I love my Kindle!

         It was Christmas morning and my husband gave me a small, wrapped gift. He asked me the week before Christmas, "Would you rather have a gift certificate to the spa, some new clothes or some expensive perfume?" I thought hard and said, "Well, any of those would be great. I'd be happy with any one of those." That was the only hint I got, so on Christmas morning when I received the small gift, I immediately thought, "He must've went with the perfume," trying to predict my one gift from him. However, when I tore the paper, a brown box appeared. Not what I was expecting, since most perfume boxes are bright pink, yellow or orange. Then I saw the words, Amazon and Kindle. I thought, "Cooool!" I had the same feeling that I had when I opened up the Barbie Dream Camper when I was 6-years-old!
       Since Christmas, I've had some time to use it and it is the neatest thing since I bought a French Press from Starbucks! The first thing I did was shop, on Christmas morning in my pajamas, for books using my Kindle. It's like browsing the bookstore and flipping through interesting-looking books, but not. Click on a book and you can read a sample and some reviews others have written. If you want to buy the book, click on it, and you can have it in your hands within 3 to 4 seconds. Yes, seconds! No more having to get dressed, go to the bookstore and hunt down a good book. Even though I still enjoy doing that, this is sooooo convenient. Plus, there are many, many FREE books. In fact, so many of the classics are free, now I have a good reason to make time to read War and Peace. I always saw that big, thick book in the library, and never wanted to haul it around. But, now, I have all some 1,300 pages in my Kindle!

       I don't know who invented it, but it is really a nifty gadget! I mean, I can put 3,000 books on it. I still have my beloved paperbacks and hardbacks, but this Kindle, I can really get used to. My husband even went and bought me a leather case with a light to go with it so I can read it in bed. There are so many more things I can read on it, I haven't figured it all out yet. I can subscribe to newspapers and blogs and receive monthly magazines. You can click to have a 14-day free trial of a subscription and then you cancel if you don't like it. If you accidently buy a book, you can click and say "Oops, I didn't mean to do that," and they will return your money back. I mean, you really can't go wrong with the Kindle.
       If you haven't looked at one, I suggest that you go and check it out. It is a good reading alternative to have....especially when you want to read War and Peace!

The hurting are all around us

      It seems wherever I am, I see hurting people. Either they've been hurt or they are hurting now. My heart hurts for them. I want to help them. Sometimes, I just don't know what to do, but I do want to give them an encouraging word.

      Whether it is the Japanese people enduring hardship after the earthquake or a woman right in my own neighborhood, my heart is compelled to help them, pray for them, encourage them and to give them hope.

       Do you know someone who is struggling with a crisis right now? Do you ignore it, hoping that the subject doesn't come up? Or do you tackle it right on and address it, and offer the person some hope and encouragement? There are people all around us struggling with addictions, rejection, loss of a job, a divorce, a rebellious child, health issues, living in an unhappy marriage and I could go on and on.

       I met a woman in the post office the other day. We said hello to one another and then she told me that her son had died a few months earlier. She was a stranger. But, I could tell she was hurting and she needed to tell someone....so I listened. I asked her about her son. Then, she told me how her husband wasn't taking it so good. He had lost his only son. I listened some more. My heart went out to her. She teared up. Yes, in the middle of the post office, as we waited to get stamps. I encouraged her. She said she went to church regularly and that she was involved. She felt the Lord giving her strength. She told me how she could see God bringing the good out of the situation and she was being used to help others who had experienced the same circumstances.

       Let's get out of our comfort zones and reach out to others who are around us. Don't just do it at church. What about those who we meet everyday who don't go to church? They need Him in their lives. Jesus is the only Answer!