Announcing the book launch of Redemption, the Heartbeat of Christmas

 by Barbara Latta @barbaralatta

Hi friends,

This is a special blog post to inform you of the launch of my book, Redemption, the Heartbeat of Christmas: What the Birth of Christ Means to the World. The book will release on October 21, and I am seeking help to get the word out.

If you would be willing to join my launch team, please fill out the google form at this link:

https://forms.gle/BU7h4xwkzEKVxZrUA 

You will receive a link on joining the Facebook page and how to share information. Also a digital copy of the book will be provided to those who sign up.  

It's not difficult. All you need to do is share a meme or two once or twice a week to your social media followers. I will be conducting drawings for prizes and we will have fun getting to know each other better. 

I appreciate your help as we get ready to spread the word about our Savior's birth.

Blessings to all of you, Barbara Latta

Can Time Be Redeemed?

by Barbara Latta @barbaralatta

See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:15–16 NKJV)

How many of us have looked back through the years and wished our lives had been different in some way? Probably all of us.

What do you think Ephesians 5:15–16 means? We can’t go back and live the past again. Time can’t be placed in a piggy bank and saved like money. Hours can’t be earned like our salary.

Minutes are not retrievable like lost coins. Time passes and disappears. Because of this we can look back and feel guilt and shame over unproductive days or wrongs we have done.

Can time be redeemed?

5 Ways to Scripturally Combat Negative Emotions

 

by Barbara Latta @barbaralatta

The temptations from the enemy have not changed since mankind fell. He whispers through TV, radios, and electronics with headlines, debates, opinions, advertisements, and entertainment that compete for our attention with engraved invitations to participate in the banquet of worldly living.

Words can come from our own minds due to past experiences. Other people may say things that don’t intend harm, but we can take their conversations the wrong way and create assumptions that hurt our hearts.

How do we resist letting these thoughts grab our minds?

Why Do We Fall Into Envy and Jealousy So Easily?

 

by Barbara Latta @barbaralatta

Why do we fall into envy and jealousy so easily?

Envy or jealousy: that green-eyed monster that can plague us to the point of stress and depression if we allow the talons to grip our thoughts.

Why do we fall into envy or jealousy so easily?

Is there a difference in these two words?

How to Focus on the Goodness of God All the Time

  

How to focus on the goodness of God

by Barbara Latta @barbaralatta

When we don’t get our way about something, or we experience a bad situation, our minds don’t think about the goodness of our heavenly Father.

Our humanity defaults to negative thinking unless we make the effort to turn our thoughts the opposite direction. Much like we change the channel on the TV when the broadcast is not favorable, we can flip the switch on thoughts.

Despite the fallen world we live in, God made a way for His love to shine through and show us His mercy and grace. He is not the author of disaster, He is the answer to our ability to overcome.

The Bible contains numerous verses that reveal the goodness of God. When these Scriptures are scattered through the Word, we don’t always see how many times the benevolence of the Lord is recorded for us.

Here are 6 verses that show us how to focus on the goodness of God all the time.

Do You Ever Feel Unworthy to Ask For God’s Help?

 

by Barbara Latta @barbaralatta

What happens when we fail but we feel unworthy to ask for God’s help?

The Lord may have rescued us, but we fell into the same repeated behavior.

We can then feel guilty for asking for deliverance again.

We feel unworthy, condemned, and disappointed in ourselves.

If God Already Knows Everything, Why Do We Need to Pray?

 

by Barbara Latta @barbaralatta

Jesus’ disciples saw their Master spend time in prayer. On more than one occasion, He separated Himself and spent the night talking to God. These followers saw the fellowship Jesus had with the Father, and they wanted to know how to do the same.

These men asked Jesus to teach them to pray, and He answered them with what we call the Lord’s Prayer or the Model Prayer. His instructions, given in Matthew chapter six, were preceded by the following verses.

And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. (Matthew 6:7–8 emphasis mine)

Jesus told His followers, and us, that vain repetition is not the way to talk to God. Prayer is not a recited formula, but a heart to heart conversation with our heavenly Father.

Why would Jesus tell us to pray if God already knows what we need? Multiple verses tell us to pray through all occasions. The Lord wouldn’t tell us to pray if we didn’t need this powerful assistance. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Here are 7 reasons we need to pray: