Wild Week! And Chance to Win a Gift Basket Extended!

Yes, I know it's not the day for "W" yet...

Please accept my sincere apologies at falling behind on the "A to Z Challenge"! On Sunday I was invited to go with a friend to a little town in western Nebraska; she gave her "Chocolate" talk there. After, as she was talking with people who attended, we started hearing that the Interstate was closed...because of snow! We did NOT expect that but after checking with family and friends realized that we'd be spending the night in North Platte (where there was no snow, by the way...). After a trip to WalMart for pajamas and a few other necessities, we treated ourselves to a nice supper out and talked until almost 2 AM, discussing everything from our kids to the theology of heaven to our future writing plans and goals to the kind of toothpaste we used...

Needless to say I didn't get any blogging done that day or Monday...we left mid-morning to come home and within 5 or 6 miles saw the first semi jack-knifed in the median. We saw numerous other cars and semis on their sides or completely overturned as we made our way home. We were very thankful to get home safely!

The rest of my week was spent putting the May issue of the "Nebraska Family Times" together; if you'd like a FREE copy of the June issue e-mail me at shelly@shellyburke.net with your mailing address), working, going to church, welcoming Morgan, my daughter, home, seeing the movie "Heaven is for Real", planning and shopping for Easter dinner...and basically, well, not blogging.

I have my posts planned out and WILL catch up within the next few days.

To make it up to my readers I will be giving away 4 gift baskets instead of just one (see this post ) and have decided to extend it until Easter Monday; everyone who comments between now and then will be in the drawing for one of the gift baskets.

May God bless you and your family this Easter!

"He is risen!"

"He is risen indeed!"

"Alleluia!" 

FREE 2014 Verse Card, "God's Promises to You" with gift subscription

A subscription to the "Nebraska Family Times" is the perfect gift for anyone who appreciates traditional values the old-fashioned way--in their mailbox! The mission of the "Nebraska Family Times" is "to inspire, encourage and motivate readers in their Christian walk." We cover local, state and national news from a Christian point of view, and every issue also includes devotional articles, Bible Study and much more! 

In the past year we've covered:

• National news from a Christian point of view--including Miley Cyrus's behavior, the suicide of Arial Castro in prison (he was the man who held three women prisoners in his home for a decade), and the Boston Marathon bombing
• Nebraska news--what the legislature did, what Common Core Educational Standards are and why they are damaging to kids; Nebraska is one of a handful of states who are fighting against adopting the standards
• Local stories--Bruce Wall, the new director of Camp Luther in Schuyler, NE; Grace Knuth, a Lincoln resident, and her story of adopting a child with Down Syndrome from Bulgaria; Befriend Mentoring Program in Norfolk, Fremont and Columbus; the Global Passion Ministries-Nebraska team's fifth mission trip to Nicaragua coming up in February of 2014, and much more! 

A gift subscription to the "Nebraska Family Times" is perfect for anyone on your list including: 

• Someone who is shut-in and appreciates reading Christian news
• A Sunday-School or school teacher
• A mom of young children who needs encouragement and only has a few minutes at a time to read 
• Day care provider
• Elderly friend or relative 
• Anyone who enjoys reading a "real" newspaper made of paper--not pixels on the internet! 

A one-year, 12-issue subscription is only $20 and with every subscription the recipient (and the gift-giver, if it's a gift subscription) will receive our 2014 verses card, "God's Promises to You."

To order, click "Subscribe to the Nebraska Family Times" in the right hand column of this page, send $20 to PayPal, shelly@shellyburke.net or mail your check to Nebraska Family Times, 209 27th St. #13, Columbus, NE 68601. Questions? E-mail me at shelly@shellyburke.net. 

Give a gift of encouragement that will last all year! 

I will be at the Scotus Craft Botique in Columbus, NE, tomorrow! Stop by if you are there--I love to meet readers and if you don't receive the "Nebraska Family Times" pick up a free copy at the craft fair! 

A to Z Blogging: T is for...Thoughts

By Shelly Burke, Editor

For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ…” 2 Corin. 10:5

My thoughts, especially in the middle of the night, can take me to scary places. “What if I lose my jobs—both of them…can’t get another nursing job of any kind anywhere in the whole state (or country!)… and I eat alllllllllll of the food in my cupboards….still don’t have a job so get evicted…and my Envoy breaks down….so I have to have it towed down by the river so I can live in an Envoy, down by the river…?(Like whatever that song is, about “ living in a van, down by the river”).

Or, even darker…”What if I can’t get insurance when our COBRA runs out…and then I get cancer (I’ve had two friends diagnosed with breast cancer in the last few weeks)…and I’m all alone…and NONE of my friends will take me to ANY appointments…and anyway I’m living in my broken-down Envoy, down by the river…”

OK, in the bright light of day, and even during the night, I realize how ridiculous these thoughts are. For one thing I am blessed with many wonderful friends who would help me out, just as I would help them.  But I think everyone has had those dark and racing thoughts at some point—especially during a time of transition and in the dark of night.

I think the devil likes us to have these thoughts—he wants us to live in fear, both to take away our joy of living, and to make us doubt what we know about God, and the promises that God has given us.

What Paul is telling us here is that we have more than just ourselves—our flesh—to fight these thoughts. We do not have to do it alone! We have the divine power of the Holy Spirit, working through God’s Word, the Holy Bible, on our side, to dispute these thoughts. We can look to His word and destroy the thoughts that are contrary to what we know of God.  

And what does God’s word say about His character and His promises to us?

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified…for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.”

     Deuteronomy 31:6

“And He will give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.”

Psalm 91:11

“Cast all your anxiety upon the Lord because He cares for you!”

1 Peter 5:7

Pray to be discerning, to be able to tell when your thoughts are going into those dark places. When dark thoughts enter your mind, take them captive. Compare them to what you know about God and about His Word. Claim His promises. Accept His peace.

For FREE verse cards of the above verses, e-mail your request to shelly@shellyburke.net. I’ll get the verse cards in the mail to you, to encourage you when those dark thoughts intrude on the peace that God wants you to have, in Him.  

Would you like to read articles to “encourage, inspire and motivate you in your Christian walk”  every month? Subscribe to the Nebraska Family Times and you’ll find local, Nebraska

and national news from a Christian point of view, as well as devotions, columns by

Nebraska and nationally-known Christian authors, and much more, in your mailbox every month!

A one-year, 12-issue subscription is only $20! See the

right sidebar on this page to order, or e-mail shelly@shellyburke.net for details.

Shelly is also the author of the book “Home is Where the Mom Is; A Christian Mom’s Guide to Caring for Herself, Her Family, and Her Home. Click to find out more!

FREE Back Issues

Are you new to the Nebraska Family Times? Would you like to read back issues, or share them with someone else? There are a limited number of back issues of the Nebraska Family Times available upon request.

To request a back issue, call (402) 993-2467 or e-mail shelly@shellyburke.net.

Do You Want to Share the Paper, but Don't want to give up Your Copy?

If you’d like to share the Nebraska Family Times, but don’t want to give up your copy, contact me and I will send you up to five copies of the paper, FREE! We want to spread the news of the Nebraska Family times as an encouraging and positive source of Christian news.

To get your FREE copies, call me at (402) 993-2467 or (402) 750-3496; e-mail me at; shelly@shellyburke.net, or write ;Nebraska Family Times, 42887 G. G. Road, Genoa, NE 68640.