An Excerpt from "30 Days with Mary" and a Giveaway!

Dear Friends,

I am thrilled to have Emily Owen with us today. You may remember I reviewed her latest book, 'The Power of Seven'. If you missed my review and would like to read it please click here.

 Emily is an author and speaker. She is the winner of the Association of Christian Writers Award for Outstanding Contribution to Christian Publishing 2018. Her books are available from various stores and online. She has written several '30 Days with...' You can check out her books on Amazon.

 Today she has provided us with an excerpt from her book '30 Days with Mary: A devotional journey with the mother of Jesus'. Just right for Advent. As you read and meditate on the excerpt below I know you will be blessed as I have been. 

 Not only that, Emily has also generously provided a free copy of this book to give away to one person. Which I'm very excited about. 😃 Anyone who leaves a comment at the bottom of this post by Sunday 25th November 6pm will be entered into the giveaway and their name drawn at random. (Open to UK residents only.) The winner will be notified after the closing date. 

 So, here's her excerpt...

Day 5

Well, if yesterday turned out to be less exciting than expected, today was the other way round. In fact, I think today has to be one of the most surreal days of my life.

I was just looking after the animals. We had walked quite a long way to find better pasture so, when we did find some, I sat down in the shade. The day was hot and I fell into a doze . . . until I heard a voice saying, ‘Greetings, you who are highly favoured, the Lord is with you.’ I thought I must be dreaming, but the dream didn’t go away. In fact, the more awake I became, the more real the ‘dream’ became. This may sound crazy, but the voice I’d heard belonged to an angel. And the angel was about 2 feet away from me. I was petrified and also worried – why was an angel bothering with me? I blinked hard and pinched myself a few times, just to be sure I wasn’t imagining this, and I think the angel must have taken pity on me because he spoke again, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favour with God.’

The story of the angel Gabriel visiting Mary is very familiar. Sometimes, this familiarity can make it lose some of its impact.

Day 5

So let’s try to look at it through fresh eyes:

Mary is told that she is highly favoured, that she has found favour with God.

Pause a minute . . . Mary has found favour with God.

She doesn’t appear to have done anything in particular to have brought this on, yet here is an angel telling her that she has found favour with God.

How do you think that made her feel? 
How would it make you feel? 
To do nothing amazingly wonderful and yet to be told that you have found favour with God, that you are special to him?

In fact, let’s re-phrase that question – how does it make you feel?

Because God also says to you, ‘You are highly favoured.’

Personalize that:

‘I am highly favoured.’

‘God highly favours me.’

One definition of ‘favoured’ is ‘to support, to root for’.

Just as Mary would be supported by God in all that lay ahead for her, so, too, God will support you in all that lies ahead for you, whatever that may be.

He’ll support you, encourage you, strengthen you – he’s rooting for you!

Isaiah 43:1,2,4: 
‘I have redeemed you . . . When you pass through the waters, I will be with you . . . you are precious and honoured in my sight, and . . . I love you’.

Lord God,

It’s hard to believe that you highly favour me. 
Help me to believe and accept that you do. 
That you are supporting me, encouraging me, strengthening me. 
Thank you that you are rooting for me. 
Thank you that you think I am worth it. 
Help me to remember that today.

Amen

Mary’s memo:
God is rooting for me

My response:


Emily lives in Leicester. Some of the things she splits her time between are writing, speaking, hospital appointments, and being wrapped around the little fingers of her nieces/nephews/godchildren. The Power of Seven, her latest book, is – coincidentally – her seventh book.

 You can connect with Emily in the 
following ways:
https://www.facebook.com/EmilyOwenAuthor










Vicki


Comments

  1. Jason Cottingham24/11/2018, 10:11

    Great thanks so much

    ReplyDelete
  2. Fiona Lloyd24/11/2018, 11:01

    This looks great! - would love a copy.

    ReplyDelete

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