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.
Author: vicklea
I love to read! I’m a retired teacher with a spouse of 45 years, three amazing children and nine wonderful grandchildren. I am blessed!
When someone says this phrase, “spiritual maturity” it generally makes me cringe because I know I am not there yet. And I am also aware that according to the standards of others, I may never be “there.” But where I am is seated in my recliner, reading my Bible and devotionals and praying for God to speak to me. One of the things He used this morning was a devotional from Faith Gateway by Dana K. White. Here’s a line from it:
“My level of spiritual maturity is the level of control I’ve given over to the Holy Spirit. It’s the opposite of an achievement. It’s knowing and accepting the truth that anything I understand, I understand only because God’s Holy Spirit gave me that understanding.”
So, maybe it’s my definition of spiritual maturity that needs to be honed. I have kept trying to achieve something, much like passing a test in school, but that is not it at all. Did you hear my sigh of relief? I can quit striving and just give over the wheel to the Holy Spirit. Here’s the link to the devotional if you would like to read it in its entirety. It is well worth the few minutes that you will spend doing so and I hope that it frees and enlightens you just as it did me.
Let’s just close with scriptures to ponder so that we can grow together today in the Lord.
All things…everything. Sounds like getting mature in the Lord to me. And we just have to relinquish control to the gift of the Holy Spirit whom Jesus promised us.
When we confess that we cannot do this Christian walk alone, maturing ourselves all by ourselves, then we are on the road to admitting that the One who is strong can use our weaknesses to teach us how to be more like Him. And isn’t that part of being spiritually mature?
I hope that your day is blessed so that you can be a blessing to others. 🙏🏻
We all carry life’s burdens every day. My big burden lately has been family health issues and car problems. Daily, I take those burdens to God and receive the reassurance that He is handling things. But there are some things, I confess, that are difficult to hand over to God, even though I know that is exactly what I need to do. The big one that comes to mind is my own mortality and the fact that my aging is not something I can deny. I face it in the mirror daily, every morning as I get up and struggle to get to the bathroom because of mobility issues. God has given me a verse that I recite frequently to remind myself of His care for me.
I love this promise and the fact that He is carrying me, all the way until I get into His arms. I have to admit that some days, I feel that need more than others, but I can rest in His love and His promise.
We often get so wrapped up in our own world and our own problems that we don’t look around us at what others may be facing.
We are a very self-centered people and God knew that about us. It’s part of our sin nature and we have to work at focusing outward towards others instead of only inward towards ourselves.
We are told to carry each other’s burdens. Rather, we are instructed repeatedly to give our burdens to the Lord. I think that one way of doing that is to focus on others, so that we are not so aware of our own burdens. Oftentimes, in fact, our burdens dim when we get a glimpse of the burdens others are lifting. The recent example that immediately comes to my mind is the flooding in Texas that resulted in numerous deaths, including children from a Christian camp. My first instinct was to ask “Why, God?” But I quickly shut that down and instead started praying for the missing children, the parents of those whose bodies were already discovered, the camp counselors and the rescuers. My mind was so occupied praying for strangers that I was not totally absorbed in my own world and its problems. I think that is the way we should be daily, not just during a crisis. Look out…not in because in so doing, that is how we can do the most good for the Kingdom of God.
The real secret to our being free of our burdens in that we help others and God helps us. The promise is that He daily bears our burdens. So, if we know, really know, that Jesus is bearing our burdens, that gives us the freedom and opportunity to look for others that need our help. The neighbor who needs a ride to the doctor. The friend who needs groceries but who won’t ask for help. The young mom who needs a break just to refresh her soul. You get the idea. Helping others isn’t so much time consuming as it is forcing us to look at others instead of ourselves and our own needs so much.
I got this prayer from the YouVersion Daily Refresh today. I prayed it several times before the words became truly meaningful to me. My prayer is that this post today will inspire you to help someone today, in a small way or big way. Just be a helper. Mr. Rogers (TV show from my children’s youth) would like that, and more importantly, I think that so would God!
I must confess that assembling together in a large church body is difficult for me because I am introverted and prefer no groups or small groups. But our church is big, we have been content there with pastors who preach from the word and a caring group in Sunday school. But why not stay at home? After all, the service is streamed. The Sunday school class is on YouTube the following week. So, why bother to go?
I think we honor God when we come together as His body and share with each other about Him. God is always listening, to our whining and complaining, to our gossip (that we aren’t supposed to do) and to our praise. I would much rather have an attitude of healthy respect for God when I go to church and remember the real reason I am there, to worship Him. To be honest, I have gotten irate in the past when the sermon doesn’t seem to apply to me or when the music is too loud (which is every week nowadays). But I am not there for entertainment; I am there for relationship, with God first and with other like-minded individuals. I think we need church to refocus and center our thoughts on what is really important in our lives.
This week was hard, with so many innocent children and adults dying in the Texas flood. I followed the news carefully, praying all the while that more survivors would be found and saved. I know and knew then that God is in control and this flash flood did not catch Him by surprise. I was, however, upended by all of the sweet little faces of those who will never go home again. Then, the Lord spoke to my heart that they are in their “forever home” with Him and He has them in His comforting, warm embrace.
So, going to church yesterday was like the culmination of my thoughts over the weekend. I wanted to do and be there and help, but I was here, across the nation, and all I could do was pray. How was I able to pray for complete strangers whom I will never meet in this life? Because I have a relationship with God and He is their Father, too.
That’s why we go to church, assembling ourselves together and talking to each other about the hard things, the toll that the deaths have taken on us emotionally. And the family of God encourages us to keep going, keep praying, keep obeying. God puts us where He needs us when He needs us to be there, and yesterday, I needed to be with my church family to be reassured of God’s constant presence and love even during a disaster and great tragedy.
Think About What You Think About (You Version, 7-06-25)
What you tell yourself every day matters. If you believe something about your identity that isn’t true, then you will struggle to believe what God says about you.
But, when you root your identity in God and allow His Spirit to shape your life, you will begin to see yourself the way He sees you—and this will influence the way you treat people, situations, opportunities, and events around you.
So here are three ways you can guard your thoughts and declare God’s truth over your life:
1. Identify the lies you tell yourself.
Your words and actions reveal the narratives you tell yourself. To figure out if a narrative is false, ask yourself: Is this thought marked by fear, insecurity, pride, bitterness, or a lack of confidence? Is this thought leading me to cynical or self-serving behavior? If you can answer “yes” to either of those questions, then the narrative you’re telling yourself probably needs to be addressed and adjusted.
When you can identify where and when you began believing a lie, it’ll be easier to change the way you think.
2. Shift your perspective.
For every lie, there is a truth that can replace it—and those truths can be found in the Bible. Look over your list of lies, and ask God to show you in His Word what His truth is. Create mental space for the Holy Spirit to clearly show you how He sees you.
3. Declare what’s true.
Turn the truths from Scripture into specific, intentional statements you can declare over your life each day.
Here are some declarations to get you started:
– I am enough because I am a child of God.
– I rejoice in suffering because Christ suffered for me.
– I am not ashamed of Jesus because His sacrifice changes lives.
– I am greatly loved, and so I love others like I have been loved.
– Nothing can separate me from God’s love.
As you practice these steps, keep in mind that if God—whose Word is truth—says something about you, then it must be true. So allow His Holy Spirit to transform the way you think. Let His thoughts about you become your thoughts about you.
My Thoughts
For most of my life, I believed the lies that I am not enough. God, however, has spoken the words to me again and again that not only am I enough, He loves me just the way I am. My lack of self-confidence and my reluctance to believe that I am loved stems from a difficult childhood, but my belief in a good and merciful God who loves me more than I ever thought possible has helped me to overcome my doubts. How I perceive myself is changing still. I continually have to remind myself that God loves me and made me the way I am. No fear, no shame, no ridicule…just love.
As leader of a special military unit charged with stopping potential pandemics before they spread, John “Haggs” Haggerty has a front-row seat to the sharp increase in natural disasters that precede the Rapture—including plagues, earthquakes, famines, wars, and rumors of war. And each crisis is becoming more intense.
Meanwhile, his own world feels like it’s falling apart. He’s still caught in the grief of messing up his relationship with his ex-wife, and he’s trying to keep it together so that he can show up for his adult daughter before she wants him out of her life entirely. As both personal and professional situations push him to the brink, Haggs finds himself stretched further than ever in his desire to be the kind of good person he knows he should be.
Just when it seems as if things might turn around, Haggs is forced to decide between his need to find solutions and his need for personal redemption.
This is a story about the end times from the Bible and how different fictional characters in the book are affected by the events. General John Haggerty is a dedicated physician and on the task force to try to stop a global pandemic. Unfortunately, the illness cannot be contained and in his pursuit of trying to save people, he almost loses his beloved daughter Sonya. The novel is over three-fourths of the way done before the Rapture occurs, so it is not the focus of the story. The real focus is what comes before and how people react to wars, famine, earthquakes and rampant diseases. The U.S. government has a task force for everything but what they don’t have is a relationship with God that could help them have the wisdom to get through these times. The characters were realistically portrayed and flawed, and the plot moved quickly to a semi-conclusion. The story isn’t really over because at the end of the story, the Tribulation is just beginning for those who were not rescued during the Rapture. I liked the story, especially the way the scriptures were accurately represented in a way that encouraged people to get right with God before it is too late to do so. This is the first fiction book that I have read from this author and I found it to be well-written and thoroughly enjoyable. Disclaimer: 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.
Christian Fiction about the End Times, Rated PG-13
About the Authors
Founder and host of Turning Point for God and senior pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church, David Paul Jeremiah, was born February 13, 1941, in Toledo, Ohio. He is one of four children born to James and Ruby Jeremiah. During his childhood, his family moved to Dayton, Ohio, where his father, James T. Jeremiah, served as Pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church. In 1953, the Jeremiah family moved to Cedarville, Ohio, when his father became the President of Cedarville College—which is now Cedarville University.
Growing up in a pastor’s home, David was immersed in ministry from an early age. During his senior year at Cedarville College, he felt God’s calling to enter full-time ministry. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1963, and that same year he married his college sweetheart, Donna Thompson. After graduation, they moved to Dallas, Texas, where David attended Dallas Theological Seminary. He received his Master’s degree in Theology in 1967. Completing additional graduate work at Grace Seminary, he was granted the Doctor of Divinity degree from Cedarville College in 1981.
In 1969, David and Donna began a church plant in Fort Wayne, Indiana, with seven families in attendance. He served as pastor at Blackhawk Baptist Church for twelve years. During that time the church grew to 1,300 members, Blackhawk Christian School was founded, and The Bible Hour television program was launched.
In 1981, the Jeremiah family, which now included four children, followed God’s call and moved to California when Dr. Jeremiah became the senior pastor of Scott Memorial Baptist Church, which is now Shadow Mountain Community Church. Today Shadow Mountain Community Church is one of the largest churches in San Diego county with eight satellite locations including Hispanic and Arabic congregations. The main campus of the church, located in El Cajon, California, is also the home to Southern California Seminary and Christian Unified Schools, a multiple site kindergarten through twelfth-grade Christian school district. Website: Dr. David Jeremiah
With 20 years of experience in the publishing world, Sam O’Neal is passionate about serving authors who write great stories. He launched Write Great Stories, Inc., after working for legacy brands including Christianity Today, LifeWay Christian Resources, and HarperCollins Christian Publishing. Sam works with A-list authors including Dr. David Jeremiah, Max Lucado, Bishop T. D. Jakes, Louie Giglio, Dr. Dharius Daniels, Kathie Lee Gifford, Charles Martin, and more.
Passionate about God’s Word, Sam has served as the primary editor or content producer for three Bibles: Quest Study Bible, Life Connections Study Bible, and the Bible Study Bible. He also develops curriculum material for authors including David Platt, Tony Evans, Matt Chandler, Michael Todd, John MacArthur, and others.
Sam has a literature degree from Wheaton College and a master’s in Christian studies. He has dedicated his career to making complex ideas approachable for everyday readers.
One of the things that we as Christians need to realize is that confession and cleansing is not a “once and done” action. It is ongoing, a process that gives us transparency before God. That transparency isn’t for God’s benefit. He already sees all and knows all about us. It is for our benefit, so that we can have a clear conscience and stand before the Father pure and holy as He desires for us. I am not getting into the doctrine of “once saved, always saved.” I am talking about confessing our sins and being forgiven on a daily basis, sometimes more than once a day even.
I use the acronym ACTS for my prayers. If you are not familiar with it, here is what it stands for:
A=Adoration
C=Confession
T=Thanksgiving
S=Supplication
I used to get adoration and thanksgiving all mixed up together. But I have personally discovered that adoration is being aware of and loving God for His character traits, like His mercy, grace, holiness, etc. Thanksgiving is thanking Him for what He has done for us. So similar, but really not the same, right? Sometimes, it is hard for me not to jump right in and start telling God my prayer requests. But by using this acronym, I slow down and spend the time I need to acknowledge God’s power and love, tell Him how I have failed Him and ask for forgiveness, thank Him for what He has already done, and then I can tell Him my current needs or desires.
Anytime we sin, we let a little darkness into our lives. If we want to live completely in the light and be the light, we have to stay prayed up and transparent before God and others. There is a lot of talk about politicians being “transparent.” Since I don’t think that will ever truly happen this side of heaven, I don’t have a firm grasp on what transparency looks like, but my own thoughts are that I am totally and completely honest with God. It is humbling thing to do, but it is also necessary for my relationship with God to be closer and fulfilling. The door to my heart that God holds in His hand is closed until I open it with the key of confession and humble submission to ask for His forgiveness. It’s hard to hear from the Holy Spirit when I am holding on to unconfessed sin. Here are some reminders from the Scriptures of why the C in the acronym is vital to our walk with God.
Do you recall who in the Bible claimed to be holy and without sin? That would be the scribes and Pharisees, the Jewish leaders, whom Jesus called out and called “vipers.” Why would He do that to the leadership? They had not repented of their sins and they were using their positions of power to oppress the people under a multitude of requirements in order to gain power and wealth. I don’t claim to be holy except with the righteousness of Jesus. He cleanses me each time I go before Him and confess and then I move on and try to do better in the future. My right-standing before God is because of Jesus. My clear conscience before God is because I confess and ask for forgiveness.
Why not take a few minutes now to do the ACTS prayer? It can be as short or as long as you need. Just take time to refresh yourself before the Lord. I can assure you that you will have burdens lifted and be really ready to face a new day with the Lord. God bless you!
To prove her innocence she’ll have to expose a lethal conspiracy. A frantic call from her best friend sends district attorney Paige Grayson running right into a trap–and now she’s being framed for her friend’s murder. With the police after her and evidence against her stacking up, she seeks refuge in Amish country–and the help of her first love, Elijah King, to clear her name. To expose the drug dealer setting Paige up, they must work together while evading a ruthless criminal and the police. With threats closing in and time running out, one wrong move could be their last.
This book has a fast pace right out of the starting gate, like a thoroughbred at the Kentucky Derby who races to win. This second-chance-at-love story includes nail-biting suspense as Paige and Elijah run for their lives from drug dealers who have already killed their good friend. Not knowing who is the head of the drug operation makes the scenario even more frightening because neither of them can figure out how they are continually being tracked. Weaving suspense with a developing romance, this book includes some heart-in-your-throat moments as Elijah and Paige run through woods, into caves, and up a mountain while they constantly encounter danger. I really liked how the Amish community chose to help them as much as they could rather than taking a stance of not wanting to get involved. This is a powerful story of God’s grace in action and second chances as you face what seems to be insurmountable obstacles. I enjoyed how the main characters consistently showed how much they cared for each other and how courageous they were in their determination to expose the drug dealers. The plot is deeply immersive, the characters are rich and realistically flawed as well as original and believable. Some of my favorite characters were the dogs, especially Gunner, Paige’s protector who was willing to lay down his life for his mistress and showed his loyalty and obedience repeatedly. This edgy love inspired story was filled with suspense and the signature style of the author that keeps the story moving as fast as the characters who are running from danger. Disclaimer: I voluntarily received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions expressed are my own.
Love Inspired Suspense, Rated PG
Also Available
About the Author
Mary Alford grew up in a small Texas town famous for, well not much of anything really. Being the baby of the family and quite a bit younger than her two brothers and her sister, Mary had plenty of time to entertain herself. Making up stories seemed to come naturally to her.
As a teen, Mary discovered Phyllis Whitney and Victoria Holt and knew instinctively that was what she wanted to do with her over-active imagination.
She wrote her first novel as a teen, (it’s tucked away somewhere never to see the light of day), but never really pursued her writing career seriously until a few years later, when she wrote her first inspirational romantic suspense and was hooked.
Today, Mary lives in Texas with her husband and loves to create characters who face dangerous situations with faith on their side.
Mary is very active online and would love to connect with readers on Facebook, X, or any of the social media platforms listed at maryalford.net.
I am participating in a group Bible study online with some ladies from my church. It’s called “Loving God Greatly-Abiding in Jesus: Bearing Fruit that Lasts.” We are only on Day 4 of fourteen days, but this devotional is really speaking to me and in some ways calling me out. Today was one that did the latter. Here is the text from the YouVersion Bible App:
The Light that we are called to shine through our lives is not for others to better see us, but to better see Christ. When we abide in Jesus, our lives begin to reflect His Light, shining in a world that desperately needs to see Him. This Light is the evidence of God’s Love within us, transforming our lives and radiating out to bless those around us.
As we learn to abide in Jesus, something beautiful happens: gratitude begins to overflow in our hearts. We start to see God’s Goodness in every moment. Praise becomes part of our daily rhythm. It’s not just a quick “thank you” here and there but a deep and constant awareness of and gratitude for His Presence.
Our lives become a testimony of God’s Faithfulness, a Light that points others to His Love. It’s shown in acts of kindness, forgiving those who’ve wronged us, speaking comfort into someone’s pain, and choosing humility over pride. When we abide in Christ, we find that our good deeds are simply the natural overflow of His Love in us.
Sweet friend, your Light may seem small at times, but Jesus assures us that God uses every act of faithfulness and obedience to bring Him Glory. The impact of your abiding life goes far beyond what you can see or even imagine. When we choose to live as a Light for Him, we’re part of something Eternal, pointing others to the source of all Light—Jesus Himself, the Light of the World.
This devotional made me see how far I have come, but more importantly how much further I need to go. I have a little, tiny light that I hope is bringing hope to a lost world, but I don’t always see the effects of anything that I do, so I am not sure that I am having any kind of effect at all. I just want people to see Jesus in me and to show gratitude to God for who He is and what He is doing in their lives. Some days I feel pretty good about how I have represented Christ that day and other days I just feel beaten down, like a dry corn stalk in the summer heat. I don’t feel successful but I keep trying. After all, I am representing the King, and anything I do on His behalf is a way that I hope is bringing glory to Him. How about you? Is your light shining?
In the shadow of a threatening volcano, long-haul trucker Kit Garrido wakes up in her crashed big rig, unable to recall what happened or why she’s suddenly in possession of someone’s baby. Fiercely independent, she has to admit that perhaps this time she could use a little help.
As the threat of eruption grows, former cop Cullen Landry refuses to leave his cabin in the evacuation area, which is why he’s the only one left who can help Kit escape the crumpled cab of her truck. He doesn’t want to get tangled up in the mystery of the beautiful woman with an abandoned infant, but when he sees the bullet hole in the windshield and the bloody handprint on the interior, he realizes that he’s in this thing, like it or not.
When two armed men with ill intent approach, the race is on to stay alive, discover the truth, and find the baby’s missing mother–all while a deadly mountain rains fire from above.
The pace of this book is so fast that I could not flip through my Kindle pages quickly enough! The characters are regular people who are faced with insurmountable challenges and who rise to the task, the biggest one to take care of an infant while fleeing a volcano and avoiding bad guys who want to kill all of them. Kit Garrido is a semi-truck driver who is dedicated to her business and not looking for anything except success. Cullen is fixing a roof of his cabin when he sees Kit wreck her truck, so he rushes to her aid. Thus begins the story of the two intrepid warriors against nature and evil! When Cullen discovers a baby in the living compartment of Kit’s truck, Kit is flabbergasted about how she got there, since the accident that wrecked her beloved truck also stole her memory. Discovering that the accident was a purposeful action of sabotage since a bullet hit the truck, Cullen makes it his goal to keep Kit and the baby safe from whomever is trying to harm her. I loved the way the two of them bonded with the baby whom they called “Tot” and I was totally invested in the realistic character of Archie, a veteran who is a friend of Cullen’s and who is wise and snarky, too. The race to save themselves from the volcano and from the villains is realistically portrayed, with all kinds of extra dangers along the way and problems like no shelter and limited food, along with horrible air quality due to the erupting volcano. The twists keep coming and just when I thought Cullen and company were safe, another threat arose and had my heart pumping and my pulse racing. The plot was complex with multiple layers that were expertly woven together into a satisfying conclusion. The romance is one that simmers since the hero and heroine are a little busy running for their lives and watching over Tot. This is a powerful, breathtaking story of honor and sacrifice as well as a propulsive thriller that took off like a jet plane from the first chapter and flew high for the entire book. With escalating tension and a gripping story, combined with nail-biting suspense and unique, relatable characters, this book is a real winner for me in the Best Books of 2025 category. The author did a remarkable job of including faith and the tough topic of human trafficking all while staying on course to captivate me with the active volcano and the bad guys who were nothing short of pure evil. If I could give this book more than five stars, I would because it didn’t just entertain, but it also educated and made me think about life choices and consequences. Disclaimer: 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.
Christian Fiction with Intense Suspense, Rated PG-13
About the Author
Dana Mentink lives in California where the weather is golden and the cheese is divine. Her family includes two daughters (affectionately nicknamed Yogi and Boo Boo.) Papa Bear is retired from the fire department and he met Dana doing a dinner theater production of The Velveteen Rabbit. Ironically, their parts were husband and wife.
Dana writes in two genres, cozy mystery and romantic suspense. She’s a USA TODAY, Publishers Weekly, and Amazon bestselling author as well as a two time ACFW Carol Award winner, and a Holt Medallion recipient. Her suspense novel, Betrayal in the Badlands, earned a Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award. She is honored to write for Harlequin’s Love Inspired Suspense, Revell, and Poisoned Pen Press
