By Nicole

Three weeks ago, I read a newspaper article about a family I know.  About a boy that I have visited with and given hugs and yelled at to slow down in the hallways of the church.  About his frustrating condition that I've known about and prayed about for a long time.  I've known about it all, but the article gave me chills.  I immediately felt like I needed to write about Phoenix and try to help "spread the word".  Teresa gave me permission to dedicate a blog post to Phoenix and to link up to their website .  I wanted to link up to the article too, but it isn't online any more.  Their letter explains it all. Right now my Missionette's class is working on the Healing badge.  We are learning how, no matter what our sickness is, God wants us to pray for healing and to have faith and hope that we will be healed (James 5:13-14).  We covered some sensitive issues around why people get sick.  Many people argue that God c...

Grumble Hallelujah by Caryn Dahlstrand Rivadeneira was written as a book that examines the art of how to praise God through the bad things in our life.  She walks the reader through the steps one has to take before they can fully (and truthfully) be praising God not in spite of the bad, but because of it.  She uses Biblical references that shine a whole new light on that person and passage of Scripture.  She is also blatantly honest about the struggles in her own life and how God has worked in her personally to allow her to praise Him through her circumstance. The book is divided into five parts, with three separate chapters in each.  At the end of every chapter is a "Grumble Hallelujah" prayer and some reflection/discussion questions.  This book is a great read, and I am most likely going to recommend it to my women's Bible Study group.  God has given Caryn some fascinating insight into the Bible and what God intends for our lives when it comes to...