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.
https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/23192/day/9?segment=0
Sometimes I find myself only taking time to thank God for what He has done for me and not just for Who He is. I want to remember that God is the only One in my life who sustains me, gives me strength and courage and makes me whole. But I also want to always be mindful that God is worthy of thanksgiving just because He is God.
www.bible.com/reading-plans/45776/day/4
How do you handle disappointment? I know that I used to have a saying that I used frequently (in my Eeyore days) that if it hasn’t gone wrong yet, it will, just wait. Oh, my! Now I have a new mantra…Wait! God is still working! Things may look gray right now, but the Sonshine is on its way!
How you handle disappointments depends on your focus. If you are focused on the bad things that are happening, then you are more likely to be disappointed with anything that happens that is not the exact outcome you wanted. But if you focus on God’s faithfulness in the past and His ever-present love for you, you are more likely to face challenges with a firm belief that God will see you through whatever it is and the lesson you learn will be something you need for your future or to help others in the future.
How did my mantra change? Slowly, as God worked on my attitude and helped me to see things more clearly from His perspective and not just my own. Sometimes, I slip and start to slide back into my Eeyore attitude, but the Holy Spirit quickly reigns me back into line with God’s Word and helps me to get back on the right path again. Filling my heart and mind with God’s Word, being thankful every day for the small things, and looking for God’s faithfulness in the middle of bad situations helps me keep my focus on Him.
What helps you to handle disappointment?
www.bible.com/reading-plans/45776/day/3
Every day, I have to choose whether I will deal with life’s daily challenges with anxiety or peace. I know that some days are more difficult than others to choose correctly and sometimes I get started on the wrong foot, listing to God all the reasons that I should be anxious instead of the reasons why I know He is there and that He is my peace. We have to make a conscious choice to focus on God’s presence with us, knowing as I have said many times, “Nothing is going to happen today that God and I cannot handle together.” The saying is in my mind. And I am working on getting it deep into my heart, with the knowledge that God’s presence is with me all the time, but especially in the hard times when I need Him most.
narrowpathministries.wordpress.com/2024/04/20/lessons-from-silence/
Please go to the original post at the end of this blog and subscribe to this affirming daily message.
www.bible.com/reading-plans/23192/day/6
Everyone looks forward to getting away for a while, escaping the humdrum of everyday life. But I have found that when my husband and I get away, we take the humdrum stuff with us. My husband still listens to news like it’s his source of life and reports the things he considers important to me diligently. I have told him numerous times that I don’t watch the news for a reason, but he has decided that it is his obligation to keep me informed. So, I just listen without commentary. Anyway, the news goes with us. The challenges we face in life before we go away don’t disappears; they are just placed on a back burner and continue to simmer there. I like the advice in this column that tells us to be thankful and know that God is right there through it all. Being thankful is a choice, just as focusing on the things that make us need a vacation to begin with. If we could just keep our focus on the “author and finisher of our faith”, we would be much better off and more likely to be thankful first and complain later, if at all. God listened intently to the whining complaints of Job’s friends and how they blamed Job for all his own troubles. Then, God listened to Job and his complaints about how he had been faithful and still suffered. When God answered, it was not to tell Job that he had valid points and should have been able to complain. No, instead, God reminded Job of who He is and His sovereignty. Job recognized God’s control all along and pointed out to his friends that God was still his Lord in spite of his circumstances. If we could only get to the point where we can be thankful regardless of our problems and the world’s pressures on us, I think that we wouldn’t be feeling as much pain in our dilemmas and we would be able to be thankful all days in all ways. Vacations are necessary, but they shouldn’t be to get away from problems. I think they should be used to get closer to God and to ask Him to see our problems with His perspective.
www.bible.com/reading-plans/45776/day/2
It’s hard to know what choices to make sometimes, so the best thing to always do is pray, follow the leading of the Spirit, and take a step forward. If it is the wrong step, God will let us know so that we can get back on the right track. If others ask us for advice, the best thing we can do is pray with them and ask for God’s wisdom and guidance. We don’t have a crystal ball or anything similar, but we do have the Holy Spirit who will lead us to help others if that is what God wants us to do. We always have to be careful not to step out in our own wisdom and give advice from our own mind and heart. It’s okay to tell the person that we will pray about it and get back to them when the Lord gives us an answer. It is never okay to lead someone in the wrong direction, even if the intentions are good, and shrug it off when things don’t work out for them. We are the called and the chosen, not the know-it-alls of the world. Let’s act as though God can use us and He will, in His timing and for His purpose, not to glorify us but always for His glory.
www.bible.com/reading-plans/45776/day/1
I was once this person, the lonely one who didn’t understand the busyness of the world while I was suffering all alone. But God reached out and showed me that I was not alone…He had been there all along. And He sent others to talk to me and affirm that they would walk alongside me even in strange places with my husband deployed thousands of miles away. Now, it is easier for me to notice people who are sitting alone, who are not engaging in conversations with others, and it is a thing I strive to do, just to let them know that I see them and I am there if they want someone to listen. Sometimes it isn’t what you say that matters to the person that is lonely; it is just taking the time to be there, close and ready to hear their heart when they are ready to speak.
www.bible.com/reading-plans/44313/day/7
We have all stood on the edge of the unknown, afraid to move forward and knowing we cannot go back. God has already prepared the way for us, but we have to take that step into the unknown, out of the comfortable and into the arms of our Father who is ready to catch us. Jump! God will always be there to catch you when you step out in faith as long as you are acting according to His will.
ISBN-13:9780800741662. Publisher:Baker Publishing Group. Publication date:03/26/2024. Pages:352
Esther Markstrom and her artist mother have always been proud of their ancestor, painter Francisco Vella. They even run a small museum and gallery dedicated to raising awareness of his scandalously underappreciated work. But when Esther reconnects with her former art history professor, she finds her once-solid family history on shaky ground as questions arise about Vella’s greatest work—a portrait entitled The Lady with the Dark Hair.
In 1879, Catalan orphan-turned-fugitive Viviana Torrens has found sanctuary serving in the home of an aging artist in Southern France. It is in his studio that she meets Francisco Vella, a Gibraltarian merchant who sells artists’ pigments. When her past catches up to her, she is compelled to pose as Vella’s sister and join him on his travels or be deported back to Spain to stand trial. Along the way she will discover that the many parts she has been playing in order to hide her identity have far-reaching implications she never could have foreseen.
This dual-timeline story from award-winning author Erin Bartels takes readers from the sleepy Midwest to the sultry Mediterranean on a relentless search for truth, identity, and the freedom to follow one’s dreams.
This book is a brilliantly written dual-timeline novel with captivating characters and fascinating research intertwined seamlessly into the story. The present day protagonist is Esther, an art history major who is the head of the family’s museum that promotes a family ancestor, artist Francisco Vella. She is also the caretaker of her mentally ill mother Lorena, quite a quirky and demanding woman. The other part of the story is told in the late 1800’s and is about Viviana, a woman in hiding from justice in Spain while pursuing her interest in art with Vella, a man who is a merchant of art supplies. I was captured by the unselfishness of Esther caring tirelessly for her mother, even though she would like to have her own life. Equally compelling was the story of Viviana as she travels with Vella and finds out that it is not always easy or advisable to travel using an alias. The novel includes a cleverly written mystery about a painting and its origins as well as its artist. “The Lady with the Dark Hair” is a story within a story, cleverly written to reveal details methodically and keeping me glued to the page as I sought answers to the identity of the artist and the outcome of Esther’s life of selflessness. I really enjoyed the pace of the plot because it was perfect to keep me interested. The characters were dynamic and also believable and relatable. The story was complex, but the author’s way of revealing the layers like peeling an onion was exceptionally unique and delightful. I loved the story, learned from the research and identified with the characters. This novel is thought-provoking, intriguing and remarkably written to entertain as well as educate.
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 and all opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16th CFR, Part 255, “Guidelines Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”
www.bible.com/reading-plans/23192/day/3
We make a lot of choices everyday, some of which are automatic and others require thinking about it for a while. The choice to be thankful should be automatic, but I must confess that some days, I struggle to show my thanks to God. Maybe things aren’t going the way I think they should or my world is a little topsy-turvy. Whatever is happening in the circumstances of my life is not a good reason to ignore all God has done and is still doing in my life and to take time to be grateful to Him for everything. This devotional is thought-provoking in that it says we can hinder God in acting on our behalf by our failure to be thankful. I will have to ponder that for a while. God will still continue with His plan, but I may not be as active a participant as I should be because I failed to be thankful. I want to be all in for God and His plans for me regardless of outward circumstances. The circumstances will change (it just happens as part of life) but only I can make the choice to thank God in the midst of them and be grateful that I have a life to be thankful for.
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