Hello, fellow bloggers and readers of things online! I was chosen for this award by Stu, a friend online who can be found at Something to Stu Over. I am honored and a little mystified about this award and how to tackle it, but I will do my best, Like Stu, I also love this image that represents the award. The fog is what mysteries are made from, right? You can’t see far enough in the fog to see what awaits you!

“Mystery Blogger Award” is an award for amazing bloggers with ingenious posts. Their blog not only captivates; it inspires and motivates. They are one of the best out there, and they deserve every recognition that they get. This award is also for bloggers who find fun and inspiration in blogging; and they do it with so much love and passion. -Okoto Enigma (https://www.okotoenigmasblog.com)

RULES:

• Put the award logo/image on your blog.
• List the rules.
• Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
• Mention the creator of the award and provide a link as well.
• Tell your reader 3 things about yourself.
• You have to nominate 10-20 people.
• Notify your nominees by commenting on their blog.
• Ask your nominee any 5 questions of your choice, with one weird or funny question.
• Share a link to your best posts.

3 Things about Vickie:

I am at an age at which I never know what new medical condition will appear next, but I do know that God will go through it with me.

I am very introverted, preferring to stay at home and read to going out into public for any reason. At one time, I was diagnosed with mild agoraphobia (fear of crowds).

I am married to an extrovert who tries very hard to pull me out of my shell and into society. He is generally only successful if I know the people in the “crowd” that I will be joining.

Questions for me to Answer:

1. What do you consider to be the worst evil in the world?

Abortion–I think the murder of innocent babies is comparable to the Holocaust or the Old Testament practice of pagans sacrificing children to Molech. We have truly lost our moral compass when we think that sacrificing babies to Molech is okay. God will not be mocked, and He calls this travesty sin!

2. How has your blog changed since you began writing?

I started just doing book reviews and the title of my blog was only “Vickie’s Book Nook.” Then one day, as I was praying during my devotional, God spoke to my heart and told me to change the title to “Vickie’s Book Nook and Meditation Corner” so that I could write about my faith there.

3. Are you an animal lover? If so, which type?

I love small animals. I have a cat, but I also love bunnies, birds and small dogs. My husband has placed four different bird feeders just outside the windows of the room where I spend most of my time so that I can enjoy nature without having to venture outside unless I want to do so.

4. Are you prepared to meet God face to face?

I am prepared when He calls me home to walk with Him into eternity. That is how I see death; one moment, I will be here on earth and the next I will be walking with my Lord and Savior in Heaven.

5. Are you, as a Christian, prepared to share what God has done for you at any given moment?

I have the Bible knowledge and I know how to share, but my tendency to be an introvert often keeps me from sharing. However, recently, God has placed people right in my path for whom I can share in the form of a genial conversation and that is more comfortable for me.

Here are a few of my favorite posts:

Quotations from Corrie Ten Boom

Positive Tuesday: 10 Things that Make Me Happy

Think and Rejoice

Review of THINGS YOU SAVE IN A FIRE by Katherine Center

I’m choosing ten bloggers to receive this award. Please do not feel that you have to participate, but please know that I chose you because I appreciate your blog and the effort you put into it.

Parallax

Lydia Potter

My Creator’s Creation

Knitting with Heart

Teen, Meet God

Heart Tokens

Seriously Seeking Answers

Equipping Blog

Big Sky Buckeye

The Lost Coin Blog

Questions for my nominees to answer:

1. What is one piece of advice that you would tell a teen today?

2. Name one place in the world that you would like to visit before you die and tell why.

3. What is the funniest/strangest thing that has ever happened to you?

4. If you could be an animal, which one would you choose to be and why?

5. What is the evidence in your life that you could present to a stranger to show them that Jesus is your Lord and Savior?

Thank you to everyone who reads and follows my blog. Blessings!

I have been reading lately in the book of Deuteronomy, and I have found that it is so full of treasures.

We are not under the law any longer because of Jesus’s sacrifice. But the law was given to us to show us that there is no way we can meet all of those requirements, so we would have to be sacrificing animals constantly for our sins. Thank God that He sent His Son to be the sacrifice for us! God reveals Jesus to our hearts and that is our heritage to pass on to our children and grandchildren.

The only way we can love God the way we are supposed to is that God draws us to Him and “circumcises our hearts.” Honestly, I’m not sure what that means except that circumcising was the way to show that there was a covenant between God and that person. I do have an agreement with God; I am a Christian because I have accepted Jesus as my Savior. Once that happened on February 28, 1973, my heart was circumcised and I was welcomed into the family of God.

God’s Word is never far from us; He has written it on our circumcised hearts. I have found that the older I get, the more I forget things, but I still remember Scriptures that I learned in my younger years. That seems odd, doesn’t it? But not if you think about the Word being written on your heart. Jesus is the Living Word and His Holy Spirit lives in each of us who has accepted Him as Lord and Savior. I may not remember the entire verse or even the reference, but I do remember enough of the verses that I need to remember when I need them, and they comfort me.

This is one of my favorite verses that I remember and quote sometimes. I choose life! I choose blessings! And the promise is also to our children…not that God has grandchildren, but they have the opportunity to make these same choices. They have the choice to choose to serve the living Savior and to walk life’s journey with Him. They have the choice to have their hearts circumcised and to have God’s Word written there. Praise God!

This is another favorite of mine, but it is also one that should stir up fear in the minds of unbelievers. They can bow to Jesus now or bow later, but they will bow. ALL will acknowledge that Jesus is Lord! When the Word is written in your heart, there is not a chance that you would not bow before the Lord. It is the natural posture of those of us who are His servants. He is the Lord of all and one day will be recognized by all as the Lord who came to save all of mankind.

All of that being said, the Word is a comfort to me. I had a good friend from church die this morning. I was devastated, sobbing for the loss of yet another friend. But then, God spoke to me and told me that Bob is in Heaven now and has begun his eternal reward; and even better, he has rejoined his beloved wife Barbara who passed away a few months ago. God also reminded me once again that death is not to be feared, but rather to be welcomed as a natural part of my life. I have to die in order to live forever! And so do you, my friends. I pray you got something from my rambling today. Blessings on this Easter weekend, and may you know the joy of Resurrection Day and celebrate Jesus’s triumph over the final enemy!

I recently finished and reviewed the book by Pamela Rosewell Moore about the last five years of Corrie Ten Boom’s life. I have revered this great heroine of the faith since I read her book THE HIDING PLACE and then watched the movie. What horrors she endured! I got so much from this latest five-star read that I want to share some quotations for you to ponder and enjoy.

Quotation #1

“…you have got to learn to see great things as great and small things as small.”

I am not suffering anything like what Corrie suffered, but her quotation is helping me not to lose hope. So, in the scheme of things, the length of time that is taking me to heal is a small thing.

Quotation #2

“Child, it is not as much what happens, but how we take it that is important. God is watching to see whether we allow the problems to defeat us, or whether we will go through them in His strength, being made stronger for the next problem and ultimately for the final end battle.”

For those of you praying for me, my prayer request is that I will not allow this temporary setback to defeat me but that I will be able to go through it with God’s strength, ready to tackle the next battle in my life.

Quotation #3

Everything that happens to us in life is training for the work we will do next.”

I don’t know what I’m going to be doing next, but I’m excited to see where the Lord is leading me during this time of struggle.

Quotation #4

“How gracious the Lord is that He does not normally reveal the future to us, but shows us the way to go one step at a time so that we learn to rely on Him from day to day.”

I heard a pastor tell me once that God only gives us the train ticket when the train is in the station. Meanwhile, we wait and depend on Him, trusting that He has our best interests at heart and He loves us. Reflecting back on it, I am fairly certain that this analogy he used was from Corrie Ten Boom and her book THE HIDING PLACE.

Quotation #5

“‘It is not so much what happens, but how we take it, that is important…'”Through the hard circumstances of the last years of her life, the Lord has shown me a paradox: The deepest fellowship with Him lies not in resisting when suffering comes our way, but in going through it resolutely with Him.”

I have not mentioned it online, but I have been having a hard time lately and ended up in the ER on Monday due to the pain I was having whenever I would swallow. After over seven hours and multiple consultations with my surgeon, as well as testing again, it was decided to send me home with medication to coat my esophagus so that I could eat. My other instruction was to schedule another appointment with my surgeon, which is tomorrow. This quotation has been a great comfort to me lately as my diet was restricted even more (again) and although I am no longer in pain, I have no idea what is going on with my digestive system that just underwent surgery. This quotation comes from Corrie before she suffered a debilitating stroke. She was determined in her heart and mind to go through it resolutely with the Lord, just as she had suffered through the Nazi concentration camp. Likewise, I am determined to go through whatever I have to go through in order to come out on the other side and hear God’s marching orders for my next task in life.

Prayers for blessings in your lives! And I hope that you will find this book, buy it and read it. It’s a treasure!

I’m sharing this post because I am happy today and I appreciate Susie at Susie’s Opinions.

Each day that I awaken is a gift from God.

I am happy that I have God’s Word to read each day.

I am happy to be alive!

I am happy to be celebrating my 46th anniversary with my husband on Saturday.

I am happy to be a grandmother of nine beautiful, happy and healthy grandchildren.

I am happy for a lovely garden planted by my loving husband for me to enjoy.

I am happy to be blessed with three wonderful children!

I am happy that I have a sweet kitty to keep me company every day.

I am happy to have a recliner to relax in each day.

I am happy to have multiple copies of God’s Word to read and study each day.

Those are the ten things that I am happy for, none in any particular order. But I want to add one more…I am happy to be meeting so many kind people online. Thank you for reading!

Anyone who wants to participate is welcome to do so. Just make sure that you leave a link to Susie’s original post. Blessings!

Every day, we wake up with choices. We can choose to sleep in or to get up early to do a devotional before we start our busy day. We can choose food that is healthy or food that looks really good but it’s not good for us. We can choose to pick a fight or to walk away from one. You get the idea. All of life is a choice. The first choice that really matters is to follow Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. All other choices are secondary, aren’t they?

Once we have made that initial choice to serve Jesus and to put Him into the center of our lives, our other choices are affected greatly. It’s not something that happens overnight. It’s a gradual change of priorities from choosing for ourselves and choosing things that would glorify Him. It isn’t always easy to choose the things that are “above” but it is the thing that we should do since we are supposed to be looking at earthly things from a heavenly perspective. Barbara Copperthwaite wrote in her book, THE PERFECT FRIEND, “If you’re not doing something every day that you’d be proud to put on your tombstone, then you’re not living right.” Think about that. Just ponder it for about a minute. So each day, we should be sharing a smile, encouragement, hope, love, friendship. We are in this world to be Jesus’s hands, feet, and eyes. We should look at things the way Jesus would see them. We should go where Jesus would send us and use our hands to do His work once we get there. That is not to say that we should neglect our responsibilities. Jesus would be the first to say that we should work and earn and take care of our families. But what we earn should not become more important to us than what we do with that money. A tithe belongs to the Lord and if you give more, that is the offering. That is one of the important choices that we make. As you begin a new day, think about the choices that you will make this day to serve the Lord and to show Him and His grace and mercy to others. In return, you will truly know that you are “raised with Christ.” Blessings for a wonderful day!

I’m going to do a different kind of post today. I want it be interactive. So, before you read too much, I want you to prepare to type or write, whatever you are comfortable doing. Now, I’m going to pause for a minute while you write a list of the things that have happened to you in your lifetime. Go ahead. Do it, please. My list will follow below.

Sickly childhood with some emotional abuse

College and college debt

Met my future spouse on a bus and married him eight months later

Harry left for SC and I continued to teach in VA in order to fulfill my contract

I was pregnant and alone and scared

Moved to SC, the first of 25 moves with the military

One move was to Maine and I really disliked living there

Bought a house and moved to PA

No job for me in PA, so moved to MD

Life threatened by a student in MD

Moved to VA, where I taught until I retired

Got my first grandchild in 2002 and now have nine

One grandchild passed away in the womb in 2015

Retired in 2017

Four surgeries, including knee, sinuses, parathyroids and recently a paraesophageal hernia

Now, take that list that you have written and reflect on how God was with you in everything. Because whether we are aware or not, God has always been there and will always be there. Nothing happened in my life and nothing will happen that God doesn’t know about. I used to listen to Andrae Crouch a lot and I was delighted to find the following video on YouTube. It is from a Billy Graham rally “back in the day” but if you listen to the whole thing, I am certain that you will be blessed. He starts with his testimony of how he got started as a musician and then he sings a song that I haven’t thought about in many years, but God brought it to my mind this morning, very early.

“Through It All” by Andrae Crouch

May you have a blessed day and remember to count your blessings because God has been with you through everything and He is walking with you into whatever the future may hold!