Monday, April 1, 2024

A Comeback

A Comeback for 7 Degrees of Me

Didn't know I left? Well, I kinda did (leave, I mean). I wanted to focus on writing books, so I tried to intertwine all of my social media without having to start from scratch. So, you may be following me as 7DegreesOfMe, BeedaSpeis, Shari Young, PeaceInTheStillness, etc...

I've tried consolidating, but I'm like Fred Flintstone and Ralph Kramden (The Honeymooners); I see a shiny object, and I'm like, "Ooo, I want to do that!" I'm forever chasing the newest get-rich-quick scheme. I've learned over and over again that "if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is." 

I've spent hours watching YouTube videos learning how to do this, or how to do that, only to find that it's too difficult to sustain over any amount of time. But, since I've got so much invested into some of these schemes, I'm going to try to bring everything together here, on this blog, where it all started about 15 years ago.

I've got numerous irons in the fire. How are they all connected? 


Dear God Ltd is my registered company name. But I don't have a website up and running for it yet. Its main purpose is to be a publishing company for Christian Books, mostly by Beeda L. Spies (my penname), but for other Christian authors who are just starting out.

Peace In The Stillness is my Christian website and blog. It will be receiving a facelift in the coming months and will have more to offer. You can also sign up for my newsletter there.

If you follow my Author Page on Amazon, you'll receive notifications whenever I publish a new book. There are several in the works.

My "tent making" efforts are online shops. I'm 
  • designing and selling t-shirts on Amazon. 
  • designing customized swag for groups and events
  • I've created an Amazon Affiliate site where I feature the hottest items and/or best sales available from Amazon
  • Lastly, I'll soon have a Bird Feeder business where I'll be selling beautiful and unique bird feeders.

Is your head spinning after reading that? Yeah, mine, too. Fortunately, I have a Linktree account where everything is listed in a neat little list with all of my social media links at the top and some of my merchandise under the "shop" tab. 

If you're still with me after all of that, thank you! I'm going to try to make a way for followers to receive notifications only for the items they're interested in. 


Find me here:
 Linktr.ee/BeedaSpeis




Monday, August 30, 2021

A new blog - new website

 I built a new website to house my blog and the ministry I'm working on, called Peace In the Stillness.

I hope you'll follow me over there.

My new blog is at PeaceInTheStillness.com/blog.



Sunday, August 1, 2021

Romans 8:28

 

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, 
for those who are called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28 ESV 

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Please join me this week in praying for contentment for ourselves and others. May we rest in the hope of Jesus Christ. Pray that those who do not have a personal relationship with Christ come to know Him. Pray that we recognize the daily blessings that God bestows on us. He provides for all of our needs. Let us be thankful for having food, water, shelter, and clothing. Praise God for His unfailing love and grace.

I'll post daily reminders on:
twitter @7DegreesOfMe
Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #bibleverse #bible #contentment #peace #hope #prayer #faith #love #sufficient #needs #ChristAlone #Romans



Saturday, July 31, 2021

Matthew 6:33

 

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, 
and all these things will be added to you.
Matthew 6:33 ESV 

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Please join me this week in praying for contentment for ourselves and others. May we rest in the hope of Jesus Christ. Pray that those who do not have a personal relationship with Christ come to know Him. Pray that we recognize the daily blessings that God bestows on us. He provides for all of our needs. Let us be thankful for having food, water, shelter, and clothing. Praise God for His unfailing love and grace.

I'll post daily reminders on:
twitter @7DegreesOfMe
Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #bibleverse #bible #contentment #peace #hope #prayer #faith #love #sufficient #needs #ChristAlone #Matthew


Friday, July 30, 2021

Seek contentment

 Man sitting in a small office, leaning back in his chair with his feet on the desk, staring out the window. #contentment #reflection #peace or maybe #discontent #depression #anxiety Seek a #counselor or #therapist if you need help Image by Steve DiMatteo from Pixabay

When I graduated from high school, I had my whole life planned out. Unfortunately, I didn't involve God in my plans and actually, turned away from Him when I got to college. From there, my life was a downward spiral to destruction. It weighed on me for over twenty-five years until I reconnected with God. That connection made a huge difference in my life, but I still struggled with negative feelings from my past.
     It wasn't until I found a remarkable counselor that I was finally able to work through my past and move on.
     I've heard people say lately: 
  • "I don't need a therapist. I just need to pray more and read the Bible more." 
  • "I'll be fine. I'm giving it all up to God." 
  • "Time heals all wounds." 
     All of those things help and are a great first line of defense, but what if God wants you to seek counsel? What if He directed you here to plant the seed? God gives people the gift and education to help others for a reason. 
     So if you are struggling right now. If you cannot possibly be content because of something happening in your life, or in your past, please consider seeking the counsel of those who can help you.
     Your church may have people to help you. But, if not, here are some resources.
Faithful Counseling (Christian organization)
K-Love (Yes, the music station. They have pastors on staff to help you.)
Psychology Today (If using this link, I encourage you to find a Christian counselor and one who does EMDR - at least, it worked for me.) 

The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
Psalm 34:10 ESV

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Please join me this week in praying for contentment for ourselves and others. May we rest in the hope of Jesus Christ. Pray that those who do not have a personal relationship with Christ come to know Him. Pray that we recognize the daily blessings that God bestows on us. He provides for all of our needs. Let us be thankful for having food, water, shelter, and clothing. Praise God for His unfailing love and grace.

I'll post daily reminders on:
twitter @7DegreesOfMe
Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #bibleverse #bible #contentment #peace #hope #prayer #faith #love #sufficient #needs #ChristAlone #counselor #therapist #seek #Psalms

Thursday, July 29, 2021

True contentment

 Two metal pots and a kettle sitting on a rock steam coming out of them. A torn piece of fabric hangs next to them. Black and white photo. A scene from Lima, Peru.  Image by Ameen Asbahi from Pixabay
Take a moment to think about your own level of contentment. Do you have all that you need? Do you have the basics of life (not the extras that we can all live without)? Do they bring you contentment? Satisfaction?
     It's okay if the answer is 'no.' We're human, and it's our human nature, or rather our sinful nature that keeps us wanting more. Or is it?
     The poorest people of Lima, Peru live in what we would consider squalor. Their houses are built out of whatever materials they can find. They don't have clean drinking water. There's trash everywhere. Yet, they're happy and content. If you were to tell them they're poor, they wouldn't know what you're talking about. They may covet their neighbor's electricity (and may take it upon themselves to tap into it), but that's the extent of their "want."*
     Every time I think about them, I feel ashamed of my own occasional dissatisfaction with life. I have God in my life; I don't need anything or anyone else. But, there are times I find myself longing for this or that. Sometimes the longing is over a relationship, or having time, or needing direction and I take all of those types of things to God. Sometimes it's more materialistic like escaping to a foreign country. That I just keep to myself because I realize it's not a need.
     Whatever is keeping you from contentment, examine it and then let it go. Count your blessings. Praise God for His mercy, love, and grace.

The Bible verse of the day just popped up on my phone, and how fitting:
   Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Mark 11:24 ESV

I absolutely love what Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians. It really stops me in my tracks and makes me realize how difficult his life was, yet he said time and time again that he considered his life gain. Dwell on verse 10 below.

6 Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For he says,
          “In a favorable time I listened to you,
               and in a day of salvation I have helped you.”
Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. 3 We put no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, 4 but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, 5 beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; 6 by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; 7 by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; 8 through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; 9 as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; 10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.

2 Corinthians 6:1-10 ESV

*This description is from what I've learned from Missionaries who've been in Lima and from the photos I saw of the area where they were serving.

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Please join me this week in praying for contentment for ourselves and others. May we rest in the hope of Jesus Christ. Pray that those who do not have a personal relationship with Christ come to know Him. Pray that we recognize the daily blessings that God bestows on us. He provides for all of our needs. Let us be thankful for having food, water, shelter, and clothing. Praise God for His unfailing love and grace.

I'll post daily reminders on:
twitter @7DegreesOfMe
Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #bibleverse #bible #contentment #peace #hope #prayer #faith #love #sufficient #needs #ChristAlone #poor #humannature #Corinthians #GospelOfMark #want #covet

Wednesday, July 28, 2021

God has a sense of humor

A little joke from God, and a lesson in waiting on Him.
Golden background with 2 pencils on it and the Bible verse Philippians 4:19 Created with the YouVersion app

Every morning I pray for words to share with you, but sometimes they don't come in the timeframe I need them to and I get impatient. This morning was one of those times. I got frustrated and decided to just post a Bible verse.
     I chose Philippians 4:19. Scrolling through the images already created with this verse (on the YouVersion app), I realized that I have used all of them in the past, and almost stopped to look for a different verse. Lo and behold, the very last one was the image above. Notice the pencils? God provided a short anecdote (that's what this is, lol) that fits into my allotted writing time, that brings Him glory as supplying all of our needs. It's also a lesson in waiting on Him and trusting in Him.
     God is so cool! I love seeing Him at work.

And my God will supply every need of yours
according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19 ESV

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Please join me this week in praying for contentment for ourselves and others. May we rest in the hope of Jesus Christ. Pray that those who do not have a personal relationship with Christ come to know Him. Pray that we recognize the daily blessings that God bestows on us. He provides for all of our needs. Let us be thankful for having food, water, shelter, and clothing. Praise God for His unfailing love and grace.

I'll post daily reminders on:
twitter @7DegreesOfMe
Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #bibleverse #bible #contentment #peace #hope #prayer #faith #love #sufficient #needs #ChristAlone #amwriting #patience #Philippians