Abundant Gifts

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On my Books ‘n’ Such Internet Radio Show recently, I interviewed author Dennis Marcellino on the big question of Life: “Why are we here?”

A recent survey on CNN Headline News found that the #1 interest of 43% of Americans is, “What is the meaning of life?” On this edition of Books ‘n’ Such, I interviewed author, speaker, and musician Dennis Marcellino on a book that guides readers to answer for themselves this most important question.

I hope you’ll tune in to hear this discussion of Why Are We Here? The Scientific Answer to This Age-Old Question (That You Don’t Need to Be a Scientist to Understand).  You just may end up with your own answers to questions that have plagued you for years.

And if you know anyone who is wrestling with these questions, invite them to tune in also!

Does God still speak to us today?

Let me tell you a little story, and you be the judge.

I went on my walk today, as usual. As usual, I prayed as I walked.

I was praying about a particular person who often irritates me. It’s because of a certain mental issue this person has (it’s diagnosed and everything, so it’s not just in my head).

This “condition” causes my friend–and me–a lot of problems. So, I was praying that God would fix this condition, or at least let it not be a hindrance today.

No sooner had I prayed, “God, fix this person,” than words formed clearly in my mind: “I do not fix people, I only Continue Reading »

On March 18, I did a Virtual Book Tour  with Frank Viola and George Barna on their very provocative new book, “Pagan Chrisitanity? Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices.”

In less than 10 days, we received more than 650 questions from people who signed up for the Virtual Book Tour. (You can still ask a question, and then get to listen to the replay of that interview.)

Needless to say, we could discuss only a fraction of those questions in the 70-minute format.

So I did another interview, this time with Frank, for my book review podcast, Books ‘n’ Such. Some of the questions we discussed:

• What do you mean by “pagan”?
• Where do all the different denominations come from, and is having all these different groups a pagan practice?
• Just about every Christian church has a dominant pastor or priest or leader of some kind. Is this not what the Bible teaches?
• What is your intention in publishing this book, and what impact on local churches do you hope it will make?
• Why does it matter where our church practices come from? Can’t God work through culture and the way things have evolved, even if they are rooted more in pagan-or cultural-practices?

I invite you to tune in to hear Frank’s answers, if you have any interest in this topic.

 Books 'n' Such--Frank Viola answers more questions about Pagan Christianity: Exploring the Roots Of Our Chruch Practices: Download

I want to share a message with you that puts some perspective on the meaning of Easter … at least for me.

So click on the little player button, and sit back to listen to “Sick to Death” from Abundant Gifts … it’s only 4 minutes, 5 seconds long.

(And I would love to hear your response, and any reflection you’d like to share about what God has been showing you … just click the Comment button to share your thoughts.)

If you did not get to listen to the Virtual Book Tour with Frank Viola and George Barna, in which we discussed their book, Pagan Christianity? Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices, you may listen to the replay here.

We received more than 600 questions, and people called in from all over the world!

If you want to ask a question, you may still do so at www.askfrankandgeorge.com. Frank will continue to answer questions on his web site, so if you ask a question, visit www.paganchristianity.net regularly to see answers to questions. And if you ask a question, you will still get to listen to the replay.

I think when you hear the passion in these men’s voices, it will be clear that their intent is the revitalization of the church of Jesus Christ.

This book has changed the way I experience my own church service. Honestly, it’s a book to grapple with. In fact, as I said in the interview, I firmly believe you need to read this WITH other people in your church. So get more than one copy. If possible, get a group from your church to read it together. There’s a study guide available, as well as another bonus you’ll find out about when you check out the replay.

May you be blessed with new insights into God’s grace as you contemplate the events of Holy Week.

I’m going to be doing a Virtual Book Tour on a rather controversial subject and I thought you might be interested in knowing about it.

The book is Pagan Christianity? Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices by Frank Viola and George Barna.

The book’s thesis is that many of our common church actually have their roots in pagan practices rather than biblical principles.

If this thought sparks a question for you, you can ask it now at www.askfrankandgeorge.com. We already have nearly 500 questions. It promises to be an interesting interview!

The call is on Tuesday,  March 18 at 7 p.m. Central, and there will be a replay. Sign up and get all the details.

Thanks for everyone’s comments! See if you think this one is an improvement….

Okay, this is my first video, so don’t laugh too hard!

The video itself is a gift: I borrowed the video cam from a friend, who also graciously uploaded it for me.

So please watch this 2-minute video and please, rate it–it may help me win a contest and learn how to become a best-selling author! (What a gift THAT would be!)

Watch Diane on You Tube now!

I love this season, with all the celebrations that lend meaning to our lives!

So here’s a quick note to wish you a most blessed holiday season:

• A Hannukah full of new light that continues to illuminate your world …
• A Christmas overflowing with the gifts only the Savior can give …
• A new year blessed with all the things that make your heart sing …

And if you haven’t listened to one of my favorite Christmas stories from Abundant Gifts yet, I invite you to do so now.

For some of us, the holidays are anything but joyful.

Losses of all kinds stab at unexpected moments. Loss of loved ones, loss of job or security, loss of health.

Anxiety-over finances, children, the future-can hang like a cloud and obscure the light.

Misunderstandings can suddenly blight relationships that seemed to be in full bloom.

But I’m finding that despite all these things–which are real, which need to be acknowledged–joy can break in.

Joy can break in for two reasons.

One, we have a God who does not mind our pain.

A God who, in fact, left the joys of heaven to face our pain-wracked world-firsthand. That’s what the Incarnation is all about.

Jesus, Son of God, came to share our pain, and ultimately, to bear the pain of the whole world in his sacrifice on the cross.

And he invites us to give him our pain. Give it all to him. Cry out to him!

Only he can fully bear it. He wants to. He doesn’t want us to struggle under the weight. That’s why he came.

Second reason joy can break in is: We always have a choice.

We can choose to return unkindness for unkindness, tit for tat.

Or we can choose to return love and forgiveness for unkindnesses and wrongs done to us.

We can choose to reach out from our own loneliness, and ease the loneliness of someone else.

In other words, we can choose love.

When we choose love, something wonderful happens.

Joy breaks in.

Joy despite the pain.

May you know joy this Christmas … and may it spread and flow throughout the coming year.