This article by Dr. Denison says everything that I want to tell you today.
Watson Holds Prayer Rally in Boson
Month: June 2020
www.bible.com/reading-plans/988/day/20Review of ALWAYS THE LAST TO KNOW by Kristan Higgins
I read this book for a few hours and then had to put it down to think about what I had read. It is a book with a message, actually, to be accurate, with a lot of messages that made me reflect on my own choices and relationships. It is the story of Barb and John who have been married almost fifty years when John has a debilitating stroke. Their marriage was already broken, but Barb went though the motions until she was ready to just end it. They have two daughters, Juliet and Sadie. Juliet is Barb’s favorite and Sadie was John’s fave. Juliet is a successful architect, married to a Brit and with two daughters. Sadie is an artistic free spirit who rushes home to help take care of her father, leaving her life in NYC behind. This is the story of a fractured family that does not communicate or easily forgive. With the themes of sibling rivalry, infertility, lack of forgiveness and lack of communication, Higgins did a stellar job of drawing me into the lives of these four broken people. They all have wounds from the past and an uncertain future, much like everyone else I know plus myself. Thus, I related to the story and really enjoyed it, as their poor choices in the past were revealed as well as their current dilemmas. To me, John, with his stroke and inability to communicate clearly, represented the whole problem with the family. They were all lost in the condition of being too paralyzed by the past to grab hold of the future, until finally they realize their paralysis and start to do something about it. There was no fluff in this book; it was all meaningful, and deeply thought-provoking. It is contemporary fiction and domestic drama with Higgins’s humor thrown in to lighten the somber mood. I loved this book and highly recommend it as a novel of reflection and hope for the future.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Berkeley Publishing via a Goodreads contest. 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.”
Information above was found at www.kristanhiggins.com
Available now! Here are links where you can purchase this book:
Many, many thanks to #BerkleyPub for sending me the ARC to read and review! And thanks to Goodreads for their reader contests!
Review of STORIES THAT BIND US by Susie Finkbeiner
I really needed a distraction from the news, and this book totally provided it. The story of Betty Sweet, her sister Clara and her young nephew Hugo is one that I will long remember. It is the tale of love, loss, acceptance, addiction and family. Betty and her husband Norm share a love that is right out of fairy tales. Clara and Betty had not seen or spoken to each other in years, even though they were sisters. When Clara suddenly shows up on her doorstep, Betty opens her door, her home and her heart wide to accept Clara as well as her young nephew Hugo. The fact that Hugo is black does not seem to bother Betty at all and she shields him from the stares and glares when they go out in public. I think my favorite thing about this book was the family relationship between Betty and all of her in-laws. They loved her and helped her with her losses, being the ones who showed her that she needed to keep on living. I also really enjoyed the stories within the main story, the tales that Betty told little Hugo when she was tucking him in at night. They were imaginative stories, told from her heart and with so much love that the emotions that she felt for Hugo jumped off the page and into my heart. I cried, I laughed, I enjoyed, and anyone who loves historical fiction (although not that historical since I lived in this era), will delight in this newest book by Susie Finkbeiner. She has a real fan in me because her books are so real and so heart-warming that I just want to spend days with her creations and feel a sense of satisfaction and contentment when the book is done.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell. 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.”
Available for purchase:
Words Matter
I was always told as a child to be careful what I said because it might come back to bite me. Then, when I was an adult and became a Christian, I was told to be careful what I say because the tongue is the most unruly member of the body and hard to tame. Today, once again, I read about words, in both of my devotionals. In one, the author condensed the Bible to 50 words, as follows:
God made, Adam bit, Noah arked, Abraham split. Joseph ruled, Jacob fooled. Bush talked, Moses balked. Pharaoh plagued, people walked, sea divided, tablets guided. Promise landed, Saul freaked, David peeked, prophets warned, Jesus born. God walked, love talked, anger crucified, hope died. Love rose, spirit flamed, Word spread, God remained.”
Excerpt From: Guideposts. “Daily Guideposts 2020.” HarperCollinsChristianPublishing, 2019-08-26. Apple Books
Then, I read my other devotional from and my Bible and these are the verses that spoke to my heart:
I noted that the purpose of my tongue is to help out those who are weary. God wakes me up so that I can listen to Him and then tell others what I have learned so that they may also be encouraged to serve Him.
It is through the wisdom that God gives us that we know how to speak to others. Some may need a strong rebuke, others a gentle word of love. Whatever they need will be on the tips of our tongues if we remember to start the day learning from God. We have to also remember to speak wisely, with God’s grace and not our own judgment.
A Free People’s Suicide? – The End of Law and Order in the West
A Free People’s Suicide? – The End of Law and Order in the West
A Free People’s Suicide? – The End of Law and Order in the West
— Read on theweeflea.com/2020/06/09/a-free-peoples-suicide-the-end-of-law-and-order-in-the-west/
Please go to the original blog and follow.
www.bible.com/reading-plans/988/day/13Let’s Be Real Here
Let’s Be Real Here
— Read on thefathersfeet.wordpress.com/2020/06/08/lets-be-real-here/
Please go to the original post and follow.
Life Is Short
Not a big revelation there, is it? But I felt that it needed to be said, if only for me. You see, I have been feeling a deep discontentment in my heart these days. I have been angry about what has been happening throughout America. I support the protests, but NOT the riots, so the destruction of the businesses of innocent people angered me. Righteous anger? Probably not since it has been boiling inside me. Then, this morning, the Lord calmed my spirit and spoke softly to me that life is short, so why should I let the misdeeds of others upset me so? God is taking care of things. Maybe I can’t see it or understand the end of it, but God is there and He is aware of all of the crimes, both against humanity and against Him. So, I can just relax. Life is short and in the time that God has given me, I want to be and do only what would honor Him.
Yes, the battle still rages in some of the major cities of the U.S. But my spirit is quiet, knowing that God knows that these days are evil and He will bring the final judgment. He will judge the police who acted rashly and murdered a man. He will judge the destructive rioters who have killed and looted and tried to destroy a great nation. He is the final Judge. My responsibility is to walk as a wise person, avoiding evil and showing people the way of life as much as I can. One day, I will no longer be here on earth because this is the way of all of us. Whether we acknowledge or choose to think about it or not, everyone dies. The thing is that it is my choice whether to live walking quietly and in peace with the spirit or to let the evil of the world stir me to sinful anger. I choose peace. I choose God. I choose to live my short life(God’s Word says it is but a breath) focused on Him who has given me so much joy and love, without asking anything of me in return.
I am thankful for each of my followers and wish for each of you the peace of God in your hearts. Bless you, my friends.
www.bible.com/reading-plans/988/day/10
Vickie's Book Nook and Meditation Corner 