Reflections - Past, Present, and Future with God

Monday, July 20, 2020

Ten Books with All Five-Star Reviews

I've been blessed with many avid readers and fans. They give me verbal encouragement and acclamations all the time, but I have difficulty getting them to leave reviews. And I don't give away free books to get extra reviews. To me, that seems to be a bit underhanded or lacking in integrity.

______________________________________________

Thursday, July 16, 2020

Serving by Surrendering

But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone (Luke11:42).

Some of the Israelites, especially many of the Pharisees, attended the synagogue, tithed, and made animal sacrifices to take care of their sins. They prayed lengthy prayers and tried to follow the law. They thought they were good with God, but they didn't love, obey, surrender, or trust. They didn't give Him their whole hearts.

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven (Matthew 7:21).

Many Christians today do much the same thing. They attend church, put money in the offering plate, and think they have done their duty. They consider themselves good with God and heaven-bound, but they have never truly given their hearts to Christ or surrendered to His lordship. Their lives do not stand as a strong testimony or an encouragement for others to join the Christian faith.

A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit! Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire (Matthew 7:18-19).

What kind of fruit are you bearing? Are most of your efforts for yourself and what you want to do or for the Lord and what He wants you to do? Do you love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind; and do you love others as yourself? May we truly grow in the Lord and become who He wants us to be. We serve best by surrendering.

______________________________

Monday, July 13, 2020

Christmas in July

Click here for the link

A group of authors has gotten together to host a week of great books, games, videos, prizes, fun, and more. They're calling it "Christmas in July." Come join us on the morning of July 20 for the kick-off. With the large number of authors involved, you're bound to find some new books you'd love to read, have a chance to win some great prizes, and find some interesting information.

The posts will continue all week with a different author hosting in different time slots. But you'll be able to scroll through, see, and comment on all the posts, regardless of who is hosting at that time. There'll be a wide variety of books and genres, mostly Christian fiction but also some Christian non-fiction.

My time will be on Tuesday, July 21, from 9:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m. (EST). I will be talking about my Appalachian Roots series and Through the Wilderness, set on the Oregon Trail. I need my friends and fans to come by and support me. I'm hoping I can meet plenty of new readers, too, and make some new friends. This will be a great place to stop in all week long.

________________________________

Thursday, July 9, 2020

Yoked with Jesus

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30).

A yoke is a device used to keep a team of work animals in their proper places and allow them to pull together more easily and efficiently. They can range from very simple devices resembling a thick pole or rod to more elaborate ones. Farmers, transporters, and travelers who needed to pull wagons with heavy loads often used oxen yoked together.

Jesus tells us we need to be yoked with Him. He hints that if we are, He will do most of the work. He will remove the burdens, stress, and strain from our shoulders and make our labor easier. He will give us rest. How special it is to become yoked with Jesus -- to be on His team. We can never go wrong unless we break from our yoke.

I can't understand why anyone would not want that. Yet, we in our humanness, too often want to take control and make our own decisions. In doing so, we mess up big time. How much easier it would be to stay with Christ, go where He leads, and do want He wants. Commit today to surrendering and being yoked with Christ.

_____________________________

Monday, July 6, 2020

Over 250,000 Page Views and Changes

I have been blogging for over five years now, and there have been changes along the way. I started out blogging seven days a week. Almost two years later, with advice from an expert blogger, I reduced that to three days a week, and it's been that way until now. However, with the more books I publish, the more difficulty I have finding time to manage everything, and I've decided to start blogging twice a week, although, as a writer, blogging is important to me. I will combine the Monday blogs of mainly history and trivia with the Wednesday blogs about my books and writing, interspersing them. I will post Friday's blog with a Christian message on Thursday.

Another change is that my page visits on my blog have grown tremendously over the five years. I now have over 250,000 (251, 870 as of Sunday morning to be exact). The top blog by far is "Running from God" about Jonah with 20,165 page visits. "Cranberry Bread" has 7,315; "Mother Teresa" 2,642; "Where Has Our History Gone" 1,264; and Candlewicking 1,104.

So, this is the first blog on the new schedule. The next blog will be on Thursday and will be a Christian message. Maybe this change will help me get caught up or at least closer to it. I do appreciate the support of all my many readers very much. The next time I do an update on blogging, I hope I'll have even better things to report.

______________________________

Friday, July 3, 2020

For Our Country

He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: he enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth them again (Job 12:23).

Most Christians would agree that our nation desperately needs prayer. However, how many of us pray desperately? When Jesus approached Jerusalem one day, he was concerned with what he saw happening. "And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it" (Luke 19:41). Have you ever wept over the state of our country? I have in my prayers.

I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty, For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour (1 Timothy 2:1-3).

We are to pray for our leaders. If people would spend as much time praying for the politicians in power and those seeking office as they do complaining about or belittling some of them, much more would be accomplished. God wants us to love them and all people. He wants us to pray for them and our country. We need to follow his commandments and not get caught up in negative behaviors that leave poor testimonies for the Christian way of life.

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14).

There are still a large number of Christians in the United States today, but they are decreasing with each new generation. If we don't do something soon, we will lose this country. We need to band together, quit talking, and do something positive to take back this country for God. We need to forget about what we think and be guided by the Holy Spirit. We need to make this "one nation under God" in the full meaning of that phrase. Let's not just talk about it; let's do it!

___________________________________________

Wednesday, July 1, 2020

Time-Told Tales, Volume Two

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/
B08BW431QL/

Time-Told Tales, Volume Two, is now for sale. Loosely based on some of the classic fairy tales, I’ve set this series of books in the Middle Ages and removed much of the make-believe and magic in the stories to make them more realistic, believable, and suitable for adults. It was my intent from the very beginning to have a number of these tales. This then is the second volume of Time-Told Tales. Volume One of the print and audible books contains the ebooks Roslyn’s Rescue (Little Red Riding Hood redone) and Glenda’s Gold (Rumplestiltskin redone). This Volume Two has Patricia’s Prison (Rapunzel rewritten) and Jack’s Jewel (Jack and the Beanstalk (rewritten). They have such different titles because they are completely different stories than you’ve ever heard before.

In Patricia’s Prison, Patricia’s parents want her to marry an older duke for his title and wealth, but her interest is drawn to Charles, one of her father’s knights. When she defies them, her stubborn, unpredictable father will have none of it. The unforeseen occurs, and there is nothing Patricia or Charles can do about it. https://www.amazon.com/Patricias-Prison-Time-Told-Tales-Book-ebook/dp/B085LM7VZ8/

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/
B089WC1HC2

Then, when Jack’s mother sends him to sell their cow, he can find no one to buy it, so he trades the animal for some remarkable beans in Jack's Jewels. His mother is not pleased, however, and demands that he leave. He heads south, hoping to find a home. In Fairleigh, the earl agrees to let Jack plant his beans in one of the castle's fields, but Jack cannot help but notice the earl's beautiful daughter. However, he will have to use all his wits if he's ever allowed to court Pearl.

I tried to use only vocabulary words found in the Middle Ages. Looking up so many words, often five or more per sentence, has been more time-consuming and laborious than I would like. However, as a history major, it’s important to me to be as accurate as possible. I took care to maintain the flavor of the period in both the setting and the language, while still trying to keep an easy flow to the story. So, join me on a trip back into the romance of a much earlier time in this new Time-Told Tales.