“I sought the Lord and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.”   Psalms 34: 4   An example of this verse is the story of Bartimaeus, the blind beggar who calls out to Christ to have mercy on him. Though he is told to be quiet, he cries out even more loudly. Jesus responds asking them to call him here. So, they do, asking him to take courage. “He is calling you.” Jesus asks him what he wants, and he distinctly tells him, I want to see again. As I wrote this, I had to use a magnifying glass to read the cross references in my Bible. We middle-agers can now get glasses or have cataract surgery to help us see better – but not so in that day. David who wrote the above Psalms, did like Bartimaeus did and writes, “I sought the Lord and He answered me.” To seek here is to trust in the mercy of the Lord. No matter if others try to quiet you, saying your needs are not important or you’re not an important enough person to bother God. But God hears us and answer...

  “Whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant,”  Matt. 20:26 When I read this passage, I think of the “less thans.” I think of when my son got his first driver’s license at seventeen. His driver’s license was vertical vs. the standard horizontal one we all get showing that he was a minor. It got me thinking about all the people we consider minors in our lives – the ones without the glamorous jobs or impressive careers — the bus boys, janitors, data entry clerks, fast food workers, and caregivers. Yet, could we survive without them? Who would clean our buildings, clear our tables, make our fast food, and care for the sick? When you’re struggling with getting something corrected on your insurance, it’s the low data entry clerk who has the power to type in the correct numbers. This passage shows there are no minors in God’s kingdom. In fact, we are told to be like children – true minors. These are the firsts in the Kingdom of God. God honors the minors, those c...

  Even though 2020 has been a “Bah Humbug” kind of year, we are thankful for the blessings of health, the good things that remain, and other joys the year has still managed to bring. MJ self-published the second book in her “Lone” series: Lone Choices . It is longer than its prequel, Lone Falcon and has received some good reviews. It was a great challenge learning formatting, but she accomplished it and is happy with how it turned out. Her job at the church continues, she works mainly from home. She has taught an adult book study continually since April as well as teaching the children’s Sunday school on Zoom. Our church is still going strong with video services and providing food to those in need. Many more are in unemployed due to Covid. (We are near to many furloughed Disneyland workers.) MJ is grateful that she retired from substituting just in time as jobs have dried up with online teaching. In her extra time, she has reached her goal of reading 100 books and has taken on...

What makes you feel loved? I’m wearing a shirt that says, “Blessed” given to me from a friend, so I’m wearing her love. I’m listening today to the soundtrack of my book, Lone Choices . Another friend recorded all the songs mentioned in my book in order and gave me the CD of them. When I think of the time she sent locating each song mentioned in my book and the recording it, I am touched by this loving gift and when I listen to it I am surrounded by her love. Last night I ate the cheesecake she made, in honor of my character Carrie’s favorite dessert, and was filled with her love. I feel loved when I read all the birthday cards and Facebook greetings that were set to me. What is it that makes you feel loved? What can you do today to help someone else feel loved?

I was standing in one of those Christmas shoppers line where everyone was impatiently waiting to the point of complaint. I found myself instead with profound gratitude thinking, “I can stand without a cane and without pain! You see it’s been a long year with three surgeries on my knee. I was finally approved for surgery in April, but since my leg didn’t heal properly they scheduled me again in May to cleanup more residue from the baker’s cyst. They were evil after the second surgery putting me in a soft, yet full leg cast. I had to endure crutches but thank goodness was allowed to put weight on it a week later. Stitches and cast were finally removed, and I was able to return to teaching with a cane. All was fine until my knee swelled up again. It was water on the knee and extremely painful. After draining it they decided to do one more surgery in August this time on the front of my knee where they removed pseudogout crystals. I’m walking normally now without pain, and my knees ar...

"My Thoughts:  This is an outstanding novel.   It's something that a lot of Christian students go through when they leave home for college.  A world full of choices and pressures from the secular world.  This novel touches on some difficult subjects which I believe the author handled really well.   This is a story about a young Christian woman who gets caught up in finding love and getting the recognition she's never had before.  Carrie is determined to hold to her convictions, even though she finds she is being pressured by her new friends on the crew team.   This was a really good novel.  With a few twists in the plot, it really holds the readers' attention until the end of the story.  It was easy to identify with the characters and it was interesting to learn about the rowing competitions.     Without giving too much of the story away, I was pleased with the end choices that Carrie made.   The author...

"This book deals with a lot that went on in the 70's, with Carrie getting caught up in the morals of that time period and having to deal with the consequences. This book does have some language in it, as well as intimacy outside of marriage. It also deals with abortion and the arguments on both sides. While the book deals with sensitive topics, I thought-over all-it did a good job of writing about that time in history. It's an easy read that I was able to get through quickly, since I was curious to see where the story lead. I liked the element of rowing that it had. It's a thought provoking book that built up for a sequel, so I look forward to reading the rest of Carrie's story to see where her choices take her!" Read more at:  http://amandanicolle.blogspot.com/2019/12/lone-falcon.html?m=1