Nebuchadnezzar Recognizes God

Daniel became a favorite of King Nebuchadnezzar after he and his friends were taken captive to Babylon. He was able to interpret the king's dream about a statue made of gold, silver, bronze, and iron when no one else could, and when Daniel gave God the glory, Nebuchadnezzar began to recognize that this young man worshipped a powerful God. He gave Daniel important positions, and this evoked jealousy among some of the Babylonians.

Nebuchadnezzar made a nine-foot golden statue, set it up on the plain of Dura, and ordered that everyone bow down and worship it. When Daniel's friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow down and worship it, the king had them thrown into a fiery furnace so hot that it killed the guards who threw them in. But God sent an angel to spare them, and they were unharmed. When Nebuchadnezzar looked, he saw four people in the furnace and not three. He said the fourth person looked like the Son of God. But even after seeing all these miracles, Nebuchadnezzar didn't see Daniel's God as the One True God. He only added Him to the plethora of other gods he recognized.

King Nebuchadnezzar had another dream of a great tree, but the tree was cut down. Again, Daniel hesitantly tells the king what it means. For a while, the king will live as an animal outside, grazing on grass. This came true too. But later, when Nebuchadnezzar recognizes God is in control, he is restored to his senses and takes the throne again. He now understands the majesty and perhaps even the sovereignty of God. Here is what the Bible says:

At the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honored him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation. And the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? At the same time my reason returned to me; and the glory of my kingdom, mine honour and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom and excellent majesty was added unto me. Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase (Daniel 4:34-37).

Do you recognize God's perfection, glorious majesty, and power? He is beyond description and worthy of all worship and praise. We can never honor Him enough.

Let all the earth fear the Lord;

let the inhabitants of the world

stand in awe of him!

Psalm 33:8

_____________________________

Bretta's Business

Bretta's Business just published Tuesday. It's an intriguing story of a woman who owns her own construction business in Wyoming in 1889. Although she learned the business from her father, he's not very supportive of her independence or her interest in the women's rights movement. Bretta hasn't even been able to find any help who's willing to work for a woman until Alec Peterson shows up for an interview. The newspaper had misprinted her name as Brett Shaw, and Alec thinks she's a man. However, he agrees to take the job on a trial basis. Now, why does she get the impression he's hiding something?

Bretta's Business

The novel has a little mystery and suspense as well as a slow-developing romance. It's a sweet story that has a couple of twists along the way. It's the second book I've written in The Suffrage Spinisters series. Ingrid's Intention, my first book, has gotten some great reviews, and I'm hoping Bretta's Business does just as well if not better.

Ingrid's Intention

I needed a new female narrator for the Audible edition of this book, and I found her in Wendy Arcega. Wendy has a background in music as well as being a professional voice artist. She has a passion for Christian literature and children's books. I was impressed with her talent and range of voices, and I think listeners will be too. 

Bretta's Business Audible

_______________________________________________

Having Idols in Your Heart

"...these men have set up idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them: (Ezekiel 14:3).

Many people, even people who claim to be Christians and often attend church, have set up idols in their hearts. They would never call them idols, but that's exactly what they've become. Anything that we give more allegiance to than we do to the things of God are our idols. We should keep a log of our discretionary time. How do we use it? What occupies most of our thoughts and desires? What excites us, pulls us, and even makes us sacrifice other things to be involved with it? Is it God or something else?

To some today, it's a political party they support, or it may be a sports team they follow. It might be a quest for some sort of worldly success, money, prestige, position, or power. Hobbies aren't bad in themselves because we all need to relax on occasion, but if taken too far, they, too, can become idols. Food can become an idol and so can any addictions: tobacco, alcohol, or drugs. Television or video games have become idols to some. Examine your life carefully. Do you have an idol? Even someone you care about can become an idol if you put them above God. Selfish people can become their own idols.

"Thou shalt have no other gods before me (Exodus 20:3). It begins the Ten Commandments. We need to honor God in all that we think and do and with our whole lives. He should be first in our lives, far above everything else. Nothing else is as crucial. At the end of our lives, only what we've done with our Lord will matter. Everything else will be left behind. If you have any idols in your life, dethrone them right now and put God where He belongs, to reign supreme forevermore.

Read Ezekiel 14

_____________________________________

Prices of Print Books

Amazon recently raised the amount they charge authors for printed books, citing increased publishing costs as the reason. I had hoped to absorb the increase and not have to raise my prices, so I gave it time to see what happened. The numbers were not good.

After much consideration, I decided I would need to raise my prices after all. All my profits go to a scholarship fund for missionary children, and if I kept the prices the way they were, I wasn't certain that I'd have enough to fund the program each year. Therefore, I've raised the prices of my paperback books on Amazon.

Paperback book sales on Amazon only make up about 1% of my total sales. About 88% or more come from Kindle Unlimited, and 11% come from Kindle ebook sales. Therefore, this price change shouldn't affect many people. For now, I'll keep my personal print books for sale priced as they are, at ten dollars each, until my present inventory has dwindled. I'm pleased and thank God that my book sales, in general, have been consistently growing, and I hope this will continue.

___________________________

Captivity and Restoration

See Ezekiel, especially Chapter 37.

All through the book of Ezekiel, God warned the Israelites what He was going to do if they didn't change their wicked ways and turn back to Him. He would bring all sorts of devastation to the nation, including allowing them to be captured. But despite all the many warnings, the Israelites wouldn't listen. Instead, they became even more evil and perverse.

Just as God had warned, both the divided nations of Israel and Judah were taken captive. The northern kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrians first in 722 B.C. The Babylonians invaded Judah in 586 B.C. and destroyed much of Jerusalem, including the temple. Judah's captivity lasted for seventy-five years.

However, just as God promised, He also eventually restored His people. He brought good to the Israelites after they were taken into captivity in Ezekiel's time. Not only were they able to come back to the land of their forefathers after seventy-five years, but they came back as one nation, not two. Israel and Judah were united again.  As He often does, He used a bad situation to bring about good. He does the same with us, but we may not see it until much later. 

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).

___________________________

 Jesse James House & Museum

St. Joseph, Missouri

Robert (Bob) Ford, a member of Jesse James's gang, shot and killed the outlaw in this house on April 3, 1882, in St. Joseph, Missouri, for the reward of ten thousand dollars offered by the governor. Jesse was 34 years old at the time of his death. He had assumed the name of Tom Howard, and his wife and two children lived with him.

The house displays artifacts from the James home as well as information about his time in his life. Because of some controversy, in 1995, a forensic scientist exhumed Jesse's body to do DNA tests. The results revealed a 99.7 % certainty that the body was Jesse James's. Apparently, he had two bullet wounds, one in the right lung and one behind his right ear.

Jesse James was born September 5, 1847, in Clay County Missouri. He married his cousin, Zee on April 24, 1874, and they had two children to survive until adulthood. Jesse Edward James was born in 1875 and became a lawyer in Kansas City, Missouri.  Susan was born in 1879 and married Henry Barr. Twin sons died as infants.

In the house, a frame marks a bullet hole that entered the wall. Souvenir seekers have made the hole larger in the years before the museum took over. My husband and I toured the home on our trip out West in June to attend a book fair in Deadwood and do research for upcoming novels. Jesse has already entered one of my novels, Transplanted to Red Clay. Who knows? He might find his way into another one after this.

_________________________________________

______________________________

 A Great Awakening

Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the Lord of host, and I will turn unto you (Zechariah 1:3a).

I know many Christians today are praying for another Great Awakening to turn people back to God. Historians and theologians identify three or four Great Awakenings in our past where large numbers surrendered to Christ for the first time or renewed their faith and rededicated their lives. 

Ye shall know them by their fruits (Matthew 7:16a).

This kind of revival doesn't take place without Christians getting up from the church pews and moving outside the buildings to give their testimonies, share the gospel message, and demonstrate the love of Christ to others. We must care enough to sacrificially give of our time as well as our other resources. 

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through and steal (Matthew 6:20).

Although this type of lifestyle looks different from what the world defines as success, it is gratifying, satisfying, and has intrinsic rewards. It stores up treasures in heavenly places where values don't fluctuate, thieves cannot steal, and nothing gets old or wears out. What are you seeking? Where are your treasures? Are you willing to be a part of a Great Awakening?

_____________________________

A Series to Love

I'm sorry to say, the series, The Suffrage Spinsters, is winding down. It has been a fun series with many possible plots of a woman supporting the women's suffrage movement before 1900. She often thinks she never wants to marry, but a special man comes along to change her mind.

Link to the series

My first book in the series, Ingrid's Intention, has some great reviews. Ingrid Palmer's cruel father taught her not to risk the possible misery marriage could bring. After he dies, she helps her mother in her dress shop, volunteers at an orphanage, and does as much as she can to help the women's suffrage movement in Kansas City. However, when a brilliant newspaper reporter wants to write about women's rights, Ingrid's world begins to gradually shift. Can Ryan O'Grady break through the walls she's built to protect herself?

Link to Ingrid's Intention

My next book in the series, Bretta's Business, releases on September 19. As a women’s rights activist with a construction business in Wyoming in 1889, Bretta Shaw’s life isn’t easy. She can’t even find anyone to work for her until Alec Peterson shows up. The newspaper misprinted her name as Brett Stone, and he thinks she’s a man; however, he agrees to take the job. Although Bretta suspects he might be hiding something, she hires him in desperation, but will she live to regret it?

Link to Bretta's Business

Normally, ACX has been taking two weeks or more to approve an Audible book after it's finished and submitted. Imagine my surprise when Bretta's Business was approved in about three days, so it's released and ready for purchase. Since EJ Lavery is now only doing dual narration with Doug Birk for me, I needed a new lead female narrator, and I discovered her in Wendy Arcerga. I think listeners will love her work as much as I do. 

Bretta's Business Audible -

Annette's Assignment will come next. Annette Hunt prefers staying home over going to social events, but her cousin talks her into attending a competition between some of the best minds in Chicago. He needs her to gather information that will help him catch a criminal, and he convinces her by saying that if she does well it will be a big boost to the cause for women’s rights. With trepidation, she agrees, but is she in over her head? I have already done all my work, and Adam Skousen, the audible producer who narrated Simon's Shame and Solomon's Secret is working on Annette's Assignment right now. The ebook is scheduled to publish on October 16.

Link to Annette's Assignment

Tessa's Time will be the last book in the series and publishes on December 26. After his fiancée jilts him for not spending enough time with her, Avery Brown goes to San Francisco as a guest musician. Vowing to avoid such entanglements in the future, he hadn’t expected to meet such a beautiful young lady as Tessa McDonald or be so attracted to her. However, he won’t change his resolve. Astor is the third woman to be jealous of his violin, and he's had enough. So far, Tessa has managed to fend off all the men interested in courting her. She wants to build her writing career and continue to work for women’s rights, and most men are too controlling and narrow-minded to accept either. When she meets the visiting violinist from New York City, she likes him, but she doesn’t expect him to be any different. However, the more she gets to know Avery, the more different he appears. I'm three-fourths finished with the rough draft of this book and am on track to have it ready in plenty of time. It's on preorder now. Browse and buy any of the books that appeal to you. I'm sure you'll love them.

Link to Tessa's Time

___________________________