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.
www.bible.com/reading-plans/39304/day/3
A favorite saying of my father used to be that he worked hard for every penny he had and he had earned it. To be united with Christ, though, we have to leave that mindset behind and realize that we cannot earn salvation or our identity in Him. It is a free gift, an outpouring of God’s sacrificial love for us. All we can do is accept it and live for Him instead of ourselves.
www.bible.com/reading-plans/39304/day/2
Since Christ and His Word never changes, when our identity is rooted deeply in Him, then it does not change. We know who we are in Him because He doesn’t move or change. Circumstances change, the people around us shift, attitudes change, but Jesus doesn’t. His love for us never changes, the gift of salvation never goes away and God never moves away from us. Our identity is built on the firm foundation of the rock who created us to be just who He needs us to be in order to fulfill His purpose for our lives.
Welcome to the Blog Tour for JustRead Rendezvous 2024, hosted, sponsored, and organized by Just Read Publicity Tours
JustRead Rendezvous
November 15, 2024
DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Hotel & Conference Center Chicago-Downers Grove
Join fellow readers and authors at the JustRead Rendezvous to celebrate Christian fiction and sweet reads. This event, modeled after the Christian Fiction Readers Retreat, aims to sweeten reading and storytelling experiences with fellowship and encouragement. Activities will include corporate worship, speaker sessions, author panels, small group discussions, games, giveaways, a pop-up book shop, and author signings.
Baker Publishing Group fiction imprints (Bethany House and Revell), Enclave Publishing, and Kregel Publications have joined JustRead Publicity Tours as event sponsors.
Learn more about the 2024 JustRead Rendezvous
first row: Amanda Barratt, Amanda Cox, Amanda Dykes, Angela Ruth Strong, Becky Wade, Elizabeth Goddard, Elizabeth Musser, Emily Conrad, Gabrielle Meyer. second row: Janilise Lloyd, Kate Breslin, Katie Powner, Kimberley Woodhouse, Kristi Ann Hunter, Laura Frantz, Linda MacKillop, Lisa Phillips, Lynn Austin. third row: Mesu Andrews, Nancy Mehl, Nicole Deese, Robin W. Pearson, Ronie Kendig, Sara Brunsvold, Sara Davison, Sara Ella, Sara Watterson
Keynote speakers include Amanda Dykes, Becky Wade, and Ronie Kendig. Kimberley Woodhouse and Lisa Phillips will lead worship. More authors will be added to the event as reader registration increases!
Check out recent releases by participating authors in the JustRead Amazon Storefront.
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The registration fee (including a book tote, lunch, afternoon snack, and more) is $124 for readers. We’re nearing the reader registration mark to add more best-selling, debut, and indie authors to the 2024 event. Tell your friends and register today to pave the way by August 1!
Subscribe to email updates and learn more about each author on the JustRead Rendezvous website. Connect with other attendees and hopefuls in the Rendezvous Roomies & Logistics ’24 private Facebook group to arrange shared experiences or cost-sharing opportunities.
P.S. Join us on Thursday at the same location for the Art of Writing conference and The Christy Award Winners Gala. The Christy Award honors and promotes excellence in Christian fiction and is a program of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. Visit christyawards.com for more information and registration.
(1) winner will receive one paid registration to JustRead Rendezvous 2024 courtesy of ’23 Rendezvous author Tamara Leigh
(1) winner will receive a canvas tote bag, an A6 journal notebook with a ballpoint pen, a 12 oz enamel mug, a scented candle, and a reading blanket
(5) winners will receive a $10 egift card (Baker Book House, Christianbook, or Amazon)
Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight June 4, 2024 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on June 11, 2024. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only for physical prizes. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.
Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.
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Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!
www.bible.com/reading-plans/39304/day/1
Sometimes I feel as though I have multiple personalities living inside me…no, not some mental disease, but different faces for different people. To my grandchildren, I am the fun and upbeat Nanna who brings gifts and plays and reads stories, never telling them how tired or anxious I may be. To the shopkeeper, I am distantly polite, seeing and appreciating their labor but not really knowing their needs. To my husband, I am more myself…moody, irritable at times, angry about being sick a lot and introverted. All of these different personas make up who I really am…and God knows all of me and loves me anyway. My real identity is in Christ. I am a Child of the King, usually in spite of myself and my own actions and choices. I would like to say that I will one day succeed in being the same person to all of my friends and family, regardless of who they are to me. But I know that is an unrealistic expectation and not at all helpful to others. I need to be the best me that represents God to each person, even to my careworn and patient husband who listens to my rants and prays with me for healing and peace. Who are you? I have heard it said that you are really the person that you become when no one is looking or hearing. So, who are you really? God is always looking, always hearing and always knows exactly who you are and who He created you to be.
www.bible.com/reading-plans/11261/day/7
It is a sad but true fact that most people do not make God a priority until their lives are so messed up that they see God as the last resort. I want to make God such a priority in my life that He is the first One I turn to when things are going badly in my life. Call the doctor when I am sick? Yes. But pray first. Call and talk things out when I am having a relationship issue? Yes. But pray first. In this era of instant gratification, it is easy to try to rush headlong into a situation without pausing to pray. I have found, through experience unfortunately, that when I don’t stop to pray, then I am more likely to regret whatever I have done in haste. Whenever we are feeling some kind of testing or opposition, our first resource should be to go to God. He has all of the answers. He may give the doctors wisdom or prepare the road for a smoother relationship with another person. Whatever, we don’t know what God can and will do until we ask Him…regularly and first.
Stop and think a minute about God’s plan of salvation. God, who can do anything in any way, chose to send His Son to die for us and that sacrifice is at the center of our faith. This was not a spur of the moment idea that God came up with. He set it in motion from the time in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve opened the world to sin. In Genesis 3:15, we already see God making His plan. God’s plans will not be thwarted. What He means for good for us, He brings about and our ultimate good is our salvation, restoration to a right relationship with our Father and eternity with Him. Pray, repent, accept, believe.
The Center of Salvation
Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus lays a foundation for the power of salvation that is achieved through Jesus’ death and resurrection. The core of the Christian faith is found in this event.
The forgiveness of sins that we experience as Christians came through the blood of Christ that was shed on the cross. Jesus lived a perfect life, and became a perfect sacrifice for the brokenness of all mankind. Without the shedding of blood, there would be no forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 9:22). And without the forgiveness of sins, we would not be able to approach our holy and perfect God. Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection made a way for us to have a relationship with Him.
Jesus gave His life once and for all, which means that He doesn’t have to die again. All of your sins—past, present, and future—are forgiven through Jesus. In fact, nothing can separate you from the love God has for you.
Paul says that all of this is in line with God’s grace and His promises. All throughout Scripture God promises to redeem His people. He promises to rescue them and free them from their bondage to sin and brokenness. God accomplishes this through Jesus.
Think about God’s great love and grace for you. Do you feel forgiven and set free? Or are you weighed down by your mistakes? Spend some time talking to God, thanking Him for what He has done for you. Remind yourself of God’s promises. Ask Him to fill you with the knowledge of His love and grace.
www.bible.com/reading-plans/11261/day/5
As His creation, you are special to God. Stop and ponder that for a few minutes. You are so special to Him and a real part of His plan that He never gives up on you. In fact, He pursues us with an everlasting love that just won’t quit. Life hurts, but God’s love is always there for you and always real.
www.bible.com/reading-plans/11261/day/4
My big takeaway from this message is that it’s okay to love myself. After all, God loves me enough to send His Son to die for me, so who am I to say that I am not worthy? Accept His grace and all that comes with it.
I don’t want to spend time on politics, but I do want to encourage those of us who are dismayed, perhaps even outraged, by the vagaries of our current justice system. I think Denison’s article says it best, so I am sharing it here with you.
I also want to share with you the Scriptures that God gave me to calm my weary soul.
The U.S. has been ripe for reaping God’s wrath for a while now. The immorality of our nation is apparent and the turning away from God is obvious to those with our eyes open. I am not a prophet, but the prophets in the Old Testament got it right when they prophesied against Israel and the coming exile and destruction of their nation. Perhaps this is a warning bell tolling for the U.S. Maybe not…but it surely appears ominous to me. Presidential elections carry consequences as we have seen. Pray before you go to the polls. Make sure you let your voice be heard at the ballot box…don’t be silenced by the vocal majority! There may be three Supreme Court justices up for nomination in the next election cycle. What kind of justice system do you want? A kangaroo court persecuting political opponents or real justice that is equal for all?
Using the justice system against your political opponents is not something that should happen anywhere in the world, but it has been happening for ages in communist and socialist nations that don’t allow opposition. This conviction is opening a door that may not ever be able to be closed, and I am watching for God’s hand in bringing the justice to our nation, not to President Trump, but to an entire nation that is determined to go its own way, without regard to God’s law and His hand that has been on our nation since its founding. Read Denison’s article again…and pray!
www.bible.com/reading-plans/11261/day/2
What is the glue that holds a family together? Love! I have been the only sibling in our family for almost ten years now who is speaking to all four of my siblings. It has been hard being in the middle of a lot of bitterness and confusion, but I was called to love, so I do. Whatever the hard situation is, love is the answer. And every hardship is an opportunity to point people to God.
I am not saying that I am perfect. In fact, my own big hardship lately has been my health. After being sick basically since November with various lung ailments, I finally saw my allergist a couple of weeks ago. She started me on a new medication that unfortunately I reacted to with an asthma flare. I am now on steroids again, my nebulizer again, my rescue inhaler again and with strict instructions not to talk unless I have to because the medication affected my vocal cords and they are “whistling” when I cough. I am getting about 2-3 hours of sleep each night due to coughing. I went to see the head of the allergy clinic yesterday and basically, he told me to keep doing what I am doing and let him know if the steroids have not started working by Tuesday. All of it is very discouraging because I keep making plans to see my sister in NC and grandchildren in PA and MD but I can’t travel when I am so sick. Thus, I am stuck in a rut of a pity party and I don’t want to be here. I am determined to look for the good in this situation and to see God’s love in it. For example, He has doctors who want what is best for me and who are doing their best to provide good care. My husband understands that I can’t speak to him so he tells me to gesture or write it down. That’s love. My brother sends me a funny story that makes me laugh. That’s love. My other brother sends me encouraging words. That’s love. Actually, love has been all around me and I just have to look for it. Today is a new day. I am up super early to do a neb treatment since I woke up coughing. Having a nebulizer at home is God’s provision and that is love. My husband stopped at my favorite place to get me a chai latte that I really enjoy and I am having some this morning. That’s love. When things get tough, we need to love. Life isn’t easy, but God hasn’t moved or changed. He is love! Have a great day, and remember to love and look for love everywhere you go.
Vickie's Book Nook and Meditation Corner 