I am a Christian, a retired teacher, a mother and a grandmother. I love to read and I love the Lord Jesus Christ! Unless otherwise specified ,all visual illustrations are from the YOU VERSION APP of the Bible.
I am thankful for cars. Since we live in a very rural area (think lots of trees and few humans), it isn’t easy (almost impossible, in fact) to get to a place with a store without a car. The closest Walmart is seventeen miles away. Most of my medical appointments are further than that, from forty to fifty miles away. How do we get to all of these places? In a car, of course! My car, a 2013 Toyota RAV4 is in the shop, having the transmission repaired under a manufacturer’s warranty. So, my husband and I are left to use the old Kia that I used in the early 2000’s to get to work. It went into the shop for repairs, stayed there almost three years (the shade tree mechanic was in no hurry to do the work). Once my husband got it back, it made a horrible noise. Think motorcycle, but it’s a car! When we came back from the Toyota dealer on Wednesday where I left my much loved Rav, I had to wear my noise cancelling headphones inside the car in order not to get an awful headache. Thank goodness my husband thought about bringing those along. Now, we wait. We wait for the Toyota dealership to call and tell us my car is ready. They said maybe by late afternoon today. Thus, I am thankful for cars. They are our route out of the wilderness into what I term civilization. I thank God that He watches over us and takes care of us when we travel and that He has given us the means to do so!
What are you thankful for today? Do you have reliable transportation? I hope so! Blessings for a great day filled with safe travels in the car or truck or whatever God has provided for you!
I know that you have all heard or seen the guy in the end zone doing his little dance or the racer at the finish line patting himself or herself on the back. God wants us to take pride in things that are much more important.
If we think that we are wise or mighty or rich, then the only thing that we should actually be proud about is the fact that we know God. Now, I have known the Lord as my Savior for almost 47 years, but I don’t know all that I want to know, not by a long shot. Nor do I even pretend to understand Him. You know the Scripture verse that says His ways are not our ways, right? Many times I have seen the things happening on earth and I’m glad that I am not God because in my disgust, I would probably just have wiped man off the earth. But God knows all and understands all, and I only know a part and understand a part. I understand some really important and valuable life lessons, one of which is that the Lord offers us loving kindness (when we probably deserve judgment), he exercises justice (think of all the ways God is just) and He exercises righteousness. How does He do the latter? Well, He sent His Son to die for us and then we show the righteousness of God to a lost world. Righteousness equals right standing with God. I am not in right standing with God without the shed blood of Jesus Christ which God so freely provided for each of us. The final part of this verse says that God delights in exercising His loving kindness, justice and righteousness in the earth. I think that this part of the verse also refers back to the first part in that God also delights in having us understand and know Him. Every day that we spend on earth should be a day in which we know Him a little more, understand Him a little more and can share what we have learned with others. After all, that is our purpose here…to be His hands, feet, eyes and ears to the people who need to know and understand Him. I must admit that I would like to be wise, mighty and rich (especially rich), but God says that if I understand and know Him, I already am. How about you? Are you dancing in the end zone of life because you know the Lord? Let’s all dance together here on earth and make others wonder what we are so happy about! Blessings to each of you for a day filled with God’s glory!
This will be short and sweet because I don’t have photos of all of my friends, but they are the ones that I’m thankful for today. I lost my best friend in March of 2017 and it was a rough year for me without Heidi there. But God is gracious and merciful and sent me other friends with whom I can confide and just be me. You know what it’s like, don’t you? There are a few in a close circle with whom you can share your heartaches and your heart’s desires without feeling judged. It’s those ladies that I am most thankful for. Friends are a part of the world that we really need in our lives and I thank God for each lady who has touched and is still touching my life. I will always miss Heidi and look forward to seeing her again someday, but meanwhile, I am making it…one day at a time, with many physical friends and many more friends online. I count you, my readers, as online friends, and I am thankful for each of you. Blessings for a day filled with friendships and thankfulness!
Quotations about friendship from quoteambition.com
I am happy to have been selected to be part of the Harlequin Romance Blog Tour.
Here is my review of the book:
This romance book is just that…romance with a lot of the author’s signature humor added in. The sex scenes were very graphic, but if you like that kind of thing, it will work for you, although it had me skipping pages. Renee is a wedding planner who wants a relationship with no strings attached. Enter Jasper, the new resident writer, who fits the bill nicely and volunteers for the position. Renee and Jasper have an interesting relationship that develops throughout the book, with a little meandering here and there to include pets. I enjoyed the book but was surprised when it seemed to end so suddenly because by then I wanted more of the story. Fans of Mallery and fans of romance in general will enjoy this book. But I would say that it is for mature readers because of the almost erotic sex scenes. I haven’t read any of the other Happily, Inc. series, so I don’t know if this is a general thing in these books.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley and I also purchased my own copy from Barnes and Noble. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions 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 Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”
This fun romance is available now from your local bookseller and online.
SUSAN MALLERY is the #1New York Timesbestselling author of novels about the relationships that define women’s lives—family, friendship, romance.Library Journalsays, “Mallery is the master of blending emotionally believable characters in realistic situations,” and readers seem to agree—40 million copies of her books have sold worldwide. Her warm, humorous stories make the world a happier place to live.
Susan grew up in California and now lives in Seattle with her husband. She’s passionate about animal welfare, especially that of the two ragdoll cats and adorable poodle who think of her as mom.
Since I am a big reader, I am very thankful for the authors who provide so many hours of entertainment for me and other avid readers. I have been a reader since I was a young child, asthmatic and forced to remain inside so that an attack would not be triggered. On Monday evening, my book group at the local library had a wonderful FaceTime meeting with author Alyson Richman. She was so kind to work around our schedules and discuss her book THE SECRET OF CLOUDS with us. What a real treat this was for us! If you have not read this book, then I highly recommend it. It is literary fiction that teaches a lesson that all of us could stand to learn. The meeting was fantastic and the other members and I all agreed that we would love to do it again if we can find other authors to participate. Being from a small rural county has its drawbacks, one of them being that we don’t get a chance to meet authors very much. The virtual meeting with Alyson was memorable and a blessing. So, I am thankful for authors today! What or who has touched your life and been a blessing to you?
I hope that if you are on Facebook, you will follow this sweet and talented author. Thank you, Alyson, for your gracious gift to my book group. And thank you to all of the authors who have nourished my love for reading with your expertise at writing!
Blessings to all of my readers because you give me a reason to write this blog!
Today is a day of being thankful for many things, but I am focusing on my pet Daisy.
This is Daisy lying on my lap and sleeping peacefully. She doesn’t mind if I cuddle or pet her while she is sleeping. Her favorite touch points are between her ears and under her chin. Sometimes, if she is feeling extra loving, she will roll over on her back and invite me to pet her very soft belly. She is a spoiled cat and I am blessed to have her. For many years, just being near a cat (or dog, for that matter) would set off a sneezing fit and then be shortly followed by an asthma attack. That did not keep us from having pets, but they were the children’s pets, a Pekingnese dog named Mickey and a gray tabby cat named Misty. Once the children left home for college and then marriage, I continued to care for their pets, but I never cuddled with them, knowing that it could leave me with an illness that would be hard to get over. Nevertheless, when Mickey and then Misty passed away over a decade ago, I continued to long for a pet of my own. Three years ago, I begged, cajoled, pleaded and just made myself a nuisance to my husband, trying to persuade him to allow me to have a kitten. My allergies seemed to be under control, more or less, and I was willing to suffer through whatever I had to in order to have a pet of my own. Finally, with my daughter chiming in, my husband gave in and took me to the SPCA. Our grandchildren who were visiting from PA helped us to pick out Daisy. She was already named by the shelter, and I added her middle name of “Tee” since the T’s helped me choose her. From day one, she has been a companion to me, following me around the house, climbing into my lap if I am seated and nuzzling me if she wants attention that I am not giving. We touch noses like an Eskimo kiss and have spent many hours just being together. And my allergies and asthma? No sign of either around Daisy. Nothing! Not one sneeze or cough. That, my friends, is God’s grace, allowing me the desire of my heart to have a pet that I had longed for my entire life. God is good!
What unexpected blessings have you had in your life that God dropped into your life and then later realized that’s what it was? I hope that God blesses you in many ways today, but especially in a way that is a testimony to His great love for you!
Wow! This story is a fast-paced, explosive action thriller about a drug cartel in a small town and all of the lives that it affects. A small family business is turned upside down when the drug cartel comes to town, and a police officer’s life is hanging in the balance. Mark was investigating the cartel and ended up in a coma and then suspected of wrongdoing himself. His wife Robin is determined to find the truth and almost loses her life instead. The plot is easy to follow even though there are so many characters involved. I really enjoyed how the author wove faith into each character’s life, at least the lives of the “good guys.” It was no small wonder that the book has a happy ending, but it had me on the edge of my seat at the climax, when all the bad guys are there together to take care of getting rid of the good ones. I will definitely want to read more books by this author and highly recommend this clean read to fans of Christian suspense.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy fo this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions 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 Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”
This excellent Christian fiction is a clean read and is available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble now!
Matthew McConaughey at the Oscars on March 4, 2018, in Los Angeles.Listen to The Daily Article Podcast, then subscribe.
Matthew McConaughey made headlines recently, but not for a new movie or television commercial. He joined other volunteers last Friday in preparing eight hundred turkey dinners for firefighters in Los Angeles battling wildfires. His team prepared an additional eight hundred dinners for local homeless shelters.
Our culture will remember McConaughey for his Academy Award-winning acting career. These firefighters will remember him for his kindness.
“Three things that are important in life”
Frederick Buechner: “When Henry James, of all people, was saying goodbye once to his young nephew Billy, his brother William’s son, he said something that the boy never forgot. And of all the labyrinthine and impenetrably subtle things that that most labyrinthine and impenetrable old romancer could have said, what he did say was this: ‘There are three things that are important in human life. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. The third is to be kind.’”
In the most polarized and politicized culture of my lifetime, Henry James’ advice is more urgent than ever.
How to be “sons of your Father who is in heaven”
On one hand, it is obviously urgent that Christians speak up and stand up for truth today. It’s difficult to identify an issue on which our culture is not moving further from biblical morality by the day.
On the other hand, it is urgent that Christians speak up and stand up for truth in a way that leads people totheTruth.
Jesus taught us to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). The second imperative amplifies and applies the first. It is hard to hate someone for whom we are praying. The more we pray for them, the more we come to love them. And the more we love them, the more we will pray for them.
Our Lord then explained why such kindness is so important: “So that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven” (v. 45). Just as a father loves his children whether they love him or not, so we must love each other whether they love us or not.
It’s easy to love those who love us: Jesus asks, “Do not even the tax collectors do the same?” (v. 46). And when you “greet only your brothers,” Jesus asks, “What more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?” (v. 47).
But when we love those who do not love us, we stand out in a way people cannot forget.
Let’s join “Golden Rule 2020”
Yesterday marked exactly one year before the next presidential election. In that light, a campaign that began Sunday is especially significant.
The campaign is supported by a remarkable coalition, including the National Association of Evangelicals, the Episcopal Church, a department of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and the Presbyterian Church USA. It encourages Christians to “pray for God’s help in healing our country” and to “promote the use of the Golden Rule in political discussions and election activities throughout the 2020 campaign season.”
As a result, “there will be a focus on the practical application of the Golden Rule and how politics in 2020 could be different if Christians practice Biblical teachings about how to treat people who disagree with them.”
Let’s join Golden Rule 2020 today, to the good of our country and the glory of God.
The truest test of character
It has been said that the truest test of character is how we treat people we don’t have to treat well.
When people hurt us, our society tells us we have the right to hurt them in return. Jesus says we have the privilege of loving them by praying for them. When Christians decide that Christ is right and culture is wrong, the culture is drawn to Christ.
Maya Angelou: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
I come from a family of five of us siblings, and although we were all born in Virginia, we have scattered. That means that I don’t get to see my distant siblings much, but they are ALWAYS in my thoughts and prayers. My older sister lives about an hour away, so I do visit her frequently.
From top to bottom is Ann, Steve, James and Denise. They are and always will be part of my heart. Who is close to your heart? Blessings for a day of thankfulness!
Lest you think that I am confused, I am actually trying to catch up so that my days of thankfulness match the calendar, even though I got a late start by one day. So, I am thankful for my husband of 46 years. We have had many ups and downs, but we have stuck together. He spent many years alone in the military, as did I, as his military spouse. But each time he returned, we were happy to be reunited. For the last 23 years, he has been retired and we have actually gotten to know more about each other. I think that our age has allowed us to tolerate/accept our many differences. He has been my mainstay through five surgeries and a stroke, so he is my caregiver and my best friend. I thank God for giving me a man who loves me in spite of me.
I hope that you all are joining me in being thankful, if not on a blog or on social media, then in your hearts and minds. May God bless you this evening. See you tomorrow for day #4!
Vickie's Book Nook and Meditation Corner 