This amazing book is available TODAY at your local or online bookseller.  

The sub-title of the book really tells you what it is about:  “Believing God’s Truth About You.”.

This book is one that you will want to keep on your shelf in order to refer to it and the truths that it contains repeatedly.  Who hasn’t walked into a room and just had a feeling that everyone was talking about you and you just weren’t “good enough” to be there?  This book tackles the insecurities that all of us feel in different situations.  Written with total respect for each individual’s need to feel that they are accepted by their peer groups and colleagues at work, this book is a must-read for all of us because there is no one who does not have some kind of insecurity.  Based on the premise that Satan is an identity thief, each chapter addresses different ways in which a person may feel insecure, asking questions that make the readers ponder how they can feel more secure in their relationships.  After encouraging you to ponder your life, the author then tells you with Scripture how God sees you.  God created you and wants you to walk with your head high, not with your identity stolen by the thief who wants also to own your soul.  Anyone and everyone should read this book and treasure it for the great truths that it contains, that God loves you just as you are and you can rest in His love.  I really enjoyed the organization and the Biblical references that the author used throughout the book.  It can be read from beginning to end or it can be used as a reference when you are feeling insecure in one or more areas of your life and need to hear God’s Word to you about that feeling.

Disclaimer

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

 

Available TODAY from your local bookseller or online!  

This wonderful little book can be used as a devotional or just read for encouragement.  Each chapter is based on a trait of the character of God and includes a vignette of something that actually happened in the life of the author.  I was drawn into the events of Ms Gerth’ s life and I was also drawn to meditate on how that facet of God’s character related to me and my life.  The book was thought-provoking and made to be mediated on alongside the Bible.  The author makes sure that the reader can understand how totally loving and caring God is, even in the the most dire circumstances.  I was encouraged by this book and the truth of how much God cares for me, every day and in every way.  

Disclaimer 

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

 

This is a clean Christian romantic suspense and is available for purchase TODAY at your local or online bookseller.  

Lisa Harris hits it out of the park with her new romantic suspense book about terrorists who are threatening the United States as well as Grace Callahan and her old college friend Nate Quinn.  Grace has already suffered a tremendous loss in her life and has become a counselor.  Nate is a police officer and is suffering from PTSD,  Although Nate is not ready for a relationship, he is determined to keep Grace safe at all costs.  The interaction between Grace and Nate was realistic and written with empathy.  The reader is quickly captured by the story because there is a murder and threat of terrorism  at the beginning of the book, and you don’t find out what is really going on until almost the last chapter.  Ms. Harris does a fantastic job of weaving a web of deceit so that the reader is drawn into the web and is working hard to figure everything  out.  I was totally delighted to be able to review this book because it is a clean read:  no foul language or steamy sex scenes, and yet the book was absolutely enthralling.  Readers of Christian fiction will thoroughly enjoy this thriller, wanting to know how the characters are able to be victorious.

Disclaimer

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

 

 

What responsibility do you think that you have to God now that He has saved your soul and set you on the right road?  You and I are supposed to praise Him and make sure that the next generation knows about His faithfulness.  I remember attending a church in Virginia shortly after I became a Christian and the pastor there was a true Bible scholar.  He told us that the Jewish priests used to wear something called phylacteries on their foreheads and in it was a scroll of the Law.  Thus, everyone who saw them was reminded of God’s law.  Some of us wear crosses around our necks, or even earrings, to remind us of our special relationship with Jesus Christ, and maybe even to let others know that we identify with Him and call ourselves Christians.  But that isn’t enough!  We need to praise God and tell the next generation, our children and grandchildren and anyone who touches our lives who is younger than we are.  What do we tell them?  We tell them about God’s faithfulness to us; in other words, we tell them our testimony of how God has changed our lives.  The sad fact is that we will not live forever on this earth and the best gift that we can leave behind is the legacy of God’s faith to us.  For me, it means making sure that people know that God saved me from a life of insecurity and selfishness; it means letting others know how many different times He has healed me physically; it means telling the story over and over again of how many times He has touched my life in ways that have changed how I live.  It all seems very simple, right?  God doesn’t really need us.  Hard to conceive us,  But he chose us to partner with Him to tell others of His great love.  His Word says that God’s Word stands forever, so He doesn’t have to use us to spread the Good News.  But the wonderful part about His love and salvation is that He invites us to join Him in telling others so that His Word lives on in the next generation.  I can be sure of one thing.  One day I will no longer walk this earth.  But I also know that even though I am gone physically  from the earth, the legacy about the Lord’s effect on my life will continue to live on, in the next generation of my family.  Praise God for His plan that is perfect and His Word that stands forever!

Now that I am older, I can look back through the years and proclaim that in everything I went through, God has always remained the strength of my life.  When I began a relationship with the Lord in my twenties, I never imagined how hard I would have to lean on Him as the years went by.  He has healed me miraculously many times, the most astounding being when I had a stroke about three and a half years ago.  But there were so many other times that were not so amazing to others, but it certainly was to me.  I had asthma attacks so bad that I was hospitalized numerous times for pneumonia.  But, God who loves me, kept me breathing and has healed me so that I have not had pneumonia since the 1990’s.  I had children seriously ill and injured and God healed them, too.  Our son had a sinus infection that had spread to just outside his brain and he had to have surgery.  Praise God that the doctors discovered how serious the infection was in time to take care of it and Scott is a healthy teacher now!  Our youngest son Steven fell while rock climbing in a gym and the school nurse had me racing to his side, telling me that his neck was in a brace and they needed to check to make sure that it was not broken.  Again, praise God because Steven was okay other that badly bruised and with a healthy respect for rock climbing.  Our daughter Hope, our oldest and the bravest as far as trying new things, was fortunately not injured much as a child.  But as an adult, she lost her baby Tessa when she was almost seven months pregnant.  Her faith held her steady and she made it through this horrible time, only to be blessed with another wonderful baby girl two years later.  God has been my strength through everything.  I have written a lot about being a military wife, but what everyone needs to know is that I could not have made it and would not have stayed in the marriage had it not been for God walking alongside me.  As a new young military wife, I was desperately lonely at first because I was also extremely shy.  God strengthened me to come out of my shell and start making friends with other military wives, realizing that we were all in a new place and most without our spouses for long periods of time.  Yes, God is still my strength and will remain so as long as I live.  

So my response to God’s being my strength for all of these years is to praise Him and to tell others, like you, of His glorious acts.  I was shy and God gave me friends.  I was sick and God healed me.  My children were sick, physically and emotionally, and God has healed them.  This is a daily recognition of my need for God and His strength in my life.  I don’t start my days without acknowldging that the reason I am still here to praise Him is because of His grace, mercy and love for me.  He is my all…the reason for living and my best friend forever.  I hope that you know this strength and hope in your life.  He will meet you exactly where you are and take you where you need to be to survive life’s many hurdles.  God bless you!

 

Prayer: Father God, I thank you for your sovereignty and your love for your people. I thank you that you are concerned with what it going on in our lives.   Lord, I continue to lift up those affected by Hurricane Florence.  I pray especially for the first responders and the electrical linemen.  These heroes are risking their lives to go out and rescue people and to restore the power that people need to start getting their lives back to normal once they can return home again.  Bless and be with them, Lord. Guide their steps and keep them safe.  I also pray for the victims of this raging storm, Lord.  Give them wisdom about when they should return home and encourage them, Lord, as they do, with your provision and your embrace that offers security and love.  Comfort those who have suffered unimaginable loss, Father. Be close to them in their time of need.    Watch over your people, Lord.  Help us to hear your voice and to respond to your Word to us. In Jesus’s Name.  Amen.  

So, what do you keep in your heart?  Do you know what it means to apply your heart to God’s instruction?  I have been trying, and failing more often than not, to do so.  I read the Word, put it in my heart and try to consistently apply it.  But then my husband says or does something that “pushes my buttons” and I react like an angry bear.  Sound familiar?  I am getting better, or at least sometimes, I am.  And each time I react poorly, I am sad because I know that is not the way God wants me to behave.  How many of us have the public face that we put on and the private way we actually act?  My goal is to be genuinely me all the time, but I’m not there yet.  I am working on putting more of God’s Word into my heart, so that is helping.  

This is my goal, and it should be the goal of all Christians everywhere.  I want to be filled with His joy.  I want to mature and live in harmony and peace with everyone.  I am working on that, too.  I don’t want to be that pushy Christian who is “all in the face” of those who don’t believe the way I do.  Paul never got into anyone’s face to convince them to repent.  He just shared the love of the Lord with them and that attracted others to him.  My prayer for myself and others is this verse.  I hope that we are all working on maturing, living in harmony and peace and letting God’s love and peace surround us.  

May the Lord bless and be with the people in North Carolina who are caught in the winds and rains of Hurricane Florence that is flooding there.  Send rescuers to them, Lord, and snatch them out of their desperation.  Thank you, Father, for your love for all of Your people and for Your Word that teaches us how to live and how to bring others to You.  In Jesus’s Name, I pray these things.  Amen.  

Have you ever been in a situation that you were sure you could not handle alone, so you asked someone you trusted for help?  I remember when I was pregnant with our first son and living at a military base in Virginia, alone except for my two year old daughter.  I had lined up someone to coach me in my labor and to take me to the hospital since my husband was deployed and would not return until after the baby’s birth.  My friend was about forty minutes away and promised to answer her phone whenever I called and would come immediately to my aid.  Unfortunately, I went into very fast labor about midnight and although I called Amy, she could not get to me in time.  So I turned to my neighbor for help and Sherri immediately loaded me, her husband, and our two daughters into her car and off we went to the hospital.  When Amy had not arrived at the hospital yet and I was in active labor, Sherri told Terry (her husband) to watch the sleeping girls, and she went into the labor room with me and coached me.  Baby Scott arrived quickly, within half an hour, and I was so thankful for Sherri’s presence.  I had called on her for help and her answer was immediate and just what I needed.  Now, picture your Heavenly Father.  You cry out to Him for help and He immediately answers with the help that you need, although it may not be what you expected.  You will probably be surprised by His answer to your cry!  Over and over again, I have depended on God for help.  When we lived in South Carolina and I was driving home through flood waters (flash flood, or otherwise I would not have been out in it), I called on God to get me and the children safely back to our apartment.  The water was coming into the doors and on the floorboard and I was scared to stop and scared to keep going, but I needed to get my children home. Again, I was a single mom because my husband was stationed in Iceland for a year.  I prayed and God got me home.  He took me to that safe place that I needed to be. After my prayer, I literally felt peace and His presence with me as I drove.  God is not a magical genie in a bottle that you can call on when you get into trouble and expect Him to answer you.  God wants a relationship with His children and when we establish that relationship, we are close to Him and He is close to us.   He hears us when we call out for help and takes us to safety from whatever danger we have gotten ourselves into.  God knows, just as Sherri knew, that we are counting on Him and He springs into action to take care of us.  I believe that He is my God, He is my Savior and He is also my Helper,  I call, “Help, Lord!”  He hears me and comes to my aid, because He is my Father in Heaven and He loves me.  I hope that you have that kind of relationship with God, one in which you can tell Him about your problems and your situation and He supplies the help that you need for that moment.

This Scripture is about physical needs, but it is also about the emotional and spiritual needs that God satisfies for us.  He has provided Jesus to be our Living Water and our Bread of Life. With Him in our hearts, we can be totally satisfied with the good things that God has provided for us.  God loves us, with a love beyond our ability to understand.  But His love is real and He reaches out to us to satisfy our longings.  He is all we need.

Prayer:  Father God, just open the eyes of those who have read this blog.  Let them be blessed by Your presence and by your loving kindness.  Let them know how much You care about each of them.  I pray especially for those who are facing the terror of this Hurricane.  Lord, nothing is impossible with You, so I pray for the lives of Your people who are in the path of this storm.  Be with them and protect them, for they are needy and desperate for your protection.  Help, Lord!  Help your people in North and South Carolina and wherever else this storm will go.  You control the winds and the waves, Lord, so I am depending on You to watch over Your children that are in its path and will be affected by it.  In the Name of Jesus Christ, Our Lord, I pray.  Amen.  

 

I just have to be totally honest and tell you that yesterday was a really hard day for me.  I live in Central Virginia, in a very rural area, and all of the newscasts all day long were all about Hurricane Florence.  I was praying and trying to not get stressed, but the more they talked, the more nervous I got.  Living in a modular is not safe in a big wind storm.  Then, I got a text from our son in Maryland.  He wanted to make sure that we would be leaving our home and going somewhere safer.  So, I texted my other son who lives about an hour south of us in Virginia, and he said that he and his wife were planning on possibly evacuating to Pennsylvania to be with her parents, so we could come stay in his house.  Hard decisions.  At his house, more rain is proomising to come, so that’s an iffy situation, too.  About noon or so, my husband headed out to do errands, one of which was to find food that I can actually eat for an extended period of time without electricity.  He didn’t get back until after five and he was able to find things for me.  Meanwhile, I was left alone all afternoon with my thoughts, i.e. Satan attacking me and telling me all the awful things that were going to happen.  I know the Scriptures…perfect peace, trust and all of those kept coming to my mind throughout the day.  Last night, after a late dinner, I sat down to read my Bible and this is what the Lord spoke to me.

So, the storm is still heading our way, although the winds are not expected to be as high.  I am still nervous but not suffering from a stress headache that can be dangerous for me.  I am seeking God and know that He will give me His strength.  I know that His grace is all that I will need to make it through this storm.  We have done all that we know to do to prepare—we have water, batteries, flashlights, and food.  So, we are as ready as we can be.  Life has storms all the time; a loved one dies, you get very ill; something happens to your home or car; your finances are a mess.  But God is always there, no matter what you are going through.  He wants to strengthen you and to let you know that during the times you are feeling your weakest, His strength will sustain you.  So, yes, Hurricane Florence is coming, and it will pass.  It’s a storm that we can see on the news (ad nauseum), but there are storms that will come unexpectedly, suddenly, and without any notice.  I hope that you are ready for those storms in your life and will turn to the only one who can keep you safe.  He is our Anchor in the storm, a very present help in trouble.  (cf. Isaiah 25:4, Psalm 46:1, Psalm 91:15). God bless all of you and keep you safe!  

The following song is very special to me and I cannot listen to it without crying.  You see, it is the song that the Lord gave me as we traveled nine hours to Pennsylvania to be with her when our beloved daughter lost her baby in the seventh month of pregnancy.  Little Tessa went to be with the Lord and we were left to pick up the pieces of our lives.  I still cry when I hear this song, not because of how sad it makes me, but because of the hope it gives me because God is there no matter what expectations that we had that were dashed.  We may not always understand, but God will be with us no matter what.  I hope that is your takeaway from this post.  

Release day is today, 9-11-2018.  This is the BEST book that I have read this year!  On  sale at all booksellers.  

This book was so good that I would give it ten stars if I could!  The pace is quick and attention-getting with short chapters that draw you into the story right away.  Joe thinks that he is happily married until he comes across Ben Delaney in a parking garage.  Then his whole life changes and his world begins to collapse around him.  Suspected of murder, Joe careens around wildly from place to place and person to person trying to prove his own innocence.  Joe, or course, is the main character around whom the entire novel revolves.  He is a school teacher who also is the main caretaker for William, a precocious four year old.  The entire story is so believable and absorbing that you want to just help Joe out of his predicament, but you don’t know how that is possible either.  The ending is absolutely twisted and breath-taking, and I assure you that you will not see it coming!  This book releases on September 11th and I predict huge sales because it is astoundingly well-written.  It is a spider web of a book that will pull you in and will not let you go!  

Disclaimer

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have 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 Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

 

No words, just prayers for the families of the victims and prayers for our nation on the anniversary of this terrible event.