Today, my friend Marni gave me the opportunity to guest post on her blog... about a subject that I am very passionate about. Read the intro here and then jump over to her blog for the rest. :)

Today I was given an awesome opportunity to guest post at Rachel's blog, The Lazy Christian. Since you have stopped here, I hope you will go over to read today's post about why we cannot claim ignorance when it comes to our sin! :) Then come back here and leave me a comment. Have a wonderful Friday!

Visit Rachel's blog: www.thelazychristian.com.

I would like to invite you all to be a part of a special webcast, Unite for LIFE, with Abby Johnson on Tuesday, May 17th, at 8:00 PM (all time zones). You can sign up to join this FREE webcast at www.uniteforlifewebcast.org. You will be able to purchase unPLANNED, the book, and the unPLANNED DVD together at a discounted price and $10 from each purchase will support crisis pregnancy centers. See below the video for a special opportunity to win a free copy of the unPLANNED DVD.





Win a free DVD!
As a member of the Tyndale Blog Network, I have the privilege of being able to offer one person a FREE copy of Abby's story in DVD format. All you have to do to enter for a chance to win this DVD is the following:

1. Follow me on Twitter and "like" Grow Where You're Planted on Facebook (if you haven't already done these). See links in the right column.
2. Leave a comment on this post, letting me know why you would like to have a DVD of this incredible story. Make sure to include your email address.

This contest will be open through Friday, May 20th at 12:00 noon. I will choose one winner, who will receive a certificate for a free DVD. Thanks for entering... and don't forget to register for the Unite for Life Webcast on Tuesday! Make sure to spread the word!


Tweet

Lisa-Jo challenges us on Fridays to write about a topic for 5 minutes... no editing allowed. Hard for me? We'll see! :) This is my first 5-minute Friday. Here we go...

GO.

Today is a good time to stop and think about the real meaning of "hard love."

But He was wounded for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His stripes we are healed." - Isaiah 53:5

When you think about the cross, what do you think about? Do you think about the images of crosses that we see as Christians? Maybe you think about Jesus hanging there. Maybe you think about the forgiveness and are thankful.

Do you ever stop to really think about the pain?

Imagine for a minute the man we call our Savior, in numbing pain from a series of beatings, carrying a heavy wooden cross to Calvary. He can barely walk because of the weakness that has overtaken Him. When He gets up the hill, completely exhausted, His body is then pierced with nails. As the men hammer the nails into his hands and feet, his flesh is pierced, and blood streams out. When the cross is raised, it is dropped into the ground, thus pulling more at the wounds in his body. Oh the pain. Then think about the mental anguish as He cries, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" The aloneness in that incredible last moment on the cross.

As we approach Easter and we think about our Savior, may we remember the hard love that He suffered for us... and be eternally thankful.

STOP.

Would you like to join us in 5-Minute Fridays? Stop by Lisa-Jo's blog and jump in!

There are very few books that I can say have truly changed my life. Radical by David Platt is one of them. As I read through the pages, my toes were continuously stepped on, as Platt encouraged me to chase God instead of chasing “the American Dream.” I’m not saying this is true for all churches, but in our culture in general, church has become more about OUR preferences and OUR comforts rather than what God is calling us to do… which is actually to get OUT of our comfort zones and share the gospel. Platt challenges us by saying that we have “missed what is radical about our faith and replaced it with what is comfortable.” OUCH! Instead of being about comfort, our Christianity should be about abandoning ourselves.

To sum up the book, one statement that Platt makes is the following: “While the goal of the American Dream is to make much of us, the goal of the gospel is to make much of God.” If we are really sold out to Christ, this should be our main goal in life… to make much of Him and to bring glory to Him. We should not be “selling out” to what the world wants us to do or what makes us “happy.” 

Radical becomes more intense and convicting with each chapter. Platt concludes with a challenge called “The Radical Experiment,” where he encourages us to dedicate one year to doing the following:

1. Pray for the entire world;
2. Read through the entire Word;
3. Sacrifice your money for a specific purpose;
4. Spend your time in another context;
5. Commit your life to a multiplying community.

To find out more about these challenges, read the book! This is truly a must-read for every person who claims Christ as Savior. It WILL change your life… and be prepared, because a lot of Platt’s statements and challenges will not be “easy” or “comfortable.”

I am thankful that I was able to receive a free copy of David Platt’s book, Radical, from Waterbrook Multnomah’s Blogging for Books program. 

Reading this on Facebook? Visit my blog: www.growwhereyoureplanted.com.

This month, I had the honor and privilege of receiving a book from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishers (a division of Random House) for my review. The book is called Primal… and is the latest writing by Mark Batterson, pastor of National Community Church in Washington, DC. As you can imagine, I was extremely excited about this opportunity, but had no idea just how much this book would change my life! Before I start my review, here is the description from the publisher:

Primal: A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity by Mark Batterson

Our generation needs a reformation.
But a single person won’t lead it.
A single event won’t define it.
Our reformation will be a movement of reformers living creatively, compassionately, courageously for the cause of Christ.

This reformation will not be born of a new discovery.  It will be the rediscovery of something old, something ancient.

Something primal.

What would your Christianity look like if it was stripped down to the simplest, rawest, purest faith possible? You would have more, not less. You would have the beginning of a new reformation—in your generation, your church, your own soul. You would have primal Christianity.

This book is an invitation to become part of a reformation movement. It is an invitation to rediscover the compassion, wonder, curiosity, and energy that turned the world upside down two thousand years ago. It is an invitation to be astonished again.

The Basics of Primal...
Love the Lord your God with all your HEART, all your SOUL, all your MIND, and all your STRENGTH! - Matthew 22:37

The HEART of Christianity speaks of having a holy COMPASSION! Our hearts should break for the things that break the heart of God!

The SOUL of Christianity is in looking for the WONDER of God’s creation and scripture. One of my favorite sentences in this entire book is the following: “Awed silence in the presence of divine beauty is a form of worship that is often deeper and truer than sung words.” 

The MIND of Christianity reminds us that we must be passionately CURIOUS! A good summary of this section is the following from Mark: “We need fewer commentators and more innovators. We need fewer critics and more creators. We need fewer imitators and more dreamers.” He also challenges us to rethink the "taking our thoughts captive"... it means MORE than just taking captive the negative thoughts and sins…

The STRENGTH of Christianity can be summarized best in two different quotes from Mark:

• "Pray like it depends on God and work like it depends on you."
• "Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention.” (I'm reminded of a song... as I usually am! Listen to "Something Big" by John Waller.)

We are called to reflect God… His compassion (heart), His wonder (soul), His creativity (mind), and His energy (strength)!

My final thoughts about Primal…
Primal delivered everything that I expected… and more. As I started reading, I was drawn in by the challenge of stripping everything in life down to the basics. As I continued to read… the more challenged I became in my Christian walk… the more determined I became to pull every lesson possible from this book! It also grew incredibly clear that the entire point of Primal is to call us to a life based on The Great Commandment, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.”

Nothing more.

Nothing less.

Mark writes in a way that speaks deeply to hearts and minds. Primal is a book that can be read quickly, but should be given more time to digest. There is so much meat inside… so much that we can learn… It is not primarily a book about “how to grow a greater church” but instead “how to become a better disciple”. However, if we all begin to live the principles in Primal, I believe we will see the church experiencing a reformation like we have never seen before!

This is a great book to start off your reading for the new year… I truly believe this is the first “must read” of 2010!

If you would like to purchase Primal, you can purchase directly from Random House: www.randomhouse.com.

In case you are viewing this on Facebook, please visit my blog: www.growwhereyoureplanted.org.