Connections

On May 15, 2022 By vickleaIn Scripture1 Comment

During the pandemic, I discovered a new way of communication with my distant family members. I had used FaceTime occasionally but during the pandemic, I found myself craving to see the faces of my loved ones. Just hearing their voices was not satisfactory to me. So, once a week, we scheduled time on FaceTime. I even used Zoom once with my daughter and her family at home and my college-aged grandson on his campus. How delightful it is to see their faces! I still use this miracle of technology these days. Yes, I can go visit them now, but not as often as I would like to, so seeing their faces on the screen is like desert in a dry place for me.

My devotional this morning was about connecting with God. No, I don’t FaceTime with Him, but I do call on Him. I praise His Name, tell Him all about my struggles and what I need help with, and then I listen. I know He listens to me because there is a feeling of peace that goes with me throughout the day after my quiet time with God. And the least I can do is listen to Him. Sometimes, He speaks to my heart and tells me to calm down and just wait. Sometimes, He speaks to me through His Word. Sometimes, He speaks to me through a song I hear as I worship. But, no matter what, He always listens. He knows what I am going through and our relationship is important to both me and to God. How do I know that? Because He loved me enough to send His Son to die for me, so He is not going to leave me now. His Word tells me that He will never leave me and I believe Him. So, I can’t see God, but I can feel the touch of His Holy Spirit all around me. I call and He answers. Sometimes it’s not the answer that I wanted, but He‘s a good Father and He always answers with just what I need for that time. Meeting with God daily is nourishment to my soul, the food I need to get through every hour of every day.

Have a blessed Sunday! I hope that you are planning on going to church and meeting with your brothers and sisters in Christ. May the Lord hold you close and answer when you call on Him today and every day.

Our Testimony

On May 14, 2022 By vickleaIn Scripture2 Comments

Have you ever tried to tell someone about Jesus and the gift of salvation and they just turn away? They act as if they have heard it before and just don’t want to hear it again. I think it’s because our actions (or the actions of those who have gone before us) have spoken so loudly that our words have been muted. The Bible gives sound advice about how we should be acting and speaking.

One of the words that I see online a lot is “karma.” The folks using it seem to think that “karma” is their ability to call on the powers that be and await the results, on the other person, of course. What the Bible teaches is that we are not to wish bad karma on others but instead, we should be blessing them, asking God to bless them because in blessing others, we are blessed. It sounds really strange, doesn’t it? Remember when Jesus reviled the sinners and called the angels down to rain bad karma on them because of their unbelief? No, you don’t remember it because it didn’t happen. Jesus didn’t condone their sin but neither did He condemn them. He had compassion on them and offered His free gift of forgiveness. He blessed them with healing, miracles of provision and wisdom from above. Not once did He rail at them that they were all going to hell unless they straightened up and flew right. Hmm. And yet somehow, we think that our hellfire and damnation speeches will convince people that Jesus is a loving God who died for them. Perhaps the way of Jesus is better…a blessing and not the insult. This is the example of the words we should use.

Next, how do we live? I have lived for over seven decades and I have never had the Lord remove me from a situation that was difficult and away from non-believers who were annoying me. He has been much more likely to place me in the middle of them and then wait for me to act the way He has been teaching me to act. I cannot take advantage of every opportunity to be a witness if I’m so busy thinking I’m so much better than those around me just because I’m a Christian. I’m just a sinner saved by grace. They are sinners who still need to know that grace is available to them. I’m the vessel through which they can hear and see this grace, so I am responsible for my actions in front of them. Our testimony is not just what we say, but it is also how we act.

I still have a lot of work to do in my life on myself. God did not put me here to fix other people but to tell them that He can fix them. He can mend their broken hearts and lives and give them a hope for eternity with Him. I can show them how He has fixed me and tell them how He is still repairing all of my broken parts. I’m not perfect yet, but one day, when I’m with the Father, I will be. That is my testimony that I want others to know. God works with us right where we are to make us what He knows that we can be…our very best selves.

Have a beautiful and blessed day, my friends! May you ever be mindful of your testimony, both in word and in deeds.

Review of WHEN THE MEADOW BLOOMS by Ann H. Gabhart

On May 13, 2022 By vickleaIn Book Review5 Comments

This is such a heartwarming and sweet story of a family in crisis who need to find each other in order to survive. Rose Meadows is a widow with two young daughters, barely surviving in 1925, when she contracts tuberculosis and has to be put into a sanatorium. With no other recourse, Rose has to leave her two daughters, Calla and Sienna, at a local orphanage, supposedly for only a short while. The short time keeps getting extended because of Rose’s health and the girls are having a hard time surviving the dictates of the leadership at the orphanage. Calla and Rose both write a letter to the only person that they think may be willing to help, their reclusive uncle and brother-in-law, Dirk Meadows. The story is so well told that it was like I was seeing a movie in my head of all of the past hurts and all of the healing that had to take place. Dirk was hurt physically, but more than than, he was wounded emotionally and spiritually. In helping Rose and her girls, he opens himself up to more pain but also to a healing beyond his imagination. This book includes some suspense about how to get the girls out of the orphanage as well as a mystery as to what happened to Dirk’s first love who seemingly disappeared after his accident. Calla’s desperation to stay at Uncle Dirk’s farm was evident and gut-wrenching. She was willing to sacrifice everything just to have a place to live that was good for her little sister. Sienna touched my heart with her simple love of nature and acceptance of all things good. Rose’s predicament was realistic and horrifying and then such a sweet turn-around when she is safely ensconced in her new home at The Meadows. The whole story was fast-paced and a joy to read. I raced through the pages to find out what would happen to Rose and the girls, but I also wanted to know what, if anything, would open up Dirk to forgiveness and love again. I cannot recommend this book highly enough to those who enjoy historical fiction, romance and mystery because this book has it all!
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. 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.”

*Rated PG. This is a clean Christian read but has some disturbing content about the treatment of children in the orphanage.*

*Bio and photo from the author’s website at* http://www.annhgabhart.com

This amazing and wonderful book is ready for you to read now. Purchase links:

Trust In God’s Love

On May 12, 2022 By vickleaIn Scripture2 Comments

Notice what comes after the action verbs. Trust in your unfailing love. Rejoice in your salvation. Sing the Lord’s praise. Why do we trust, rejoice and sing? Because the Lord has been good to us. Every day that we live is a gift. Every breath that we take is from Him. Instead of bemoaning circumstances that we cannot change, let’s choose to trust, rejoice and sing!

Have a blessed and awesome day as you look to the Lord for His salvation and His love and as you praise His name throughout the day.

Our Clothing

On May 11, 2022 By vickleaIn Scripture8 Comments

I have read a lot of commentaries and different Biblical versions about putting on the whole armor of God. But what goes under that armor is also important. Did you know that the Bible tells us how we are to clothe ourselves?

I have read the book of Colossians numerous times, meditating on its verses. But this verse somehow escaped my attention until our Bible study group met on Monday night. I pondered it then and today this same verse was in my daily devotional. God does want us to put on the whole armor of God, but underneath that armor, He wants us clothed with mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. If we are clothed in something, that is what people see when they see us, those qualities that make Jesus’s presence evident to others.

The chapter continues with this verse about forgiveness. How can we be clothed with Godly characteristics if we don’t forgive? The answer is that we can’t. It’s like going out in public with a shirt that is ripped down the middle and expecting no one to notice. Lack of forgiveness causes a root of bitterness inside the person who chooses to hold on to it. The person you are not forgiving is either not aware of it or chooses to ignore it. Either way, it doesn’t hurt them as much as the lack of forgiveness hurts you. The very important word in the verse is “as”. A tiny little word that means so much…the same way the Lord forgave you is how you should forgive others. He forgave each of us of everything, so we should do likewise to others. Grudges are not an item of clothing that we should be wearing around our shoulders.

Finally, there is love, the binding agent. I vaguely remember my chemistry class in which we were making a glue-type substance and we were told that one of the elements we were using was the binding agent, so we had to be careful to add it at the proper time. Love has to always be added to all of the other clothing that we are wearing because it is the seam that holds the clothing together on our bodies. Without love, we can’t exhibit the other qualities in any way that creates unity. In this divided world, love is an absolutely necessary quality for Christians to put on daily. You don’t like someone’s politics? Love them anyway. You don’t like someone’s selfish actions? Love them anyway. Someone is rude to you, in traffic or in a store or at work? Love them anyway. Love is the one thing that will draw people to you and to your witness about Christ. Once they see love, they can look at the other “clothing” that you are wearing and examine the gifts of His character that God has put on you. But first they must see love.

Have a beautiful and blessed day in the Lord, making every effort to put on the right clothes before you venture out into His creation.

Hope in the Lord

On May 10, 2022 By vickleaIn Scripture5 Comments

You can count on God in all circumstances. What you are going through does not change who God is. I would appreciate prayers for my granddaughter Teryn. She has an injury to her clavicle that the doctors cannot explain but the specialist is insistent that she give up gymnastics. She qualified for nationals, so this is a really hard thing for her. Please pray that her bone will get the blood supply it needs and that her mom will be able to find a suitable replacement for gymnastics that she has been competing in for about ten years. We are all praying and waiting for God to act. I hope that you will join us.

May God bless you as you wait for your answers to prayer.

Review of MY WIFE IS MISSING by D. J. Palmer

On May 9, 2022 By vickleaIn Book Review3 Comments

This book made my heart race and my pulse pound as I raced through the pages to the satisfying conclusion. The story of Natalie, an insomniac who does not trust her husband and Michael, the husband who has many secrets to hide from her, is mesmerizing. Neither narrator is particularly reliable since Natalie never sleeps more than a couple of hours per night and Michael has a vested interest in hiding his past. I totally enjoyed getting to know the characters and guessing what their next step in the twisted plot would be. The fact that Natalie flees from her husband because of her suspicions and that Michael pursues her and the children had me absorbed and waiting for the next red herring to be thrown into my path. I really liked the character of Kate, a former classmate of Natalie’s who lives on a farm and who agrees to shelter her. She seemed strong and reliable whereas Natalie seemed somewhat weak and undecided about some of her actions. Michael teams up with a police detective from his past, Amos Kennett, to track down Natalie and the twist there was worth reading the whole book. In fact, this is one of the best books that the author has written (and I have read all of his psychological thrillers), with an endangered family and deceptive spouses making me wonder who could be trusted. Excellent book with lots of action, great characterization, plenty of mystery and suspense and thrills!
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.”

Information about the author and his other thrillers can be found at his website at http://www.djpalmerauthor.com

This book releases tomorrow on May 10, 2022. Available for preorder now. Purchase Links:

Thankfulness

On May 9, 2022 By vickleaIn Scripture1 Comment

We give thanks to God because He is good, not because of what He does for us, but just because He is God. Think about that. He is all goodness and we are not.

Have a blessed day!

Happy Mother’s Day

On May 8, 2022 By vickleaIn Scripture3 Comments

Our Part Is To Hold On

On May 7, 2022 By vickleaIn Scripture4 Comments

I know that you have probably been on a roller coaster ride and your companion probably looked at you and said laughingly, “Hold on tight!” Well, that happened to me once and only once because I am not a fan of roller coasters. I hate the feeling of not being in control and hurtling around corners and down hills at a high rate of speed. My children had assured me that this particular coaster was very mild and I could check off my item on my bucket list about riding a roller coaster. (Actually, I don’t remember putting that particular item on there, but I was assured that it was there.) So, with much fanfare and hesitation, I rode the coaster, watched my husband’s eyes twinkle as he told me to hold on. I don’t remember much of the ride, just the terror and the screaming because my children’s idea of a mild ride was not the same as mine.

Sometimes I think that life can be like a roller coaster ride, with unexpected twists and turns, a slow move to the top of the hill and a death-defying plunge to the unknown at the bottom. Throughout life, God has always been there for me and never wavered, always reminding me to just hold on to Him. I may not know what is coming or how the future may affect me, but God does and He is always faithful. I don’t have to be afraid or anxious in any way because God is the one who has told me to hold on and He will do the rest!

Have a blessed and wonderful Saturday, filled with moments in which you hold on and God is faithful!