Monday, July 29, 2013

The H.O.P.E Vitamins



The  H.O.P.E. Vitamins for Healthy Living
Prescription:  Take Daily. 
·         H             Take a daily amount of humor. To have better mental, spiritual, and physical health, laugh often.  From a slight titter to an all-out guffaw, laugher improves wellbeing.  The entire body responds with this physical phenomenon. Shoulders jiggle, lips reveal teeth, verbal sounds escape, and tension evaporates.  God gives us laugher from our early beginnings. Make a face at a baby and watch the wee one respond with a huge happy reaction.  Our natural rejoinder is to then do the same.  Laughter is contagious.
·         O             Include a daily dose of optimism. A person who maintains a positive outlook believes that everything in life will work itself out for the best. These people deliver a presence of assurance, self-confidence and enthusiasm. Many unbelievers are natural optimists.  How much more important for a believer to live with faith...in God, themselves, and their circumstances.
·         P             Don’t forget an amount of prayer. Scripture tells us to pray without ceasing. This communication with the Holy Father doesn’t require long dissertations. After all He already knows our circumstances, and he doesn’t need information, but He enjoys hearing from us. Short sentences uttered throughout the day to the One who lives within our hearts will keep us in harmony with Him. In this day and time we send simple, even abbreviated text messages to stay in touch with loved ones. Of course we enjoy long conversations with friends and family, but even a short message is a treasure.
·         E              Never overlook a measure of enjoyment.  Enjoy your work, your hobby, your family, your meals, and even a good night’s sleep. Never feel guilty over the pleasure these things bring you. Look for pleasure in each day’s living.
 

Sunday, July 21, 2013

My former favorite hymn



O for a Thousand Tongues
Text: Charles Wesley Music Carl G. Lazer

1.  O for a thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemer's praise
The glories of my God and King,
The triumphs of His grace.

5.  My gracious Master and my God,
Assist me to proclaim,
To spread thro' all the earth abroad,
the honors of Thy name.

This hymn once belonged among my favorites.

That was until my cousin who was more of a brother to me developed oral cancer and underwent surgery.

This dear man and I were born three weeks apart and lived in the same house for the first six years of our lives. After his loss, no longer able to speak, he wrote notes to convey messages.  Sometimes he phoned and pressed buttons. He communicated in the only way possible for him in real time—I wish he had learned email. I never knew what he tried to say when he called, but the obvious message through these tonal sounds conveyed his love for me.

His wife came home one day to find a bucket of fried chicken on the kitchen table.  “Where did this come from?”  He responded to her question with a scribble on a notepad. "I bought it. I wanted to smell it." Liquid poured into a feeding tube doesn’t produce the desired results of an actual meal.

He died with grace and dignity.  I know he now speaks in heaven and praises our King. He also enjoys his preferred nourishment up there.

Several years later, my blood brother sibling died with the identical scenario. In chapter twenty-one of my book, Sarah: Laney’s Angel, you will read where two men sit in heaven devouring favorite foods.  One loves brisket and fried chicken. The other man invites the angel lieutenant to sample the pork chops and banana pudding. When I wrote that chapter, I pictured my two brothers healthy and whole as they sat together eating and enjoying what they couldn’t down here. The chapter uplifts the spirit because heaven conquers disease, despair, and it is a wondrous place. Our loved ones wait expectantly for us there.

Most of us are on this planet are fortunate. We can eat, talk, and sing.  We can use our mouthpiece to speak positive admonitions or negative, cruel ones.  We make that choice every day.

When I hear or must sing the hymn O For a Thousand Tongues, I'm reminded of how little we use our language skills to convey love and praises to our God and to each other.  Charles Wesley wanted a thousand tongues to do just that.

With gratitude, let’s use our vocal structures to praise our great Redeemer in the here and now. Let us use our language apparatuses to speak kindness to one another.

 

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Contratulations to Mary Manners!

Congratulations to Mary Manners! Her book Wisdom Tree won first Place in the 2013 Inspirational Reader's Choice Awards. Mary is a member of the Faith Hope and Love chapter of RWA and is listed among the top 100 authors on Amazon. We are proud of you, Mary!



A Note from Mary....
Happy dancing here in East Tennessee! I am thrilled to share that I just received 'The Call' from Nancy Farrier of the Faith, Hope and Love Chapter of RWA and WISDOM TREE has won 1st Place in the 2013 Inspirational Reader's Choice Awards! Wow...feeling so blessed.
Mary Manners, author

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Thank You!

To all of you who went to the ENT site and "liked" my book, thank you.  This was happy results this morning for  SARAH: A MISSION OF LOVE


http://ereadernewstoday.com/more-kindle-deals-for-7-15-13/6731832/

July 16, 2013 Mission of Love

·         Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #636 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)




 

Monday, July 15, 2013

Gay N. Lewis: Question God?

Gay N. Lewis: Question God?: Is it okay to question God? In our Bible study class, we finished the book of Job. I was not looking forward to the survey and I conf...

Question God?


Is it okay to question God?

In our Bible study class, we finished the book of Job. I was not looking forward to the survey and I confess that I’m happy it is over.  Having said that, let me hasten to say that the eight weeks we spent exploring Job’s pitiful existence gave me new insights—too many to share on this little blog post.

God allowed Job to suffer and never gave him an explanation for it.  Job wanted one and probably deserved one, but God withheld the answers.

Now here’s something important:  God allowed the questions.

The Almighty did not obliterate Job because he made requests and had doubts.

On a recent trip, we drove through Moore, Oklahoma.  In a matter of minutes, a tornado took lives and left devastation.  During past days, wild fires rage through our western states—taking homes and beings as the inferno consumes everything in its path.

Do these victims of sudden wreckage have questions?  Sure they do.  Do they have doubts? Countless—to be certain. Are some angry? Yes, probably so—and with good reason. Does God understand?  ABSOLUTELY!

One thing we know for certain. God allows misery, and although we may never fully understand why He does, several ideas come to mind.

Our miserable periods give Him an opportunity to reveal Himself to us. God gets involved with our turmoil. Suffering is His specialty. Remember the cross?

We learn from our distress and can use it to comfort others.

Without a doubt we know that we can’t trust ourselves during horrible situations beyond our control, and that we must trust Him.

As with Job, we can respond in a similar fashion.  Notice what Job said.

“Though He slay me, I will trust Him.” Job 13:15.

Ask God why. It’s okay. He welcomes questions and doubts.  He may not give the answers in this life—or even in the one to come—but He understands and cares about our pain.

Monday, July 8, 2013

Gay N. Lewis: It's Officially Over.

Gay N. Lewis: It's Officially Over.:   July 4, 2013 is history. America honored her birthday four days ago—a nation born from a declaration of independence from the...

It's Officially Over.


 

July 4, 2013 is history.


America honored her birthday four days ago—a nation born from a declaration of independence from the rule of another country.  How many of us paused during our fireworks, parades, and cookouts to remember the reason for the celebration? 

My husband preached on liberty yesterday. The sermon taken from John 8:36 urged us to value our freedom in Christ.  “If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”

Reminding the listeners of America’s anniversary, he said, “If we’ve never been enslaved, we can’t truly know and appreciate freedom.”  In one illustration, he told about a man who came to America on a slave ship and later achieved liberation.  This man understood what it meant to be literally chained, hungry, and thirsty. This man understood firsthand the meaning of emancipation.

A ninety-one year old man attends our congregation. During WWII, Germany imprisoned him in a POW camp.  He arrived at the site with injuries from two gunshot wounds.  Medical personnel cared for his injuries and then confined him. He soon learned about chains, hunger, thirst, and harsh elements from a foreign power.

After the sermon, he said, “If we had lost the war, I don’t know where I would have ended up.  Would I have been eventually released into Germany and forced to become German?”  He thanks God for America’s sovereignty. This man truly understands liberty because he temporarily lost his.

Free in Christ means sins are forgiven and eternity promised in heaven.  Once we have freedom in Christ, it is forever ours and will never be taken from us.

Where do we stand with our desire for freedom in America? Are we willing to give it up—to someone within our country or to a foreign power?

A Few Quotes

Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed - else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die.  ~Dwight D. Eisenhower

 Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide.  ~Napoleon Bonaparte
 
Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.  ~Abraham Lincoln

 Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.  ~Thomas Paine

 Men fight for freedom, then they begin to accumulate laws to take it away from themselves.  ~Author Unknown

 They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.  ~Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759

I prefer liberty with danger to peace with slavery.  ~Author Unknown

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Gay N. Lewis: Sales sell books

Gay N. Lewis: Sales sell books: Sarah: A Mission of Love is back up in the top Amazon seller's rank.  She's been there several times, and for that, I'm b...

Sales sell books




Sarah: A Mission of Love is back up in the top Amazon seller's rank.  She's been there several times, and for that, I'm blessed.  Amazon dropped the Kindle price to 99 cents yesterday.  Sales sells merchandise, including books.  Who can resist a sale?

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Jacqueline Hopper: 99 CENT DEAL ALERT

Jacqueline Hopper: 99 CENT DEAL ALERT: Sarah: A Mission of Love  [Kindle Edition] Gay N. Lewis   (Author) 4.9 out of 5 stars     See all reviews   ( 17 customer reviews ) ...

Jacqueline Hopper: 99 CENT DEAL ALERT

Jacqueline Hopper: 99 CENT DEAL ALERT: Sarah: A Mission of Love  [Kindle Edition] Gay N. Lewis   (Author) 4.9 out of 5 stars     See all reviews   ( 17 customer reviews ) ...

Magazine Article

A nice article from the Katy & Fulshear Lifestyles & Home Magazine.  The Fulshear Living Magazine also featured me this month.  I'm blessed!

Photo: My mom appeared in the Katy & Fulshear Lifestyles & Home Magazine today as well as the Fulshear Living Magazine!!  SO COOL!!!  Please check out the both articles and you can purchase her new book, Sarah: Laney's Angel on Amazon.com!!!  WAY TO GO MOM!!!!!

PBG Insider: Gay N. Lewis Introduces her "Sarah" series

Sarah at Christmas