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.

Destiny: Step into Your Purpose by T.D. Jakes Book Review






In Destiny, T.D. Jakes explores the second important area in discovering your purpose and why you are wired the way you are. This book continues along the lines of Instinct and digs deeper into how to unleash and live in your God given destiny. Bishop Jakes begins the book by sharing how critical it is for us not to hate and despite the small steps needed to take in order to complete our destiny. When we have the proper order, we realize that setbacks doesn’t have to stop us for pursuing our destiny. He shared a great example about how God’s blessings at the right time truly is a blessing. If we were to give our small child keys to their brand new car and they haven’t have any driving experiences and training, it would in fact harm our child and others. But if we follow the correct order and are in line with God’s timing, great things can happen.

One of my favorite chapters was entitled, “Destiny Is Spelled P-R-I-O-R-I-T-I-Z-E” because this one discussed how crucial it is to prioritize your relationships, finances, what’s important for you, and much more. I loved how this chapter discussed the three different types of relationships people have, “confidants, constituents, and comrades”. This helped me realize where I need to invest my time the most. Finding great confidants who stay with you through the good and bad times are truly an incredible blessing. I also liked how this chapter talked about the power of having a great mind and not letting other’s people’s opinions dictate how we live our lives in pursue of our destiny. Bishop Jakes encouraged readers to not dwell on why people were rude to us or why they lied to us. We need to focus our attention and energy and time on things that truly matter.

One of my favorite things, Bishop Jakes revealed was how to deal with jealousy and struggling with envy. He shared a wonderful example of someone running their race and someone else comparing themselves to the other person. If we would build ourselves up and quit being jealous of other people our lives would greatly be changed. He recommended that we need to be inspired and have the attitude that if they were able to achieve their destiny, we can also accomplish ours. I have deeply struggled with being jealous of other people and how fit they are and toned, the amazing job, the beautiful wife, and kids. This book reminded me that I need to focus on running my own race and not to be overly concern about what everyone else is doing.

I would recommend this life changing book to anyone who is ready to discover how to step into their God given destiny. Bishop Jakes did an excellent job writing about how important steps are in order to fulfill your destiny and to not hate the process of reaching your destiny. I realized that everything I have been through is not wasted and God will use everything for His glory. This book assisted me in trying to figure out my purpose and how to live in my destiny. I also really enjoyed learning about the actor, film, and TV producer, Tyler Perry and his personal story and how he lived in his true calling and overcame the odds. I’m extremely glad, Bishop Jake included it in this book to inspire others to keep fight towards your destiny. This book will great benefit people who are ready and willing to discover their purpose and destiny.

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

Odyssey Adventure Club Back-to-School Special

It's August, which means it's nearly time for your kids to pack up their pencils, zip up their backpacks, and hop on the school bus. Aside from prepping them for their new teachers, new classes, or maybe even a new school, it's important to prep their faith. Sign your whole family up for Adventures in Odyssey's Odyssey Adventure Club for a special price of $9.99/month. The club is an essential tool to teach your children to share their faith at school, to be bold, and to grow in their relationship with God.


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Join during the month of August for $9.99/month, and you'll receive these benefits for being a member:
  • Unlimited streaming of Adventures in Odyssey library (800 episodes) retail value over $1,500 USD
  • New monthly exclusive episodes
  • Monthly Web Quests
  • Monthly Clubhouse magazine subscription (U.S. Residents Only)
  • Daily devotions based on Adventures in Odyssey episodes
  • OAC monthly member newsletter
  • OAC exclusive video stories
  • Animated Odyssey videos, Last Chance Detectives, and more!
Spend the last few weeks of summer vacation with your kids listening to Adventures in Odyssey episodes and build their faith!

Ready to join? Head over to the website and sign up today!

Bonding with Your Child Through Boundaries by June Hunt with PeggySue Wells Book Review






I’m a member of the Family Christian Bloggers and they provided me with a free copy of “Bounding with Your Child” for this review.

In Bonding with Your Child through Boundaries, June Hunt and PeggySue Wells explored the hidden principles she has discovered in parenting and how setting boundaries truly does help your children. In the first section of the book, the authors looked at “What Are Boundaries All About”? She defined boundaries as “established limits” and they are put into place in order to develop our children’s character. She also shared the dos and don’ts of discipline our children. For example, it’s extremely important to communicate our expectations to our children about how to act and how not to act and there are consequences to misbehaving and rewards if you behave. The book also contained questions and answers to assist readers in setting boundaries.

The second section of the book discussed, “Building Beneficial Boundaries”. Some of the topics they explored in this section was, “Bedtime Battles, Biting, Bullying, Cliques, Media Mania, Lying, Peer Pressure, Sexual Curiosity, Stealing, Whining”, and much more. The book chapters are divided up into three sections, “What You Could Do”, “What You Could Say”, and “Wisdom from God’s Word”.

One of my favorite chapters was the topic of “Bullying”. June and PeggySue shared that as parents we need to have a zero-tolerance for letting our children belittle someone verbally or harm someone physically. They included helpful signs to watch for in our children who could be bullying someone. They encouraged parents to discover why they are bullying someone else and they revealed the harsh truth that bullying is a learned behavior. And parents must role play with their children and let them practice being nice to them and this will reinforce how they should be treating others. I loved the amazing teaching lesson between a sponge and sugar and this one will dramatically help to break the cycle of bullying.

I would recommend this life changing book to every single parent who have kids from toddlers to high school aged. I loved how June and PeggySue covered a vast range of topics from biting to peer pressure. I felt they both understood the real need for a resource to help guide parents in raising their children founded in the Word of God. I’m not a parent yet, I like reading parenting book in order to gain the knowledge in trying to be a better parent someday. I really enjoyed the idea of tangibly rewards when a child acts correctly and non-tangible rewards such as the “Touch by an Angel” activity. The Touch by an Angel one is centered on making God smile by being good to others and doing something nice just to be a blessing to someone else. This program also reminds me of the TV show by the same name. If you’re seeking an excellent book on parenting, then read this one!

If you would like to purchase a copy of “Bonding with Your Child through Boundaries”, then check it out on Family Christian:

HCSB Apologetics Study Bible for Students Bible Review



 

The HCSB Apologetics Study Bible for Students is a dramatic new resource written to assist high school students transiting into college. The Bible has nice introductions for each chapter. There is a couple paragraphs where the author shares briefly the overall message the author is writing about. It contains who the author is, the date it was written, and what was occurring during the time frame the chapter was written. This Bible also included “Bones and Dirt” throughout the different chapter and this section gave history about a city in the Bible such as, Corinth. There are special articles written by different authors placed throughout the Bible in order to answer common questions Christian college students have. The articles are backed up with tons of scriptures references. Some of the questions are: “What Is Heaven Like”, “Why Should I Wait Until Marriage to Have Sex”, “If God Made Everything Good, Why Shouldn’t I Smoke Pot”, “Is Homosexuality Natural”, “Should Abortion Be Allowed for Rape or Incest”, “Why Does God Allow Evil”, and much more.

I would recommend this awesome Bible to every single high school student and college aged student. I liked how the Bible enclosed helpful introductions to provide an overview of each Book of the Bible. I also enjoyed the many diverse questions that high school and college students have about the written Word of God. I liked how this Bible isn’t afraid to discuss the difficult topics and questions such as abortion, rape, slavery, evil, doubts, and homosexuality. They could have easily chosen not to write about some of them but they were bold in trying to be relevant to my age group. I loved their take on waiting until they are married for sexual intercourse and how they included scripture to reinforce God’s word. It also gave encouragement to people who have already lost their virginity before marriage and how they can still remain pure. I strongly believe they did an outstanding job at discussing the many questions we have when we are just figuring out our faith apart from our parents. This book will greatly benefit high school and college students in seeking a deeper relationship with our Creator and Designer.


A Few Features of The Apologetics Study Bible for Students HCSB:
- Book Introductions for each of the sixty-six books of the Bible.
- Study Notes provide evidence of the reliability and truthfulness of Scripture.
- 120 Articles written by today's leading Christian thinkers dealing with life's ultimate questions.
- 60 Twisted Scriptures address ways that various religious movements distort Scripture to support doctrine contrary to historic Christian teaching.

Also, this summer, the gift of Confident Faith is being celebrated with 16 brand new, but energetic and brief videos featuring Sean McDowell, free resources like Bible studies and articles as well as wonderful specials on apps and Bibles.  There are new resources every week - a full 16 weeks of resources when it is all done.  AND, if that weren't enough, a Confident Faith Sweepstakes is being offered to give away Bibles, free mini libraries of B&H's best apologetics resources and even a trip for two to the National Conference on Christian Apologetics (NCCA) being held October 16-17, 2015 in Charlotte, NC where some of the world's leading thinkers will offer insights and teaching. 

I also viewed a few of these videos on the website. One of the ones I viewed was “Should Abortion Be Allowed for Rape or Incest”. This one discussed a personal story from Sean McDowell about one of his sisters that was adopted and how she searched for her birth mother. His sister discovered she was conceived by rape when her mother was 14. He shared the important message about how we still have value as a human being. He also shared with others that this sin isn’t an unforgiveable sin, God can still forgive. I thought he did an excellent job at teaching high school and college aged students the truth about the topic of abortion and rape. 



Another favorite was, “What’s God’s Will for My Life” because Sean McDowell shared one of God’s will is for you to be saved and to receive Him as your Lord and Savior. Another critical aspect is also receiving the Holy Spirit into our lives. I thought his take on God’s will was unique because he believed students needed to be more focused on becoming the person God has created and designed us to be.



SOCIAL • C O R N E R  

Official Website:  www.apologeticsbible.com

Social Media Shareables (for you!):  www.apologeticsbible.com/share

Resource Site (Access to Videos): http://www.apologeticsbible.com/partners/


Official Website to Purchase:  

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