I read voraciously. By that, I mean, if I am awake and not eating or spending time with family and friends, you can find me reading. In my love of reading, I have found the insidious creeping of the enemy into books. At first, there were only a few books with swear words. Now, it is almost all of them. I feel like I need a black marker to go through and mark out the bad words, but for some authors there would not be much left. Then, there was the insistence that those of us who are conservative Christians accept the lifestyle of being gay, transgender or one of the other alphabetical letters that have come to mean sin to me. Again, there were few characters in books that were so identified, so it didn’t bother me overly much. I figured it was a swing of our culture towards sin and that at some time it would swing back the other way, as God got hold of their lives. But last night, I was innocently reading a book by an author that I have read for over four decades, little suspecting what was coming. You got it! A gay couple… for no reason that I can figure other than to appeal to that aspect of the culture. Having access to a computer and search engines, I looked up the percentage of the alphabetical acronym to the heterosexuals in the U.S. Did you know that these who are lost in sin represent less than 5% of the total population in the U.S.? Yet, the books that I read, sometimes for pleasure and sometimes just to review, are increasingly including this very small, sinful minority, making everything seem “normal” and, in my opinion, trying to get the whole sinful action accepted by more of us. Anyway, off my soapbox and on to what I am thankful for. I am grateful for authors who do not sway with the wind, those who hold true to their values regardless of how society’s norms change. I am grateful for those that I can call a totally clean read…no foul language, no sex scenes, nothing that I would object to recommending to others for any reason. The world is becoming such an evil place that the encroachment on traditional values has been creeping in slowly, but I have noticed it in my books and I’m not at all happy about it. I praise God for the ability to read and understand and for the pleasure that I take in reading! I thank Him for the authors who are towing the line and meeting His standard of excellence. I pray that if you enjoy reading that you have discovered some of the Christian authors who will lead you closer to Him and not farther away. Of course, the best book of all time is the Bible and I read and study that daily, sometimes for pleasure, but usually for what God has in it to teach me each day. It is in learning more about Him that I take pleasure. Blessings for a day filled with words that God wants your ears to hear and your eyes to see!

Photo from wikiclipart.com

Photo from clipartmax.com

As a retired teacher who knows how hard and under-appreciated teachers are, today I want to express my gratitude for my teachers. So many teachers who influenced my life and helped me to understand what I wanted to be when I grew up and then helped encourage me along the way. One very special teacher was my Spanish teacher in high school, Señora Mary Smith. She was an elderly lady who loved the Spanish language and culture and showed it in her eyes, her movement and her enthusiasm. She told me that I had a natural gift for languages and encouraged this very shy girl to come out of her shell some, at least in her class. She recommended me for a summer institute of languages at the University of North Carolina, my first real extended time away from home. There, I spoke only Spanish for six weeks and made a lot of new friends. I also had a professor who snapped his fingers at me, trying to get me to speak Spanish in a more clipped way. Dr. Zayas-Bazan went on to write a Spanish textbook that I used in teaching a college class. I can still remember his snapping his fingers and telling me to speak more quickly. With my southern drawl, that was a challenge, but a fun one. I remember my college professors, like Dr. Stephenson, who told me that I should apply to live in the Spanish house, which I did during my sophomore and senior years. Later, I found out that she was the one who recommended me for Phi Beta Kappa, a total surprise for me when I got the invitation letter. Because of these special teachers, I majored in Spanish, teaching it for over thirty years and falling in love with the culture, just as Sra. Smith was. There were other teachers in other subjects, of course, who pushed me to do my best and to be more than I thought I could be. So, today, think of a teacher who has been your mentor, your role model, and your encourager. Say a silent thank you for that person that God placed in your life. Jesus was the first teacher and He taught each of us how to teach others. I’m glad that I had the opportunity to teach; I count that as one of the blessings of my life and pray that I was a blessing to my students just as so many of my teachers were to me.

Photo courtesy of slideshare.net

Have a blessed and thankful Thanksgiving, my friends!

Today, I am thankful for colors. Yes, colors! Red, blue, green, purple, pink…colors! My favorite color is mint green, but there are so many other shades of green that I enjoy. I saw a news blurb on TV and then on the internet about a young boy who had never seen colors before until someone in his school loaned him a pair of special glasses that allowed him to see colors for the first time. Amazing! My husband watches old movies all the time…just about daily, in fact. And all of these old films are in black and white. The lack of color annoys me in some way. I want more on the screen if I’m going to spend time watching it. We just bought a new flat screen TV because our old CRT was in colors…all blue or all red or all green. Also, very annoying to me! God created the colors for us to enjoy. Think about that! Every color in the spectrum and every complimentary color was created by God for us to enjoy! Not necessarily on television, of course, but in the world. As I look out the window next to me, I see three different shades of green, some orange, some red, some blue, brown and black. So many colors, and that’s from only a few seconds of glancing up and observing. Look around you at all of the colors. Enjoy them and be thankful because not everyone has the ability to see the way you do! Give God the glory for His marvelous creation and all of the colors that He put there for us to appreciate and take pleasure in seeing.

Since this is the first book that I have read by Kay Bratt, I didn’t know what to expect, but I must say I was blown away with her ability to paint a picture with words and to draw me into the story quickly. Quinn’s mother whispers a long-held secret on her deathbed, sending Quinn on a quest to discover her heritage. Her search takes her to the island of Maui, where she meets Liam, her guide who becomes her friend and helper in her quest. This is a magical look at one woman’s search for her ancestry and her discovery of so much more. The words used to describe the island of Maui and its people took me on a virtual journey there because they were all so alive and full of color. It was obvious from the descriptions that the author didn’t just research for this novel, but she traveled there and shared part of her heart for the place with her readers. Filled with a history of the culture and traditions of Hawaii, this book is to be read and enjoyed by anyone who likes women’s fiction and romance. The captivating story took me to places I have never been and showed me those places through the eyes of a woman named Quinn, someone who was trying to discover her past but found her future, also. I loved this book and highly recommend it!

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. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

Available on December 10, 2019 from your local bookseller.

Stop and listen. What do you hear? Music, a TV, someone in your family moving around, or a pet asking for your attention? Today, I am thankful for the quiet. I get up early every morning and spend a few hours alone in my recliner, just reading my Bible, praising and spending time listening to the quiet. No noise, no distractions, just silence. It is during these times that the Lord can speak to me because my mind is not yet racing to the next thing I have to do. I am open to hear Him and I am relaxing in a way that is difficult to find in today’s hurry and scurry world. It is the time when I reflect on memories of young children all grown up now, a husband who has stayed with me through many difficult times and all the homes that we lived in. It’s the time when my kitty sits on my lap and cuddles with me, knowing that for just a few hours, I am hers, without disruptions or busyness. I think that we all need some quiet in our lives. The hustle and bustle of the holiday is fast approaching, but I’m taking time to enjoy the silence. How about you? Do you enjoy the silence as much as I do? I look forward to this time every morning and get a little grumpy when someone disrupts it. We have company coming in tomorrow, so I know that my days will be filled with fun and laughter and conversation. I’m still hoping to have that time of quiet before each day begins, because I need it. We all do. Blessings, my friends, for a day that has some quiet moments in it so that you, too, can reflect on God’s blessings and goodness and so that He can speak to your hearts.

This last photo is from patheos.com

This is one of those books that touches your heart and just stays there. The setting is Key West, Florida, and the author paints an amusing picture of life there, with strangely themed parades and free chickens roaming around. Peggy Lampman has mastered the craft of creating characters who are realistic and enjoyable, with a lot of weaknesses that they have to learn to accept in each other. Delphina and Linnea are twins and Ivy is their younger sister. All of the sisters have secrets, although Ivy’s secret is the most gut-wrenching. The sisters’ backstory is revealed slowly, like a curtain being pulled back, as the story progresses. The theme is one of hope and love and ultimate triumph, but not without a lot of struggle. The topics are mental illness and the effects of a dysfunctional family on everyone in the family as well as those whose lives they touch. I enjoyed the fact that the family lives in a lighthouse because this just added atmosphere to the the whole story. I loved the drama that the impending hurricane added and I especially enjoyed finding out more about the three sisters and how and why they ended up the way they are. Fans of women’s fiction will enjoy this book and I’m certain that the lessons it teaches will stay with whoever reads it for a long time!

Disclaimer

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

Available February 5, 2020. Deals with mature topics like a dysfunctional family, mental illness and rape.

Today, I am thankful for photos! You know them…they are the things that you put into frames and look at occasionally. I have found lately that I am looking at photos very frequently because I miss my children and grandchildren. I have two digital frames, gifted to me by two of my children and they are wonderful inventions, with over a hundred photos on each of them. I sit in my recliner, plug them in and enjoy the show. I’m reading and glancing at them constantly. Then, there is the photo of me with my best friend who passed away almost two years ago. And the photos of the grandchildren as newborns, and those of my youngest son’s wedding. I guess I’m just on a memory kick because all of these mean so much to me. When my daughter and youngest son go on a special outing with their children, they always send me photos of their good times together. Sometimes, I feel isolated here in the little house in the big woods, but when I look at all of my photos, I feel loved and closer to them. Isn’t that the way it is sometimes with God? We feel all alone and then He reminds us in His Word that He is right there with us the whole time. I don’t have photos of my sitting or walking with Jesus, but I do have mind pictures. My imagination with which God gifted me can clearly see and feel Him holding onto me during the hard times. It’s kind of like the digital photos; the image of the Lord giving me love scrolls through my mind. I’m so blessed to have so many photos around of my loved ones and even more blessed to know how much the Lord loves me and that I am never alone. I hope that you are feeling blessed today as you walk with the Lord!

My daughter enjoyed special times at the skating rink with her youngest.

My son sent this photo from his family’s recent trip to Pennsylvania.

These photos are from Pinterest. I hope that they inspire you to know how close Jesus is to you today…and every day!

I’m thankful for my niece today and the memories she brought to mind. She went to my old hometown and took photos of my grandparents’ house and my parents’ house. I think I spent an equal amount of time just about in both places, since I was blessed to have my grandparents only about fifteen minutes away from where I lived. These photos are from online because I couldn’t get my computer to save the ones that my niece sent. So many memories…good and bad, but mostly good. During this season of Thanksgiving, I am thankful that I grew up in a home with two parents and near my grandparents. Family is so important because the ties there are the ones that lead you to form your own ties later. Little did I know that when I left home to go to college that I would get married and move twenty five times, never really settling into one home. My children do not have the benefit of having a memory of one home, but they have determined to give that memory to their children and I am overjoyed because of that. How about you? Are you thankful for the memories of the place where you spent your childhood? Blessings for an evening filled with good memories!

My grandparent’s home. The trim was a dark brownish red, like the shutters when Nanny and Pa lived there. So many nights spent there watching Ed Sullivan with them and just talking to them as they settled in for the night. Tears come to my eyes as I remember the last time I was there. My aunt and I were packing it up because Nanny was placed in a nursing home and Pa was in the hospital dying from an inoperable brain tumor. They would not want me to be sad…so thinking of good memories!

Photo from realtor.com

The house that I grew up in has changed a lot because it has been remodeled several times and gone through many different owners in the last four decades. The current family changed our old playroom into a master suite. They were very nice to my niece and allowed her to come in and take photos of the place as it is now. So many, many memories! I lived there from the time I was six until I left for college. My bedroom, which I shared with my sister, was the window next to the porch where the white door is visible. Thankful for the time I had there with my parents and four siblings.

Photo from zillow.com

This has been a hard week, especially on Wednesday. That was my husband’s birthday so we had mostly planned a relaxing day. He was going to continue to do some repairs around the house and had also decided to finish our Thanksgiving meal shopping. He returned from his errands to find out that his brother had fallen and been admitted to the hospital. And later that night, our daughter in law had an episode with heart palpitations and was in the ER for a while. We subsequently found out that the latter was a panic attack, but it was no less scary and prayer producing. My brother in law in still in the hospital and has been diagnosed with COPD. He is on oxygen now and is breathing better. My husband is frantic to be able to talk to him, but he doesn’t answer his room phone, so we can’t do much about that. So, in the midst of all of this strife and stress, we have attempted to continue to be peaceful. We know that God is in charge and I am thankful that that is so. God is in control! He knows what is happening and He is in charge. That thought has allowed us to rest at night and to wake up the next morning with an outlook of positivity. I am thankful for being a Christian who knows the power of prayer and the power of almighty God. Even when things keep going wrong, God knows and watches over all of us. We can’t talk to Richard, my husband’s brother, but God can. We will see our daughter in law and family for Thanksgiving, so we can check on her then. Meanwhile, God’s peace continues to rule. How about you? Are you having a tough week? Be thankful that God’s peace is there for you! Blessings, my friends!

I am thankful for my cane. For anyone who has limited mobility, I’m sure that you understand what I am talking about. Sometimes, it’s just there if I need it and other times, I really have to lean on it. Lately, I have been suffering with a bout of sciatica, so I have been leaning heavily on it and thankful that I have it so I don’t just fall over. I know that my cane helps me to move around to where I want to be without falling. I was without my cane for about a week last spring because I left it at my son’s house. Actually, we had gone out to eat just before we left for home and it was raining. I thought my husband had put my cane in the car, and he thought that I had. The restaurant saved it for my son to come and get for me. Meanwhile, we were home, over five hours away, so I asked my physician for a new script for a quad cane. We had to go all the way to downtown Richmond to a medical supply house to get it, but I got it without charge and it’s a really nice one, lighter than the one I left at my son’s. Anyway, now I have two quad canes…my new one and the one I got from my son’s the next time we visited. I’m thankful for something that is dependable and that can bear my weight, no matter how I am feeling. I compare my quad cane to how I lean on Jesus when I am feeling low or when I just need a friend. He is always there, no matter how much I abuse His friendship! He helps me to be able to face each day and its challenges, much as my cane helps me to walk daily through whatever life brings. I hope that each of you has mobility, but more, I hope that you have found the peace that comes from leaning on Jesus.

Leaning On the Everlasting Arms by Alan Jackson

Photo from Walgreens.com

Photo from clarinetchick.wordpress.com

Blessings to each of you for a day in which you lean on Jesus and know in your heart of hearts that He is always there for you. Always!