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.
I have been reading as though I had nothing else to do because today is a big release day for multiple launch teams that I have served on. Since I have been busy posting reviews today, I thought I would just share a little about each book along with a purchase link if you are interested. All graphics were created by me on Canva.
This was such a fun book to read about a young Amish woman who wants nothing more than to get married and a young Amish man who wants nothing to do with marriage. Life’s circumstances force Eli to look for a wife, so…humorous and dramatic with a few surprises, too.
A young man framed for a crime has just been released from prison is forced to run from the real criminals, along with his infant and his former fiancée. The fast pace and relentless suspense captivated me in this one.
A young woman in WITSEC is hiding from criminals in her job as a wildlife photographer. When it becomes obvious that they have found her, she has to run for her life with a handsome deputy who swears that he will keep her safe. This is heart-pounding suspense with escalating tension as the killers get closer to Laurel and she has to depend on Deputy Heath Calhoun to find out the truth of who is in pursuit.
What is not to love about this book? A cold case, an amish suspense and some second chance at romance, too! This book is edgy suspense, totally clean (as are all of the books that I am featuring today) and so absorbing that I had trouble putting it down. This is a must read for fans of Love Inspired Suspense!
Have you ever waited a really long time for something important? Maybe you spent weeks waiting to see an old friend, for news about a medical diagnosis, or for someone to respond to a message you sent them.
In the first century, the people of God had waited hundreds and hundreds of years for the coming of a Savior. John the Baptist was sent to be the forerunner of that coming Savior. God planned for John to prepare the people for Jesus’ arrival, and call them back to repentance.
John waited his whole life for Jesus. He spent his days in eager anticipation of the coming of a Savior who would save his people. And on that day when Jesus did arrive, John the Baptist cried out in excitement.
John calls Jesus the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. In the old covenant, lambs were sacrificed on behalf of the sins of the people. Their sacrifices were a temporary means to restore a person’s relationship with God.
But Jesus’ coming heralds a new covenant between God and His people.
Jesus’ death is a sacrifice on our behalf, but one that’s permanent and complete. Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection pave a path for us to enjoy a restored relationship with God, and to live in freedom from sin. This is the new covenant that John the Baptist is describing when He says that Jesus takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29).
Take a moment this morning to thank God for the amazing gift that Jesus offers to each and every one of us. Because of Jesus’ faithfulness, we can walk in new life and enjoy a restored relationship with God.
Think of one small step you can take to share this good news with someone who doesn’t yet know Jesus. This free gift is great news for every single person, and we are given the privilege of sharing it with everyone.
My Thoughts
We all wait for something: a phone call, an email, a letter, a package, a visit from a loved one, and ultimately an answer from God about something we have been praying for. I have prayed almost a year for a job for our grandson Isaac. No answer yet, but I am sure that God is preparing just the right job for him, one in which he can thrive physically, emotionally and spiritually. So, I wait, sometimes anxiously, sometimes almost demanding in my prayer time, but always with the same answer from God: wait.
I cannot imagine John’s excitement when he sees Jesus walking toward him and knows that this is the Lamb of God for whom he has been waiting. His whole purpose in life is to be a forerunner, a prophet of Jesus. And here He is! John doesn’t run and hide or say, “Look at me! Now my purpose in life is fulfilled.” No, he says, “Behold, the lamb of God!”
So often when God sends the answer, as He did when He sent Jesus as the final sacrifice for our sins, we don’t recognize that the answer is right there in front of us. Since it isn’t the answer we were expecting, we continue to look for another one. May the Lord make us aware of the answer when it comes so that, like John, we recognize it and give God the glory.
Today is Palm Sunday, the day the crowds welcomed Jesus with all kinds of accolades before they then joined the mob that called for His crucifixion. Before you start thinking what awful people those were, I would like to remind you that we were part of that crowd and then the mob. We might not have been there physically, but can you honestly say that if you had lived during that time, you would have reacted differently? The tendency is to follow the crowd. That’s one of the reasons the Bible admonishes us to be careful with whom we associate.
That all being said, I love the traditions of Palm Sunday and the fact that all of the praise goes to the Lord, who is indeed worthy and should have never fallen out of favor with the Pharisees who were supposed to recognize the Messiah. Since Jesus’s death was prophesied and orchestrated by God, and since each of us benefit from the salvation that comes from the flowing of His life’s blood, we can do no less than offer Him a sacrifice of praise.
If you go to the original blog, like and follow Ritish, the first two kindness reports are under this one. All very inspiring. In a world where you can be anything, be kind!
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I think that I put God into a box and expect Him to stay there until I need Him to appear and magically make my problems disappear. But a verse in my devotional today showed me clearly that I am not really putting God anywhere; I am just not staying focused on the correct things and with the correct attitude.
God is great, powerful, and glorious. Everything in heaven and on earth belongs to him. We sometimes deify leaders, thinking that they are more powerful than what they really are. God, the One true God, put them in a position of power and He can remove them at any time. He is head over all the kings, presidents, prime ministers and governors. We need to acknowledge God’s dominion and quit giving it to humans who would have no power unless He allows it.
For me, I am really not able to comprehend God’s awesome power and majesty. But I am in total awe that He is who He says He is and He decided to make me. I see myself as “less than,” a flawed part of God’s creation, with lungs that don’t work properly, a single kidney, bones that are weak and parts of me that are torn. God sees my heart, and I pray that He sees how much I truly love and depend on Him to carry me through each day. He created me to be just the way I am and I pray that He will use me to tell others about His grace, mercy and deep love for them. God’s purpose is to love, and my purpose is to be like Him, while understanding that I cannot control or manipulate God. He is always in control, even when I am not aware of how close He is and how He is watching over me.
This scripture verse gives me a sense of total wonder. God, the Creator of the Universe, the One who is the head of all things, notices me and cares about me and all the things that are part of my life.
Since I am not liking what is happening in my life, I am focusing on scripture verses that come up in my devotionals. Here are the ones for today that are encouraging me and I pray that they will encourage you too.
Since the veil in the temple was torn after Jesus’s death on the cross, the gates into the temple are always open for us. He lives with us, in us and through us. Thus giving thanks and praising Him is as simple as opening your mouth and speaking it. No need to hop in the car and head to church this morning. Just praise God right where you are. I am not thankful for the circumstances, but I am thankful that God is God and worthy of praise.
God is always good, His mercy is always there for us and His truth never changes. Leaders change, the world changes and health changes. But God NEVER changes. Let that sink in. It calms me and gives me hope and peace.
Have a blessed day as you offer praise to the Only One who is worthy!
Have you ever had one of those “I Love Lucy” days in which one unforeseen circumstance follows another? If you remember those episodes, which were frequent, Lucy generally cried at the end.
That was sort of what I looked like yesterday after a really rough day.
Harry and I had to get up very early to get to an appointment with my ophthalmologist in town, over an hour’s drive away. We did that, made it to the appointment a little early and I was delighted that the tech took me back to check me early. I needed to finish this appointment on time because I had an early afternoon appointment with my neurologist about my leg going numb. The game at the ophthalmologist became one of waiting. I was taken back, did a test and returned to the waiting room. Multiple times. Finally, I got to see the doctor and he gave me the good news that my macula hasn’t changed in the last year and all is good with my eyes. I was happy about that since I had been anxious about the results.
We then headed to my neuro appointment and we made it there on time, too. I really like my neurologist who has been my specialist since my stroke eleven years ago. Anyway, he asked questions, put me through a battery of uncomfortable tests and concluded that I likely have a pinched nerve in my back causing my leg’s numbness. He gave me a referral to a spinal specialist (another specialist!), a referral for an MRI of my spine (another MRI!), a referral for physical therapy (again, a repeat), and an order to return for an EMG on April 8th. So, I left his office feeling overwhelmed.
Now, let’s get this straight. I prayed before each medical appointment and Harry prayed with me. I knew that something was wrong, of course, but I was just not ready to hear another diagnosis of something else broken in my body. I just got my second cortisone shot for my torn rotator cuff in my shoulder a week and a half ago, so I am still dealing with that pain daily (mostly nightly, when I try to sleep). And now this diagnosis. I wish I could say that I was praising God on the way home and thankful that I had an answer to the numbness. Instead, I started crying and Harry couldn’t console me with his words about our just getting older and things break down.
On the way home, the “idiot lights” came on in the car. I must say that we drive an older car (it wasn’t old when we got it, but it is now) so this was not new. It was just one more thing. So, the crying continued and Harry tried to console me with the fact that the car is also old. Not helping!
We made it home, Teya was there and had just gotten back from her run that she tries to do daily. She was getting ready for a shower and I was getting ready to lie down since I got up before 5 and it was not almost 4 in the afternoon. Suddenly, I heard Teya call for me rather frantically, so I rushed to find out what the problem was. The hot water faucet was detached and hot water was spewing everywhere in the bathroom. It was too hot to try to re-attach the faucet and turn it off, so I went to find the main water valve and shut it off. I located it behind a hatch of sorts, moved the things out of the way that Harry had decided to place there and got the hot water off. Yay! All the while, I think I must have been thinking, “Are you kidding me, God? Don’t I have enough on my plate right now?” Harry, of course, was nowhere to be found since he was wandering around the yard planning his garden. (He deals with stress by gardening, I do so by reading.) I found Harry, told him what was going on and Teya tried to reattach the faucet. She did so successfully and then Harry checked it and said it seemed to be okay for me to turn the water back on. I did and that seemed to work.
By that time, I was really overwhelmed with everything and planned to rest, but I had to eat to take medicine, so I ended up staying awake for several more hours, not really happy about life and its circumstances that day.
I have to confess that I cried myself to sleep, telling God honestly that I was just “up to here” with problems. I have always known that God knows how I feel anyway, so I may as well be honest with Him. I woke up at 4, and prompted by the Holy Spirit, I prayed for my niece who is in premature labor and tried to go to sleep again. I was still feeling overwhelmed, like I just did not want to face a new day. When I finally rolled over about 6 or so and decided to get up, I followed my usual pattern of thanking God for a new day and praying for a few minutes, waiting silently for Him to speak to my heart. He spoke a song into my heart that I haven’t heard or sung in many years. So appropriate for me!
The bottom line is that circumstances have not changed. I have not changed. My shoulder hurts, my leg is numb, my back hurts and I am getting older even as I type this. What is changing is that I haven’t lost hope. As I talked to God this morning, not only did He give me a song, He also showed me a vision of my hanging onto a rope that was breaking and as I swung precariously over a cliff at the end of that rope, I looked up and there was the Lord holding on to the other end. God is still right there. He knows what is happening, and He is holding me as steadfastly as possible, even at the end of my rope, in high winds and with a cliff below me.
If you need a lifeline today, just know that God,who loves everyone equally, can be your source of hope and strength too. As I said, my circumstances haven’t changed, and if I focus on what is happening, I again feel overwhelmed. But I know deep within me that God is in control of the outcome, so I can let go of that rope. He will catch me…and you!
As ninety-two-year-old Florence “Flo” Greene nears the end of her life, she writes a letter to Ruthie, the woman who grew up next door to her, describing the items Flo is leaving Ruthie in her will. But as it goes on, telling surprising stories about those “little” things Flo will leave behind (What could possibly be the worth of a rubber band kept in a matchbox tied up in red ribbon?), an unforgettable portrait of the life she has lived emerges.
The letter starts off as an autobiography in things, but it turns out to do much more than that: ultimately, it will transform Flo and those around her. In the time she has left, Flo decides to take herself up on tiny dares. She encourages Ruthie to reconsider her impending divorce by sharing a startling, long-buried secret about her own perfect-seeming marriage. Flo has never had a pedicure before now, and as long as she’s going to a beauty parlor, she arranges to have a blue streak put in her hair, too. And as these adventures lead her to make new friends, Flo helps them, too, find the fulfillment that living a full life has led her to understand.
Full of Elizabeth Berg’s characteristic mix of warmth, humor, and poignancy, Life: A Love Story is a reminder that whatever your circumstances, as long as you’re alive, you can keep on investing in life. The joy will inevitably follow.
My Thoughts
This lovely and relatable story just flowed right from the page into my heart. It is the story of Flo, a nonagenarian who knows she is dying and is dedicated to making the world around her better up to her last breath. It is the story of an ordinary life lived in an extraordinary way, told in first person with Flo relating her actions and reactions. She also writes letters to Ruthie, a younger woman who was a neighbor as a child and whom Flo loves dearly so Flo is explaining to her in the letters what certain things in her house meant to her. I thought at first when I read the synopsis of the book that it would be a maudlin look at dying, but that is not the case at all. The author presents death as another chapter in life, something to embrace as inevitable but also to prepare for in the best way possible. This was a five plus star read for me as I was completely wrapped up in Flo’s story, her tales about her past and a mystery about her husband Terrance that she refers to repeatedly. The story is moderately paced, which I think is perfect for a book that deals with the sensitive topic of dying in such an uplifting and realistic way. Flo’s life was not perfect, with lots of false starts and stops and some errors along the way. The thoughts she leaves behind show us clearly that she enjoyed her life and wants others to find joy for themselves too. The theme seems to be that life passes all too quickly, but it is also one of looking around and finding out who needs your encouragement and then go out and be the one to make a difference. I voluntarily 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.
Contemporary Fiction, Rated PG
About the Author
Elizabeth Berg is the author of eighteen novels and has more than 1.5 million books in print. Her novel, OPEN HOUSE, was an Oprah’s Book Club selection in 2000. Berg lives near Chicago, Illinois. Visit her at www.elizabeth-berg.net
Elizabeth Berg has been on the New York Times Bestseller list multiple times. Durable Goods and Joy School were both selected as one of the American Library Association’s Best Books of the Year. Talk Before Sleep was shortlisted for the Abby (American Bookseller’s Book of the Year). Open House was an Oprah’s Book Club Selection. In 1997, Elizabeth won the New England Booksellers Award for her body of work. Her book The Art of Mending was a choice for South Dakota’s “One Book.”
She was made a “literary light” by the Boston Public Library, has been honored by the Chicago Public Library, and was given the AMC Cancer Research Center’s Illuminator Award for shedding light on breast cancer resulting in increased public awareness and concern. She adapted her novel The Pull of the Moon into a play which has been performed in Chicago and Indianapolis to sold-out audiences.
Her article on a cooking school in Positano, Italy, which appeared in National Geographic Traveler magazine, won a NATJA award (North American Travel Journalists Association) and was nominated for a Lowell Thomas award. She has been published in thirty-two countries. In 2018, she was awarded the State of Illinois Literary Heritage Award for her “extraordinary contributions to our literary culture.”
In 2018, she was awarded the State of Illinois Literary Heritage Award for her “extraordinary contributions to our literary culture.”
Fear has been a presence in my life lately as I face one challenge after another to my health. But I have made the choice to trust God. He has always been faithful and He will continue to show me His faithfulness. I may not always get the answers to my prayers that I want, but God makes sure that I get the ones that I truly need.
Vickie's Book Nook and Meditation Corner 