Archive for God

May
3

Welcome John Thomas, New Hope Marketing and Sales Manager!

by newhope

Please join me in welcoming John Thomas to New Hope Publishers! I really had no intention of interviewing John when I received his resume, but through a series of events orchestrated by our wonderful God, I decided I needed to talk with him.  And I am so very glad I did! His vision for New Hope is evident. It’s hard to believe he has only been here a couple of weeks.

 I didn’t imagine the Lord would bring someone like John, a combination of marketer, thinker, theologian, educator, and above all, pastor. His heart and energy are evident in the fact that he and his wife adopted a baby girl after they had grandchildren! And if this isn’t enough, he loves to laugh—that has to be a requirement around here. (I would think anyone with grandchildren who adopts a baby would have to be able to laugh!)

 John is married to his high school sweetheart, Ann. They have three adult sons, two daughters-in-law, and four grandchildren. They are also the proud adoptive parents of Addie Beth, a 23 month old baby girl.

Joining the New Hope team has returned John to his roots. Growing up in the family printing business, he learned all things ink and paper: sales to concept to design to production to delivery. For John, clearly communicating the gospel through print and digital media is crucial to fulfilling the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. Helping churches get on mission is his passion.

 In addition to his sales and marketing experience, John has served as both a pastor and educator. He has served churches in Florida, Alabama, Kentucky, and Mississippi. He is a graduate of The Baptist College of Florida (B.A.), and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D.).

 God’s plans are always better than ours. He has proven this again and again. We are indeed grateful that John has joined the New Hope team.

0 Categories : Blog
May
2

Do You Find Pleasure in Prayer?

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by Elaine Helms

When you think of prayer, do you associate it with pleasure?

Too often we pray when we are in trouble, in pain, or when we need something. A sign that you are maturing in your faith is when you desire to be in the presence of the Lord just to be with Him, to ask what is on His heart, or just to rest in His arms in peace and delight.

Isaiah 56:6–7 says, “Every one who keeps from profaning the sabbath and holds fast My covenant, even those I will bring to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer.”

When we obey God, He gives us the pure joy of being in His presence. God created us for fellowship with Him, and the more we get to know Him and grow in our relationship with Him, the more we will spend time with Him just for the pleasure of His company and the joy of working with Him. It is good for us to seek His face to adore Him, not just use prayer to ask for what we want.

God is so loving and generous, though, that we cannot imagine all that He intends to give us (see Ephesians 3:20). “How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. They drink their fill of the abundance of Your house; and You give them to drink of the river of Your delights” (Psalm 36:7–8).

This article was adapted from Prayer 101: What Every Intercessor Needs to Know by Elaine Helms. NewHopeDigital.com encourages our audience to set aside time tomorrow, May 3, 2012, to pray, particularly for the US and its leaders.

Elaine Helms served Southern Baptists for 10 years as the national prayer coordinator at the North American Mission Board. She continues in retirement to facilitate the annual meeting of SBC national and state convention prayer leaders.

She is a member of the National Prayer Committee. Her books on prayer and church prayer ministry are being used in churches across the US, Canada, and Australia. She continues to speak in retreats, conferences, and state convention meetings, as well as consulting with individual churches. www.ChurchPrayerMinistries.org

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

 

0 Categories : Articles
Apr
30

Connecting on the Road Less Traveled (Or, Why Are You Still Driving the Interstate?)

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by Mary R. Snyder

Twelve days traveling old Route 66—the land of iconic motor court motels, remnants of old roadside attractions, and 2,500 miles of open road. It’s a road trip I’ll never forget.

I packed up the rental car, picked up my girlfriend, and we hit the road looking for adventure. We found it. From April 12–24, we drove through dust storms in Texas, across more than a thousand miles of desert, maneuvered our way onto a 1930s unpaved section of old Route 66, painted Scripture at Cadillac Ranch in Texas, and we rode a 1940s train to the Grand Canyon. 

We found adventure everywhere from the road to the rest stops. We slept in a teepee, a caboose, a 1930s motor court, and the 1920s hotel that housed the stars as they filmed Westerns. We stopped to walk the now-empty grounds and photograph the remains of roadside attractions that once beckoned people with promises of the biggest, the best, or just the most. It’s a fun place out there on the old road where it’s more about adventure than the destination.

While the old motels, ruins, and miles of history were all fascinating, it was the people who grabbed hold of my heart. We talked, laughed, listened, and shared. Their faces are still in my heart, and I pray they will remain there.

    • There’s the young, Navajo woman with a name that means brave and the California couple who are traveling across America on the back roads.
    • I listened to the stories of a 6th-generation Louisianan who now makes his home in an eclectic artist community in New Mexico.
    • I hugged a young girl who’s homeless but proud. I asked her about Jesus, and I pray that He is keeping her safe tonight.
    • I visited with a champion washtub player who won’t likely see another winter.
    • I chatted with a former astronaut’s wife and met more new girlfriends than I thought possible.

Connecting.

    That’s what Route 66 now means to me. It’s forgoing the high-speed interstate for the slower paced byway. It’s about the connections we make when we slow down and take time to engage with the people God places in front of us. 

God calls us to an adventure in faith. We (and this is me too!) get so caught up in figuring out God’s will for our lives that we miss the Route 66 adventure God has for us.

The Lord is placing wondrous sights before you. Are you missing them because your focus is on the destination rather than on the adventure in daily living?

Pull back, slow down, and ask God to show you the adventure in every one of your days. . . or rather, every minute within your day.

Ask the Lord to show you His will in everything you do from the simplest to the most challenging. God is right there—He wants us to experience abundant life in Him—but we can’t do that if we’re racing down the interstate and refuse to pull onto the road less traveled.

 

Mary Snyder’s busy blog is one of multiple ways crowds of women connect with this leader’s message of hope, joy, and adventure in Jesus Christ. As Premier Christian Cruises Girl’s Get-A-Way group coordinator, contest director, and girlfriend leader, Mary has a following that’s near, far, and across cultures. When she’s not cruising, she can be found at home with family near Birmingham, Alabama. Her first release from New Hope Publishers is God, Grace, and Girlfriends.

 

1 Categories : Articles, Columns, Mary Snyder
Apr
19

Mary Snyder: Great Girlfriend Adventure Update from Arizona

by newhope

Mary made a faith pit stop at the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, AZ.

Author, speaker, and adventurer Mary R. Snyder gives us an update from her Great Girlfriend Adventure, a tour of historic Route 66, which began on April 12 in Oklahoma. She’s been through Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. Today, April 19, she leaves Pinetop, Arizona, makes a stop on the corner in Winslow, and ends up in Williams.

Tonight she plans to stay at the Canyon Motel in a caboose. Don’t miss her livestreaming from there tonight at 8 Central, 9 Eastern.

Mary Snyderis the author of God, Grace, and Girlfriends: Adventures in Faith and Friendship, available in paperback and ebook format. If you can join Mary this weekend in Arizona (Williams, Gallup) or New Mexico (Santa Fe), please do.

For more information and to follow Mary’s trip, check out her blog, Facebook page (MaryRSnyder), and Twitter account (@MaryRSnyder).

New Hope Digital also plans a closing podcast with Mary for Monday, April 23, as well. She will be writing a Voices column about the trip later this month too.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

0 Categories : Podcast
Apr
3

Mary Snyder to Kick Off Great Girlfriend Adventure

by newhope

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama—April 3, 2012—Join Mary R. Snyder, author of God, Grace, and Girlfriends, as she travels historic Route 66 on the Great Girlfriend Adventure. Beginning on April 12 and ending April 24, Snyder’s road trip will make stops in Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico.

Proverbs 31 Ministries in North Carolina will be hosting a kick-off party for the Great Girlfriend Adventure on Tuesday, April 3. The party will be streamed online live at maryrsnyder.com and also through Facebook and Twitter (@MaryRSnyder), with fun giveaways and prizes (11 a.m. EST or 10 a.m. CST).

The Great Girlfriend Adventure is about stories. Just as historic Route 66 holds stories from travelers of days gone by, this road trip is an opportunity for women to share their stories.

“We all have a story, and we all need someone willing to listen,” says Snyder.

Her journey begins in Oklahoma and will end in New Mexico. Along the way, she and her girlfriends have planned several “faith pit stops” to connect with women on the road.

These faith pit stops will take place at historic landmarks along Route 66. Activities include painting Scripture on Cadillacs at Cadillac Ranch in Texas, hanging out at the teepees at Wigwam Motel in Arizona, and taking pictures of the unique Blue Swallow Motel in New Mexico.

“The whole plan is filled with fun. And it will be fun, but God has more for us on that road,” Snyder says. “He has hearts and stories.”

If you can’t join her in person, follow Snyder and find out more through her blog, Facebook, and Twitter (@MaryRSnyder). NewHopeDigital.com also will be recording 2 podcasts with Snyder during her time on the road. Be sure to check back for updates.

About Mary R. Snyder

Mary R. Snyder is a blogger, speaker, and author with a passion for teaching women God’s truth. She connects with women through her messages of hope, joy, and adventure in Christ. In her new book God, Grace, and Girlfriends: Adventures in Faith and Friendship, Snyder explores the importance of friendship and gives tips for building Christ-centered relationships.

Snyder is also Premier Christian Cruises Girl’s Get-A-Way group coordinator, contest director, and girlfriend leader. When she’s not cruisin’ and connecting on the ocean or Route 66, Mary makes theBirmingham, Alabama, area home.

To keep up with Mary Snyder and the Great Girlfriend Adventure, visit her blog, Facebook page, or follow her on Twitter (@MaryRSynder).

About New Hope Publishers

Representing more than 80 authors and more than 130 individual works, the mission of New Hope® Publishers is to provide books that challenge readers to understand and be radically involved in the mission of God. New Hope Publishers is the general trade publishing imprint for WMU®, a missions auxiliary to the Southern Baptist Convention. New Hope Publishers is a member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA).

For more information about New Hope Publishers, visit www.NewHopeDigital.com.

0 Categories : Articles, News
Mar
19

Are You Ready to Rest?

by newhope

by Kathi Macias

“I’m tired, Lord,” I said one morning, as I sat on the edge of my bed facing yet another long day. “I need to rest.”

I know. But are you ready?

I was too surprised and confused to answer. What was God asking me? Was I ready? Ready for what? Ready for a new direction in ministry? Ready for some new assignment?

Are you ready to rest?

Of course I was ready to rest! Didn’t I just say . . . ?

You said you needed to rest. I know that. You’ve needed to rest for a long time. I’m asking if you’re ready.

My heart stopped, as Jesus’s words from Matthew 11:28 echoed in my mind: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (NKJV).

Be Still

How many times had I read that verse? And why had I never paid attention? I slipped from my bed and sprawled on the floor listening. . . .

Peace. Be still.

I couldn’t have moved if I’d wanted to.

Be still, and know that I am God.

I thought I’d known that for many years, but now it came as revelation, as if I were hearing it for the very first time. Maybe it was because I was finally being still. And I stayed that way for a very long time, soaking up the remarkable, life-changing truth that God is God, and nothing else mattered.

It was several hours before I rose from my prone position, feeling as if I’d just returned from a long and restful vacation. I had a seemingly never-ending list of things to do that day, and I’d done none of them. A mere 24 hours earlier I would have been in a panic over my lack of accomplishment. This day I was completely at peace, knowing I’d done the only thing I truly needed to do—rest. I’d finally obeyed Jesus’s command to come to Him and rest, to be still and know that He is God . . . not me.

What a lesson! I felt like I’d learned more in those few hours of resting in Him than in all the previous years of trying to do things for Him. And I’d learned it right back where I first started as a spiritual rug rat—on my knees. I smiled, realizing I’d come full circle. Only this time I had no desire to get up off my knees and learn to walk or run or fly. I just wanted to be still and listen for His voice, to know that He is God and that all else will one day pass away.

I was finally ready to rest.

Making It Personal

Have there been times in your life when you struggled to find the right balance between resting and doing? How did spending time with God’s Word and His people help you achieve that balance? When was the last time you took time to rest? Are there other times when you forget the “going” aspect of the Christian life?

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” —Matthew 11:28 (NKJV)

The Christian life does involve both resting and going. Read more from award-winning author Kathi Macias’s spiritual journey in How Can I Run a Tight Ship When I’m Surrounded by Loose Cannons? This article is an excerpt from that book.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved

2 Categories : Articles
Feb
28

Pat Terry: God’s Design for Healthy Living

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Interested in living a healthier lifestyle for the glory of God? 

Listen to this podcast as respected nutritionist Dr. Patricia Hart Terry talks about getting outside into nature, eating naturally, and learning to rest. God has given us all we need for healthy living!

The Bible reveals God’s design for wellness: healthy eating, physical activity, and rest. In Made for Paradise, Pat Terry looks at Scripture and provides sensible ideas for implementing lifestyle changes. Director of the nutrition and dietetic program at Samford University (Birmingham, Alabama), Terry has more than 30 years of experience as a registered and licensed dietitian.

Recipe

Powerful red pigments contain lycopene, resveratrol, anthocyanins, quercetins, and ellagic acid that protect heart and urinary tract health and memory function, as well as lower risk of certain cancers.

Try this beet treat: Sauté 1 or 2 grated raw beets in a little butter until tender. Add 1 tablespoon of vinegar, 3 tablespoons of sugar, and 2 teaspoons of cornstarch dissolved in ¼ cup of water. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until the sauce clears. Even your children will love these powerful beets! 

(Recipe taken from Made for Paradise.)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

0 Categories : Podcast
Feb
1

Download the First Chapter of Altar’d, Jennifer Kennedy Dean’s Latest Book

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Download the first chapter of Altar’d: Experience the Power of Resurrection and begin a 40-day journey of transformation. Explore the Scriptures as an individual, small group, class, or church.

Ideal for reading during the 40 days of Lent (February 22, 2012, to April 7, 2012; not counting Sundays) in preparation for Easter, this study also can be used any time of the year.

Book description

We are created to live in an altar’d state—surrendered, yielded, free.

The noun altar is usually understood to be a place of worshipful offering. Something of value is offered up and released on the altar. When we turn the noun altar into a verb—altar our fear, our failure, our possessiveness, our need to control—all those things that hold us captive and keep us from running the race at full throttle are released.

Through careful exposition and biblical teaching, celebrated author and prayer expert Jennifer Kennedy Dean guides readers on a 40-day exploration of the Scriptures and what it means to truly live a life dead to flesh and alive to the Spirit.

Download the introduction and first chapter (day 1) of this book now.

Jennifer Kennedy Dean is executive director of the Praying Life Foundation and a respected author and speaker. She is in demand as a speaker and has addressed audiences at the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove and Focus on the Family. Her recent books include The Power of Small and Life Unhindered! She is best known for her Live a Praying Life Bible study and related products.

She recently became a grandmother to Campbell Wayne Dean. Read more about that here.

 

0 Categories : downloads
Jan
30

10 Great Girlfriend Road Trips

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By Mary R. Snyder

Road trips are about cruising the byways and steering clear of the busy highways. It’s about finding the roads less traveled. It’s about taking the time to explore the interesting, the unique, or the just plain strange.

Lifelong memories are made on road trips—memories filled with unplanned detours and dead-ends that end up in adventure and fun. I’m always ready for a road trip and here are a few of my favorites:

Quick Road Trips

Scenic Historic A1A—Florida. Follow the seashore as you travel this 72-mile stretch of highway. This north Florida road trip takes you down the old road to the beach. Starting out near Ponte Vedra Beach, the road hugs the coast through St. Augustine and ends in Flagler Beach. But it’s only the official Scenic Historic A1A that ends, A1A, as US 1 continues south all the way to Key West.

North Shore Drive, Minnesota. Travel the coast of Lake Superior on this 154-mile scenic drive from Duluth to the Canadian border. You’ll find amazing waterfalls, parks, lighthouses, museums, and eclectic shops all along the road.

A few more quick road trips:

Not-So-Quick Road Trips

Route 66—The Mother Road. Spanning the country from Chicago to Los Angeles, Route 66 covered almost 2,500 miles. Route 66 was decommissioned in 1984 and would have been lost to progress, if not for the people who weren’t willing to let this famous icon slip away. I’m heading out on Route 66 in April 2012. I’ll be traveling from Oklahoma City to Los Angeles. Stay tuned to New Hope Digital for updates and to learn more about this amazing adventure.

Here are a few more of the not-so-quick road trips:

  • National Road—US 40 from Atlantic City, New Jersey, to near Salt Lake City, Utah. (It once ran all the way to San Francisco.)
  • Blue Ridge Parkway—470 miles of breathtaking scenery through North Carolina and Virginia
  • Great Lakes Seaway Trail—500 miles of islands, waterfalls, and historic sites through New York and Pennsylvania

Whether you’re traveling just down the road a ways or across thousands of miles, remember to enjoy the adventure. Don’t push too hard for a destination—blessings are out there on the road. Enjoy the adventure!

Editor’s note: This article was adapted from God, Grace, and Girlfriends by Mary R. Snyder.

Mary Snyder’s busy blog is one of multiple ways crowds of women connect with this leader’s message of hope, joy, and adventure in Jesus Christ. As Premier Christian Cruises Girl’s Get-A-Way group coordinator, contest director, and girlfriend leader, Mary has a following that’s near, far, and across cultures.

When she’s not cruising, she can be found at home with family near Birmingham, Alabama. Her first release from New Hope Publishers is God, Grace, and Girlfriends.

0 Categories : Articles
Jan
27

New Hope Digital Art Forum: Life in the Light

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by David Dinkins

Title: Life in the Light

 

Artist’s description: I tried to illustrate ideas and activities that portray light and life. I feel like we can find true joy when we recognize that God blesses us with each day. We should take advantage of them with our family and friends.

Question: Are you daily living in the light of Christ’s grace?

Contact: Email David Dinkins at stanlee314@gmail.com or friend him on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1041782715).

Thoughtful comments, ideas, and questions regarding the art are welcome in the comments section below. Discussion is encouraged.

Editor’s note: You may be interested in 2 of our featured books this month. How Many Lightbulbs Does It Take to Change a Person? by Rhonda Rhea explores many of the almost 300 references to light in the Bible. In God, Grace, and Girlfriends by Mary R. Snyder you’ll learn the importance of friendships; discover tips on building healthy friendships; and find dozens of possible trips, events, and adventures for you and your girlfriends to explore.

0 Categories : Articles
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