The Saturday Six

One.

I've been doing some Pinterest hopping lately, and I came upon this list of little towns in Ohio worth a visit! (Hey Ohio friends...you're welcome to add your opinions if you've been to any of these!) Lynne and I went to Granville and German Village back when we worked together, and I really loved both those places. In fact, I have them on my list of places to take Ryan! I saw Put-In-Bay on an episode of House Hunters, and it looks like a great place to visit, too!

Two.

I haven't actually tried any of these spring salads, but they sure look good! I am itching for spring dishes. Who am I kidding? I am just itching for spring!!! Anyone else a spring salad junkie?

Three.

Remember how I told you last week that we had a really weird snow in Indiana? We didn't get a single flake, and about fifteen miles away, my parents were blanketed with snow? WTHR posted this aerial shot to show how distinct the line really was!

Four.

If you're looking for a pick-me-up for your workout, here's a work-through-the-alphabet option for you! (Fun fact: doesn't really follow the alphabet.) I like this one because it doesn't require any equipment, so if you don't own any and don't have time to go to a gym, you can still try it! :)

Five.

Since tomorrow is Easter, I thought we should find a good Easter song (that features David Phelps, of course), so here's my pick for today!

Six.

Source

Over the last few months, Ryan and I have been leading a small group through our church, and the book we've all been studying is Robert E. Coleman's The Master Plan of Evangelism. Though the book was first released back in 1963, I'd never heard of it before now.

Endorsed by Billy Graham, the book has a timelessness about it that is (sadly) lacking from so many books written today. Now I'll admit that in the early chapters, especially, Ryan and I had to look up a couple of words because they're not used regularly anymore, and we weren't sure what they meant. But I'll happily look up words if it means I can read a book that holds more timeless truths than trendy truths.

The author's premise is that so many churches spend their times on specific evangelistic programs, but if we just study Jesus' life, we will see that He actually had an evangelism plan of His own! If we would take the time to study it and put it into practice, we can be effective in telling others about Him - without all the costly program extras!

The book explores how Jesus reached the masses with his teaching, but He spent the majority of His time focusing on twelve men, teaching them everything He knew and empowering them to become ministers of the Gospel themselves. He interacted with them closely, allowed them to observe his life, taught them specific truths, and answered their questions. If each of those twelve focused on evangelizing twelve more...and on...and on...you see how the news would spread!

We found the book incredibly insightful, helping us to see things from Scripture we'd never before understood in the specific ways the book presented. It was encouraging to understand that we already have the tools to tell others about the Lord, and we don't have to have a fancy bells-and-whistles program.

In all fairness, I will tell you that for as much as we loved the book, we did not love the accompanying study guide. It was added a few years later and was actually written by someone else entirely. We did not find it remotely easy for group discussion and ended up writing our own questions to use in place of the ones in the back of the book. So we can't give you a thumbs up on that part of it, but the content of the main book itself was really well done.

I think there's a lot of tremendous value to be found in books form days of yore, so I'm glad we were introduced to this one. I would happily lead a study from this book again! (With my own questions attached.)