfortable I am keeping my God-service within my church. How much do I do in my community for Christ? Not a whole lot. Well, that’s going to change.

What makes me alive? Reaching out to women…mothers and wives. I love to bake. I love to write. I love having women and their children over to spend the day. I long to encourage families. How can God use this in me to reach others? I’m thinking old-fashioned neighborliness would be a good place to start. I mean going beyond family and friends here. It’s when you do a kindness for a stranger that God’s love is profoundly felt. By the way, that’s a lesson I’ve recently learned out of my b&sil’s house fire. They knew that their family had their back, but the true impact came via the love and outpouring of townspeople/strangers giving their time, their possessions and their shoulders to cry on.

So what are your thoughts?

“You may find it hard to believe that God could make everything out of nothing, but the alternative is that nothing turned itself into everything. Which takes more faith to believe?”

I took the above quote out of the highly believable and thought-provoking book I’m currently reading: One Heartbeat Away, Your Journey Into Eternity by Mark Cahill. Though this book is not solely about Evolution, it is about finding answers. Cahill does an excellent job countering arguments for the culture’s most common complaints about God and the Bible. Consider a visit to his website, get a copy of his book(s) and get to reading/witnessing! His enthusiasm and compassion for God and the lost is contagious…

A few more quotes taken from One Heartbeat Away:

“You will never hear of a tornado ripping through a junk yard and leaving a fully formed 747 jet, a Mercedes, and a skyscraper in its wake. Why? Blind chance cannot do that.” p. 23

“If you placed all the pieces of a watch into a shoe box and shook it for ten minutes, do you believe it would shake into a functioning watch? Of course not. What if you shook it for a year?” Would a functioning box then come out of the box? Say you were able to shake it for five billion years; would you then have a functioning watch? There is no possible way for that to happen.

And if it couldn’t happen by chance to something relatively simple like a watch, it most certainly couldn’t happen by chance to our magnificently complex universe.” p. 23

It amazes me what the evolutionary theory proposes about birds for instance. Take this on macroevolution from Wikipedia:

“An example of macro evolution is the appearance of feathers during the evolution of birds from one group of dinosaurs.”

This has always astounded me, the claim that birds evolved from dinosaurs. That reptilian scales evolved into feathers. Are there records of fossil scales that even partially resemble a feather? Not to mention that my girls and I recently revisited information from our science textbook showing that birds have four chambers in their hearts, while reptiles have only three. That’s quite a feat. What are the scientific odds?

If the fossil record is where the major evidence supporting evolution lies, then forget about “one missing link”–there must be thousands of missing links. Shouldn’t there be fossils galore of species in transition on their way to becoming new species? I’m not a scientist, but to my way of thinking, if this earth is billions of years old, then there should be millions of creature fossils that are halfway evolved. Part-bird, part-reptile, etc. Where are they?

Mark Cahill explains God’s design as seen in nature so eloquently,

“Every time we look at something built by man–a house for example–we know it had a builder, someone who assembled it. When we see something that has design, like a watch, we know it had a designer who planned it. When we see artwork, like a painting, we know there is an artist who painted it. When we observe order–say twenty Coke cups lined up in a row–we know there was an ‘orderer’ who set them up that way. When we look around the universe at things not made by man, what do we see? We see creation, design, art, and order. So if everything man-made has a Creator, designer, artist, and orderer behind it, why would we not think that there is a Creator, designer, artist, and orderer behind the universe?” pgs. 15-16

Cahill proceeds to tell of a street conversation he had with a self-proclaimed atheist, in which he asked the man to prove that a nearby skyscraper had a builder.

“The man answered, ‘That’s easy. The building itself is proof that there is a builder.’

He was 100 percent correct. We know that you don’t just gather some concrete, pipes, windows, paint, wires, etc., then turn around and look back to suddenly find a building. A building requires a builder.

I said, ‘Exactly. The building requires a builder.’ I then added, ‘The sun, the moon, the stars, the oceans, the sand, each unique snowflake, the three billion pieces of your DNA that are different from mine, are absolute proof that there had to be a Creator of this universe.’”

A few sentences later he continued,

“Just because you can’t see, touch, taste, smell or hear the builder of a skyscraper doesn’t mean that such a person doesn’t exist. You don’t need any amazing faith to believe there was a builder of a building you can see; you just need to look at the evidence and make an informed decision. And the best piece of evidence is the work that builder left behind.” p. 18

One Heartbeat Away is a resource we all need to own. If you visit Mark Cahill’s website, you’ll see his heart for God even extends to making this resource available for free to those who can’t afford it. That speaks volumes to me about his motivation for the lost. For more about his books and discs–this book is available as an MP3 Audio Book CD as well–visit http://www.markcahill.org.

And remember, Evolution isn’t the basis of this book, it’s just the topic I zeroed in on for this blog post. Mark also covers:

• New Age issues, among other religious beliefs
• How historical, archaeological, and scientific evidence supports the Bible
• Testimonies of people who have seen Heaven and Hell
• How the Ten Commandments are necessary and for our benefit
• The expensive cost of sin, and how we are all guilty
• Why Jesus is the perfect sacrifice that pays for our sin once and for all
• The how-to’s and importance of repentance, belief, commitment, and evangelism
• What God says about you as a Christian
• How to let your light shine for Him

Please pass the word along, and be encouraged!

Printed with permission from Mark Cahill