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.
Most times when I was disciplined as a child, I learned something. Hard lessons to learn about not lying, not rebelling, not taking things from others. But I learned that I would be punished. Nowadays, I am thankful for God’s judgments because it is from Him that I am learning to be more like Jesus.
I continue to pray for all who face the final judgment of God, and I am well aware that we learn the lessons about righteousness that He is teaching now or we will live eternity separated from Him because we didn’t accept and learn from Him.
Have a blessed day and look forward to God’s teaching us righteousness. It is for our good always.
Here is a quotation that seems fitting for today:
“A. W. Tozer wrote, “The only safe place for a sheep is by the side of his shepherd, because the devil does not fear sheep; he just fears the Shepherd.”
In this season of Thanksgiving, many people who do not regularly thank God take the opportunity to acknowledge that what they have in their lives is from a “higher power.” Others continue on with their lives and call Thanksgiving Day “turkey day” or some other name that means that they are all about themselves and their own ego trip, refusing to acknowledge the Creator and the Savior. I call it Thanksgiving, it’s one of my favorite holidays and I am thankful for all of God’s gifts.
Of course, the first gift that comes to mind is His Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ, without whom I would not have a relationship with the Father. I am also thankful for the Holy Spirit, the One who guides me and helps me to stay close to the Lord and to understand His Word. Ultimately, I am thankful for all of God’s creation: the beauty in the changes of season (we saw snow yesterday!), the rare beauty that is all around us if we just look for it (like the cardinal hopping in the snow) and the beauty of the children and grandchildren that I am blessed with. God is so good to His children. It seems to me that we need more than one day to be grateful for His gifts, for all He has done and continues to do for us. The season is one of Thanksgiving and I am thankful to be counted among His children because of His grace and mercy.
May the Thanksgiving season be the start of thankfulness in your heart and life. Every gift is from God! Have a blessed day of counting your blessings.
I am so thankful that God is always patient with His children. He doesn’t rush us into situations but rather waits for us to make choices, gently guiding us in the right direction. Many today are looking at what is happening in the world and declaring that it can’t be long now before Jesus returns. Maybe that is true. But, just maybe, God is being patient, waiting for as many as possible to turn to Him before Jesus returns and His judgment and wrath are unleashed on an unbelieving and unrepentant people.
God is not being slow or hesitant about the end of the age. His timing is perfect, His plan is in place and He is as ready as we are for this sinful world to end. But He is being patient because there are many who still need to come to Him. I know more than a few myself, and I am sure that you do, too. So, although I am awaiting with great anticipation the coming of the Lord, I am so very thankful for His patience. Maybe one of those He is waiting for is someone close to my heart, too.
May the Lord bless you and your day with good thoughts, good things and the patience to wait expectantly for God, knowing that His timing is always perfect.
If anyone had asked me when I was a child if I was thankful for being disciplined, my immediate response would have been, “Of course not! It hurts!” But nowadays, I am thankful for God’s discipline because it shows me how much He loves me and wants me to be more like Him.
When God stops me in my tracks and gently chides me and disciplines me, I am not always happy at the time. But when I reflect back on the chastisement of the Lord, I always realize that it was for my good and because He sincerely loves me.
My parents, especially my mom, hardly ever convinced me that her discipline was from a heart of love. However, God has me completely captivated by His love, which includes His discipline. He loves me enough to discipline me, to make me more and more His disciple, so that I can share in His holiness. I am not perfect and have not arrived yet. I would not be walking on the earth still if that were true. Thus, God disciplines me and gets me back on the narrow path towards holiness so that I am pleasing to Him and being the witness He desires me to be for Him.
I cannot say whether I have always experienced a harvest of righteousness following God’s disciplinary action, but I can say that in my heart and soul, I feel closer to God and more ready to take on the next challenge in my life. I don’t cower away from God’s discipline but rather I welcome it as a part of my necessary growth and maturity as a Christian.
May you be blessed with the understanding that God’s discipline is always for your good and will always result in your becoming more like He wants you to be.
As a child and young teen, I used to watch old westerns with my grandparents. Frequently, if not every show, the good guys (wearing the white hats, of course), called out to the villains who were hiding in a dilapidated building, “Come out with your hands up! There is no escape. We have you surrounded.” That led to the inevitable conclusion of the show with the good guys always winning. That being said, I am thankful to be surrounded, without the pressure that comes from wanting to escape.
You see, I am surrounded by God’s love, mercy and grace. I am surrounded by His total peace and the security that comes from being encircled by His loving care. I have already surrendered to Him and know that He is there to protect me from harm and sometimes from my own foolishness.
May you know the peace and security that comes from being surrounded by God’s presence in your life.
“Dear Izzy—I feel certain there’s a book-loving man living relatively nearby waiting to speak bookish to you ’til death do you part. You just haven’t met yet.”
Izzy Edgewood is a wannabe bookstore owner, quote queen, and Lord of the Rings nerd who has been waiting for Prince Charming to sweep her off her sneakered feet. But it’s hard to meet people when you spend more time with fictional humans than real ones. Which is why her pragmatist cousin Josephine decides to take Izzy’s future into her own meddling hands and create an online dating profile for the hopeful romantic.
To Izzy’s shock (and suspicion), Josie’s plan works. Soon, she’s dialoguing with a Hobbit-loving man named Brodie who lives in a small town an ocean away from her home in the Blue Ridge Mountains. But is their shared love of books, family, and correspondence enough to overcome Izzy’s fear of flying and the literal distance between them? And is a long-distance relationship even worth considering when a local author has been frequenting the library where she works and is proving to be a perfectly fine gentleman?
In this epistolary novel from award-winning author Pepper Basham, bookish dreams and happily-ever-afters collide to create a beautiful sort of magic that’s even better than fiction.
My Review
I was enticed to read this book by a fellow book blogger (thank you, Nicole) and I am so glad that I did! This is a book just made for book lovers like me. Written as an epistolary novel, this is a fairy tale type love story with characters that you just want to embrace. Izzy is looking for love and in a hilarious way seems to find the bottom of the barrel offerings first. When she starts communicating with a too-good-to-be real man from an island that no one has heard of before, then the real fun starts. The emails between Brodie and Izzy show a developing interest in each other and a lot that they have in common. I really enjoyed their quotations from great classics, especially their references to “The Lord of the Rings” and their use of the characters’ names to describe themselves and others. I especially enjoyed the unwelcome and unsolicited advice that Izzy’s well-meaning family members gave her. Levi’s advice was humorous, Penelope’s was wise and cautious, but Josephine’s advice was the best. Josephine was determined that Izzy should be with boring and one-note Eli, but Izzy knows that Eli is a passing fancy and her reaction to Josephine’s advice is priceless. This is a book that uses words well, with tongue-in-cheek humor and not a little bit of a Cinderella focus. I enjoyed seeing Izzy mature through her correspondence and become more like the person she was always meant to be. The pacing is moderately fast and entirely enjoyable. This is an engaging book, perfect for fans of stories with happy endings and a little drama to get there. Disclaimer Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson Publishing via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guidelines Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”
Many thanks to Thomas Nelson Publishing and to Netgalley for the ARC to read and review. And a big shoutout to Nicole at http://www.christianfictiongirl.blog for her recommendation!
First of all, I had to get over the idea that joy is simply happiness and a smile on my face. According to the site http://www.biblestudytools.com, joy is “extreme happiness as the believer contemplates salvation and the bliss of of the afterlife.” It is described as rejoicing over unexpected benefits. And very importantly, joy is one of the fruits of the Spirit. So, I am thankful for joy and for the discovery that it’s not just a feeling but it is so much more. It is a constant sense of knowing that you belong to the Father and therein lies great joy. I have discovered in my aged wisdom that joy comes from within. Things, people and places don’t give me joy. It resides deep in my heart and is indeed a special gift from God. I may fleetingly be happy but I can always have joy if I choose to acknowledge that it’s a gift from God and not just a feeling. Joy bubbles up inside me at the most unexpected times. I may be thinking about a friend who has passed away or a circumstance that seems overwhelming. And suddenly, there is the joy bubbling around inside me as I contemplate the good times I had with my friend or the fact that circumstances change but God doesn’t.
Crying and weeping are a part of the natural order of things in life. We get sad due to circumstances beyond our control or due to our own poor choices. But joy is there, always waiting for us to recognize that it never left us; we just had it on “simmer” for a season. I look forward to the day when there is no more sorrow or weeping, but until that day, I am thankful for joy and the fact that I can acknowledge that God gives me joy just as He gave me His Son as my Savior and His Spirit to guide me.
I used to watch Fred Rogers with my children and then repeats of the show with my grandchildren. He always had such an optimistic, encouraging attitude and with his soft voice, he would tell the children to “look for the helpers. They are always there.” I think that someone who is an encourager is a helper, in one of the best ways possible.
I have had many encouragers in my life, mentors in my Christian walk as well as friends and medical professionals. There are some who stand out in my memory and I am so thankful for them.
My mentors in my Christian walk have been ladies of the church that I was attending who saw my youth and inexperience and encouraged me to dig deeply into God’s Word and to pray daily. I enjoyed Bible studies with them, long discussions about what I believed and why, until ultimately, I was better able to understand what I was reading and to mentor others. They led me to the understanding that I may not have a lot of knowledge to share, but I had some and I just share that seed so that other seeds would then be sowed into my life. It has always been in reaching out to others that I am touched myself. After all, this is the principle of reaping and sowing that God taught me in His Word and that my sweet mentors demonstrated for me.
I haven’t had a lot of friends that I would say are extremely close to me or me to them because I am such an introverted person. But the friendships that I have formed have been with people who spread positivity and encouragement in front of the path that I am following. One such friend was Heidi. She became a mentor to me at the high school in Virginia where I taught for twenty years. She opened her door and her heart to me, answered all of my questions and just spent time reassuring me that I was going to be okay no matter what the parents and the administration threw at me. We laughed a lot as well as cried a lot together. Heidi had a really rough life for a long time, with a philandering spouse and a friend who betrayed her, but she never once made me feel that I was encroaching on her time. I learned from her how to love life and live as though every moment matters. Heidi passed away in 2017 after a long illness and to this day, I can still look at her photo across the room from me and hear her laughter and see her smile that reached all the way into her eyes and never failed to make me smile in return.
Finally, there are all of the medical challenges that I have faced and the encouragement that I have received from various medical professionals. None stands out more than my physical therapist. I met Tim after my knee replacement surgery in 2004, many years ago. My rehab was extremely painful because I am allergic to opioids and could not take pain pills before the exercises that I had to do to get my knee moving properly again. My husband would drop me off early in the morning before I went to teach since Tim said that at the end of the day, my knee was too swollen to exercise well. Then my husband would leave because I literally screamed in agony as Tim manipulated my knee to bend and flex. All the time Tim was working, he was speaking quiet words of encouragement to me, “You’re almost there! You can do it!” Over ten years later, after my stroke, there was no one I wanted to go to for PT except Tim. He assured me that he would do the best he could to help me with occupational therapy, which I needed in addition to PT, but that was not his field of expertise. Tim purchased a white board for me to practice writing on and had me practice daily. I had lost my ability for language when I had my stroke, so I stuttered and stammered and forgot words frequently. I also forgot how to read with comprehension and how to write. Tim set up exercises for me specifically to work on the skills that I needed to recapture. I am thankful that when I was melting in pools of frustration, Tim always threw me a lifeline telling me that he had confidence that I could do it.
I would be completely remiss if I did not mention the greatest encourager in my life, my daughter Hope. Anytime I need prayer, she is right there, on the other end of the phone. When I had my stroke, she left her four children with her husband and a list of who was doing what for each child on each day and then Hope drove over nine hours alone to be with me. She encouraged me to try to live my best life, to walk and talk and to read even when I had difficulty doing those simple tasks. I didn’t like eating because it tired me, and the food was not tasty since I wasn’t allowed salt. She taught her dad how to cook tasty meals for me that had soft foods that were easier for me to swallow and plenty of protein that I needed. She took me to the grocery store and patiently walked beside me as I slowly made my way around and she instructed me where to find the foods that I can still eat. In short, she encouraged me to want to continue to live, even though my life had radically changed. She also encouraged her dad in ways to help me to learn how to be independent again. The result was that in three months, I was back at work part time. Of course, God had a lot to do with that miraculous healing, but I also credit Hope and Tim for the encouragement to embrace my new life.
My encouragers have inspired me to try to be more of an encourager myself. I look for opportunities to sow positive seeds into people’s lives, going against my old nature of being negative and deliberately thinking of positive things that I can say instead.
There are a lot of disheartened people in the world today, and some of them are in my world. They need my encouragement, just a word or two that acknowledges that they are important and that whatever they are going thorough is not a surprise or too big a challenge to God. I am sure that you can find someone to encourage in your daily journey through life, too. The cashier who is weary, the waiter who is overworked and overwhelmed, the young mom with crying children who just needs a smile and a word that she is doing a fine job with them.
All of the encouragement that I have within me to give to others comes from the message that Christ has written in my heart, one of love and gratitude.
I leave you today with this verse of encouragement and pray that the God of all positive things will walk close beside you today. He is and always has been our greatest cheerleader and our hope.
I have to be completely honest about the recent election. I have been bummed out about the lack of morality shown in the choices of the people. It seems that not only has the U.S. turned its back on God, we are also thumbing our noses at Him and daring Him to respond. But as I read my devotional this morning, a few Scriptures calmed my mind and heart.
No matter the results of the election or who controls the White House or Congress, God is ultimately in charge. He never stepped off His throne and released it to the control of anyone, regardless of their political affiliation. Praise God for the freedom in this truth!
God has reigned since Creation and is still on the throne. Where has God been during the chaos of the recent election? Still on His throne. God does not always approve of mankind’s choices but He does allow us to make them. One day, He will judge all because of those choices and we need to acknowledge His authority now. God won’t be asking us if we are Democrat, Republican or Independent. He just wants to know if we sincerely believe that He is our God, the Only One who sent a Savior to redeem us. He deserves our worship and our trust because He alone is completely trustworthy.
The most comforting verse for me this morning is this one. God has not forsaken us and never will because we trust in Him. He is in control and is totally trustworthy. He doesn’t make promises and break them as the politicians do. He is not interested in “feathering his own nest” or making back room deals. God can be trusted with so much, ultimately including the destination of our souls. He promised and He can be trusted. And for that, I am thankful.
May your day be one filled with awe at the fact that our trustworthy God is in control so we need not fear, just trust.
Many years ago, my husband and I attended a Bible training school called Youth with a Mission. I don’t recall a lot that we studied there, but at least one truth we learned and book that we studied stuck with me through the years. The title was THE INTERCESSOR by Norman Grubb and it relates how to be an Intercessor like Rees Howells, a man of God who made a difference by praying for others. If you want to perhaps purchase the updated version, here is a link to do so:
The reason this book made such an impact and stayed with me is that this true story of a man who believed in prayer and made a difference with his petitions to God was amazing to me. Since then, I have strived to be an Intercessor for others, but I have never reached the heights of Rees Howells, not even close.
Today in my devotional, the verse that jumped out at me was about Jesus’s being my intercessor.
I cannot imagine Jesus sitting at God’s right hand and speaking up on my behalf, but that is what the Holy Bible says that he does. The tense used is one of the present ongoing tense, not past, not done, but rather still happening. I remember when I was a child that my father was my mediator with my mom. She had a heavy hand of punishment and I seemed to be always in trouble for one infraction or another. It was my father’s soothing voice that calmed her down and prompted her to think before she dealt out severe blows to my legs. I still got punished, but the punishment was not half as severe as when daddy wasn’t there to intervene. Now, I can put that into the context of Jesus speaking to God on my behalf and letting the Father know that I am His and the price has already been paid for my salvation. Yes, I still mess up, and there are consequences to actions, but Jesus’s intercession is there and the Father has shown me mercy and grace over and over again.
If you get a chance to read THE INTERCESSOR, remember to put it into the context of Jesus interceding for you, on a daily basis and every time you need it. He is right there, always ready to go to bat for each of us because He loves us so much. Yes, He is the King of Glory, He is the Lion of Judah, and He is also the Great Intercessor who speaks to the Father for us, always operating with unfailing love and forgiveness. I want to be like Jesus, in Intercessor for others, and I am thankful for His example and His sacrifice that makes Him the Intercessor for me and for each of His children who know Him as Savior.
May you be blessed today with the knowledge of how dependable an Intercessor Jesus is for you and be confident in His love, grace and mercy.
Vickie's Book Nook and Meditation Corner 