A Baker's Dozen of Favorite Posts from 2013

At the beginning of 2014, I posted 25 of the most-read posts from Ponderings of an Elect Exile in 2013.  I had planned at that point to follow up a few days later with some of my own favorite posts from 2013.  It's now June, and I'm finally doing that. :)


Here are some of my favorite posts from 2013:

The Blessings of a Chicken-Scratched Bible ~

"The names, dates, prayers, and notes scribbled in those pages are another "standing stone".  They are reminders of things God taught me during those years, prayers He answered, and people He sent to impact my life.  They are reminders of how far He has brought me...and how far I still am from the goal, as I see things He was teaching me then that He is still trying to teach me today!  I see things He taught me in those years...25-ish years ago now...that very directly prepared me for the unexpected turns in the road of the last 10 years." 

I Press on Toward the Goal {A Not-By-Chance Encounter} ~

"God's mercy and grace are truly amazing, and He has brought us (me!) far since that time. I know that God is good, and I am thankful beyond words for His sovereignty. I also know I know that in no way am I "all there".  There are many more lessons to be learned, and even this one has to be learned over and over and over again.  It is entirely possible that there is even more intense suffering to come, and given the fact that I still struggle many times on the "good days", there is no doubt that when that suffering comes, I will struggle even more."

{Getting to Know You} 25 Random Things About Me ~

"I was a Razorback fan before I was born! My dad called the Hogs from the balcony of our apartment in downtown Birmingham the day I was born. (The Hogs were playing in a bowl game that weekend.) I care very little for sports *other* than the Hogs...except that I have become a Tim Tebow fan in recent years. :) It was a sign of my dad's great regard for Billy that he was thrilled for me to marry him *despite* the fact that he was/is a Tennessee Vol fan!"

The Penrod Posts {Guy Penrod} ~ Some of my favorite posts on the whole blog are concert posts.  This post has all the Guy Penrod posts in one place.  If you haven't read them, you should.  There are some fun stories and great encouragement there.

Nice. Revisited. {God is Truth. Satan Lies} ~

"Being "nice" and "good" and "well-behaved"  can all be good things...for children and adults.  But if we...or our children...stop there, we have stopped in dangerous territory."

"Does Your God Like That About You?" DOMA, {In}Tolerance, and Misunderstood Peace, Part 2 ~ 

"Despite His great love for us (or actually because of it), He makes plain again in the New Testament that we are not to tolerate sin or false teachings.  Sin and evil are to be hated and condemned.  We are to love those who persecute and revile us, but we are never to tolerate false teaching."

"Does Your God Like That About You?" DOMA, {In} Tolerance, and Misunderstood Peace, and Part 2 of Part 2 and Part 3 ~

"Christians (True, Christ-following, Bible-believing, forgiven children of God):  It means we do two things:  

(1) We lovingly and gently stand for truth, regardless of the outcome.  
(2)  We love those around us, no matter who they are.  We never condone the sin, but we reach out and we minister and we meet needs and we build relationships and we share the gospel and we pray like crazy. 

Everyone else:  Don't fall into the trap of believing that just because someone disagrees, it means they hate those with whom they disagree.   Realize that there can be love and care and relationship without "tolerance" as it is defined in the world today.  No, you don't have to change for me to love you and for us to be friends.  

You don't even have to change for God to love you!  Because we as sinful humans can't change on our own...not the kind of change required to have a relationship with God and eternal life.  God has to do that changing Himself.  Then that change becomes evident after He has changed us."

No More DIY Christians ~

"DIY projects are great.  I've been working on some myself lately, and I have a list about a mile long of more I'd like to complete.  But DIY isn't always all it's cracked up to be"

Teaching Creativity: Where Do We Start? ~ How do we exercise our creative muscles?  How do we teach creativity to our children?

Teaching Creativity When You Don't Feel Creative ~

"What an amazing realization that creativity is part of who we are as creatures made in the image of God! It isn’t something that we either “have” or “don’t have”; it is something that we can all develop and then use in the areas in which God calls us to serve. It is also something we need to teach our children."

Independence Day: Not Just Celebrating ~ 

"I am even more convicted about the urgency of being caught up in the "more" for which we were created.  So often, we...I..."waste" the freedom with which we've been blessed.  We use our "freedom" as  justification for pursuing all manner of things which are not honoring to our Creator.  We're often very poor stewards of the precious freedoms with which we've been blessed."

For Such a Time {Online Friendships and the Body of Christ} ~ 

"I am so thankful that God can use anything, including technology and social media, to show His glory.

I am so thankful for the ways He has already shown His glory in amazing ways in and through Benjamin and his family, and I know that that will only intensify in the coming days. 

I am so thankful for this group of WB ladies that has been such a special part of my life for so many years.   

I am so thankful for the ways that God knits together hearts in the family of God whether they be next door or across the world."

Monday Morning Meditation ~  He has given us everything that we need to live a Godly life!

What is your favorite post from Ponderings of an Elect Exile?  I'd love to hear in the comments or on the Facebook link!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If a post or posts on Ponderings of an Elect Exile has been a blessing to you, would you do me a huge favor?  Please share the link to Ponderings with your friends using the social media share buttons below or the "pin it" button above.  Thank you! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Welcome to Ponderings of an Elect Exile!  Whether you are new here or a faithful friend and regular reader, I'm glad you're here!  If you aren't already following, I'd love to have you join us for the 2014 Ponderings.  It's easy to do, in a variety of ways!  You can follow via  Facebook, Twitter, and/or Pinterest, or  find me on Instagram as Jenbh68. You can also sign up in the sidebar to receive new posts by email.