God's Grace Experienced

Since I have been writing for a few months without actually explaining  what this blog is all about I will seek to give a brief overview in this blog. I've Always Been Rich, is a story about God working through my life, showing and calling at different times to different experiences and than enjoying the richness of His GRACE.  Grace can be defined as God's Riches at Christ's Expense. This it totally true as we realize that God did go to the cross so that we could be free from the condemnation of our sin.  But how does that look in our present everyday life? To the author it means that everything is seen as a working out of His will. That God calls us to scary jobs or even to everyday challenges in evident in the authors life.  However, God's call is always followed by the enabling and with that in mind it becomes a time when we can rest in God's promise to give us the tools to carry out His mission.  What a peace that brings and what an affirmation of His promises. I recently ran across an article that shows how this was true in Bible days as well.  "Timothy had too many ulcers, Gideon was insecure, Miriam was a gossiper, Martha was a worrier, Thomas was a doubter, Sara was impatient, Elijah was moody, Rahab was a prostitute, Isaiah preached naked for three years, John the Baptist ate bugs and had second thoughts about the very Messiah he baptized".   They all were used in various ways by God.  I could go on with many other examples in the Bible.  If the Bible characters are not familiar to you google one of them and look up the scripture that tells about that particular person and it will be verified that those people were not qualified.  In fact is says, God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called!  The author can personally vouch for the truth of that.  She could not say 10 words when she was in a group of people she knew when she was 20 years old without getting  tongue tied and sweaty.  God called her to ministry and she has spoken to groups across this country and up into Canada and on a one to one basis as a chaplain.  Does she do it perfectly and in her own strength? No, she must totally rely on God giving her the words and blessing what she says.  That is the Richness of God's Grace.
 Remember you can email me at mjrevmom6@aol.com.  Books are for sale on Amazon.com. Barnes and Noble.com and XulonPress.com/bookstore as well as at many Christian bookstores. You can order from me directly also and I will send them out if you let me know how many you want.  Start thinking of your Christmas list and who you think would appreciate a copy of the book.

I've Always Been Rich: Family Values

I've Always Been Rich: Family Values: This is a picture of the authors family a few years ago.  New babies have been added, weddings added more members, some are no longer memb...

Family Values

This is a picture of the authors family a few years ago.  New babies have been added, weddings added more members, some are no longer members of our family,  all have grown considerably and many have become family heads of their own families.  Life is a kaleidoscope of changing roles. challenges and opportunities.  The authors family is not mentioned much in the book, "I've Always Been Rich" and that is because each one can best write their own story.  But that doesn't negate the importance of family to the author.  That is why the role of the authors parents was expressed in great detail. in  the book.  The foundation of faith in God as it was expressed in the actions and teachings of the parents is of utmost importance. It is not an easy task because we like to be friends with our children and we hesitate to lessen  that particular relationship.  The authors parents were not perfect but they trained, scolded, reprimanded, punished, and corrected, when needed.  How does that work?  It works when there is all-inclusive love.  Agape love is the goal. Agape is an interesting word, look it up sometime, it is a loaded word.
I've Never Been Rich is not a story of perfect love, or perfect obedience to God's every call, not a drama of perfect relationships, nor a tale of how to do it right.  No, it is a narrative of one person's listening for the call of God and recognizing, even in retrospect, how God was working out his plan in the life of an ordinary farm girl from a small  farm in Iowa.  You can order the book on line at Amazon, Barnes and Noble or pick one up at your local Christiana Book Store.  A lot of publicity has gone out in Northwest Iowa, if anyone would be willing to pick up on this for their area I would gladly send out a press release or talk to an editor in your area.  I would appreciate it much. 
Email me mjrevmom6@aol.com to get in touch with me. We want the story to go out so it can be of help to those who are interested in such a message.

GRACE

What does it  feel like to be rich?  Have you ever felt rich?  Did it come because of something you bought, or of something you sold for a good price?  Some accomplishment? How long does that feeling last?  The author claims to have been rich all her life.  Is that an exaggeration or is she in denial about the real world?  The answer lies in the subtitle of the book, I've Always Been Rich", which states that she has experienced the richness of God's grace.  God graciously blessed the author with His love in every situation of her life.  No, the blessing wasn't necessarily obvious immediately but God's presence and love was presence in the situation.  This love can only be recognized because of what Christ did in coming to die on  the cross for the sins of His people. That is
GRACE.  God's riches at Christ's expense.  The author did not always have a big checkbook balance or bountiful material resources  but those things would have only brought a rich feeling for a time.  God's riches satisfy eternally.  How rich are you?
God's riches can't be pictured so no  picture today.  God's riches can only be experienced and then lived out in gratitude to Him.
Books can still be ordered from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Zulon Press as well from your neighborhood book store.   Or contact me at mjrevmom6@aol.com. Would enjoy hearing from YOU.

Richness in Diversity

Living in  the country 50 years ago didn't mean that life was boring or uneventful.  The book, I've  Always Been Rich, testifies to  that.  For some years two little boys from Winnebago came to spend holidays with the author's family on their farm.  The boys upbringing could not have been more different than the authors own family.  They were biracial,  They had been deserted by their families.  they were  scared to be with the author's husband (all men really), and they did not experience love.  But the author had a son who was their age and who showed them love, played with them, shared his toys, and the husband shared his love and respect for them as well.  After a few visits the fear left and a good relationship happened.   The picture shows just one activity that resulted in smiles all around.  Yes, blessings go two ways and the experience with these boys expanded the author's family to see the blessing in crossing racial boundaries and learning how less fortunate people live and how we can be a blessing to them in some small way.  I've Always Been Rich  shares many incidents that speak to the idea of making oneself open to new and different experiences and how that expands the learning of every family member.  The lesson learned in this family is that our plans don't always work out or become great but when God shows us the path we are to take then blessings abound and the experience makes us realize the richness of God's grace once again. Books can be ordered from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Zulon Press,com/bookstore.  Join us in making these books a  worthwhile Christmas gift, we would like to bless more people as the books are spread far and wide.