theblogera.com/the-kids-who-sold-ice-pops-so-everyone-could-ride/
Please go to the original post and like and follow Ritish. It’s nice to start the weekend with a positive story of children helping other children, isn’t it?
First-Line Friday
“My grandmother once told me that love is kept in the attic.”
Releases on September 8, 2026. Here’s a link to find out more and purchase if you are interested:
Be Strong
When you think of being strong, you probably think of going to the gym, jogging, or some kind of exercise. But God calls us to be strong in Him.
When we exercise, we strengthen our physical bodies. So what do we do to strengthen our spiritual bodies?
~We pray. We talk to God daily, not just to tell him our needs and to express our outrage at current circumstances. Is that how you converse with a friend? God is the best friend we will ever have, so prayer time with Him is a conversation. Tell Him what is going on (He already knows, of course, but wants to commune with you) and then listen for Him to speak to you. It could be through His word, a song, or a still, small voice speaking to your heart.
~We read the Holy Bible and we study it. Let verses speak to you personally. I enjoy reading the psalms as a prayer for my life, for example. When I study the kings of Israel and Judah, I like to watch for their turning point toward God or away from God and compare it to where I am in my life right now.
~We worship. I enjoy playing old hymns and worship songs that I have heard on the radio that touched me. Yesterday, I listened to an album of hymns by Dolly Parton. I don’t listen for the music, which is generally upbeat and encouraging by itself. I listen to the words, the message there. Then, I turn off the music and spend some personal time worshipping God. If I sing, I am singing to the Lord and he doesn’t mind my scratchy voice that has gotten worse as I have aged and don’t have much breath to get the words out. I just want to praise Him!
~We fellowship with others. Spending time with other believers is very important for our growth and our mental well-being. We were blessed in Pennsylvania by being able to attend church with our daughter. It was a small, old-fashioned church with short wooden pews and a small band with two guitars and a drum set along with the worship leader. That is the first time in over a year that I got to sit in a real service and participate in worship since I watch a screen at our church due to the overly loud music. Anyway, it did my heart good to be with other believers and to talk to them afterwards. I met my daughter’s good friend Joanie who is a nurse who volunteers with Samaritan’s Purse. It was so good to put a face to the name that I have been praying for these last few years. In fellowship with others, we get fed and we feed others, too, with our encouraging words and our positivity that God is still in control.
~We represent Jesus to the world and in so doing we add to God’s family and make it stronger. Our speaking out for the Lord also builds our own faith as we get to remember our testimony and all that God has done for us. I prayed for God to open a door for me to share about Jesus to our non-believing grandchildren. He provided just what I asked for when the younger children were playing in the yard and the oldest joined me on the porch. She said she didn’t know what a Christian was or how to become one, so I planted a few seeds in her young heart that I know God will send someone else (or even me again) to water, nurture and help grow.
So, how do you get strong in the Lord? I have offered some suggestions and I would enjoy hearing your advice on other ways to get stronger. My physical body is wearing out, as evidenced by four medical appointments this week in just three days. But my spiritual body is getting stronger. How about yours?
Earth Is Our Temporary Home
Look Up (Daily Refresh 8-27)
It’s normal, as well as understandable, to spend our time, energy, and attention focusing on the here and now. We’re busy, after all. Sometimes we’re preoccupied. And when we stop to really think about it, it’s difficult to perceive something beyond our five senses.
But in his letter to the Colossians, Paul encourages his fellow believers to look up:
“Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand.”
Colossians 3:1 NLTAs you think about Paul’s words and the realities of heaven, here are four things to consider:
– First, heaven isn’t some vague, dream-like state. It’s a real place, with real people, where God is the true King.
– Second, there will come a day when we will all meet God face to face. We will no longer need faith or hope, because that which we’ve hoped for will finally be revealed.
– Third, our troubles and our heartbreaks (and even death itself) are temporary! Scripture tells us that, eventually, God will do away with pain and death and sickness and suffering—forever.
– Lastly (and most importantly), God is still on His throne, with Jesus beside Him in the place of honor. No matter how crazy, senseless, or heartbreaking the world can seem, we can have confidence knowing that nothing is outside of God’s sovereign plan.
So when you’re tempted to look around at others or look inward at yourself, look up instead. Heaven is wherever God is, and that’s the truest reality of all.
My Thoughts
I needed this devotional today as this week has been one of medical appointments daily. Today I finish this week’s appointments with two of them and both involve needles. Ugh! But I know that the pain, no matter how severe it seems at the time, will be temporary. God will be with me there and in all I face in the future. I have lived with asthma all of my life. I have known about and lived with a failing kidney for the last almost twenty years. I just found out about the congestive heart failure last month, so I am still getting used to having a physical body that is breaking down. Tests, specialists, warnings, cautions, have all become part of my life. I am looking forward to Heaven when all of this pain and uncertainty cease. One of my grandchildren asked me once how they will know me in Heaven if we are all changed. I told them with laughter in my voice and a smile in my eyes that I would be the one running everywhere since I have never been able to run here on earth. Heaven is God’s plan for us and earth is His temporary holding place. That thought gives me hope and it should give you hope too!
Being an Influencer
There is a lot of talk online about who the best influencers are to follow and why. A devotional I read this morning made me think. Am I an influencer? And if I am, then how am I doing?
Let me begin by saying that we all touch someone’s life in some way…family, friends, co-workers, even strangers we meet briefly when we shop or eat in a restaurant. We have the opportunity to be an influencer every day. But what does our life show others?
God gives us the abilities and talents we have to shine for Him, not for ourselves. It’s not in the numbers. We were created to be HIS influencers. I try to persuade people to purchase and read Christian books. I try to tell others about my testimony of healing and God’s grace in my life. I often fall short because I just get tired of doing it. That is brutal honesty there. But God doesn’t ever get tired and sit down and say, “Okay. That’s enough for today. I am so done with all of this!” He just keeps loving and is devoted to wooing people to choose life in Him. To Him belongs all of the glory for what I accomplish, if anything. I will accept my failures as my own, but my success belongs only to God.
So, if I am an influencer, in a very small way, I want to be an influencer for God. I want my words, my attitude, my clothing and my face especially to show people that God is my portion and any abilities I have are because of Him. Anything I can do is because He opens doors for me and then gently whispers to me what my next steps should be.
Are you an influencer? The answer is always YES! What kind of influencer for God are you? We may not have a million followers, but more importantly, we have God watching us and a whole cheering section in Heaven rooting for us. That, my dear friends, is what real influence should look like.
Cultivating Gratitude
Creating a Heart of Gratitude (Daily Refresh, 8-25-26)
One of the most powerful emotions is gratitude. If we can find ways to be thankful and grateful throughout our life, we will find the power and emotional strength to walk through some of life’s hardest seasons.
It’s not always easy to find ways to be thankful and grateful. But, one of the things Scripture teaches us throughout the Psalms is that there is always something to be grateful for.
The Psalms teach us various songs and poems for every season of our life. But more than that, they also teach us how to cultivate a heart of gratitude and worship towards God.
We belong to a God who loves us and cares deeply for us. God’s love and goodness will never end. Psalm 100:5 praises God for these things:
“For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”
Through Psalms like this, we can begin to build a habit of gratitude towards God and all that He has done. We can thank God for what He has done in our lives, what He is currently doing, and what He will do in the future as we follow after Him.
Because God is always good, loving, and faithful, there is always something we can be grateful for—even in the midst of difficult seasons of life.
Take a few moments today to strengthen the habit of gratitude in your life.
– First, begin by thanking God for who He is: that He is good, faithful, and loving towards you.
– Next, thank God for all that He has done. Thank Him for the good things in your life, and that He has walked with you through the hard times.
– Lastly, thank God for all He will continue to do in the days and years to come. He is trustworthy!
My Thoughts
To be honest, when I first got my diagnosis of CHF, it was hard to be grateful. I was discouraged and grumpy with God. I couldn’t fathom how He could love me and allow me to have a lung problem with asthma, a single kidney that is failing and now a heart issue too. But, God’s Spirit got hold of me one day when I was spending time praying and reading my Bible and reminded me that God isn’t a God of sunshine and happiness all the time. Sometimes, we face a wilderness like Jesus and sometimes we have to face a powerful river with the enemy quickly approaching like Moses. But we don’t quit on God because He never quits on us.
I prayed to be able to travel to our granddaughter’s wedding. When I asked my doctor about it, I expected a firm “no” but instead he understood my deep desire to go, gave me a list of cautions and precautions and warnings about when to head to a hospital and told me to go ahead and travel. We had a wonderful trip! The wedding was memorably beautiful, with an invitation to salvation included in the ceremony. The dancing at the reception was great fun to watch even though I couldn’t participate. Our youngest grandson at one time was surrounded by a circle of bridesmaids and other young ladies as he did a break dance, gleefully entertaining an entire crowd and totally unaware of how everyone was watching him. (He is five.) Getting to know the groom’s family was a bonus since they are Christians too. So many delightful and memorable moments!
We stayed about five days with our daughter afterwards, enjoyed church service with them on Sunday after the Saturday wedding and just generally enjoyed family times. I played games with the granddaughters and relaxed with family. Then we traveled to Maryland and had five days with our son and his family there. We went out for a delicious lunch at a favorite restaurant for my birthday (number 75!) and then our daughter came down the following day to stay with us one night and celebrate my birthday again. God is good. I asked to be able to travel and God gave me answers to prayers that I didn’t even pray.
So in this season of learning to live with more restrictions, I am cultivating an attitude of gratitude. I like to start each day thanking God for His faithfulness in allowing me another day to praise Him and then I thank Him for all He has done and is doing. Life is hard; the weeds are attacking all the time. So cultivate gratitude with me. Together we can have a big supply to share with others. I think that gratitude is contagious, don’t you?
Expect the Wind
narrowpathministries.wordpress.com/2026/08/23/expect-the-wind/
Since I am preparing to travel home today, I thought this message would bless and remind you that God is always with you, just as it did me.
Please go to the original post, like, follow and comment. Thank you.
Review of Fatal Finale by Nancy Mehl
About the Book
ISBN-139780764243387
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Publication Date: 08/18/2026
Series: The Erin Delaney Mysteries
Pages: 320
Synopsis
When bestselling author Erin Delaney’s novel gets picked up for a movie deal, she eagerly awaits her friend Kaely Quinn-Hunter’s arrival in Tennessee before they head to California to observe the film’s production. However, when Kaely does not arrive at the scheduled time and Erin can’t reach her by phone, her concern grows.
A cryptic phone call from Kaely’s kidnapper confirms her worst fears–Erin has exactly six days to save her friend’s life by solving his twisted clues. The man’s message comes with a warning: Contact the police or FBI and Kaely dies. But Erin works for the Sanctuary Police Department and Kaely’s husband is with the FBI, putting her in an impossible situation. As Erin races against time, she’s forced to crack the kidnapper’s chilling puzzle before it’s too late.
My Thoughts
This novel is a great conclusion to the Erin Delaney series, with lots of action, chills, thrills and red herrings along the way. Erin has been offered a movie deal and is delighted that her best friend Kaely Quinn is going with her to California to be her emotional support and adviser. But Kaely never shows up as planned and Erin finds herself embroiled in a revenge plot by a mastermind determined to kill Kaely. Erin is a member of the police department and Kaely is married to an FBI agent, but all of their help isn’t enough for find Kaely by the established deadline unless Erin can truly figure out the clues. This book races to the finish with a fast pace and some chilling scenes of Kaely in captivity. The two young women together are a formidable force against evil, but now that they are separated by those same forces, the question is can they still prevail. I enjoyed the intriguing and complex plot and the compelling characters. I especially enjoyed Erin’s talents to solve a life-or-death puzzle emerging as she desperately tries to find and save her friend. This is a cleverly written novel with unexpected twists and believable drama. The propulsive pace of the novel kept me reading long into the night and the relentless tension in this edgy page turner kept me engaged from beginning to end. This was the prefect conclusion to a dynamic series, but it can be read and enjoyed as a standalone.
I voluntarily received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions expressed are my own.
About the Author
Nancy Mehl is the bestselling author of 50 books. She’s won the Daphne Du Maurier Award, as well as an ACFW Mystery Book of the Year Award and a Carol award. She was also a finalist for the prestigious Christy award. Her short story, Chasing Shadows, was in the USA Today bestselling Summer of Suspense anthology. Learn more about her on her blog, the Suspense Sisters: www.suspensesisters.blogspot.com.
All of Nancy’s novels have an added touch – something for your spirit as well as your soul. “I welcome the opportunity to share my faith through my writing,” Nancy says. “God is number one in my life. I wouldn’t be writing at all if I didn’t believe that this is what He’s called me to do. I hope everyone who reads my books will walk away with the most important message I can give them: God is good, and He loves you more than you can imagine. He has a good plan for your life, and there is nothing you can’t overcome with His help.”
Purchase Links for Fatal Finale
Review of Things We Cannot Keep by Amanda Cox
About the Book
ISBN-139780800746629
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Publication Date: 08/18/2026
Pages: 336 pages
Synopsis (from the author’s website)
Tess has built a new life in Alabama, repairing timepieces and avoiding her troubled past as she restores her customers’ family heirlooms–treasures she never had herself. When a mysterious package arrives addressed to Teresa Baker, the name she abandoned, Tess finds herself drawn into a puzzle that threatens her delicate peace.
Then Elliot Sullivan appears at her door after eighteen years, and Tess knows he’s after more than just forgiveness. She doesn’t trust his motives, but it becomes apparent that he could be the key to uncovering the origin of the mystery package and its cryptic contents.
Tess has found safety in her simple life, but reuniting this lost heirloom to its rightful recipient requires her to come out of hiding. Each clue leads to a different place around the world, and each story reveals hidden truths. The question is whether she’s brave enough to face what she might find–and whether the man beside her can be trusted with what matters most.
My Thoughts
This beautifully written novel touched me in all of the right places. It made me think about what is important in my life, it made me ponder what I am leaving behind and it made me thankful for all I have in my life. This is a poignant story of Tess Holcomb who has secrets from her past that she prefers not to confront, so she stays in a small town in Alabama with new and supportive friends. She has a business established there in which she restores old treasures. It is her business that brings her past to the forefront when a pocket watch with a mysterious message attached is sent to her to repair. The watch brings her former childhood friend and first love Elliot back into her life, and together the two of them explore the mystery behind the watch. This book is a saga of the history of the watch and the people who owned it and passed it on to others. This story is so well-crafted with numerous characters who have their own connection to the timepiece, each one with a story to tell that Elliot and Tess discover together. The story is complex but woven together so masterfully that all of the pieces fit perfectly together to make one wonderful and thought-provoking tale. The characters are realistic and the plot is compelling with a quick pace and a story that engaged me from beginning to end. This is one of the best Christian fiction that I have ever read, combining history, mystery, and contemporary romance into one lovely story of life choices and what we truly need to leave behind. With lessons of second chances, redemption and a hopeful future, I enjoyed my time with Tess and Elliot and highly recommend this book for individuals but most especially for book groups as the entire book lends itself to discussion and self-reflection.
I voluntarily received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and I purchased my own copy to add to my collection of Amanda’s books. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions expressed are my own.
About the Author
Amanda Cox is an award-winning author of inspirational women’s fiction who loves telling stories about belonging, forgiveness, and the quiet courage it takes to love well—usually through flawed characters trying to make sense of life’s messy, beautiful moments.
She is a three-time Christy Award–winning author whose novels include ECPA bestsellers Between the Sound and Sea, The Bitter End Birding Society, and He Should Have Told the Bees. The Edge of Belonging, her Christy Book of the Year debut novel, remains a longtime reader favorite.
Amanda’s novels are known for their layered characters, emotional depth, and hopeful honesty. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Bible and theology and a master’s degree in professional counseling. Her past experience walking alongside hurting families continues to shape the way she writes about grace, healing, and the complicated beauty of relationships.
Through her stories, Amanda hopes to offer readers a place to pause, exhale, and remember they are not alone.
Amanda lives in Tennessee with her husband and three children, where life is full, noisy, and rarely predictable. When she’s not writing, she can usually be found homeschooling, reheating her coffee, or losing track of time in a story that lingers long after the final page.
Website and Social Media Links
Website: https://amandacoxwrites.wordpress.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amandacoxwrites/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/amandacoxwrites
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amandacoxwrites/
Blog: https://hopeperch.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20033571.Amanda_Cox
Purchase Links
Vickie's Book Nook and Meditation Corner 