Down from the mountain, literally

Several times in the Bible, mountains were used as places where men met with God:  Moses with the Ten Commandments, Abraham with Isaac, and there are more.  There are some mountains in SE Oklahoma where several men, women, and children have met with God.  Many, many years ago, a group of people decided to put a church camp on these mountains, Kiamichi Baptist Assembly.  This church camp has been a special place in my family for a couple of generations, will continue to be a special place throughout the next generation.  This is a picture of me and my niece from last year.  I took a week off work to go and be a sponsor for her and three other girls.

I did the same thing this year.  We took six girls this year, and my sister also went along as a sponsor.  This year, though, I experienced things that I have not experienced in years past.  I have gone as a sponsor several times in the past.  We had a small group in our cabin this year, but the closeness between the sponsors from the other church and our church was awesome.  One night, when I was could not finish praying for my girls (nightly ritual), a sponsor from the other church came in and prayed for our girls, one by one.  I know the Bible says that the Holy Spirit will pray for us when we are unable to pray for ourselves, but I had never experienced it coming from another person.  This sponsor, and the other lady sponsor that was with her, stepped in many times over the course of the week when they were needed.  I truly appreciate that. 



 

The music and the preaching during the week were great. I had/have a couple of issues I was/am dealing with at the same time, and a lot of the messages kind of went along with the subjects with which I was dealing.  I love how God can use a class lesson/sermon/devotional to reach out to people who need to hear it, for a variety of different reasons.  I told the kids on the last night that they needed to remember what they had heard that week, and I need to remember this myself.  The lessons learned over the last week were applicable to all ages. 

 

So, now that I've come down from the mountain, I have a choice to make.  Do I take what I learned and share it with others, as I told my kids to do?  Or do I take it and keep it inside until the thorny thoughts inside my head slowly choke it out?  Please pray that I will make abundant use of the weed killer that I have and that I will be able to share the message that I heard.  Pray that I will be able to use the shield of faith to throw off the fiery arrows from the enemy and that I will find ways to fire back.

 

 

 

And pray for the children who were at camp last week, that they will be able to find their purpose and take the light back to their families. 

Jennifer's story, written in true Henderson Style

If you have read the O'Malley family series by Dee Henderson, you know you Jennifer O'Malley is.  Her story is interwoven into the other O'Malley family books.  Ms. Henderson came out with Jennifer's story recently.  It tells of Jennifer meeting and falling in love with a fellow doctor, Tom Peterson.  The story in itself is not a very long story, but if fills in a lot of the blanks about Tom and Jennifer and gives Henderson fans more insight into Jennifer's character.  I fell in love with Jennifer in the first O'Malley book, The Negotiator, and I was more than thrilled to be able to read her story.

This book is written in the style of the other O'Malley books.  It is very apparent that Ms. Henderson researches her subjects well, for the story is very realistic.  I have to say that I did not know what to expect with this book.  If I had any expectations, I'm sure this book would have exceeded them all.  I am very glad for this book and for the opportunity to see how Jennifer and Tom fell in love.  This book is a must-read for anyone who has read the O'Malley books, and also for anyone wanting to read the O'Malley books.  Ms. Henderson has a gift for storytelling that is rare in today's market. 

*I received a free copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an unbiased review.   My words are my own and I received no compensation.*

Swept away "Into the Whirlwind" by Elizabeth Camden

Into the Whirlwind by Elizabeth Camden is a historical Christian romance set at the time of the great Chicago fire in 1871.  This book tells the story of Mollie Knox, a young woman struggling to keep her father's watchmaking company going.  As Mollie tries to save what she can from the fire, she finds herself with Zack Kazmarek.  Zack is the legal genius for a large department store in Chicago that purchases many of the watches made by Mollie's company.  Mollie is completely unaware that Zack harbors feelings for her.  Zack is unable to keep these feelings hidden from Mollie as they try to escape the fire.  After the fire, as Mollie tries to restart her business and as Zack is trying to help rebuild the department store, they try to see if they can keep alive the sparks of love that were lit during the fire.  There are several attempts to put out these sparks, but you will have to read for yourself to see if they manage to stay lit.

This is the second book of Ms. Camden's that I have red.  I really enjoy that there is a depth to Ms. Camden's characters that I don't see in a lot of books.  Zack and Mollie are strong characters in a strong story line, well supported by the minor characters and subplots that run along with the main plot.  This book is an excellent read for anyone wanting a story that goes a little deeper and will leave you very satisfied in the end.  The book is scheduled for release on August 1. 

*I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.*

A Review of A Most Peculiar Circumstance by Jen Turano

A Most Peculiar Circumstance is a charming and delightful historical Christian romance by Jen Turano about Arabella Beckett and Theodore Wilder.  Prior readers of Ms. Turano will recognize Ms. Beckett as the sister of Hamilton Beckett from a prior novel.  Arabella finds herself in the middle of a messy circumstance while travelling back home to New York.  She has taken a side trip to help out someone, and has landed herself in jail.  She is rescued by Theodore, a man her family has sent to bring her home.  Arabella and Theodore are at cross purposes from the start, true opposites.  Arabella is an activist for women's rights and a little too free for Theodore's tastes.  However, there is that saying about opposites attracting.  It doesn't take long for Theodore to figure out that his tastes have changed and that Arabella is what he wants.  That is, if he can manage to keep her out of trouble long enough. 

Arabella's penchant for getting into trouble and Theodore's arrival after almost every circumstance keeps the reader moving right along with the story.  The story was lacking in detail in some sections to give more of an understanding of the growing attraction between the characters, in my opinion.  However, this did not detract from the my overall enjoyment of the story and the characters.  I found the story very enchanting and would recommend this book to anyone looking for a good read in the historical Christian romance genre. 

*I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an unbiased review.*

Not beloved

First of all, I don't claim to know everything.  Sometimes God will show me something, and I like to share it because I think it may help someone else like it helped me. 

I went to a fast food place for lunch today.  The drive-thru line was long, so I went inside.  As I was getting my drink and waiting for my to-go order, an older woman walked in carrying her adorable grandchild.  I said, "Aren't you cute!" and the grandmother said thank you.  It appeared just on a cursory glance that the little girl might be special needs.  (I am not saying anything bad about special needs children.  I believe that all children are important.  I will use this statement to make a point later in the post.)

So why do I bring up my lunch hour vision?  Well, I have been struggling lately with feeling loved on an all-around basis.  By my family, by my friends, by God.  It's nothing that anyone has done in particular, I think it's an attack by the enemy.  I've had problems with this all my life.  So as I was leaving the restaurant, I get hit with the thought that that child's mother probably loved her whether or not she has Down's Syndrome.  Then it hit me that God is the same way.  He loves all His children no matter what issues they have, and believe me, I have a lot of issues.

Of course, this made me feel better for about 10 minutes and then the insecurities started rolling back in.  This is obviously something I need to work on.

Driving in the dark

When I take a trip to a new place, I generally like to look on a map so I have a good idea of where I am going.  Fortunately, I have GPS on my cell phone, and getting lost is usually not a problem (unless I don't have the address right - but that's for another blog post).  

The Christian life is a journey.  If you are a born-again believer, you know where you're gonna end up.  However, everyone's journey is not the same.  Some things happen the same for everyone - birth, school, college (or not).  So here's where the path gets a little difficult.  The early stages are easy - you're not driving the car so someone is basically telling you where to go.  As you get older, you might get out for side trips but the trip is basically planned.  It's the part of the journey when you get your own car and start driving yourself that the path sometimes gets hard.  You may have had an idea of where you want to go, based on dreams and plans and friends.  However, that may not necessarily be where you end up.

My journey has been a lot like that.  If someone had told me a couple of years ago, that I would be where I am at today, I probably would have laughed.  But it's beginning to look like I'm stuck on Boring Boulevard and that my journey may end on this road.  I really don't think so, but the path ahead is dark and it's hard to see where I am going.  My headlights are flickering so I don't even know what the next mile will bring.  

My GPS is not working.  The only thing I have is a Road Map.  The thing about a road map is that you have to open it for it to work, and I won't open mine.  I am beginning to think that my car is on the back of a semi, and I'm actually going backwards.  A person would think that I would have made a lot of progress, seeing as how I don't have passengers and I don't have to make that many pit stops.  I really feel like I am going backwards.  Or nowhere.  Basically the same thing I think.

So what do I do about my journey?  Get off the truck?  Make sure my head lights are working properly?  Maybe open my road map?  Am I going to see any of the destinations that I've dreamed about?  Are there even any scenic spots on my journey?  Or have I missed them because I'm too busy changing the radio station or staring at the odometer?  Either way, I think it's time for a fill-up (and a check to make sure there is not a leak in the gas line) and I can't get that done typing on a computer.  So I'm going to go check in with the Mechanic, and maybe I'll take some time to look at the Map.

How is your journey going?

I am Anne Elliott

Have you ever wondered who you would be if you lived in the world of Jane Austen's novels?  Wonder no more.  Here is your chance to find out.


You can find it here:
http://www.strangegirl.com/emma/quiz.php