Live Second Devotional Review #2

Words carry such incredible power.

They can lift up or tear down.  They can save or they can kill.  It is amazing that God would allow us to yield so much power.  Yet He is truly the One who holds the power.  He asks us to use our words to bring hope and healing to those around us who are still lost in their sin.

"My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power."              —1 Corinthians 2:4–5

Does God have  power over your words and your speech?  Does He control your tongue?  I would have to admit this is an area I struggle with.  Not only do my words hurt others too many times but I also don't use my words to bring others closer to God.

Live Second: 365 ways to put Jesus First talks about "words" in week 13, day 2.  The devotional questions your words and puts them to the test.  Are you using them to share God's Good News? There are no acceptable excuses if we aren't.  God tells us He is made perfect in our weaknesses; so we can't say we are not good at it.  God tells us He will give us the words through His Holy Spirit; so we can't say we don't know what to say.  God tells us He uses weak and broken vessels, just everyday people; so we can't say that it is not our gifting.

There are no excuses.

Doug Bender says in his devotional, our part in God's plan of spreading the Gospel "is more about obedience, humbleness, and diligence than wisdom and persuasion."  So no more excuses for me!  Or you.  God says "go and make disciples...", so let's go and do that today.  Tell one person about Jesus today.  Tell them God loves them and He is waiting for them.  Speak the WORDS and let God do the rest.

Join the conversation at #IASwords and share your thoughts.

Get your devotional book this week (Dec 9-15) to help the efforts of I Am Second to make the NYT Bestsellers list and change your life while you do it.

In the meantime, check out this new song from Hawk Nelson and Bart Millard (from Mercy Me).  It is called Words.

Hawk Nelson - Words (Feat. Bart Millard of MercyMe) Official Lyric Video from hawk-nelson on GodTube.

Tell me:  who will you use your words on today?

Smile!

I see it has been nearly two weeks that I have been absent from this blog.  Is anyone else crazy-busy in June?

Well, in that spirit as I regain control of my life this Monday, I offer a much needed giggle to you this morning.  (These guys never disappoint.)

MercyMe - Eye of The Tiger (Cover Tune Grab Bag) from mercymemusic on GodTube.

Check out other CTGB videos here.

Have a great Monday!!

Book Review - Submerged by Dani Pettrey

Submerged is book #1 in the Alaskan Courage series. It’s the story of Cole McKenna and Bailey Craig.

A sabotaged plane. Two dead deep-water divers. One single clue.

Bailey Craig vowed never to set foot in Yancey, Alaska, again. She has a past, and a reputation--and Yancey's a town that doesn't forget. She's returned only to bury a loved one killed in the plane crash, but then dark evidence emerges and Bailey's own expertise becomes invaluable for the case.

Cole McKenna can face dangerous rescue dives. He can face the fear a murderer may be threatening his town. But facing the reality of Bailey's reappearance is a tougher challenge. She broke his heart... but doesn't seem to be the same girl who left Yancey ten years ago. And he's not the same guy she left behind.

Racing against the clock and a rising body count, Bailey and Cole must move beyond the hurts of their pasts to work together until the truth of what is hidden in the depths finally surfaces.

Dani Pettrey does a fantastic job of her debut book.  I was mesmerized by it.  Once I started I couldn't put it down - finishing it off in two days and nearly missing work too!

Her characters are lovely - Bailey has a tarnished past that Pettrey paints in colour with only a few words.  McKenna is the boy who could've/ should've saved her back then but didn't.  God is so good with giving second chances, even when we aren't sure we want them.  I would have liked to see more of the redemption portion of the story.  It was beautifully done - showing Bailey finally ready to fully accept God's love but as a reader (and a believer) I wanted to see more about this. (Maybe in her next book?)

Pettrey has a wonderful secondary cast too.  I loved the story in the background of Piper and Landon.  I am hoping they are the main characters for book 2.  (I heard book #2 takes place in British Columbia!!)

In the beginning chapters, I struggled to keep the characters in my head straight.  The McKenna clan is big (and there are always a couple 'hanger-arounders', like Jake and Landon). Pettrey did a great job of given each their own flavour - but I still found myself confused at times.  That might not be everyone's experience though.

The plot is filled with wonderful hooks to keep you guessing, interspersed with snippets of down time to take it all in. The Russian history is a plus that I enjoyed.  I would have learned more if it had been scattered through out the book instead of all given at the climax of the story.  I wanted to see the resolution so much that I didn't take the time to absorb it.  Maybe on my second read.

Overall I found the book to be a real treat - like when I was handed a Bernard Callebaut chocolate bar just for being in the right place at the right time.  Only they both were over too quickly :)

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group".  


Dani Pettrey participated in a Debutantes Soiree a few nights ago, celebrating with three other debut authors.  It was an interesting and fun evening.  I blogged about it here.  (If you did not attend the online party, you can watch it here. Thanks Rel, for the link.) For even more fun you can try these links:

• interview of Bailey Craig (main character)
• interview of Dani Pettrey and another one here (with book giveaway)
• Dani's website has an excerpt, a discussion guide, an audio interview and an incredible sweepstakes giveaway contest (if you live in the US)

Check it all out, or go buy the book.  It can be found at Amazon US, Amazon Canada, Barnes & Noble, Christianbooks.com, Bookamillion, and Chapters/indigo.

One last item for your enjoyment...
I had blogged about this song awhile back but there were no official videos of it at that time.  Until today.  Mercy Me released the video for The Hurt and The Healer today on Godtube.  Check it out.

I figured it was a perfect fit to the story of Bailey and Cole.  So enjoy ...



MercyMe - The Hurt and The Healer (Official Music Video) from mercymemusic on GodTube.

At Your Name

Have you heard of Phil Wickham before?  He is a contemporary Christian singer with five albums under his belt already.  He comes from a strong Christian family with abundant blessings of music talent.

I really caught onto his music after the single Safe, with MercyMe's Bart Millard.  It released in 2009 and made it to number four on the charts.  I loved it!

TODAY, Phil Wickham's new single At Your Name is offered as a free download at KLove.  Check it out ... it is a beautiful worship song.

(Some restrictions may apply in certain locations.)

Looking for a giggle?

We had fun in my house last night.  My teenage daughter and I sat around my lap top listening to songs that had us falling off our chair at times.  It all started with a video of Mercy Me doing a cover of Justin Bieber's Baby, Baby hit song.


MercyMe - Baby, Baby (Cover Tune Grab Bag) from mercymemusic on GodTube.

I love the music of Mercy Me.  They have been putting forth fantastic music for a long time.  A little history on these guys to start us off.  The band was formed in the mid 1990's in Texas. Their first album with INO records introduced us to the amazing I Can Only Imagine.  This is song became an instant hit soon filtering over into the Top 40 mainstream radio play.  It won the band huge recognition and awards.  "In 2010, the song was certified platinum by the RIAA for sales of over one million digital downloads, and is the first (and so far only) Christian single to reach that milestone."  Wikipedia
(By the way, the links on the song titles will take you to the lyrics - not the videos.  Use the God Tube link or the radio link to view videos.)


Then came my favourite album of their, Spoken For in 2002. Songs like Word of God Speak, Come One - Come All, Spoken For and Go.  (Just a few of my favourites.)  The band continued on with successful albums leading up to the Generous Mr. Lovewell which houses the hit-toppers Move and  Beautiful .  If you are not familiar with this band, these last two songs are a great place to start.  Move is fun and will definitely get you moving. Beautiful is a wonderful song that stirs my heart as I think about my kids.

I found a music radio site that has a whole gaggle of videos from Mercy me if you would like to check it.  Be sure to look at another favourite of mine - Bring the Rain.


But onto the real fun that brings us here today ... the giggles in my living room.  God tube has a full set of videos that the boys of Mercy Me have done of cover songs (songs they did not write). We started with their latest one which is a rendition of the popular Baby, Baby.  Then we worked our way through their long line-up of fun videos.  The most current two include many other artists joining in on the fun.  (See how many you can recognize...).  The earlier videos are just the band goofing around.  But I will tell you my daughter and I laughed our selves silly with their antics.  So, if you need a laugh and you know your 70's, 80's and 90's rock hits - check out the Cover Tune Grab Bag on God Tube.  You won't be disappointed.


Also, call your local Christian Radio station and ask them to play the new Mercy me song, The Hurt and The Healer.  It is amazing. The new album is projected to be out in May 2012.  Watch for it.
(Couldn't find a video of the new song that was okay to post. But I found a video where Bart Millard, lead singer, talks about the story behind the song here.)