Andrew Smith's Blog

My name is Andrew. Come and have a look inside my life and watch me share what is on my heart.

The Power of I Am: Two Words that Will Change Your Life Today by Joel Osteen Book Review






In the Power of I Am, Joel Osteen shares the importance of speaking positively and saying powerful I am statements. He begins the book by revealing how countless people are declaring negative I am statements over their lives and they are cursing their present and their future. Some examples of negative statements would be, “I am so average, I am so unlucky, I will never get married, I’m getting old, I’m so overweight, I will never get well, and much more. What we need to be declaring over our lives is: “I’m healthy, I’m talented, I’m blessed, I’m strong, I’m attractive, and I’m forgiven. Joel Osteen strongly believes that if you speak negative words, you will call in and receive all the negative reports you are prophesying over your future. But if you speak life and believe what God has said about you, then you will call in good things and your life will dramatically improve. 



Joel Osteen shared a powerful story about saying so and declaring out loud life enhancing words. He shared Psalm 91 and this passage talks about saying of the Lord that He is our refuge and our shield and how He will deliver us and protect us. One of his staff members was struggling with infertility and they have been trying for ten years. She came to work one day and told her coworkers that when she has this baby, she would be out for a few months. She would also tell them that they would have to find a replacement to fill in for her when she was on maturity leave. She would constantly talk about it like it was going to happen soon. The doctors told her it wouldn’t ever happen and she might as well explore other options. But she held unto her Faith and talked like it was already going to happen!  It took twenty years before she became pregnant and she gave birth to twins! 



I would recommend this amazing book to anyone who is longing to improve their lives and they are ready to learn how to speak powerful I am statements. This book helped me to realize how negative I speak about myself and my circumstances sometimes. I have struggled with speaking life about my body and trying to lose weight. I have begun replacing the negative thoughts and I have changed my thinking about my weight. I have already lost 25 pounds by eating right but this journey started when I worked on believing and saying that I’m strong and well able to watch my calories and to stop eating the wrong kinds of food. I also loved how Joel Osteen encouraged the single people in this book. The chapter on being patient really hit home to me. Joel Osteen shared how scripture stated, “Those who believed enter into the rest of God”. When God has a set time for your dream to come to pass or for you to meet the right person, it won’t be a second late. This encouraged me to keep believing that God has forgotten about my desire to get married and have children. It’s easy to look at all my friends getting married and having kids and I’m still waiting. I was deeply touched by being reminded that God can easily move me from point A to point Z just like that. I don’t have to worry about when or if. I just have to believe and trust God and His timing and be patient and run my own race! If you’re ready to begin speaking life over your life, then read this book!



“I received this book free from Hachette Book Group/Faith Works.”



If you would like to purchase a copy of The Power of I Am, then check it out below:


Nourish Your Family's Spiritual Health this Easter

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If your family is like most, breakfast is rushed to get everyone out the door. Lunch is spent at school or work. So where does that leave dinner? Nourish your family's spiritual health as you eat supper together. Adventures in Odyssey and Odyssey Adventure Club want to give you a free resource to help you begin your new dinner tradition of making the most of your family mealtime, beginning this Easter season. Simply head to this page and fill out the form to receive a free sample of Whit's End Mealtime Devotions.

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Want new resources to continue to build your family's faith, even after Easter is over? Consider signing your family up for the Odyssey Adventure Club (OAC). It offers safe and free content for everyone in your family. Membership to the OAC costs just $9.99 a month — or even less if parents make a six-month or one-year commitment. Enrollment provides more than enough content to keep kids engaged throughout the year:
  • Access to exclusive content and first looks at books and select Radio Theatre dramas.
  • On-the-go access to the OAC app for both iOS and Android users.
  • 24/7 streaming access to nearly 800 AIO episodes.
  • A new, members-only AIO episode every month.
  • A subscription to Adventures in Odyssey Clubhouse Magazine, and more.
To learn more about the Odyssey Adventure Club, visit www.oaclub.org, Facebook, Twitter. and Pinterest.

Easter Devotions and Activities for Your Whole Family

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We're down to the final two weeks before we celebrate Easter and Jesus' resurrection. Do your children understand and grasp the full meaning of why we celebrate the holiday? Adventures in Odyssey and Odyssey Adventure Club want to provide your family with a week of meaningful, fun Easter activities to help make the holiday come alive this year. Simply head to this page and sign up to download your free PDF full of family devotions, egg wraps, recipes, crafts, and cards. Oh, and as a bonus, here's a free activity sheet from Focus on the Family!

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If you're looking to dig into the Easter holiday more and want to build your kids' faith, consider signing your family up for the Odyssey Adventure Club (OAC). It offers safe and free content for everyone in your family. Membership to the OAC costs just $9.99 a month — or even less if parents make a six-month or one-year commitment. Enrollment provides more than enough content to keep kids engaged throughout the year:
  • Access to exclusive content and first looks at books and select Radio Theatre dramas.
  • On-the-go access to the OAC app for both iOS and Android users.
  • 24/7 streaming access to nearly 800 AIO episodes.
  • A new, members-only AIO episode every month.
  • A subscription to Adventures in Odyssey Clubhouse Magazine, and more.
To learn more about the Odyssey Adventure Club, visit www.oaclub.org, Facebook, Twitter. and Pinterest.

Act Like Men: 40 Days to Biblical Manhood by James MacDonald Book Review








In Act Like Men, James MacDonald has written this devotional to guide men in becoming the men of God they are called to be. He has written this book for the regular guys and he commonly refers to this guy called Joe Screwdriver. Joe works a job he isn’t fulfilled at and he is married with kids. But he is still longing for something more and doing something great. He also has written this book for single guys and he has a straight call to encouraging them to begin pursuing the single women that are available. MacDonald shared the harsh truth that men are in trouble with struggling with sin and temptation and they aren’t growing spiritually. One of the main verses of the book is 1 Corinthians 6:13-14 and it talks about standing firm in your faith, acting like men, and living and walking in love. 



One of my favorite chapters was entitled, “A Quality Man”. This chapter discussed the importance of not living in fear. Many men are afraid of failing at their job, fears rejection, fears being cheated, fears being alone, and being like his father who wasn’t a good example of being a dad. MacDonald strongly suggested that we confess our sin of fear and put our trust in our Creator. The chapter also looked at the topic of being angry and how deadly this emotion can affect our lives. The power of forgiveness will greatly change your life if you forgive the person who has hurt you. 



I would recommend this awesome book for men to every single man. I liked how James MacDonald wrote this devotional and related to the average man. He knows typically men don’t like to read as much as women do. He was very real in how he shared about the different struggles he has dealt with. One of the struggles, he opened up about was lusting at Playboy magazines at a young age. He also shared how this progressed throughout his life and how he was able to get free and stay free. He set up strong boundaries in his marriage to protect himself against temptations. This book taught me a lot about how to live a life that is pleasing to God and how to stand firm and act like a man!




"I received this book free from the publisher through the Moody Publishers book review bloggers program." 

 


If you would like to purchase a copy of Act Like Men check it out below: 



Welcome Spring with the Odyssey Adventure Club Today!

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The Bible is no doubt a timeless book, but often it's seen by the younger generation as ancient and antiquated. How can we make the stories of the Bible—particularly the Easter story—alive and exciting for our children? Adventures in Odyssey has created a free activity kit for families to experience the Easter story brought to life through eight days of Christ-centered and fun activities. Click here to sign up and download the kit for free.

Spring-into-Faith-&-Fun 

If you're looking to bring the Bible to life further during the Easter season, consider signing your family up for the Odyssey Adventure Club (OAC). It offers safe and free content for everyone in your family. Membership to the OAC costs just $9.99 a month — or even less if parents make a six-month or one-year commitment. Enrollment provides more than enough content to keep kids engaged throughout the year:
  • Access to exclusive content and first looks at books and select Radio Theatre dramas.
  • On-the-go access to the OAC app for both iOS and Android users.
  • 24/7 streaming access to nearly 800 AIO episodes.
  • A new, members-only AIO episode every month.
  • A subscription to Adventures in Odyssey Clubhouse Magazine, and more.
To learn more about the Odyssey Adventure Club, visit www.oaclub.org, Facebook, Twitter. and Pinterest.