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.
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Please go to the original blog and follow Ritish. We could all learn to pay attention to acts of kindness and follow through with some of our own. Not for publicity, but because being kind is always the right thing to do. Thank you, Ritish, for your post and for letting me share it.
First Line Friday today features Overdrive by Taylor S. Newport. It starts with an SUV flying through the air, continues with bullets flying, assassinations and a child in danger. Preorder your copy today of one of the best Christian military suspense thrillers you will ever read! If you enjoy non-stop action and heroes that put it all on the line just because it’s the right thing to do, you will love Overdrive!
I don’t know about you all, but I am a planner. I make lists about everything: groceries, to be read, errands, household chores, etc. I even make lists for others who do not want them, just because I want them to know what they should be doing. (It doesn’t usually work for me to make lists for others, but I stubbornly try, anyway.) So, I am a planner. But do you know who the greatest planner is? JESUS!
From Max Lucado’s devotional, God Came Near, I read this today:
“Jesus planned His own sacrifice. It means Jesus intentionally planted the tree from which His cross would be carved. It means He willingly placed the iron ore in the heart of the earth from which the nails would be cast. It means he voluntarily placed His Judas in the womb of a woman. It means Christ was the One who set in motion the political machinery that would send Pilate to Jerusalem. And it also means He didn’t have to do it—but He did.”
This was eye-opening to me because I had never considered all of the planning that went into the sacrifice that Jesus made for us willingly and obediently. Sometimes my lists seem to overwhelm me, but God did all that He did with a purpose in mind…our salvation. He did not waver and I don’t think He needed a checklist. All He needed was the knowledge that one day His plan would bear fruit and the sacrifice and all of the planning would be worth it.
Waiting Well (Daily Refresh, 6-10-26)
Waiting can be hard.
Most of us would prefer quick, efficient, and—when possible—instant results and answers.
But waiting is a part of life.
We must wait for seeds to grow into food, for one season to fade into the next, for babies to mature into adults, and for trees to stand tall enough to finally offer shade.
Like it or not, waiting takes patience.
We can wait days, months, years, or even decades for a prayer to be answered, for an overdue apology, for the timing to be right, or for a dream to finally come to pass.
Waiting requires courage.
King David lived nearly 3,000 years ago, but he knew what it meant to wait for God’s timing, to wait to be king, to wait to be rescued from his enemies. He wrote:
“Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.”
Psalms 27:14 NLTIf David thought waiting on God was important enough to write it twice in one verse, we should probably pay attention. But waiting patiently for the Lord isn’t an excuse to do nothing.
We can proactively wait on God by staying in communication with Him, by looking for His fingerprints in ordinary moments, by reading about His story and His plans in His Word, by worshiping Him no matter what’s happening across the globe, by serving the people both inside and outside of our circles, and by thanking Him for the gifts He’s already given us.
Just because a specific door isn’t opening, or a particular opportunity isn’t available at this moment doesn’t mean that God isn’t moving.
Even when we are waiting—God is working.
Noah spent decades building an ark as he waited for God to do what He’d said. Ruth journeyed with her mother-in-law and worked in the grain fields while trusting in God’s provision after her husband’s death. Joseph stayed faithful in prison for several years before his promotion to second-in-command of Egypt. John trusted God’s ultimate will for his life, and wrote several books of the New Testament while sentenced to exile on the island of Patmos.
So, no matter what you’re facing today, you can ask God for patience and trust that He is in control of your future. No matter what uncertainty lies before you, when you rely on the Lord, you can be someone who waits well.
My Thoughts
I will be honest and confess here that I don’t wait well. I don’t necessarily expect instant answers from God, but I don’t like saying the same prayers over and over and not really seeing any change. Two examples come to mind immediately: my health issues and a job for our grandson Isaac.
I pray for my health. Others join me in prayer. Yet, I don’t improve. Or not yet, anyway. I saw my pulmonologist yesterday and she said that the steroids I am taking should have kicked in and I should be breathing better, but I’m not. So, what to do? More steroids at a higher dose. Back to waiting with the added prayer that the meds will work or God will just take over and release my breath.
I pray for Isaac daily, sometimes several times a day. He graduated last year with a degree in computer science and mathematics. The economy has been in a mess because of the government delays on passing a budget, so that caused waiting. Now, it seems that AI is interfering with Isaac’s ability to get a job since AI can do a lot of what he is trained to do. Isaac is discouraged but still plugging away with applications and an interview occasionally. I try to encourage him about waiting for the job that God wants Him to have, but inside, I am having difficulty waiting myself. I am frustrated that this sweet grandson who has had surgery for cancer, has to have scans every few months because it’s so aggressive, and now he has problems finding a job. God keeps whispering to me, “In my time.” Yet I continue to ask, “When, God?”
So, waiting is hard, but it is necessary. I love the paragraph in this devotional about being proactive while you wait. I put that part in bold, so go back and read again what we should be doing while we wait. Most important to me is communication with God, continuing to worship and being thankful.
God is good all the time… and He is not on my timetable. So, I wait and pray.
Are you waiting on something from God? How can I pray for you today?
When I say the name God, what comes to your mind immediately? For me, it is a peace and a calm that goes beyond anything that I can imagine. It’s blue sky, white clouds, birds singing and butterflies fluttering in a beautiful garden. It is complete and total serenity in the presence of the One who knows me best and loves me most.
You Are-Healing Revival Sounds
So, I ask you again. What comes to mind when you say the name of the Lord? Don’t tell me…tell Him.
5minutesofhope.com/2026/06/08/dear-church-love-jesus/
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I want to share a few things going on in my life right now, so if that isn’t anything you want to read, feel free to move on.
Daisy was pretty well-behaved at the vet yesterday and the vet was wonderful with her. The blood work came back normal, so no problems with her major organs and the doctor couldn’t find any signs of tumors. After talking and doing a flow chart, the doctor wants to start with the least problematic thing first and change her diet, so she is on a special food now. She just started it yesterday evening, but so far, so good. If she starts vomiting again, I have to call back to schedule an x-ray that will require me to make her fast for twelve hours. Anyway, so far, so good and I appreciate your prayers.
There are so many good books and so many launch teams that I am a part of that I don’t know where to start. These are the top books that I am reading now, but I am actually reading about fifteen of them. I am trying to discipline myself to put the first book to launch at the top of my list and stay with it until I move on to the next one, but that is hard for me since I habitually read more than five or so books at a time. Anyway, these wonderful books are coming soon and if you enjoy Christian fiction, you should check them out!
I watch TV shows for about an hour every other day. I generally watch the family shows with our granddaughter Teya. They are too “mushy” for my husband, so we watch The Night Agent together. I like the family shows better, but Harry enjoys the action of The Night Agent and it is mostly drama and secrets and spying instead of blood and gore.
I subscribed to Audible to try to knock off some books from my reading list without having to use my eyes all the time. I also like Christian music to listen to as I do my devotional and some of my reading.
I am almost finished with Dana Mentink’s Love Inspired Suspense book and I really enjoy Divine Sound…99 Christian songs by various artists, including Brandon Lake and Anne Wilson.
Hard topic, but I will try to keep it short. My spine is giving me fits, depending on how long I have been standing or walking that day. I see my ortho doctor on Monday and he is supposed to have met with the “team” to decide what the next step is for my five herniated discs and pinched nerve. I feel as though I am on a tight schedule to get anything done because Teya gets married (a wedding!) in northern PA in August. I also developed a bronchial infection this week, so I am on multiple meds for that and have to keep a written list each day of the times of breathing treatments and oral meds. But I am improving and have been sleeping a little better at night.
I hope you enjoyed Snippet Saturday. Feel free to share your own activities, listening, books, shows, etc. Let’s spend time getting to know each other so we know better how to pray for each other.
So, we all have a lot going on in our lives, so today’s blog is about sharing our prayer requests and thus sharing our burden. If you don’t want to say exactly what it is, just say you need prayer for an unspoken request. God knows what we need before we say it, so He will listen to those “secret” requests, too. In the spirit of climbing out of my introverted cave, I will start.
This is our cat Daisy. She has to go to the vet today because she vomited blood yesterday. So, I would appreciate prayer that 1)we can get her into her carrier which she hates and 2)the vet can determine what the issue is and 3)that Daisy will be okay. She is ten years old and has been my constant companion when I am home, which has been a lot due to retirement. She cuddles in my lap when I read, sleeps next to me on the bed and follows me from room to room. We have had her since she was four months old and I am anxious about her being ill or in pain. So, I appreciate the prayers. God cares about our pets because He knows that we love them.
I don’t want to bore you with my positivity but if I don’t make the effort to stay focused on good things, my very rebellious mind drifts to all of the bad stuff. So, here goes!
~I slept last night for over six hours without waking up from coughing. 🙌
~I walked for fifteen minutes this morning (in five minute intervals) and did not lose my breath. 🙌
~I managed to dust a few pieces of furniture, so praise God I was able to bend to do it. 🙌
~God provided the money to pay our bills and to get our groceries this month. We buy extra since our granddaughter is here and we have enough to do that. 🙌
~I was able to get birthday gifts for our youngest grandson and our son, too! God provides the necessities and even some wants, too. 🙌
~I got a new book to read by Cindy K. Sproles (The Eyes of River) and it is a wonderful story. 👏
~I don’t have a steroid headache today after two days. Hallelujah! 👏
Vickie's Book Nook and Meditation Corner 