Finding Philemon: Lessons Learned

Greetings, 

One of the things I've always desired to do in my career as a writer has been to publish a blog post or to record a video of the lessons I learned throughout the writing process and how those lessons impacted my life, whether it be in the spiritual sense, the emotional sense, or even the educational sense. I have to be honest here, I fully intended to have this post up last week. I failed to put the time aside to do that though. I am glad though, because it gave me more time to reflect on all the things that have taken place in 2023.

Book Review- Marriage God's Way by Pastor Scott LaPierre

Greetings, 

I was recently given the opportunity to read a book written by one of our ministry partners. The book, Marriage God's Way by Scott LaPierre, is a spectacular piece and offers a lot of insight into what marriage should be.  Pastor Scott is the the senior pastor of Woodland Christian Church. He and his wife, Katie, have been blessed with six children and enjoy every crazy minute of parenting as husband and wife they are given. Below you can see a picture of them that links to his facebook page.

Pastor Scott and His Family

I don't normally write book reviews but this book is well worth the time it took to write this small review. The book itself was a bit longer that I originally thought it was going to be but every page I read had some type of helpful information for those that are curious about what marriage should be all about from the biblical perspective. Hands down this books gets 5 stars in my book, no pun intended. 

I completely believe that this book will offer some great insight into any marriage. For those that are newly weds it teaches the basics about everything you need to make your marriage work. For those that have been married for years it teaches about respecting your spouse and understanding their needs better. It's a great read and I encourage you to take a look. The book's cover is captured below and will link you directly to its Amazon page.

Marriage God's Way by Scott LaPierre was a very informative and enlightening book. I can see that the Pastor Scott has really put a lot of thought and prayer into the contents of this book. From beginning to end the Biblical platform presented in a historical way that really could help a lot of marriages. Both encouraging and challenging for both the husband and wife, I wish I had something like this when my wife and I first got married, it would have been a huge asset to our marriage when we were just starting out. Having something like this easy read would have made our journey together so far even better.

As someone who went through marriage counseling before I was married and as someone who has offered counsel to others since getting married, I still found some very good insight into how I should view my wife. The mixture of personal experience with professional and biblical experience captured my attention more than most other books I’ve read. I intend to keep reading through it until I've captured every enlightening aspect in my own marriage. Pastor Scott LaPierre truly has a passion for reaching others for Christ and being a Biblical example of Marriage God's Way that all men should aspire to be.

Making a marriage work is a team effort and many of us lose sight of that along the way. Pastor Scott mentions in the first few chapters of this book that God comes first, A spouse should come directly after that and everything else follows. I really like that philosophy and feel the it is the aspect that really makes marriages survive even the hardest of moments.

Don’t take my word for it though, check it out for yourselves.

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Blessings in Christ and Thanks again for visiting us at "The Gathering Room."

"Times of refreshing come from the presence of the Lord." 45.3.20

M.J. Elliott

Are you a Busy Bee?

Have you ever had one of those moments in which you felt like the world around you is just way too busy?

My wife and I have been having conversations like this recently and to tell you the truth it really does feel like the rest of the world we live in is just so much busier than it should be. It’s actually kind of unsettling when you think about it.

We have so much going on right now that if often feels like we don’t really have any time to just slow down and simply relax for a few, even brief, moments. Don’t get me wrong here; we have plenty of time to spend with our children and other aspects of our lives. The truth is we are all very happy right now even with how busy we’ve been with everything that we are working towards, we just don’t really have any quiet time. 

As I was thinking about this I began to think about how that question can apply to our spiritual lives. What came to mind how the busyness of the world often times keeps us from taking the time we need to grow in God.  We get so wrapped up in trying to accomplish so many different things that we forget to stop and give God the glory for all that he has given us.

Recently, my wife and I took some time to watch that new movie, War Room.  At first, I didn't really know where the movie was going but as I got into it I began to realize a lot of things about my life. For one, I really don’t pray about as much as I should. Truthfully, I have a tendency to act before I think and that usually gets me in trouble. If I took the opportunity to pray first and then move forward. Life would be at least a little bit different. 

Another thing I realized was that the devil really is out to get me, and all of us for that matter. That realization knocked me down a few pegs. Overall though it reminded me that God is bigger than anything I, or my family, will have to face while we are here on earth.  It really is kind of unsettling to think about a lot of these things, but they are thing that we need to make time to think about.

Satan wants nothing more that to steal, kill, and destroy what God has for us and he can use many of the things of this world to do so.  It is us to us to prepare ourselves for those moments in which Satan may get the upper hand. We can live as busy bees or we can make the time each day to give God what he deserves, our undivided attention. 

Marchiano Ministries

When you get to the point in your life that you are so busy that you have to let go of that time God longs for, that is the moment you have lost who you are. Everything just seems to last a long time when it is done in God's timing instead of your own. The question that remains now is simply this "Are you too much of a busy bee?"

Blessings in Christ and thanks again for visiting "The Gathering Room"

Stand Strong and continue to believe the teachings given to you... (2 Thes. 2:15b NCV),

M.E.

Reflecting Christmas; The Introduction

Greetings Everyone,

Here is the Introduction to Reflecting Christmas, our Christmas E-book. This Project is very close to my heart. It's purpose will be to serve as a reminder of what Reflecting the Spirit of Christmas is all about.

As was previously mentioned, we are posting the rough draft of this project here so you can read it and share your thoughts. Throughout the next few weeks, everything offered will be prayerfully considered and in the end, and with God's help, our hope is that this little eBook will bless many. 

The 5 people who give us the most *useful* feed back will receive a digital copy of the completed eBook as a gift once it is finished. Again, I ask that those who are willing, keep this process in their thoughts and prayers. Thanks in advance for your support on this project.

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 Have you ever heard someone say, “People need to reflect the Christmas Spirit a little bit more?” I have, many times, and usually it reminds me of the film, “The Muppet Christmas Carol.” In the last few lines of this film, the narrator says something about Mr. Scrooge that I believe speaks to this question. It goes something along the lines of “and Scrooge lived in the Christmas spirit all the days of his life.” 

PHOTO CREDIT; www.thefedorachronicles.com

Throughout this version of a classic tale, the Muppets bring in many different aspects of Scrooge’s past to remind him that living selfishly will have its consequences and that there is still time to change. At first, Mr. Scrooge resists in every possible way, but as he reflects on the choices he has made in life, something begins to change and his eyes start to see the damage they have really caused. After the visit from the three ghosts, though, everything changes and Mr. Scrooge becomes a completely different person. 

  This is a great depiction of the impact our choices can have on others. In this new series of devotional blogs, and eventual eBook, we will embark on a journey to highlight the symbols of Christmas and what they mean. There is something significant about the symbols of Christmas that can teach us what it means to ‘reflect Christmas’ in everyday life. Now, it is not the purpose of this series to tell you to live like it's Christmas every day, instead, it is meant to be used as a tool to guide you as you journey to becoming your own 'reflection' the Spirit of Christmas. 

PHOTO CREDIT: www.roofingandmoreinc.com

  It is easy to say, “If you live as though it is Christmas every day your life will be full of joy and love,” but the fact is, life is full of its ups and downs and we are only human. Living each day as a 'reflection' of the Spirit of Christmas, however, provides us with something more to live by. Doing this will not an easy task by any means; honestly, it will take a lot of hard work and devotion. Take a moment to look at the world around you, there is darkness pushing on all sides of the equation and each day comes with new troubles of its own to overcome (Matthew 6:34).

  As you read this series, the intention is to use the different symbols of Christmas to share with you the difference between living life from your own perspective and living life as a ‘reflection’ of the Spirit of Christmas. There as so many aspects, or symbols, of Christmas that we tend to overlook each year and it's time we all took a moment, or two, to stop and explore a little more about what the Spirit of Christmas is truly about. 

  Now, I am not so callous as to suggest that the words in this series are written in stone or that they are the only way to reflect the Spirit of Christmas, but this is a good place to start at least. My hope for you, as we embark on this journey, is simply that you will find a new way to view the Christmas season and that it will bring great joy to your heart (Proverbs 17:22).

Blessings in Christ, 

M.E.