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.
My husband and I have been traveling for most of the last month. Since our grandchildren are distant, we visited them for several weeks. We did come home for a few days to rest and repack, but then I set out again to visit my sister while my husband went to see his brother. All of the travels are over now, and I am so grateful for the safety that we enjoyed and also for being able to go to our church again. Our Sunday school teacher graciously sent us the video lessons that we were missing via email so we were able to continue the class study of Revelation. But nothing compares to being with our church family! So, today is a day for praise for me. Praise wells up in my heart each day as I ponder all of God’s goodness and blessings. May you be blessed with these songs that I am sharing and if you have other favorites, please share them with me.
Some people may dream of big houses and big cars, but I spent many years when I was younger dreaming of an inheritance that would take care of all of my financial woes. College debt? Gone! Car loan? Paid! Mortgage? Wiped out! Well, all of those things happened but not because of anyone leaving me a great sum of money. I paid off my college loans, my car loan and we are still working on the mortgage. Now my sites are set on a different kind of inheritance, having re-focused on what is truly important.
Since God is my inheritance, I don’t need to fret about the future, either here on earth or for eternity. God takes care of my needs, both physical and financial and the bonus is that He always takes care of me emotionally and mentally. My hope is in Him and who better to hope in than my Creator? I will never have a big house or a fancy car but that’s okay because I no longer care about those kinds of things. I just want to spend eternity with my Father in Heaven, rejoicing around His throne about the inheritance than no one can take from me. My future is secure with Him and I am thankful for it.
I think that praise has at least a twofold purpose. The first one, of course, is to recognize the accomplishments and who someone is as opposed to being just another “face in the crowd.” Praising God allows us to make sure that God is assured the first place in our lives as we humbly acknowledge that He is Lord and Creator of all. He is not a god that we have made and can manipulate to do our bidding. Rather, He is the GOD of the universe and He accomplishes His will, either with or without our cooperation. We bless God when we praise Him, not because He needs our praise but because we do. That brings me to the second purpose of praise.
The other purpose is more personal. I praise because I need it! This past week I have been with a relative in another state and it’s hard to praise aloud here since she doesn’t believe in God or want to hear anything about Him. My soul is a little weary of not being able to play my praise music and sing along. But I have discovered that I can sing silently in my heart and still be uplifted and encouraged as I hear the words spoken within me. The second purpose of praise then is to establish the relationship between me and my Creator and to remind me of how much He loves me and cares for me. God wants me to know about His love, every hour of every day and for me, He uses praise to bring His everlasting love to my remembrance.
King Hezekiah was faced with an enemy who was not only powerful, but Sennacherib also knew how to use psychological warfare. He tried to convince the Israelites to surrender to him and all would be great in their lives. King Hezekiah wisely told the people to ignore Sennacherib and not to even reply to him. Then, he laid out the matter before God and trusted God’s sovereignty to protect them.
By acknowledging who God is and how powerful He is, Hezekiah opened the gates of Heaven for God to help him in his dire situation with the ungodly king of Assyria.
Here is a prayer that Nicky Gumbel wrote in the One Year Bible devotional this week. I am praying it for our nation and our world and hope that you will agree with me and pray this heartfelt prayer, also.
Lord, as we look around at the state of our city, our nation and our world, we need your deliverance. You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made heaven and earth. Give ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see. Pour out your Holy Spirit again. May we see people seeking your name again. May we see miracles of healing. May we see the evangelisation of our nation, the revitalisation of the church and the transformation of society, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O Lord, are God.
Sometimes, my devotional leads me to a prayer, a time of crying out to God for myself and for others. Such was the case as I read and studied my Bible verses this morning. May this prayer be true in your life today and every day in which you face darkness. May the light that floods your soul give you the hope that you need and the confidence to realize that you are His children. One day we will inherit the kingdom that He has prepared for us. Until that day comes, may our hearts be totally consumed with the light of His love, mercy grace and hope.
There is no doubt in my mind that we live in a world that is hostile to the things of God. There is also no doubt in my mind that God put us here for a reason and we need to fulfill His purpose for our lives in spite of the hostility that surrounds us.
Jesus was crucified because of the hostility that people felt towards Him. Their jealousy and short-sightedness led them to force our Savior to die a horrible death on the cross. But did He quit, slink away and hide and hope no one continued to bother him with their petty, ungodly beliefs? No! He stood for the truth, went courageously to the cross and carried out God’s plan for our salvation. If we just keep in mind all that Jesus endured, the hostility that we face won’t seem so insurmountable anymore.
I like the phrase in this verse that says, “you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin.” We may be called to do so one day, to stand before the ungodly and defend out faith. And when that happens, may we be found worthy to glorify God even unto death. Yes, we are struggling against darkness, a sin that seems so prevalent that the world seems to have gone insane. But we are still called to stand for righteousness and truth, regardless of the consequences to us. Our hope is not in this world. Our hope lies in our ultimate salvation from the world and the eternal life that awaits us. Thus, we can continue to fight against the sin of the world and carry hope in our hearts.
Ex-FBI profiler River Ryland still suffers from PTSD after a case that went horribly wrong. Needing a fresh start, she moves to St. Louis to be near her ailing mother and opens a private investigation firm with her friend and former FBI partner, Tony St. Clair. They’re soon approached by a grieving mother who wants them to find out what happened to her teenaged son who disappeared four years ago. River knows there’s almost no hope the boy is still alive, but his mother needs closure, and River and Tony need a case, no matter how cold it might be.
But as they follow the boy’s trail, which gets more complicated at every turn, they find themselves in the path of a murderer determined to punish anyone who gets in his way. With a killer on the loose set on finishing the job he started, will River be pulled back into her tormented past or finally face the demons that haunt her?
With her trademark blend of page-turning thrills and intricate plots, Nancy Mehl delivers a spine-tingling thriller that will keep readers up all night.
My Thoughts
With edgy and fast-paced suspense, this book had me hooked from beginning to end. The author includes a compassionate and sensitive exploration of mental issues that was informative as well as thoroughly researched. I enjoyed the sharp writing in the plot and the rich story of two former FBI agents who start their own detective agency. River Ryland has PTSD due to her near-death experience with a serial killer. Her partner Tony St. Clair suffers from memory loss from the same encounter with a man who personifies evil. The book is addictive and action-packed as River and Ryland throw themselves into a case looking for a young teen who disappeared after a concert. There are a lot of twists and some brilliantly written red herrings in this intricately woven plot. As River and Ryland search for Chris, they are also evading a serial killer who is targeting them and the danger seems so realistic that it is terrifying at times. I thoroughly enjoyed the tight plot that crackled with tension and the insightful look at synesthesia and aphasia. The novel is also infused with faith and is a clean read that is thought-provoking and fascinating. Since this is the first book in a new series featuring River and Tony, I am really looking forward to the other ones already! This riveting page-turner has me ready for more of this dynamic duo! Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the Bethany House Publishing via Netgalley as well as a hard copy. I was not required to write a positive review. 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.”
With many thanks to the author and publisher for the ARC of this exciting book to read! I loved every minute I spent with River Ryland and Tony St. Clair and I’m truly looking forward to the next book in this new series.
In this world we live in in which evil is rampant and godly leadership doesn’t exist, I am often baffled about what to do. The Bible gives the answer.
We need to call on God for help. He has never changed and never will. When the people of Israel faced many enemies on all sides, they realized that the only help that was possible was from God.
Our enemies are currently spiritual ones…those who whisper in the ears of non-believers (and unfortunately, even some believers) that whatever they want to believe and do, that will be okay. After all, in the current climate of permissiveness and debauchery, there is no standard of right and wrong. However, we who believe in the God of the Bible, know that there are standards and that God cannot possibly be pleased with our nation (or the world, for that matter) right now. In order to survive in this chaotic miasma of sin, we have to daily call on the Lord for help just to get through the day. When we see people flaunting their sin before God, do we speak out or remain silent and pray. I pray that God will give me the wisdom for what to do. The sins of today don’t just affect our current generation but all generations to come. Being “woke” doesn’t just make you broke as the pundits are saying, but it also leads you and those who follow you into the arms of the Destroyer. The attack is real, but so is God. Thus when we don’t know what to do about all the evil around us, prayer is my weapon of choice. I pray that God will help the Christians around the world to hold the line and to declare His truth.
One day all of mankind will acknowledge Jesus as Lord and Savior. Until that marvelous day comes, it is fitting that those of us who believe in His sovereignty now should sing songs of praise to Him.
I don’t praise God because all if right in my world but because all is right as I lean on Him. No matter what I go through, and the Bible tells us that the righteous are not free from troubles. God is right there taking me through them. The fact that He is always with me makes me sing!
In the assembly of believers, we can freely express our adoration for the Lord, the King of all the earth and of our hearts. In exalting His name together, we form a unity of sound and heart that reaches to Heaven. We praise not just to bless God but to also bless each other and ourselves with the understanding that what is happening now is not all that there is.
God receives glory and we work as His loving servants to help carry out His will here on earth. What is more praiseworthy than a God who never changes and who is always working for us and through us?
Anyone who has followed me on my blog for a while knows that I have a few health problems. Well, actually, maybe more than a few. But I am totally blessed that God has taken care of me and is continuing to watch over me. My attitude of gratitude did not come easily as I spent much time angry about my health conditions and my inability to change them as well as God’s silence on the matters. Then, in 2015, my stroke happened. It was a bad one, or so I was told. If it had not happened at school where I was closer to the hospital and where the school nurse could immediately diagnose me and get help, I would likely not have survived. Coincidence? No…God watching over me.
At the time of my stroke, I could not move any limbs on my right side and could barely stutter out an intelligible word. But what I could do is pray and pray, I did! In the ambulance, I was praying silently to the Lord. The paramedic asked me if I needed something because it seemed I was trying to speak. Well, I did need something (healing) but I wasn’t telling the paramedic. I was talking to God. My husband was late arriving at the hospital because the school nurse had trouble getting him to answer the phone, so I was all alone for a little while. And I prayed, as multiple health workers did their jobs all around me, buzzing about the fact that I was probably having a stroke. The end result was that my husband arrived, I had the option to get a clot-busting shot that could kill me (30% chance) or save my life. My husband called our daughter Hope and together we prayed that the shot would work. It did…but I’m here to tell you that the medication was injected into my body but the Lord did the healing.
I have just been through a series of medical tests and the doctors could not find anything seriously wrong with me except for a reaction to my medication. I feel in my heart and soul that I was healed…God used my symptoms of fainting, vision loss and dizziness to built my faith in Him as I trekked to one specialist after another. In the end, He spoke quietly to me that He had healed me because of His great love for me. Once again, God reached down and touched me, not because of who I am or what I have done but because of Who He is.
My response to God’s grace and mercy is praise and thanksgiving. I am thankful for each day that I get to spend here on earth with my family and friends. God is wonderful to me and abounds in blessings for me. Today, I get to travel again, this time to see my sister who had to move to NC because of her health conditions. If you knew me well, you would know that I dislike traveling. I like the comforts and familiarity of home and would never go anywhere if we did not have family at a distance. Nevertheless, I am blessed to be healthy enough to travel and to get to see my sister who celebrated her birthday this week.
Every day is a miracle. The sights I see around me are evidence of God’s working on the earth. Birds singing, rain falling, squirrels scampering around the bird feeders…all are wonderful signs of God’s creation that He cares for so well. And the best thing is that He has shared it with me to enjoy…and with you! Look around you. You may not see or be aware of God’s miracles, but they are everywhere. Every breath we take is a gift from God. Everything we see is a gift from God. All that we are able to hear is a gift from God. Thus, I have learned and I’m still learning to pray, believe and receive…then to be thankful that I am able to do all of these because of a great and marvelous God who loves me beyond all that I can imagine.
Vickie's Book Nook and Meditation Corner 