The older I get, the more I think about death being imminent.  If my stroke taught me anything, it was that I am still here on earth, alive, because of God’s great mercy and grace.  Every breath that I take is a gift.  Every new morning is to be treasured.  But we are not to be so attached to this life and our things on earth that we forget our destination and to whom we belong.  Over forty-five years ago, I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior.  From that moment, my life was not my own.  It has been His, with all of the trials and temptations that are normal for any human being.  But one thing I have always known, no matter what I was going through.  I have always known that my home is with the Lord and when I die, I will go to be with Him.  I acknowledged Jesus as Lord long ago, but I have many loved ones who have not done so.  Again, as I get older, it becomes more important to pray for them and to share Jesus with them as I am allowed.  The door is not always open to share because some family members have decided that I am too “religious” and don’t want anything to do with me.  I praise God for the description that I am too “religious”  because that must mean that I have shared enough of God for seeds to be planted.  I, however, don’t want to be known as religious.  I want to be known as a faithful servant of the Lord.  I may not live long enough to see the harvest of my loved ones, but I know that God is faithful and will bring others after me to reap what was sown long ago.  One thing is certain:  the Scripture says that EVERY knee will bow and I want my loved ones to know Jesus as Lord before the Judgment Day of the Lord.  Let us all be diligent to pray for our unsaved loved ones that they will come to the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and find the love, freedom and security that can only be found in knowing Him.  Meanwhile, let me live for the Lord until that day that He calls me home.  

Available TODAY from all of the local booksellers!  

What a great read!  Rose and Bel are orphans who are sent to live with their grandmother.  Rather than deal with young teens, their grandmother decides to send them away to the exclusive and vey expensive Odell Academy.  Rose was very quiet and shy while Bel made friends quickly,  But the group Bel is hanging out with is the group that promises to bring trouble with it.  Add to the mix a dean of their dorm who is power-hungry and attracted to the young girls who are his charges, and you have the setting for this powerfully entertaining novel.  The characters are well-developed, and the plot is intricate and intriguing.  The conclusion is one that is hinted at throughout the novel, but the reader has to pay close attention in order not to get a big surprise at the end.  

Disclaimer

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

Lynette Eason delivers again with a suspense thriller that will not disappoint her fans or her new readers!  Blake McCallum is hot on the trail of the human trafficking ring that took his daughter Rachel and Chloe is a big help, with her magnificent and talented dog Hank.  For me, Hank stole the show (or the plot) with his dogged persistence and steadfast loyalty no matter what he was asked to do.   The tension was non-stop as Blake and the St. Johns race against the clock to save Rachel before she is sold at an upcoming auction.  The bad guys in this book are really bad, and the action is so breath-taking that it is hard to put the book down until the final satisfying scene.  There is just enough clean romance to entice readers of that genre and plenty of suspense for everyone!  This is a must-read for Eason fans, and I totally appreciate all of her research that she obviously did into human trafficking and the use of dogs to track people and drugs.

Disclaimer

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

Michael Youssef has taken some of the well-known characters of the Bible and analyzed their answered prayers in ways that will have every Christian clamoring to read and study this book.  There are sentences from every page that are memorable and could be made into a saying to remember for the day.  I enjoyed how he broke down the prayers into parts and encouraged his readers to pray likewise in order to receive answers to prayers.  My prayer life is already changing as a result of reading this short and inspiring book.  

Disclaimer:  I received a free copy of this book from Baker Books in exchange for my honest review.

I give this excellent Christian book a solid 5 stars!

God is bringing to my mind the Scriptures about loving your neighbor, and He is also relating it to how we are treating people who disagree with us politically.  That is most evident in the United States right now, with what seems to be constant violence and rebellion against the government.

If God has established our government, then we are subject to it, whether we agree or not.  Christians don’t spit on people, curse people, push or punch or set cars on fire when we don’t agree with what the government is doing. Martin Luther King, Jr. was our model for peaceful demonstrations.  What is happening today in America is a disgrace and a sign of the end times…rebellion everywhere with no desire to listen to what the “other side” says.  My stand is that I don’t agree with everything our government does, but I will pray for our leaders daily, that they will have wisdom and God’s grace to lead us.  I consider our government leaders a neighbor, albeit distant ones.  And as such, Jesus has already told us how to treat our neighbors.

I have a real split in my family right now because of this whole political thing.  One of my siblings won’t speak to me at all because I support the President.  Well, honestly, I support him because I agree with a lot of what He is doing.  But, then, I also supported Obama and I disagreed with a lot of what he did.  So, how can I support both men?  Because they are God’s servants and my neighbors.  So, I pray for them, even when they do things that I totally disagree with.  I am not the leader that God has put in control.  I am, however, affected by what our local, state and national government leaders do, so I pray for all of them.  In my humble opinion, that is what all of us should be doing.  The rhetoric from the media is divisive and we are supposed to be united.  Our unity comes from God, so perhaps we should listen to what He is telling us to do and not just decide on our own that because we don’t like what someone is doing, we are going to rebel or support rebellion.  God wants us to love…even those whom we consider not worthy of our love.  I show my love by praying.  I hope that you will do the same.

Thank you to Kathy Wire for choosing me to participate in this quote challenge that was created by A Guy Called Bloke at https://aguycalledbloke.blog.   It’s actually pretty cool and simple, and yet can be tough depending on the word of the day.  You choose 3 bloggers to write 2 quotes each, on 1 word given to them by you.  My topic of the day is:

This is a perfect word for me because it is what I am constantly seeking in this world of chaos.  God has the perfect cure for all the chaos and He gave us the answer in His  Word.  Here are my two quotations:

There is so much truth in these simple words from the Lord that we need to take into our hearts and hold on to.  Just focusing on God keeps us in peace.  I know that this absolutely is true.  When I was riding in the ambulance after my stroke, I could not speak.  But I could pray silently, so that is what I did.  I focused on the Lord and felt His peace surround me, even as the fear of death enveloped me.  God’s presence was so totally calming to me that I knew that He was taking care of me.  When I got to the hospital and was diagnosed with a massive stroke, the neurologist told me that the TPA shot that they were giving me had about a 30% chance of working and a very high chance that it could kill me.  My husband and I prayed, along with our daughter on the phone, and we decided that the injection was my best option since without it I would always be paralyzed on my right side and without speech.  Well, I’m here to tell you that the Lord is good!  He gave me peace in the ICU, peace after I got home and had to change my whole diet as well as my A plus personality that was stressing me so much.  I worked for two more years after I had my stroke, in the same stressful environment, but with the knowledge that God had given me my life back as a gift and He wanted me to live in peace.  The peace that God gives cannot be understood by the world because it is not from the world; His peace is a supernatural knowing that no matter what happens, God is in control and will take care of me.  Life is scary, challenging and sometimes more than we can handle.  But there is nothing that will happen that God does not know about.  And, even, better, He is the God who created me so He can take care of it.  He will either remove the obstacles or help me through them or over them.  I certainly need this reminder now since my husband and I are facing some rather tough financial problems with repairs on a house that we rent in Pennsylvania.  Nevertheless, God is my peace, and I hope that He is yours.

Now, back to the challenge.  I choose the following bloggers to participate:

Equipping

Margaret

Cindy

These nominations are completely optional, no obligation.  It is my pleasure to nominate you since I thoroughly enjoy reading your blogs.

The word for the quote is:

 

God has spoken in His Word that we are to get up and shine for Him.  We are the light in the darkness of this world.  I was very upset yesterday that my son was happy about reading a children’s book about homosexual relationships to my three year old granddaughter.  In normalizing sin, we are making it as nothing.  But God still calls it sin.  I am reading an ARC of a book by Michael Youssef and he says the same thing.  The darkness is spreading because those of us who are the light are not doing our job.  We only really have one…to be the light that people need so that they can come out of the darkness.  In doing that, God’s glory is spread.  What is God’s glory?  His Son who died for us and now lives for us.  He set the standard.  It was never easy for Jesus to take a stand, but He did and so should we.  My son knows how I feel and says that I am “intolerant.”  I guess he is right; I don’t tolerate sin.  God called it sin, so I do, too.  Homosexuality is not another lifestyle; it is a rebellion against God.  It’s no greater or worse than other sins like lying or cheating or stealing.  God looks on all sins in the same way; man needs to repent and turn back to God.  But right now, there are many in our world living in darkness because that same world has called sin okay; it’s confusing to those who don’t read and believe God’s Word.  For those of us who believe and read consistently, it is easy to see the sin and call it what it is.  We need to stand boldly and proclaim the sin and the remedy, Jesus Christ.  Let’s arise and shine today as God’s great army of light, shining into the darkness so that many will know the truth and accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior!

This is an absolutely delightful children’s book that explores vocations and the dreams of what one can be when one grows older.  The author uses beautiful illustrations and an excellent rhythm that will attract the young readers as well as those growing a little and beginning to ask the question, “What will I be when I grow up?”  Children often hear that they have a hidden talent and this charming book delves into how God gives each of His children a talent that they can use for Him.  The writing is simple but eloquent in its revelation of God’s truth for all children.  What a beautiful gift this would be for any child in anyone’s life!  I can ‘t wait for the book to be released so that I can get a copy for my young grandchildren!

Disclaimer

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and Netgalley.  I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”