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.
Every day, I have to choose whether I will deal with life’s daily challenges with anxiety or peace. I know that some days are more difficult than others to choose correctly and sometimes I get started on the wrong foot, listing to God all the reasons that I should be anxious instead of the reasons why I know He is there and that He is my peace. We have to make a conscious choice to focus on God’s presence with us, knowing as I have said many times, “Nothing is going to happen today that God and I cannot handle together.” The saying is in my mind. And I am working on getting it deep into my heart, with the knowledge that God’s presence is with me all the time, but especially in the hard times when I need Him most.
Everyone looks forward to getting away for a while, escaping the humdrum of everyday life. But I have found that when my husband and I get away, we take the humdrum stuff with us. My husband still listens to news like it’s his source of life and reports the things he considers important to me diligently. I have told him numerous times that I don’t watch the news for a reason, but he has decided that it is his obligation to keep me informed. So, I just listen without commentary. Anyway, the news goes with us. The challenges we face in life before we go away don’t disappears; they are just placed on a back burner and continue to simmer there. I like the advice in this column that tells us to be thankful and know that God is right there through it all. Being thankful is a choice, just as focusing on the things that make us need a vacation to begin with. If we could just keep our focus on the “author and finisher of our faith”, we would be much better off and more likely to be thankful first and complain later, if at all. God listened intently to the whining complaints of Job’s friends and how they blamed Job for all his own troubles. Then, God listened to Job and his complaints about how he had been faithful and still suffered. When God answered, it was not to tell Job that he had valid points and should have been able to complain. No, instead, God reminded Job of who He is and His sovereignty. Job recognized God’s control all along and pointed out to his friends that God was still his Lord in spite of his circumstances. If we could only get to the point where we can be thankful regardless of our problems and the world’s pressures on us, I think that we wouldn’t be feeling as much pain in our dilemmas and we would be able to be thankful all days in all ways. Vacations are necessary, but they shouldn’t be to get away from problems. I think they should be used to get closer to God and to ask Him to see our problems with His perspective.
It’s hard to know what choices to make sometimes, so the best thing to always do is pray, follow the leading of the Spirit, and take a step forward. If it is the wrong step, God will let us know so that we can get back on the right track. If others ask us for advice, the best thing we can do is pray with them and ask for God’s wisdom and guidance. We don’t have a crystal ball or anything similar, but we do have the Holy Spirit who will lead us to help others if that is what God wants us to do. We always have to be careful not to step out in our own wisdom and give advice from our own mind and heart. It’s okay to tell the person that we will pray about it and get back to them when the Lord gives us an answer. It is never okay to lead someone in the wrong direction, even if the intentions are good, and shrug it off when things don’t work out for them. We are the called and the chosen, not the know-it-alls of the world. Let’s act as though God can use us and He will, in His timing and for His purpose, not to glorify us but always for His glory.
I was once this person, the lonely one who didn’t understand the busyness of the world while I was suffering all alone. But God reached out and showed me that I was not alone…He had been there all along. And He sent others to talk to me and affirm that they would walk alongside me even in strange places with my husband deployed thousands of miles away. Now, it is easier for me to notice people who are sitting alone, who are not engaging in conversations with others, and it is a thing I strive to do, just to let them know that I see them and I am there if they want someone to listen. Sometimes it isn’t what you say that matters to the person that is lonely; it is just taking the time to be there, close and ready to hear their heart when they are ready to speak.
We have all stood on the edge of the unknown, afraid to move forward and knowing we cannot go back. God has already prepared the way for us, but we have to take that step into the unknown, out of the comfortable and into the arms of our Father who is ready to catch us. Jump! God will always be there to catch you when you step out in faith as long as you are acting according to His will.
Esther Markstrom and her artist mother have always been proud of their ancestor, painter Francisco Vella. They even run a small museum and gallery dedicated to raising awareness of his scandalously underappreciated work. But when Esther reconnects with her former art history professor, she finds her once-solid family history on shaky ground as questions arise about Vella’s greatest work—a portrait entitled The Lady with the Dark Hair.
In 1879, Catalan orphan-turned-fugitive Viviana Torrens has found sanctuary serving in the home of an aging artist in Southern France. It is in his studio that she meets Francisco Vella, a Gibraltarian merchant who sells artists’ pigments. When her past catches up to her, she is compelled to pose as Vella’s sister and join him on his travels or be deported back to Spain to stand trial. Along the way she will discover that the many parts she has been playing in order to hide her identity have far-reaching implications she never could have foreseen.
This dual-timeline story from award-winning author Erin Bartels takes readers from the sleepy Midwest to the sultry Mediterranean on a relentless search for truth, identity, and the freedom to follow one’s dreams.
My Thoughts
This book is a brilliantly written dual-timeline novel with captivating characters and fascinating research intertwined seamlessly into the story. The present day protagonist is Esther, an art history major who is the head of the family’s museum that promotes a family ancestor, artist Francisco Vella. She is also the caretaker of her mentally ill mother Lorena, quite a quirky and demanding woman. The other part of the story is told in the late 1800’s and is about Viviana, a woman in hiding from justice in Spain while pursuing her interest in art with Vella, a man who is a merchant of art supplies. I was captured by the unselfishness of Esther caring tirelessly for her mother, even though she would like to have her own life. Equally compelling was the story of Viviana as she travels with Vella and finds out that it is not always easy or advisable to travel using an alias. The novel includes a cleverly written mystery about a painting and its origins as well as its artist. “The Lady with the Dark Hair” is a story within a story, cleverly written to reveal details methodically and keeping me glued to the page as I sought answers to the identity of the artist and the outcome of Esther’s life of selflessness. I really enjoyed the pace of the plot because it was perfect to keep me interested. The characters were dynamic and also believable and relatable. The story was complex, but the author’s way of revealing the layers like peeling an onion was exceptionally unique and delightful. I loved the story, learned from the research and identified with the characters. This novel is thought-provoking, intriguing and remarkably written to entertain as well as educate. 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 16th CFR, Part 255, “Guidelines Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”
Christian Historical Fiction and Mystery, Rated PG
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ERIN BARTELS writes character-driven fiction for curious people. Her readers know to expect that each of her novels will tell a unique story about fallible characters so tangible that it’s hard to believe they are not real people. Whether urban, rural, or somewhere in between, her settings come alive with carefully crafted details that engage all the senses and transport the reader to a singular time and place. And her themes of reckoning with the past, improving the present, and looking with hope to the future leave her readers with a sense of peace and possibility. Erin is the award-winning author of We Hope for Better Things, The Words between Us, All That We Carried, The Girl Who Could Breathe Under Water, Everything Is Just Beginning, and The Lady with the Dark Hair. A two-time Christy finalist and winner of two WFWA Star Awards and two Michigan Notable Book Awards, Erin has been a publishing professional for more than twenty years. After eighteen years in Michigan’s capital city, she now lives with her family in a charming small town surrounded by farm fields and pasturelands. You can find her on Facebook @ErinBartelsAuthor and on Instagram @erinbartelswrites.
We make a lot of choices everyday, some of which are automatic and others require thinking about it for a while. The choice to be thankful should be automatic, but I must confess that some days, I struggle to show my thanks to God. Maybe things aren’t going the way I think they should or my world is a little topsy-turvy. Whatever is happening in the circumstances of my life is not a good reason to ignore all God has done and is still doing in my life and to take time to be grateful to Him for everything. This devotional is thought-provoking in that it says we can hinder God in acting on our behalf by our failure to be thankful. I will have to ponder that for a while. God will still continue with His plan, but I may not be as active a participant as I should be because I failed to be thankful. I want to be all in for God and His plans for me regardless of outward circumstances. The circumstances will change (it just happens as part of life) but only I can make the choice to thank God in the midst of them and be grateful that I have a life to be thankful for.
Life may really be hard at times. In fact, it can be hard a lot of the time. But we can still be thankful that God has rescued us from a life without knowing Him, from a hopeless life to a hope-filled life, from a faithless life to a faith-filled life. I am thankful that God saw me and rescued me and I pray that you are thankful, too.
Welcome to the Blog Tour for The Garden Girls by Jessica R. Patch, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
ABOUT THE BOOK
Title: The Garden Girls Series: Strange Crimes Unit: South Division Author: Jessica R. Patch Publisher: Harlequin Love Inspired Trade Release Date: April 23, 2024 Genre: Christian Psychological Thriller
On a remote Outer Banks island, a serial killer collects his prized specimens. And to stop him, an FBI agent must confront his own twisted past.
FBI agent Tiberius Granger has seen his share of darkness. But a new case sets him on edge. It’s not just the macabre way both victims—found posed in front of lighthouses—are tattooed with flowers that match their names. There’s also the unsettling connection to the woman Ty once loved and to the shadowy cult they both risked everything to escape.
Bexley Hemmingway’s sister has gone missing, and she’ll do anything to find her—including teaming up with Ty. That may prove a mistake, and not just because Ty doesn’t know he’s the father of her teenaged son. It seems the killer is taunting Ty, drawing everyone close to him into deeper danger.
As the slashing winds and rain of a deadly hurricane approach the coast of North Carolina, the search leads Ty and Bex to an island that hides a grisly secret. But in his quest for the truth, Ty has ignored the fact that this time, he’s not just the hunter. Every move has been orchestrated by a killer into a perfect storm of terror, and they will need all their skills to survive…
I don’t recall the last time that a psychological thriller made me cry, but this one did. The characters are so real and relatable that they became like friends and I hated the thought that evil was all around them, waiting to destroy them. The SCU team travels to the Outer Banks, a setting I am familiar with, so I enjoyed the setting. They are there to find a serial kidnapper who is taking women and tattooing them with flowers, then discarding them at a local lighthouse. I loved having the team all together working on solving the crime. My favorite SCU members are always Owen, because of his sense of humor and joking attitude, and Violet because she is so intuitive that it’s just weird. These are the characters that I would like to invite to dinner and have them entertain me with their wit and intelligence. The pace of the book is at a breakneck speed, racing from one twist and red herring to another and ultimately arriving at the surprising conclusion. Fans of psych thrillers who enjoy the films and books of the late Alfred Hitchcock will be enthralled with the SCU, their crime solving abilities and the way the author portrays each of the members as real people with a life outside of solving crimes. Crying at some parts and gasping at others, I made it to the end and then I just wanted another SCU book to read already. Faith plays a foundational part in the story, but it does not overwhelm or take over the story. It is an important part of some of the character’s lives and that added to the depth of the story. The addiction is real…the quest for justice is real. And these books are amazing! This book is part of a series but it can be read and thoroughly enjoyed as a standalone. Disclaimer Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author 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 16th CFR, Part 255, “Guidelines Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”
Christian Fiction with Intense Content
More Books In This Series
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jessica R. Patch is a Publishers Weekly bestselling author known for her dry wit, signatures twists, and complex characters. She loves reading true crime books, discussing cold cases over chips and salsa with her girlfriends, and hunting down serial killers in her romantic suspense novels and psychological thrillers. Jessica loves to encourage and inspire people to forward living devotionals through her monthly email newsletter. You can join the Patched In community at her website. She resides in the Memphis area with her husband and her spoiled tri-color Shetland Sheepdog since becoming empty nesters. Jessica is represented by Rachel Kent of Books & Such Literary Management. Connect with Jessica by visiting jessicarpatch.com to follow her on social media and sign up for email updates.
(1) winner will win a signed paperback copy of Her Darkest Secret and A Cry in the Dark and a $25 Amazon card!
Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight April 15, 2024 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on April 22, 2024. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only for print. Ebooks available if winner is Canadian. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.
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Vickie's Book Nook and Meditation Corner 