Embrace the Process

by Alyssa Carmona

This week I heard a really awesome statement and it made me think a lot about the re-occurring issues in our lives. For instance, I continuously deal with patience.

Some people continuously deal with finances, weakness, emotions, temptation or something else. I’m sure like others, you’ve prayed and prayed for a breakthrough only to find yourself back at square one. Read more

Have a Little Faith

“Clear some space on your bookshelf for Mitch Albom’s, Have a Little Faith, the story of a faith journey that could become a classic. Those who were born into faith, have lost faith, or are still searching will all be engaged and challenged by this powerful story of “finding faith” in relationships with others and with something greater than ourselves. Never satisfied with easy answers or soft platitudes, Mitch explores some of life’s greatest mysteries and unanswered questions with great honesty, depth and self reflection. ”
–Jim Wallis, CEO and Founder of Sojourners and author of The Great Awakening

What if our beliefs were not what divided us, but what pulled us together?

In Have a Little Faith, Mitch Albom offers a beautifully written story of a remarkable eight-year journey between two worlds–two men, two faiths, two communities–that will inspire readers everywhere.

Albom’s first nonfiction book since Tuesdays with Morrie, Have a Little Faith begins with an unusual request: an eighty-two-year-old rabbi from Albom’s old hometown asks him to deliver his eulogy.

Feeling unworthy, Albom insists on understanding the man better, which throws him back into a world of faith he’d left years ago. Meanwhile, closer to his current home, Albom becomes involved with a Detroit pastor–a reformed drug dealer and convict–who preaches to the poor and homeless in a decaying church with a hole in its roof.

Moving between their worlds, Christian and Jewish, African-American and white, impoverished and well-to-do, Albom observes how these very different men employ faith similarly in fighting for survival: the older, suburban rabbi embracing it as death approaches; the younger, inner-city pastor relying on it to keep himself and his church afloat.

As America struggles with hard times and people turn more to their beliefs, Albom and the two men of God explore issues that perplex modern man: how to endure when difficult things happen; what heaven is; intermarriage; forgiveness; doubting God; and the importance of faith in trying times. Although the texts, prayers, and histories are different, Albom begins to recognize a striking unity between the two worlds–and indeed, between beliefs everywhere.

In the end, as the rabbi nears death and a harsh winter threatens the pastor’s wobbly church, Albom sadly fulfills the rabbi’s last request and writes the eulogy. And he finally understands what both men had been teaching all along: the profound comfort of believing in something bigger than yourself.

Have a Little Faith is a book about a life’s purpose; about losing belief and finding it again; about the divine spark inside us all. It is one man’s journey, but it is everyone’s story.

Ten percent of the profits from this book will go to charity, including The Hole In The Roof Foundation, which helps refurbish places of worship that aid the homeless.

About the Author

Mitch Albom is an author, playwright, journalist, and screenwriter who has written six books, including the international bestseller Tuesdays with Morrie, the bestselling memoir of all time. His first two novels, The Five People You Meet in Heaven and For One More Day, were instant number-one New York Times bestsellers. All three books were made into acclaimed TV films. Mitch oversees three charities in Detroit. He lives with his wife, Janine, in Michigan.

A Closer Walk to Action

by Casandra Morgan-Loyer

It’s funny how your life can change when you least expect it. In 2006, my husband and I went to Las Vegas to celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary. It was a wonderful weekend –candlelit dinners, shows and shopping.

On the last night of our trip, restless and unable to sleep, I turned on the television and landed on the documentary A Closer Walk. When I realized it was about AIDS, I changed the channel, not needing that kind of a bum out. Read more

Apple Pecan Stuffing

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1 large onion, chopped

1large Granny Smith apple, peeled, diced

2-1/2 cups chicken broth

1 package (16 ounces) cornbread stuffing mix

1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

3/4 teaspoon dried sage leaves, crumbled

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Melt butter in large saucepan. Add onion and celery; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add apple; cook 1 minute. Add broth, sage leaves, salt and pepper; bring to a simmer. Remove from heat; stir in stuffing mix and pecans.

2. If desired, loosely fill cavity of turkey with stuffing just before roasting. Place remaining stuffing in an ovenproof casserole dish. Cover and bake 45 minutes or until hot. (Or, stuffing may be baked at 375°F 30 minutes while turkey is standing.)

Note: Stuffing may be prepared up to 1 day before serving (store covered and refrigerated). Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before baking or stuffing turkey.

DIOS QUIERE USARTE A TI

Brendaliz Avilés

“Vino, pues, palabra de Jehová a mí, diciendo: Antes que te formase en el vientre te conocí, y antes que nacieses te santifiqué, te di por profeta a las naciones. Y yo dije: ¡Ah! ¡ah, Señor Jehová! He aquí, no sé hablar, porque soy niño. Y me dijo Jehová: No digas: Soy un niño; porque a todo lo que te envíe irás tú, y dirás todo lo que te mande. No temas delante de ellos, porque contigo estoy para librarte, dice Jehová”. (Jeremías 1:4-8) Read more

Stay Fit During Thanksgiving

by Laurette Willis, Director of PraiseMoves, LLC

“I am the bread of life” John 6:48

Those words really put Thanksgiving overindulgence into perspective don’t they? Perhaps the overindulgence we could enter into this Thanksgiving is filling up on the “bread of life” instead of the bread of this world. Read more

Grateful by the Glassful

Inspirational Ink: Insight for a Woman’s Life

by Tammi Ector Fisse

As Thanksgiving approaches, believers turn their hearts toward heaven and thank the Lord for His blessings and bounty. Those who don’t profess to have a personal relationship with Him still seem compelled to acknowledge His goodness during this time. The former know that every good and perfect gift comes from Him, and the latter seem to realize they have reason to be thankful and express gratitude, even if they don’t recognize to whom it is due. Read more

A New Song

by Karin Syren

O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth.
Psalm 96:1 (KJV)

This month, we celebrate Thanksgiving. But have we perhaps lost sight of what it means to celebrate in thanks. Thanksgiving, after all, is a celebration of praise. We seem to have lost sight of that amid the turkey and dressing, the pies and football and parades. Thanksgiving has of late become the first day of Christmas. And sadly we have lost the opportunity to engage in the celebration of praise. Is there anything of praise left in the day? And more importantly, do we even know anymore what constitutes real and honest daily praise. Read more

Rejoicing in the Moment

by Ann Stewart

This is the day the Lord has made. Let us be glad and rejoice therein. There is no moment like this one; no day like today. Carpe Diem, meaning Harvesting, or Gathering, the Day, has become a household phrase. It is interesting to note that the meaning is widely accepted to mean: Seize the Moment. And that is so true. Can you picture yourself picking strawberries, gently enfolding each one in your hand to check its ripeness, and delicately yet firmly picking it from its stem? Read more