August's Favorites - To Encourage your walk with the Lord



I am very excited to be starting a new monthly favorites feature on my blog!  My hope is that the favorites I highlight will be a blessing and encouragement to your own walk of Faith.

So without further delay, here are my favorites for August!

PROVERBS 31 MINISTRIES FIRST 5 APP



This app was literally an answer to prayer!!  As I have shared in previous blog posts, this season of my life finds it very hard for me to spend devoted time with the Lord - in His Word and in prayer.   I was ecstatic when I received an email from Proverbs 31 Ministries describing this new app:

"The vision for First 5 was developed by Proverbs 31 Ministries in order to connect your heart to God's Word the First 5 mintues of your day. First 5 will wake you up with a short teaching first thing in the morning, so you can exchange whispers with God before shouts with the world.

First 5 Writing Team:

Lysa TerKeurst
Wendy Blight
Whitney Capps
Leah DiPascal
Wendy Pope
Krista Williams"

As described in First 5's intro, they are looking to connect your heart to God's Word the First 5 minutes of your day, and they certainly provided a way - an alarm feature!   You can set your morning's alarm through the First 5 app which will wake you up to the day's morning devotion - the very first thing you'll see on your phone each day!  What a wonderful wake-up focus rather than a social media account!

First 5 systematically goes through a book of the Bible.  First 5 just finished up the book of John and will be starting the book of Genesis next.  First 5 goes through a chapter a day with a short related devotional. Within the devotional are links to additional relevant Scriptures and a section called "More Moments" where a further expansion of the day's devotion is provided.  There is a section called "My Moments" where answers to a few short pertinent questions related to the devotion text can be recorded.  I LOVE this aspect because it leaves a history of how the Lord spoke to you during each devotional.  The devotion ends with a prayer to reflect upon.  The First 5 app also gives an option to purchase a corresponding "Experience Guide" which is "designed to compliment each days' teaching as you grow your faith and reflect and respond to what you are learning."

From the very first day I began using First 5, I have noticed a difference in my walk with the Lord.  I trust it will be a blessing to the first 5 minutes of your day too.  :-)

HYMNS RADIO APP
As you know, I LOVE the old hymns!  The richness of the words, which are usually Scripture filled, offer encouragement, comfort and even conviction - all so edifying.

My husband recently told me about an app that he discovered called Hymns Radio.


While he was sharing with me how he enjoys listening to hymns while he takes his Saturday morning walks or while at work, I was quickly downloading the app!  lol.

The Hymns Radio app also has an alarm clock feature.  What a glorious way to wake up - listening to hymns!  And there is still more!  The app has a sleep timer so that you can fall sleep listening to hymns as well!  Such wonderful ways to absorb the Word of God and its tenets.  

THE FRAGRANCE OF GERANIUMS
Author, Alicia Ruggieri

A dear, sweet friend and sister in the Lord, Alicia Ruggieri, has been blessed with a tremendous gift for writing. She has authored several Christian fiction books one of which is called The Fragrance of Geraniums.    

The book's description reads as follows: 

 "In brokeness she found grace...  Told from multiple perspectives, this is a powerful story of three women - of the threads of mercy that connect them - and of heart-wrenching sorrows alchemized by the Heavenly Father's overwhelming redeeming grace."

This was a book I could not put down!  I loved how Alicia weaved a beautiful story depicting how the Lord orders our paths and life situations for His purposes and for our good.  The Gospel message is clearly spelled out through the lives and situations of the characters making this book a very edifying read.  I highly recommend it!

Alicia is just finishing up the sequel to Fragrance of Geraniums called All Our Empty Places.  I am very much looking forward to the book's release.

If you would like to learn more about Alicia, you can visit her blog at A Brighter Destiny.  

THE WOMEN OF DUCK COMMANDER
Author's:  Kay, Korie, Missy, Jessica and Lisa Roberson

I enjoy reading about Godly people's lives.  I call these books, "mentoring books".  I consider The Women of Duck Commander one of those books.

As I began reading, I was convicted by their testimonies of lives wholly, humbly and purposefully lived for Christ.  My walk seemed to pale in comparison to how they live and breathe Christ.  

It was interesting to read about each one of their spiritual journeys and the circumstances the Heavenly Father used to draw them to Himself.  I was most taken with the fact that each one of the women of Duck Commander had someone in their lives that was a strong believer whose Godly heritage ultimately shaped each one of their own lives.

This book was a very easy read.  I highly recommend it!  You will be spurred on in your Faith.

KINDLE APP 

As I've written about in a previous blog post, I believed myself to be a hardcore, hardcover book reader and couldn't imagine reading books on a Kindle.

Well...  After a month of using the Kindle App on my Iphone, I must confess, I LOVE IT!   My number one reason for loving the Kindle App, the fact that I can "steal moments" to read a chapter or two at random times in random places, like waiting at an appointment for example.  In doing so,  I will increase the number of books I read - more books like the ones I described above.  :-)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope you will be blessed and benefited in the same way I have been by these favorites I have shared.

Blessed to be a blessing
Blessed to live Your love
Blessed to share with others every blessing from above.

A stanza from a song written for St. John's Lutheran School in Napa, California to be their theme song for the 2001-2002 school year.  

Let me know if you try out any of the apps or read the books I have shared about, I'd love to hear how you like them. :-)

You might find me on these link-ups:
Grace & Truth Link-upWoman to Woman Ministries,  Growing in Grace Link-up, 3DLessonsLif4eLivefree Thursday,Everyday JesusSDG GatheringInspire Me Monday Titus 2 TuesdayA Wise Women Builds Her HomeA Look at the Book,  Sunday StillnessThe Weekend BrewSpiritual Sundays, Soul Survival,  Give Me GraceA Little R&RTestimony TuesdayWomen with Intention WednesdaysStill SaturdayGood Morning MondaysTell His StoryBlessings Counter Link-up Party,Faith & Fellowship Blog HopMotivate and Rejuvenate MondaysBe SaltyMonday's MusingsThe Art of Home-Making MondayTuesday TalkWaiting on Wednesday,Dance with Jesus,Looking Up Link-UpReflect His Love and Glory Friend Sharpens Friend Link-UpWords of Comfort Link-upWholehearted WednesdaysTell it to Me TuesdayFaithful at Home FridaysSo Much At Home Link-UpLiteracy Musing Mondays



Comments

  1. Thanks for mentioning The Fragrance of Geraniums, Karen. :-) I'm glad that it was a blessing to you.

    That hymns app sounds neat! I'll have to look into it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Indeed it was Alicia!

      The hymns app is so uplifting and comforting. :-)

      Thanks for visiting!

      Delete
  2. Never heard of Hymns app!
    Good things on your August Favorite friend.
    How are you?
    God Bless and have a splendid week Karen

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ifeoma, Me either! And I was so excited to find out about it! :-D

      I am doing well. Just got back from a few days away with my husband visiting some historical sites and enjoyed beautiful weather!

      How are you doing?

      Blessings to you too! Thank you!

      Delete
  3. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  4. I have First 5 and it's a great app! I didn't know about the other one. I will try it! Thanks for sharing this post with us at Words of Comfort Link Up!

    Blessings,
    Tayrina from www.atinymixof.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tayrina, Glad you have been blessed by it too!

      Thanks for hosting and for stopping by! :-)

      Delete
  5. No apps. But I am a huge Duck Commander fan and I didn't know the women had a book. Going to go find that for sure. You have some very inspiring ways to get God's word into your day.

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    1. Michelle, If you are a huge fan you will LOVE the book! It truly had a profound effect on me!

      I am thankful for all these means to absorb God's Word.

      Thanks for visiting!

      Delete
  6. I love hymns AND real-live, paper books too. But I do have a Kindle (no app), and find it useful in its own way.
    Thanks for all these suggestions!

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  7. Neat Approach in sharing helpful ideas! I wish you the very best in your life and ministry. God Bless from Columbus, GA

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    Replies
    1. Jenny, Thank you so very much!

      Thanks for visiting! i :-)

      Blessings to you too!

      Delete
  8. The First 5 App is so wonderful! I am thankful to the Proverbs 31 team for developing it! Have a blessed day. Thanks for linking with Tuesday Talk.

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    Replies
    1. Lauren, I know! Me too! :-)

      I enjoy the fellowship at Tuesday Talk. :-)

      Delete
  9. What a tremendous blessing to have been told about all of these wonderful, edifying resources!! This must have taken so much time and effort to put this together for us, and I just want to thank you so much! You are a dear and shining light, and you encourage me SO much...both here and at my blog. May the dear Lord bless you richly, in return. Much love to you, sweet friend. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cheryl, Your so very welcome sweet friend!

      You are such an incredible encouragement and blessing to me Cheryl. I don't think I could put into words how much your kindness means to me!

      In Christ's love,
      Karen

      Delete
  10. Thank you for these suggestions...some I wasn't aware of. Blessings, I was your neighbor at #TellHisStory ♥

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    1. Nannette, Your very welcome!

      Thanks for visiting!

      Blessings to you too!

      Delete
  11. I have a bad habit of checking email, Facebook etc, first thing in the morning before my quiet time. If there's something "not good" in there, I find that I am ill-equipped to deal with it. Thus, the First 5 sounds like a great idea!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jen, It really is! :-)

      Thanks so much for stopping by!

      Delete
  12. These are great apps. I hope you will share this post on Literacy Musing Mondays. I know they will bless my readers. : http://www.maryanderingcreatively.com/literacy-musing-moms-library-tips/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mary, Thanks so much for the invite! I will head on over their right now! :-)

      Thanks for visiting and your encouragement!

      Delete
  13. I found your blog in Susie Eller's link-up. What a beautiful blog you have. The music is beautiful and I am enchanted by your written words. Thank-you for providing such a place for people to come and read. Be blessed.

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    Replies
    1. Misty, Thank you so much! Your kind words are such a blessing to me.

      I'm so glad you visited. 😊

      Delete
  14. I am LOVING the #First5 app! It starts my day each morning and am so thankful to the writers faithfully bringing God's Word to the world each day :)

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    Replies
    1. Sarah, Amen! Their passion for the Word is so evident.

      Thanks for visiting!

      Delete
  15. Karen,
    I've heard such great things about the First 5 App...I'm a bit tech-challenged but I love reading how much you've been blessed by it and the hymn app...thanks for sharing the books that have touched you :-)

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    Replies
    1. Dolly, You are very welcome!

      Thanks so much for stopping by. 😊

      Delete
  16. These are wonderful suggestions, thank you! I especially like the idea of the Kindle app since I'm also slowly realizing sometimes it's not always convenient lugging around my many books..however I'll never let those hardbacks and paperbacks go! Visiting next door on WeekendWhispers. Have a blessed day!

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    Replies
    1. Kathy, You are quite welcome!

      Oh I agree! I will always love hard cover books. 😊

      Thanks for visiting!

      Blessings,

      Delete
  17. Thank you for sharing this list. I have the First 5 app and it is a gem. I am interested in the hymn app and of course I always love hearing about books. So glad you linked this at Weekend Whispers.

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    1. Mary, You are very welcome!

      Enjoy being a part of the Weekend Whispers community. :-)

      Delete
  18. I am still learning about this whole app business... I supposed that old fashionedness has a bit of downfall but I will eventually catch up :) Thank you for sharing these gems with us on the Art of Home-Making Mondays!

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    Replies
    1. Actually, "old fashionedness" is the best way to be. :-)

      You are very welcome.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete

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