Psalm 4

Psalm 4

I am so upset.  Have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

When will people stop shaming You, deluding themselves and turning to gods of their own making.

God sets apart the faithful and hears when they pray.

Reverence God in your prayers.  In the silence search yourself for sin and repent.

Trust God!

Shine down on us Lord!  Prosper us!  Fill us with the joy of Your provision.

Now then, I can sleep safely knowing You alone are here!

Please note:  This is how God speaks to me through His Word.  It is not meant as another translation or transliteration.  It is simply what it is.   My fervent prayer is that you will take His Word, listen to the Spirit within, and use it as He intended…to guide your own life.

Blessings to you and yours!

Marie

30 Days To A More Beautiful You Book Review

I love to read!  You all know that, I’m sure!  I’ve just had the privilege of reviewing a delightful 30 day devotional  – 30 Days To A More Beautiful You by Kylie Bisutti.  Kylie is a former Victoria’s Secret Runway Model who clearly listened to the ‘prompts’ of the Holy Spirit in her life and used her experiences as a model to write this set of 30 devotions directed at girls in this modern culture.

30 days

This ‘little’ book  is full of delightful gems that would be great for mother/daughter/mentor discussions.  Each day has a scripture, a short narrative, questions and a thought for the day.  Ms. Bisutti used her experiences both inside the modeling business and in her personal life to show all women that our bodies are sacred to God and He wants us to glorify Him with them.  She is not prudish in her suggestions but does say that some of her modeling career did not honor herself or God.  (Please don’t misread this…she does not have a history of nudity!)  It’s a real bargain at only 99 cents!

A complementary copy of this book was provided by Tyndale House Publishers for the sole purpose of review.  I have included a link to purchase the book for you (Just click on the book cover.) but I receive no compensation for your purchase.

The Double Edged Sword

DoubleEdgedSword

This has long been one of my favorite passages in the Word.   I am often humbled by the fact that I will ultimately give an account of my life to my Great High Priest, Jesus.  It tells me that I must use the Word to define my life.  But there’s more to it…

Active, in the Greek, is energes.  It is commonly used, in the Bible, as a medical term that means engaged to/in work, effective.  Think about that.  God’s Word is meant to be active, healing medicine for us.  The double-edged sword is a reference to a surgical knife.  In modern terms a scalpel that opens the surface (skin), cuts through to the bone, and reveals all.

And so, God knows all and sees all.  His word is meant to heal us.  It is meant to protect and defend us.  He gave it and breathed it so we would have the answers and ‘remedies’ we need. (2 Timothy 3:16)  His expectations are for us to read it and use it!

Blessings to you and yours!

Marie

No One Is More Important Than Jesus

These words of Oswald Chambers had a profound effect on me the first (and every) timehouse I read them.  I have many friends who mean much to me but not as much as my Jesus.  I have a loving family whom I adore but they don’t mean as much to me as my Jesus.  I have a church family that I think the world of but they don’t mean as much to me as Jesus.  God gave me the most awesome man on earth as a helpmate, but Jesus surpasses the love he has for me.  (Yes, he’s comfortable with that because he also knows that Jesus’ love for him is greater than mine.)  There is no one in this world greater than my  Jesus!

Our soul’s history with God is frequently the history of the “passing of the hero.”  Over and over again God has to remove our friends in order to bring Himself in their place, and that is where we faint and fail and get discouraged.  Take it personally: In the year that the one who stood to me for all that God was, died–I gave up everything?  I became ill?  I got disheartened?  Or–I saw the LORD?

It must be God first, God second, and God third, until the life is faced steadily with God and no one else is of any account whatever.  “In all the world there is none but Thee, my God, there is none but Thee.”  Keep paying the price.  Let God see that you are willing to live up to the vision. 

Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest (Westwood, NJ; Barbour and Company, Incl, 1935), 195.

I thank my God every time I remember you.  Philippians 1:3

Blessings to you and yours!

Marie

Mark of Distinction Book Review

As many of you know, I love to read and from time to time post book reviews for various publishers.  The review you are about to read is my thoughts and opinions of the book.  I hope you enjoy it.   Marie

book coverMark of Distinction by Jessica Dotta is Book 2 of the Price of Privilege Trilogy.  Set in Victorian England, it gives the reader a glimpse of what it was like to live in that time period.  The reader becomes part of the wealthy world of the aristocrats (balls, soirees, opera, the Court, servants) while being constantly aware of the poverty, filth, and crime of the streets of London.

This delightful story is based on the age-old theme of right vs. wrong.  The battle of what one knows to be the right choice vs. what anyone/everyone else wants.

As the main character, Julia Eliston Pierson, recalls the 8 months of her life that frame this story.  The reader is drawn into a world of politics, intrigue, and the societal values of the age.  At the tender age of 18, upon the death (murder?) of her mother, after what seems to be a questionable marriage to a dashing rogue named Mr. Macy, she seeks refuge with Lord Pierson.  He recognizes her as his daughter and creates a plan that will allow her to quickly become the darling of London society, the Emerald Heiress.  The plan includes his desire for her to marry his adopted son, Lord Dalry, but is she really married to Mr. Macy?

Woven throughout the story is another character named Edward.  At the point of this story he is a ‘pastor’.  One must realize that Julia’s step-father was an atheist and she was raised as such.  As the story unfolds, she becomes the possessor of Edward’s Bible and the notes he has written in it.  Since she is searching for answers about her life she reads it and as a result becomes a believer in a touching, staircase scene, with Lord Dalry.  Of course, that sets her mind rolling with more questions.  Should she marry Lord Dalry?  Why is she kept in nearly constant seclusion?  Why is her father such a controlling monster?

Let me say at this point that it might be good to read Book 1 of the Trilogy first (Born of Persuasion).  Without the knowledge of the first book some of the story line became quite confusing.  However, even though I did not read the first book, Mark of Distinction, stands well on its own.

I highly recommend this book!  It is well written, accurate in its representation of what Victorian society must have been like, and does not assault the senses with unnecessary violence or intimate life details.

A copy of the book was provided for me by Tyndale House Publishers for the sole purpose of reviewing it.  The above review is my honest opinion of the book.  Should you desire to purchase the book just click on the bold title and it will take you to amazon.com (I receive no compensation from either company for your purchase!)