May 2007 Balancing Tips: Pain, Pain, Go Away
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Balancing Tips: Helping You Balance Your Life According to God's Plan
May 2007 Newsletter From Cross Your Heart Publications
~Crossing your life with God's plan~
In this issue:
- Pain, Pain, Go Away
- Poem for Mom
- Related Scripture
- Links and Resources
- Check Out Cross Your Heart Publications’ First Author Blog!
- Current and Upcoming Releases
- Contact Information, Copyright Notice, Disclaimers, and Unsubscribe Instructions
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Pain, Pain, Go Away
Rain, rain, go away, come again another day... Children recite this singsong verse during the spring, a time when April showers begin to bring May flowers.
Wouldn't it be great if we could utter those words to wash away our troubles? Pain, pain, go away, please DON'T come again another day...
How can we set aside the pain in our lives? Wouldn’t it be a miracle if we could begin anew, emulating the renewal of springtime? A time when flowers bloom, trees branch out, and life sprouts… Can we follow this same pattern of rebirth in our lives?
Yes, we can! We are all given a chance at a new beginning through Christ who washes away our sin and worry and doubt.
Christ provides us a chance to set aside the mistakes of our past and start fresh. A chance to awaken from a worldly way of living to live by the Spirit. A chance for everlasting life through faith -- belief and trust in Jesus as our Savior.
Trusting in Christ does not automatically mean all your troubles disappear. But it does mean you become a new person, reborn in Christ. It does mean you start from that very day to change the rest of your life. It does mean you are forgiven and you can let go of your past.
Were you hung up on an idol that kept you from growing closer to God? Let it go! Be it smoking or gambling or overeating or any other habit that can be abused, Jesus Christ gives you the power to break free of it.
We will always go through struggles in life as God molds us (He is the potter while we are the clay). Jesus suffered a pain we cannot even fathom, and few of us ever have to endure that kind of torment. Yet, we all have our wilderness times of struggle and growth. For some it may be physical illness, for others it may be loss of a loved one, for still others it may be a spiritual roadblock or bad habit to overcome… Whatever specific wilderness is placed in our path, it is appropriate to what God wants each of us to learn.
When we come out of that wilderness (as Jesus came out of the desert to begin his ministry, and as Israel came out of the wilderness to find the promised land), we are ready for what God has called us to do.
Sadly, some people never find a new beginning in Christ, living an eternity away from God. This breaks God's heart. Yet, He gave us free will so that we might come to Him lovingly, not because we are forced or don’t know any better. WE HAVE A CHOICE.
What will you choose? Wallowing in the past, or renewal? A lifetime of indirection and regret, or a new beginning in Christ?
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Poem for Mom
~For My Mother~
Who is a mother?
She’s the person who loves you and guides you during good times and bad…
She’s the person who understands what you’re going through whether happy or sad…
She laughs at your jokes and cries at your sorrows…
She encourages you to aim for the stars in all your tomorrows…
She’s always there, never a doubt…
Making sure you never do without…
Can anyone fully describe what it means to be loved by a mother?
She loves you in a way you’ll never find in another…
No matter how hard I try, I could never express…
What I should tell you more often, not less…
And that is, “I love you,” my mother, more than you’ll ever know…
You are more special than you realize, in Heaven and below…
You, Mom, should stand proud and stand tall…
For you are certainly a mother, the best mother of all!
Written by Christina Downs
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Related Scripture (NIV)
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
- John 3:16
Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker, to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, 'What are you making?' Does your work say, 'He has no hands'?
- Isaiah 45:9
In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."
- John 3:3-8
Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever." And this is the word that was preached to you.
- 1 Peter 1:22-25
If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come. You will call and I will answer you; you will long for the creature your hands have made.
- Job 14:14-15
Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.
- Matthew 19:28-30
At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.
- Titus 3:3-8
"Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
- Deuteronomy 5:16
"Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
- Exodus 20:12
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Links and Resources
http://www.mothersdaycelebration.com/mothers-day-date.html
http://www.mothersdaycelebration.com/when-is-mothers-day.html
http://www.orenoque.com/mothers-day-crafts
http://www.mothersdayworld.com
http://www.first-school.ws/theme/seasons_spring.htm
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Check Out Cross Your Heart Publications’ First Author Blog!
Cross Your Heart Publications has added a new feature, author blogs, with the first one starting this week.
http://chrisdowns.wordpress.com
Stop by, post a reply, and learn more about the author of the book “Simply Balanced: Bible ‘Contradictions’ Teach Balanced Living”. We look forward to talking with you and helping you learn to balance your life...
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Current and Upcoming Releases
http://www.CrossYourHeartPublications.com (Please check out our new website, which will be unveiled this month!)
Look for these Cross Your Heart Publications releases over the next few months:
1. "Simply Balanced: Bible ‘Contradictions’ Teach Balanced Living" by Christina Downs (ISBN 978-0-9794248-1-6).
$12.95
From contradiction to balance—God's simple way to achieve balance in life. Look at six sets of Bible lessons that appear to contradict one other, and see how both sides of the equation are actually necessary. Without one, imbalance occurs. Jesus perfectly modeled this balanced living Himself. Learn to live a “simply balanced” life!
- Publication date: July 8, 2007. *PRE-PUBLICATION ORDERS BEING TAKEN NOW.*
- Ebook currently AVAILABLE: $9.99 (ISBN 978-0-9794248-0-9). *Ebook FREE with pre-publication orders of the print book (offer valid through May 31, 2007).*
2. Workbook also in development to help you live a “simply balanced” life (ISBN 978-0-9794248-2-3)!
$12.95
*Book/workbook/ebook package for $19.99 (includes a free prayer bead bracelet!).* Please check website for details or email cdowns@crossyourheartpub.com.
3. AVAILABLE NOW: "The Walk" by Michelle Kunkle
$10.00
~All proceeds benefit Harrold Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in Greensburg PA.~
Take a conversational walk with God through the first five books of the Bible. Learn how understanding the beginning can help you grow closer to God today.
- Produced by Legacy Inspirations, together with Cross Your Heart Publications, The DeskTop, and The Gallery Dessert, http://www.legacyinspirations.com.
4. Additional books are also coming about angels, using your spiritual gifts to help others, dealing with emotional difficulties, and a variety of other topics designed to help you balance all areas of your life. Inspirational fiction novels are also in development to go with various nonfiction themes. And be on the lookout for our line of Scripture sticky notes, so we can post verses around our houses and keep them in our hearts (Deuteronomy 6:5-9, 12, 25), helping us all “Live a Simply Balanced Life” filled with God’s love and blessings.
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Contact Information, Copyright Notice, Disclaimers, and Unsubscribe Instructions
Contact information:
Cross Your Heart Publications
Crossing your life with God's plan
P.O. Box 206
Loyalhanna, PA 15661
Phone: 724-787-6756
Email: info@crossyourheartpub.com
http://www.CrossYourHeartPublications.com
Member of Legacy Inspirations: http://www.legacyinspirations.com
Member of CSPA, Christian Small Publishers Association: http://www.christianpublishers.net
Member of PMA, The Independent Book Publishers Association: http://www.pma-online.org
Member of MidAtlantic Book Publishers Association: http://www.midatlanticbookpublishers.com
Please forward this newsletter to others you believe would be interested. To subscribe, please send an email to freetips@crossyourheartpub.com with "Balancing Tips, Please Subscribe Me" in the subject line. Thank you.
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We hope you have found this issue useful in helping you balance your life! If you have any suggestions for improvements, please email Chris at cdowns@crossyourheartpub.com. Thank you, and God bless you.
Disclaimer
Disclaimer of warranties and limitation of liabilities:
These files were prepared by Cross Your Heart Publications. Cross Your Heart Publications, including all representatives speaking on behalf of this company:
- Makes no warranty or representation of warranty, express or implied, with respect to using any information disclosed in these files.
- Has made every attempt not to infringe on or interfere with anyone's privately owned rights, including any party's intellectual property.
- Assumes no responsibility for any damages or other liability whatsoever (including any consequential damages) resulting from using these files or any information disclosed in these files.
Further, Cross Your Heart Publications employees have no professional counseling, psychiatric, or legal training and make no claim to be experts in these areas. Staff members provide emotional and spiritual advice on a general basis, based on personal knowledge and Biblical and other research.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2007 Christina M. Downs, Cross Your Heart Publications
http://www.CrossYourHeartPublications.com
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