A Loving Eye

On March 3, 2021 By vickleaIn Scripture3 Comments

www.bible.com/111/psa.32.8.niv

Every parent knows that the best thing we can do for our children is to prepare them for life by consistently instructing them and teaching them, leading them in the right way. So this verse really touched my heart, especially the part about God’s eye being on us to counsel us. I remember my kids saying that I was giving them “that look” which they knew meant that whatever they were doing needed to stop immediately and they needed to make a choice to change their actions before I changed it for them. I also recall my students telling me that I had that look in my eyes that showed them that I meant business and that they needed to listen. They called it “the teacher eye.” With this Scripture today, it verifies that the look and the teacher eye were real and they are gifts from God, the One who loves us and uses that eye to counsel us. With just a look from the Father, we are advised to change our path, to go the right way, to choose wisely. Just as my children and my students knew exactly what I expected when I cast my eyes upon them, so do we when God looks at us and clearly speaks through His Word that we need to straighten up and fly right!

Review of FACING THE DAWN by Cynthia Ruchti

On March 3, 2021 By vickleaIn Book Review2 Comments

*A completely clean Christian read, but it does deal with some difficult topics*, *so I would rate it PG.*

*I would definitely give it more stars if I could.*

Goodness! This is the first book ever that I had to put away for a few hours after certain chapters and just let it settle in my mind before I could continue reading. The depths of emotion in this novel were real, in the book and in my mind as I read. Mara is almost a single mother, in that her husband is in Uganda on an extended missions trip, providing water for the needy in Uganda. Mara has problems with two of their children: Dylan who is on probation, with Chelsea who isn’t trying very hard to graduate, but not with Jeremy, the pre-teen who just loves his mom and is empathetic to her loneliness and stress. When the unthinkable and unimaginable happens, Mara has to dig deep just to survive. The author writes so well that I put myself right into the middle of the story and was feeling what Mara felt. I was as thankful as Mara when her best friend Ashlee shows up, having moved to town recently and is there for just the right time. It is Ashlee, a widow who has been through grief, who understands Mara’s anger, resentment and feelings of unworthiness. Sol and Logan are neighbors who pitch in to help out and Mara is overwhelmed with the circumstances and the aid that she receives. The book was so realistic that I wanted to just reach into the pages and give Chelsea and Dylan a good shake and an “in your face” lecture. With well-written dialog between the various characters and an extremely well-developed plot, this book was the first book that I have read by this author, but it will definitely not be the last. I enjoyed every minute that I spent getting to know Mara, her family and her friends. By the end of the book, I even considered her my friend, too. With the themes of resilience, forgiveness, acceptance and love for others, this book was one of the best that I have read that included a difficult topic. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to feel hopeful and faithful when not much is going the way you expected.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell via the Revell Reads Blogger Program. I was not required to write a positive review. 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.”

*Info and photo from the author’s web site at* https://cynthiaruchti.com

This wonderful book just published yesterday. Here are the purchase links:

A Prayer for Love, Knowledge and Insight

On March 2, 2021 By vickleaIn Scripture7 Comments

It has been almost twenty years since our youngest child left home for college. That was the beginning of the end of having children at home, the beginning of becoming an “empty nester.” When each child left, I gave them plenty of advice: finances, relationships, and finding a good church to go to. I prayed for them daily; in fact, their names and a prayer were never far from my thoughts and still are. But this prayer that I found in my devotional this morning is what I should have been praying for all of these years.

It is Paul’s prayer for the Philippians, but it is also a prayer that we can and should apply to all of our loved ones. For it is in this prayer that we find the love, the knowledge and the insight necessary to fulfill a life of promise in Christ. It is a prayer for making good choices and to one day be able to stand before the Lord “blameless.” It’s not enough to know God’s Word; it has to be applied to one’s life. That is my prayer for my children, for my friends, for other family members and for my lost loved ones and friends. Jesus saves. He left us the Holy Spirit to give us insight and discernment, His Word to give us knowledge. If we stay close to Him, we “abound in love.” How can we do any less than love others when He chose to die for all?

Yes, I pray for our children daily. I also pray for others whom God brings to my mind. Prayer is a powerful weapon in the hands of the saints of God. We need to use it as Paul did, to teach and to bless.

Have a blessed day filled with abounding love, knowledge and insight!

He Is Worthy

On March 1, 2021 By vickleaIn Scripture5 Comments

www.bible.com/1171/1sa.12.24.mev

This is an admonition from my devotional this morning. It’s one to memorize and keep in our hearts, Fearing the Lord is giving Him the reverence He deserves. He is a good Father. We are to serve Him daily. How? By following His Word. Jesus’s last commandment to His disciples was to “go…and tell.” If that is what Jesus told His followers then, isn’t He saying the same thing to us now? Finally, we are to think about all of the great things He has done for us. In doing that, we focus on thanksgiving and the positive things in our lives. There is so much for which to be thankful! This verse encapsulates what our relationship with the Lord should be on a daily basis.

God bless you as you go through today with fear of the Lord, serving Him with thanksgiving in your hearts. He is worthy!

Vickie's Book Nook and Meditation Corner

Month: March 2021