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Forever Beloved

Faith, Love & Truth

December 19, 2013

Forgiveness {Book Review}

Forgiveness
Overcoming the Impossible
By Matthew West

The book description:

Whether giving or receiving, forgiveness is the key toward true healing and blessing.

God says there are no limits to forgiveness toward others or ourselves. And when Matthew West set out on a journey asking people to share their true life stories, Renée shared about how she chose to forgive the drunk driver who hit and killed her daughter.

This remarkable story and others like it bring peace and healing to the one needing and the ones giving forgiveness. Fifty powerful stories share forgiveness through divorce, betrayal, addiction, abandonment, death, and more. Each story ties into the promises of God’s faithfulness and healing, and ends with the story of God’s ultimate forgiveness through the message of salvation.

If there is one thing i’m good at, it’s holding a grudge. Actually, I might even be considered a professional grudge holder. Forgiveness, no matter who it is directed to, is something that just doesn’t come easily to me. But over time I’ve learned a very important lesson, a lack of forgiveness hurts you more than it hurts the other person.  


This is such a beautiful book filled with stories of real people struggling with forgiveness. Forgiveness, either for them selves or for others. It’s a small book but don’t be deceived by it’s size. It’s packed with awesome stories of real people.  So many of these stories resonated with me and I found myself asking questions.  Am I really a forgiving person now? Are there people I need to forgive for the wrongs they’ve done to me?

Forgiveness will wake you up to reality. If you are struggling with forgiving others or yourself, then this book is for you, my friend. It will open your eyes and help you realize that it is not impossible to forgive the wrongs.


Forgiveness isn’t easy, not at all. But it’s what God has commanded us to do. One reason we resist forgiving is because we don’t really fully understand what forgiveness is or how it works. West points out that there is a difference between forgiveness and acceptance. It’s possible to forgive an abuser, for example, without accepting the abuse any further. Most of us (myself included) think that if we forgive our offenders, they are off the hook. Or if we forgive them it shows weakness on our part. Forgiveness means you can let go of the anger. It doesn’t mean you condone what they did or let them do it again. It’s an important distinction and one that people sometimes miss. Once you learn the way of forgiveness, you won’t have to spend all those hours turning over the past, replaying the wrongs someone has done you, holding on to the pain as though it were your best friend.
This book was provided to me free of charge by booksneeze.com in return for my honest review. The opinions i have expressed are my own.

Filed in: book review, Uncategorized • by Amy • 1 Comment

December 17, 2013

Five Little Words That Shaped My Life

Most men will proclaim each his own goodness, But who can find a faithful man? The righteous man walks in his integrity; His children are blessed after him. 
Proverbs 20:6-7

When I was a child, there were many days I worked alongside my dad. I was an only child so when he needed a helper, it was me. He taught me how to put shingles on a house, change my own oil and flat tires, sharpen mower blades, how to replace a universal joint or exhaust, how to mix bondo and braze.

During all my days of helping him, there were five little words he would always tell me.  Better than I could do.  Regardless of the job, how I did it, what my performance or attitude was his answer was always the same…that was better than I could do.  It was always accompanied by a pat on the back and a huge smile.  
There was so much power in those few spoken words.
From those words…I’ve always believed I could do anything.  I’ve always believed if a guy could do it, I could do it too.  I’ve never once doubted my ability to complete any task given me.  Those words shaped and molded me into the strong, confident woman I am today.
Don’t be afraid to praise your littles.  It’s not going to spoil them and it’s not manipulative.  The purpose of encouragement and praise is to increase positive behavior with the child’s knowledge.  Everybody responds well to praise, even adults. 

Words of encouragement are so so important to our littles. We see a perfect picture of an encouraging parent in Matthew 3:17, after Jesus is baptized, His Father makes it clear to all of us, just how He feels about His precious son. “And a voice from Heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love, with him I am well pleased.’”

I try to make a point to tell my children how precious they are to me, always.  Even if they make mistakes, I encourage them still. No matter how old my children are, from time to time I will just tell them, “There isn’t any other child in the world I’d rather have than you.”  My children usually smile and respond with a “love you mama”.

Take a moment today and publicly praise your child. Ask God to shine a light on areas your son or daughter could use some life-giving praise. Speak those words out loud and in front of the rest of the family. Then watch your child grow!

Filed in: Uncategorized • by Amy • Leave a Comment

December 15, 2013

Whispers of Hope {Book Review & Giveaway}

Whispers of Hope: 10 Weeks of Devotional Prayer
by Beth Moore
About the book:

Scripture tells us to pray without ceasing, but how in the world do we do that? In fact, how should we effectively pray to begin with? 

Best-selling author Beth Moore addresses these practical and pervasive matters in Whispers of Hope by walking readers through an easy to remember and apply method of prayer, coupled with seventy daily devotionals and followed by prompts to put this prayer method into practice. 

Indeed, Whispers of Hope teaches the manifestation process of powerful Word-saturated prayer in response to a daily Bible reading. In turn, you will better understand how devotional reading and prayer are central to a stronger relationship with God

Who in the world has a problem praying? Certainly not anyone I’ve met…Our Pastor doesn’t, my mama never did, no one ever did on the Waltons and even my littles don’t…so why did I? A question I’d asked myself a million times inside my head.  For some reason I felt guilty for asking for things for myself during prayer. I would gladly pray for everyone else but when it came to me, I just couldn’t do it.
Have you ever had a praying problem like I did?  Do you wish you had a deeper prayer life? Are you new to prayer or wish you felt you were better at it?  I know y’all, me too!  Then this is the book for you! This is a great devotional to help you build an active prayer life. If prayer is something you struggle with (and this is an area I think we all can grow in), this is a great book to work through.

Whether you’re a long-time Beth Moore fan or new to her work, you will really enjoy this book. Beth Moore is such a gifted writer and has such an amazing way with words. She presents ideas and stories from the Bible in a way that’s easy to read and that applies to everyday life. In this book, she explains the 6 different types of prayer are praise, repentance, acknowledgment, intercession, supplication and equipping in detail.  She discusses how each of these types of prayer work together for a deeper, more honest prayer life. There’s space each day for journaling and notes.

You can purchase the book HERE.  And now on to another exciting part…a GIVEAWAY!

Would you like the chance to own a copy of the Whispers Of Hope?  I am excited to offer one of my readers the opportunity to win this wonderful book!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I received a copy of this book to review and one to give away. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Filed in: book review, Uncategorized • by Amy • 1 Comment

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Wife & Mama • Iced coffee seeker & curator of chaos • Collector of words & magic • Obsessed with laughter & bright lipstick • Dreaming & homesteading in the hills of PA

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