Randy Deming

This is an interactive prayer book. There is a brief overview of each book of the Old Testament along with some of the key scriptures and recommended readings. The goal is to have an overall grasp of the book's message in order to put the verses in their proper context. I have left room for notes and I have posed some questions in order to make us think about our own relationship to God. I have also included a space for the reader to write his/her own prayers. I hope the final result is the discovery of God's love and salvation. I pray the reader will come to realize that even in our weakness we are still His people.

Prayer is a bridge to take us from our broken mortality into the comforting presence of God. There are times when it is hard to formulate prayers that are meaningful. This book is a collection of prayers that can help us draw closer to the God who hears. The prayers in this book are intended to be personalized by the reader in order to develop his or her own bridges to God.

Dad would not consider himself to be a hero. He correctly recognized he was one of many. He was part of a team that worked together to achieve great things. There were 210,000 U.S. airmen who flew missions over France and Germany in World War II. Slightly more than a third of these men were killed, wounded or became prisoners of war. Some would say the heroes were the ones who gave everything and did not come home.This book tells the story of a man who did his duty out of a love and commitment to his country and his family. It is written in his own words. Dad was a bomber pilot who went on to an illustrious career in the USAF. He was a man who loved his country but he was also in love with mom and was just as committed to his family. I think this dedication to both areas of his life is what comes through as you read his story. I think this is what made him a hero if only in the eyes of his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

For most of my life I heard this loud voice: "A woman is not permitted to speak and may not exercise authority over a man." I never considered other voices. I never tried to discern the path Jesus would have taken. In this small book we have considered some of the other voices we need to hear. There are many church members who believe we are ignoring scripture in order to conform to a culture where women have more opportunity and freedom. They are fixated on a few misunderstood verses written by the apostle Paul that restrict a woman's role in the church. When a church allows women to have more participation, they believe the church is becoming more like modern American culture and less of what God intended. They could have it backwards. God has always wanted to give women equal status. It is a worldly culture that dominates and abuses women. It is the gospel that has brought equality to women by transforming the culture.

I grew up in a Christmas house. Dad was a pilot in the Air Force and we lived in a lot of different places but wherever we lived our house became a bit of the incarnation. My parents were not perfect. Our church attendance was hit and miss but Jesus was always a part of our lives and Christmas was a priority. This book includes stories that describe a myriad of unexpected ways we discover the true meaning of Christmas at different stages of our lives.