Welcome to First Line Fridays! First Line Fridays a fun meme hosted by Hoarding Books! The aim of the game? Grab the book closest to you and share the first line!
Title: Sent: Delivering the Gift of Hope at Christmas
Authors: Jorge Avecdeo, Jacob Armstrong, Rachel Billups, Justin LaRosa & Lanecia Rouse
Publisher: Abingdon Press
Genre: Christian nonfiction/ Small Group Study/ Devotional/ Advent Study
“A few years ago, during Advent, my two older daughters asked me a question I wasn’t expecting: “Dad, will you ever take us to the Waffle House?”
–Sent: Delivering the Gift of Hope at Christmas, Chapter 1
I love being United Methodist. Then again, I realize I’m biased. As an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church, I have covenanted with the church to always serve. I am called to word, order, sacrament, and service.
In return, the UMC has covenanted with me that they will always provide me with a a job and a church to serve. They might offer me a church in Siberia (hypothetically) but I am willing to serve there. That’s part of the covenantal promise that we make at ordination as part of the UMC.
The promise of always having a job in today’s economy is something that I do not take for granted. I was raised by a single mother and I saw how hard she worked to make ends meet. I am grateful to my church for providing me with not only a livelihood, but also the opportunity to live out the call that God has placed on my life. There are still many churches hat do not ordain women.
Frequently, I compare serving in the UMC to an arranged marriage. Any marriage takes work. Sometimes, we are bothered by our spouse’s actions; however, we continue to love them.
One of the things that bothers me about the UMC is our lack of diversity. Cokesbury is part of the United Methodist Publishing House. Every month, the Cokesbury catalog is shipped to me and I flip through the pages in search of new books to read. Frequently, I am disappointed at the lack of diverse voices represented in Cokesbury’s otherwise impressive catalog.
That is why I was so pleased to discover this Advent Study by Jorge Avecdo. Not only is it written by a diverse author, but I find the promotional video to be engaging and appealing.
I am using this book during my personal devotions this advent. If I enjoy it, I will purchase the DVD and work through it next year with my church people. Plus- who doesn’t love a book that begins at the Waffle House? I’m all about food and Jesus!
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Dear Reader, now it’s your turn! What are you reading? Grab the book closest to you and share the first few lines with me in the comments below!
Click the cute little blue frog for more first line Friday Fun!
Rev. Rebecca Writes 
Happy Friday! Over on my blog I’m sharing the first line from My Heart Belongs in the Blue Ridge by Pepper Basham. Here I’ll share the first line from Chapter 13 of the same book.
“Laurel hadn’t left the house in three days. Neither had anyone else.”
Have a wonderful weekend!
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I’m sharing the first line from Hope for Christmas by Elizabeth Maddrey on my blog today and I’m currently on chapter 7 so I’ll share the first line from that chapter here. “Cyan chuckled as Calvin made kissing noises to try and attract the attention of one of the horses.”
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Ooo! I love books about horses. Thanks for stopping by!
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I know it’s Saturday already, but this has been my first chance to comment. Yesterday, my husband and I had the privilege of attending our daughter’s commencement for her master’s degree and we hosted her graduation party at our house afterward. Now, for FLF, on my blog I featured a Love Inspired novel by Winnie Griggs, Once Upon a Texas Christmas. Since this is my current read, I will share the first line in Chapter 18: “Abigail escorted Seth and Jamie into the schoolroom as soon as she’d seen the last of the children leave.” Have a wonderful rest of your weekend!
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Here is my first line, a day late…
Ollie Oxley squeezed his eyes shut, hoping the house might change from pink to blue or even a nice shade of green. He opened his eyes. Still pink. Bummer.
This comes from an ARC from NetGalley called Ollie Oxley and the Ghost, The Search for the Lost Gold.
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I’m a little late going around this weekend but I’ve had a couple busy days leading up to my extended family Christmas with my in-laws today. The book I shared on my blog this week is Between Two Shores by Jocelyn Green releasing in Feb 2019 but I haven’t been able to start my next read yet so I don’t have an extra line to share. I hope you have a great weekend and are able to get some quality reading time in!
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