The Productive Second Hi my name is N.C.R. and I am here with a special series from the SunShining. The productive series. Today I will be talking about the productive second. When I first got the idea for this series I thought I would start it with talking about the hour. But I decided to start this series with talking about the second So what does a productive second look like? What can you even do with one second? We start things in one second that continue to other seconds. And it is seconds that make up minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, seasons, years, and lives. What does being productive look like? What does being productive look mean? I don't want to repeat myself in future blog posts. But this being the first one on productivity I should probably tell you what I think it is. Being productive looks like getting more accomplished than just the day to day activities. It looks like accomplishing what you were put on this Earth to do. Sometimes when I am talking about a certain topic I like to look and see how the dictionary defines it. According to the dictionary the word productive is an adjective. One of my favorite definitions from the dictionary is "achieving or producing a significant amount or result". To be productive requires you to accomplish more than just the day to day activities. (Will talk more about this when I talk about the productive day.) Also another thing I want to add here is that there would be no productivity. No purpose. No value. No meaning. And no reason. If there was no God. And because there would be no productivity without God, I think it is safe to assume that much of what it means to be productive comes from God. God has a plan for you. He put you on this earth for a reason. And like I said before and I will say again, being productive looks like accomplishing what you were put on this earth to do. Well that is probably enough today, I am just going to close with some... Questions to help you think: What would it look like if all our seconds were productive? Do you know what you were put on this earth to do? Do you know the one who gives meaning to productivity? And here is the lastest cemetery reflection: (Watch it to find out how it relates to this blog post)
0 Comments
A Cure for Contentment and Complaining Hi, my name is N.C.R., earlier this week I took a short prayer walk. It was a beautiful day, though it was a little cool and I didn't have a hoodie on. I could have chose to be uncontent and to complain. But… I started thinking about all the details in my surroundings. And in my thinking I realized that God made it all for me. He knew long before I did that I would take a walk at that exact time and in that exact place. Since my short prayer walk there have been other times in my week when I have thought the same thing. "God made this just for me." One time this week I was looking at a spectacular sunset. And well even though everyone else in the world could have looked at the same sunset. I got to see a view that no one else in the world got to see. Even if you were standing a few feet away from where I was standing the view would have been different, and if you were standing in the same place I was standing a few minutes later the view would have been different. One time this week I was walking through a light rain with a full milk pail in my hands. It was cool out, but I was still thanking God for making it just for me. If you know me, then you probably know that I do not like the cold or the rain. But just something about this time made all the difference. Maybe it was that fact that I was thinking about God thinking about me. And I was thinking about the fact that God made it for me. And I was thanking God for making everything for me. A bit about seeing God Also another thing I was thinking about this week was seeing God. I started out this week asking myself: "Where have you seen God today?" "Have you seen God today?" And ended the week asking myself: "Where can you see God now?" "What about now?" "And now?" "Where can you see God now?" God is after all everywhere, and if we believe that to be true we should be able to see him everywhere. And we should be able to see him all the time including right now. If you have not got your copy of my children's books about seeing God yet I encourage you to head over to www.sites.google.com/view/everywhere-i-look/home. Also within the next few weeks I am going to release a short film about seeing God. Well how did your week go? My week has been busy. But the busyness is not over yet. I still have to go to the cemetery yet today to record a new cemetery reflection. But by the time you are reading this I may have already gone to the cemetery, who knows I may be dead!!! Last week of may: Family Farm Life Lessons
Hi, it's me N.C.R. here again. How has your week, this last week of may, been? How have you used this week? How did you allow God to use you this week? How have you used this week for the glory of God? If you haven't noticed I have been busy this week producing godly resources and sharing a new blog post every day this week. Also earlier this week I created myself a Patreon account (www.patreon.com/nonresistant) where you can get early news and sneak peeks on different things I am working on. Next week I start work on a secret project that I will share more about on Patreon, so you may not hear as much from me on the Sunshining Blog. My biggest prayer for this summer is that it is a productive one. But what makes a summer productive? I have many projects that I am working on over the summer, and some big plans. But enough about that for now. I will keep you updated about different things I am working on over the summer, and I may write a blog post about what makes a summer or even a day a productive one. Today I just wanted to share some from my week. Monday - Written Monday Evening The week started off with a boom. It always seems to. My brother Sam was gone for the weekend. While he was away the goats got out of their pen. He was and is the main person in charge of the animals. So we waited till he got back to put them back in their pen. It sure was a fun struggle to put them back in their pen. I put so much effort into getting one goat into the pen. I wonder when have I ever put that much effort into sharing Christ with one person, and saving one person from hell? How much effort do you or have you put into saving one person? After I put one goat into the pen, I felt like I had done my job or good deed for life. But there were still other goats out. I wonder how often we do that as Christians? After we save one person do we feel like we have done enough? But how many of us can say that we have even saved one person? I know I can't think of anybody I saved. And I think once we start. For example let's say I did save someone. I do not think that I would want to stop saving people. Tuesday - Written Tuesday Evening Wow! Another fun and busy day here at the Renfore Farm(Did you know you can find our place on google maps by searching for either Renfore Christian Library or The SunShining Ministry) is nearly over. Woke up at around 6:00 a.m. Had morning devotions. Helped milk the cow. Ate breakfast. Helped with school a little. Did a few other various things. Had lunch. Published a new blog post. Updated a few headers on The SunShining. (If you are reading this on the sunshining blog you probably noticed.) Help with a few other various things. Had supper. Helped milk the cow. And now I am writing this. (Today was fairly similar to yesterday, except for the fact that yesterday I went to the cemetery and recorded another episode of cemetery reflections.) As I sit here at the end of the day and write this I am wondering what is a message that I got from this day that I should share. Earlier today I was thinking about how everyone needs to make a personal decision to love God. Growing up in a Christian home you might forget that you are somebody who loves God. But that is the question... Are you someone who loves God? When did you make the decision that you love God? A few years ago I wrote this book titled "Milking Devotional". Milking time is a great time to think. This evening I was thinking about all the variables and factors that affect and influence the result of our milking time. Our cow is a little wild, so it is quite a challenge to milk her. One unexpected sound or wrong move could frighten her and we could lose the milk. Makes me think about creation and how we were created and how we became what we are. There are just so many reasons it could not have happened by chance, and so much evidence that there is a creator. The evidence for God is overwhelming. And there are so many factors and variables that have made us what we are. If you ask me, I would say God is trying to make all of us masterpieces. I know our cow will be a good milk cow when we are done with her. Wacky Wednesday - Written Wednesday Evening Today was just one of those days. Today was not the most productive. Nor was it not a productive day. Me and my brothers and sisters recorded another episode of "My Sister Named Faith". Helped with a bit more planting and with milking. And listened to my brother Sam talk about how our place could be the perfect farm. Me and Sam have opposite ideas for this place. I think our place could be turned into an awesome retreat center. We both agree the place can't be both.That is the way it is with our life. We can't be both a Christian and not a Christian. We can't be both a lover of God and a lover of ourselves. Also another thing I was thinking about today, is that nowhere and never are we commanded to love God. Yes love God is the first of the 10 commandments. But you can't command love. Love is a choice. It is a personal choice we have to make. Do you love God? Do you love God today? Thoughtful Thursday - Written Thursday Afternoon The day is not over yet. But I just had some thoughts going through my head. So I thought I would sit down and write them out. Thursday is trash day. About an hour ago we got back from taking trash to the sunny valley dump. On our way there some of our trash blew out of the truck, so we had to turn around and pick it up. I am not purposely trying to get a lesson or a message from this. I just want to share some thoughts. Somehow trash trash builds up in our life. Don't ask me how. It just does. I don't want to say that it is necessary even though it is. But I know that no one likes living with trash in their lives. So I recommend and encourage everyone to examine their life about every week or so and remove what garbage you find. In case you didn't catch on. There was a point when I stopped talking about physical garbage and started talking about spiritual garbage. The garbage I am talking about includes but is not limited to: anger, unforgiveness, wrong altitudes, wrong thoughts, racism, and wrong words. Cleaning our life of this kind of garbage can be hard, but healing. Well I guess that is probably all for today. Friday Conclusion: Well as the week is coming to an end. I feel that this has been a productive week. It has been busy. And I am drained of energy. Really thankful that tommorow is the Sabbath. As I sit here writing this. I hope and pray for next week. I hope and pray that it will be a productive week. But I don't want it to be the same as this week. I don't want all my weeks to blur together. I want each of my weeks this summer to be unique and productive. Like I said I may not post as much on here all summer. Summer is a different time for me. Or I guess you could say I am entering a new time in my life. I feel like I just came out of a dry spell. And I am excited for what the future holds. I don't know if you followed the SunShining podcast. But I am discontinuing that for the summer with plans to continue it in the fall and winter. What makes a good leader? And is a good leader loved? Hi my name is N.C.R., and I am not a mom or a dad, but I am the oldest of nine children and I do have some leadership experience. But I am not going to answer those two questions fully. I ask them just to help you think. I am sure we all have some idea about what makes a good leader. I just want to share some of my thoughts. I think the answer to the second question is yes. Yes a good leader is loved. But does that mean that a good leader always makes decisions that everyone is happy with? No. A good leader will sometimes make decisions that make some people angry. What makes a good leader? 1. A good leader loves those that he leads. And he shows that love by spending time doing fun things with those he leads. 2. A good leader knows who the real leader is. Leadership is a God given responsibility. And because a good leader knows who's really in control he also knows who to look to for example, advice and encouragement. In case you didn't catch on to who is really in control. It is God. God is the one really in control. 3. A good leader acknowledges the fact that he makes mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes. Hopefully a good leader is not too proud to apologize. Stay tuned for one more blog post coming tommorow!
If you would like to write for the sunshining blog check this page For Writers. Today me and my brothers and sisters recorded our longest episode of "My Sister Named Faith". If you havn't already you might like to visit the website: sites.google.com/view/mysisternamedfaith/home If you noticed or read somewhere that I am publishing a new blog post each day this week.
Well this is the post for today! If you would like to write for the sunshining blog check out the page For Writers. What makes you think you are seeing God when you think you are seeing God? (How to know you are seeing God.) Hi, it's me N.C.R. here again with another SunShining inspiration. In my last blog post I talked about the past, present, and future of seeing God. My last post was also kind of a jumble of thoughts. In this blog post I will talk more about seeing God, and this post will also probably be a jumble of thoughts. Well let's get right to the point, the title of this blog post asks a good question. What makes you think you have seen God? How can we know for certain we have seen God? Either I am a terrible writer or this is the best thing I can write. But you will know. God is God. And there is something about Him that makes Him different from nothing. And you will know Him when you see Him. --------------- For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. Romans 1:20 NIV ------------ 1. We can know that we have seen God by looking around at what has been created. I am not a professional scientist. But I don't think it takes a professional to know that the world was created. ------ The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Psalms 19:1 ------- 2. We can know that we have seen God by looking at things that have been done. --------- This is the Lord's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes. Psalms 118:23 KJV ------------ 3. We can know that we have seen God if we have seen or tasted of His goodness. --------- O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. Psalms 34:8 KJV --------- For Childrens books about seeing God: sites.google.com/view/everywhere-i-look/home
Cemetery Reflections: Can I do this from the comfort of my home? Hi, it's me N.C.R. again here at the Hillview Cemetery with another "Cemetery Reflection". (I thought the message of today's Cemetery Reflection was so good I would write it down, and I am writing it down from the comfort of my home. By the way happy monday, how are you planning to use your week?) Last friday when I was at the cemetery it was raining. So I didn't get out of my vehicle, and I didn't record anything. But thoughts like I could just sit in my vehicle and record or I could record this at home were going through my head. I think too often we do the same thing with God. Sometimes serving God is easy(But I can't think of a single time when serving God is easy). Sometimes it may be raining out when God asks us to do something. I think the question we ask ourselves is: "Can I do this from the comfort of my home?" Or something similar to that. We try to see what we can get away with. We try to see what is the least we can do. Instead we should try to see what is the most we can do. We should be asking ourselves questions like: How far am I willing to go for God? How much am I willing to do for God? How committed am I to God? How much do I love God? Life is too short to live a half hearted life for God. I do not know who you are. Maybe you are someone who grew up in a christian home. I encourage you to examine your life. Because life is long enough to live a wholehearted life for God. For more visit: sites.google.com/view/cemeteryreflections/home
Should we fear God or have faith in God? There are many verses in the Bible about fearing God. ----------------------- "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction." - Proverbs 1:7 ------------------------- And there are many verses in the Bible about having faith in God. --------------------------------- "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God." - Ephesians 2:8 -------------------------- Should we fear God or have faith in God? I think maybe the correct answer is that we should fear God and we should have faith in God. But I find this verse interesting: "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." - 1 John 4:18 Fear in God is something that can disappear. But faith in God should never. If you liked this post about faith you might like to check out "My Sister Named Faith" for more info: sites.google.com/view/mysisternamedfaith/home
Hi it's me N.C.R. last week I started a show with my brothers and sisters about Faith. It is kind of an experiment. Below you can find the script for this weeks episode(First week to have a script). You can find out more about the show on the new site: sites.google.com/view/mysisternamedfaith. My Sister Named Faith: Abel and Enoch Hi, my name is Nonresistant and today I am here with my brothers and sisters. We have a cute sister named Faith. And together we are here with another episode of "My Sister Named Faith". I don't know if you caught the last episode where we talked about Cain and Abel. If you didn't that's ok, it wasn't very good anyway. Today we will be talking about Abel and Enoch. Who is ready to read their Bible? / Bible Reading Time Verses: Hebrews 11:4-6 Small Sermon Time With Nonresistant Oh thats me. Hi. Before I begin my sermon I just wanted to say a few unimportant things. This show is an experiment. And I am overwhelmed at the amount of viewers. Since last week I listened to one of the best sermons I have ever heard about faith, you can find a link to that sermon on a new site I created for our show. On the site you can find verses and quotes about faith. You can find a link to our website in the description. Now let me begin. I don't know if you guys caught on to this while you were reading. Abel had faith and he was killed, if he had no faith he would have lived longer. Enoch had faith and he lived, if he had no faith he would have died. I do not know who you are. Or how old you are. But I do know that God loves you very much. He has a unique plan for you. And I encourage you to have faith in God. "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord , “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11 NIV Have you ordered your copies of EveryWhere I Look Vol. 1 and 2?
Find out more at: sites.google.com/view/everywhere-i-look/home. Too much screen time? Hi, it's me N.C.R. I know many things have been written or said about too much screen time. I just thought I would add my two cents. First let's get started with some questions. Can you spend time with God and your phone at the same time? Can you spend time with your phone and show the love of God to your family at the same time? The answer to both of these questions is a loud No. For the first question. I know you can read devotional plans on your phone and can access the entire Bible on your phone. My favorite Bible app is YouVersion. But I also know that actually spending time with God while you are using your phone is just too hard. These last two weeks I have been having a morning devotion/quiet time with God every morning. The first week I did it without my phone in the room. This last week though I have been doing it with my phone in the room. And things well they just aren't the same. For one my phone is just too distracting. For another reason, one of my main reasons for having this time was to spend a little time with God before I look at my phone or spend any time with my phone. With my phone in the room, I usually spend a little time with my phone before I spend any time with God. That is the opposite of how it should be. And as Christians who are madly in love with God, spending time with our phones and showing the love of God to our family at the same time is practically impossible. I have heard of multitasking. And I am of the opinion that sometimes for certain things you can multitask. But using our phones and spending time with family is something that should never be done at the same time. If you are a writer like me then you need to make time to write and think. But when you are spending time with your family you should not allow work or screens to distract you. I have to admit this is a huge problem I struggle with. Together with God I am working on myself and I am trying to make time for my family. And I am trying to make time to write. And I am making time for God. It is really hard to make time for everything. But one of my favorite quotes I heard this past year was "If it matters to you, make time for it." Time is one of the greatest gifts and this summer I am challenging myself to use it wisely. - N.C.R. Want to write for the sunshining blog? For Writers.
intentional?
I am pretty sure you have heard this word before. Hi, it's me N.C.R. with some questions to help you think. Are you living intentionally? Are you using your time intentionally? Are you parenting intentionally? Are you using your money intentionally? Are you living an intentional life? I don't think I can't stress enough how important it is to live an intentional life. God gave us gifts like time and money. It is important that we use these gifts intentionally. Or we will end up wasting these gifts before we realize it. It is possible to intentionally waste these gifts, but I am talking about intentionally living a life that intentionally uses these God given gifts to bring glory to God. And yes I just use the word internationally three times in one sentence. Hi, my name is N.C.R. and I am so excited. My favourite season cometh and and its also my time to shine! Also lots of new things happening around here. I am working on a secret project that will share more about in July. Also yesterday I started a new podcast. Or more like brought and old podcast to a new level. "Cemetery Reflections" I started the idea last year recording a video at the cemetery each weekend after camp. Now I am continuing Cemetery Reflections this summer. I truned it into a podcast and plan to spend about an hour a week at the cemetery. Also besides just sharing about my podcast I will use this blog post to share a few podcast I listen to.
Podcasts I Listen to:I don't listen to many podcast, but I just wanted to share a few of my favorites. "Age of Minority" "Fight Hustle, End Hurry" "Fastened Like Nails" "The Official Average Boy Podcast" "The Bright Side With Brooke" "Closet Conversations" What is somthing good I know I should do today? What is somthing I can do today that will last longer than today? Do I love God today? How can my love for God be made visible to others around me today?
Hi, it's me N.C.R. with another SunShining inspiration. And today I want to talk about the past, presence, and future of seeing God. Before I get started I want to say that I am not a professional on the topic of seeing God. And I am not talking about the history of seeing God, though I may bring up a few history examples of how others have seen God. And I am not talking about the future of others seeing God, though I do encourage you to teach your children about seeing God. I am talking about you in this present moment. How have you seen God in your past? Or How has God shown himself to you in the past? And how can you see God working in your life right now? How do you see God working on you in the near future? I think there are three places you can see God. You can see him in the past, the present, and the future. Seeing him in your past involves looking back. Seeing him at work in your life right now and seeing him at work in your future may be the two hardest places to see God. Seeing God in your future involves praying to God about your future. If you ever get discouraged I encourage you to look and try to see ways God has shown himself in your past. Or maybe the past in general. I think seeing God along next to prayer is one of the things our enemy Satan hates the most. What makes you think you are seeing God when you think you are seeing God? Like when you are talking to God, when you see God you need to be absolutely certain that you are seeing God. Do you believe with all your heart that you have seen God? Otherwise Satan will try to convince you that you are not really seeing God and that God doesn't exist. Seeing God has a history. It has a present. And it has a future. I encourage you to regularly take time to see God. I pray that you start today and make it a habit that will last into the future. Have you ordered your copies of EveryWhere I Look Vol. 1 and 2? Find out more at: sites.google.com/view/everywhere-i-look/home. P.S. As always please take a moment to think about what you just read!
We are living through a worldwide pandemic. The optimistic side of me is saying this is an amazing time to be alive. But the pessimist side of me is wondering when is life going to get back to normal. I have two questions for you. How will you live through this world wide pandemic? How will you live after it? Now I know that I said I have two questions but one you get me started. Should COVID-19 affect our life? I am not really talking about our life, because yes it is affecting our life. I am talking about the way we live life. Also known as our lifestyle. Should COVID-19 affect or change the way we live life? The short answer is yes. Yes COVID-19 should affect our life. As Christians we are supposed to be continually changing. We are supposed to be constantly changing for the better. I think another word more familiar to us is growing. We know we should be growing. Growth is hard, and I think a lot of us have become content with where we are at. I pray that not only will COVID-19 affect us, but I pray that God will use COVID-19 to grow us, to change us, and to strengthen us. Will you join me in this prayer? So many godly resources!!!!! When I was a young kid just learning to read. I can't remember what grade I was in, but I remember reading a story about a boy around my age in a far away country. And he was learning to read just like me. I can't remember too much of the story. But I remember that the boy had a wise dad that said something like there were so many good books out there that he should never waste any time reading bad books.I can't remember all the details of the story, but I do know that there are so many godly resources out there. I am the co-owner of the Renfroe Christian library, a small little library in Deadwood, AB. And our library is jam packed full of Christian books, movies, and CDs. But our library only contains a small amount, only a fraction, of the total amount of godly resources in the world. There are probably many godly resources that you know about that I don't know about. And there are probably many godly resources that I know about that you don't know about. Godly resources are so inspirational. Everytime I watch a good Christian movie, listen to a christain song, or read a Christian book I am so inspired. They are so much more fulfilling than ungodly stuff. If all you want is something entertaining, I have got piles of recommendations. If you want something educational or inspirational I have also got piles of recommendations. Of course all my recommendations will be something Christian that I inspired me, something Christian fell in love with, and something Christian that I want to share with you. I have heard different teachers and pastors talk about certain movies, such as Lion King or Wreck-it Ralph. And it is amazing what they got from those movies and how they can use illustrations from those movies to share a biblical truth. Some people are gifted to be able to get something biblical from an unbiblical produced resource. But a majority of us just want something entertaining, and a majority of the entertaining movies out there are not produced by Christians and therefore they have negative messages in them. I am not trying to be legalistic and say godly resources only, but I do highly recommend a lot of godly resources. As the founder of the SunShining I love exploring and finding new goldly resources. And I would love to share them with you. If you are a reader, music listener, or movie watcher maybe send me a message or ask for recommendations in the comments and I well if you ask for recommendations I will recommend something good!!!! If you are a writer, I would love to help you publish and share your writings. If you are interested in submitting a blog post check out the for writers page. For Writers
Make sure you follow me on all social media platforms for the lastest updates!!!! These last 3 weeks I watched some great movies and just wanted to share them with you. (I am not sharing them with you because I think they are movies everyone needs to watch. I am just sharing them with you so that everyone knows what I watched!)
And the nice thing about it is that all these movies are on youtube, so you can watch them for free. My top two favorite from the last 3 weeks: The Defense of New Haven https://youtu.be/cSs2Wpah6Ww Fix It Boys https://youtu.be/dtqyXMda63E The Camp new movie series: Camp New: Act One https://youtu.be/Hy6XYPCE9hY Camp New - Humble Pie https://youtu.be/47SjFJhBwPQ Camp New - Dollar Days https://youtu.be/6bXewTa1KaI Others: Indescribable https://youtu.be/iYhGaaGBzuc Forty Nights https://youtu.be/E52EV2FPT2I Also this last week I started watching The Sugar Creek Gang movie series and created a playlist with all 5 movies: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhdlOfKFUjhjp41NQbUOPUYXnSuAJRTMu Hi, my name is N.C.R. and 2 years ago I wrote a book titled "EveryWhere I Look". I wrote that book during the fall/winter of 2017, only a few months after the death of my brother Clayton. It was his death that inspired the first book in this series. And it was his death that inspired this book. Let me tell you more. My brother Clayton died April 19, 2017. During the summer after his death we could not see him. But we could see places he had been. Things he has done and projects he had been working on. And tada. Somehow I got the idea to turn it into a book idea. Now I don't want to repeat some of the things I may have already said about seeing God in the first book. But something new about seeing God that also inspired this book is... You can not see God if you don't believe he exists. And it can be hard to see God if you haven't experienced/witnessed him in person/action. The Bible records a few times in history when it was really easy for people to see God, because they got to see/experience him in person. For example during the time of the Exodus the Israelites got to experience God personally. But even throughout the Exodus and throughout the generations after the Exodus God's people keep forgetting about him, even though God showed himself to his people quite often during the old testament. I am going to go on a little bit of a tangent and say that I know/hear others say things about the Israelites and how they got to see and experience the power of God personally yet they turned from him. We have the ability to see and experience God the same way they did back then. Let me continue with another example from the Bible. In the new Testament many people got to see God in person. One of my favorite examples from the New Testament is after Jesus' resurrection. Jesus appeared to the disciples when Thomas wasn't there. When Thomas found out he said he didn't believe the other disciples. Then Jesus showed up when Thomas was there and said this profound statement "Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." (John 20:29) Now let's get back to the story behind the book. My story. My brother died in 2017. Since then a new baby sister has been born. Her name is Faith. And she has never seen Clayton personally. And she has no memories of him. It is our job to carry on his memory and tell her about him. It is kind of the same thing with God. My sister has never seen God yet. And so I wrote this book. I guess you could say I am killing two birds with one stone. And I am pleased to share the book with you. - N.C.R. sites.google.com/view/everywhere-i-look/home Know someone who might like the book? Please share it with them!
sites.google.com/view/everywhere-i-look/home Something that has been in my mind the last few days is that it's never too late to start now. I once heard this amazing quote by a good friend about planting fruit trees. "The best time was 10 years ago. The second best time is now." Is there something in your life that you want to do? Why not start that today? Is there any changes you need to make to your life? Make them today. Just wanted to share this little inspirational thought. I want to help us all get more out of life. Now for the news....- SunShining 2020 calendar
I started a SunShining 2020 calendar a few days ago so that I could share daily inpiration. But i don't know if I will share daily. And if I do it will be on instagram. Though ocactionaly I will share a little inspiration on the blog like I did today. - EveryWhere I Loook vol. 2 Great news! Well some of it is sad. My first book signing was scheduled for March 29. But it was canceled. But now for the good news. I am releaseing my third childrens book on March 29. EveryWhere I Loook vol. 2 Why Can't I See God. sites.google.com/view/everywhere-i-look/home I think that is about it for news! Also have you been staying tuned to the SunShining Podacast? What is your opinion is better? And is your opinion of better just that or is it more than an opinion? I don't know. But I do know that the word better is used 50 times in Psalm, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes. Below are about 42 verses with the word better!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked. Psalms 37:16 KJV Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Psalms 63:3 KJV It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes. Psalms 118:8-9 KJV The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver. Psalms 119:72 KJV For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. Psalms 84:10 KJV Open rebuke is better than secret love. Proverbs 27:5 KJV My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver. Proverbs 8:19 KJV (Wisdom talking) Better is little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble therewith. Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith. Proverbs 15:16-17 KJV Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an house full of sacrifices with strife. Proverbs 17:1 KJV Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right. Proverbs 16:8 KJV It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman. Proverbs 21:19 KJV Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. Proverbs 3:13-14 KJV He that is despised, and hath a servant, is better than he that honoureth himself, and lacketh bread. Proverbs 12:9 KJV How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver! Proverbs 16:16 KJV Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud. Proverbs 16:19 KJV The desire of a man is his kindness: and a poor man is better than a liar. Proverbs 19:22 KJV It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house. Proverbs 21:9 KJV For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it. Proverbs 8:11 KJV He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city. Proverbs 16:32 KJV Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool. Proverbs 19:1 KJV It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman and in a wide house. Proverbs 25:24 KJV Better is the poor that walketh in his uprightness, than he that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich. Proverbs 28:6 KJV For better it is that it be said unto thee, Come up hither; than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen. Proverbs 25:7 KJV Thine own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother's house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off. Proverbs 27:10 KJV Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. Ecclesiastes 7:3 KJV Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. Ecclesiastes 7:8 KJV Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. Ecclesiastes 4:9 KJV Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. Ecclesiastes 5:5 KJV Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good. Ecclesiastes 9:18 KJV Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment; and a babbler is no better. Ecclesiastes 10:11 KJV Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit. Ecclesiastes 4:6 KJV Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished. Ecclesiastes 4:13 KJV A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth. Ecclesiastes 7:1 KJV It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools. Ecclesiastes 7:5 KJV Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit. Ecclesiastes 6:9 KJV For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion. Ecclesiastes 9:4 KJV Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard. Ecclesiastes 9:16 KJV It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. Ecclesiastes 7:2 KJV If a man beget an hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and also that he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he. Ecclesiastes 6:3 KJV Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun. Ecclesiastes 8:15 KJV -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- sunbible.000webhostapp.com/index.html MAINTAINING HOPE WHILE CAREGIVING | A Teen’s Perspective I’m Angela Watts, I’m eighteen, and I have been a caregiver for my mom for about four years. She has had Chronic Lyme disease and for those who aren’t aware of what that is… it is a long story. Many online articles don’t get the facts right. I’m not here to give the facts, the science, or the numbers, either. I’m here to encourage caregivers. Caregivers watch loved ones break down again and again. They struggle to offer comfort or hope and sounding like a broken record when they try. They work hard to care for their loved one, feed them, make sure they drink water, get their supplements, and try to find ways to encourage them, the list goes on and varies from person to person. Caregiving isn’t easy. I do not say this to belittle the ill person’s struggles. Actually, I’ve had a large problem belittling my own pain because “it isn’t as bad as my mom’s”. I’m very close to my mother, and she tried to reassure me that I was allowed to be upset, but I tend to bottle things up. For me, there was this “survival mode” I’d enter, where your own emotions become less important than your loved one’s. It isn’t healthy. I can’t undo my journey, but I don’t regret it. I’m using it to encourage you not to make the same mistakes. So, here’s some of my story, and why you can hold onto hope even when all seems hopeless. My mom struggled hard with treatment after treatment for years, none of them truly working. You might know how that feels. Imagine standing on the edge between a cure and death. I’m not being dramatic. My mother was close to dying many times. Every time a treatment failed, I could feel myself--and her and my family, I’m sure--on that edge. It wasn’t a good place to be, but I grew closer to Jesus during those hard times. I begged Him to heal my mom. I begged Him to show us a way to help her. I was praying many things: one prayer would be a plea for a miracle of complete healing, and the next prayer would be “God, just let this treatment work”. And God said no to many of our prayers. But I kept hope. I knew God loved us, that He was taking care of us, even if I didn’t understand why He said no. When we found a doctor who changed our lives, none of us expected things to magically get better. Things continued to be hard: treatment isn’t cheap, travel expenses are hard, Mom detoxing after treatments wore on her body and mind. At one point, my dad packed my mom, my sister and her kids, my brother, and myself, and took us closer to the doctor’s offices… And Dad went back home to work. This was one of the hardest things we did as a family. I remember a lot of those four years, but one memory that sticks with me the most is one night we were in that AIRBNB. Dad was miles and miles away. Mom was in agonizing pain in the other room, trying to go to bed since we all were. But I wasn’t asleep in my room. I’d finished reading my Bible and felt myself breaking. I mean, you might understand why: long days of hard work, my parent in the other room in a pain I can’t imagine or help with, and we didn’t have Dad there to be the rock. Now, I usually didn’t let myself break a whole lot. I was taking care of mom, keeping my life somewhat together, and didn’t have time to be afraid. Being afraid wasn’t Christian-like! But that night, I was pretty afraid. And tired. And alone. And I finally opened up to God. “I’m tired. I can’t do this alone. I can’t be strong anymore. You say “be still” but I only survive by fighting. You tell me to fight. How can I do both?!” Caregivers… be still. I know it is hard. I know you’re scared. Hurting. Tired. I know you remind your loved one a thousand times that they are loved, they are not a burden, and that God will take care of them. I know you try to exercise patience and compassion, even when you often get the brunt of their rage, their pain, and their fear. I know you feel insanely guilty when you slip up, too, and hurt their feelings. But be still. God will get you through everything, not because you aren’t strong enough to do so alone, but because we are never supposed to live alone. We are strong when we surrender to God, not when we fight alone. God has already won the battle you face now, so take heart. When God says be still, it does not always mean “cease to fight”. I think it means “be still in your heart because I’ve got this”. Yes, we have to fight daily, work hard, and only allow ourselves a good cry at night sometimes (seriously, don’t feel bad about crying, or raiding the ice cream late at night, or binge-watching a silly show to calm down)… but we can still be still and know that God is in control. We can’t heal our loved ones. But God can. We don’t know if He will or He won’t, but we can trust that He loves our loved one more than we do. This is something I realized that night: God loves my family more than I do. I didn’t have to protect them from God’s will. I know it’s silly, but this blew my mind that night… imagining God weeping because my mom was weeping in pain? Imaging God crying with me because I’m hurting--not because He can’t do anything. I recalled the story of Lazarus (John 11) and was in absolute awe of my God. He tells us to be still, not because He doesn’t want us to fight, but because He wants us to let Him fight for us, too. So breathe. You are loved. You are going to get through this, too. You can keep hope on the edge. If you ever need to talk, or need prayer, please message me. God bless, Angela R. Watts For More About: Angela R. Watts https://angelarwatts.com/ https://www.facebook.com/AngelaRWattsauthor/ https://www.instagram.com/angelarwattsauthor/ Hi, it is me again N.C.R., this year I am attending Mount Carmel Bible School. Mount Carmel is an amazing Bible school. But that is not what I want to tell you about. I just wanted to share a little newsy update about me and my family and what happened this Christmas. Now before I begin I just want to back up and say that our family doesn't even keep Christmas. And being homeschooled my whole life I have never even hardly had a Christmas break before. So I guess you could technically say this as my first Christmas break. And I was looking forward to spending a few weeks with my family. Well before Christmas break even started my mom gave me a shopping list. And then when I got home the work immediately started. But I will skip past all the boring work to my uncle's death. He was driving along, then somehow ended up in the ditch where only God knows what happened. That was a few days before Christmas, and a few days after Christmas was his funeral. And one day after my uncle's funeral my brother Sam got a head injury. We are thankful Sam's head injury wasn't worse. (I am not that good at sharing bad news!!!!!!) That is about all the bad things I can think of that happened on Christmas break. I was hoping for more sleep on Christmas break, but that's hard to get when you have so many brothers and sisters. Anyway, why am I sharing all this with you? It is because even though my Christmas break was, well let's just say it was horrible. Even though my Christmas break was horrible. It was also amazing. And I learned a lot, or at least I think I did. Right now I can't think of a single thing I learned on Christmas break. But I do remember some other good things that happened. Well for one I planned to write a book on Christmas break. And I did. I ordered a proof copy of the book, and it should be available to the public pretty soon. I guess that is the only good thing I can remember. I suppose that is enough news for now. Stay tuned for more great stuff coming!!!!! Related blog post: repost-a-blog-post-by-my-mom-about-10-years-ago-about-christmas.html
|
You can also find notes for "The SunShining Podcast", "Daily SunShine", and "Cemetery Reflections" podcasts or any other podcast I might host.
And last but not least, since I will take part in blog tours every once in a while you can also find book spotlights or conference info.
So if that sounds like something you are interested in, I encourage you to come back regularly. (I know I have gone through dry spells in the past.)
The SunShining Blog Inspirational pieces for everybody. If you are interested in submitting a post click here. Archives
September 2021
Categories
All
Please share with your friends! |