Choosing extraordinary ...

Synopsis

I wonder if you are a little like me?

I wonder if there are moments when you dream about the life you would love to live, about the things deep in your heart that you would love to do?

I wonder if you have the same desire to make a difference in the world and live a life that matters?

Since realising that I was created by a God who loves me and has plans for my life which are beyond anything I could hope for or imagine, I have started to slowly chip away at the blanket of ordinary which has shrouded and restricted my life.

Learning about a God of unlimited potential and never ending boundaries has helped me to shake off some of the fear of failure in order to search for those sparkles of extraordinary which are glimmering in each of us.

We only get one life, let’s choose to make it an extraordinary one.

 

Sun Stand Still ...

 

                                                           
Synopsis

If you're not daring to believe god for the impossible, you may be sleeping through some of the best parts of your Christian Life.

"This book is not a Snuggie. The words on these pages will not go down like Ambien. I’m not writing to calm or coddle you. With God’s help, I intend to incite a riot in your mind. Trip your breakers and turn out the lights in your favourite hiding places of insecurity and fear. Then flip the switch back on so that God’s truth can illuminate the divine destiny that may have been lying dormant inside you for years.

"In short, I’m out to activate your audacious faith. To inspire you to ask God for the impossible. And in the process, to reconnect you with your God-sized purpose and potential."

—Steven Furtick, from Sun Stand Still

Hello...

Hello,

 

I know it’s been a while I blogged. Nevertheless, we have been on top of our reading schedule.

Since reading “So you don’t want to go to church anymore: An unexpected journey…”, the group read “Sun Stand Still” by Steven Furtick followed by “Choosing Extraordinary: Living out the God given dreams you’ve always wanted to…” by Helen Cottee. Both books are very different but good.

 

I found “Sun Stand Still” very challenging and inspiring. Steven writes about faith and audacious prayers. He reminds us of God’s faithfulness, love and the power of prayer.  He takes his inspiration from Joshua 10:1-15; there Joshua commands the sun to stand still so the Israelites can finish off their enemies, and God causes the sun to stand still. This book encourages us to increase our faith and trust in God.

 

I found “Choosing extraordinary” interesting, encouraging and very easy to read. Some sections of the book spoke volumes to me. Helen writes about various aspects of life and puts God in the centre of it all. She encourages us to have faith in God, trust Him and step out of our comfort zone and use our God given talents as we journey through life.    

I enjoyed reading both books and found both authors writing styles easy to follow.

 

If you have read either “Sun stand still” or “Choosing extraordinary”, you are welcome to share your thoughts and views with us. Please leave a comment.

God bless.

 

Ope

             



                                     

So You Don't Want to Go to Church Anymore: An Unexpected Journey ...

Hi there,

 

The group recently read - ”So You Don't Want to Go to Church Anymore: An Unexpected Journey” by Wayne Jacobsen and Dave Coleman.

Although not an ecstatic read, it was quite easy to engage. In this book, the authors made some thought provoking points about the “institution of the church” and how this can stifle our spiritual growth and relationship with Jesus – especially if we lose focus. We must always remember that Christ is the head of the church.

Personally, I found some of the conversations between the main two characters in the book very helpful and this has challenged me to take a closer look at my relationship with God and learn to trust Him in every circumstance.

I would recommend this book for reading, but with caution to new Christians!

Please share your comments and thoughts with us if you have read this book.

 

Kind regards,

Ope

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Synopsis

What would you do if you met someone you thought just might be one of Jesus’ original disciples still living in the 21st Century? That’s Jake’s dilemma as he meets a man who talks of Jesus as if he had known him, and whose way of living challenges everything Jake had previously known.

 

So You Don’t Want to Go To Church Anymore is Jake’s compelling journal that chronicles thirteen conversations with his newfound friend over a four-year period and how those exchanges turn Jake’s world upside-down. With his help, Jake faces his darkest fears, struggles through brutal circumstances and comes out on the other side in the joy and freedom he always dreamed was possible.

 

If you’re tired of just going through the motions of Christianity and want to mine the depths of what it really means to live deeply in Christ, you’ll find Jake’s story will give you hope for your own. This book probes the difficult questions and offers some far-reaching answers. It just might turn your world upside-down as well!

 

The joy of reading ..... Happy 2014!!

Hi there,


Happy New Year!!!


Below are Activate's selected reading titles for 2014.


Please feel free and read along with us.


Enjoy ... happy reading! 

So You Don't Want to Go to Church Anymore: An Unexpected journey by Wayne Jacobsen and Dave Coleman


 Jan 2014 – Mar 2014










Sun Stand Still by Steven Furtick


Mar 2014 – May 2014

 

 

Choosing Extraordinary: Living out the God given dreams you've always wanted to...      by Helen Cottee      

May 2014 – July 2014                                                                                                                      

 
 God on Mute by Pete Greig


July 2014 – Sept 2014

 
 Voice in the Night: The True Story of a Man and the Miracles That Are Changing Africa by Pastor Surprise (with David Wimbish)


Sept 2014 – Nov 2014

 The Divine Conspiracy: "Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God" by Dallas Willard



Nov 2014 – Jan 2015











Love and blessings,

Ope

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Synopsis

Mariam is only fifteen when she is sent to Kabul to marry Rasheed. Nearly two decades later, a friendship grows between Mariam and a local teenager, Laila, as strong as the ties between mother and daughter. When the Taliban take over, life becomes a desperate struggle against starvation, brutality and fear. Yet love can move a person to act in unexpected ways, and lead them to overcome the most daunting obstacles with a startling heroism.

Choose Joy - Because Happiness Isn't Enough by Kay Warren

Synopsis

 

EVERYONE KNOWS HOW TO BE JOYFUL IN THE PEAKS OF LIFE ..........

When all your fondest hopes and wildest dreams come true, and your heart nearly explodes with happiness, it’s easy to feel joyful.

 But what about the valleys? When nothing seems to go your way? When everything is falling apart? When God is silent, and you feel alone?

 Where does joy fit into those moments?

In “Choose Joy”, acclaimed author and Christian leader Kay Warren shares the path to experiencing soul-satisfying joy no matter what you’re going through. Joy is deeper than happiness, lasts longer than excitement, and is more satisfying than pleasure and thrills. Joy is richer…Fuller…And it’s far more accessible than you’ve thought.

 

Joy comes from God … and it can be yours! Today.

Two great reads ..........

Hello,

I’m so sorry it's been a while. Just lots of "life and doings" happening all at once, however, it doesn’t mean we haven't been reading. We read “Choose Joy – Because Happiness Isn’t Enough” by Kay Warren between September and November 2013, and read “A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini over Christmas.

Two very different and great books; I enjoyed reading both of them!

 “Choose Joy” was very popular with every member of the group. In it, Kay teaches women the difference between Joy and happiness, what joy really is, where to find it, and how to choose it in the good times.  Choose Joy is a brilliant book about choosing to trust God in all the circumstances and situations of life. It is definitely worth reading.

“A Thousand Splendid Suns” is novel (fiction). A gripping and thought-provoking read, but unfortunately not to everyone’s liking in the group. I found it both challenging and interesting.

The consensus within the group was that it had increased our understanding of the Afghan culture, if not the religion itself, as they are so intertwined and confusing, and all its tragic history and differences within the country, but mainly it really increased our empathy for Afghan women and what life is like for them, even today.

If you have read either “Choose Joy” or “A Thousand Splendid Suns”, you are welcome to share your views with us. Please leave a comment.
 
God bless.


Ope