Taking it to the Next Level with Cheri Swalwell

Have you heard the words Christian, Christ follower, or “personal relationship with Christ” and wonder what they mean? Are you a new believer but aren’t sure what’s next after praying the sinner’s prayer?

Life can sometimes be hard.  There are no guarantees that the path you walk will be free from trouble, heartache, or problems. What if I told you that despite the tragedies that arise from time to time, there was One who wants to guide you, to walk ahead of you, to help you overcome while protecting and comforting you along the way? There is Someone waiting to do just that. Not only does He want to be there for the “tough stuff,” but He wants to be your Friend every day. He longs for a personal relationship with you. He wants to show you just how much He loves you.

Previously titled, A 40 Day Habit Between Friends: Taking It to the Next Level, now part of the Spoken from the Heart series, Taking It to the Next Level allows me to share with you the journey I took as I grew closer to my Father. As you will soon discover, I love to say, “God doesn’t play favorites. What He’s willing to do for me, He’s waiting to do for you. He just wants you to ask.” So whether you are looking for answers about the God of the Universe, have just recently discovered a relationship with Him for yourself, or have been His child for years, my prayer is that these words will encourage, challenge, and comfort you through life’s difficult and sometimes amazing journeys. What are you waiting for?  God is ready to help you take it to the next level in your own life. There’s no better time to start then right now.

What inspired you to write this book, Cheri?

This book was published briefly in November 2012 with the title, A 40-Day Habit Between Friends: Taking it to the Next Level. It is being re-released as Spoken from the Heart: Taking it to the Next Level.

The idea for this book came about when I started blogging regularly in October 2011.  I received such a positive response from readers who could identify with the things God was teaching me in my life, I decided to make a book out of some of the blog posts.  As a result, the series Spoken from the Heart was created, with Journey from Fear to Faith being published first in December 2013.  The goal by the end of 2014 is to be able to offer approximately six to seven books in the Spoken from the Heart series.  These books offer words of encouragement in your everyday relationships with others, challenges to continue to grow in your relationship with God, and inspiration to reach out and bless others.  

What is one fun thing my readers might not know about you but would like to?

My husband is quite handy creating things with his hands and making repairs.  I, on the other hand, am not.  You can read in the book about a time when I attempted to help my “at the time future husband” redo his bathroom in Day 20: What’s More Important - Feelings or Fighting? I knew I was truly blessed when I went home at the end of the day and he still loved me.  

When faced with difficulties in life or exciting new adventures, we each have a choice. Will you step out in faith or cower in fear?

Life can be scary.  Sometimes, through no fault of our own, we’re forced to deal with unemployment, a devastating health diagnosis, broken relationships, financial difficulties, or…sometimes we feel God leading us in a new direction.  It can be exciting, but also scary when we think about the uncertainties and whether or not we heard God’s voice correctly.

Whatever you or someone you love is facing right now, know you have a choice. You can either walk forward with faith in your Heavenly Father and His promise to protect His children, or you can hold back in fear. Join me on my personal journey from living in fear to walking in faith. My journey isn’t over, but I offer encouragement to those who are struggling to take the first step, those who have been walking for a while, or those who are ready to give up. The God I serve is a personal God who lovingly takes care of His children even in the midst of the struggles they are walking through. Think of me as your walking partner on your path as you receive encouragement from my journey.

Journey from Fear to Faith is another book in the Spoken from the Heart series. What inspired you to write this book, Cheri? 

I have been on a faith journey for most of my life.  God has gently been leading me out of living a life of fear into a life of faith.  In June 2013, He began the next phase of that journey and it was quite challenging.  However, the blessings that have resulted from it have been amazing.  While walking the journey, God placed on my heart to use our experience to give hope and encouragement to others who are walking difficult paths in their own lives.  We can offer that hope because the process for a faith journey has similarities despite the differences in the circumstances we each face.  God has shown me so much throughout this process about His promises and the way He takes care of His children.  I may not necessarily be grateful for what we’ve had to go through, but I can definitely say I wouldn’t have wanted to miss this chance to grow closer to God for anything.  

Could you share another interesting, but perhaps little know tidbit about your life, Cheri? 

I love having garage sales.  However, God has shown me it’s more fun to do them non-traditionally and be a blessing to others.  You can read more about how our family had a garage sale last summer in Day 11: No Calculator Needed.  As a result, we were blessed more through the way God led us to approach our sale than we had been in any other previous sale we’d had. 

You can purchase Taking It to the Next Level and Journey from Fear to Faith at the following locations:

Available for sale at Deeper Shopping and Amazon (paperback and eBook formats):

Deeper Shopping:  Cheri Swalwell                                                                            bit.ly/M0r9Qd

Amazon:  Cheri Swalwell                                                                                                   http://amzn.to/1iWexWr

Thanks for sharing with my readers today, Cheri! I'm confident your books will be a blessing to many!

 

Single Savvy

"Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil."   -Ephesians 5:15-16

Once in awhile, I meet a Christian single who is very dissatisfied with his lot in life. He seems to be hovering over life, fixed in a holding pattern, until God reveals that perfect mate who will share life and ministry and make his life complete. I can't help but feel sorry for that type of person. He is never content. Because he is so busy gazing on what he thinks are greener, more productive pastures, he misses God's will for him today. How sad, and how unnecessary. God has called each of us to a particular station in life. That station may change, just as the seasons change, but each is for a specific purpose.

Therefore, it behooves the single person to be careful how he conducts his life. I like to call it having "single savvy."  The Random House Dictionary defines "savvy" as being "wise, having understanding." Ephesians 5 picks up this thought when it encourages all of us--single and married alike--to be wise, to make the most of our time. Why? Because the days are evil. Just look around you. It doesn't take long to figure that out. Billboards blare out provocative images. Television and movies splash sexual acts across the screen and into our living rooms. Gay and lesbian militants scream for legalized homosexual marriage and the right to adopt children. A government who prays before every session casts prayer out of its nation's schools. Need I say more? The days are indeed evil. So, how can the single find purpose in his current situation, walk as a wise person, and make the most of his time in these evil days? I offer these suggestions:

1)  WALK IN LOVE. 

Ephesians 5:2 says to "walk in love, just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma."  Focus your energies on loving people, just as Jesus loves and forgives you. Look beyond yourself to others and serve them. What drives you? What talents, gifts, and passions has God put within your heart? You may have more time and energy to devote to the Lord's work now while you are single. If and when you marry, your energies will be divided. Find projects, people, missions you can invest in now that may be difficult to impossible to invest in later should you wed.

Furthermore, all of us battle lust at some time or another, but the temptation may be even greater for the single. Channel that energy into service. Avoid viewing the opposite sex as objects. Think of them as real, living, breathing people made in God's image, who have a personality, a heart and soul, and therefore, true value. Pray for them and their family, even though you may not know them. Prayer can help transform lust into love. Flee places you know are evil and are promoting lust rather than love.

As your life exudes love, you will be releasing a fragrant aroma of witness for God.

2)  WALK IN FAITH.

Colossians 2:6-7 says that "as you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude." How did you receive Jesus? By faith. So how do you walk in Him? By faith. Use this period in your life to devote large chunks of time to Bible study and prayer. Attend singles' Bible studies. But don't limit yourself to just singles' groups. Diversify. Mingle with several different age groups. Guide the young. Learn from the old. Keep an open mind, but always be directed by God's truth. Let the Word of God act as a filter for every idea, philosophy, or book that comes across your path. Concentrate on surrounding your life with people, places, and things that will build you up in the faith. And believe that God has your best interests at heart. His plan is always best.

3)  WALK IN CONTENTMENT

Paul says in Philippians 4:11:  "Not that I speak from want; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am in." Paul had learned from experience how to walk in humility, yet he boldly and unashamedly proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our Lord also learned humility and obedience by the things he endured. What an example of contentment they left us!

What an awesome privilege and responsibility the Christian single has to show the world contentment! To be an ambassador of Jesus Christ! To manage each day as it comes, and let tomorrow take care of itself! To let go of the past, refuse to dwell on the future, and simply live in the present. To fall in love with Jesus and serve Him faithfully now!

This can be one of the greatest times in your life, as you seize each day for God's Kingdom glory!

"....making the most of your time, for the days are evil."

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Equipping a Missionary Room

 Learn how to better serve your missionary on furlough at The Christian Post

http://blogs.christianpost.com/bindings/equipping-a-missionary-room-20074/

Crossreads Book Blast: Timothy Phillips by Cliff Ball

Timothy Phillips By Cliff Ball

About the Book:

Can a nineteen year old stay true to the faith he was brought up on when he's under the spotlight? Timothy Phillips dreams come true when he's discovered by the producer of a national talent show. So what's the problem? The recording contract is not in the Southern Gospel he would prefer to sing. As he begins recording and performing the music, he encounters increasing hostility towards Christians. Can he stay true to his faith, or will he end up compromising his beliefs little by little the more famous he becomes? When his world comes crashing down, will he have anything left to help him stand as the end times approach?
LINK to KINDLE | LINK to PAPERBACK Cliff Ball lives in Texas, born in Arizona, is a Christian and is Baptist. Has two BA's, and a Certificate in Technical Communications from the University of North Texas. Has published ten novels and four short stories in multiple genres, but is currently writing a Christian fiction series called "The End Times Saga." Cliff's first taste of being published was when he won third in high school for a short story written in Creative Writing class for a young adult magazine.

Follow Cliff Ball

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Sunrise Over Maui

"They who dwell in the ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs; 

You make the dawn and the sunset shout for joy."  

 -Psalm 65:8

I grab my cup of steaming mocha latte and quietly slide open the glass door to the patio, not wanting to awaken Chuck who is in a deep sleep. It is 5:30 a.m. and I can't sleep. I want to squeeze out every single drop of our last day in Maui. So I rise to catch the sunrise.

A gentle breeze pushes back my bangs as I rest my arms on the deck railing. The stars wink at me from their pockets in the dark sky. "You'll be back someday," they reassure. The full moon hovers above, with wisps of pale white clouds occasionally gliding by and hiding its face. Palm fronds silhouette the sky and sway in the breeze. The stillness is interrupted only by an occasional passing car.

What words can I say to express what You have so eloquently expressed without words, O Lord?

I climb down the back stairwell and exit the complex for a morning stroll. The air smells like rain. It is now 6:00 a.m. and I can make out the outline of the mountain as I turn the corner to walk down the sidewalk. The sky is a deep sapphire, but slowly lightens to indigo, making the clouds appear darker. Approaching the banyan tree, I hear a full chorus of birds giving a morning concert against the backdrop of the full moon. The sky is lighter now, with the clouds over the mountain a pale grey.

I sit on the rock ledge and soak it all in. The sky is a pale blue now with subtle wisps of pink. I see lights flick on in houses that pepper the landscape at the base of the mountain. The clouds overhead break apart, forming a circle of pinks and blues, offering hope in a new morn.

It's easy to worship what we can see, rather than what we cannot see. I am reminded that the heavens and earth will one day pass away, but God's Word will remain forever! The natural elements were made by Him for our enjoyment. They were never intended to replace Him, merely to direct us to Him. And so, on this lovely and melancholy day, I worship Him. I leave all this beauty, but I do not leave HIM. Real beauty is dwelling where He is, meditating on Him and looking into His face. Now, that's tranquility, whether I am in Maui enjoying a sunrise or in Virginia watching a snowfall.

Beauty is everywhere in some form, but to know the Lord is to know beauty, no matter how ugly or trying the circumstances. And just as sure as the sun rises in the East and sets in the West, God's love will be there for me.

~~

For more devotionals from Maui, check out Tranquil Moments at Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Tranquil-Moments-Spiritual-Refreshment-Island/dp/1553066464/ref=la_B003O405FO_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1392042859&sr=1-8 

Strategies for Loving Detachment with Your Teen

      You made it past the 2:00 a.m. feedings, the mountain of diapers, the temper tantrums, homework and Little League. Now your son or daughter is a teen and you wonder how the years could have flown by so rapidly. There were days when you thought your child would never grow up and leave home. Now that time has come and you wonder, Is my teen ready to transition out of the home?

      A healthy and natural separation occurs around the junior high years when a young person seeks increased independence outside the home. He is consumed with learning who he is in relation to others and where he fits into the world. He may appear distant and moody at times as he processes this phase of life. This "leaving" can sneak up and surprise a parent if he doesn't know what to expect. It is critical to adjust mentally and emotionally and provide opportunities for healthy detachment. Let your teen test the waters through exposure to outside classes, career counseling, volunteer work, mission trips, and church youth groups to determine where his gifts, talents, and interests can best be utilized. Use Proverbs as a study guide to encourage godly friendships and discuss spiritual character qualities often around the dinner table, in the car, or in the evenings when everyone is finally back home and settled for the evening. Even more importantly, let your life exhibit these qualities. Your teen will read you like a book, absorbing lessons as he observes your response to life’s situations. As has often been said, “Actions speak louder than words.” Paul says it best in Philippians 4:9: “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” Be the kind of parent who is not afraid to teach with his life!

      You separate from your teen physically after high school, but you do not separate spiritually. Now is the time to pray for your child more than ever. Prayer is the best gift you can offer. Hopefully, you have been praying for him and with him all during his life. The teen may leave, but he can not escape your prayers. The Father is watching and your teen is in His arms.

       Our girls are now 33, 30, and 26, married with families of their own. Here are some suggestions we found helpful in lovingly detaching from our young adult children while helping them transition out of the home.

         Be aware that transition times are the hardest. Helping your young person move to complete independence requires thinking through the practical affairs of living. Sit down together with your teen and talk about goals. Write any thoughts down on paper. Will your child get a job or go to college? If he chooses college, will he work to pay his way or will you offer financial assistance? Will he purchase a car? When? Each child and each situation is different, so it is important to sit down together and map out a strategy in keeping with the child's goals and available resources. Carol Kuykendall has written an excellent book published by Tyndale House titled, Give Them Wings, on preparing your teen to leave home. She shows parents how to help their teens set goals for themselves, manage finances, maintain a car, do laundry, as well as other life skills necessary for living on one’s own. A church friend loaned the book to me during my daughter’s senior year of high school. I found the advice timely, practical, and comforting. I highly recommend it to you for additional help in this time of transition.

       When your teen is "under his own roof" financially, then he can make his own decisions. As long as you are footing the bill for college or any other venture, your teen is accountable to you and has not fully left. Finance leads to freedom which leads to independence. We encouraged each of our girls to seek part time employment during  high school in order to assist with college. While they were not financially independent from mom and dad, they developed a healthy appreciation for what it takes to live on one’s own. They set up savings and checking accounts and learned how to manage both. They helped with the family car expenses, such as gas, repairs, and insurance. They understood that as long as mom and dad were paying for college or gap year experiences, they needed to consult with us about their plans. Thankfully, we have been able to add our blessing to our girls’ dreams, and therefore have not had difficulty providing financial backing on that score. If, in your case, you do find it difficult to mentally or spiritually support your child’s aspirations, and after prayer, counsel, and communication with your teen, discover he still feels inclined to follow his dream, then you will need to release that child to fund himself.

       Set boundaries before your teen leaves home. Establish some plan for phone calls, emails, or letters. If your child has left the home financially independent, then he is no longer a child. He has moved from Ephesians 6:1--"Children, obey your parents in the Lord" to Ephesians 6:2--"Honor your father and mother." If he has been taught from the cradle to respect your authority in a way that has been loving and also respectful to him, then most likely he will continue to honor you through his actions and words. To do so shows true maturity on his part. Don't overload your grown child with advice. During these transition years, it may seem as if he needs you one minute and casts you aside the next. Be patient as he moves toward full independence. Allow him to learn what you had to learn by experiencing life. And by all means, keep praying!

 Words You Can Leave With Your Teen

         In writing this article, I asked my counselor husband, Chuck, what he would say to a young person leaving home for the first time. He jokingly said, "I'd say the same thing I'd say to you when you go to the beauty shop: 'Good luck to ya!'" On a more serious note, here are some things he shared. 

          It's okay to grieve your loss of childhood. Crying is not a sign of weakness or dependence. Don't try to be strong for mom and dad. Share your feelings. Once shared, they don't seem like the monster you thought they were. In dealing with our own grief at letting the girls go, Chuck and I discovered that hiding our tears only served to hinder open and honest communication. Letting go of the tears when needed made us realize the emotions were not as uncontrollable as we had feared, while letting our teen know that it is okay to grieve the transitions. Change is just a healthy part of life that needs to be addressed. When we expressed our emotion with our girls, they seemed relieved. Tension lifted, freeing them to reciprocate with shared emotion.

         Furthermore, even though you are grown and leaving home, you are still loved and covered by mom and dad’s prayers. You can never go beyond the reach of your parents’ prayers on your behalf. Mom and Dad will be here for you when you need them. 

          Remember whose you are. God made you and you are accountable to Him. When no one else is watching, God is. If you have received Christ as your Saviour and Lord, you have been purchased by the precious blood of Jesus. You belong to Him. "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

            Remember the godly teaching passed down to you by your parents and church leaders. Proverbs 6:20-22 says, "My son, keep your father’s commands and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. Bind them upon your heart forever; fasten them around your neck. When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you." At each graduation, we left our girls with 3 John 1:4: "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." In this way, we pictured a bright, victorious spiritual future for each of our girls.

            A helpful resource as you prepare for this transition is the book by Helen Neinast and Thomas Ettinger titled, What About God? Now That You’re Off to College. Published by the Upper Room, this book provides daily devotionals which prepare teens for college with spiritual writings, daily readings, prayers, and ideas for journaling.

          Make it a lifetime goal to build an intimate relationship with God. As you do, He will direct your steps. My second daughter, Michelle, and I sat on the beach soaking up the sun and watching the waves lap the shore. At one point, she turned to me and said, "Do you ever feel stuck?" I replied, "Yes, there have been times in my life when I have felt that way."  Moving into her senior year, she was concerned that she had no clear direction from God for her future beyond high school. I assured her that God would lead one step at a time as she read His Word and talked to Him about every aspect of her life. Michelle was still uncertain about the next step to take after a year at our local community college, so we asked her to write down what she did know right then. She responded that she learned from a secular college setting that she needed to know how to defend her faith better. She had witnessed to several students and sometimes felt stumped by their questions. She had encountered professors with opinions contrary to the Bible. We asked her what step she could take to accomplish that goal. A year of Bible college seemed a logical next step in her thinking. Although difficult to leave home, Michelle took the step she believed God wanted her to take. That was several years ago. At this writing, Michelle is a graduate with a B.S. in counseling, a wife, mommy, and TeenMops Leader with Straight Street, a Christian inner city organization where both she and her husband serve fulltime. God only requires that we act on the knowledge He gives. Then He will reveal the next step in the plan. 

         Choose godly friends that will steer you in the right direction. This may be one of the most crucial tips I can offer. Friendships can either make you or break you. Since you no longer have the permanent support system of home, it is vital to establish a godly network away from home. The first year at college can be overwhelming as you adjust to a new room, new food, a roommate, college studies, a different routine, and possible job and car care. You need the stability that Christian friends can provide. You need at least two or three people who will direct you to the Bible for answers, who will listen and pray with you, and even cry with you when you need them to. Equally important is plugging into a Bible-believing church where you can continue to mature in your faith. Many campuses offer Christian organizations such as Campus Crusade and Inter-Varsity Fellowship designed to develop disciples and connect students with other believers. 

         Transitioning out of the home is difficult for both parent and teen. It requires change. Change requires loss. There are two sides to the coin. You must lose in order to gain. No one likes to think about growth and maturity having negative aspects, but in order to grow, you must grow up and away from where you currently are. Loving detachment is exciting for parent and child as you both grow in God's unique purpose for your lives. 

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003O405FO 

A Choice to Love

Every day we have a choice to love . . .

Will we extend both truth and grace to others?

In 1981, my husband and I lost our second baby at four months gestation—a perfectly-formed baby boy spanning the length of the obstetrician’s hand. He called it a “spontaneous abortion.” We called him David Nathaniel.

I had no choice in the abortion. My body simply and horribly rejected my child. I not only grieved over my loss, but for all the babies who had been aborted by choice. And for all the mothers who had been duped into thinking that their babies were merely globs of tissue, easily discarded.

In 1985, the unthinkable happened. I lost another baby, a little girl—Allison Marie—again at four months gestation. My doctor determined that my uterus, which is supposed to be shaped like a pear, is actually shaped like a heart. David and Allison attached to the crook in the heart (a weak place) and at a certain size automatically detached, inducing labor and subsequent delivery.

Viewing my premature babies, complete with miniature fingernails and tiny toes, gave me a greater appreciation for the sacredness of life at every stage. Sadly, to date, over 50 million babies have died due to abortion on demand. How God’s great heart must grieve over this senseless slaughter of innocent lives. Psalm 139 details how a loving God carefully and meticulously fashions each one of us in the womb, thinks about us day and night, covers us with His hand, and numbers all our days. We are made in His image. So, both pre-born babies and their mothers are precious to God. To destroy a life He has created is to tamper with His image. In the case of abortion, a baby’s physical life is destroyed and the mother’s emotional, spiritual, and sometimes even physical well-being is damaged.

Through my latest release, Laughing with Lily, I want women who’ve undergone abortion to know that God loves them, just as deeply and completely as He loves their babies. Through Christ, He wants to draw them close, forgive and heal them. The God who created life delights in making something beautiful out of the ugly circumstances of our lives. He can use human tragedy to draw us close and move us into relationship with Him. No matter the guilt or grief we carry, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Wounded Healer, stands ready to cover us with His healing and forgiveness (see Isaiah, chapter 53). And I desire women who haven’t experienced an abortion to understand that we all stand in need of His healing in some area of our lives. 

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003O405FO