Available February 19, 2019. Contains violence and some foul language.

Since LIsa Gardner is one of my favorite mystery authors, this was destined to be a favorite book, and it didn’t disappoint. My favorite character was a focus of this book, none other than the elusive and mysteriously quirky Flora Dane. The main character is the victim, Evie, who is also the person charged with the murder of her husband. Flora works with Detective D.D. Warren to solve the case and to find the bad guy. I must say that I was not able to figure it out until the very end, so it was a mystery that kept me interested until the very end. There are a lot of other characters, some not really present because they are already deceased, not the least of which is the man who long ago kidnapped and terrorized Flora. He still lives very much in her mind and influences her actions and choices. The mental stability of Flora could be in question, but she is so canny that she not only helps D.D., but she also initiates bringing other experts into the case. I enjoyed how the plot rolled smoothly, with the narrators being D.D., Flora and Evie. There were several surprises along the way, but I won’t share them because I don’t want to spoil it for others. Readers of procedural police crime thrillers and mysteries will definitely want to add this book to their shelf of books that have to be read and enjoyed this year.

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.”

Did you know that your thoughts determine your attitude? Stop and think for a minute about how you start each day. Do you start the day praising God or saying, “Oh, no! Another day to work!” There is no such thing as an “oh, no, another day” for Christians. Or at least there should not be. Our minds should be fixed on Heaven and serving the Father each day, to the best of our abilities. I was one who used to arise, tired and feeling defeated with a “poor me” attitude. But God showed me that He wants me to have an attitude of gratitude each day. Joyce Meyer has some excellent advice for those of us who tend to have an “Eeyore” kind of spirit. She says that each time we have a negative thought, we should focus on something about which we can be thankful. Praise God! It works! I can’t say that I don’t have negative thoughts at all any longer, but I choose to focus on the positive. And you know what? It shows on my face! I am God’s child and I choose to focus on the good things that are happening in my world!

If all that I think about is what is happening on earth, all of the negative things that I hear daily in the news, then my focus is not where it belongs. So, I still listen to the news, but instead of being dismayed by it, I pray about the situation and move on to thanking God for whatever He brings to my mind. I was not created to be a negative person. I was created to praise my Creator, so changing what I think about has been life-changing. As most of you know, I have surgery coming up in a week and a half. I am choosing to focus on the good things: the surgeon is skilled and has an excellent reputation, the hospital is a Christian one and the staff will pray with you if you ask them to, my husband has been supportive and compassionate throughout this ordeal, my children have been encouraging me, my online friends have offered support and encouragement, and the list goes on and on. I could focus on the scary operation and all that could go wrong. But I am CHOOSING to focus on the good because I have been called as a child of the King of Kings and nothing is going to happen to me that He doesn’t allow.

The people in the world have a tendency to focus on the negative. Have you noticed that there are a lot of complainers and whiners in the world? I recall that when my children were young and would whine, I would tell them that I couldn’t understand them when they whined; they had to speak clearly and tell me just what it was they expected me to do for them. Once they stopped whining, I would talk through the problem with them. I can just feel God saying to His people, “Would you just stop whining and tell me clearly what it is you expect from me?” Our minds and hearts are being changed daily to be more like the Lord so that we can say that we will do whatever the Lord wants us to do, that we will accept the bad with the good and thank Him for the good. Is this easy to do? No, of course not! Nothing that has value is easy. But you can train your mind to be renewed by selecting what you think about. I hope that you choose to think about what is good and perfect and pure. The world won’t change, but you will! Blessings for a good day filled with thankfulness!

Where I Belong by Building 429

I listened to this song this morning during my Bible reading and it spoke to my heart. I hope that it will speak to yours.

Someone Worth Dying For by MikesChair

You need to see the lyrics of this one as you listen, so here they are:

“Someone Worth Dying For”

This song was a reminder to me about how special we are to God. He sent His Son to die for us. So, don’t be discouraged about things going on in your life. God is in control!

Have a blessed and wonderful day!

I seem to be stuck on this abortion issue these days. The news this morning keeps reporting that the state of Virginia considered the same kind of abortion bill that was passed in New York State. What an abomination! Thank goodness our legislators in Virginia were able to defeat it! But my heart is aching because I cannot stand the amount of darkness that there is in the world today. If my heart is breaking, how much more must the Father’s heart hurt?

I am praying in faith and believing that God will bring some good out of this darkness, somehow. He is sovereign; He creates and He can change things in the blink of an eye. Unfortunately, I have two sons who are extremely liberal and who constantly argue with me to defend the right of a woman to choose. I continue to be unapologetically pro-life, with the belief that the woman’s choice was when she had unprotected sex. I am even pro-life in the case of rape, incest or other atrocities. I still believe that the life inside the womb is a baby, in spite of the fact that others call the baby a fetus or a bunch of cells. There is too much injustice in today’s world and I can only cry out the name of the Lord and ask Him to be the final judge, to show mercy to those committing these murders and to show them the right way. That is where my faith wavers because I’m not seeing a lot of change these days. Having seen and listened to my sons for years, I know that changing them and anyone else who believes likewise would take a miracle. But since God is a miracle worker, I am standing on my faith in Him and believing that one day, my heart will be able to rejoice in the changes in them and in the world. I’m sure some are asking, “How is it possible for someone with such faith to have two sons who do not believe in the tenets of the Bible?” That isn’t an easy question to answer. After all, they were raised in the same household and in the same way as their sister who believes in all the truths of the Bible. However, the difference is that the boys wanted to go to a Christian college. So my husband and I went into a huge amount of debt to make that possible for both of them. Be wary! All schools that call themselves Christian are not so! The college we sent our sons to taught them to question the Word of God. So, they graduated as liberals with half-beliefs and continue that to this day, to my great dismay and sadness.

My belief is that God will be the final victor, over every belief that is a half-truth, over everyone who believes the lies of Satan, that murdering an unborn child is okay. God wins in the end! So, I can only pray and wait in faith and expectant hope. God is able and He makes me an overcomer. Are you at that place in your life where you need to know God as victor? Believe and accept His sovereign love for you and become all that He meant for you to be. Blessings!

Have you ever felt isolated? Perhaps like you aren’t doing enough for God? I have been so wrapped up in my medical melodrama that I haven’t felt like I am reaching out to people as I should. My prayer today was to be a blessing to others. Isn’t that what we should all pray each day? But prayer is asking God to bless our actions, so that means we have to step out and do something. What we do and say daily makes a difference to others. The world is watching us no matter where we are and what we are doing or saying. That can be a scary thought sometimes, but it is so true. God wants us to be that light that shines in the darkness so that others will be directed to Him.

This verse says that whenever we have the chance, we should DO good to everyone. What does that mean? Maybe we can watch a child for a neighbor to be able to have a break. Perhaps it means paying for coffee for someone at the local diner. Or it may mean stepping out of our comfort zone and actually speaking to strangers, to ask if they have any needs that we can pray for. Whatever God asks us to do and wherever He sends us, we should always be ready to give an answer for the hope that we have. If we look around the world today, it is obvious that there are a lot of lost people in it. The state of New York just legalized abortion up to birth. The state of California is making it illegal to use the pronouns he or she. So, our world is confused, lost in its sin. What can I do? I’m only one person. Well, online, I am stating daily how precious life is and how wrong abortion is. I’m posting the Scriptures that God created male and female. The need is great, and we can’t meet the needs and the challenges of a lost world alone.

God will give us peace as we go out into the world to serve Him. In our daily lives, we always meet up with people and we can influence them for good. God will give us the strength not to get tired of doing His work. We are His hands and feet that He left behind to complete His mission on earth. Jesus paid the price for us to be able to live eternally with Him. As hard as it may be to believe, there are some who have not heard about Jesus’s sacrifice for them. We live in a world of screens: TV, computer, phone, tablets, etc. How many people open their screen daily and use it for good? We can do that! Spread the message of God’s great love on whatever social platform you are on! Tell others how He has changed your life. For me, this medical dilemma has been a way to show others the peace that God has given me, in the face of great obstacles called health issues. Bless others and don’t curse them, just because things are difficult for you. You may be the only representation of Jesus that they are going to see today. As I was waiting for six hours for my cardiac test to be over, I surprisingly did not get impatient or rude. That’s surprising if you know me, because normally I would be at the receptionist’s desk asking why there was such a long delay and demanding to be seen, sooner rather than later. Instead, God had me sitting quietly, reading and praying and waiting and then smiling and blessing the technicians who finally called me back. During my torturous manometry, the person inside me wanted to scream out that the nurse needed more training before she started threading that tube down people’s throats. But, again, God gave me grace and all I did is sit and pray, crying out for the help of God. He answered my prayer because the nurse called in her supervisor who was able to place the tube correctly and the test was completed. Again, I blessed the little nurse who tended me and who didn’t really seem too competent. God saw her as precious and needing encouragement, so that is what I gave her. As you go through the day today, look for ways to bless others. If your spiritual eyes and ears are open, you will go out and be the light in a dark world!

Glow in the Dark by Jason Gray

I am not seeing much of God’s goodness today in the world we live in. But we have to look with our spiritual eyes to see God’s actions in today’s world. We can see the children that God is drawing to Him, if we only look. Is there evil in the world? Yes, of course there is! But, we are called to look at things differently than those in the world do. I’m sure that you remember the story of Elijah and Elisha. Elijah reminded Elisha to look with spiritual eyes and only then could he see the army of God ready to take on the enemy. That is what I see as I pray for God to force back the evil in today’s world. The news of the “abortions” being performed on live babies in New York has my heart crying out to God for justice for these innocent babes. God’s reply to me has been to wait for Him to take action.

In the meantime, as I wait, I continue to speak out about this outrageous legislation and the deceived hearts of the men and women who would make it sound acceptable to kill babies. In fact, an online friend said that the babies would be better off dead than raised by someone who doesn’t want them. Really? Where does this behavior end? Are the elderly next? After all, we have outlived our usefulness. I stand by my belief that God creates life and only He should be able to decide when it ends. A baby is a life, not a choice! So I wait as patiently as my anxious heart can allow, wanting the governor and legislators to be censored, to be vilified in the press so that they see their wrongdoing clearly. I have been disappointed because the liberal media is not saying anything about the new law at all, except a brief mention that it passed. I cannot help but think of the civilizations in the past who sacrificed their children. These people groups died out; God is in control and will only allow people to go so far for so long. I fear for our nation if this is the direction in which we are going. But I know that there are others like me who are praying for a revival, for a stirring in the hearts of the people of the Lord, those who will not stand for such travesty, such a violation of the sacredness of life. I don’t know what God’s actions will be, but I do trust Him to act.

This is my prayer for the remnant in the United States who still believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and the Bible. He is saving us daily, He is blessing us daily, and He is being our Shepherd daily. We only have to open our eyes and ears to hear His word to us and to see His actions all around us. He is carrying us in His arms. And the little babies that are being murdered? They are in the arms of our Heavenly Father, being loved and comforted for all eternity. Was that God’s plan for them? I don’t think so, but then evil men with hearts of stone purposed to violate God’s laws and He has allowed this. But he comforts me with the word that He is saving, blessing, shepherding and carrying the believers…forever.

We are to continue to work out our salvation. What does that mean? To me, it means praying daily and asking God what He wants me to do and say for Him that day. I was saved on February 28, 1973. I am being saved daily. And one day, I will go to be with Him for all eternity…I will be saved. Meanwhile, like part of the army of God that I am supposed to be, I am occupying. Right now, I feel like I am part of an occupying force in a hostile land. Indeed, the world is hostile to the Word of God, as evidenced by the evil all around us. But God has assured me that His army is greater and will one day be totally victorious over all of the evil. Yet, a little while, we wait, with expectation, knowing that He will not always be absent. He is coming back as the Victorious King over all the earth, and even the most base and defiant enemies of the Lord will bow to Him. Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!

Have you every wondered why you are here on earth? What is your purpose? Why do things happen the way that they do? I am certain that not one of us can be left out of these questions. They are not questions about how strong or how weak our faith is. Instead, they are questions of genuine puzzlement that I believe God has placed deep into our hearts and souls. Unlike Jesus, we don’t know our purpose unless we explore what and where and why God has placed us in certain situations and places.

The Scripture verse above is what Jesus told the Father. You see, Jesus knew the work that God had given Him to do and knew when He would be all done with it. He said on the cross, “It is finished.” He had once and for all completed the work that God sent Him to earth to do. How many of us can say that? I venture to guess that the answer to my rhetorical question is not many, perhaps none. Nevertheless, that should be the goal of each of us. We need to find the purpose that God has for us and then work our whole lives to fulfill it. Do you remember when you were a small child and your mom gave you a task to do? My reply after I had finished was always, “All done!” I knew that my mother would inspect the job and she would declare whether I was truly done or not. That is what I want to be able to tell the Father, knowing that He has performed inspections all along the way and will welcome me with a “Well done!”

This photo is from another blogger on Word Press at The Blue Tree House.

I admire Corrie Ten Boom and all she endured on earth, especially since I have not had to endure anything like what she went through and yet she continued to serve and praise God. She was tortured at the hands of the Nazis and watched her beloved sister be tortured and ultimately die just before the arrival of the Americans and release from their prison. Yet she forgave her captors and preached forgiveness and love around the world. Her bestselling book The Hiding Place is her testimony of her sacrifices and love for a Savior; her devotion and faith never wavered. I cannot be Corrie Ten Boom, but I can be Vickie. I can be the one that God created me to be, with all of my failures and shortcomings. God loves me! Yes, he does and whatever I am going through now, He can use to prepare me for a future that only He can see. God is perfecting me, one day at a time, one trial at a time, one test at a time. I know that my recents medical tests have not been something that I want to endure, and neither is the testing that you are going through. But don’t you want to bring the Father glory when at last you can say that you have completed what He gave you to do, to the best of your ability, and always with the help of His Holy Spirit and the other saints who encourage you along the way? That is my goal. I want to finish this race and be able to say that I was victorious, that I truly completed all that God gave me to do. What is your purpose in life? I hope that it is to fulfill God’s purpose in your life. For that is all each of us is called to do. God isn’t finished with me yet, and He isn’t finished with you either. Blessings as you go out and complete your mission on earth for the Lord!

Oh, yes, it has seemed lately like I have faced one trial after another, and just when I think that the sun is breaking through, another obstacle has been placed in my path. I thought my surgery would be February 6th and I would be able to visit our grandchildren for little Penny’s fourth birthday on February 22nd. But, alas! It was not to be because my surgery was postponed until February 18th and I can’t travel until at least after March 7th, the date of my post-op appointment. So, I have been looking to God for guidance and for His comfort. He led me to the 23rd Psalm, specifically a couple of verses that really stood out.

In green pastures represents plenty of all we need, including rest. All is good because God is in control and He is taking care of keeping everything green and growing while I just rest. The waters are quiet because if they were rushing or roiling, I would not be able to rest because I would be listening for a flood or some other disaster. So, God has allowed me the last two months to count my blessings and to let me know that He has me in the palm of His hand. He hasn’t taken His eyes off of me, although I confess that there were many times when I was tempted to turn from Him. He has let me know how precious I am to Him, even in the middle of this wild and crazily restrictive diet that I have had to follow.

I must admit that one of the things that has been most concerning to me, of course, has been the idea of not making it through the surgery. After all, my friend had the same surgery in December and died a week later. Nevertheless, through much prayer and encouragement from friends and family, I am pushing onward, knowing that I cannot possibly live such a limited life wherein fish is my main staple and I am not allowed to travel. So, surgery it is! But God, in His infinite love and wisdom has constantly told me that He is with me, even through this. After all, He did not leave me when I was all alone on one strange military base after another. He did not leave me when my mom died when I was only in my thirties. And He was right there with me when my father died in July, 2017. Somehow, this seemed different though, so I have been seeking Him to make sure that all my “ducks are in a row.” I updated my will and the addendum to it. I have made sure to contact siblings with whom I have not been in contact for a while, just to say that I love them. Now, do I expect to die? Honestly, I don’t know. Nevertheless, I want to be ready. Just as I have spent most of my life organizing and planning, this, too, seems to be something that I should prepare for. But the greatest preparation took place almost forty-six years ago when I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior.

God has let me know that He is and has always been with me, right beside me or walking in front of me, preparing the way. The promise is that, regardless of the outcome, I will dwell in God’s house forever. I will always be with the Lord. If I live, then I live to serve the Lord. If I die, then He has called me home to be with Him. There is an assurance in that, a calmness that the world cannot give. The surgeon tried to alleviate my natural fears, telling me that I will “only” have five or six small incisions. Hmm. Well, that didn’t help my mindset! On the other hand, knowing that God will be with me when they put me to sleep and with me when I awaken is the way I keep myself calm. My prayer for all of my readers is to have the assurance of God’s love that is your insurance for your future. Only God can give the peace to know that it’s all going to turn out okay, no matter what happens. He has been there for me, and He will be there for you! Blessings!