Journey Thoughts is Now Part of the Bible Gateway Blogger Grid (BG2)

Posted on January 10, 2017 by Lynn

bg-blogger-badge-500x500-e1387301563797Can I get a big Whoo Hooo???  Maybe a little Happy Dance will suffice, but I am thrilled that today I was invited to be a part of the Bible Gateway Blogger Grid (BG2)! 

For this small-town, Canadian Gal, this is a big deal.  For those of you who are not familiar with Bible Gateway, it’s the most visited Christian website in the world, with 150 million views per month, 885,000+ Facebook fans, 394,000 Google+ followers, and 110,000+ Twitter followers. The Bible Gateway Blog registers 500,000+ views per month. Founded in 1993, Bible Gateway is the original multilingual online Bible resource. It empowers global users to freely read, hear, search, study, compare, and share the Bible in 200+ versions and 70+ languages, using their desktops, laptops, tablets, ereaders, or smartphones. 

It will come as no surprise, that my #1 online resource is BibleGateway.com so I can hear, search, study, compare and ultimately share the Bible with my Journey Thoughts readers.  You will note that over the next few weeks, I will be going through my past blog postings and ensure my scripture verses are linked with BibleGateway.com .  As I have said, time and again in my blog postings, it is imperative that my readers not just read individual verses, but read the verses in context!  Linking to BibleGateway.com , will allow you to do just that!

Since 2009, I have been writing my little musings on Journey Thoughts.  Originally it was to promote my books and build my author platform, but God had a different purpose in mind.  It has since grown to be a ministry I never imagined.  With over 9 million hits and followers from around the world, I am humbled by its outreach.  Truly this in itself shows that God is able to do immeasurably more than all we could ever ask or imagine according to His power that is at work within us!  (Ephesians 3:20)  I give all the Glory to Him Who is able!

Readers, you have the opportunity too in seeing that the Word of God is spread world-wide.  I am asking that if you “like” what you read on Journey Thoughts that you will freely “like” “follow” AND “share” it on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.)  I thank-you in advance for partnering with me in this way!  Join my Facebook page(s): Lynn Dove -author page; Encouraging Bible Verses and Quotes; and Word Salt.  I would also appreciate you following me on Twitter @LynnIDove .  I also want to ensure that you check out BibleGateway.com and follow Bible Gateway on social networks as well.

Lastly, I covet the prayers of the faithful.  I know that the enemy prowls around like a roaring lion waiting to devour. (1 Peter 5:8)  I feel a burden to speak (write) the Truth in love and that can lead to spiritual attack and discouragement from the enemy who always wants to thwart the plans of Bible-believing Christians.  The many bloggers on the Bible Gateway Blogger Grid (BG2) need your ongoing prayers. I am also so thankful to be a member of the InScribe Writers here in Canada. Just this past week, (Jan. 7) I received an email from Connie Inglis (InScribe’s Spiritual Advisor) saying that she prayed Isaiah 43:16-21 for me.

In light of the events of this past week, I can’t help but feel even more blessed and encouraged by her prayers and these words from Scripture.

“This is what the Lord says— he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:  “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.”  (Isaiah 43:16-21)

To God Be the Glory, Great Things He Hath Done!

Posted in Proverbs 16:9 - Journey Thoughts | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Vilification and the Golden Globes

Posted on January 9, 2017 by Lynn

l_f8cefcb0-7450-11e1-99ef-6f1e72500004I will admit it right out…I get star struck at times.  Being a writer, I have often wondered about having my Wounded Trilogy made into a movie and what “star(s)” would take on the character roles.  I can’t imagine what it must feel like to have your written work immortalized on the small and big screen but for this small-town Canadian girl, it would be a dream come true.  That said, there is so much about Hollywood that glitters like gold, and so much more that is rusty and tarnished.

The entertainment industry seems to go out of its way to shock and glorify lifestyles and despicable morality that flies in the face of Biblical Christianity.  Hollywood models the kind of “Christianity” that espouses that there are hundreds of different ways to God, that it’s okay to walk the wide path and to forget the scripture that says the narrow path is the better way and that Jesus is the ONLY Way, Truth and Life.  That’s the modern feel-good, “Christianity”, where everything is acceptable because God loves everybody and as long as you’re not hurting anybody else you can do as you please without fear of judgment.  That’s Hollywood’s Christianity…and they’ve got it wrong.

That kind of secular, worldly, tolerant “Christianity” is not Biblical Christianity.  It’s false teaching.  It may appeal to a wide audience because people are not held accountable for their sin.  There is no repentance, sanctification, or justification.  People wallow in their sin, are even applauded for their “courage”, and any one who tries to tell them their way is NOT God’s way, is labeled bigoted, intolerant and mostly ignored or openly vilified.

I have noticed that in this secular society we now live in, a society that prides itself on freedom of speech, press, and religion, that one is only “free” if they do not attempt to say anything that goes contrary to the popular way of thinking.  There is an anti-Christian sentiment running rampant in our world today but perhaps more prevalent now than at any other time in history right here in Canada and the U.S.A.  Although Canadian and American Christians may not be physically tortured or persecuted per se, listen to a Middle Eastern underground house church leader: “Persecution is easier to understand when it’s physical: torture, death, imprisonment….American persecution is like an advanced stage of cancer; it eats away at you, yet you cannot feel it. This is the worst kind of persecution.”

Bible-believing Christians are attacked online, in the Press, in schools, colleges and yes, even in Hollywood.  We are bullied, harassed and ridiculed by the so-called tolerant masses.  We do not have “freedom” to speak what the Bible clearly teaches as Truth because it goes contrary to what people want to hear.  This is a society that has been turned on its side, abandoning what’s right in favour of what’s clearly wrong.  In nations that once professed to be God-fearing, Canada and the U.S. have turned their backs on Christian ideals.

We are legalizing sin.

Let’s call it what it is!  We are allowing people to murder their babies, euthanize their sick loved ones all in the name of “freedom”.  We are abandoning traditional marriage and family values in favour of alternative lifestyles.  It’s okay to foster multiculturalism and ethnic diversity in our schools but then openly taunt and jeer students who bring a Bible into a classroom.  There is no clear differentiation now between the male and female genders and that’s totally acceptable.  We’ve become so “free” that rules no longer apply and we are sinking lower and lower into our base depravity that the wicked prosper and the “good” are bullied into silence.  There are no absolute truths and we are seeing suicide rates rise, crime rates rise and our children are leaving the church in droves because they are confused by the messages they see showcased in Hollywood.  They are sucked into believing the lies spread by the secular society around them because we are failing as Bible-believing Christians to boldly teach them the Truth of the Gospel.

Finally, seeing the woes of this world get worse rather than better because of our out-of-control liberalism, we as nations, divided under God, desperately cry out to be saved from the ills around us but refuse to listen to the only One Who can truly save us if we heed the warnings from His Word.

We wonder why the Voice from Heaven is silent.

Jesus said it best: “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.  (Mark 6: 4-6)

He was amazed at their lack of faith…  He could say the same thing of us today.

Hollywood mirrors the hearts and minds of society around it.  The Oscars and Golden Globes award shows showcase the sense of fear this industry of imagination is dealing with.  America, (and Canada) are under attack from the enemy without and within as the two nations deal with their lack of faith.  We have no faith in our politicians, in the economy, in our military, police and any others in authority and, it is obvious we have no faith in any kind of god.  In a room filled with dreamers, revolutionaries, pro-active thinkers and activists, they think their liberal ideals will change the world for the better.  All the tinsel and glitter and haute couture fashion cannot mask the fact they will one day be judged by God for their deeds.   Not one of them seem to acknowledge that much of their doom and gloom is due to their lack of faith.  Faith and Fear cannot co-exist.  You either have one or the other.

If they had any kind of faith they would know God is in control and they would not be fearful of the future.  Faith shows us that God has not abandoned His children, no matter how wayward they have become.  The Lord says, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’ (Jeremiah 33:3) He calls for us to repent of our sins, seek Him with all our hearts, and He will save us if we have faith in HIM!  Faith drives out the fear.  I pray Hollywood gets that message loud and clear…

Can you imagine the amazing T.V. shows and movies that would come out of a faith-filled Hollywood?

Can I get an AMEN?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in Proverbs 16:9 - Journey Thoughts | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Happy New Year, and Welcome to 2017!

Posted on January 5, 2017 by Lynn

1-thess-5-18We’ve been buried under snow and experiencing bitter cold temperatures for the past week.  Still, once Christmas is over and New Year’s Eve’s come and gone, I immediately go into a looking-forward-to-Spring mode.  I took down the tree on the 2nd and put away all the decorations for another year, and I always feel like the house looks so much more open and refreshing afterwards.  Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Christmas and decking the halls and all, but it’s nice to go back to normal.  I let my Feng Shui OCD take hold of me as I put my house in order again.

Lucy Maude Montgomery in her classic, Anne of Green Gables book said, ““Isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?”  There is a sense of expectation each New Year that we’re starting the year fresh with no mistakes to account for…yet.  My most popular blog post over the past three years has been https://lynndove.com/2013/01/01/25-encouraging-scripture-verses-for-the-new-year/ that particular post gets at least 25,000 hits in one day!  Just seems that so many people want to start the New Year off right with encouragement from the Word.

I have been pondering upon each of those verses over the past few days, letting God’s Word wash over me.  So many unknowns this year, but God never changes.  He is the same today, tomorrow and for eternity.  His mercies are new EVERY morning.  We are incredibly arrogant to think that we can change what God has allowed to happen in the past, present and into the future.  He is not surprised by world events, or world leaders; He tells us HE is in control and He will always be in control!  The challenge is to be content, knowing He is in control in the midst of all circumstances.

But am I?

Am I content when the New Year has Albertans seeing gas prices jump at the pump, and home heating bills rise, and numerous other costs we need to consider now that we have a new carbon tax in the province?  Am I content knowing that Canada will also be affected when a new U.S. president is inaugurated?  Am I content or am I worried?

Merriam-Webster defines contentment as: freedom from worry or restlessness :  peaceful satisfaction.  If I believe God is in control do I actually experience that kind of “freedom” from worry and luxuriate in peaceful satisfaction?  Honestly…it’s tough.

Still, God is teaching me through His Word and through practical application that I need to let go of worry and try to experience contentment in all circumstances – known and unknown.

Last Sunday morning, on the first day of this New Year, I was privileged to witness one of my former students get baptized.  I wept when she sang her own version of “Amazing Grace” because she has embraced what it means to be content no matter her circumstances.  Not an easy thing to do when only five years ago she was a carefree, girl of nine and now she is blind and mostly confined to a wheelchair due to a traumatic brain injury five years ago.

I didn’t really know much about Hope Peacock before her injury other than maybe bumping into her at the school I taught in.  At that time I was teaching in the Junior High wing and she and her sister were in the Elementary wing.  Her father, Trevor is the Pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel Calgary where my daughter and son-in-law attend.  The first time I officially met Hope was at my grandson’s baby shower.  She and her little sister, Gabi cuddled a little with my grandson and then retreated to play with the other girls who had come with their mothers’ to the shower.  Several months later, I got an urgent message from my daughter to pray for her Pastor and his family when Hope had gone into the hospital for a routine tonsillectomy and through a series of unfortunate complications was having serious, life-threatening seizures.  (If interested, my readers can read about Hope’s journey through her blog: http://prayingforhopepeacock.blogspot.ca/ )

I immediately put out an appeal to pray for her and her family through our church’s prayer chain and later through my blog: https://lynndove.com/2012/02/08/praying-for-hope/  We were praying at school, at church, at home, and Hope’s mom, Heather kept us all updated on Hope’s condition.  There have been real miracles throughout these five years, and doctors have been baffled at times with her progress, but there have also been heart-wrenching discouragements too.  Many times I have questioned why God has not chosen to fully restore Hope to full health, but I know He is still in control!

Three years ago, in the midst of her medical challenges, Hope opted to join my Creative Writing class at school.  I wondered if her brain injury would impact her ability to perform well in class.  I need not have feared.  With the help of her terrific aid, who transcribed all of Hope’s stories and poems onto a computer, Hope became one of my most prolific and inspiring writers.  She seemed to find her voice through writing!  Every writing assignment I gave the class that year, Hope eagerly accepted and completed.  I told her that even though I would not be teaching her the following year, she could send me her writing any time.  Last year she shared this acrostic poem with me:

Wheelchair – by Hope Peacock

W – “Wanna go for a stroll, Hope?” says my wheelchair to me.

H – Happily Hope replies, “What would I do without you?!

E – Everywhere I go, you keep me company, my friend.

E – Eyeballs stare as we go past, maybe wondering how we met.

L – Living with you can be hard at times, cause I’d rather use my feet, but I like that you carry me through.

C – Comfortable sitting on your cushy seat carries me to a fluffy cloud of heavenly bliss.

H – Helping me everyday to get from here to there.

A – Able to get through my day, because you bear my weight.

I – I love you, my wheelchair friend, even though you bring me pain and grief.

R – Riding along, you will be a part of the story God is writing for me.”

I wept when I read it then and I still tear up when I read it!  She has learned in five short years, what has taken, and is still taking me a lifetime to figure out, to be content in all circumstances.

Last Sunday, as I watched her Dad gently lift her from the confines of her wheelchair to enter the waters of baptism, I remembered the last line of her poem.  God is writing Hope’s story, and He’s using her wheelchair and personal testimony for His Glory!  Amen and Amen.

 

 

 

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