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Book Spotlight - To Slay a Curse by Rae Graham

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Today I have a different kind of post than I normally write. A good friend of mine wrote and published her first book! She takes Biblical concepts and puts them into an adventure-filled story full of forgiveness and hope. Definitely worth the read!  I encourage you to check it out :) A parasitic monster. A timid young woman. A deadly inner world. Giselle is cursed. A monster lives within her, preying upon her mind. She sees no hope for her future when thoughts disappear as they form, and every small pleasure is met with a fit of pain. Then her closest friend offers her a single, harrowing chance at freedom. Terrified that failure is inevitable, but desperate for the life stolen from her, she sets out to slay her curse armed with a magical talisman. Now, the girl who can’t do anything right must defeat the beast within before her dreamsnare fills, or risk dying trapped in her own mind.  What Readers are Saying: “This book excels at feeling cozy, heartwarming, and altogether lovely! If y
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Do the Next Right Thing

What do we do when we are facing a tough situation?  What do we do when that relationship comes to an end? What do we do when a loved one dies? What do we when we don't get accepted into that school? What do we do when we aren't hired for that job? What do we do when we are told by our government to stay home due to a virus? About a month before this pandemic began, I watched Frozen 2 with my siblings.  I kinda had a hard time following the story line just because it was very fast moving, but the one song that really stood out to me was "The Next Right Thing" sung by Anna (Kristin Bell). I won't go into all the details in case you haven't seen it. I don't want to spoil anything. Basically, Anna is in mourning.  I've seen dark before, but not like this This is cold, this is empty, this is numb The life I knew is over, the lights are out Hello, darkness, I'm ready to succumb I follow you around, I always have But you
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The Battle Between the Poverty and Prosperity Gospels

My family and I have visited many churches over the years, so we have seen how several different denominations hold their services. Some of these churches have either been all for the prosperity gospel, or very much against it - that we should live as poor people like Jesus did.  In one particular church that we had been attending for quite some time, my family and I witnessed several situations that were very concerning to us. In the youth group, I remember everyone going around the room, saying what they were "believing" for. But the things they were believing for - every one of them was material possessions. When it got to my turn, I just kinda blurted out that I was believing for a piano. It was honestly the first thing I could think of at the moment, and I didn't want to look stupid in front of all these teens. Well, when you're afraid you're going to look stupid, oftentimes people pick up on that and decide to dig.  "Do you have a verse you
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Be Done with Idolatry

"You shall have no other gods before me." - Exodus 20:3  Whenever I read this scripture, I immediately dismiss it, thinking, "Got it. No problem with idolatry here." When I would read it, I would think of the gods in the Old Testament that people would worship. You know, like when the Hebrews worshipped the golden calf when Moses was trying to take them to the Promised Land? I used to think of idolatry as people who worshipped other fake gods instead of the one true God.  However, idolatry isn't just the worship of other gods, such as Buddha or Allah.   This is the definition of idolatry, according to Merriam-Webster:            1. the worship of a physical object as a god            2. immoderate attachment or devotion to something This means then, that anything we put before God, is an idol. Anything that we can't stop meditating on is an idol. The Bible makes it very clear that idolatry is a sin, not just in the Old Testament, but i
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I'm Right Here

I don't know what 2018 was like for you. Maybe it was a good year. Maybe it wasn't.  For me, 2018 was a sobering year. It started in May when I was driving in a city that I was not very familiar with. As I was driving toward a specific destination, I realized I missed a turn. I turned around in a parking lot, and started going back. The sun was shining in my eyes, and I failed to see the traffic light just up ahead. I saw a car on my right hand side and thought they were at a stop sign. As I kept going, my sister in the backseat yelled, "Red li-!" A car slammed into the rear passenger door of my car, glass shattered, and my sisters screamed. As I got out of the car, I opened the rear door for my sister to climb through. She was crying. The whole side of the door, the side that she had been sitting on, had been completely destroyed. But here she was, alive. My hands started shaking, and I started crying. This was the first time I ever had to call 911.  Tha
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Dear College Students: A Letter from a College Graduate

Dear College Students, I know you are probably stressed out with homework, tests, and papers (and probably wondering why you are reading this blog post in the first place when you have so much to do). But I know you are more than likely also thinking about your future. You may be thinking about your future career. You may be thinking about how to land the perfect job that fits your major. You may be dreaming that one day, you will make a name for yourself in your job. Because after all, college is all about receiving that education to get that high-end 9-5, right? It's all about what you do to make yourself successful...right? ....What if we have it all wrong? For the longest time, I thought I had to have the same job that was in my field. I was convinced that I couldn't do anything else with my life. I thought I would be in sin if I decided to go another path. But then I realized...what if God wanted me to go down another path? What if instead
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If We Want to Change the World, We Have to Change Ourselves

"I'm going to change the world someday," we say while sitting in our comfy recliners, eating a bag of Doritos, and binge-watching our new favorite series on Netflix. We read quotes from people like Mahatma Gandhi, "Be the change you want to see in the world." All we do is talk, listen, and watch. But what are we DOING? Nothing. We are wasting our time. We say, "Well, I don't have time to do this or that." But we make sure we make time to scroll on Facebook or update our Instagram's. We get so caught up in other peoples' lives that we rarely have time for our own. This is the biggest problem with social media. (But that is a whole other topic in and of itself.) You see, we weren't just made to simply survive life. We weren't created to watch what everyone else is doing. No, we were all created to thrive. We were created to bring glory to God. We were created to do good works through Christ. We were created to bring light 
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