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!
I heard a pastor say once (or probably more than once) that Satan doesn’t bother attacking the non-believers because they are already on his side. On the other hand, those of us who are Christians can sometimes feel as though we are under constant attack. We get through one crisis and the next one is just waiting on the horizon. But there is good news! Have you read the end of the Book? We win! That is why Satan’s desperate ploys to divert our attention from God and get us too discouraged to worship won’t work. God wants us to be prepared for the attacks, so He gave us His Word, but He doesn’t want us to be defeated by them. The trials test our faith but they can’t destroy our firm hold on God unless we let go. Sometimes, I feel as though God is holding me tightly through the circumstances because I get too tired to hold on. Lauren Daigle sings a song called “Hold On To Me” that speaks to my heart when I face that dilemma. I recommend you listen to it with an open heart; at times, all we can do is know that God who began this faith trip with us will see us through to the end. The resistance is real, but so is the victory!
Wake up, America! Please go to the original site and follow David and Zion’s Hope. Lots of information here that is scary but it follows prophecy so well that it is like reading parts of the Bible.
Brynn Haywood’s impulsive marriage to a man she’d known less than 24 hours leaves her with deep regret. She flees to Cape Cod, finding refuge with her loyal friend, Dawn Dixon. As Brynn grapples with her emotions, Dawn acts swiftly, eager to help secure a lawyer for her through her mother Marnie’s good friend, Lincoln Hayes. However, Lincoln’s preoccupation with his daughter’s lavish wedding brings unexpected challenges.
The arrival of Lincoln’s estranged son, Bear Hayes, stirs the waters further. Alarmed by his father’s extravagant generosity toward the Dixon family, Bear ignites friction between Marnie and Lincoln. As the wedding day arrives, Lincoln vanishes–and an unwelcome guest makes a surprise appearance.
My Thoughts
This book had me captivated by the story and the characters. Brynn Haywood’s unconventional marriage to a man she just met in Vegas and her escape to the cape to ponder what she had done absolutely mesmerized me. I wanted to know who this mystery man was and how it came about that level-headed engineer Brynn would even consider such a thing. Once she gets to the cape with her friend Dawn and Dawn’s mom Marnie Dixon, Brynn can reflect on what she did and Dawn assures her that she will help her dissolve the marriage. But Brynn gets too busy helping Linc Hayes prepare for the wedding for his daughter to think too much about her hasty choice. In fact, Brynn loves baking so much that she begins to consider leaving behind her degree in engineering. There are twists and turns in this complicated tale of choices, consequences, honesty and forgiveness. I really loved all of the characters, but I was especially drawn to Bear Hayes, Linc’s son who is in town for the wedding. Bear doesn’t approve of anyone in town except his mom and his sister and seems determined to make his dad’s life hard. I didn’t love him for his actions which were at times reprehensible. I loved him for his heart that seemed to be wounded and unready to accept anything new. In contrast, Brynn is embracing new things in her life, perhaps a bit too quickly. The story is compelling, filled with wit and wisdom. With each chapter starting with a saying about ice cream that gave me a clue about what would happen in the chapter and also a thought to ponder, this book is memorable and one to share and discuss with others. The subplots about Dawn and Marnie dovetail perfectly with the story about Brynn and all are concluded in a very satisfactory way, with a few surprises, too. This is contemporary Christian fiction at its best and deserves to be savored just like ice cream! Disclaimer Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16th CFR, Partr 255, “Guidelines Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”
Christian Fiction, rated G, according to the reading level of the reader
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bestselling author Suzanne Woods Fisher wrote her first novel in sixth grade, about Pompeii, a dog, and the erupting volcano (terrible ending!) and, from that point on, she was hooked on the writing life. Curiously, she doesn’t remember anyone, ever, telling her she was a talented writer. She just loved to write. (And she worked hard at the craft. She still does.) College happened, work, then marriage, children, a sprinkling of corporate transfers, and Suzanne kept plugging away at freelancing for several magazines. (Four kids = lots of great material.) As her children headed off to college, Suzanne had the time to get serious about writing. She wrote a little World War II love story, Copper Star, which was published by Vinspire, a small royalty press. The novel won some awards, and it also caught the eye of a wonderful agent. And that’s when things started to happen. Joyce Hart of the Hartline Literary Agency knew of an editor at Revell Books who was looking for an author who had a genuine connection to the Plain People. Knowing that Suzanne’s grandfather was raised Plain, Joyce connected her to that editor. The result was Amish Peace: Simple Wisdom for a Complicated World, a finalist for the ECPA Book of the Year. Thirty-some books later (in a variety of genres—historical fiction, contemporary women’s, and Amish fiction), Suzanne is still writing for that same editor at Revell Books. And she still loves to write. For more information and a list of the author’s books visit her website at suzannewoodsfisher.com
When the storms of life inevitably come, we have to already have established a pattern of focusing on Jesus. He is our calm in the storm and has given us a peace that the world cannot understand. It is up to us to claim that peace and know that Jesus is right there with us in the middle of our circumstances. If you are like me, you may have the tendency to first look at the raging storm and then look at Jesus. I am trying to train myself to look at Jesus first and then the storm doesn’t look so bad after all. There are plenty of reasons in the world to be anxious, but there is one big reason to be calm…Jesus! Not one time in all of the Biblical accounts of Jesus’s life on earth did we see Him wringing His hands and saying, “Oh, no! The people are still sinning! The Pharisees are plotting against me! What shall I do?” He was in touch constantly with His Heavenly Father, knew what was coming and was ready for it, in His heart and mind. He maintained calm in the storm because He knew that in the end it would all work out for God’s glory. That is what our focus should be. Fixing our eyes on the Master of the storm and not the storm itself tells our heart that we can trust that it will all be okay and God will get the glory in the end.
I have a tendency to magnify the bad things that happen instead of focusing on the blessings. When I started choking and coughing so hard yesterday that I could not attend church for the second week in a row, first I was discouraged. Then, I spent time with God and was thankful that our church streams the 9:30 service, so I was able to join them in worship and listen to the pastor’s message as if I were there. The Lord calmed my spirit so that I could spend time focused on Him instead of on my coughing. I wish I could report that the coughing spasms miraculously went away, but they didn’t. Paul had his thorn in the flesh and I have asthma, which makes it harder for me to breathe when I get sick. I have learned from experience that the condition is exacerbated when I am anxious or upset, so staying calm is a must for me since I like breathing. I have learned and I am still learning not to focus on my gasping breaths but to focus on the One who gave me the breath of life to begin with and to be thankful for each breath I can take.
The key to breathing for me is to focus on the Lord, not on the problem. When I focus on Him, just like Peter walking on water, I can continue to walk and not sink. It’s when I take my eyes off the Lord that I begin to panic and my breath comes in short gasps. I am blessed to report that the panicking is less frequent and the thankfulness for each breath is more common. I am a little dismayed that I have been sick for two weeks so far, a period of time that is longer than usual, particularly after I have started antibiotics and a steroid dose pack. But I am waiting for God to heal me; the doctors help, the medicines help, but God does the healing. Meanwhile, I am working on staying calm in order to keep my focus where it belongs.
The interpretation of one little preposition makes all the difference when we are in difficult circumstances. We are not giving thanks FOR the difficulties; rather, we are thanking God IN them, knowing that He is walking that journey with us. That perspective keeps us from getting bitter and blaming God for all of our hardships. The blame lies squarely on the sin that occupies the entire world, the fact that the world has fallen and the diseases that are part of a fallen world have overtaken us. God does not send the pain, but He does allow it. When we acknowledge that His control is absolute and that He will be with us through the suffering, then we can continue to journey through it, not wallow in it and just stagnate there. Being thankful in the midst of suffering is not always easy, but it is always necessary in order to get a handle on how much God loves us, even when we are hurting.
When we come to yield signs on the road, we slow down and are more cautious about approaching the intersection, aware that there are other cars already there and we have to time our merge to get into the flow of the traffic safely. But when I say that God’s light is unyielding, I am talking about the fact that God does not cower from the darkness. He shines light on it instead. If only we could see things the way God does, then His plan for us would be more clear and it would be easier to accept hardships because we would see that good things are coming. God is always present. The darker the night, the closer His presence to us. We have to acknowledge that He is there in order for us to feel His comfort and embrace.
Growing up, I had the habit of getting up every night to go to the bathroom. My bedroom was only a short distance from the main bathroom in the house, so even though I didn’t like the dark, I walked quietly to the bathroom, closed the door and sighed with relief when I could turn on the light. There was nothing there to jump out at me and scare me, just the darkness. What power darkness can have over us if we let it! We have to remember that God always shines through those dark places in our lives, the places where we are not sure what is going to happen next and what steps we should take. God is right there.
I still use a night light, several of them in fact. One in our bathroom, one in the living room and sometimes one in the kitchen. I cannot say that I am comfortable with the dark now, but I am not afraid of it. I have learned that God is a whispered prayer away and whenever I am afraid, I have but to say His Name and He is right there with words of comfort and peace from His Spirit to mine. I am blessed to have God’s light in my life so that the hard times of life, when the path seems to be growing darker and the way is twisted and unexpected, I can know that God is right there, my refuge and strength. I hope that you have found His unyielding light in your life.
Finding Refuge
Psalm 139 is a contemplative psalm, often attributed to King David. In it, the psalmist reminds himself of the all-knowing and all-present nature of God. According to him, we can always find comfort in the unconditional promise of God’s presence:
“If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me, even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.”
Psalm 139:11-12 NIV
Though life has its challenges and moments of overwhelming darkness, God’s nearness remains. He is intimately acquainted with every detail of your life. He sees you, not with the gaze of human eyes, but with the infinite clarity of His love.
When was the last time you acknowledged God’s presence in your life? Have you recently paused to simply dwell with Him? Pausing prompts us to consider the vastness of God’s knowledge and the inability to hide anything from His sight.
There is no darkness too deep and no night too long that can conceal us from the unyielding light of our Creator. Seek Him today.
Sometimes, in the storms of life or even in the everyday hustle and bustle of routines, we may have a tendency to forget that God is still working out His plan. This week, in the midst of breathing treatments and remembering to take medications at the right time and adequately spaced from other meds, I got so preoccupied with my illness that God has been there, but I was not paying a lot of attention to what He has been doing in my life. This morning when I awakened for the first time in over a week without coughing, I was reminded of His great power and His control over all. It’s not that I forgot to give God thanks. I did that. I acknowledge Him every day, but my priority has been on getting better and breathing. And it’s not that my priority is bad…it’s just not the most important thing in my life. That would be God…the God who made me and everything else.
It’s hard for our finite minds to conceive of God, an omnipotent and loving God who was there before the mountains were even formed. Because we have a beginning on our birthday and an ending on the day we die, we seem to try to put everything into that same box. Long before I recognized that there is a God who created and sustains life, God was there. He didn’t need me to acknowledge Him in order to be. He just was and is.
Today in my devotional, I read about the destruction of Babylon, part of God’s plan. God used Babylon to judge the sins of many nations, including Judah. When His plan was completed, He sent Persia against Babylon and Babylon ceased to exist. I don’t pretend to understand how God raises up and destroys world powers, but I do know that He is in control. In this election season, when the world seems to be rocking and pivoting to hear all of the words of the latest candidates, we need to be mindful of the fact that no one gets into power without God’s allowing it and no one stays in power without God’s blessing. We may not like the current administration (I don’t; I think it is one of the most evil ones we have ever had), but God can use the leadership to speak to a nation that needs to repent. It’s not the words that leaders say that give us insight into what their motivations are. It is their actions, their deeds. If we have a leader who lies and is greedy, then can we not learn that this is the condition of the heart of our nation? Fretting about the election will not put your guy in office; God does. If the last election was fraudulent, God allowed it to happen. I am not saying that God controls every last part of every election, but I am saying that if He wants to, He can. We have to allow God to be God, of our lives (including our health) and of our out-of-control world.
What do we do as Christians when we see what is happening on college campuses? What do we do when we see such anti-Semitic fervor in a nation that has been an ally of Israel for decades? We pray! God is right there watching all of this roll out and He is not caught by surprise or wringing His hands in anguish. He has a plan, a plan to restore people to Him, and He is working out His plan little by little. We may not see it, but it is happening. Like awakening this morning and breathing more freely, the work has been going on but I didn’t see the evidence of it until I could take a breath without gasping. Likewise, one day we will see the evidence of God’s work in our world, in our nation, in our families and in ourselves. We have to hold on and continue to pray. And when we are praying, our prayer should be that God’s will be done, in Israel and in all of the world. What God has said will come to pass. He is the everlasting Father who spoke the world into existence. Nothing is too hard for Him!
Do you know what that word “vital” means? It comes from the root word for life, and prayer is vital for our life with God. How do you have a relationship with someone that you never talk to? If the only time I talked to my husband were to give him a list of things I needed him to buy for me or do for me, that would be a very poor basis for a relationship indeed! Yet we don’t hesitate to wake up in the morning, read the Bible and then give God a “laundry list” of our expectations for Him. What if we took time to “be watchful,” to just observe what is going on in our small part of the world and then extend that watchfulness out to what is happening in your state, your nation the world. Instead of a laundry list of wants, I think watchfulness results in a prayer that speaks back to God from His heart’s desire for us and for others. Yes, the times are troubling, but God isn’t asleep. He is listening for His people to pray according to His will. He is working out His plan for the world and we can be a part of that plan by joining in prayer with God. We need to talk WITH God, not to Him. We need to be willing to listen as we watch and hear the heart of God for the hurting people of the world. We need to take time to be thankful for all God has done and is doing, knowing that somehow He is working things out for the good of all mankind. Prayer changes things, but only if we participate in an active prayer life, communicating with God as though He really cares. Because He does.
A Life of Prayer
Take a moment to think about the habit of prayer in your life. Is prayer a regular part of your life, or is it something you don’t really pay attention to?
As Paul is closing out his letter to the church in Colossae, one of the things he reminds them of is the importance of prayer. For Paul, prayer is more than just asking God for what he needs. Prayer is the way Paul’s energy and ministry is sustained. Prayer is a source of God’s power for Paul.
He asks the Colossians not only to engage in prayer, but to be devoted to it. Paul understood that if the mission of God was to be effective through them, they needed to be devoted to talking to God about every aspect of life.
This means they not only needed to spend time in prayer for a few minutes in the morning, but they needed to make prayer a part of their entire day.
Paul tells the church to be devoted to prayer, being watchful and thankful. These are two aspects of prayer that we can engage in as well.
The first is being watchful or discerning of what’s happening in your life. We can ask the Holy Spirit to help us discern what God is doing in and around us, to make us aware of His work. Second, we can use our time in prayer to worship God through thanksgiving and gratitude.
Prayer is a vital aspect of the Christian life. Spend some time not only praying to God, but thinking through how you can make prayer a central part of your spiritual life.
In the quest for independence and a feeling that we are able to do everything we need to do without the Creator, many have turned away from God. I personally think that it’s hard to turn away if you are consistently acknowledging all that He has done and is still doing in your life. Thankfulness is a way to keep the door open to all of the possibilities that God has for you. I think it definitely changes your perception of God, from one of a destroyer out to hurt us to the One who loves us best. I have seen both within my family and it hurts to see those I love call on God when their need is desperate but the rest of the time treat Him as though He is of no consequence and perhaps even a bother in their lives.
I want to always be mindful of God’s acting on my behalf. For example, I got up this morning for the first time in almost a week and did not immediately start coughing. Am I completely well yet? No, but I am better, and for that I am thankful. I hated the idea of going to the ER today, getting an X-ray and perhaps being admitted to the hospital, but that is what the doctor said I would need to do today if I were not significantly better. I do not remember praying specifically that I wouldn’t have to go to the hospital, but I am sure God knew that was my desire. I will generally follow through with what the doctors advise but I am reluctant to stay overnight in hospitals. Anyway, I am so much better and so thankful that I am. I slept last night for my regular six hours, but I didn’t wake up repeatedly coughing. I am thankful for that, too! I pray that I have finally turned a corner and that I am indeed improving so that I don’t need to consult the ER. We shall see. But whatever happens, I am thankful that right now I am breathing better and I am very aware that God gives me each breath I take.
If thankfulness can affect our perception of God as the devotional states, shouldn’t we spend more time being thankful and less time making demands of our Father, like the spoiled and entitled children that we sometimes are?
www.bible.com/reading-plans/540/day/1
www.bible.com/reading-plans/12309/day/2
www.bible.com/reading-plans/12309/day/1
www.bible.com/reading-plans/23192/day/21
www.bible.com/reading-plans/23192/day/17
Vickie's Book Nook and Meditation Corner 