Hello Friends! I am very excited to be introducing a new blog series I'm calling, When Reads the Heart. This series will feature uplifting stories of books and stories that have changed and touched lives. My very first guest for When Reads the Heart is award winning author Linda Wood Rondeau. ***** HOW TO BE A CHRISTIAN WITHOUT BEING RELIGIOUS by Fritz Rednoir Just 188 pages. Back in 1971, a quick read. Yet, the book changed my life. The powerful message of what makes Christianity different from any other religion, ended my search for religious practice and helped me learn to walk with God through faith alone. Though I did not grow up in a traditionally Christian home, my parents believed in God and taught me the importance of nightly prayers. My grandparents came to Christianity in midlife through the influence of my father’s brother, then age seventeen, who became saved at a Billy Graham Crusade and joined the choir. We only attended church when my grandparen...

Superbowl commercials have been a cultural phenomenon for a long time. Some folks are more interested in the commercials than the football game! This year, there was one commercial in particular that garnered a lot of attention. Not for how clever it was, but for how...weird? Strange? Kinda gross? Those of you who saw the Puppy-Monkey-Baby commercial know what I am talking about. There were even memes going around on social media about the strangeness of this advertisement. But you know what is the most interesting thing about the Puppy-Monkey-Baby commercial? Everyone remembers the commercial, but almost NOBODY knows WHAT they were advertising. I was recently listening to a sermon about how our lives as Christians should be a billboard for Jesus Christ. This sermon caused me to pause and question myself. I realized that I needed to ask the question, "Am I a Puppy-Monkey-Baby Christian?" Even though I claim to be a Christian, even though I claim that my life is dedica...

This Day in Christian History: June 13 June 13, 1525: Martin Luther marries Katharina von Bora Wedding of Martin Luther and Katharina von Bora Sometime around 1523, Martin Luther helped to rescue a group of nuns from a monastery. He endeavored to free the nuns from the Catholic order and find suitable homes for each. Among this group of nuns was Katharina von Bora. Though she had many suitors, none were to her liking, and Martin had a difficult time finding suitable arrangements for her. But in 1525, he finally found a home for her. His own. Thus on June 13, 1525, an ex-monk married an ex-nun. Martin was 42, and Katharina was 26. Their happy marriage of 21 years brought them six children. Katharina stood by Martin's side through many difficult times. Despite her being much younger than he, she died only six years after him. Here's another great post on the marriage of Martin Luther.

This Day in Christian History June 10 June 10, 1692: Hanging of Bridgett Bishop Bridgett Bishop The summer of 1692 was a dark one in the province of Massachusetts. Started by the gossip and allegations of a few young girls, the Salem Witch Trials has gone down in history as an example of perverted justice. When Bridgett Bishop was accused of witchcraft in April of 1692, it was not the first time such an accusation had been made. After being widowed once, Bridgett  married Thomas Oliver, and it was no secret that their marriage was less than happy. They'd been publicly shamed for fighting more than once. She was accused of witchcraft in 1680, but she posted bond and nothing more came of it. Five girls accused Bridgett of witchcraft again in 1692. They claimed that she had cast spells upon them and tormented them. A trial was held, and she was sentenced to death. Bridgett became the first to be hanged for witchcraft during what has come to be known as the Salem Witch Tr...

This Day in Christian History: June 9 June 9, 597: Death of St. Columba Saint Columba was born in Ireland in 521. On his father's side, he was the descendant of a High Irish King. His mother was the sister of Saint Martin. He is best known for his missionary work in Scotland. After studying under many well-known church leaders, Columba crossed over to Scotland with 12 of his followers and founded a church in Iona. He is credited with being the leading figure to introduce and spread the Christian faith in Scotland. Columba had many miracles occur during his ministry. Once, he was attempting to evangelize one of the Scottish towns when they threw him out of the city, closed the gates, and tried to drown out his preaching with music. His voice miraculously raised above the instruments and was heard to the entire crowd. Then the gates came open, so he walked in and won many converts to Christ. He died in Iona at the age of 77 on June 9, 597. According to the Catholic encycl...

This Day in Christian History: June 1 June 1, 597: Saxon King Ethelbert is baptized Sculpture of Ethelbert of Kent Ethelbert of Kent was the third king to hold rule over the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. He had married Bertha, the Christian daughter of the king of the Franks to build an alliance, but that may have had an influence in him becoming the first English king to convert to Christianity. The Pope sent Augustine as a missionary to Kent in 597. Shortly following his arrival, Ethelbert converted to Christianity and was baptized. The exact date of Ethelbert's conversion in unknown, but tradition holds it to be around the first of June, the summer after Augustine arrived in Kent. Ethelbert's conversion was what opened the door for the rapid spread of Christianity among the Angles and Saxons.

This Day in Christian History: May 26 May 26, 1811: Birth of William Hunter William Hunter was born in Ireland on May 26th, 1811. His family moved to America when he was six years old. He went on to become a Bible scholar, professor, newspaper editor and hymn writer. He composed over 125 hymns, including The Great Physician Now is Near and I Feel Like Traveling On. On a side note, my publisher is having a big sale! You can now get all my books and audiobooks for 25% off! Details below. SPRING SUPER SALE!!! RIGHT now until June 18th everything in the Helping Hands Press Store is 25% OFF!!!!!! When you checkout, please put the code word SpringSuperSale into the coupon area to receive the discount. Everything is on sale in the HHP Store- ALL audiobooks, ebooks, paperbacks and all pre-sale titles . We will be adding in as many of our ebooks on a daily basis as we can, so please check back often. Here is the direct link to the Helping Hands Press Store: http://shop. myh...

This Day in Christian History May 25, 1521: Martin Luther Proclaimed a Heretic Luther's Room at Wartburg Castle After Martin Luther's bold stand at the Diet of Worms in the previous month, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V pronounced Martin Luther an outlaw and heretic for refusing to recant his teachings and his rebellion against the Catholic church. The emperor decreed, "We want him to be apprehended and punished as a notorious heretic." This decree made it legal for anyone to kill Luther without consequence, and also made it dangerous for anyone to give him food or shelter. It was after this decree that Luther went into hiding at Wartburg Castle.

This Day in Christian History: April 24  April 24, 387: Augustine of Hippo is Baptized Augustine of Hippo On Easter eve, 387, Saint Augustine of  Hippo was baptized at the age of 32. As Augustine tells it, he heard a childlike voice tell him to "pick up and read." So he picked up the Bible and began to read from the first place he saw. The verses his eyes fell upon were Romans 13:13-14. Not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof. This was the beginning of his transformation. He wrote about his conversion in Confessions, which has become a classic of Christian theology.  Augustine went on to become the Biship of Hippo, and influenced much of Western Christianity. 

This Day in Christian History: April 21 April 21, 1783: Happy Birthday Reginald Heber! Reginald Heber - Bishop of Calcutta 1823 Reginald Heber was born at Malpas England and was named after his father. Even from an early age, Reginald showed an interest in church history and beliefs. He attended Oxford College where he gained a reputation as a poet. With a heart for ministry, Reginald became a deacon, then a bishop at Oxford, and later took over his father's parish in Hodnet. Reginald married Amelia Shipley in April of 1809, and they had two children. In 1823, Reginald was ordained as the Biship of Calcutta, and he served his people faithfully until his sudden death three years later at the age of 42. Monuments were erected in his memory in India for the work that he had done there. Heber Memorial in Madras Reginald is best remembered in America for the hymns that he wrote, mainly during the years of 1811-1821. He admire the hymns of John Newton and William Cowp...

This Day in Christian History: March 17 March 17, 461: Death of Maewyn (more commonly known as Saint Patrick)  Did you know that Saint Patrick was not Irish? His was born in Roman Britain, however, at the age of 16, his town was attacked by Irish raiders. Maewyn was kidnapped and brought to Ireland where he was enslaved. It was during his six years of captivity, as he served as a shepherd, that Maewyn found a relationship with the Lord.  According to the Confessio of Patrick, the Lord told him to flee to the coast, where there would be a ship waiting to take him home. The port was two hundred miles away, but Maewyn did flee, and was able to convince the captain to let him on board. By the time he returned to his family, Maewyn was in his twenties. After some time, Maewyn had a vision of a man begging him to return to Ireland and minister to the very people that had enslaved him. He did return to Ireland and became known as Patrick. He faced great opposition from ...