I Believe

I know a number of people right now who are going through some serious life circumstances -- job losses, health conditions, financial setbacks.  You name it, and you can guarantee that someone is going through it.

The amazing thing is that as believers although their problems seem insurmountable most of them are carrying on in faith that everything is going to be alright. The grace with which they bear their burden is truly inspirational.

The video below is of a song called "I Believe" that really touched my spirit and that I believe will increase your faith as you listen carefully to the words. 

If you're going through something yourself I'm standing and believing with you that God is going to come through for you. Hold on, and keep the faith. He has everything under control.

Do you have a testimony of how your faith sustained you during hard times? Please share it with us here. 

"And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God." Mark 11:22

Photo via stock.xchng.

We're Back!

Greetings, friends.  Whoo-hoo! We're back as promised. Thanks for all of your love, patience, messages, and words of encouragement. I'm more rested now, a little better organized, and ready to let God do His perfect work.

You may see some variability in our normal publishing schedule going forward as I've had to make a few adjustments to accommodate my other writing projects and secondary line of work.

As always, if you have any specific topics that you'd like to see covered on Danny's Angel Writes or Widow's Ark, please email me at the address at the bottom of the page.

I look forward to hearing from you, be it through comments to posts or on the DAW Facebook page. 

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming ...

Be blessed!

~Angela

Photo via stock.xchng.

On Hiatus

Thanks to all who follow Danny's Angel Writes (DAW) and Widow's Ark (WA) so faithfully. I appreciate your loyalty, your comments, and all of the messages that you send.

Right now my work life is out of control, and I need to restore balance back into the equation. These two blogs, by God's grace, are my passion, but exhaustion has finally taken its toll, and I want to ensure that what I write continues to be reflective of God's excellence. To that end, both sites will be on hiatus for the next two weeks as I reorganize and repriortize. Publication will resume on Wednesday, 09/01/2010.

If you feel that you've been blessed by our efforts thus far, you're welcome to go back through the archives and re-read some of our past articles while we're away. We have quite a few on file now at DAW, and the collection is growing on WA.

Please keep us in your prayers as we keep you in ours.

Peace and blessings,

Angela

"Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand." Philippians 4:5

 Photo via stock.xchng.

10 Ways to Fit Daily Bible Reading and Study Into Your Busy Life

Too busy, stressed, and stretched thin to make time for daily Bible reading and study?  Here are 10 practical ways to make it possible:

1.  Set the alarm clock 30 minutes earlier than you would normally awake.  Spend 20 to 30 minutes reading on the side of the bed before you get your day started.

2.  Plan to get in the bed 30 minutes earlier than you normally would.  Spend 20 to 30 minutes reading on the side of the bed before you go to sleep.

3.  Instead of spending your lunch hour eating, socializing, or running errands, spend 20 to 30 minutes reading.

4.  When you get to work, spend 15 minutes reading before you go inside.  After you get off, spend 15 minutes reading in the car before you hit the road. 

5.  Read 10 minutes before breakfast, 10 minutes during lunch, and 10 minutes before dinner.

6. Join an electronic Bible study site like YouVersion.com that will put together a reading plan for you each day.  You can either have it emailed to you; download it to a hand-held device, i.e. iPod or cell phone; read it on your PC or Mac; or read it directly from the Bible. 

7.  Download an audio Bible to your iPod and listen to it throughout the day. 

8.  Find an accountability partner and agree to read together during the day, either in the same locale or just during the same time. 

9.  Divert 20 to 30 minutes of the time that you spend on social networking sites (Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc.) during the day to Bible reading and study. 

10.  Take two 15-minute breaks during the day and spend each of them reading your Bible.

Begin taking one or a few of these baby steps right now and you'll soon find Bible reading and study a productive habit in your life. 

Is Bible reading and study a discipline that you've incorporated into your life?  If so, how do you accomplish it?

"This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success."  Joshua 1:8 

Photo via stock.xchng.

Love Yourself

Let God fill you
with a divine-based love of self.

Of late I seem to be coming across a large number of folks who are lacking in self-esteem and self-confidence, and it distresses me.  These are the broken, the wounded, the hurting.  Each has a different story, be it past abuse, changes in life circumstances, love won and lost;  the list goes on and on for the reasons why.

So Many Reasons

Society doesn't make their situations any easier as the world tends to be more self-centered in this day and time, and assessments of personal value are largely contingent upon the acquisition of wealth, education, and social standing. 

I want to encourage anybody reading who may be suffering from this malady to never let people or circumstances define your self-worth.  Look to a higher place for your validation.  Love of God and a divinely-based love of self are the springboards from which all good things flow.

Your Hope

Learn to love God, and let Him teach you how to love yourself.  There's a whole wide world out there just waiting to be conquered and enjoyed, and it all starts with this most basic precept.

Take A Step

I'm going to sound like a broken record here, but I'm going to keep saying it until somebody hears me.  Take just one step today.  Pick up your Bible, ask God to show you something to encourage your heart, open it, and read.  Ask Him to fill you with His love.

Tomorrow take another step, and do it again.  The next day, take yet another step, and yes, you guessed it, do it again.  Keep doing it until you feel your change coming and the love of God beginning to transform your life.

What Are You Waiting For?

An ancient philosopher, Confucius, stated, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."  Don't wait another minute.  Take your first step today.  

My prayer is that you get to know Him in all of His fullness and feel the power of His love. 

Have you ever suffered from a lack of self-esteem and self-confidence?  How did you overcome it?

"And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." Matthew 22:39

Photo via stock.xchng user emitea.

Authenticity

I chose to use a variation of the word 'authentic' rather than 'real' as the subject for this post because the word 'real' as it's bandied about in society -- and many times in the church -- today is, in my opinion, used more as a call to rudeness and a lack of Christian grace rather than as a tag for describing being sincere as some would try to lead you to believe. 

But I digress.

Authenticity has been weighing on my mind for the past couple of days, primarily because on this Sunday I had the opportunity to see it in action in a vibrant burst of all of its context -- sincere, pure, and genuine Christian service.  It was refreshing.  

Where is Your Focus?

I truly believe that in our Christian walk we should constantly be focused on making sure that our priorities and agendas don't replace God's in precedence in our lives.  When we put God's agenda first, then everything else falls into place.

Service in the church was never intended by our Father to be a platform for self promotion.  We were actually designed to build and strengthen His kingdom and give Him glory and praise, using all of our skills, talents, and abilities to redirect focus back to Him.

Are You Living in Authenticity?

Let us make sure that as we go about about doing God's business that we are being authentic in our motives.  No matter how brightly a cubic zirconia shines, it will never be a diamond -- and authentic trumps fake every day in every possible way. 

Do you know believers who are authentic in their service towards the Lord?  How has their authenticity impacted your life?

"Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my reins and my heart." Psalm 26:2

 Photo via stock.xchng user LittleMan.

Kingdom Warfare: Business as Usual?

I have within my circle of friends and family folks who've sacrificed specific periods of time in their lives to military service.  Some served during war time, others in times of peace. Whether it was Army, Air Force, Navy, or Marines, they all brought from their experience the sense of what is required from them as military personnel in times of battle.

Despite the diversity in the branches of service to which they were committed, I think that all of them would agree when asked that simply conducting business as usual with the enemy on attack is just not an option.  

As Christians we are daily involved in active warfare.  However, God has been so good to us in this day and time that many of us have become spiritually lazy, shallow, complacent runts, just laying back with no sense of urgency or even concern for what is going on around us in the spiritual realm. Their almost exclusive focus seems to be "what can God do for me?" with relatively little thought given to what service they can render unto God.

In case you haven't noticed, we're in a war right now, fighting for our very souls, fighting for God's Kingdom here on the earth.  Isn't it time to actually get into the skirmish and do your part to push our team towards a win?

It's about more than just going to church, singing in the choir, fellowshipping with friends, aspiring towards leadership positions -- much more.  Might I suggest that you actually read the Official Manual for yourself to find out what's going on and what your part is in it?  I daresay when it comes down to the final analysis that 'business as usual' is not the profile that you want written next to your name in the Book of Life.

Time is running out. If not now, when?  If not you, who? Don't miss the boat because you chose not to feed yourself with anything stronger than milk.  Our God is looking for real soldiers.  Will you answer the call?

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Ephesians 6:12

"I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.  So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." Revelations 3:15, 16

Photo #1 via stock.xchng user chachu207.  
Photo #2 via stock.xchng user betacam. 
Photo #3 via stock.xchng.

Put a Bridle On It

Every now and then I come across Christians who make me drop my jaw in amazement.  Gossip flows from their mouths like liquid poison from a stream, and they do it without any kind of shame or repentance.  No target is immune from their venom.

The topic of their conversation doesn't even have to be true. They just go on autopilot, taking great joy in spreading rumor, innuendo, and negativity.  They love to hear it, and they love to spread it. 

I sometimes wonder if we really understand how seriously God views the decisions we make in the choice of words that we allow to come from our mouths.  These same Christians who wouldn't dare to utter a word of profanity embrace gossip like a drug.

No doubt gossip has ruined many a life and has brought chaos and dissension to more than a few consecrated congregations as it spread among the members like a raging fire. 

Let's make a commitment today to join in love to stop gossip at its source.  Don't allow people to bring it to you, and don't carry it yourself. Remember, the old saying still holds true, "A dog that will bring a bone will carry a bone."

Are you careful about the words that you speak?  Have you ever been the victim of gossip?  How did it make you feel?  Was there ever a time in your life that you enjoyed gossip?

"If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain."  James 1:26

*Photo via stock.xchng.

Count Your Blessings

In my church, every now and then we sing an old-time song that goes like this:

"Count your blessings, name them one by one, 

Count your blessings, see what God has done!

Count your blessings, name them one by one,

Count your many blessings, see what God has done."

Sometimes in the midst of all that goes on with our day by day, with all that's going on in the news, in the world, on the job, at home, you name it, we can get overwhelmed to the point that we forget to count our blessings.

But no matter what's going on in our lives we have this confidence, that God is always working for our good.  So let's make a point to

Praise Him through the good;

Praise Him through the bad;

Praise Him when we're happy;

And even praise Him when we're sad.

The point is that He loves our praise, and it's the least that we can do for Him after all He's done for us.

Take a moment right now to stop and count those blessings!

How has God blessed you over the course of your life?  How has He blessed you today? 

"I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving."  Psalm 69:30

*Photo via stock.xchng.

Back to Rest

I know that I've written about this topic before, but in the fast-paced society that we live in I don't think that the concept can be emphasized enough, especially when as I look around I see so many running like hamsters on a wheel, never taking time out to smell the roses.  So here we go again -- back to rest as an essential component of spiritual growth in our lives.  

I am so abundantly blessed.  As I look back over my life, I can see God's hand working in both the positive and the negative, and in all things He's always worked the end result to my good.

Over the last few months He's seen fit to open doors to some wonderful opportunities for me that I plan to reveal when the time is right.  Because this has paved the way for many of the dreams that He planted in my heart to be brought to fruition, in my enthusiasm I've embarked upon a work schedule that borders on the insane.  I literally have been working seven days a week for a number of hours each day that I won't dare mention to do my part to make things come together.

Both my body and my mind are tired, and things finally came to a point this weekend where warning bells began to chime that I needed to factor sanity back into the equation.  So I made myself stop and take a day to just veg out.  Today with my energy stores somewhat repleted I feel a little more rested and better able to face my challenges.

The Holy Spirit brought to my remembrance that I simply must do better about balancing the sum total of my life.  He reminded me that even God rested on the seventh day of Creation after six days of labor.  How much more as a frail human do I need to rest, even with Him being gracious enough to provide me with the resources I need to accomplish my assigned tasks?

I'm not the only workaholic in this bunch, so if you feel this message is ringing your own spiritual doorbell, don't ignore it.  Open the door, and let it in.

We can't ever let ourselves forget that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit.  Although our spiritual self is our first priority, it's our duty to also fortify our physical selves as much as wisdom allows.

Do you get your proper rest each day?  Are there others around you who should be more mindful of getting rest?  What are three things that you can do right now to ensure that your life is balanced and restful?

"And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made."  Genesis 2:2

  
Additional reading:  The Power of Rest

*Photo via stock.xchng user zatrokz.

Build Better Balance

All week long I've been running at top speed, not eating right, not getting enough sleep, certainly not exercising. I'm exhausted. Although I'm getting things accomplished, I'm beginning to wonder at what price. It occurs to me that my life lacks balance right now.

We were made for balance

God in His divine wisdom didn't intend for us to be one-dimensional beings. He made us complex, multifaceted, with many parts that combine for total success. When too much of our energy is directed into just one area for an extended period of time the other segments of our life become lopsided--and that's when the problems begin.

Work must balance play.
Activity must balance rest.
Soberness must balance humor.

You get the picture.

Are you in balance? 

If right now your life seems stressed and you can't seem to get it together, take a look at how things fall in the balance. With just a little re-prioritizing you can set the scales back in order.

Is your life in balance right now? How do you keep it in balance? If it's not in balance, how do you intend to get it back that way?

"Let your moderation be known unto all men." Philippians 4:5a, KJV

Additional reading: How to Live a Biblically Balanced Life

Dangers Seen and Unseen

This week I learned about a recently apprehended serial killer from California called The Grim Sleeper. Apparently over a span of 20+ years he killed at least 11 people. The reason this is relevant for this post is that I also found out that he lived just down the street from some of my relatives!

Thinking about this drives home again how perilous the times are that we live in. I don't have to give examples. The media has us on information overload about all of the evil that's taking place in the world.

As we move about our daily affairs we really can't imagine the things that God delivers us from that we don't know about ... and I'll bet if we could it would make our blood run cold. 

I'm stopping right now to take a moment to give thanks for how He has kept me safe up until this present point. 

May He continue to keep you too under the safety of His wings.

Do you have a praise report of how God has kept you safe? Please share it with us.

"For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken." Proverbs 3:26, KJV

"The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD." Proverbs 21:31

"I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety." Psalm 4:8

Nexus of Joy

I used to be a Trekkie. For those of you not familiar with the term, this is someone who's a big fan of both the Star Trek series and movies (yes, dear readers, I too have an inner geek).

The Nexus of Joy

One of my favorite episodes featured a spatial anomaly called the Nexus of Joy. Without going into too much detail, one of the main characters, Guinan, described it as "being inside joy." It filled any entity present inside of it with an exhilarating sense of euphoria, and anything desired became reality.

I remembered this episode because this week I again had an experience that periodically comes upon me that I likewise term my nexus of joy.  In it, for some unknown reason I suddenly have this unexpected momentary sensation of overwhelming joy, and love and peace seem to flood over me. It doesn't last long, maybe a couple of minutes at the most, but it almost paralyzes me during its duration as the feelings wash over me in waves. Then just as suddenly as it came, it leaves, and a sense of calm, just like after a storm, is left in its wake.

The Power of God's Love

I've always attributed this to the Holy Spirit, it being His way of letting me know that He's there as my life cycles through its ups and downs, that He loves me and cares about what I'm going through, and that He's trying to remind me that in the scheme of eternity everything is going to be alright.

I don't know if you've ever had anything like this happen to you, but I would wish it upon every believer. Feeling God's love is something that almost can't be described in words. It takes you to a different place in your spirit and compels you to want to grow deeper in Him.

May You Too Feel His Love

Today I wish you your own nexus of joy. May you be filled with His peace, His love, His joy, and get to know Him in a way that transcends the routine activity of your walk with Him.

Have you ever experienced your own nexus of joy? Do you feel God's presence in your daily life? How can you get to know Him on a more intimate basis?

"Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." Psalm 16:11, KJV

Joy Stealers

The writer in me compels me to be a consummate and perpetual student of human nature. I quietly observe people and learn from their behavior, whether it be to derive wisdom, to avoid making certain kinds of mistakes, or just to learn the basic ins and outs of common everyday psychology. I find it to be a fascinating study.

One of the most consistent personality types that I've taken note of over the years -- but which I truly don't understand -- is that of the 'joy stealer.' This type of person seems to have an aversion to other people whom they consider to be joyful. You've probably even come into contact with one of them yourself every now and again. When they see an individual who appears to be exuding joy they instantly go on the defensive, directing a finely-tuned laser beam of contempt towards the receptacle of joy. They just don't like them. And if truth be told, they can't even give a specific reason as to why they don't like the other person.

Now we can toss around all kinds of theories about this -- the joy stealer isn't happy within himself so he can't bear to see others happy, he tends to be envious by nature, or maybe he's just plain mean. For the purposes of this post the reasons aren't what's important; what we're establishing is that these kinds of folks exist.

I'm making this my topic for today because it's been my observation over the last few months that the joy stealers seem to be winning! They go out of their way to stamp out joy wherever they find it by whatever means necessary, and they're doing it with a minimal amount of resistance from the ones they're attacking. I want to exhort you right now, never let anybody steal your joy.

Joy is a fruit of the Spirit, a sign of His indwelling us. The enemy knows this and sends his children to steal it away. I have to admit that there have been occasions in my own life where I've allowed joy stealers to kick down the door of my spirit, burst in in a spiritual home invasion, and steal every ounce of joy that they could find.

Let's make up our minds that from this point forward we're going to aggressively defend our joy. Greater is He that's in us that he that's in the world (I John 4:4). Put the enemy under your feet and keep him there where he belongs.

Have you ever come into contact with a joy stealer? How did you handle it? Worse still, have you ever been a joy stealer? How did you overcome having that type of spirit?

"For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." Romans 14:17, KJV

Insights on Going Through

Normally I direct generic 'forward' emails straight to my electronic trash bin. You know the ones that I'm talking about -- with a distribution list a half a page long that hasn't been BCC'd and usually some sort of chain letter type of proposition. This one, however, gave me pause.

Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life and pastor of Saddleback Church in California, apparently granted an interview to journalist Paul Bradshaw. In it he had a number of insightful things to say about the season of suffering that he and his wife were going through.  As best I can tell, the interview took place circa 2005 or 2006, so you may have already had occasion to read it.  In any wise, I present the transcript here in the hopes that someone may derive some benefit from it.

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"People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.

One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me. I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal.

God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity. We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.

Comfort Food

My name is Angela, and I'm a chocoholic.

I freely admit my guilt.

I tend to be an emotional eater. When times of great stress arise, yep, you guessed it, I automatically reach for my favorite comfort food -- any sweet, scrumptious, calorie-laden incarnation of chocolate.

The brown food acts almost like a sedative. With it I'm able to weather the storm and keep it moving.

But at what price?

The euphoria is temporary, but the negative side effect, an expanding waist line, hunkers down for the long haul. 

Surely there's got to be a better way. 

Don't you sit there acting like you don't know what I'm talking about. I'm not the only one who uses chocolate as a stress reliever. I've corresponded with a number of you. I know your weaknesses.  ;-)

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could all learn to look to a real stress reliever instead of a counterfeit one? One that's usually as close as arm's reach? One that doesn't leave a negative side effect but only positive long-lasting benefits?

Wouldn't it be great if we could program our minds and spirits to the habit of picking up our Bible when stress hits instead of a chocolate bar or chocolate ice cream or chocolate ... you get the picture. 

Trying to feed our physical hunger when it's our spiritual hunger that's really the problem is an exercise in futility. Eat, eat, eat all you want, but that inner hunger pang is going to nag and poke and prod until it's satisfied, and there's only one way to do that -- to feed it with the Word of God.

So I'm issuing you a challenge today. Start paying attention. The next time that stress hits and you feel overwhelmed and anxious take a moment and get still, reach for your Bible, offer a quick prayer that the Holy Spirit will lead you to a passage of scripture to meet your need, and then read.

Rinse and repeat.

See if you don't start seeing a difference in the way that you handle stress. If what you've been doing thus far hasn't been working, now is the time to try something different -- something that will actually work.

I'm making a vow to rise to meet the challenge starting today. My chocolate stash is going on lockdown -- oh, help me, Lord -- and I'm issuing a self-imposed ban against my regular suppliers. Let's call this our chocolate fast. 

Give it a try for a week and then come back here and give us your praise report. I can't wait to read how it worked out for you.

"This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me."  Psalm 119:50

Weekday Friends

Since I've been walking in my widowhood I've discovered an interesting phenomenon amongst a few of my acquaintances that I call 'weekday friends.'

What kind of friends are these?

These special folks demand a great deal of my attention during the week no matter what other priorities I have pending. I'm called upon to listen to endless tales of woe, to encourage and support, to offer a never-ending cycle of assistance when needed, and to "sticketh closer than a brother."

If they wore a T-shirt the slogan would read, 'Me, me, me.'

However, on the weekend they disappear like foxes to holes, and the rules shift. They have their own lives, their own families, and other agendas, and they, quite frankly, over that 2-1/2 day stretch just can't be bothered. Then Monday rolls around and in circular fashion the ritual begins again. 

How do I deal with this?

Now if my affection was set on things on the earth this would present a major problem. Fortunately, my focus tends to be myopically centered on The Word and I can let love cover what I'm sure are unintentional sleights.

The Ultimate Friend

I say all this to say that I'm so deeply grateful to serve a God who not only promises to provide all of our needs -- but also delivers. He's the best friend anybody could ever have. If you're lonely, hurt, or drowning in depression, turn to Him and let Him fulfill you. Get to know him as a friend and let Him show you the meaning of true friendship that can be found by seeking His presence.

Read your Bible and pray. A basic tenet of friendship is communication. When we pray we talk to God; when we read the Word He talks to us.

There's no companionship that we could ever want or need that God can't fulfill. 

Believe Him today and claim your privilege as a Friend of God.

Can you honestly say that God is your friend? How has He proven Himself to be a friend to you? In what ways have you found Him faithful?

"And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God." James 2:23, KJV

*Photo via stock.xchng by Robert Michie.

Watch and Pray

A Facebook friend shared the video below as an admonition to others not to text and drive or engage in other behaviors that are conducive to causing accidents. The video is so powerful that the images it contains still haunt me and bring tears to my eyes, even though the span of a few hours has passed since watching it.

Most people will probably take it as nothing more distressing than what they see in a typical movie nowadays. I see it as a reflection of lives tragically lost and impacted at a time and season unexpected.

For me, the video was a sharp reminder to never be complacent. We must watch and pray at all times. Who knows what evils God has delivered us from that we don't know about in addition to the things that He's protected us from that we do know about? For this alone, He is worthy of praise.

I can think back to just this past February when I was driving in an unfamiliar neighborhood in late evening. For whatever reason, people were driving recklessly. I saw a number of accidents, ambulances, and police cars that night. In under an hour God delivered me from no less than five accidents that could have been mortally serious from the dynamics of how our cars were positioned. Thank you, Lord.

Starting right now, let's make a vow to begin each day with prayer, thanking Him for all that He's done for us and asking Him to continue to protect us and those we love from dangers seen and unseen. Life is tenuous; circumstances can change faster than the blink of an eye. All in all, God is our only hope for safety and protection. 

What testimony do you have of God's deliverance? How has He kept those close to you safe? Do your prayers include specific requests for protection?

"Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is."  Mark 13:33
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*Warning:  Video not suitable for young children or the sensitive.  The images contained therein are disturbing, graphic, and violent.  Use your best discretion in your decision to view it.

Video - Drive carefully.

He Heals the Broken Heart

 If my husband had lived, today would have been our 21st wedding anniversary.

It's interesting, I remember both the day that we wed and the day that he died as vividly as if both events happened just yesterday, even though a span of 15 years elapsed between our marriage and his passing, and six years have passed from his death to the present. I remember who stood for us ... and who stood against us. I remember the joy I felt on the day that we got married; I remember the pain I felt on the day that he died. I remember our life together.  Even now as I type this tears trickle from my eyes, an intermingling of joy and sorrow.

But this I know and can testify, in the midst of true loss God can heal your broken heart just as He promised. Your spirit may be bruised and your heart scarred until He calls you home, but you can go on with His power. He'll carry you through. Be encouraged. Even if you can't see ahead from where you stand, trust Him, hold on to Him, believe Him. If you fervently reach out to Him in your pain He'll faithfully reward you by filling the void of your empty, hurting place.

For those that have gone through and for those whose day is coming, I pray for your pain, for your broken heart, that God will come in and bind up your wounds, and fill you with peace until the day comes that we all stand before His throne where there'll be no more sorrow and no more pain.

May God bless you.

Have you ever experienced loss? How did you deal with it? How did God carry you through?

"He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds." Psalm 147:3

Happy 4th of July!

Danny's Angel Writes wishes you a Happy 4th of July. May your entire holiday weekend be filled with family, friends, and fun.  More importantly, may your spirit overflow with the realization of faith that our ultimate freedom and independence is found in God. 

Be safe and be blessed!

"Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." II Corinthians 3:17 (KJV)

Fellowship is a Key

For reasons that I don't care to go into right now, of late I haven't been able to keep my church attendance up to the same extent that I was able to in other seasons of my life. With this I see a difference in the level of power that I project as I go about my daily business.  

I believe that fellowship with other believers is one of the keys to the power that we possess as Christians. Fortunately a number of my church members are a part of the same online social networks that I frequent as well as other Christians that I've been blessed to build relationships with, and I'm able to gain some degree of fellowship in this manner, but it's just not the same as actually assembling together in God's House.

I'm aggressively working to correct this failure on my part to obey God's command, but still at the heart of it all there really is no excuse. Encouraging, correcting, exhorting, and walking life's road together through fellowship is an integral part of our overall spiritual success. 

I can't wait to get back to regular attendance, and if you're slacking in this area I encourage you to make more of an effort to get back in line with this too. It fills my heart with joy to think of the day that we'll all experience ultimate fellowship together -- when we all get together in His heavenly kingdom.

Have you had seasons in your life that for whatever reason you weren't able to, or just didn't, attend church regularly. Could you see a difference in your life because of this?

"Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching." Hebrews 10:25

Angry with God

Writer Renae Brumbaugh wrote a thought-provoking post on her blog a couple of weeks ago about being angry at God that set me to thinking.

In my humanity, there have been times in my own life when I'm ashamed to admit that I've been *ahem* a little miffed with God, not angry to the point of being just downright sinful, but to the extent that the anger so filled me that I couldn't pray or read my Bible or do any of the things that fostered fellowship with Him. To be honest, during those times I would put him on 'ignore' just as I would have an errant suitor who disappointed me in his pursuit of me.

The reasons have been varied, whether it be that He blessed an enemy in an area that I was looking for a blessing, He showed mercy on one whom I felt undeserving of mercy, or He sent a time of trial and suffering in my life that I felt unjust.  The causes of my anger have ranged from the minuscule to the great, but all justified in my frail human sight at those particular times.  A greater level of spiritual maturity has mitigated the frequency of these occasions of anger, but they have occurred nonetheless. 

I thank God daily for continually teaching me about the peace that comes with trusting and believing His Word and accepting His Divine Will.  My gratitude knows no bounds for the gift of perfect faith.  I know deep down inside that His thoughts are not my thoughts. I most of all thank Him for His mercy and grace in that the very anger and justice that I may have wished rained down on others could have been rained down on me for my own imperfections.

My prayer is that I be found walking worthy of His commandments when He comes back to take us home.

Have you ever been angry with God?  How did you deal with it? Did you learn anything from the experience?

"Be ye angry, and sin not:..." Ephesians 4:26a

Read Your Bible Today

A couple of weeks ago I had the mother of all days.  Everything that could have possibly gone wrong went wrong; most folks that I came across were ill tempered (no easy feat since I primarily work at home); and my stress level was through the roof. I'll bet ducks to dollars that you know the kind of day that I'm talking about.

Although I, like anybody else, am not at all fond of bad days, I can usually take them in stride and meet my challenges. But on this day I just couldn't seem to pull it together.

Thinking it over ... 

By that evening, you could have stuck a fork in it because I was done. On thinking back over the day's events I tried to pinpoint what was different about that day (aside from the enemy stepping up his game to set a new record for number of attacks) than any other. A few thoughts came to mind:

• When I got up that morning I didn't read my Bible - and neither had I read it the night before;
• Other than a cursory 'good morning' I didn't spend any time in prayer with God when I woke up. I didn't ask Him to cover me, lead, guide, protect, and shield me under His wings;
• And very much unlike other days I wasn't focused on His presence throughout the day. No meditations on Scripture, no spontaneous silent or vocal expressions of prayer. My focus had totally shifted ... to my problems.

Now I'm not at all suggesting that if I had done these things that I wouldn't have had any problems that day;  to the contrary, I'm sure that they would have still been there in full force -- but I sure would have been able to fend off the attacks with much more precision if I had had my armour on.

You have a choice -- victory or defeat ...

It's amazing how it turns out to be the little things that can make the difference between opening the door to defeat or blasting open the flood gates to victory.

Make it a point to read your Bible today. Spend just five minutes with Him and let Him speak to you. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you. See what kind of a difference it makes.

Do you read your Bible every day? Do you meditate in His Word? Do you pray often? Share with us how implementing these very good habits in your daily routine makes a difference in your faith walk.

"Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." Ephesians 6:11

"This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success." Joshua 1:8

"Pray without ceasing." I Thessalonians 5:17

We've Got a New Look!

We've been busy working behind the scenes at Danny's Angel Writes trying to come up with ideas to make your experience with us even more fruitful.  You may notice that as of today we have a new look! Post down below and let us know how you like it.

We've also added a couple of new entries to the blog roll, blogs that we believe will add value to your day and inspire you to continue to grow and mature both spiritually and personally. 

We'll continue, of course, with our regular publishing schedule on tomorrow. Just a reminder -- we publish every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 6:00 a.m., bringing you fresh, new, relevant content to help you along your faith journey.

Don't forget to tell your family and friends about us if you find something of value here. We're all walking this road together;  let's strive to help each other along the way.

Be blessed!

The Angel Food Store

You may have noticed the new link that's been floating at the top of the page for a little over a couple of weeks now touting The Angel Food Store.

The Angel Food Store features books (and now some music) that we recommend as helpful to spiritual and personal growth. The prices are reasonable and the inventory varied. The reading material is mostly a choice of nonfiction, but we also have a couple of very well-written fiction pieces in stock. We plan to expand and offer DVD's, e-books, and CD's in the near future.

The Angel Food Store is where we'll also primarily be marketing books published through Danny's Angel Publishing near the end of the year, so please stay tuned for those product launches. 

If you have any suggestions of other works that you'd like to see inventoried in the store, please feel free to email me at the address at the very bottom of the page, and I'll add them to the store just as quickly as possible. 

We appreciate the support that you've given Danny's Angel Writes since our launch back in May and have a little something special planned for our readers who've joined our mailing list (see button on the sidebar to the right of the page), so be sure to get your name on the list soon.

Have a great weekend!

Just Do It - Sow Your Seed!

Previously I wrote about the benefits of moving forward in faith-based action, and I'd like to add a little bit more to that discussion today.

God keeps leading me back to write on this subject again and again, so I believe that He's trying to capture somebody's attention -- could that somebody be you?

So many people are stuck in jobs that they don't like, in life circumstances where their dreams aren't being fulfilled, and have come to a place where they've given up and have become stagnant. They're just standing still, waiting on God, with no faith-fueled fire to propel them onward.

Is it fear that's holding you back?

They can't seem to take hold of the seed that God has placed in their hearts, sow it, and do what's needed to make it grow. Most times the root of their inaction is fear -- fear of the unknown, fear of not knowing what to do, fear of failure.

What does the Bible say?

I was surprised to find in my reading that the Bible says to just do it! To sum it up, you'll never know whether what you desire will come to pass unless you actually try to do something to make it come about.

I can attest to this in my own life. God placed a dream in my heart as a very young child, but over the years I let people, circumstance, and fear set in like weeds in my spirit and choke the dream out. Once I got to the place that I let GOD'S leading and instruction take precedence over the external forces that were assailing me I sowed the seed of my dream, it took root, and began to grow! To coin the words of an old song, 'Ain't no stopping me now!'

I urge you to sow your own seed today. Every day wasted is another opportunity lost.  Don't wait another second. My prayer is that God bless you as you go forward in pursuing your dreams. You're never too old;  it's never too late.

Has God planted a dream in your heart? What are you doing or what have you done to sow it and make it grow? Tell us about it. 

"In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good." Ecclesiastes 12:6 (KJV)

Pray with Your Legs

Recently I posted a Facebook status update that along with the replies that I made to the comments it received went something like this:

Learn this lesson faster than I did. When you don't know what to do, do SOMETHING. Pray, ask God to order your steps, and believe. Inaction never accomplished anything. Faith requires some action on your part. "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he
delighteth in his way." Psalm 37:23

I'm telling you, we miss out on a lot of blessings by just waiting without powering it with some faith-based action on our part. :)

Let me add that there *are* some times when we should just stand still and wait, but it's wise to pray and ask God for discernment to know the difference.

The day after that post I received an email from one of my favorite sites, 48 Days to the Work You Love. Dan Miller wrote a blog post entitled, Pray with Your Legs that explained what I was trying to say way better than I could. I'm copying and pasting the link to his post here for you in the hopes that it helps someone along their way.

Pray with Your Legs - http://48daysblog.wordpress.com/2010/06/15/pray-with-your-legs/

Welcome to All

Welcome to all of our new subscribers!  We're honored to have you here with us and thrilled to know that something at Danny's Angel Writes caused you to want to visit with us on a regular basis.  My prayer is that God will work through and in all to add a blessing to your life, whether it be in some new insight, a word of encouragement, or motivation to go deeper in His Word and develop a more personal, intimate relationship with Him.

I'd like to encourage those of you following on our Facebook page to periodically visit the website directly at dannysangelwrites.com. We publish every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, but sometimes the feed is a little slow to import to Facebook, a lag of many days in some cases. Feel free to jump in and post to either a thread on the website or one over on Facebook. Also, we have a blog roll on the website that links to other blogs that we feel have content that may help you along your journey to continued spiritual and personal growth.

We're on Twitter, so feel free to follow us there if you're so inclined:  @writerangela

Drop me a line sometime and let me know how you're doing (my email address can be found at the bottom of the website).  I love to hear from our readers! 

Tell your friends and family about us if you feel that they may find a blessing here. I promise that we'll welcome them with open arms. 

Again, welcome to all! Pray for me as I'll be praying for you. I look forward to our future fellowship.

'Love of Christ,

Angela

Happy Father's Day!

It's that time of the year again to honor that special man in your life who loved, raised, sacrificed for, and nurtured you in the admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4b).

Everyone isn't blessed, for whatever reason, to still have their father with them. Even more sad is that some have a bio dad who is still living, but he never fulfilled the true duties of a father as he should.

If you have a father (or have been blessed by God to be given a father figure) in your life right now who has fulfilled all of the duties of an earthly father just as God ordained, be sure to let him know on this Sunday how much he's appreciated. 

Most importantly, take a moment to thank the Heavenly Father above for the love and sacrifice that He showed to all of us by sending His only begotten Son to die as a sacrifice for our sins.

If you'd like to make a short comment to give your earthly father honor for all that he's done for you over the years, please feel free to do so below.

"Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." Exodus 20:12

Review: I Want to Say Thank You by Lisa Page Brooks

This is the song that holds the top spot on my iPod Touch right now. 

Lisa Page Brooks will stir your spirit into a deep sense of gratitude and worship to God for all that He has done for you in both the past and the present.

Her voice is a rich blend of soulful delight.  With her unique alto strains she elevates I Want to Say Thank You to an anthem of praise that makes you want throw yourself at the Father's feet and give Him your all for all of His goodness.

A great song to begin each day or to incorporate into your private worship and devotionals. 

I Want to Say Thank You is all you'll want to do every time you listen to this song. 

God Answers Prayer

I shared with friends on yesterday that I had a problem arise that was going to cost me big bucks -- bucks that I didn't have at the moment to spend.  I didn't know what to do, so I did what I always do when I don't know what to do ...

I prayed.

Over the years God has proven Himself faithful, so I laid my situation at His feet, prayed, and believed. I asked Him to guide me towards the solution.

Because I read, meditate on, and study His Word I know the promises that He's made to me as a believer, and I stood on His promise to answer my prayers. Slowly the answer began to unfold in my mind and step by step I moved towards a resolution.

Within a few minutes of following His lead the problem was solved, I didn't have to spend money that I didn't have, and I was able to move on to more pressing matters.

Give God a chance to work in your life. Take all of your problems, both great and small, to Him. See if He won't show up on your behalf and make a way out of no way.

If you have a testimony about how God has answered prayer in your life, share it with us below. He loves it when we give Him the praise that He's so rightly due for being so good to us.

"Ask, and it shall be given you ..." Matthew 7:7a

Reminder: Free Apple iPad Giveaway

Hello everyone!  I just wanted to take the time to remind you all again about the Free Apple iPad Giveaway that's being hosted over at Christian Personal Finance.

You never know, this might be an opportunity for you to win one of 2010's most wonderful pieces of technology for absolutely free.

Read the details again here.  I've already placed my entries.

Be blessed!

~Angela

The Friendship Acid Test

Every now and then it's just good to take inventory of our friendships and see if a little pruning is needed.

Of course, we know that there are different levels of friendship.

• There's the neighbor across the way that we might extend small talk and greetings to in passing and sometimes provide a helping hand;
• There's the church sister or brother that we fellowship with outside of church service, the ones that offer us encouragement and support and to whom we reciprocate the same;
• There's our group of general acquaintances;

And then there's our inner circle where the faithful few dwell, the ones we can depend on when the storms of life are raging, that we don't have to talk to every day but when the need arises they have our back, that we can tell our most intimate secrets to and know that they won't judge us or betray our confidence.  These are the ones that exhort us to become closer to the Lord and who can tell us the truth without reservation to help us grow stronger.

How do we determine who is worthy to enter that inner circle?

1.  "Birds of a feather flock together, and so will pigs and swine." This has always been and always will be true. Our friends should share our same basic core of spiritual beliefs, values, morals, and convictions. They don't have to be our carbon copies, but they should have both feet planted with us on the same foundational pillar.
2.  "Loose lips sink ships." Can our friends be trusted to keep a confidence, even in the face of peer pressure? Or are there consistent information leaks with your private business being laid open to public scrutiny?
3.   "A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out." Are your friends people that you can really depend on ... or are they only there when things are going good and there's something in it for them?
4.   "Everyone is a friend, until they prove otherwise."  Has your friendship been proven through trials and challenges?
5.   "A friend is someone who is there for you when he'd rather be anywhere else." Do your friends sacrifice for you when needed ... without being asked?  Or are you always the one found to be making the sacrifices?

"True friends are like diamonds, precious but rare.  False friends are like autumn leaves, found everywhere." 

Choose your friends carefully.  As we walk our spiritual journey friends can either help us find the way or lead us astray.

Do you have friends in your life who really make a difference in the quality of your life?  In what way do they make a difference? 

"... and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother."  Proverbs 18:24b

*Proverbs listed above;  sources unknown.

Care and Feeding of the Temple: 10 Steps to Vibrant Health

"An apple a day keeps the doctor away." 

10. Have regular check-ups with your primary care physician. Pay attention to his/her suggestions for everyday health maintenance.
9.  Find articles that pertain to healthy living. Read, study, and implement the tips into your life.
8.  Pay attention to the signals that your body sends you. Pain, recurrent discomfort, bleeding, bruising, etc. are all signs that something is wrong and must be addressed.
7.  Cleanliness is next to godliness. Wash your hands regularly throughout the day. Many illnesses can be prevented by following just this one simple step alone.
6.  Consider that smoking and drinking toxify your body. Toxins produce disease.
5.  Manage your stress. Learn not to sweat the small stuff. Manage your anger, don't let it manage you.
4.  Get adequate rest. An adult needs at least eight hours of full restful sleep a night to allow the body and mind to rejuvenate.
3.  Hydrate. Drink at least six to eight glasses of water a day. To make it more visually appealing until habit and discipline kick in, use lemon, lime, or cucumber slices for garnish. Have a special crystal goblet on hand just for your water breaks.
2.  Exercise consistently. You don't have to work out like an athlete, but be sure to incorporate at least 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise into your schedule three to five days a week along with at least two days of strength training.
1.  Eat nutritiously every day. Make sure that fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are a major component of your feeding regimen. Choose high-quality protein sources.

"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?" I Corinthians 6:19

Share your tips for vibrant health below.

*Disclaimer:  The information in this article is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.  All content, including text, graphics, images and information, contained on or available through this article is for general information purposes only.    Always consult a physician for matters of serious health issues. 

He Indeed Will Supply Your Need

We live -- and have been living for the last few years -- in an unquestionably troubled economy.  There isn't a day that goes by that we don't hear about someone losing their job, their home, their car, retirement savings, and/or health benefits. If we believe the media's report, there's almost no hope for the future.

In your own life maybe money is tight.  No matter how hard you try, with the price of gas, groceries, and utilities, mortgages, rent, credit card payments, and car notes there just always seems to be more month than money when bills come due.  It's so expensive to just live, much less to try to buy our wants.

Discouragement, worry, and anxiety are taking over your life, and your faith is slowly being replaced with fear with each incessant ring of the telephone and each visit to the mailbox.

Hold on ...

In all of this, still hold on. God is coming. He sees your struggle. He knows your need.

What can I do?

1. Continue to meditate on His Word.  Research the scriptures that specifically pertain to provision and meditate on them every day. 
2. Pray.  He wants you to come to Him and cast your cares upon Him.  He wants you to ask Him to take charge of the needs in your life. 
3. You may need to escalate your petition to Him with fasting. There are circumstances in life where reading and prayer are the basic foundations for getting in contact with God, but there are other circumstances that may entail more complex issues where fasting may be needed. 
4. Do good for others.  When we take our focus off of ourselves and our own problems we give God more room to work.
5. Be faithful to His house.  Encouragement from other believers, preaching and teaching of the Word, and a purposeful effort to be faithful to what God requires of us can help us to maintain our faith while in the midst of a struggle.
6. Believe.  He promised to provide, His Word is true, and He can't lie. 

God is fathful.
 
God will bring victory into your life in the area of need.  Your definition of need may not be limited exclusively to finances. It may extend to companionship, deliverance, to guidance. Need in the life of one believer may be different than need in the life of another aside from the basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter.  Try Him and see if He won't pour you out a blessing that you won't have room to receive. 

Hope and believe.

If He doesn't seem to be answering your prayers ask Him to reveal to you if there's anything in your life that isn't pleasing to Him, and if He shows you make that adjustment. But know that there is a hope for your future, that He's able, and He indeed will supply your need.

"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."  Phillippians 4:19

Special Post: Free Apple iPad Giveaway!

I'm making a special post today because I'm excited to share with my readers that one of my favorite blogs, Christian Personal Finance, is sponsoring a Free Apple iPad Giveaway!!!  Yes, you read it right, you can win a FREE Apple iPad!  Entries will be accepted until midnight CST on June 17th. The contest requirements are simple, and you have six, count it six, options of increasing your chances of winning. 

Don't sleep on this one!  Again, the link to the contest is Free Apple iPad Giveaway.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming ...

Want Some Sugar for that Haterade?

"But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies ..."  Luke 6:27

Ouch.  I'm the first to admit that sometimes when I read that scripture I have to restrain myself from praying, Umm, Lord, are you sure that's what you meant to say?

I know I don't have to tell you that folks can be a challenge to get along with.  One of the most popular terms to explode in our cultural lexicon of late is 'hater,' and it's not without good reason.  There just seems to be a pervasive spirit of enmity, jealousy, and envy in the air wherever you look, and most times folks can't even give a good reason why they don't like somebody else!

As believers we're called to a higher standard.  It tastes sour going down, but it will come forth as sweet as honey where it really counts -- in the scheme of eternity.

So instead of one, make that two lumps of sugar in that cup of haterade ... regardless of whether you're the one making it or drinking it. ;-)

Weigh in.  Are you a lover or a hater?

REVIEW: BibleGateway.com

Welcome to BibleGateway.com, a free service for reading and researching Scripture online--all in the language or translation of your choice! 

 As a total computer geek, I'm always open to new applications of technology.  Like a number of my peers, I do almost everything via the Internet -- shopping, working, networking, etc.  I've even been known to date by way of the Web.  The most interesting use of the digital realm that I've heard of to date has been by a couple of my friends ... who attend church via the Net!

Some months back I was introduced to an awesome website called BibleGateway.com.  Both new and seasoned scholars of the Word will find it a wonderful resource.  I use it as my primary concordance.  By entering key words and/or phrases the user is given the ability to search every major translation of the Bible known to man in just a matter of seconds.  In addition, you'll find:

• Commentaries
• Articles on specific topics related to spiritual growth
• A Verse of the Day section
• An audio Bible
• A calendar-driven reading plan for your personal use
• Even an online store.

The site is user friendly and, of course, has a mobile version that can be accessed from any of your favorite hand-held devices.  Your reading and research options are endless!

Check out BibleGateway.com and share your experience with us after you visit.

Rating:  5/5

What Price Sacrifice?

"Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many."  Matthew 20:28 

Happy Memorial Day!  On this very special holiday my mind is wandering over the beauty of the quality of sacrifice, the ultimate being that of God sending His only beloved Son to die for us so that He could redeem us to Him and restore privilege, freedom, and favor in our lives.

This same wonderful spirit exists in each and every service person who is right now sacrificing (or who has done so in the past) so that we might enjoy privilege and freedom as American citizens.  Some, like our Saviour, have even made the supreme sacrifice of giving up their lives in the fight.

Whether you be Air Force, Army, Marines, or Navy, know that you are thought of and appreciated on both this and every day and that special prayers are going up on your behalf.  Thank you for your sacrifice.

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