SuMMeR ReaDiNG

One of my favorite aspects of summer time is that I get to read for pleasure!  I read a lot during the school year, but it is all for the purpose of teaching.  In the summer I get to read for the purpose of enjoyment, entertainment, and enhancement.  Here are the 12 books that are on my summer reading list (mostly because they've been sitting by my bedside tempting me throughout the school year!):

1. Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke
2. Paper Towns  by John Green
3. The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
4. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
5. Shoot the Moon by Billie Letts
6. The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve
7. Plainsong by Kent Haruf
8. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
9. The Distant Hours by Kate Morton
10. She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb
11. The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be by Jack Canfield*
12. In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day: How to Survive and Thrive When Opportunity Roars by Mark Batterson*

*Not pictured in the stack are two books that I have on my Kindle app and that I have begun already reading.  

I can hardly wait to devour these books!  What's on your reading list?

Submission Strengthens

"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Come near to God and he will come near to you."

~James 4:7-8

Submit. Eek...that's a tough word to swallow, even tougher to do.  But if a sunflower didn't submit itself to the sun, then it would never bloom.  Likewise, if we do not submit ourselves to the Son, then we will never fully bloom. Submit yourselves, then, to God...

Submission is not weakness.  Submission strengthens.  It strengthens the bond I have with God when I submit to Him.  It strengthens a husband to his wife.  It strengthens a parent to his child.  It strengthens a teacher to his student.  It strengthens an employer to his employee.  Submission strengthens.  

This morning God woke me up at 4:00.  I know it was God because I do not get up willingly at 4:00.  My alarm was not set to go off for another hour, but there I was, wide awake.  Did I submit to God and get up?  Nope.  I sadly rolled over in bed and convinced myself it was too early and there was nothing I could do anyway at that ridiculously early hour; and so, I fell back asleep.  

Had I submitted to God at that hour by getting up and spending time with Him, I most likely would have had enough Spiritual fuel to get me through today.  I most likely would've been a little less stressed.  I most likely would've been more prepared and less rushed.  I most DEFINITELY would have been strengthened.  

I'll never know about what could've happened today because I did not submit.  I will, however, think twice before rolling over again.  No doubt I'll be tested on this.  But whether I am or not, I do know that when God calls me to submit to Him, I must do as He asked.  If I ever want to become stronger in my relationship with God, then I must submit.  Likewise must you.  To become fully bloomed, submission strengthens us in the fullness of Him.

FaiTH.

"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see."

~Hebrews 11:1

It is not enough to say, "I believe in God."  Do I truly believe God?  Do I trust His character?  Do I believe He is who He says He is?  Do I really rely on Him at all times and in all circumstances?  Do I have the kind of faith that not only can say to a mountain, "Go throw yourself into the sea," but also can believe the mountain will actually throw itself into the sea? (Matthew 21:21) I wish I could say I did.

The good news is that Jesus is the author AND perfecter of our faith. (Hebrews 12:2)  I don't need to have perfect faith.  I need to have Jesus.  How do I have Jesus? By faith.

Hmmm...so you see this is all connected.  The more I have Jesus, the more faith I have.  And the more faith I have, the more shield (Psalm 3:3) I have to counterattack the enemy and ward against his fiery darts of lies, doubts, and fears. 

So, it isn't enough to say, "I believe in God."  I have to take up and step behind that belief.  I have to act.  Someday, who knows?  Maybe you'll see a mountain in a sea and you'll wonder if it got there by someone's faith...someone like me.