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.

This book is not a Christian book but rather it is a horrifying story of one woman’s quest to save her son from unthinkable terror.  The scenes are bloody and violent, so it is not recommended for young readers or for those who are not fans of the Jane Hawk series as I am.  This book should be read by mature audiences only.  It is the fourth book in the series.  

Dean Koontz kept me totally absorbed in his new Jane Hawk thriller.  Jane seemed to be a minor character in this book, with the focus more on the bad guys, known as the Techno-Arcadians.  I learned a lot more about how their authority structure worked and how they were disciplined.  Many of the scenes in which the Arcadians encountered and fought against regular civilians were absolutely horrifying.  Without giving anything away, the title itself turns out to be an extremely violent and horrifying spectacle that left me gasping for breath and hurrying to read to the end of that scene.  In this book, Travis is in danger and Jane has to risk everything to get to him to save him.  The love of a mother for her child knows no bounds, as shown in this book that continues the saga of Jane versus the bad guys.  My favorite character was Cornell, a giant man with a big heart and a lot of psychological problems.  But his way of approaching problems was nothing less than heroic and I loved his gentleness, kindness and acceptance of what was happening.  This book is a must read if you are a fan of the Jane Hawk series as I am, but I have to say that the violence is increased in this book and graphically described, so it is not for the faint of heart.

Disclaimer

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher 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 the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

My husband and I went to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina last week.  We are pictured here with our grandchildren on the morning that we are getting ready to leave.  Every morning, I got up early so that I could enjoy the sunrise over the ocean.  The sunrise photo was taken by my talented daughter Hope.  I am so thankful for this trip and how God worked everything out.  When we got there, I asked to be put in a room on my daughter’s floor so we could optimize the time with our family.  The nice desk clerk at the resort not only accommodated that request, but she also gave us an ocean view room right next door to our daughter and her family.  And we only paid $1.00 more than our original reservation of “restricted view.”  So, that was a real blessing. Then, every night except one, we went out to dinner, using the gift cards that my children and husband had gifted me for my birthday.  So, great food and really low cost to us!  God is so good!  He worked out every detail of that trip, from beginning to end.  I am so thankful for the beauty of the beach, the time with my family, and the Caravelle Resort that made our stay so enjoyable.

I could have been fearful all week about the children going in the water or the allergies that I have to things like sand or my husband’s foot that he hurt just before we left on the trip.  But I decided to trust God with the big things and the small things.  God is the center of my life, so I was able to relax and enjoy my holiday.  The children swim like fish, so I was happy to see how well they took care of each other in the ocean and at the pools.  My husband’s foot healed enough that by Thursday he was able to go down to the beach for a little while.  And although I got a rash from the sand, it wasn’t life-threatening or anything and now that I am home, it has almost disappareared.

This week I am home and facing the threat of a hurricane headed for the coast near us.  Each time I hear the word “hurricane” I cringe because shortly after we had moved to Virginia, there was a hurricane that changed to a tropical storm and that wreaked havoc in our area.  We had no electricity for almost two weeks (eleven days, to be exact).  We stayed with my sister for three days and then she said we couldn’t stay any longer.  (Don’t ask; it’s just how she is.). Then, because I have trouble breathing without air conditioning, we had to stay in a cheap motel for a week (as long as we could afford it).  We went home for several days of darkness, gasping for breath and scrambling to find something that we could eat that didn’t require cooking or refrigeration.  Fortunately, at that time, I had not had a stoke yet, so I could eat canned things like pork and beans and packages of crackers without fear of the high sodium levels.  Anyway, I hear the word “hurricane” and I start praying hard for God to spare us.  This morning, my prayer was for God to turn the storm away.  He is able!  But even if He doesn’t, He is also able to sustain me through it.  That is what trust looks like.  You trust God before the storm, in the middle of the storm, and when you are picking up the pieces after the storm.    God is good…all the time!  I hope that He is part of your life and that you, too, can hold on to this comforting truth.

 

Many years ago, when I was a very young lady of 21 years, I heard the story of Jesus in a way that I had never heard it before.  I read the book of John in the Holy Bible and believing that Jesus died for my sins, I began my journey.  Since then, my husband and I have attended over fifteen different churches.  Although the pastors were different, God’s Word remained the same.  One of the truths that I came to believe and rely on is the fact that I have been washed by Jesus’s blood; my sins are no longer remembered by God, and Jesus has written my name in the Lamb’s Book of Life.  Jesus’s blood flowed red, and my garment of praise is a white robe.  There is more to this story, a story that continues daily.  Every day that I get up, I must remind myself that I have been made new.  The old life is gone; the sins are gone; the feelings of inadequacy and self-hatred are gone.  In their place is a love that only God can give, a love that makes me acceptable in the sight of the King of Glory.  That daily reminder is why I can face each new day with a new determination to serve the King who set me free.  You have to serve someone.  Why not serve God who can forgive your sins, wash you clean and make you a new person from the inside out?  He is worthy!

A note to my loyal readers:  This will be my last post for about a week as I will be spending some quality time with my beloved grandchidren and daughter and son-in law.  God is good!  Remember that and I hope to see you visiting my page again when I return.  Blessings and prayers for peace and love and joy.  

This wonderful book will be available at all of your favorite booksellers on September 18th, but you can pre-order it now and get LOTS of freebies!  

This is a book of encouragement and love for all of the working mothers who strive so hard and never seem to have enough time for themselves.  Jessica Turner encourages moms to take time out, to renew their strength and their spirits.  She does so with practical tips that can be adapted to whatever job and lifestyle you are living.  This book is for single moms, married moms, moms with one child and moms with six or more children.  Jessica Turner touches the heart of being a mother and encourages mothers everywhere to use that heart to make sure that they take care of themselves so that they can take care of others.  Each chapter ends with reflective questions so that the book is more than a book to be read and then forgotten.  It is a book that is to be used as a tool to improve the lives of working mothers everywhere.  

Disclaimer

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author and publisher.  I was not required to post a positive review.  The opinions that are expressed are my own.  I am disclosing this information in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”