Saturday, April 28, 2012

Faithful




“God, who has called you into fellowship
with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.”
1 Corinthians 1:9 (NIV)

            “. . . fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ God desires that we share together with Jesus. This sharing together might look like our sharing with a friend, which our Lord is. “There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” (Proverbs 18:24) 
            Having Christ as a friend means we spend time with Him-time communicating, talking and listening in prayer and Bible study. This means we make an appointment to be in His presence, intentionally setting aside time for these activities. As we devote our time in these ways, we grow closer to Him. 
            “God . . . is faithful.” He is always vigilant. Our heavenly Father stands by us when we have doubts. He helps us to gain perspective as we face our fears. He walks with us when we endure stressful circumstances. He calms our nerves. During times of hardships God guides us through until we come to a resolution of the difficulties. He is true to His word. He tells us He will not leave us or forsake us. (Deut.31:6) We will have times when we decide we can handle issues ourselves and take things into our own hands, living as though we have all the answers. He permits us to do this and waits for us to humbly approach Him and ask for forgiveness and guidance when we realize we have made a mess of things.
            It is when we come to God with our messes and He forgives us that we realize how authentic His faithfulness is.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Meet Jeanette Levellie and her Two Scoops of Grace

I am proud to introduce you to my friend Jeanette Levellie. She has consented to  answer a few questions I have for her that you might have wondered about.  Welcome to Following My King, Jeanette, It is such a pleasure to have you here today.





Picture yourself sitting in a booth at your favorite restaurant and talking with a new friend. You find yourself laughing at her antics and the situations she tells. The next minute you listen to her tell how God uses these incidents to speak to us. This is how the book “Two Scoops of Grace with Chuckles on Top” has affected me.


Jeanette Levellie, a pastor’s wife in the Midwest, writes conversationally about life’s events that she has experienced and how God has used them to speak to her. She captures these happenings in a series of snapshots and follows each one with thoughts she has derived from her experience. We could almost call these observations “Jeanette’s Philosophy.”



In this book, you will read of God’s grace, our need to be transparent to those to whom we minister and witness. She tells stories of her children when they were young, as well as humorous happenings with her husband, Jeanette explains how she hesitates telling others she is a pastor’s wife because of their expectations. She also tells of her struggles to do what God expects in light of His calling on her life when people ask her to do things. It was hard for me to decide which one of her devotional essays is my favorite, although there are some that I believe readers will not forget.



Besides writing, she manages an office supply store; she takes on speaking engagements and also sings.She writes a bi-weekly column, God is Bigger,  in the Paris, IL Beacon News. Jeanette is active in the blogosphere, contributing to other blogs as well as writing her own, On Wings of Mirth and Worth at http://www.jeanettelevellie.blogspot.com/


Jeanette’s Giveaways
You can win one of ten free downloads of my debut humor devotional, Two Scoops of Grace with Chuckles on Top for your eReader. Here are the very simple rules:

For each share of this post link on Facebook, Twitter, or your blog, you will receive one entry.

For each like on Jeanette’s Author Page or my Two Scoops Book Page on Facebook, or follow on my Twitter page or this blog, you will receive one entry. If you already like and/or follow me, mention that and I will count it.

Please send her ONE comment at the end of a post on her blog to tell me how many times you shared, liked, or followed, so I can give you the correct amount of entries. I reserve the right to verify all information given me, and disqualify anyone from the drawing who falsifies information. (Do not leave comments here to be entered, you MUST go to Jeanette’s blog post for the giveaway.)

Contest starts today and ends midnight, May 10, 2012. Jeanette will announce the winners in a blog post Sunday, May 13, 2012.

. . .and a $100 Gift Card Drawing~~~WOWZA!!!

After you have read/reviewed Two Scoops, check out my blog at www.jeanettelevellie.com for a contest to win a $100 gift card by answering ten easy questions about the book! After I receive your entry, your name will go into the hat for a $100 gift card to one of the following places (your choice): Amazon, Barnes and Noble, CBD, Hobby Lobby, Chick-fil-A, Wal-Mart, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, or Ruby Tuesday. This giveaway will run until August 10, 2012 so there is PLENTY of time for you to enter!

The author sent me the above book for review purposes. She will allow me to keep the book. I have no other connection to and have received no other compensation from Jeanette Levellie. The entire blog tour can be found at  http://jeanettelevellie.blogspot.com/p/blog-tour.html .







Monday, April 23, 2012

God Guides Me





Random Journal Day: (entry from 2010)

“The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?
“Psalm 27:1 (NIV)

God guides me through this place called life. When I face adverse circumstances, I never know when, where or how they will end.

I found this to be true in 1984 and 1985. It was true in 1989 and again in 1995 through 1997 and again in 1998. The next two years were stressful. The year 2000, I had to go with God and trust he was there with me during a very difficult time.

God helped me through a court hearing in February 2003 that didn’t go my way. Strange, it took a full year before the outcome of the court decision was completed. He helped me to do my best when I took a job. God allowed me to stay strong at the end of that time.

My Lord was with me in June, 2009 when we received word from the mortician that Dad had died. God walked with us through Hubby’s sister’s accident and her home-going in June 2010. He continues to help me through the times when Hubby’s health issues come to the forefront of our days.

Jehovah-jirah, He provides what I need and guides me through the dark paths that seem to always lie ahead.

He keeps me strong. I shall no longer fear.

If you would like to participate in this project or just read some amazing blogs go to Beneath the Surface- Breath of Faith Wanted Joy

God Alone

  Jesus and the children at our church's prayer walk.          I will both lie down in peace and sleep;  For You alone, O LORD make ...