I need to stop ‘promising’ I am going to blog more! I tend to not keep that promise very well. My heart’s in it, but a computer crash messed up my momentum, and then I just set it on the back burner again. But, here I am now, giving it a ‘go’ .....
What’s on your Kindle lately?? (or bookshelf, or smartphone, or nook, or ipad, or whatever!). In other words, what are your reading that is God-honoring, edifying, thought-provoking, encouraging, and life-changing??
I will be sharing, from time to time, the books I am currently enjoying on my Kindle. I love to read all kinds of books (but who has time to read alot these days?? I try to find time!). On my Kindle you will find categories - things like ‘encouragement’, or ‘counseling helps’, or ‘mentoring’, or ‘just for fun’. In the ‘encouragement’ category is a book I downloaded by Elyse Fitzpatrick called “Comforts From The Cross, Celebrating The Gospel One Day At A Time”. It is a devotional book, but really it is much deeper than that, and I found myself just reading through it instead of doing it one day at a time!
I appreciate Elyse’s work, not just because she is a renowned author and Biblical Counselor, but because she is so gospel-centered in her writing. It has challenged me to think biblically as a counselor for the past few years, and I can honestly say that her work has changed how I counsel.
Along with that, it has changed ME to focus my thinking on the gospel and how it applies to not just salvation, but all of life. It is my core belief as a Biblical Counselor, that the gospel is meant to be celebrated, appreciated, and APPLIED. In fact, in my new training program for “Biblical Mentors”, I am writing a Bible Study as Level One of the training, and in it we begin with Lesson One by looking at ‘how to apply the gospel’ to life’s struggles as we purpose to share a word of hope with others in our sphere of influence, in particular, other believers (the study is called “Life on Life, Applying the One Anothers of Scripture” (if you want to know more, check out my website by clicking on the link to the Word Of Hope Ministries website below these posts (you will see on that site a link to the mentoring program site).
Elyse has a way of writing that is relatable, and profound. She eloquently explains the gospel in detail throughout the daily readings, and applies it to areas of struggle that we all can relate to. She is not afraid of the tough questions or hard topics (today I read about how to apply the gospel when we are feeling angry with God, for example).
If you are a Christian woman (or man, really!), I’d encourage you to read this devotional book. As much as I like some of the other popular devotionals on the market today (such as Jesus Calling), this one far exceeds them all in depth of content, in my opinion.
Fill up your Kindle, and leave me a comment about what you are reading, too!!
Happy Reading!
Ellen
Romans 15:4 (New International Version, ©2011) "For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope".
