The Birth of Morning

I stepped outside this morning onto the deck. Dark. The moon thumb-nailed to the east and I wondered. How have I missed the sunrises all year long? What's with that? So kicking away ankle-deep leaves, I made my way toward the pinnacle of the deck and sighed. I glanced at my watch. 6:50 a.m. and still no sunrise. Then just beyond the valley, a glimmer of light...no, it was mist. Morning mist. I took in a deep breath and waited. Seconds later the silver haze was trimmed in gold. I wondered. Is this what the streets of heaven look like?

Moments later, a splash of color. It was as thought God winked. I can remember standing atop one of the Blue Ridge Mountains and gazing to the east, anticipating the artistry of the morning and today waiting at the tip of the Smokey Mountains for the same thing. And as the sun bled into the night sky, I thought to myself....what it must be like to be in the middle?



I think today, God must have begun His painting with a specific idea, but as He worked He dipped His palm into the sun and smeared it with no rhyme or reason other than to play--experiment. I blinked and the soft yellows exploded in to brilliant. The morning sky-- on fire, blazing. And I knew at that moment...when I couldn't catch my breath for the beauty, that God had made it up to me. All those mornings when the sunrise was blanketed by the mist, "Today," He said, "Breath this in." And I did.

So this morning I have nothing more to say than I praise you for the beauty of the morning. For what is so simple yet so magnificent. Something that most are often too lazy to admire, I wait with grand anticipation to see. There is nothing more awesome Lord, than the birth of morning.




This morning I cannot ask for anything. I can only offer you the praise of your talents and thank you...for the opportunity to see Your hand at work. I lift my hands to You, my heart singing glory, glory...for the SON (sun) has risen.





photos; Cindy Sproles 11/09

Faith & FINANCES: In God We Trust
A Journey to Financial Dependence

Jesus spoke about money and material possessions more than he talked about heaven, hell, or prayer. He noted the relationship between a man's heart and his wallet, warning, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be." This contemporary retelling of the Rich Young Ruler brings a fresh look at the relationship between a person's faith and their finances.

Within the pages of Faith & FINANCES: In God We Trust you'll find spiritual insight and practical advice from Christy award winning writer Ann Tatlock, plus best selling authors, Loree Lough, Yvonne Lehman, Ginny Smith, Irene Brand, DiAnn Mills, Miralee Ferrell, and Shelby Rawson.

Faith & FINANCES: In God We Trust, A Journey to Financial Dependence - turning the hearts of a nation back toward God one paycheck at a time.

Publisher: Lighthouse Publishing
ISBN: 978-0-9822065-4-6
$7.95 (special pre-order price)

Kathi Macias

Listen to Farrels

Doug Varrieur

From the Heart readers I am thrilled to introduce you all to Doug Varrier. As a personal testimony of the effectiveness of his program, I went down three jean sizes (12 (almost a 14) to a large 6) in just three months. The renewed energy I feel and the continual thanks I receive from my knees tell me this is my new life program. I received Doug’s book and shortly after, sat one evening and read it all the way through. I knew it immediately was a book that the average reader would find refreshing. His book reads like a great novel and the recipes it contains are simple to prepare yet hugely satisfying. When my Dad, who is a diabetic read Doug’s book, he said. ‘Kitten (yes my Dad calls me his kitten) this book should be in all the schools across this nation’. I am thinking my Dad is a prophet.

Doug, tell our readers a bit about yourself and your soon to be published book.
Doug Varrieur, author and businessman. Doug’s personal credo; “help all around you and all will be well” A devoted family man, Doug has been blessed with three great kids, a wonderful grand son and his loving wife Sherri.

FAT TO SKINNY Fast and Easy! is helping people all over the world lose weight, balance blood sugar and reverse type two diabetes. FAT TO SKINNY became a success story in short order and was quickly picked up by Sterling Publishing Company, NY, NY

When does your title hit the book stores?

The book will be featured in the Barnes and Nobles “New Year New You” program in January 2010 with great expectations. It will also be available in all book stores and book seller web sites.

How did you research for this book? Where do you get your inspiration?
I was sick of being a fat guy; nothing I did seemed to work. It was time to get control of it so I devoted all my time to finding the answers and developed my own program.

What are you hoping your writing to accomplish?

I would like to cure obesity and type two diabetes in every human being in need that I can reach worldwide. I have the answers and I won’t rest until I’ve made a major dent in the problem.

How are you using state-of-the-art technology in your everyday writing life?
I like the social networks, Face Book, My Space, You Tube. These give me the opportunity to talk to many people who need my help. Computers have taken the place of the trusted Underwood and open all doors for each of us. The world is a VERY small place with the internet.

Is there an area in your writing that you are working on developing more?
I can now use three fingers when I type, I’m shooting for four

Have you had to overcome any obstacles in your writing journey?
The FAT TO SKINNY manuscript was rejected by 56 agents and publishers over a period of 90 days. As all of you know, that’s very disheartening. I self published because I thought they were all idiots for not seeing the magic of the book….then came Diana

What is the most important thing on your current ‘To Do ‘ list?
Finishing this interview… no just kidding. The FAT TO SKINNY Low Sugar Low Carb Cookbook (350 pages) The FAT TO SKINNY Low Sugar Low Carb Product Guide (175 pages) and The FAT TO SKINNY Sugar and Carb Counter (115 pages) are all within sight of finalization, it’s been a busy summer.

What has been the hardest part of writing your book?
That finger thing again, just keep on pecking away.

What do you hope people will take away from reading your book?
I hope people see the simplicity of weight loss and good health. I hope people find their answers to a longer and healthier life by following my lead.

What new projects are you working on?
FAT TO SKINNY Low Sugar Low Carb Cookbook
FAT TO SKINNY Low Sugar Low Carb Product Guide
FAT TO SKINNY Sugar and Carb Counter
Marketing programs for FAT TO SKINNY Fast and Easy!
A Televised Celebrity Cooking Show

Where can people find out more about you and your writing? The programs and
speaking that you do?
http://www.fattoskinny.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/FATtoSKINNYguru
http://www.varrieur.com/
Facebook and My Space, search- Doug Varrieur

To contact Doug directly DougVarrieur@FATtoSKINNY.com

Perseverance: True Voices of Cancer Survivors

It’s always been said that children are resilient. Their simplistic and positive look at life lifts them above the norm, helping them achieve what the average person could not fathom. Perseverance and determination line the fiber of the young adults whose stories drill into the hearts and latch hold of the very soul of the reader. Carolyn Rubenstein has taken the stories of young cancer survivors and dug deep into the heart and mind of their desire to overcome. In this passionate and compelling book, PERSEVERANCE, the reader will learn to define the boundaries of the impossible and then soar above it. The voices and individual stories will change your heart.

This is a MUST READ for anyone dealing with the hardships of disease. More so, it's a better read for those who have never suffered the pain or loss of a friend or loved one to cancer. Your heart will be moved and your compassion ignited as you read the stories of young cancer survivors and how they pushed themselves to persevere and succeed.

Click on the book to purchase.

Spirit and HEART: A Devotional Journey

We encourage our readers to support Christian writers and literature by purchasing books written by our authors. There is good, wholesome reading in the Christian market. Check out your local Christian Book Stores. Spirit & HEART: A Devotional Journey from the authors of Christian Devotions Created in the image of the Father, we carry His Spirit and Soul, His Spirit and Mind, His Spirit and Body and His Spirit and Heart. From the authors of Christian Devotions comes the first in a series of 30-day devotionals focusing on the image and attributes given to us by God. Within the pages of Spirit & HEART: A Devotional Journey are passage markers to guide you into a deeper, more intimate relationship with the Father. Included in this compilation are devotions by Eddie Jones and Cindy Sproles, plus, Christy award winner Ann Tatlock and best selling authors, Loree Lough, Yvonne Lehman, Ginny Smith, Irene Brand, Shelby Rawson, and Ariel Allison. Just in time for Spring! ISBN: 978-0-9822065-1-5 Retail: $9.95 SPECIAL pre-order price: $7.95 + $3 shipping Contact us at books@christiandevotions.us and give us your mailing address and the number of books you would like to order. We'll include an invoice with the shipment. You can also mail your order to: Christian Devotions, P. O. Box 6494, Kingsport, TN, 37663. And don't forget to encourage your friends and church to purchase a copy. Spread the word; advance the Good News of God's grace!

Dress to Bless -- Sue Payne

"Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience." Colossians 3:12

Lately, one of the important decisions I make daily is how many layers of clothing to wear in order to stay warm. I am not a cold weather person, so I take great care in dressing properly during these chilly winter months. Our thermostat is set at 65 degrees, so I have been known to wear a hood or winter hat inside the house to keep my body heat from escaping. These kinds of layers can become quite burdensome and time consuming. The time I spend getting dressed and then removing layers, not to mention doing the extra laundry it creates, takes a lot of extra effort and still some days I find myself chilled to the bone.

According to God’s Word, we’re also responsible for dressing ourselves with “moral excellence”, which is Webster’s definition of virtue. Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience are the wardrobe for the “chosen” who choose to put it on. These are layers we must decide to wear in order to share the warmth of Jesus.

Unlike the insulated attire we put on during the winter that holds the heat in, this virtuous line of clothing shares the warmth! And though there are more of them than layers of winter clothing, you’ll find when you wear these virtues, you can move about with ease, your heart and soul lifted with the joy and privilege of dressing like Christ.

Sharing this kind of warmth is never a waste of time, in fact, time management skills improve when you’re “dressed” appropriately. Others will notice your new look, too. You will be “dressed to bless” and they will be the recipients.

I have to admit, though, once you put these clothes of virtue on, it takes quite a bit of effort to keep them from coming off. That’s where the perfect accessory for your new outfit comes in! Colossians 3:14 says, "And over all these virtues, put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

Now, all you need to do is a little “soul searching” in your prayer closet. God has chosen the perfect attire for you to wear. Be a super model for Christ.

Sue Payne is a freelance writer whose articles have appeared in home schooling newsletters and church news bulletins. She is experienced in curriculum planning and design and uses her writing skills to encourage and teach others. Sue lives in Delaware, is married, and has two boys whom she home schooled for a total of fourteen years.

HE SAID, SHE SAID - Eddie Jones & Cindy Sproles

“…stand firm then,…with the breastplate of righteousness in place.” - Ephesians 6:14b

Listen to "Tents" Moments

What would you attempt to do if you knew you wouldn't fail?

A few years back I found myself sleeping in a state park near Newark, Delaware. Some months earlier I'd lost my job. Oh, I knew where it was. The job was hiding in a cubicle in Bangalore, India but I wasn't flying halfway around the world to bring it home. I couldn't afford the plane ticket, anyway. Couldn't afford a room at the Howard Johnson, either. So, that evening I set up my tent, unloaded my gear and then drove my twenty-year-old Toyota hatchback up the road to a writers conference. I had a dream and a manuscript and not much else.

Dreams are funny things. When you're not watching, they'll slip off and become real. Mine sat in the passenger seat staring out the window. I birth big dreams.

Before I left the house that morning I'd "prayed on" the breastplate of righteousness. I'd asked God to keep my thoughts pure and my dreams secure. Righteous thoughts are the lifeblood of Christians. What we think, we do and become. Lust long enough and you take what's not yours. Meditate on God's Word and your spirit aligns with His.

I have a heart full of dreams, some of them from God. God says He knows the plans He has for us. Plans for good not ill, plans for a future and hope. One of the dreams He placed in my heart is to write for Him.

The last night of the writers conference I returned to my campsite and found my tent in a heap and my sleeping bag soaked. The wind and rain had blown it down. I threw it all in the trunk, crawled behind the wheel and looked at the award certificate on the passenger seat.

"Come on, dream," I said. "We're checking into a hotel. God's given us an upgrade."

The award money for winning first place was more than enough to pay for a dry room, but none of it would have mattered if I hadn't put on the breastplate of righteousness each day and asked God to keep my dreams secure. The dreams, the heart of serving Him, are what drives us forward.

Jesus says where our treasure is our heart will be, too. Guard your heart. Purify your thoughts. Strap on the breastplate of righteousness and protect your dreams. Then march to the sound of His still small voice. Who knows how far He will take you.

Listen to Unprotected and Injured by Cindy Sproles>

“…stand firm then,…with the breastplate of righteousness in place.” - Ephesians 6:14b

I grabbed at my chest as the pain seared through my heart. I never knew anything could hurt so deeply. I thought I could press hard against my breastbone and the ache would stop but it didn’t. Instead, it resonated into an overwhelming throb. I lost my breath as I looked toward the ceiling, holding back the tears.

It wasn’t much of an anniversary—the day my ex-husband asked for a divorce. We’d enjoyed a nice dinner for our seventh anniversary and I thought, He wants to make a go of this. But I was wrong. He’d given me a sweet anniversary card and a pretty shirt, then slid a business card across the table with the name and address of an attorney.

It was over. Just like that.

The dreams of a long happy life with my husband and sons sailed out the front door of the Steak and Shake never to return. I wasn’t ready….wasn’t prepared, so when the spear was hurled, it struck center chest and sunk deep. The burred tip slipped into the flesh and tore away chunks when removed. I was unprotected and nearly down for the count.

As I crawled away, bleeding and wounded, the importance of being protected became reality. Policemen wear bullet-proof vests, firemen wear fire-retardant cover-alls. I had a breastplate. Why hadn’t I suited up? I’d walked into battle vulnerable.

I’d studied the armor of God as a child, but never absorbed its importance—never grasped the concept. So as an adult, I found myself prime prey for personal and spiritual attacks.

I wish I’d have understood then, what I know now. Had I have been armed with the armor of God, I could have protected myself. I could have laid claim to the promises Christ reiterated through the scripture. Took His victories and made them mine.

God’s armor doesn’t prevent our chaos. Bad things still happen to good people, but when we are clothed with His righteousness, protected by His breastplate, the spears cannot penetrate. We may stumble, but we do not fall.

God saved me that year. I geared up, bucked up, and stood up—this time fully protected. My life is amazing now. I’m surrounded by the love of a man who stands shoulder to shoulder with me when we’re faced with hardships.

Protect yourself with His righteousness. Wear His armor. The battle is not always easier but it’s certainly less deadly.

Eddie Jones and Cindy Sproles
are friends and co-founders of
ChristianDevotions.us. They
co-write the popular He Said, She Said
devotions and host BlogtalkRadio's
Christian Devotions Speak UP! along with
Marianne Jordan.

Devotionlist -- Pat Patterson

The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!" He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. Mt 8:25-27

"How long was she under?"

"Five minutes?" the teenager cried. "Maybe more, I don’t know!"

I scooped my patient out of the water and laid her on a dry portion of cement beside the pool. The pretty little pig-tailed girl with chubby cheeks and dimples looked to be about eight years old, and as cute as a button, but her lightly freckled face looked dull and colorless, her eyes as lifeless as a plastic baby doll’s.

"I only took my eye off of her for a minute," her sister exclaimed. "I’m so sorry! Is she going to be all right?"

"Quick," I said tearing open the plastic wrapper for an Ambu-bag. "Get the monitor." My partner grabbed the EKG monitor and removed the electrode cables. "Somebody start compressions." I placed the resuscitator unit over the patient’s mouth and gave the bag a squeeze. Her chest rose and fell. Water trickled from the corner of her mouth. One of the firefighters removed his helmet and knelt by my side. He placed his hands on her chest and started pushing against her breastbone with a verbal cadence of one, and two, and three…

"Folks," I heard my partner say, "please stand back. Give us room." He pulled the backing off of a sticky electrode pad and attached it to one of her legs. He repeated the process on each of her other limbs while the firefighter and I performed CPR. "Okay," he said turning on the unit. The EKG monitor beeped. A harsh, erratic, jumpy yellow line traced across the screen. "Let’s take a look." He placed a hand on the firefighter’s arm. "Hold compressions."

The firefighter stopped. I held my breath. The EKG line flattened out, hiccuped once, and then grew into a regular patern of uniform complexes. Oh, thank you, Jesus!

I gave our patient two more full ventilations and then watched in amazement as she opened her eyes and began to cough and choke. We rolled her onto her side, careful to protect her head and neck as the clear pool water drained from her mouth and nose. "Non-rebreather," I said reaching out and snapping my fingers. Someone placed a hissing oxygen mask into my hand. I placed it over her face and waited, speaking quietly to her and praying silently as I coaxed her back to life. "Come on," I said. "You can do it. Come on back to us, come back." And slowly but surely she did. She pinked up. Her eyes opened. And then as if waking from a nightmare and realizing it was all just a terrible dream she closed those innocent blues again and began to cry. I closed mine too, but I began to pray. "Thank you, Lord. Oh, thank you, Lord."

*

Lord, I’m struggling. I feel like I’m drowning down here. I can see the surface but I just can’t seem to get there. Help me! Give me your hand, Lord. Please save me!

Have you been there? Where the cares of this world make you feel like you’re about to drown? Well next time you find yourself in the midst of a raging tempest with the wind shrieking and waves crashing all around, remember you’re not alone. Jesus is right there with you.
"Save us," his Disciples cried. "We’re going to drown!"

And look what Jesus did. He woke from his sleep. He stood and boldly rebuked the storm. And the wind and waves subsided. And peace fell over the scene.

* * *

How Does God Work -- Cindy Sproles

I've often wondered how God really works. Let's face it. He's not always easily understood. You have to wonder what kind of God expects His follower's to trust in what they can't see. Better yet, accept His will when He seems so intangible.

Over the last 7 years I've grown to expect the unexpected from God. I never expected to be in the ministry (well, at least not after I divorced a minister). But when my writing career began it became my ministry. I spent so much time worrying that God would send me to Africa that I never looked at the possibilities that He would use the talents He built into my wiring.

So, how does God work? How do we know His will? Still questions that are hard to answer. But I can say without difficulty, that the day I laid my talents before Christ and said those infamous words....the words that we have such a hard time saying..."Use me," that my life turned around.

I've never held a job that was overtly exciting--they were fulfilling but not exciting, but when God blessed me with a ministry, I found excitement I never thought I'd know.

God works when we ask Him to step into the lead. Our desire is to be the head dog, but that's not what God wants. He can't and won't work in us when we insist on taking the lead, scarfing the credit and basking in the glory. It's not about us. It's about Him. My ministry partner and I talked extensively about the "comment" lines on the ministry site. We agreed wholeheartedly that the comments needed to go. The site was God centered not "us" centered. It certainly wasn't the popular choice of our writers but the site and the ministry belongs to Christ. We are simply the messengers. We took the comment line away and God blessed the ministry over and over.


And knowing His will -- well, that's even harder. I've learned that I can know His will by assessing the blessings He's given me. When I look over the successes, whether big or small, count the blessings and give credit for the joys, then I can clearly see His will. Knowing God's will is not always understanding the future, rather it's praying for His discernment and then following the path step by step. I look ahead one step and access the results of what I've done. If the results are good, have worked well then I trust that I am within His will.

I mess up. But God continues to lead me and love me. Go figure.

He drives the words that I place on the paper and with each letter I offer them fully to His service. He has filled me with a passion to write and though my personal goal is to be published my spiritual goal is to be His servant. I want to be a writer. I am a writer above all else. I write continually, whether successful by human standards or not, and He uses me to speak to the guy next door, or the lady in the next office.

How does God work? Wonderfully and amazingly. And He has chosen to work through me.