The August Issue of My Book Therapy’s August issue is out now. Check it out here.
Here is a link to my column which lists the latest releases from My Book Therapy Voices Authors for July-August 2012. Check it out here.
Official Site of Preslaysa Edwards - Preslaysa Williams
Author. Actress. Blasian Gal.
Last week, I took an impromptu blogging break 😉 I’ve been pretty busy getting my new ebook, Mind Scrubs for Moms, edited and ready for you. It will be available by September 30th in PDF. I’m pretty excited about it!
Despite all of my busyness, I have been able to read the Word. As you already know, I don’t have long stretches of time during the day, and so I get my spiritual food in 5-10 minute bites.
PAST GOAL: Read through Luke and Exodus.
MY PROGRESS: I read through Luke and right now I’m on Exodus 29.
NEW GOAL: Complete Exodus and read through John 17 by next Monday, 9/3
Take a verse or two that leaps out at you and pray it back to God.
When a particular verse or verses attract your attention, it’s the Holy Spirit who wants to show you something. When that happens to me I slow down and ponder/pray the verse. This happened to me recently when I read John 8:31-32 (KJV). Jesus told His disciples if you continue in My Word, you will be my disciples and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.
I’ve heard this verse often misquoted as: “The truth will set you free.” But according to Jesus’s words, the truth will not set me free if I fail to continue in His Word. That is, I need to make it a lifestyle habit to regularly meditate in His Word, aka “continue in it.” Knowledge of a truth won’t set me free if I neglect this important point.
For example, I know that it’s important to drink 8 glasses of water a day, but just because I have head knowledge doesn’t mean that I will become healthier. I have to drink water over and over and over again in order to become healthier.
So I prayed: “Holy Spirit, help be to be a true disciple of Jesus. Help me to continue in the words of Jesus for the rest of my life despite the distractions and obstacles which try to keep me from His Word.”
How are you continuing in the Word?
I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people and I will be their God. (Ezekiel 11:19-20)
As believers in Christ, we have a new, recreated spirit. The Holy Spirit is joined with our own human spirit, making us new creatures in Christ.
However, while we live in this body, we will engage in a battle. The battle with the flesh. Galatians 5:17 says: “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.”
The deception often arises when we are confronted with temptation and we believe that we are somehow weak and inadequate. The truth is, we aren’t. The real man, the new creature in Christ Jesus, isn’t weak or inadequate. It’s the fleshly man that wars against the real us.
That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. (Eph 4:22-24)
When I found this out in the scriptures, it removed a lot of guilt and condemnation I felt whenever I succumbed to sin. As I build up the real me by feeding on the Word of God, I’ll grow stronger in my spirit. Eventually, I will be able to keep the fleshly man, the carnal man in subjection.
But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. (I Cor 9:27)
It’s a freeing thought.
Congratulations to Heidi Marie! You won a Lilla Rose hair clip of your choice from Anjanette Barr, Independent Consultant.
Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway.
I made some laundry detergent a few weeks ago. It cleaned my clothes well. Although my clothes don’t smell like Tide, that’s fine with me. The cost effectiveness of making your own laundry detergent is worth the time spent making it. (It took me about 30 minutes.) Here’s the recipe I used in case you’re interested in making your own detergent.
* 1/2 cup of Borax: I use 20 Mule Team Borax.
* 1/2 cup of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda: This isn’t the same as baking soda. Washing soda is sodium bicarbonate or soda ash. Washing Soda helps remove dirt and odors.
* 1/3 bar of Fels Naptha Laundry Soap (You can find this in the laundry aisle of your grocery store)
Step One: Grate the soap and put it in a saucepan.
Step Two: Add six cups of water and heat it until it melts.
Step Three: Add washing soda and borax and stir till it dissolves. Then remove saucepan from heat.
Step Four: Fill a large bucket with 4 cups of hot water.
Step Five: Now add your soap mixture and stir.
Step Six: Add 1 gallon plus six cups of hot water and stir.
Step Seven: Let the mixture sit for 24 hours and it will gel.
Step Eight: Use 1/2 per load of laundry.
**This is a low sudsing soap so if you don’t see any suds, that’s okay.**
I recently noticed that I’ve been going through a spiritual anorexia. I haven’t been feeding on God’s Word. Instead, I’ve been replacing it with my own plans and strivings. This has resulted in my feeling tired, snappy and worn out. This is not the way to live. I needed to quench the dry landscape of my soul.
As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, the living God. When can I go and meet with my God? (Psalm 42:1-2)
I’ve been asking myself this big question: When can I go and meet with my God? Feels like my days are extremely full and I don’t have the time to actually meet with God. But He’s shown me that I don’t need long stretches of time. Like eating natural food, I can eat His Word throughout the day. Five or ten minutes in duration, five to ten times a day would do.
I didn’t think that would be enough. But I tried it, and I found out that it filled me.
I carry a Bible around with me. At home, I have a small pocket sized Bible and the Lord has shown me open spaces of time when I can read His Word:
Each of these times, I read a couple of verses and then I enter into a dialogue with God. If I read a promise, I’ll whisper my thanks to Him for the promise and ask Him to show me how to incorporate it into my life. If I read something I don’t understand, I ask Him to open the eyes of my understanding. He’ll often show me another passage of scripture that expands on the passage in question. Many times, I’ll read a passage of correction or rebuke. After trying to justify my behavior in a certain area, I’ll then repent and ask Him to help me in that area.
It’s been nice. It’s been unreligious. It’s been refreshing. Kinda like walking around with a wise friend all day and having Him guide your steps.
I don’t have to use complicated reading plans,. I just go through the Bible verse by verse, page by page, book by book, during the spare minutes in my day.
I love this way of reading his Word. And I thought a lot of busy gals out there want to meet with God too, but they are asking: When will I meet with my God? So, I thought have an Eat The Book Challenge.
The Eat the Book Challenge will consist of a weekly reminder and my personal, spiritual meal plan. I’ll post this each Monday. In the reminder portion, I’ll post something Word related: tips, quotes, etc. so that you can be encouraged to Eat the Book.
Then I’ll write about how I did with eating the Book the prior week (any struggles, hurdles or vistories I had). I’ll also list my plan for the coming week. My plan doesn’t have to be your plan. But I’m listing it here to keep myself accountable and to encourage you. I don’t like going through spiritual droughts, and I want to avoid future droughts as much as possible.
Feel free to comment and list your plans for the coming week to eating the Book and/or an update for how much Word you ate from the week before. If you need help and have a question, you can post those too.
I was pretty good with Eating the Book at the beginning of the week, but then I got distracted with the cares of this world by mid-week. Jesus had warned me about this in Mark 4:18-19. The cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things can choke the Word, causing it to be unfruitful. I ignored the warning and ended up stressed by Friday. When I came back to reading the Word, I found it hard to concentrate since my mind was still thinking about other things. But I found that if I read the words aloud to myself silently, that helped me concentrate.
Tip: If you find your mind wandering about the cares of life as you read the Bible, remember Jesus’s warning in Mark 4:18-19. Also, read the Word aloud to yourself quietly. That aids focus.
I’d like to finish Exodus and Luke this week. I’m about 25% through Exodus and I just finished Mark, so Luke is next.
What your spiritual meal plan for the week?
Last week, I talked about how we do preschool at home. In that post, I mentioned how I enjoy reading to my children regularly and provide a lot of exposure to books. When they’re babies, they gnaw on board books 😉 But they get the hang of it as they get older.
Here’s a list of what I’ve read to our children. It’ll be an ongoing list which I’ll update regularly. I used to pull random books off the shelf at the library, but now I’m more picky. I tend to like books that have stood the test of time, but this doesn’t mean that I’ll rule out newer children’s books.
This is what we’ve read so far. A lot of these books we’ve read many, many many times. My two year old likes to hear the same stories over again.
The baby’s books are mostly non-text books that help my little one develop their visual acuity. I will show the baby the book and talk about the picture. I often let the two year old do this. Gives him a chance to be the “teacher”
Today is the last day for the Back to School Ebook Bundle. Get five ebooks for $10
When I tried on my first Lilla Rose clip, I was hooked. They stay in place, they are comfortable and they look pretty. The best thing about Lilla Rose clips are that they have different sizes for different hair types, and so I found my perfect fit.
Most days, I wear my hair up and away from my face. I’m pretty busy all day, and so I don’t have time to mess with froo froo stuff like styling my hair. Lilla Rose clips are great because it looks as if I spent time putting my hair into an updo even though I didn’t!
Wanna try a clip? Independent Consultant Anjanette Barr is offering one lucky gal the opportunity to win a Lilla Rose clip of their choice. To enter, leave a comment in this blog for one entry. For more chances to enter, you can also subscribe to my blog via email (see sign up box on the right.), ‘like’ my Facebook page, follow me on Pinterest and/or on Google Plus. You have a chance to submit up to five entries! Entries entered only between August 6th -August 14th will be counted towards this giveaway.
Winner will be announced on Wednesday, August 15th.
Hey Moms, are you ready for the new school year?
A group of five mom bloggers are offering you a great ebook bundle. Five books which will help you get ready for the fall. The sale ends on August 8th.
Here are the books you’ll get:
The regular price for all of these books is $28.95, but you can get them for ten bucks. Great reading at a great price!