by | Faith Lived Out, Guest Posts
This is a guest post by Allison Vesterfelt. Allison is a writer, managing editor of Prodigal Magazine and author of Packing Light: Thoughts on Living Life with Less Baggage (Moody, 2013). She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota with her husband Darrell. You can follow her daily on Twitter or Facebook.
My best friend in college lost her dad when we were juniors. He was struck by cancer for the second time around Halloween that year. I still remember getting the call. We were in the kitchen making sandwiches and I had just reached in the fridge for a Diet Coke, when our home phone rang, back when home phones were a thing. I only heard her end of the conversation but I knew right away something was wrong.
The Cancer was back.
Hopes were high. He’d beat it once before, and everyone knew he could do it again. But his body must have been tired this time around because, by Christmas, he was gone.
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by | Faith Lived Out
photo credit: trevor coultart (creative commons)
How do you handle change? What happens when God calls you out of your comfort zone into the uncomfortable?
That’s exactly what happened to me almost two years go.
I used to serve every Sunday morning in the media booth at church. I was that person that made sure you could follow along with the words to the songs. I picked out backgrounds, fonts, videos, etc. I always had to be one step ahead of the worship band, which meant I actually had to keep a beat.
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by | Faith Lived Out, Life Application
Dear Mr. Obama,
Thank you for being willing to serve our country. I can’t imagine all the job entails, and it’s certainly not something I would want to do. The challenging tasks on your plate daily must be incredibly crazy to balance.
photo credit: mashable
I’ve been studying the topic of honor with my small group and that’s what led me to write this letter to you. John Bevere talks about honoring people, including our civil leaders and those in authority over us, in the study Honor’s Reward.
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by | Book Reviews, Faith Lived Out
Who are you?
Fill in the blank: I Am ______________________.
photo credit: pastormark.tv
Are you the woman who was sexually abused? Are you the guy who’s mother abandoned you at eight years old? Are you the overweight girl who refuses to go out in public because people will laugh? Are you the teenager wearing a pair of shoes from a garage sale and fear others finding out because you’ll be made fun of?
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by | Faith Lived Out, Health & Wellness
I was introduced to fasting several years ago when I was a brand new Christian. The thought of giving up something for God was scary to me, and fascinating at the same time.
Since then I have taken part in my fair share of fasting. A few hour fast. 24 hours. A partial fast from something that I enjoy, such as television.
photo credit: shutterbean
Last year some friends and I joined together to do a 21-day Daniel Fast, inspired by my new friend, Kristen Feola. It was a fantastic experience, both spiritually and physically.
I started 2013 out doing something different.
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by | Faith Lived Out, Guest Posts
Most Sundays I stand up at church and worship with some pretty talented people on stage.
photo credit: marilynjane (creative commons)
Since I live in Branson, Missouri, the live music capital of the world, I’m kind of spoiled with professional musicians and singers standing on stage each week creating amazing musical art. Regardless of their day jobs though — it’s what I see inside of them that draws me closer to God.
One woman in particular, Carolyn, stands there Sunday after Sunday belting out the most beautiful songs you could imagine. I swear if she would sing me to sleep every night I’d sleep like a rock. She’s declined thus far, but I’ll keep asking.
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