Book Suggestions!

Okay, so I’m a sucker for a good Christian romance. I’d say it’s probably because I’m a romantic at heart and can’t wait until I fall in love someday. But until that day comes, I love to read good Christian romance stories!

I can spend hours upon hours reading books! I don’t have as much time to read as I used to, but when I get the chance, I have a whole bookshelf full of books that I’ve bought and haven’t gotten a chance to read yet!

I know that I love to hear what others think of books – and some of other people’s favorite authors/books, so I’m going to share some of mine with you!

Mary Connealy

I discovered Mary Connealy a few years ago when my Mom got the first book in the Kincaid Brides Series – Out of Control – to review. I don’t know what it was about the cover of that book that drew me in, but I started to read it and LOVED it. Soon after, I bought most of the books that Mary Connealy has published. I now have every book that she has ever published, and have never been disappointed with her books.
Most of them are set in the late 1800s and have cowboys, bad guys and a hero. They are a great read and keep you going from the first page until the very last!

Hollywood Nobody Series by Lisa Samson

I absolutely LOVE this book series. The main character is Scotty Dawn, a teenage girl who is SO easy to get along with that reading her book is so easy! She’s funny, down to earth and always says what she means. I can always relate to her! There are four books in this series, but I suggest getting all 4 at once if you’re going to read them. When I first read them, I didn’t read them all in order and it got a bit confusing.

But I believe that since then, I’ve read them about 5 times. No matter how much I read them, I can’t get enough! So fun!

Katie Parker Series by Jenny B. Jones

Okay, so Jenny B. Jones is another one of those amazing authors that writes so well that all her books are great! She’s quirky, funny and just plain amazing! Again, I can only hope to be half the writer that she is! (She hasn’t published a book in over a year and I can’t wait to see what she has up her sleeve next. Kind-of getting a bit antsy, truthfully!)

But anyways, the Katie Parker Series are another just plain fun series. They are of course, about Katie Parker. She’s a teenage girl who is in the foster care system and has been with the same family for a few years and loves it.

She’s also hilarious and you never know what’s going to come out of her mouth! If you like chick-lit, you’d love these books!

Those are my favorites, girls, but here’s a list of other great authors that you should check out as well:

Melody Carlson

Karen Kingsbury

Beverly Lewis

~Ashley

Idols Aren't Just Statues

Honesty time here, girls. In September of 2007, I was introduced to a teen boy band. Any guesses who? If you guessed The Jonas Brothers, you are correct!

I was introduced to the Jonas Brothers. And I LOVED them. I loved their faces, their singing voice, the fact that they were professing Christians. I just loved everything about these 3 guys from small-town, New Jersey. I wanted to meet them, wanted to marry one of them (preferably Nick!).

Boys bands are one of those things that come and go. The Jonas Brothers weren't what they were 3-5 years ago. They are no longer really singing together and the oldest, Kevin, has gotten married. Nick and Joe both went on to make their solo albums and do their own thing.

But when they were really famous, I really, really, capital REALLY liked them. I'll take it so far as to call it an obsession. I had hundreds of their pictures on my computer taking up space, I watched their YouTube videos over and over, and I even went to see them in concert. (Not gonna lie, even to this day I think that's pretty cool).

The thing that I didn't realize then, though, was that an obsession with a boy-band, an actor, ANY person who isn't Christ, is wrong. It's idolatry. We're putting someone up on a pedestal that shouldn't be on one! We're only going to be let down because these people are NOT perfect.

I have been let down by the Jonas Brothers many a time. When they could've professed their faith, or explained better why they wore purity rings, they backed off and shirked around the questioning. I'm not going to judge them and say that they're not Christians because I don't know what's in their hearts. But I do know that I have been let down by them many, many times.

"Dear children, keep yourselves from idols." 1 John 5:21

Putting our "faith" in people - or wasting our time on them - is only taking time away from the one thing that we should be truly focusing our time on - God. Looking up to people for advice, though, isn't always a bad thing! Don't get me wrong. But if we do it all the time - focus our time and energy on people of this world, we're not getting fed by Christ.

Since my obsession with the Jonas Brothers, I have grown a lot in my life. Not only have I learned my lesson on obsessing over people, but I've also grown a lot closer to God. My time spent loving the Jonas Brothers was time away from spending with God.

I didn't have time for God because I only had time to look up Jonas Brothers pictures, watch their videos, listen to their music.

I didn't have time to read the Bible because I was reading articles about these guys.

I didn't want to spend time with God, because I wanted to spend time with them.

"Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God's love for them." Jonah 2:8

Not going to even deny it - it was probably one of the dumbest times in my life. It was the time when I had more times for a boy band than God. I realize now that I was so far away from God at that point that I didn't even pray or read my Bible or listen to Christian contemporary music.

I just didn't have the time.

We NEED to make time for God. So stop adding those pictures to your computer. Stop watching those videos. Stop listening to that music for a while. Take time to pray, open your heart to God and spend time with Him.

I know that you'll feel less hungry for love and faith than you have before. God is the only thing we need and we NEED to spend time with Him.

As Christians, we need to learn that obsessing over anything but the Lord and his plan for our lives, is dumb. Plus, we're just going to continue to be let down by the people we are putting up on a pedestal. We will only be disappointed by them.

I don't know - maybe it's a lesson that all teenagers have to learn - to hold someone on a pedestal and slowly watch them fall. Maybe it's God's way of showing us that they're human and are going to make mistakes.

My advice to you is: if you're a Christian, prove it. Don't just say it because quite honestly, talk is cheap. Show people through your actions that you're a Christian. It's the only way for people who don't know you to find this out.

Like Blimey Cow would say, "If I spend a day with you and don't know that you're a Christian, you're doing it wrong."

So I urge you, spend time with Jesus. Get to know HIM a little better and get to know these celebrities a little less. God will never let you down. Everyone else will.






~Ashley

Topic Suggestions? Prayer Requests? Feedback? We'd LOVE to hear from you! Please send us an email at heistodiefor@gmail.com and we'll get back to you shortly!

When I Grow Up, I Wanna Be . . .

When I was little, I remember always dreaming of what I wanted to be when I was this so-called "grown up". I believe that first and foremost I wanted to be a waitress. This girl had big dreams when she was 5. Then I remember it turned into being an author. (That particular thing is still on my list of things to do, but it's not in the forefront of my mind anymore).

I finished my high school credits in February of this year. The feeling was amazing. I was FINALLY done with school. I could finally be done with school and never have to do it again if I didn't want to! I never had to open another text book or take another quiz or test.

Wow, living the dream, right? I'd have thought so. But even though it feels that way, my truthfulness will tell you that this was a step in my life that scared the bajeepers out of me.

I was then done with school. I then had to figure out if 1.) I wanted to go to college, or 2.) I wanted to continue on my career path.

My choice was career. I was already working for a small business and working as a part-time receptionist, and my cousin offered me the job to nanny her kids three days a week. I love to work and didn't want to go to college, so this is an exciting step that I will be taking.

Growing up isn't easy. And we wanted to grow up quickly? Why? Because it's part of our nature. We want to be an adult, we want to be treated like an adult, we want to make money, we want to move out and go to college, etc. 

In the last few months, I have had a falling out with a friend. She and I are no longer the best friends that we had been for years. We were growing up to be very different people than we were a few years ago. It seems like everything should stay the same - that we should be able to mend what went on and move on. And sometimes that's possible.

But I've realized that another part of growing up is growing apart from the people that we were close to. Friendships that were once great go from talking every day to talking every week, and then never talking. People we looked up to start to let us down.

I know that I've changed in the last few years. I have matured a lot, I have finished high school, have stepped into the work force and started making money and I have grown a lot closer to God. I know that I am never going to be the Ashley that I was a few years ago.

That Ashley always had time to do anything she wanted - she was bored, too, wishing she had things to do. The new Ashley is busy and barely has time for anything other than work! But that's okay. God knows what he's doing in my life.

And girls, God knows what he's doing in your life, as well! He knows exactly what you're going to do when you grow up, he knows exactly who your friends are going to be. He loves you and wants you to trust him in your life!

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper and not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11






"There is hope for me yet
Because God won't forget
All the plans he's made for me
I have to wait & see
He's not finished with me yet."


Don't get discouraged if your life isn't exactly how you dreamed it up to be - and you're not just who you want to be or what you want to be. God has a plan for who you're supposed to be when you grow up! Let him be the lead of your life and it'll happen in His timing!

~Ashley

Topic Suggestions? Prayer Requests? Feedback? We'd LOVE to hear from you! Please send us an email at heistodiefor@gmail.com and we'll get back to you shortly!

Judge Not, or Ye Shall Be Judged

"See that girl over there? I can't believe she's wearing that much makeup!" 
"Ew....that boy needs a haircut." 
"That girls need more modest clothing."
"Oh, she's a terrible person! I can't believe she calls herself a Christian!" 


If we're honest with ourselves, we know that we think these things. We may not say them out loud, but thoughts like the ones above do run through our heads.

This is something that I have been working on getting better at lately. I used to look at someone and give them a label before I even got a chance to know them.
I saw people and instantly thoughts that weren't true came into my head.

Truthfully, I thought that people who were different than me, were just plain annoying.

As I've been reading through my Bible and trying to get closer to Jesus, I have come across a few verses that have stood out to me.

1 Samuel 16:7 says, "But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as a man sees, for a man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.'" 


As we strive to become better Christians, we are striving to become more like Christ himself. Which means, as hard as it may be for us, we need to not judge by what a person looks like on the outside, but rather on what's on the inside.

Truthfully, I have become good friends with quite a few people whom I didn't think I could ever get along with!

But see, God made everyone. You. Me. That random person from church you barely ever talk to.

Jesus makes it pretty clear that we should not be judging others in Matthew 7.

"Judge not, that you be not judged." (Matthew 7:1)

Okay, makes sense. If we don't want to be judged, why do we judge others?

Simple answer: Human nature.

Christian answer: Because we are sinners.

Matthew 7:4 says, "And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye but do not consider the plank in your own?" 


Ohhh boy. Jesus hit the nail on the head there, didn't He? We find it so, so, so much easier to judge others on their actions, when we should be judging ourselves on ours.

"For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged." (1 Corinthians 11:31)

If, instead of judging the person at school or church, or that we see at the store, anywhere!, we judged ourselves - our actions, what we were saying - we would soon realize that everyone sins and falls short of the glory of God.

We all make mistakes.

No one is perfect.

So today - and from now on - let's try not to look at what people look like on the outside. And let's try not to make a rash judgement. Get to know them or stop your thoughts all together!

I heard a saying the other day about not judging other people because we have no idea what problems they may be facing.

So true.

I'm including a video of Give Me Your Eyes by Brandon Heath. This songs say, "give me your eyes for just one second, give me your eyes so I can see..."





Try seeing things through God's eyes. I know that it will make you (and me!) see the world better!

~Ashley

Topic Suggestions? Prayer Requests? Feedback? We'd LOVE to hear from you! Please send us an email at heistodiefor@gmail.com and we'll get back to you shortly!

Love Your Enemies? What?!

Probably one of the hardest things that Christians are commanded to do is to love our enemies. When we hear those words, our first thought is, "Um...what? Enemies are enemies for a good reason. Why would we possibly love them?"

Honesty time here, I've had a lot of people come into my life and leave because of various reasons. Friends and I have had falling outs. And the last thought that ever goes through my mind is, "I need to love them, even if they hate me, or aren't in my life anymore."

As a younger teen, one of the girls that I called my best friend at the time, hurled some pretty big and nasty insults on me. Things that a good friend should never say to you, but she said them anyways.
And forgiving her for what she did and said to me was very, very, very hard. They say, "Sticks and stone may break my bones but words will never hurt me."

That's a lie.

Words hurt. People say things that hurt worse than broken bones. Kids are bullied, hurt every day.
And we're supposed to love them? What?

Jesus tells us all about loving our enemies in the Gospel According to Matthew.

Matthew 5:43-48 says, " You have heard that it was said, "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy", but I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who cruse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be the sons of the Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sens rain on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." 

Okay, so....there's a lot to digest there.

But Jesus is pretty adamant about the whole "love your enemies" thing.

"But I say to those who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hates you, bless those who curse you and pray for those who spitefully use you." (Luke 6:27)

When Jesus walked the earth, he had a lot of so-called "enemies". People who didn't want to believe; people who hated him.

And like us, when our friends do things to betray us , one of Jesus' own gave him over to the officials so that he would be hung on the cross.

But did Jesus hate those people who persecuted him, or who spat on him, or loathed him?

No. No. No.


Because, somehow, he loves everyone. No matter what they do - what WE do - he loves us.

As Christians, we need to practice to be more like Jesus every day. He said himself we need to love our enemies, so whether or not we understand it, we still must do it.

I struggle with this. A lot.

There are so many people in my life that I have a hard time loving. But as I was working on this post, I came across a verse in Romans that really helped me.

"For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life." (Romans 5:10)

Phew. Okay. Before we accept (or accepted) Christ as our personal Savior, we were God's enemy. But do you think that for one second that he hated us?

No!

So I urge you to pray for those people you don't like so much. If they're not Christians, especially pray that they will find the Lord.

But just pray for them.

You may never be friends with you those people that you call "enemies", but you don't have to hate them.
We'll work through this together. I'm just as much at fault of this as anyone else.

C'mon girls! Let's pray for our enemies.

Together - and with God's help - we'll make it through.

~Ashley

Topic Suggestions? Prayer Requests? Feedback? We'd LOVE to hear from you! Please send us an email at heistodiefor@gmail.com and we'll get back to you shortly!

Impurity and Purity

 
In the last month or so, I have seen pictures, previews, talk and pins on Pintrest all about the new movie that came out recently, Magic Mike. The movie stars a lot of Hollywood's favorite men, including Matthew McConaughey, Channing Tatum and Alex Pettyfer.

When I first saw the preview for this movie, I was really pretty appalled. I couldn't believe that someone would actually make a movie like this - something that was so trashy and messed up.

The synopsis reads, "A male stripper teaches a younger performer how to party, pick up women and make easy money."

Okay, so there's a lot going wrong in that, but the first thing that pops to mind is..."Wow, a movie about a stripper..." We, as girls, don't want our boyfriends, or young guy friends to go see a movie about a woman stripper, so why would men want us to go and see a movie about male strippers? I think that somehow that has become a double standard when it comes to this movie.

The saddest part has to be that a lot of my Christian friends are talking about how good this movie is. Or how they want to see it. This is something that I don't think that I will ever understand.

As Christians, God not only wants us to be physically pure, but also pure of heart and mind.

David said these words...Psalm 51:10, "Create in me a clean heart, oh God."


That should be the cry of all our hearts. To have a pure heart, a heart after Jesus Christ, and only after him.
When we go see movies like Magic Mike, we fill our mind with nothing but impure thoughts. I'm not saying that to judge anyone, as just about anything can spark impure thoughts in our brains. No one is perfect and we are born with a sinful nature.

But when we KNOW that the movie we are going t see is bad and yet we still go to see it, we are deliberately putting those thoughts into our minds.

Matthew 5:8 says, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."


I'm going to be honest with you girls, there have been a couple of times when I have wanted to go see some not-so-good movies. My mom was quick to tell me - every time - "Ashley, you don't need to fill your head with that kind-of stuff."

Our culture is so secular. There are so many movies out there that are not decent for Christian eyes - or any eyes, to be quite honest - yet people still go and see them and then rant and rave over them and they become popular.

1st Timothy 5:22 says, "...keep yourselves pure." 


2nd Timothy 2:22 says, "Flee yourself of youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart." 


So instead of going to see a movie, or reading a book that you're not so sure about, hang out with a good Christian friend and watch a movie that you already own. Or pick up a good Christian fiction.


Titus 1:5 "To the pure, all things are pure..."
Also, if you're not sure about a movie that you've been wanting to see, check out the review on Plugged In. This is a Christian website that gives their honest opinion about movies, as well as saying all the not-so-savory things that happen in those said movies.

But remember, no matter what movies you've seen, or what you've filled your head with, know that Jesus will always forgive you, if you only ask him. He will wash you white as snow. So don't worry. He will be waiting anxiously.

~Ashley

Topic Suggestions? Prayer Requests? Feedback? We'd LOVE to hear from you! Please send us an email at heistodiefor@gmail.com and we'll get back to you shortly!

YOU'RE To Die For!

Do you ever feel useless? Unloved? Worthless? Not good enough? Not needed?
Let's face it. At one point or another, you've felt like that. And no matter what you do to try to convince yourself, a little voice comes into your head and says, "You're not good enough...you're not needed. You're not pretty enough."
We look in the mirror and only see the imperfections. The pimples, the crooked teeth, the messy hair. Everything that makes us a little bit different.
We want to be like the girls in the magazines. No matter how many times we hear those girls are airbrushed and not the real thing, we still want to look like that. They're beautiful.
Although I still have these terrible thoughts of not being good enough, no matter how many times I remind myself that I am, there are a couple of things that I keep telling myself, over and over and over.
First off, we are ALL beautiful. Everyone one of us. Doesn't matter what your skin color is, whether you're skinny or not, whether your hair is straight or curly.
"...God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." - Genesis 1:27
Why should we, for one second, say that we're ugly or not good enough, when we are made in God's image? Isn't it that when we scrutinize every little thing about ourselves, we're questioning the way God made us?
"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." - Psalm 139:13-14
Wow, so God knew what we would look like and who we would be from the time we were in our mother's wombs.
He created us in his image.
So the truth is, it's the devil's voice we hear when we feel we're not good enough. He's trying to make us feel that way because if we feel inferior and less than enough, he wins.
The next time you hear that little voice when you look in the mirror and don't see what you want to see, push those thoughts away and say, "You know what? god made me this way...he loves me and I am going to love me, too."
The devil will cower and know that God won this battle. I'm sure you'd much rather listen to God than to the devil.
Because the devil says, "You're not good enough."
But God says, "You're to die for." 


Ashley & Angelica


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