New Website, Blog, and Book! Oh My!

Please check out my new website and blog over at:
https://dawnhamsher.com 

 

Check out my new book, 
Images From God: 40 Devotions to Encounter God's Heart.

 

 Available on Amazon
in paperback and eBook.
Includes Sketch & Write Journaling Prompts!

 

From the author’s private journals of intimacy with God come devotions inspired by images from Him. Through these innermost revelations, you will see more of who God is, more of His nature, more of His great love, and more of who we are, in Christ Jesus. The devotional inspires spiritual growth and calls readers to a deeper and closer relationship with God.

Each devotion in Images From God includes passages of Scripture and Sketch & Write journal prompts. Through choosing one or more of the prompts, you are encouraged to have your own intimate meeting time with God. Whether you choose to sketch or to write, it’s an opportunity to engage God in conversation and a time to receive personal revelation. So, come, you are invited to encounter God’s Heart!

Book Review: Just Imagine (God's Hospitality)

I just finished reading a book that a close friend (and mentor) wrote. Dianne is a mother and pastor and a lover of people. God gave her a passion for hospitality (which is another word for love). One thing that I admire about Dianne is that she challenges me. She challenged me years ago to do a women's retreat (I admit I did it kicking and screaming, at first). Another thing I love about Dianne is that she encourages me -- to keep going, to run the race, to seek God, to do what He's called me to do. I am so thankful for this woman. Her book is like her -- challenging, yet encouraging. It makes me want to love people better. Read it. The world needs radical hospitality.

This book is a call to bring radical love and hospitality to a hurting world. This beautiful book challenges us to get messy with people -- to get out extra paper towels! In a world where people are hoarding privacy and isolation has become the norm, intentional hospitality is needed more than ever. People want to be loved and feel like they belong. Jesus took the time to connect and touch people, and we should too. Whether you want to be more hospitable or you want that for your church, this book is an excellent resource. It contains wonderful life examples and even has self and church assessments that can help show areas for improvement.

Book Review: Afghanistan: Teachable Moments

I am reading Afghanistan: 179 Days of Teachable Moments, a journal of Florence Robyn Smith's deployment. Each day has a title, experience and Scripture, in short segments that you can read in a few minutes. 

The book inspires me for two big reasons...

1. Journaling - Most of us go through life, just trying to keep our head above water, but if we would discipline ourselves, like Ms. Smith, to write down and reflect, we would see how God is working through each day, through each experience. I already keep a journal, but this book makes me want to dig more into my everyday experiences and reflect.

2. Doing -- It is inspirational to see a woman of faith step out to do something challenging. She did not have to sign up to be deployed, but the mission field is wherever you are called, even working for the military in Afghanistan.  

Here is the book's trailer.

I give the book 4 out of 5 stars! Thank you Ms. Smith for your inspiration to do big things for God!

Pray Like A Warrior

courtesy morguefile.com

"I have bestowed strength on a warrior..." Psalm 89:19

God tells me I am a warrior like David. Prayer is a sword that cuts through strongholds that we cannot see. Since we often cannot see the outcome of prayer (or we don't share testimonies), we assume prayer doesn't do much...and that is just what the enemy wants us to think. Don't fall for it! God has given us strength through Jesus, who has already overcome evil! We are warriors! 

Now, let's pray like it!

God Delights In Us

courtesy morguefile.com

"He brought me out into a spacious place;
He rescued me because He delighted in me." Psalm 18:19 (NIV)
 
God "delights" in me. Isn't that amazing?! A friend told me recently that she is God's favorite! Well, I'm his favorite too! And so are you! His heart delights in us, His children.

A Love Letter From God

Photo courtesy of morguefile.com

If God wrote us a love letter, I believe it would read like this:

 

My Dear One,

I am love. Do you know me? I comfort. I heal. I hold. I weep when you weep. There is not a moment that you’re not on my mind. Do you understand who I am?

What I give cannot be bought. It has no strings attached. You can’t work for it, not even a lifetime of good deeds can buy it. My love…I give it freely to anyone who will accept it. Do you know how much I rejoice when one of my children accepts me?

Many stop there. They accept my free give of salvation, My Son, Jesus, as their Savior, but they think that’s it. They don’t know that they can get close to me. They don’t believe they can walk with me like I did with Adam and Eve in the garden. They don’t think they can talk to me face-to-face like Abraham or Moses. I am not a story, stuck in a Holy Book. I am The Living God. I am the same long ago as I am today.

I am a hand reaching out to you today, right now. My love is still the same. It is desperate to draw near to you. Will you come near to Me? Will you dwell in Me?

I long to answer your prayers, to heal your hurts, to deliver you from oppression and addictions, to teach you how to walk in My ways, and to take you deeper. I made you for Me. I give you gifts and so many blessings because I am Your Father. I hunger for you to press in. I made you for so much more than what the world wants you to settle for.

I am all you need. Come to me and let me show you My love. Ask Me, Seek Me, Search Me…I am here, waiting for you, My Child.

Yours Always,

The Father

My New Crown

"See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland."   Isaiah 43:19 

This Scripture is fitting for me right now. God is doing a new work in me... and preparing me for the future that He has for me. 

Last fall, I participated in our local Healthy Eating Adventure and now I am Vegan (except for honey...have to have my honey), eating lots of fruits and veggies. I lost almost 20 pounds too! 

"...who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagles." Psalm 103:5

Photo from 2012

And then, God prompted me to go natural in my hair color, which has turned out to be a beautiful gray, silver, and white. So my auburn Nice 'N Easy #111 hair is gone. My best friend blessed me by cutting it and giving me this fun, short style! I'm sending the hair to Locks for Love.

"Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness..." 2 Timothy 4:8

God has been teaching me about wearing His garments and crown (spiritually), but it turns out that the spiritual and physical worlds are connected more than we know. Somehow, my healthy eating and losing weight is connected to my spiritual robe and my gray hair to my spiritual crown.

What has God been teaching you? Do you see correlations between the physical and spiritual?

Book Review: Climbing With Abraham

Great 30 Day Devo to start the New Year off right!

Climbing with Abraham: 30 Devotionals to Help You Grow Your Faith, Build Your Life, and Discover God's Calling (Testament Heroes Book 1) by David Ramos (currently .99 for Kindle)

Overview: The Christian life requires an immense amount of faith. Often when frustrations and challenges arise, we are left wondering where God is. Thousands of years ago a man found himself in the same struggle. God had chosen Abraham for great things. But the man who would go on to become the Father of Nations had to first learn how to take the smallest steps of faith.

How did Abraham become a character of legendary faith? And how can we learn from his example so that we can become the great men and women God has called us to be? Climbing with Abraham is a thirty-day devotional which answers these questions. In this short book you will be challenged, inspired and taught how to become a faith giant! Start your journey today and take the climb with one of the greatest Biblical characters towards your purpose. 

 

Dawn's Recommendation: 5 of 5 Stars!

What I Liked: I love these one-page devos! They are easy to read, yet they encourage a deepening of faith. Each devo begins with Scripture reading. Then, as you learn more about Abraham, David Ramos encourages you to apply what you learn to your life. He closes each one with a Takeaway and a Prayer. Each devotion shares a powerful truth about God, and by learning more about Abraham and his interaction with God, we can begin to press into God, as well. God spoke to Abraham and even to Hagar, so why wouldn't He speak to us? Let this devo series take you closer to God Almighty! Here are a few topics that really spoke to me:

*Listening and following God
*Dealing with frustration
*Trusting God when His timing is not our own
*Making mistakes
*Trusting God's promises and being patient
*Leadership and spiritual responsibility

As I read each devotion, I have been journaling too and this has helped me apply what I am learning to my own faith journey. I think many readers will identify with the topics. Great devotion series!

 

Disclaimer: I received this e-book for free from the author in exchange for my honest review.

A Song for Sunday - This Is Christmas - Kutless

This Is Christmas by Kutless

Identity

courtesy morguefile, pedrojperez

We talked last night about how people have a mask on, like those who commit violence (recent shootings in Harrisburg, PA). They act tough, but are really cowards.

Some wear a mask that shows the world they are tough (bullies). Some, like me, wore a mask that did not cry and one that conformed to the world (in looks and behavior) just to survive school because of what the bullies did. 

Either way, bullies or victims...all wear a mask. They are not living in their true identities in Christ. He takes off the masks to reveal breathtaking light, holiness, worthiness, love, glory, honor, peace, joy...the list goes on and on.

I wrote this this morning, strumming it to the guitar.

Oh, teach me how to live...in my identity. 2x
I want to walk the way You walk.
I want to talk the way You talk.
I want to do the things You do, and even more.
I thank You for the power in me, for the authority.
For all You created me, to be. I thank You, Lord. I thank You, Lord.
Let me step into Your path and never go back.
Your holy hand will guide me, on the path to eternity.
Oh, teach me how to live.
Oh, teach me how to live.
Oh, teach me how to live...in my identity.


Believe the truth...your identity is in Him. There is no mask. Take it off and walk in His healing light.

Lift Up Your Heads

Lift up your heads, O gates, 
Lift them up, O ancient doors,
That the King of glory may come in!
Who is this King of glory?
         He is the Lord God Almighty. 
- Psalm 24:9-10

This Scripture has been coming to me over and over again. I feel led to pray it over friends and family, church and work, and over my town. Today, I realized that we are the gates, the doors. We are so heavy and burdened that we forget to look up. Our hinges are corroded and rusted in place. We are stubborn and stiff-necked. Lord, we feel stuck! We need You to free us, so that we can move in your love and grace and peace. If only we would make the first step; to lift up our heads, then we would catch a glimpse of the King. 

Lord, help us say yes to You. Help us let You in. You will lift and open our heavy doors in your strong hands. You are able to handle the burdens that have kept us down for so long. You are healer and deliverer. Redeem your church, your land, and your people, I pray. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Book Review: Four Souls

"Four Souls: A Search for Epic Life" is so encouraging!

Overview: Four young men with bright futures step off the path of graduate school and careers in search of something more--something epic. Desiring more from life than well-paying jobs and large bank accounts, they embark on a worldwide expedition, forging into the Guatemalan highlands, Russia's far north, the mountains of South Africa, villages in Bangladesh, Nepal's Himalayas, rural Vietnam and other rarely traveled lands. Through journal entries and first person accounts, Four Souls weaves together the tales of their journey, including near-death escapes and bribe-seeking officials, prison camps and race riots, hurricanes and illegal smuggling. More than just a collection of gripping stories, Four Souls chronicles the dawning realization that came through the adventure: that the life they were seeking is in the reach of all who are willing to grasp it. 

What I Liked: I loved the adventure of these for young Christians as they set out to travel the world, share the Gospel, serve people, and follow Jesus. This is such an encouraging book; by offering themselves to communities in Guatemala, Russia, Vietnam, South Africa, and Bangladesh, they were open to God working and to gaining a world view on people and need, it encourages me to life life to the fullest. They didn't want a hum drum sort of life. They wanted the abundant life that Jesus calls us all to. 

I admire their trust in God to provide for their trip and for his care of them on the trip. Throughout the book they share journal entries of what they were experiencing and learning about themselves and God. Truly a remarkable book, as told by all four of them! You feel like you went alone on the trip. This book will help you understand what Christians are going through in these countries and the need for help and prayer for them. Thank you, Mike, Matt, Jedd, and Trey for sharing your adventure. May you have many more: a lifetime of them!

Ever take a trip like this or a mission trip? Share one experience or thought about it.

Open the Heavens

“Open the heavens. Come Living Water. All my fountains are in You.” 

– lyrics from "All My Fountains" by Chris Tomlin

I was singing this as the buckets caught the drips in our bedroom from the 2-4 inches of rainfall last Sunday evening. My Spirit wasn’t worried over the leaky roof, as it would have been in the past. No, instead, the rain made me sing “All My Fountains”. Even the song from church that morning was “Open Up the Heavens” by Meredith Andrews about floodgates and mighty rivers. I went to sleep to the sweet sound of drip, drip, drip – a message from My Heavenly Father. I will praise You in this storm.

Soak me, Father in Your Living Water. Flood me with You and let You flow out and over and down in a Holy Flood of Your Glory!

Do you have something in your life that should worry you, but instead you are praising God?