Bloom!

War Room We are excited to share with you all that the new Christian movie War Room is now in theaters across the US and other countries! This movie comes from the Kendrick Brothers, who also led the making of the Christian movies  Facing the Giants,   Fireproof and Courageous.   Here is the trailer for this exciting new movie about the power and importance of prayer. A Quote In light of the message of  War Room , here's a quote that sums up perfectly the vitalness of prayer: "To be a Christian without praying is no more possible than to be alive without breathing."                                                           - Martin Luther Hoping you'll have a great weekend! Joanna, Megan, Krista, Emily, & Victoria

It’s not uncommon to hear about poverty these days—the percentage of people in a particular city living below the poverty line, the effects of poverty on individuals and communities, poverty in America vs. poverty in other countries, etc. It comes up in the news (usually as a statistic) and in Christian communities as we work to minister to the poor and reduce poverty overall. Generally, when we talk about poverty, we are referring to economic poverty. But have you ever heard of Bible poverty? Bible poverty is the lack of access to Scripture, and it’s a very real thing. According to the American Bible Society’s State of the Bible 2015 , the Bible is not available in 57% of the world’s almost 7,000 languages. That’s right; over half of language communities in the world still don’t have a single word of Scripture available to them. There is good news and bad news about the 57% without access. The good news: 26% have started the translation proces...

I look behind. The past is yet Present within my heart. I do not wish to recall my failures, But mostly I want to forget The silent hours, the days, the years, When I did nothing, But sat in self-complacent fear. Please keep my wasted hours and dreams Out of sight. I wish to revive again Only those days which have been The days I truly lived. When streams Of love flowed from my heart In service to my God. And there seemed Nothing too small to give To my God – these were the days I truly lived. Let me tell you the things I have learned That are not wasted, Though they seem passed by. This is what will never die: The love you give and the faith you keep, The compassionate tears that you weep, And all those menial tasks you always thought Were never seen. These are the things, Yes, the very ones, that will not Be forgotten or wasted by your King.

2 Timothy 4:2 – “Be ready in season and out of season.” More than a decade ago, I stepped into a new hallway, awkwardly walking into an unfamiliar sea of faces while groups of high-school girls around me greeted each other excitedly and traded stories of summer vacations and family trips. It was the first time I felt that weird "first day feeling", which the American Psychological Association labels as "Back to School Blues". I wish I could say that it was the last time I felt stressed out over a new environment, that my shyness disappeared over time or that I magically developed an iron stomach to deal with the rigorous academic curriculum a lot of schools have on the school year agenda these days. My first day of college was no different as we now had bigger campuses, longer class days and more people to meet and form friendships with. Even community college here in California felt like a daily assault to my Christian faith, with classes attempting to i...