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Book Review: Breath Of Angel by Karyn Henley

April 6, 2011 in The Randleman Review 0

Breath Of Angel One of my favorite genres to read when I was in high school and college was fantasy fiction. I loved series such as The Lord of the Rings and Dragon Lance. In fact, I still go back and read a bit of this genre occasionally.

This week I read Karyn Henley’s book Breath Of Angel. This is a fantasy novel with a twist: many of the main characters are angels operating in the world of mankind.

I was intrigued from the very beginning. The story is about a young priestess named Melaia, who loves her life serving the Most High at the temple. But she is quickly finds herself in the middle of a battle between two immortal brothers who destroyed a stairway to Heaven, and who will destroy the rest of the world if they aren’t stopped.

As Melaia discovers the reality of angels, immortals, and other beings thought to be myth, she is thrust into the center of this struggle for dominion between the two brothers. Caught there, she discovers things about herself that she’s never known, and things about the world that she’s never suspected.

Can she do what’s needed to help save the world? Can she do what’s needed to save herself?

I enjoyed Breath Of Angel. While I felt that it was written with a younger reader in mind, I still enjoyed it. And I’m sure that my daughter would love it.

If you are interested in reading Breath Of Angel, you can purchase it at Amazon.com.

Disclosure of Material Connection:
I received this book free from Multnomah Books as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Also, some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links”. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. 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.“

Taking A Much Needed Break

April 4, 2011 in Personal Growth 9

We took a break last weekend.

As a family. We took a break.

And it was nice.

I’ve been reading a lot recently about creating margin in your life. I haven’t been actively looking for such a topic; it has just been discussed on several blogs that I frequently read. When you create margin in your life, you allow yourself a chance to refresh and renew. One of the areas I’ve been actively pursuing in my Personal Life Plan is an area of rest, of margin.

And so we took a break.

We went up to St. Joseph, Missouri and spent a few days with my brother and his family.

St Joseph Skyline

It was extremely relaxing.

My wife and I decided that this would be a break from work, from worry, from ministry concerns, from blogging, and texting and tweeting (mostly). Heather mainly encouraged this. She’s a very wise women.

We left last Thursday and headed to St. Joseph. We didn’t plan a travel itinerary, which was a major step for me. I like to have even our spontaneity planned out ahead of time.

Memorize The Sermon On The Mount – Week 8

April 4, 2011 in Memorize 0

I’m posting this section of the Sermon on the Mount a day late. I apologize for any inconvenience. You’ll understand why it’s late when you read this post.

I don’t know about you, but memorizing Scripture helps me to have a better grasp of the passage being memorized. I’m seeing things in these verses that I’ve never noticed before. Things seem to stand out more, somehow.

The passage for this week is Matthew 5:17-18.

Matthew 5:17-18

Here’s a link to the passage at Bible Gateway.

I hope you’re having as much fun with this as I am! Let me know in the comments.

Creating A Personal Life Plan

March 30, 2011 in Personal Growth 2

Developing a life plan is one of the most important things you can do if you intend to grow.

For years, I’ve developed personal and professional goals. And for years, I’ve been hit or miss in accomplishing them. I wasn’t ever sure what was keeping me from achieving my goals; but I was missing something.

A couple of years ago, I changed my approach to goal-setting. I continued to create an annual list of goals, but I added an extra dimension. I started breaking my goals down into quarterly action steps. And I posted these on the wall above my desk.

When I completed a task or a goal, I crossed it off the list.

This process helped my increase my completion percentage by a good amount; but I was still not as effective as I knew I could be.

Memorize The Sermon On The Mount – Week 7

March 27, 2011 in Memorize 0

Moving forward in Matthew 5. This week we’re working on the city on a hill passage.

The Sermon on the Mount is one of my favorite passages in the New Testament. I love the simplicity with which Jesus gives such practical advice.

Memorizing Scripture is easy. I find it easiest to write out the passage, or print it out, and place it someplace where I will see it frequently. The more I read it, the more likely I am to have it memorized by the end of the week.

A lot of people tell me that they can’t memorize anything. I don’t believe that. I think they just haven’t exercised their memorization muscles enough to keep them limber. If that’s you, keep at it. It gets easier with time.

Here’s our passage for this week: Matthew 5:14-16.

Matthew 5:14-16

Here’s a link to the passage at Bible Gateway.

Let me know how you’re doing!

Why You Should Attend The Missouri Christian Convention

March 26, 2011 in Resources 2

This weekend is the annual Missouri Christian Convention. I’m here this weekend because I’m leading a workshop in the teen sessions. I was given the topic of dating and relationships. It works out pretty well, since we are currently in a series on dating, relationships and sex in our youth ministry.

The convention this year is at Tan-Tar-A Resort, in Osage Beach, Missouri. Because I’m a workshop leader, I was given a room for free. We have a very large, open room on the eighth floor with an excellent view of the Lake of the Ozarks from the patio.

Tan-Tar-A Resort, Osage Beach, MO

My wife and kids came along. They haven’t taken in much of the convention, due to several factors. We’ve just used the opportunity to get away from home as a family and enjoy a resort room together. The kids have loved the pool.

I love going to conventions like this one. Let me give you a few reasons why.

Why You Should Choose SnapShot Web For Your Ministry’s Website

March 25, 2011 in Resources 0

Want to save money and easily build an incredible website for your church or ministry? SnapShot Web is the way to go. In a moment, I’ll explain how you can save $50 off of any SnapShot package!

Recently, we launched a new website for our church.

You want to talk about an amazing resource? SnapShot Web is simply incredible. We’ve been using it for a few months now, and frankly, I am very impressed.

I first heard about SnapShot several years ago, when it was a bit different of a program. I actually have an old version of the software lying around my office somewhere, which you could install on your computer and use to build webs.

I didn’t use it much. It wasn’t very user-friendly. When I heard that they switched to being a web-based application, I was intrigued, but not very interested. I was learning to code HTML at that point, and wasn’t very interested in any “help.” Pretty arrogant, I know…

Fast forward to 2010. A friend of mine told me they were building their church’s website using SnapShot. He’s a youth minister in Arkansas. You can check out his church’s site here, and see how they’ve used SnapShot.

I was impressed with what I saw. I was even more impressed with the ease with which he told me it was created. I decided to check out SnapShot a bit more closely for myself.

I did some research, presented it to the rest of our staff and our church board, and the rest is history. We signed on and started building a new design.

Here are five reasons why your church should also use SnapShot Web to build a great website.