You Are My King (Amazing Love)-Newsboys
God Is God-Steven Curtis Chapman
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!
The Kindness Report #19
theblogera.com/the-four-year-old-who-turned-strangers-into-neighbours/
Please go to the original blog. Like, comment, follow. It’s the simple things that can change our world
First-Line Friday: Hevel
Watch this video to learn more about Ecclesiastes and what the word “hevel” means. I watched the video twice and still plan to watch it again as I read the Book of Ecclesiastes in my devotional. Please share in the comments what you learned from the video.
Armor for All of Us
Armor for Everyone
In the first century, Roman armor would have been made of metal and treated leather. Today, we might imagine a soldier or police officer’s bulky tactical gear with bulletproof vests and helmets.
Not many of us wear this kind of head-to-toe protective gear before heading out in the morning. But the Bible urges us to consider spiritual armor as something essential. Why?
Because unseen spiritual adversaries exist, and we’re vulnerable to their attacks. Here are two vital things to notice about our “armor.” First, God is the one who gives us armor. It’s the armor of God. We can’t possibly protect ourselves from spiritual attacks, but God can supply all that we need.
Second, we don’t put on our armor or fight alone. The mental image of the lone soldier standing in an arena against an enemy is not what Paul has in mind. The instructions to put on spiritual armor aren’t given to you, the individual—they’re given to all of us, together, who make up the global Church.
We all suit up together in God’s armor, and we stand, pray, praise, and defend… together.
God graciously gives us armor so that, when we experience a spiritual attack, we will stand and fight by His strength. Today, imagine standing strong in God’s protective armor. How might this imagery influence how you endure and remain resilient in the face of spiritual battles and uncertainties?
My Thoughts
First, I love that God gives us the armor. Just as He created us with hearts, minds, eyes, ears, and all we have, He clothes us in the armor we need to stand strong in spiritual battles.
Second, we are not fighting alone. Every Christian is waging the battle with us. Side by side, with God as our guard on every side, we fight, knowing that we will be victorious in the end. Hallelujah!
Review: The Unexpected Caller by Shelley Shepard Gray
About the Book
ISBN-139780800747268
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Publication Date: 07/07/2026
Series: The Amish Widows Club
Pages:288 pages
Synopsis (from the author’s website)
She finds sisterhood in the Amish Widows Club–but will she risk loving again?
Leanna Mast never imagined she’d be a widow at forty-one, but it seems God had other plans. After mourning her husband for a year, she realizes it’s time to start living again. But her community expects her to remarry, and after living on her own, she’s not eager to start cooking and cleaning in another man’s home.
When she’s invited to join the Amish Widows Club, she discovers a place of belonging she didn’t even know she needed. In this group of women who support each other through sharing books, stories, and companionship, Leanna immediately feels welcome. She’s sure her life as a widow will bring her the fulfillment she craves . . . until handsome, kind Evan Keim comes calling. As their relationship deepens, her heart becomes involved. But how could she possibly leave the widows club for a dream that might be too good to be true?
My Thoughts
The story of sweet Leanna Mast discovering independence and finding her way in a world without her controlling husband was at times heart-wrenching as well as refreshing. After an invitation that is almost clandestine and definitely enticing, Leanna decides to attend a meeting of the Amish Widows Club. There she makes good friends and opens her heart and life to new possibilities that she had never considered before. Shortly after attending her first meeting, though, widower Evan Keim comes to call on her. Treating her with respect and deference, Evan is kind of courting her in the background, seeing needs and meeting them without fanfare or expectation of anything in return. Meanwhile, Leanna is getting more enmeshed in the AWC and enjoying the camaraderie that she has never had before. With gentle spirits and understanding hearts, the other widows accept Leanna just as she is and listen to her, something that is new to her since her husband thought control was the way to treat her instead of with kindness and love. Leanna’s dilemma is obvious, whether to encourage Evan or to continue with the women who have become her confidants and trusted friends. I loved the characters and the way the plot unrolled so methodically, capturing my heart and imagination as I wondered what I would do in the same circumstances. The characters were all believable and relatable and the plot was well-crafted, a delightful tale of finding oneself as well as a satisfying love story. I am so glad that this is the first book in a series because it was totally enjoyable so I am already looking forward to the next book.
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.
About the Author
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Shelley Shepard Gray writes Amish and Inspirational romances for Simon & Schuster, and Kensington, Harlequin, and contemporary women’s fiction for Blackstone Publishing. With over a million books in print, and translated into more than a dozen languages, her novels have been Holt Medallion winners and Inspirational Readers Choice and Carol finalists.
Shelley has been featured in the Philadelphia Enquirer, Washington Post, Time Magazine, and USA Today. She has also been interviewed on NPR as well as numerous regional radio stations. Publishers Weekly calls her Walnut Creek series “A slow-burning, enjoyable romance… Embedded in this quaint story is a poignant message about the importance of community, compassion, and doing what’s right rather than what’s easy.”
Shelley has hosted several well-attended ‘Girlfriend Getaways’ for Amish reading fans. Her most recent Girlfriend Getaway, hosted with bestselling novelists Amy Clipston and Suzanne Woods Fisher in Sugarcreek, Ohio, was filmed by BuzzFeed and highlighted on NetFlix’s Follow This episode on the popularity of Amish fiction.
Before writing romances, Shelley lived in Texas and Colorado, where she taught school and earned her bachelor’s degree in English literature and later obtained her master’s degree in educational administration. She now lives in southern Colorado near her grown children, walks her dachshunds, bakes too much, and writes full time. Website: https://shelleyshepardgray.com/
Purchase Links
God Is Always Worthy of Praise
God does what pleases Him…and what pleases Him is showing grace, mercy and love to His children. That’s a good reason to praise Him. Think about how God has worked in and changed your life for as long as you have known Him. For me, He has healed, interceded, disciplined, comforted and loved in ways that are unfathomable to me. Yes, God does what pleases Him and that could be a scary thought unless you know the God of compassion and peace and love.
Ponder this scripture for a few minutes. Really think about what it means for God’s name to have lasted for generations. We are on the earth briefly and family members will remember us for a season until they, too, pass on. But God is eternal and His name lives forever. I am starting a study of the Names of God by Grace Fox. God is Adonai to us…He is Lord and is committed to looking after us and establishing a relationship with us. I notice words like “forever” and “every” in this verse. What stands out to you?
Hold Onto Hope
And that is true hope!
Disappointment comes in many forms, shapes and sizes. It’s the phone call that doesn’t come, the diagnosis that is an unexpected surprise, the planning on something that just doesn’t happen.
Life takes a lot of turns, and if I have learned one thing in life, it is that God always has the final word. So, my hope is in God. My strength is in God. And my hope is infinite because I know God is working for my good always.
I had a wonderful prayer answered this week. I have been wanting to see my Maryland grandchildren for a while now, but my health has kept me from traveling. Our son texted me this week that they plan to go through Richmond on their way to their vacation in the Carolinas and plan to stop and have lunch with us. I am so excited…a few hours with beloved family is a true gift from God! We may be ready to give up hope, but God surprises us with a special and unexpected blessing like this one. I believe in God’s power, and so I have infinite hope. God is good…all the time!
5 Hebrew Prayers
www.bible.com/reading-plans/72460/day/1
I hope that you will consider joining with me in this devotional by Dave Adamson, found on the YouVersion Bible App. Today’s devotional is about gratitude and is a gentle reminder to thank God first every day.
Windows of Glory
This morning during my devotional, a prayer came up on my feed. I honestly cannot remember if I wrote it or if the Bible App wrote it and I saved it, but it is so appropriate for me right now that I wanted to share part of it.
Basically, it says that the weaknesses we have can be windows for God’s glory to shine through. Not a closed door to keep God and others out, but a window to let others see God’s glory through you.
The SON shines through us and reflects God’s glory to others, if we will let it.
We can agree that life is hard and sometimes we feel that we cannot take one more challenge. But God says we can be strong in the power of His might, for it is in our weakness that His power shines through, His glory.
This has been a tough week for me physically. Last week, I saw my primary care doctor after waiting over three weeks for an appointment. Having been sick and coughing since the end of May, I wanted my “quarterback” who is the overseer of all of my specialists to get on the field and help figure out what is going on with me. He listened to all that I has been happening and ordered a specific blood test. His office called me the next day with the results. I have congestive heart failure. Not an imminent death sentence, but it does mean more meds and a lot of monitoring. I saw my cardiologist on Monday and he ordered a repeat test next week as well as an ultrasound in August. My pulmonologist whom I saw on Wednesday changed some meds from inhaler to nebulizer since I can’t take deep breaths to take in the inhaler meds. And today, I see my primary care doctor again for a follow up. The medical professionals are all taking this whole thing seriously, and I am too. At first, I went from scared to devastated to accepting with a sigh and now I am back to “God is with me and I want Him to use this for His glory.” No, I am not like that all the time. Sometimes I cry in frustration because of the swelling that makes it so difficult to walk. Sometimes I get a “why me” attitude and rant. But you know what? God can take my “chip on my shoulder” attitude and use it to teach me and others. My weakness is showing how strong God is because His light shines best in my darkness.
I got a book in the mail yesterday that I didn’t remember ordering, but what a blessing it will be for me! God knew that this is the perfect time for me to start this devotional study.
In the introduction are these words: “You and I need spiritual strength to deal with the difficulties we face, but there’s a problem: Developing that strength doesn’t come easy. …our spiritual muscles grow strongest when they are stretched, put to the test, and pushed beyond what feels good.”
Well, that seems to be what is happening in my life these days. Perhaps your life, too, has been a series of battles (physical, emotional, mental or spiritual). Whatever you are facing, I pray that your life will be a window for God’s glory to shine through. Don’t be a closed door, but an open window so God’s blessings can pour into you and out to others.
