1. Karlie. Karlie is an exceptional young lady from OBU and FBC Tulsa. Her posts are always insightful – and this one about our Caring Center is worth your time to read:

-Karlie and the Caring Center: http://livingintimelywriting.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-caring-center.html

2. Nelima. My new friend Nelima from Kenya lives in Rome. Her posts are everything mine are not – short, to the point, practical, and enthralling from beginning to end. Her blog is a must-follow and must-read.

-Follow Nelima: nelima.wordpress.com

3. Glenn. My father-in-law is not a blogger, per se, but he is an extremely gifted teacher, preacher, artist, musician and writer.

-Follow Glenn – http://www.facebook.com/pages/Plum-Fine-Art/275031265870206?ref=ts

-Read Glenn’s recent thoughts on pride:

Recently the Lord has been dealing with me about the many faces of pride.
Here are some thoughts:

Pride is a sin that wears many masks
Corrupting our minds and ruining our tasks
Enflaming our tongues and blinding our sight
Leaving us ruined by its terrible blight

Pride is deceptive. It always tells lies
Hiding its evil through clever disguise
With serpentine cunning it leads us astray
And all the while tells us that we are okay.

Pride is a despot attacking our soul
Cleverly reigning with hellish control
It always is false-faced, this lifted up fraud
Who dares to aspire to the throne of our God

But what can we do who are snared by this pride?
Is there nothing to conquer this darkness inside?
“Humble yourself and find grace from the Lord”
Bend low and pride dies by God’s two-edged sword.
Glenn Plum

Some more thoughts about pride. It scary that this is just an illustrative not an exhaustive list!
THE FORCE OF PRIDE

Pride makes us crave to be center stage
Pride makes us fly into self-righteous rage
Pride makes us think we are better and wiser
Pride makes us spurn every godly adviser

Pride makes us talk about things we don’t know
Pride makes us act like we’re the star of the show
Pride makes us judge with a prejudiced eye
Pride makes us bend rules and then boldly lie

Pride makes us act without seeking the Lord
Pride makes us live with no heart for His Word
Pride makes us skip our times of prayer
Pride makes us cold when friends need our care

Pride makes us wink at the shame of our sins
Pride makes us strut when our team wins
Pride makes us stubborn to admit our error
Pride makes us whine that life isn’t fair

Pride makes us work for things that don’t matter
Pride makes us climb up society’s ladder
Pride makes us value the praise of men
Pride makes us chase a frivolous end

Pride makes us shove our way to the front
Pride makes us deaf to what others may want
Pride makes us worry what others may say
Pride makes us bitter when hurts come our way
Glenn Plum