Winchester Series, Book 3

The third book in Debra Webb’s Winchester series deals with some really heavy issues. Cecelia Winters has just returned home after being in prison for eight years for killing her father Mason. Her brother Marcus has taken over her father’s church, a group of people who act more like a cult than any worshippers that I have ever heard of. Her sister Sierra seems to still love her, but Cece strongly suspects that Sierra is taking drugs. Her brother Levi, who was supposed to pick her up from prison, is a no-show in most of the book but promises to be a central figure in the next Winchester book coming out in August. I really enjoyed the strong characters in this book. Cece combined a winsome desire to trust others as well as a willful desire to be free of the charges against her. Deacon Ross is an FBI agent who wants to find out what happened to his friend Jack and is planning on nailing Cece to the wall if she had anything to do with it. The action is fast-paced and the plot is compelling and thought-provoking. The ending was unexpected and unpredictable. I did seeing the return of some characters from other favorite books, like Sheriff Colt Tanner. There was also a “cameo” appearance by Rowan Dupont from Ms. Webbs’s series about the undertaker’s daughter. This book can, of course, be read as a stand alone since the story is a totally independent one, with some crossover with characters and the same setting. Readers of romantic suspense will not want to miss this phenomenal new book by Debra Webb!

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. 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.”

This book is available as a paperback on July 16, 2019 and as an e-book on August 1st. Caution: language and violence

Have you ever done something that you thought was pretty great and then no one even noticed? You wait for those words of affirmation, of praise from your family or peers and it just doesn’t come. So, what do you do? Sulk? Go on and try to do greater things? Or do you just quit and refuse to act until someone recognizes you? This was me about ten years ago. We had a prize in our county for “Teacher of the Year,” and I really wanted that recognition. So, I did the best job that I could in my classroom, but that was what I normally expected of myself. More than that, I became a sponsor of two large organizations in the school, thinking that would earn me the recognition that I thought I deserved. Honestly, I worked myself to death trying to get affirmation. But one day, I realized that the only teachers really receiving recognition of any kind were the ones teaching the core classes, those that had to give standardized tests and get the students to pass them. Year after year, it was the same people receiving the praise and the awards. My recognition came from my students who told me how much they appreciated my efforts for them. So, as the year approached for me to retire, I gave up sponsorships and became content without the recognition. I realized that I was doing the best job I could and if I never got an award, that would be okay because God was the One whom I wanted to please and I knew that He appreciated and recognized my efforts.

Now, I’m giving this day to praise for God. I know that I don’t do that enough. After all, not only is He the Savior of my soul, He has also rescued me from death multiple times, provided for me financially, spiritually and emotionally, and He has blessed me with a beautiful family. So, today is a day to praise God, to recognize Him. I hope that you will join me in my Praise Day. I am not only praising God for what He has done but also for who He is!

Photo from Pinterest

There are many more Scriptures that tell of praise for the Lord, but these are the ones that I have chosen to focus on today. I pray that you will join me in meditating on these verses and giving God the praise due Him, not just today, but every day. I confess that many times, I get too busy with life, look at all of the prayer requests that I need to bring before His throne and say a quick praise and move on to my list. Today, no lists. No requests. Just praise. Because He is worthy of all praise and honor and glory, I give Him the praise that He deserves. He doesn’t need my praise, but I need to praise Him so that I am reminded of what a great God I serve. If you are a Christian, you serve the same God, and will join me in praising Him today. Instead of Prime Day, it is Praise Day in my house. Blessings to you and your household on this day!

What a powerful book to help everyone in their prayer life! Written in prose that is Scriptural and concise, this book is one that every prayer warrior needs to read over and over again. The instructions in this book are practical and necessary to make our prayer lives an effective part of our daily living. We are encouraged to become intercessors for ourselves and those around us as we enter the throne room of God. This book helps us to declare victory over our spiritual enemies and to get ready for the battles in our lives with strategies that will really work. I loved this book and highly recommend it to anyone who is struggling with their prayer life. I also recommend it for those like me who want to have a prayer life that really touches the people and places that are part of our daily lives, those who want to make a difference and don’t know where to begin to pray for all of the problems. This is the book for you! It touched my life and I am certain that it will touch and change yours, too!

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 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.”

This fantastic book is available now from your local bookseller and online. Get it today and learn how to be a more effective prayer warrior!

This is a romance like no other that I have read and it’s a really good one! It reminded me of the TV series, “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” that comes on the Hallmark Channel. It’s about a dead letter office in D.C. and a girl who works there named Penny. Penny has a routine that is interrupted when she gets multiple letters from someone named Thomas to someone named Clara. Determined to deliver the letters to Thomas’s true love, Penny goes to seek her out. Failing at that mission, she makes up her mind to travel out west to find Thomas and tell him in person what has happened to Clara. The setting is believable and very rustic, with the old west calling and settlements along the way being established. The characters were realistic and humorous, also. I really liked Margaret, the lady with the Bed and Breakfast and Honey, Penny’s dog. Of course, I liked Penny and Thomas as well! Penny was a girl with a purpose and determination seldom seen in young people. Thomas had the same kind of determination, wanting to become a farmer in an unfriendly wilderness. I enjoyed the visual image of Azure Springs and the conflict between some of the characters. Mostly, I enjoyed reading the letters that Penny and Thomas wrote, letters that told us about the events in their lives and how their hearts were involved in those around them. I highly recommend this book to fans of Christian historical fiction!

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 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.”

This Christian clean read is available now at your local bookseller and online!

Anyone who has ever had children or even been around them for any period of time knows that children have a tendency to blame others when something is done wrong. There is a character that lives in all of the houses where children reside; his name is “Not me.” I’m sure you know him. The milk is left on the counter and you ask who left it out. The response is generally, “Not me!” The evidence is there; the milk was left out and spoiled but no one will accept responsibility. I think that accepting responsibility for your actions is a learned behavior. We teach it to our children by becoming amateur detectives and continuing to ask questions until we determine the one who did the wrongdoing. We don’t have to make a big deal about it, but we do have to train our children to take responsibility and tell the truth. As a Christian, I know that God loves me so much that he sent His Son to take my blame for all of my sins.

God’s love is so encompassing that it is hard to conceive of such a love that turns our sin around into forgiveness. But we are not to just continue to sin lest we hurt the heart of the Father who has forgiven us so much. The Holy Spirit speaks to our conscience, just as we act as detectives to our children, and tells us that what we did was wrong. That is, if we don’t already know that, which I think most times we do. Nevertheless, the Holy Spirit pursues us, wanting us to be right before the Father, and so we confess just as we should.

Strive means to try hard. It indicates effort on our part. It is not always easy to confess and accept responsibility for our sins, but it is a necessary part of having a good and open relationship with God. We don’t fear going before His throne because we have a clear conscience before Him, knowing that we are His beloved children and that He wants us to take responsibility for our actions. Like a child, sometimes it is easier to blame others. “But, Lord, you know that my friend tempted me and so I went to the bar and got drunk.” (Note to my readers: I made up this scene. I have never actually committed this sin, but I have indeed committed many others.). The friend may have done the tempting, but you did the action. Just as Adam and Eve were tempted in the Garden of Eden and CHOSE to sin, so do we at times and must accept the responsibility for our sins, confess them before the Lord and ask for His forgiveness. Like a loving parent, God does not stop loving us because we fall short of His expectations for us. He just wants us to confess, stop doing that sin and move on.

Every day is a new day, full of opportunities and choices. Each day, God gives us strength to make the right choices. He wants us to be blameless before Him and that is a real possibility because we can always tell Him what we have done wrong and ask for His forgiveness. But, better than that, we can always count on Him to give us strength to live the way we should, representing Him and His grace and mercy to a lost world.

Photo courtesy of a friend from church named Mike.

God gives us favor and honor. He gives us every good thing that we can conceive of because he helps us to walk in a way that is blameless. God wants us to succeed, just like parents want their children to succeed in all that they do. As a loving Father, He helps us to succeed and rejoices when we do. I hope that you all have a blessed day, remembering how much God loves you and how He strengthens you daily. Choose to do the right thing, and be blessed and blameless!

Have you ever really meditated on what it means to be a child of God? This truth was brought very close to my heart this morning. I just completed a weekend with all of my children and grandchildren together, a very rare occurrence, indeed, since they live in three different states. My heart has been full of the joy that I felt after spending time with all of them! And as I pondered how deeply I love my children and miss them when they are not near me, I realized that is how our Father in Heaven must feel.

Photo from athomewithkids.com

The Father loves us so much and calls us His children. As His children, we have his love and favor and blessings. He shows us mercy continually and always answers when we call. I know that I use my caller ID to determine if I am going to answer my phone or not. Think about it! As a child of God, you know that He is always waiting and ready to answer when we call on Him. He loves us and wants us to draw near to Him and to depend on Him. Most of all, He wants us to trust Him and to believe in our relationship with Him. God is the Creator of the Universe, but He is also our loving Heavenly Father who wants what is best for us. Sometimes, what is best for us is for Him to say “no” when we ask, but there is always a good reason. Do you remember saying “no” to your children because what they were asking was not what was best for them? I know that I did that a lot when my children were growing up. God also wants us to mature. Unlike my children who got older, got married and moved away to establish their own new family, as children of God, we don’t move away from Him as we mature and get older in our relationship with Him. Rather, as we mature in the Lord, we get closer to Him and can hear Him speak to us more, if we just listen. God wants us to move closer to His throne of grace and mercy and to know that we are His children, so we don’t need to fear talking to Him just as we do those around us whom we cherish. That’s what God does. He cherishes us and His relationship with us. Isn’t that an awesome thought? Blessings for a day filled with the love of God!

“Children of God” by Third Day

I have been mostly absent from my blog for about a week because I went to my sister’s home in Richmond and had a mini family reunion. My brother and his wife came from Colorado, my daughter and her family came from Pennsylvania, my youngest son and his family came from Maryland and my eldest son and his family came from another small town in Virginia. We were all together for two very hectic and busy days, after months of waiting and planning. We knew this day was coming, so we made plans for it. We knew the restaurant that we would go to in order to celebrate my sister’s birthday. We knew that we wanted to be together as much as possible and that my sister’ s small condo would not accommodate everyone. We planned and went to places that we could all see and talk to each other. But, my point is, we waited, but we planned while we were waiting.

God’s Word says that we need to wait for God continually. That means on an ongoing basis, we wait for God. But we also plan for Him to act on our behalf and for His glorious return.

Each day is a new day to hold on tightly to God’s mercy and justice. We know that there is little in our world today that we, as Christians, can approve of. There are murders of the unborn or in some states, the newly born; there are stories of an ever-growing drug epidemic; there is homelessness and hopelessness among some; and finally, there is the increasing hostility towards all things “religious.” What are we to do? We are to wait on God, every minute and every hour of every day. We should be waiting with expectation. Just as I knew that my brother’s flight was going to land and I was going to see him after three long years, so should we wait for the actions of God. He will not always be silent; He does act on our behalf if we just have our spiritual eyes open. I had to do a lot of praying while I was gone, sending up silent prayers to my Father in Heaven to work out details of this whole trip and to keep me from speaking my mind when I got frustrated over events that were beyond my control. Holding tightly to God, I made it through six days of staying in a place where God is not honored or worshipped. I got to testify some, but mostly, I prayed for peace and a good visit. God acted and brought peace to a situation that seemed to be out of control. Frequently, God intervenes for us. Many times, His intervention comes after we have waited, expectantly hoping and praying for Him to show Himself strong for us. God is for us…and so we continually, constantly wait for Him to free us from situations or to help us through them. I’m so grateful that I returned to the Lord over four decades ago and that I return to His altar daily, recognizing His mercy, justice and grace and His sovereignty. God is good and He wants good for us. We just have to wait…as long as it takes. His answer will always come just in time! Blessings to all of you who wait and especially to those who wait with expectation! Maranatha!

Knowing that Dani Pettrey was going to write a new series was like a real gift to me since I love all of her books. This one, like the other books in her other series, is a clean read with romance, suspense and not a few thrilling scenes. Finn Walker is a member of CGIS and is busily engaged investigating the death of another member of the Guard. Then he is tasked with keeping investigative reporter Gabby Rowley safe since she is being targeted by a drug kingpin. There is a lot of action in this tale and many new characters for the series are introduced. I enjoyed getting to know Gabby and about her trauma in Sudan and Finn and his feeling of hopelessness since he has not been able to save everyone in danger. The stories of Rissi, Noah, Mason and Emmalynne all promise to keep the series alive and burning in the readers’ hearts for several years to come. As the quintessential hero, Finn will long live in the hearts and dreams of those who read this book and see him for the Godly man that he is. I highly recommend this book to fans of Dani Pettrey and to anyone who loves a good romance without all of the bad language and graphic sexual scenes!

Disclaimer

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author 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.”

This blockbuster book will be available on August 6, 2019. No warnings about reading it because it is Christian fiction and is a totally clean read! If you pre-order before the release date, you will receive several perks. Also, part of your purchase price goes to support the Coast Guard Foundation!

This book was a wild, weird and totally unexpected ride into the world science fiction, suspense and psychological thriller. Combining a warning against Artificial Intelligence and a husband’s determination to have a perfect wife, this book is not at all believable, but it was definitely entertaining and absorbing. Abbie awakens in a hospital without any memory of her life, but her husband informs her that she had a terrible accident and is a great mom to their autistic son, an surfer and a talented artist. Abbie knows that all is not as it seems, and her memory evolves as does the book. This is probably the most original story that I have read in a long time. It reminded me of “The Stepford Wives” but it has so much more depth to it. Abbie actually has a personality and wants to make choices. This is a domestic thriller with so many secrets to be revealed and so much deception to be uncovered. Fans of contemporary psychological thrillers will enjoy this book, especially the twists and the unexpected revelations.

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.”

This book will be available on August 6, 2019.

July 8, 2019

Many thanks to Stu for nominating me for this award! I think that this is my favorite award because of the word “encouragement.” Since that is what I try to do, this award encourages me to “keep on blogging.” Thank you, Stu, for your encouragement that you have given me!

Stu’s blog is amazing, folks, because of all of the topics that he unashamedly tackles. He is a man who loves deeply and you can see his love for God and His children in his posts. Check it out now! Something to Stu Over

You have been chosen for this award because of the encouragement and inspiration you bring to your readers.

How this works:

Thank the person who nominated you, and share their blog.

Think of five bloggers that encourage and inspire you and nominate them.

List five things about yourself.

Finally, ask your nominees five questions. Why five? Because it is the number that signifies grace.

5 things about me:

I am the middle child and seem to still want to prove myself sometimes.

I love my husband, children and grandchildren deeply. They are second only to God in my life.

I continue to try to exercise at least 2-3 times per week in spite of my physical limitations. I to cardio chair boxing and swim aerobics.

Reading is a passion of mine and has been since I was a child. I share book review because I am sharing my love for books.

My favorite thing to do other than read and be with family is to watch birds and butterflies. They are so beautiful and so free.

Here are Stu’s five questions:

1. Who in your life is your biggest encourager?

That would be my daughter, Hope. She drove nine hours alone to come encourage me through the dark days after my stroke, when I first got home and spent most of my days sleeping. I could barely speak and was learning to move around again. I also was discouraged about my new diet. Hope gave me a new outlook on life. Then, when my father died two years ago, she and her family started calling me on Sunday afternoons because they knew that was when I would miss him most because that was when I always talked to him. She encourages me through all of my trials and I am blessed to call her my daughter and my friend!

2. How do you see yourself as being an encouragement to others?

Any encouragement that I give to others is through the leading of God and His Holy Spirit. I am way too shy to encourage others by myself, but with God, I can use His Word to encourage the downtrodden and those who just need to know His love.

3. When was the last time someone gave you words of encouragement?

This last weekend was difficult for me because of some problems with my sister. My brother and my daughter encouraged me to persevere and not let her get to me.

4. When you are down, what encourages you to get back up and keep pressing on?

I listen to Christian music when I am down and God’s Word through the talented musicians like Chris Tomlin and Lauren Daigle encourage me to just keep pressing on.

5. Who was your greatest encourager when you first accepted Christ?

That was my neighbor, Verna Doyle, who gave me a Bible, told me about the Lord, invited me to church and befriended a lonely young woman on her own for the first time.

Here are my nominees:

Sim Chen Xing

Clyde Herrin

Sue Love

Big Sky Buckeye

Brenda

My questions:

1. What is your favorite thing to do in order to encourage others?

2. Where (what physical place) do you go when you are discouraged?

3. What are the best words of encouragement that you have ever been given?

4. Why do you encourage others?

5. What kind of activities do you enjoy that encourages you and others?

To my nominees: Please do not feel obligated to participate. I nominated you because of the encouragement that you have been to me and I wanted to acknowledge that. Blessings!