life beyond the well…

Category Archives: Religion


by 1 Comment

Worship Wednesday

I love my church, and I feel blessed to go to have access to a church where I get good, biblical teaching.  I also LOVE our praise and worship.  While church is not just about the music, praise and worship is an important part of the service, and it sets the table for the word that we receive every Sunday and Wednesday.  Having been at churches where the music was less than desirable, and having to learn how to appreciate the words of a song over the sounds that I hear, I’m SO grateful to be at church where the music is both anointed AND good.

What really resonates with me is that the music is fresh, and it gets in my spirit in such a way that later in the week, I find myself singing or humming or replaying the songs I heard during service.  It’s amazing, and truly helps me to get through days that may be challenging.  I wanted to include the three songs that our praise and worship team have sung that have personally blessed me over the past few weeks:

Hopefully these will bless you as they have blessed me!

Be encouraged! Peace and Blessings!


by 1 Comment

Book Review: Altar Ego

I was excited to get my hands on a copy of Craig Groeschel’s latest book Altar Ego, and eagerly waited to request it from BookSneeze.  I had heard lots of good things about Groeschel as a pastor, leader, and author, so the anticipation was high.

I have to say that Altar Ego did not disappoint.  I really appreciated the practical wisdom shared by Groeschel, but I also valued the transparency that came in the book, as he shared testimonies from his personal life and the that of his family.  In addition to that, I enjoyed the conversational tone of the book- after reading many of the chapters, I felt that I had just finished engaging in a conversation with a friend.  Groeschel’s ability to infuse a sense of comfort and familiarity into his writing is truly a gift.

This book challenges to move from where you are, to where God desires you to be by gaining a full understanding of who you are in Him.  The concepts are simple, but thought provoking.  Groeschel organizes the book into three sections:

  1. Sacrificing Your False Self for Your Sacred Identity in Christ
  2. Sacrificing Cultural Relativity for Eternal Values
  3. Sacrificing Self-Justification for Passionate Obedience

In each section, he outlines the challenges and competing values one may face that are contrary to the identity God desires for us to have in Him.  I like that he provides practical ways to change that one can implement immediately to help them shift perspectives and grow.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to others.  I think it could be excellent for personal use and growth, but easily adapted for small group study.  Definitely worth checking out, and I’ve already put it on my list of books to reread when I need a refresher course in the basics of my faith!