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.
Today is a day when some are reminded of how lonely they are. I want to take the time to remind each of my readers that God’s love is for everyone, all the time.
Show someone love today. If you are like me and cannot get out due to health reasons, call, text, send a card. Do something to show the great love that God has put into your heart, a love that overflows and reaches out to others without expecting anything in return.
That being said, here is my Valentine for you all.
As I said, I cannot go out anywhere. Once again, I am ill. I went to my doctor yesterday and was diagnosed with influenza B (two months, two occurrences) and pneumonia as a bonus. But, it’s all good. I have meds, my loving husband beside me and lots of low-sodium soup to eat. God is good, all the time, even when we aren’t feeling so great!
Wishing each of you a heart filled with God’s love and His Spirit to embrace you today.
I don’t think that I have ever considered Moses a mentor to Joshua because I did not see before the truths pointed out in this devotional. In order to be a good mentor, you have to lead the way and then step back and give credit to the one to whom credit is due. Moses and Joshua both knew all of the glory belongs to God, and that is the greatest truth that Moses taught Joshua.
It is easy to look around us and see all that is wrong. Then we have a natural human tendency to withdraw from what is evil instead of facing it head on and calling it what it is. Instead of having “grasshopper hearts” that see the evil and hide from it, we should have hearts filled with faith, knowing that if God has given us a word to speak, He will give us the courage to speak it to the right people. I have been discouraged lately about the path the world is taking, but instead of taking a stand, I have chosen just to watch and see what happens next. I think that God is calling me to some kind of action. Whether it is writing my legislators, attending meetings, or speaking out online, I plan to be bold for God. No more of allowing the rampant evil and immorality of this current world to reign! I will speak boldly for the Lord, telling others the way life should be lived. Actions have consequences and the world is reaping the consequences of an entire generation that does not know or want to know God. We cannot change the world by burying our heads in the sand and saying, “Come quickly, Lord Jesus.” Do we really want Him to come quickly when it means so many will be lost in eternity without Him? Let’s do all we can to influence as many as we can to turn their hearts and eyes toward Jesus before it is too late. Grasshopper hearts won’t hack it in a world filled with giants of greed, deceit, and gross immorality that even wants to capture the hearts of our children. No more alphabet soup! One man, one woman for life is God’s plan. Loving others as God loved is God’s plan. Telling the truth even if it offends someone is God’s plan. Stalwart and moving forward is God’s plan. I hope that you will join me. My efforts may be small, but together we can make a difference and can roll back the tide of evil, replacing it with the Word of God and His standards.
The longer I live, the more stuff I accumulate. Not on purpose…it just seems to stick around, find a small niche to occupy and stays there until I recognize that I have not used it in a while, so I should pass it along to someone who will get use out of it. I like the idea presented here that Jesus calls us to balance and simplicity. We are body, soul and spirit, a combination of the three that make us work together and flourish in God’s kingdom. It is easy to be caught up into materialism. Remember the old song from Madonna, “I’m A Material Girl.” Yes, she was and still is, more’s the pity. The one with the most toys still dies and faces judgment from God, so what is the point of accumulating more than others just so you can say that you have more? There’s a lot to say for being content with what you need and not always grasping for what you think you want because others have it. It’s all about keeping our eyes on God, recognizing His provision and being content.
It is hard for me to remember well, but I do recall when I first became a Christian, the enthusiasm and utter joy. I want that spark of new life all the time, but it has to be nourished in order to grow. If you don’t feed a fire, it goes out. I feed my fire of faith with God’s Word, with fellowship with other believers, with good Biblical teaching and with a strong and honest relationship with my husband. When I am not “feeling it” my husband encourages me not to lean on the feelings but to instead depend on the truth of the Gospel and the reality of God’s presence in my life. Looking up to God and looking outward to the needs of others helps me to focus on what is important and not just on myself and my own shortcomings. I have found that I grow when I am not expecting to but when I am just waiting on God to act. It is not in the fulfillment of His actions that I grow most; I grow most by just waiting expectantly, knowing that God is working for me and in me and helping me to be more like the person He created me to be.
I recall one of my grandsons had excruciating “growing pains.” Every night when he would retire, I would hear him cry out in pain and his mom would go to him and pray with him, applying heat or ice to his aching legs as the doctors had said to do. I didn’t know that growing pains were real until I saw them in action. Now I realize that sometimes I go through growing pains in my walk with the Lord; no heat or ice works, but prayer does and reading the Word and expressing my needs to other like-minded Christians. We are all walking this earth together until God calls us home. We are all growing together to be more like Christ. Our journey is made easier by helping each other along with encouragement, knowing that the person we may reach out today will probably be the person who reaches out to us tomorrow.
Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.
As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is over-whelmed by the chaos and destruction of war. Each day is a gamble of life and death, hope and betrayal; friendships run deep and can be shattered in an instant. In war, she meets—and becomes one of—the lucky, the brave, the broken, and the lost.
But war is just the beginning for Frankie and her veteran friends. The real battle lies in coming home to a changed and divided America, to angry protesters, and to a country that wants to forget Vietnam.
The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on all women who put themselves in harm’s way and whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has too often been forgotten. A novel about deep friendships and bold patriotism, The Women is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire will come to define an era.
My Thoughts
I literally could not put this book down and then when I forced myself to go to bed, scenes from the book continued to run through my mind. This is a realistically told and emotional novel about the Vietnam War era and how the lives of people were changed because of their involvement in the war, specifically the lives of the women who volunteered to serve. Frankie McGrath is a sympathetic character who wants nothing more than her beloved father’s approval, so when she volunteers to be a nurse in the war zone, she had no idea what she was getting into. Young, innocent and patriotic, Frankie quickly has her eyes opened to the brutality of war and I got to travel back in time to when my friends were being drafted or volunteering and the news reports that were given nightly about how we were “winning the war.” The research in the book is impeccable, transporting my mind completely to that troubled time and the years afterwards when the veterans of the war were ridiculed rather than welcomed. I thoroughly enjoyed the point of view of Frankie and all she suffered as a result of her choice and also how she was ultimately able to overcome and move on in her life. The characters were all dynamic and realistically flawed. The plot moved along quickly, keeping pace with the action on the front lines. This is a remarkable story that needs to be read and is written in such a brilliant way that it held my attention and caused me to cry, cheer and get outraged, sometimes all within the same chapter. With a tight plot and the signature style of a master of historical fiction, this book deserves many kudos for embracing a topic that is thought-provoking and complex. I highly recommend this book for all who want to know what the late 60’s and 70’s were like and how the women who served were treated, both on the battlefield and afterwards. There is so much to love about this book, but I must warn readers that it can be disturbing with the realistic details of war and the wounded and dying. I used to say that my all-time favorite book was “Gone with the Wind” by Margaret Mitchell. I have a new favorite, more timely and suited for my generation. Captivating, insightful and well-crafted, this is one that I definitely want to own and read again. An epic novel worth reading and remembering! Disclaimer Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher 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.”
Rated M for mature audiences. This book deals with war, violence and has some graphic descriptions of the events in Vietnam. It also has sexual scenes and some harsh language.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kristin Hannah is the award-winning and bestselling author of more than 20 novels including the international blockbuster, TheNightingale, which was named Goodreads Best Historical fiction novel for 2015 and won the coveted People’s Choice award for best fiction in the same year. Additionally, it was a selection of the Reese Witherspoon Book Club in 2023. It was named a Best Book of the Year by Amazon, iTunes, Buzzfeed, the Wall Street Journal, Paste, and The Week. In 2018, The Great Alone became an instant New York Times #1 bestseller and was named the Best Historical Novel of the Year by Goodreads. The Four Winds was published in February of 2021 and immediately hit #1 on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Indie bookstores’ bestseller lists. Additionally, it was selected as a book club pick by the both Today Show and the Book Of the Month club, which named it the best book of 2021. The Nightingale is currently in production at Tri Star, with Dakota and Elle Fanning set to star. Tri Star has also optioned The Great Aloneand it is in development. Firefly Lane, her beloved novel about two best friends, was the #1 Netflix series around the world, in the week it came out. The popular tv show stars Katherine Heigl and Sarah Chalke and Season Two is currently set to conclude the series on April 27, 2023. A former attorney, Kristin lives in the Pacific Northwest.
I had a real problem with forgiveness for a really long time. First, I had to forgive my mother who was emotionally and physically abusive to me. Now, I can write those words without my heart racing and bitterness consuming me. My mom was a human with a lot of problems and she took them out on me. So, I forgave her. Then, many years after I was an adult and had my own family, my mom died in a suspicious manner. Unproven though it was, it looked a lot like the father who had protected me so many years from my mom, had committed the ultimate act of hatred by withholding her seizure medication and letting her die an excruciating death. We couldn’t prove it, but daddy came just short of admitting it. He himself was a drug addict and I am not sure what led him to do such an awful thing. My siblings and I were devastated. I lost my mom when I was in my 30’s, just when she and I were getting to know each other as friends and mothers. For many years, I carried the burden of knowing what daddy did and not being able to forgive him. Then the Lord spoke to me clearly and told me that He had given His Son so I could be forgiven. There is no other sacrifice and I was only hurting myself by not forgiving my father. God’s word to me was helped along by my father’s sister, a woman who loved the Lord and who on her deathbed begged me not to give up on my father. So, after almost a decade of distancing myself from my father, I started calling him and checking on him. My siblings were mostly outraged that I would contact him, but I continued my pursuit of re-establishing a relationship with him. Finally, in my 60’s, my husband and I traveled to Florida where daddy lived and went to visit him. His dwelling was awful, in a terrible neighborhood and barely livable. We took him out that day to the aquarium and to lunch and I told him that I forgave him. I don’t think he really understood in his drug-addled state what I was forgiving him for, but I had to say the words for me. I then pestered my siblings to let daddy back into their lives. One at a time, they all did, except for my older sister. They each visited daddy, the siblings in Florida checking on him and making sure he had groceries and other necessities. My youngest brother, the one who swore never to forgive daddy, was with him and prayed with daddy when he died in the VA hospital in Tampa. So, I am here to tell you that forgiveness is absolutely necessary, not to free the other person from the sin against you, but to free you from the destruction of bitterness that will eat your soul alive. My father died, knowing he was a sinner saved by grace. Will he pay for killing our mom? I don’t know. God is the final judge, and I will leave that in His capable hands. I loved and forgave, even when I didn’t feel like it.
For many years, my priorities were out of balance. My military husband was absent frequently from our home, so the children we had became a priority over him. I was busy building my career, so that too superseded my thoughts of our marriage. It was only when I had a stroke and I recognized his loving care for me that God pointed out that Harry had been there all along, waiting for me to notice him. I think God has always been my first priority, but I confess that my husband was not in his proper place until the last ten years. We missed a lot of time together because I just didn’t make that a priority. May God redeem the time and may our years together be filled with joy, peace and love!
www.bible.com/reading-plans/13696/day/2
www.bible.com/reading-plans/13696/day/1
www.bible.com/reading-plans/11667/day/22
www.bible.com/reading-plans/11667/day/21
www.bible.com/reading-plans/11667/day/19
www.bible.com/reading-plans/11667/day/18
Vickie's Book Nook and Meditation Corner 