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.
I have been working on being content in my life, with the things I have, the people who are around me, with life in general. Today’s Scripture in my devotional brought to mind the old fairy tale about “The Three Bears.” I’m sure that you remember it. Goldilocks kept trying out things and finally found what was just right. I think it’s an analogy for my life sometimes. I kept trying one thing after another, seeking happiness in things, and then I found the real secret. What God has already given me is “just right.” I may not have a big home, but it’s big enough. I may not have a fancy car, but it’s good enough. And I certainly don’t have a gorgeous body, but it’s good enough. I want to be pleasing to God, not to man and the constant quest of mankind for more things, more toys, more to show off to the world. I want to be content and know that what I have is enough and it’s just right for me.
May your day be blessed with contentment, knowing that your possessions and everything about you is “just right” because it is your inheritance from the God who loves you!
After witnessing an abduction, FBI agent Luke Harmon vows to return the teenage victim safely to her aunt, his ex, Abby Mitchell. But Abby has a secret—the girl is their daughter. To rescue his child from a human trafficking ring, he’ll partner with the woman who deceived him. But can he forgive the past before Abby becomes the next target…and his family is lost forever?
My Review:
This book has a pace faster than a speeding bullet and it kept me engaged from beginning to end. Beginning with the terrifying kidnapping of a young girl named Kenzie off the streets of a small town in Texas, this book deals with the difficult topic of human trafficking in a realistic and gut-wrenching way. Abby, Kenzie’s guardian and aunt, witnesses the kidnapping but can do nothing to stop it. Enlisting the assistance of FBI Agent Luke Harmon, her former boyfriend, Abby is determined to do whatever it takes to get Kenzie safely home again. The story of Luke and Abby’s former love and how they need to trust each other again is one that touched me deeply. Luke not only lost his love but he also lost his faith in God and needs to find his way back. I enjoyed the realistic portrayal of the characters and all of the feelings that I experienced as I read about them. I especially enjoyed the twists in the story and the way the author kept me guessing about the bad guys until the ultimate revelation at the end. I love a good mystery and this one fit that perfectly! I also liked how the fast pace continued throughout the book, as new details were added about the case and the predicament that Kenzie was in. Abby’s faith was important in the story but it does not overwhelm it; it’s just part of who she is and this makes her more realistic as well as admirable. Luke is a likable character, flawed and vulnerable but strong when the occasion demands it. He is a hero to emulate and a dynamically complex male protagonist. The fact that the book is a clean read in spite of the difficult topic it deals with was a bonus for me. The entire book was an enjoyable, quick read and I highly recommend it to all who enjoy suspense, romance and faith all mixed together to make a remarkably cohesive story. Disclaimer Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guidelines Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”
This is LIS and is a clean read. Rated PG due to content about human trafficking.
Releases tomorrow, 1-24-23! You can order the book by following a link below:
I am and always have been a person who seeks the approval of others. I want people to like me, to appreciate what I have done and to notice that I am helping. I don’t think that I am alone in this desire, but I do know that this need to work towards acceptance isn’t necessary with my relationship with God.
I have read these verses, memorized them, taken notes from numerous sermons about them. But they are now settling into my heart. I spent years trying to please my mother, but there was nothing I could do to make her happy with me. I just was never good enough. I had straight A’s on my report card, but my mom brought up the fact that I had gotten a C on a test recently. I was just not good enough. I knew from a young age that my mother cried when she had me, stated repeatedly that she never wanted me and even refused to name me. (My dad names me, ironically, for my mother.) In spite of a less than welcoming childhood and all kinds of physical problems, I grew and matured and at the age of twenty-one, I became a Christian. I didn’t have to do anything special for God to love me. I just had to be me…a sinner saved by grace. There was and is absolutely nothing I can do to make myself more acceptable to God. He loves me just the way I am. That has been a freeing truth in my life. I still like to please people, but if I don’t, I’m not totally devastated. I just keep trying to please God instead by serving others. Not because He requires it, but because He doesn’t require anything of me except for me to believe and accept Him as my Lord and Savior. I have been changed from the inside out and it’s freeing to know that I can’t earn grace!
May you, too, find the freedom that comes only from accepting God’s free gift of salvation. And may your day be blessed with finding others to tell about His love, mercy and grace!
On the night of December 31, 1989–as the Berlin Wall is coming down, the Soviet Union is inching toward democracy, and anything seems possible–a down-on-his luck musician crashes a party and crosses paths with the accomplished and enigmatic young heir to a fading musical dynasty, forever altering both of their futures.
My Review and Rating:
This book is amazing! The prose is like lyrical poetry and the song lyrics come alive and make the story so touchingly realistic. The entire plot just flowed from the page into my heart. The story of Michael Sullivan, a lyricist who has been kicked out of his band, and Natalie Wheeler, a blind musician who is extraordinarily gifted, is one that should be read and appreciated by all who need a story to make them think and feel good about life. It is the story of daring to reach out for a better future and of forgiving those who have held you back in your past so that you can achieve your dreams. I loved getting to know each of the characters, even the seemingly unredeemable Uncle Mike who drinks and gambles to forget his tragic past. I found myself wanting Michael to forgive his father Steve completely and find a new relationship with him. I was totally invested in the stories of the characters because they became like real people to me. The plot was moderately paced, not too fast which I think would ruin it and not too slow which would make it drag. It was perfectly paced for the story that was being told, the story of young love, exploration into new beginnings and support from those who had forged a path in the past. I think my very favorite character was Deb Wheeler, a talented musician who gave up her promising career for personal reasons. She elicited sympathy from me but also a great deal of respect because of her compassion and wisdom that she showed to all whose lives she touched. This is one of the most beautifully written tales I have ever read and I cannot recommend it highly enough. It’s refreshingly original and totally engaging. Disclaimer Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell Books via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guidelines Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”
Five plus stars for this clean Christian read.
About the Author:
ERIN BARTELS is the award-winning author of We Hope for Better Things, The Words between Us, All That We Carried, The Girl Who Could Breathe Under Water, and Everything Is Just Beginning. She lives in the capital city of a state that is 40% water, nestled somewhere between angry protesters on the Capitol lawn and couch-burning frat boys at Michigan State University. And yet, she claims it is really quite peaceful. Find her on Facebook @ErinBartelsAuthor and on Instagram @erinbartelswrites. Information and photo are from the author’s website at http://erinbartels.com
I don’t know if I am the only one, but I admit that I am having difficulty talking to people about the Lord these days. It’s not because I’m not talking, but it seems to be that they are turning a deaf ear to whatever I am saying. I feel like the problem lies not in my speech or in their hearing but in their hearts. People just want to sin, believing either that there is no such thing as judgment or believing that they still have time to change should they want to or believing that they are just fine as they are. Of course, there is scripture about this condition of the heart.
God knew when He sent Moses and Aaron to talk to Pharaoh that he would not listen. Yet, God offered the truth to him anyway, and a chance to change along with it. But Pharaoh continued to harden his heart even to the end and his ultimate destruction. I am convinced that there are people today who won’t listen to anyone God sends to them because they have hard hearts. They are determined to go to eternity without God and I am afraid that God will allow them to perish in their sins because they refuse to acknowledge Him as Lord and Savior. I cannot change other people’s free choices, but I can and will continue to testify about God’s power, greatness and gift of salvation. It is up to the individuals whether they choose to listen and change or not. I can only do what God has told me to do and then leave the decisions up to the person, praying that God will soften their hearts to really hear and accept the truth.
May you never give up telling the truth and may God bless you with fruitfulness, listening ears and a soft heart in each one you speak with. Have a blessed day!
Many today are concerned about leaving an inheritance for their children and grandchildren. My husband and I have never had a lot, but we have had enough. Unfortunately, our children will not be rich when we die, but we hope to leave them riches that cannot be counted. The inheritance we hope to leave is that we pray that the lives that they continue to lead after we leave this earth will be one that is filled with the Word of God, His Spirit, His truth, His peace and His mercy and grace. We are counting on the promise that when we train children in the way that they should go, as they age, the knowledge of God will come back to them. Of course, they still have a free will, but I am believing that the inheritance that I leave behind will be one of eternal value.
May you wisely spend your time, money and effort where it really counts, on winning the souls of your loved one to the Lord. Earthly wealth soon disappears but the knowledge of God is forever. Have a blessed day!
I have discovered through experience that this world is filled with liars. Many lie to save face. Others lie to make themselves appear better than they are. And some lie deliberately to deceive others for personal gain. So, how are we to discern who is telling the truth? God has the answer to our dilemma.
When Jesus ascended to the Father in Heaven, He left behind the promise of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 2 (I encourage you to read this first encounter of a multitude of people with the Holy Spirit of God), the Holy Spirit is poured out, revealed, if you will, to a great crowd of people. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity and He is the One who leads us into truth. He helps us discern the truth of God’s Word and when others are lying about God and what His Word says, interpreting for their own benefit or gain. He is God, just as the Father is God and the Son is God, and He cannot and will not lie. Thus, He is totally dependable as a truth teller and is available to all who seek the truth. Many want to have their “ears tickled” and don’t want to know the truth, but for those of us who desire to know what God is saying to us today, the Holy Spirit is our conduit of communication that speaks clearly the words from the Father and opens our hearts and minds to understand.
May your hearts and minds be watchful for the truth that the Holy Spirit wants to reveal to you. And may you, in turn, share that truth with others who are ready and waiting to hear it. Have a blessed day, my friends!
I have heard a great deal about a production called “The Chosen.” I haven’t seen it because we just recently got streaming services, but I do plan to do so someday. Supposedly, it is Biblically accurate, but I would like to check that out for myself.
In the meantime, I am one of “the chosen” of God. He chose me and then gave me a job to do for Him.
God chose me not so that I could sit around and bask in His glory or sit idly by while others do not know the truth about His Word and His way to salvation. He chose me and then He sent me to bear fruit. I think that my bearing fruit for the Lord goes hand in hand with my asking God for answers to prayers and He answers them. If my prayers are according to His will, which all has to do with leading others to Christ, then I can expect that God will answer. Maybe not the way I want or when I want, but He always answers. The fruit that we bear for Him remains eternally, just as we have eternal life with Him.
Have a blessed day and may you feel the call of being chosen to serve and lead others to the fruitful life of eternity with God.
In general, I have found that people are discontent with what they have, where they are living and how much they have accomplished. God has been speaking to me lately about being content and not always striving for more. After all, as He has told me repeatedly, “The only things that matter are the legacies of faith that you leave behind you.” I used to really want a nice home where I could make memories with our children. After twenty plus military moves, I felt that I somehow deserved a place to settle that was ours. When we bought our house in Pennsylvania, I was absolutely thrilled to have a home to call our own, one in which I could hang pictures, set the heat to the temperature I chose and even plant flowers if I wanted. Alas! We were only there for four years while I fruitlessly searched for a teaching job in the state that refused to hire me because I was too expensive for them. (I had experience and a master’s degree.) So, we moved to Maryland, spent a year in a rented apartment and then bought a modular home which is all that we could afford in the expensive economy there. In fact, when we chose to move to Virginia, we took that home with us, bought four acres of land and have settled into that as our new dwelling. No memories of children growing up there because they were mostly all grown when we moved there. But God is not calling me to reminisce bitterly about the past and dreams that didn’t unfold the way that I expected. He wants me to be content with what He has provided.
I have always had enough, maybe not all I wanted, but enough and I am delighted to say that I can truly bless the Lord for His provision. Moving to Virginia has been good for us in many ways. Our home isn’t all we want but it is all we need and that’s enough.
It is always a good time to praise the Lord and to let others know about how faithful He is on a daily basis. He has walked with me for over five decades, talked with me, cajoled me into taking steps into the unknown with a little faith and been with me through it all. He is a good God and He has been devoted to me even when I was whining about my circumstances.
May your day be blessed with reminders of His constant love and faithfulness to you.
It’s easy to be kind to people who are kind to us, but it’s a challenge sometimes to be kind to those who don’t treat us so well. But God’s Word tells us to treat all kindly and, more importantly, to forgive each other JUST AS Christ forgave each of us. It’s also easy to hold a grudge and then justify it because the other person’s actions were reprehensible. Fortunately, Jesus does not hold grudges, and we are to follow His example. “Just as” means in the exact same way as Jesus did. He even asked God to forgive His tormentors, even as He was undergoing excruciating torment on the cross. I have never been lead to a cross and nailed there, but Jesus was, for me and for you. If He can forgive in those circumstances, I am certain that I should be able to forgive the petty things that others do to irritate me. Even the things that I give great weight to and decide that I am justified in not forgiving, God tells me that I’m to forgive all because that is what Jesus did.
In another version, the “make every effort” is translated as “pursue.” In my youth, I pursued good grades, making every effort to get straight A’s on every report card. I was single-minded and totally focused on that goal. God exhorts us to make that kind of effort in living in peace with everyone. We are to show that we are holy, that is “set apart”, from what the world is doing and how they behave. Those who are pursuing peace should definitely be seen as different in this world of cultural wars.
Have a blessed day and remember to forgive “just as” Jesus did and to pursue peace with all. Your life will be better for it!
Vickie's Book Nook and Meditation Corner 