Top 9 Posts from February
Ranked by reader traffic and feedback.
1. Remembering Jan Berenstain The original illustrator of the Berenstain Bears books, Jan Berenstein, has passed away. We share our personal memories of her.
2. Mothers: How You Could Get Published in the New NIV Mom's Devotional Bible This contest for moms who write is still open, but only until March 15, 2012!
3. How to Overcome Your Fear of Fasting If you've ever had interest in fasting but feel a little intimidated, I highly recommend this piece. An original guest post by author and nutrition expert Kristen Feola (@kristenfeola).
4. Four Simple Prayer Starters for a Stronger Marriage via Gary Thomas (@GaryLThomas). Prayers about getting more out of your marriage. Excerpt from Sacred Marriage DVD Group Study.
5. Tough Love: Jesus and 1 Corinthians 13 See what happens when we trade out the word "love" for "Jesus" in 1 Corinthians: "Jesus is patient, Jesus is kind. He does not envy, he does not boast…" A fascinating excerpt via Craig Blomberg's NIV Application Commentary: 1 & 2 Corinthians.
6. A Prayer Against Anger from Common Prayer Pocket Edition. Useful!
7. Spirit-filled Living vs. Just "Trying Harder" Jim Cymbala (@jimcymbala) reveals the important contrast between relying on ourselves and depending on the Spirit. Which do you do? Excerpt from his new book Spirit Rising.
8. When the Answer to Prayer is Bigger than Our Brain via Mark Batterson (@MarkBatterson). "The same God who hovered over the chaos at the beginning of time is hovering over your life, and you never know when His answer will reenter the atmosphere of your life…"
9. Why Not Risk? A Risk Analysis Tool + Case Study Ben Carson shares his method for making risky decisions, then applies the method to a case from his own life: Should he share his Christian faith in the workplace?
More Posts of Note
1. Discover WHO You are and WHOSE You Are A recap of Kary Oberbrunner's livechat on how to find your identity and purpose in Christ. I especially like Kary's "Secret Name" Test, which I recommend you check out in the post.
2. On Ash Wednesday – Remembering We're Dust A rich contemplative piece from Walt Wangerin, Jr.'s Lent devotional book, Reliving the Passion.
3. Pursuing a Manhood that's Honest, Strong, and … Weak? Author Wes Yoder on the essential ingredients of manhood. (They may not be what you think.)
4. God is With You, and He Doesn't Quit Feel like you're facing an impossible challenge? Find out how God was faithful to his people in helping Nehemiah rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Excerpt from Kristen Feola's (@kristenfeola) book The Ultimate Guide to the Daniel Fast.
5. Epic Love is in Little Choices via Stasi and John Eldredge (@johneldredge). Excerpt from the Love and War DVD Group Study.
6. Imagine that God Is Love – It's one thing to know "God is love," and another thing to see what this means for us and our world. A thought-provoking piece via Scot McKnight (@scotmcknight) from One.Life: Jesus Calls, We Follow.
7. Do You Live to Please the Masses or the Maestro? What's Jesus's measure of success? What's yours? Excerpt from XEALOTS by Dave Gibbons (@davegibbons).
8. An American Rags-to-riches Story See if you can guess who the story is about before the reveal. Excerpt from Ben Carson's new book, America the Beautiful.
9. Two Eyewitnesses Testify on Heavenly Worship Two people have seen God's throne room and lived to tell about it. Rory Noland (@RoryNoland) shows us what we can learn from their experience. Excerpt from Worship in Heaven as it is on Earth.
10. & 11. Smell of Dirt, Magnify the Lord and Making Time (How to Slow Down), two excerpts by Ann Voskamp (@annvoskamp) from her book Selections from One Thousand Gifts.
What was your favorite post from February? Let me know in a comment, and I'll see if I can publish more you will like in March.
And thanks for spending your time with Zondervan Blog. I hope to interact with you in the comments soon!
- Adam Forrest, Zondervan
True or False: Your February felt just like this image. Leave your answer in a comment.
(Image: From a February calendar page by unknown artists, 1480s, [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons. This post does not represent the views of Zondervan or any of its representatives. The writer shares these personal opinions for information purposes only. To receive new blogposts in your reader or email inbox, subscribe to Zondervan Blog.)
