Just to let everyone know… I posted something on my new blog… lindsaymayes@blogspot.com.
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The reason that this blog was started in the first place was because I signed up for a program called Blogging for Books. In order to receive free books from this publishing company I had to have a blog and review their books on my blog. They have changed up their program a little bit and in order to keep reviewing books I need a higher ranking. The company has a cool little tool that I can link on my blog so that it can be reviewed by my readers easily. Unfortunately, the tool is not compatible with WordPress blogs. SO, with that being said, I created a new blog site. It is still called Just A Glimpse it just has a different web address. The new web address is lindsaymayes.blogspot.com. I will still update Facebook when I have a new post available. Thanks for reading!
I wanted to share my children’s sermon from this morning. It is fun for children but something that adults take for granted.
Romans 1:20~ “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities his eternal power and divine nature- have been clearly seen…” This verse tells us that through creation we see God’s invisible qualities, such as His eternal power and divine nature. Have you ever thought about how creative God is? Here are some interesting facts about animals, plants, and humans; all of which God created.
- There are about 9,500 different kinds of grass in the world
- An ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain
- All porcupines float in water
- The cells which make up the antlers of a moose are the fastest growing animal cells in nature
- Giraffes have no vocal cords
- The fingerprints of koala bears are virtually indistinguishable from those of humans, so much so that they could be confused at a crime scene.
- Oak trees do not have acorns until they are fifty years old or older
- Caterpillars have 228 separate and distinct muscles in its head
- Average elm tree has approximately 6 million leaves on it
- Your heart generates enough pressure as it pumps blood throughout your body that it could squirt blood up to 30 feet (I’ve never tried this, and I don’t recommend it)
God didn’t have to create these amazing things but he did. He didn’t have to make hundreds of different kinds of bananas, but He did. He didn’t have to put 3,000 different species of trees within on square mile in the Amazon jungle, but He did. Did you know that when you get goose bumps, the hair in your follicles is actually helping you stay warmer by trapping body heat? Whatever God’s reasons for such diversity, creativity, and sophistication in the universe, on earth, and in our own bodies, the point of it all is His glory. God’s art (or creation) speaks of Himself, reflecting who He is and what He is like.
Hello! I am finally able to sit down and share about my amazing trip to the DR! This past week has been a little hectic getting back into the swing of everyday life. While we were in the DR I wanted to try to write down highlights and some of my favorite things, BUT that didn’t happen. So, all of this is from memory.
Adam, Bryce, Sara, and I left on Monday, July 18th to head to Denver. We hung out in Denver that night and then got up bright and early Tuesday morning to head to the airport. Our flight was about 4 hours to Miami but didn’t seem that long. At the Miami airport we had about a 4 hour layover and so we ate lunch, and sat around, and read, and played games, and sat around some more. Finally after a LONG 4 hours we boarded the plane and we were on our way to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. That flight was pretty quick and it seemed like we had arrived in no time. We went through customs with no problems at all. Actually, it was a little too easy… Then, we met up with a couple of staff members from the YWAM base. We had a bit of a drive to the base and had a great time getting to know Joe and Adrienne. This couple would be leading our Mission Adventures program for the next 9 days. By the time we got back to the base it was pretty late and we got a quick tour of where we would be staying. We reconvened back in the kitchen and this is where I had my first encounter with nature. We were standing by the kitchen when a HUGE rat crawled through the window ran around for a few seconds and then went back through the window to the outside world where he belonged. Needless to say, I was paranoid and slept poorly that night. With the heat and the thought of creepy crawlies coming through my window, I wished morning would come quickly!
The next morning we got up to eat breakfast, have our morning quiet times, and then meet with the YWAM staff for a morning devotion. After the morning devotion we met with Joe and Adrienne for some disicpleship training. The main focus of the week was “Expand Heaven Here” and we studied the book of Matthew. After our morning sessions we did different things. One day we had a relay race and another day we walked to a nearby Haitian community and spent time with the children. The community of Haitians we visited basically have no country. They can’t go back to Haiti (if I understood it right) and the DR is letting them live in this area but they are not able to build permanent structures. The community is very poor and a lot of the people living there have illnesses. However, they do not let their current conditions interfere with work or play. The staff from the YWAM base try to go and see them at least once a week. The children know when they come and the boys run out to greet them with their homemade baseballs and baseball bats and the girls run out to have their nails painted. It was so much fun to sit with the girls and paint their nails and then have them paint our nails. Even some of the guys on the team let the little girls paint there nails. It was a wonderful experience and DEFINITELY humbling. After these morning activities we ate lunch and then in the afternoons we had free time. We went to the beach one day and the other days we stayed on base and played in the pool and hungout with the staff. The evenings were spent eating dinner, playing games, and a few nights we had small worship services (this was one of my favorite ways to spend the evening).
Saturday we woke up and got ready to head into San Pedro de Marcois to do children’s outreach in the park. We got to the first park, which was right by the ocean, and one of the girls from the base told the story of Adam and Eve to the children and then Bryce got up and gave them a short simple version of the Gospel. After the story we sang some songs in Spanish and played a couple of games in Spanish. The kids LOVED that! After the songs we broke them up into groups. Some of the younger ones colored pictures, the older girls made bracelets from yarn, and the older boys played baseball. We were just getting ready to pack up and have lunch before heading to the next park, when it started POURING rain. It rained like I have never seen before! We decided to head back to the base because it wasn’t showing any signs of stopping any time soon. That bus ride back was one of the most interesting things I have ever experienced! Our bus was old and had a few problems. One of them being that the defroster didn’t work and our driver, Saul, had to wipe the windshield with a bandana just to see! Nevermind the fact that because it was raining so hard you couldn’t see anyways! Back at the base we played some more games while it rained, and rained, and rained.
Sunday morning we spend the morning relaxing and playing more games while it rained, and rained, and rained. I hope you are beginning to see the pattern… Haha! Sunday evening we headed back to San Pedro to attend the church that YWAM works with. That church service was like none I had ever seen before. The music was loud and the people were singing, clapping, and dancing. We spent about an hour just worhiping God through song and prayer. Once the pastor got up to talk our group took all the children and had a makeshift children’s church. We sang songs and did a couple of crafts with them. Everyone was shocked when they came to tell us church was over about 30 minutes later (I guess the pastor usually speaks longer than 30 minutes). That evening was spent the same as the others when we got back to base. Then about midnight a group from Canada arrived. They were there to build two houses through the Homes of Hope program and we were going to help them.
Monday we got up and got ready to build. We spent the next 3 days in the heat and humidity building houses for 2 families that were in great need. We had so much fun building these houses and spending time with the people from their community. It was amazing to see how the neighbors came to watch and help us build a house for this family. Even the children wanted to help! They loved to paint and do anything else that they could help with. At the end of each day we were tired, hot, and sweaty, but filled with happiness and joy because we were able to bless this family with a new home.
That was our week in a nutshell! As I was typing I was remembering little things that I wanted to fit in somewhere but couldn’t figure out where to place them. So here they are… While we were there we slept in bunk beds with mosquito nets and they were definitely needed. I also saw 2 tarantulas. One I got to take pictures of and the other one a friend of mine killed. I held her hand and screamed with her as she smashed it. (Totally a “girl-thing” I know!) There were a TON of geckos and HUGE butterflies and moths, all of which were really pretty. Even though the DR is stricken with poverty it is a B-E-A-UTIFUL country and I would love to go back. The YWAM staff was wonderful and they were like family by the end of the week. It was really hard to leave them behind. This trip was a truly amazing and humbling experience. It was so neat to watch God work in my life and the lives of others. I am glad that I was able to share this experience with all of you and if you have any questions, just ask!!
Two posts in one night! I’m on a roll! Well okay maybe not, I’m just trying to get caught up before I leave for the Dominican Republic tomorrow. Even though it won’t be a book review, I hope to post a little bit about my trip when I get home.
Now back to the book. Ted Dekker is known for his plots concerning good vs. evil or darkness vs. light. This book definitely follows suit. There is a serial killer abducting girls and breaks their bones when they don’t live up to his expectations. (Twisted I know). When Ryan Evan’s daughter falls victim to the Boneman, his one and only mission is to save her. However, his plan is interrupted a few times when the FBI thinks he is the one killing these girls. Ted Dekker allows readers to see how Satan traps us in his lies and that God is our Father who can save us from death.
This book is suspenseful and keeps you guessing as to what really happens in the end. If you are a fan of mysteries and suspenseful reads this book is for you!!
“Every Single Woman’s Battle” was a great study to help women realize that they are not alone when it comes to struggling with purity and guarding your heart. This guide uses excerpts from “Every Woman’s Battle” and “Every Man’s Battle” and gives you Bible verses to cling to in a time of need. If you are willing to be open and honest with God and yourself you can work through the issues that all women struggle with.
I did this study on my own and there were pros and cons to that. Since I did it by myself I was able to take my time and honestly think and pray about my answers. However, if I had done it with a small group of single women I’m sure that I would have a group of friends that I could share anything with. Whether you choose to do this study with a group or alone, it is worth your time to discover why purity and guarding your heart should be important to you and why it is important to God.
Last weeks vacation was a great time for me to just read, read, read. I was able to finish 2 books and got halfway through a third book. This book in particular was a very quick read because it was SO GOOD! I first encountered this series while shopping at Walmart. There are quite a few of books in the “Love Finds You” series but they are written by several different authors. Each book in the series is based on a town in the US with quirky, fun names. Even though the story takes place in a real US town each story is completely fictional.
The reason why this book was so good is because I always love a love story and these are great Christian stories about praying and waiting on God to place the right person in your life. It reminds me that if you pray for the right person, God will provide you a guy like Simon (the main man) and you can have a “perfect” romance like Julia (the leading lady)!
A must read!! I can’t wait to discover the other love stories in quaint little towns…
Belong to Me is a continuation of Cornelia Brown’s story. In her first book, Love Walked In, Marisa De Los Santos tells the story of how a young girl was abandoned by her parents and how she walked into the life of Cornelia Brown. From then on, these two ladies shared a special friendship and both realized what love is. In Belong To Me Cornelia and Teo (her husband) move to a suburb of Philadelphia to start their lives over after a series of hardships. Here they meet new people and from then on out the book weaves a tale of lies and deception that can only make or break this couple. How the story ends will keep you guessing till the very last page. A definite must read, however, to get the full effect of these characters you really should start with Love Walked In and then continue the story with this book.
The title of this book caught my attention because I have heard of people, mainly women, that pray for their future spouse. I thought about it and wondered exactly what they pray for. Do they have a list and ask God to fulfill these qualities or do they pray for other things? When I started this book I opened it up to the table of contents and it has 13 chapters on what to pray for your future husband. Some of these chapters include praying for his heart, praying for strength, praying for intimacy, praying for contentment, and the list goes on. Both authors share their stories of praying for their husbands and give advice on what in each chapter of how to pray specifically for that one area. Other women also share short stories of how God answered their prayers when it came to their spouse. There are also examples of prayers to pray for him (future husband) and prayers to pray for yourself.
I believe this book would be good for youth leaders who are looking to engage their girls in a small group. At the end of each chapter are discussion questions. These questions can be discussed in a small group setting or they can be done individually. One idea for individuals or small groups is to write their answers in the book or in a journal to refelct upon later.
I hope that however you use this book that you understand the importance of praying for your future spouse and preparing your heart for theirs.
I have received this book for free from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group in exchange for this review.
This post is a little overdue. I finished this book a few weeks ago and it has taken me awhile to get something on here. However, this book was really good!! It is about a girl named Callie who has selective mutism and her best friend Petra who speaks for the both of them. These girls go missing in the middle of the night and fingers are pointed at Callie’s father. Callie’s father is known for being a drunk and also for being violent, so he is accused of kidnapping the girls. I don’t want to spoil the ending but I will tell you this… The girls are both found and Callie’s mutism is broken when she has to tell the story of what happened to the girls.
This book will keep you guessing until the very end as to who is responsible for this terrible act. Could Callie’s father really be responsible for kidnapping his own daughter and her friend? Callie’s mother doesn’t think so, but she also doesn’t think that her husband really intends to hurt his family and believes that he truly loves them. She believes that the alcohol turns him into a completely different person.
Definitely read this book if you are interested in children who have special needs or if you wonder why women can stay with husbands who abuse their families. It will give you insight in these different situations and help you understand them a little bit better.
