Tag: First Line Friday

First-Line Friday: Matthew 1:1

On By vickleaIn Scripture1 Comment

Do you get annoyed when you are reading along in your Bible and come to a list of names that are difficult (impossible?) to pronounce,? But since it’s part of your daily reading, you plod through. That was my attitude until the Lord’s Spirit spoke to me and reminded me that MY name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life and I don’t want it to be overlooked. If God puts a name in the Bible, it’s there for a reason and He wants us to read it. I actually challenge myself to read those sections out loud (a large part of Chronicles, by the way) and work on pronouncing the names correctly. These men (and sometimes ladies) are remembered by God, so who am I to say that they are not important so I should just skim over them? I especially liked the list of those returning to Israel after the exile. They are the Biblical survivors who must have done something right to survive the hardships in Babylon. So, the next time you get to a list of names in your Bible, I challenge you to read them. Someone in Heaven will read your name one day and you wouldn’t want your name to be left out, would you?

Here is some practice for you, just so you can see the importance of names in the Bible. Note the names of Tamar (who was raped by her brother) and the one who was the wife of Uriah is Bathsheba (the adulteress). Also, take note that Rahab, a prostitute from Jericho, the one who hid the spies, is named in the lineage of Jesus. Interesting, right? God included Gentiles and sinners in Jesus’s lineage. Think that’s an error? God doesn’t make mistakes!

“Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram. Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon. Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king. David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah. Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa. Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah. Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah. Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah. Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon. And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor. Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud. Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob. And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭1‬:‭2‬-‭16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/114/mat.1.2-16.NKJV

First-Line Friday: Things We Cannot Keep by Amanda Cox

On By vickleaIn Book Promo, First Line Friday2 Comments

We all hold onto things that we just don’t want to let go of, not to God and not to anyone here on earth. This book by Amanda Cox is helping me to ponder what I need to surrender. We cannot take anything with us when we leave this world, so why not let go of things now and see what God has in store for us? He may give those things back to us or He may bless us with new things for new adventures in life. We won’t know until we discover what in our lives are the “Things We Cannot Keep.”

This book releases 0n 8-18. If you enjoy books with heart, soul and depth, then preorder this one. As usual, Baker Book House has the best deal for preorders, with 40% off, free shipping in the U.S. and preorder goodies (as long as supplies last).

Amazon

Baker Book House

AmandaCoxWrites.com

First-Line Friday: Chase the Light by Suzanne Woods Fisher

On By vickleaIn Book Promo, Scripture1 Comment

I am all about visiting the National Parks, especially since I have been reading Suzanne Woods Fisher’s series called National Park Summers. I am learning a lot and eager to travel, vicariously of course, due to health issues. For those of you still healthy and able, take time to go to a National Park this year and enjoy the creation that God has blessed us with.

First Line from Chase the Light: “Ranger Scout Johnson was the kind of person who loved allowing room for error.”

To God be all of the glory for all that He has created for us to enjoy!

First-Line Friday

On By vickleaIn Book Promo5 Comments

Today, I am featuring several books that I have read or that I am reading or that I have in my “next to read” line up.

Highly recommend this book for fans of clean psychological suspense. The book is intense and suspense-filled, as you can tell from the first line! You can check out my review on here on my blog page since I reviewed the book on 4-28-26, the release date: https://vicklea.com/2026/04/28/review-of-the-girl-upstairs-by-jessica-r-patch/

I am on the launch team for this book and I am reading it now. It releases on 5-26. Here is the First Line:

“K-9 Officer Maren Anderson battled the fatigue she’d been facing since driving from Colorado Springs to the Barren Valley Clinic in Barren Valley, Colorado. Grief could do that to a person.”

I am part of a book promo group for Suzanne Woods Fisher’s new book. This series takes place in national parks and all can be read as stand-alone novels. If you are interested in reading the book and joining my Zoom meeting later in the summer (date TBD), I will add you to the list for the Zoom link. Just email or DM me from Facebook. My email is watts.vickie@gmail.com. The book releases on May 5th, but I plan to give everyone who wants to participate at least a month to read the book, so I am thinking perhaps late June or sometime in July for the meeting. Bonus! The author will join us virtually with a PowerPoint presentation about the history of the national parks. How exciting is that?!?

Now, for the First Line:

“Ranger Scout Johnson was the kind of person who loved allowing room for error. Leaving ten minutes early to beat traffic. Double-checking weather before a hike.”

By the way, Baker Book House has freebies and 40% off if you order from them before release day!

https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/9780800745325_chase-the-light

If you would like to join us just to join the discussion and find out what the book is about before you buy it that is okay with me, too. Again, just let me know so that I can send you the Zoom link. I would love to meet some of you virtually!