In the midst of a difficult situation, have you ever wondered “Why is this happening to me?”
I have.
And I think James gives us a hint as to the answer. Check it out in James 1:2-3:
God uses our tough times to grow us.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t believe that God necessarily causes us to face trials. For example, I don’t believe that God caused the cancer that claimed the lives of my brother and my father. No, I think sin is the culprit. Not sin in a specific way, but our sinful nature, the Fall, the curse, as described in Genesis 3. When sin entered the world, death and destruction and disease came with it.
And probably bell peppers, too.
No, God doesn’t cause all of our trials, but he can and will use them for our growth and good.
And so, James tells us to consider that as a reason to rejoice. Growth will be the result.
This has been true in my life, and I’m sure it’s been true in yours as well.
How has God used trials as a catalyst for growth in your life? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
I mean, we have such an amazing variety of creative resources to aid our lives. Have you ever wondered where they came from?
I have.
And now I know where some of the items I’ve wondered about originated, thanks to Ray Comfort and Jeffrey Seto’s new book, Made In Heaven.
Filled with interesting descriptions of the inspiration for such things as Velcro, adaptive fabrics, jet propulsion, and robotic prosthetics, just to name a few of the more than thirty items found here, Made In Heaven is a fascinating book.
Check out the book’s trailer to see what I mean:
Many of the things described in these pages seem like science-fiction; in fact, they were science-fiction in the not-too-distant past. But with continual advances in technology, and close scrutiny of God’s own handiwork, many such items are becoming a reality. The few dozen detailed here are just a sample of the hundreds of inventions inspired by Creation.
While I knew of several of these amazing inventions, many more of them were new to me, and a few were inspired by things I never imagined possible.
Authors Comfort and Seto did an incredible job of putting together the descriptions found here. You can find more about Ray Comfort and his other resources at LivingWaters.com. Jeffrey Seto is an Aerospace Engineer in the field of experimental research and development.
I loved reading Made In Heaven. My kids were captivated by the book. And I’m sure you will be as well.
What examples do you know of where man copied nature to develop something? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
I highly recommend that you add Made In Heaven, by Ray Comfort and Jeffrey Seto, to your library. You can purchase it at Amazon.com.
Disclosure of Material Connection:
I received this book free from New Leaf Press/Master 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.“
Yesterday, I posted my review of Chris Fabry’s new book, Borders Of The Heart.
Tyndale House Publishers has provided this Q & A session with the author to give you some insight about this excellent new book.
Q: Your newest novel, Borders of the Heart, addresses heavy topics such as illegal immigration, the U.S./Mexico drug trade and the cost of compassion. Where did you get your inspiration for the book?
A: Our family moved to Arizona in 2008 and since then I’ve known I wanted to write about this area of the country, a rich, desert existence with problems and possibilities. This book is not as much an “issue” book as it is a book about people who have to deal with lots of those issues as part of their daily lives. I don’t have an ax to grind on the topics, but I did want to show how real people are affected by these contemporary topics.
Q: Several of the characters in Borders of the Heart are dealing with things from their past. What lessons do your characters learn along the way?
A: The past is huge for each of us. I’m convinced many are “stuck” by something in the past that holds us back from being all God wants us to be. A reader will walk through that process with the main character, J.D., and I’m hoping they’ll see an authentic struggle.
Q: J.D. Jessup is faced with a very difficult moral dilemma when he weighs the decision to follow his boss’ very clear direction or his own heart when he discovers Maria near death. What lessons does this story provide for your readers?
A: Every choice we make in life comes with a cost. If we say yes to one thing, we may have to say no to something else. The choice J.D. makes is a good choice, and even good choices can lead to disastrous and deadly results. Can you believe that God is involved in even the difficult circumstances? I think that’s a huge reveal in this story for me. Does everything have to work out perfectly in the end in order for God to be glorified?
Last week I spent a few days in Colorado at a youth ministry retreat called Wilderness, put on by Christ In Youth.
This is an incredible weekend each year, and is a time for me to renew, refresh, and refuel my relationship with God. It’s something I won’t miss because it’s so beneficial to my life right now. You can read more about my thoughts on Wilderness here and here.
In the past, I’ve always driven to Colorado, camping out a night or two along the way. However, with our move to Florida, that became impossible. So I flew.
I don’t fly often; it’s just not something that I need very much. And with a large family, it gets expensive fast.
But this time I flew.
The trip out was uneventful. But my experience on the trip home gave me some things to think about.
The Transportation Security Administration stole my toothpaste.
My toothpaste.
Before I left home, I checked my airline’s website for what I could and could not bring with me. According to their website, I could carry on up to 17 ounces of personal products, such as shampoo, deodorant, and toothpaste. I checked most of my personal items, but I wasn’t sure what the lack of air pressure would do, and I really didn’t want toothpaste on all my clothes for the week, so I packed it in my carry-on with my shampoo.
I discovered a new author. I’ve never heard of Chris Fabry before. So when I picked up his new book, Borders Of The Heart, I didn’t know really what to expect. I was captivated from the first pages, and finished the book in a couple of evening. I was impressed.
I’m not a huge fan of most Christian fiction. In my opinion, the cheese factor is pretty high most of the time. There rare a few authors who have surpassed my stringent quality control restrictions, and Chris Fabry has been added to that list.
Here’s a synopsis of Borders Of The Heart, from the Tyndale website:
Desperate to escape haunting memories, J. D. Jessup travels from Nashville to Tucson and volunteers on an organic farm. The hardened landowner has one prevailing rule: If J. D. sees an “illegal,” call the border patrol. But when an early morning ride along the fence line leads him to a beautiful young woman named Maria, near death in the desert, his heart pulls him in another direction. Longing to atone for the choices that drove him to Tucson, J. D. hides her and unleashes a chain of deadly events he could never have imagined. Soon they are running from a killer and fighting for their lives. As secrets of their pasts emerge, J. D. realizes that saving Maria may be the only way to save himself.
And here’s the book trailer:
I was really impressed with Fabry and this novel. I was afraid that the story line would be too romance oriented for me, and I wondered if I had made a bad selection, because I generally don’t read romance. But while there was an element of this in the story, the action and suspense hooked me from the first page.
Fabry did an excellent job of creating characters that the reader can relate to. With deep insights into their thoughts and their very being, the characters in this story seem like real people that you might meet every day.
With page-turning intensity, Fabry weave a tale that engages and intrigues. I will be finding a few more of his books to add to my collection. I suggest you do so as well, beginning with Borders Of The Heart.
Interested in more? Check out this Q & A with the author, Chris Fabry. You can also visit ChrisFabry.com and read his blog, The Fabry Log. Or, you can follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
Have you read any of Chris Fabry’s previous books If so, which was your favorite? If not, who is your favorite fiction author? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
If you are interested in reading Borders Of The Heart, by Chris Fabry, you can purchase it at Amazon.com.
Disclosure of Material Connection:
I received this book free from Tyndale House Publishers 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.“
Some of the most reassuring passages in the Bible are found in the Psalms. Written by several different authors, these passages, many of them very poetic, have a way of calming and comforting me.
They also speak of God’s grandeur and majesty, as this week’s passage does: Psalm 104:1:
This entire Psalm speaks of the majesty of God, from the creation of the earth, to the mountains, to the rain, to the animals, like the leviathan. The psalmist seems to be in awe of God’s creative powers.
He begins and ends this psalm praising God for his majesty.
Sometimes, when I can’t seem to see the big picture of what I’m doing, this passage helps to restore my perspective to its proper place.
What is your favorite passage speaking of God’s glory and majesty? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
