Happy Advent! Mary and I would love to have you join us as we discuss Advent and how you can get ready for Christmas during this time of preparation.

We’ll be discussing the background of Advent, ways you can celebrate it with your family, and the meaning of Isaiah 7:14. Don’t let the busyness of the season prevent you from truly celebrating Christ’s birth.

To listen to the podcast, simply click the arrow below. You may also subscribe to us on Apple podcasts.

Podcast Notes

Isaiah 7:14

Nathan: to give, to entrust, to bestow
Sign: owth: a distinguishing mark, a miracle, proof, a remembrance, a warning
 Son: Ben: banah: to build, rebuild, establish, make permanent, to be built up
 Name: Shem: name, reputation, fame, glory
 Emmanuel: el Emanuel: God, God with us

 Resources:

www.crivoice.org/jesse.html

www.blueletterbible.com

Also, here’s a link to last year’s Christmas podcast on Christmas Story: God Uses Everyday People

More Than A Baby devotional:  http://onlybyprayer.com/our-products/more-than-a-baby-an-advent-devotional/

Join Jane VanOsdol and guest Ron Stohler, pastor of Growth and Groups at Grace Community Church in Noblesville, Indiana as they discuss the spiritual discipline of silence and solitude. You won’t want to miss this interesting and exciting podcast as you prepare for Easter!

Here’s a bit of what to expect:

Ron Stohler

• A discussion of what spiritual disciplines are and why we need them in our lives.
• Introducing the discipline of silence and solitude and why the other spiritual disciplines spring off of this.
• Discussion over whether anyone can really hear from God.
• Discovering some of the ways we might hear from God.

Resources

Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth, 20th Anniversary EditionBy Richard Foster / HarperOne

Sacred Rhythms Participant’s Guide: Spiritual Practices that Nourish Your Soul and Transform Your LifeBy Ruth Haley Barton / Zondervan

Sacred Rhythms: Spiritual Practices that Nourish Your Soul and Transform Your LifeBy Ruth Haley Barton / Zondervan

The Sacred Way: Spiritual Practices for Everyday LifeBy Tony Jones / Youth Specialties

Laurie Hartman

Do you or someone you love struggle with an addiction? If so, you don’t want to miss this podcast. Join Jane VanOsdol and guest Laurie Hartman, director of Care Ministries at Grace Community Church in Noblesville, Indiana, as they discuss addictive personalities and codependency. Here’s just a few of the topics they’ll be discussing.

• Signs and symptoms a person with an addiction will exhibit
• Signs that you’re enabling a person with an addiction
• Suggestions on how to pray if you’re in this situation
• Resources to turn to for help

Just click on the sideways triangle below to listen or download from iTunes.

Resource List

180 Exchange

Alcoholics Anonymous

Cocaine Anonymous

Sex Addicts Anonymous

Covenant Eyes

Laurie Hartman’s email address:  laurieh@gracecc.org

Grace Community Church

5504 East 146 Street, Noblesville, IN 46062 317-848-2722

Can we really make a difference in the world today?

Barry Rodriguez with some of his Haitian friends at Nehemiah Vision Ministry’s children’s home in Chambrun, Haiti.

Well, according to Barry Rodriguez, director of WorldNextDoor.org, yes, we can! Join Jane VanOsdol as she and Barry discuss how we can pray effectively for the huge issues of oppression and injustice in the world–and what we can actually DO to make a difference.

Barry travels around the world to spotlight the injustices he finds–not just to report about them, but to get people involved in changing lives. You don’t want to miss this podcast. If you’ve always struggled to get beyond the generic prayer that says, “Lord, please stop human trafficking,” then tune in today for some concrete things you can pray and do. Just click on the sideways triangle below to listen, or you can find Only By Prayer on iTunes.

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Here’s a few updates from Barry:

Web Site
First of all, if you haven’t seen our website yet, be sure to check out www.worldnextdoor.org.  In fact, next week will be a great time to start reading because we’re kicking off a collection of “2010 Favorites.”  And this spring I’ll be writing from Kenya, Haiti and Israel!

Random Stuff!
We have a Facebook fan page, of course.  Then there’s our twitter feed.  Oh, and my personal twitter feed. If you’re interested in joining our work financially, there are plenty of ways to give.

Flickr
Finally, in case you want to take a deeper look at some of the photos I used at the seminar, you can find some of my favorites on my brand new Flickr account.  I’ll be updating it with my best shots from each trip I take in the future.

Perhaps one of your New Year’s goals is to pray more. Well, January is a good time to take stock and ask God what major issues or topics He wants you zero in on for the year. Join Mary and I as we discuss what topics God has laid on our hearts this year. You’ll be encouraged to pray your way through 2011 with us!

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Join Jane and Mary as they discuss the people God used in the miraculous story of Jesus’ birth. What’s so interesting is that God uses everyday people to bring about His plans in the world–and He wants to use us too!

We discuss Zacharias, Elizabeth, Anna, Simeon, the Wise Men, Mary, Joseph and the shepherds. Find out what lessons we can learn from each of their lives as we delve into their parts in the Christmas story.

You can listen a couple of different ways. Simply click on the sideways triangle button below to listen right on your computer. Or …

Follow this link to Talk Shoe’s page, and you’ll be able to download the podcast or add it to your iTunes account.

Talk Shoe

Please click on the link to access  “The Christmas Story: Illustrated in Names”

Merry Christmas!!

Mary and Jane