Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Inspiring Book on Miracles Spans Divine and Mundane


Miracles are For Real

By James L Garlow and Keith Wall

Have you found yourself praying for a miracle? You are not alone. Author Jim Garlow is praying for his wife’s full recovery from cancer. And in the middle of that horrendous journey, he wrote a book on miracles. Other people’s miracles. 

Incidences such as a child falling 30 feet from an apartment window to cement below and recovering fully days later, against all medical prognosis, and a woman lifting a two ton vehicle when a man was about to be trapped under it are documented alongside stories of people ‘finding contacts’ in foreign countries against all odds.


I found this book amazingly inspiring and down to earth at the same time. The stories are carefully chosen from trusted friends and sources, so say Garlow and partner writer Keith Wall. These stories will astound you, warm your heart and most of all, encourage you to look for your own miracle. 

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers in return for my honest opinion.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Clean Up - A Bite at a Time

January is the official month to clean, purge, and organize, or so it seems everywhere you look. Magazine articles, sales ads and blogs are touting the best way to de-clutter, and fit an entire life into a series of containers, large and small, to simplify the business of living.

For the first few days, ok-weeks, of the new year, I was resistant, but that was probably because there was so much Christmas to be put away that tackling anything else seemed overwhelming. So now, with 2011 Christmas jammed into the container in the garage, and spilling over in some cases, I have succumbed to the pressure of all those ads, and perhaps with a jump start from a free book I downloaded onto my android amazon kindle, I am now on the wagon.

Getting control of your 'things' is never easy if you have even the average amount of stuff we Americans accumulate. I've found that I tend to hoard due to feeling the financial pinch, (what if I need this later and can;'t afford it? *panic*) and this year hasn't been stellar for either extra money, or less stuff.

So I wrote out a jobs list for our family so everyone could have a part in the clean-up. There were daily and weekly tasks, as well as a laundry schedule. Every person has their own designated day to do laundry. With six in the house and only one of them male, well, you can imagine the laundry.I got a little scared to try it all at once, so I procrastinated a couple days and then hit upon what I think is the perfect solution.

After looking at the list several times, and talking it up to the kids, I am taking it slow, and only institute one major change at a time. I've decided we'll tackle the laundry schedule first, and then when that becomes routine, we'll proceed to the cleaning schedule. In the meantime, we'll make do with our patchwork cleaning.

It's probably just as well that cleanup begins in January. It may take me to the next January to get organized!