The Murder at the Vicarage - Book Review

I am trying to read through the novels of Agatha Christie in the order in which they were written and write a review on each one.

  

The Murder at the Vicarage. 

1930
  
A Miss Marple Story.


Description

'Anyone who murdered Colonel Protheroe', declared the parson, brandishing a carving knife above a joint of roast beef, 'would be doing the world at large a favour!'

It was a careless remark for a man of the cloth. And one which was to come and haunt the clergyman just a few hours later - when the Colonel is found shot dead in the clergyman's study. But as Miss Marple soon discovers, the whole village seems to have had a motive to kill Colonel Protheroe.

The first Miss Marple mystery, one which tests all her powers of observation and deduction.

My Thoughts

This is the 13th book by Agatha Christie and the First involving Miss Marple.

Oh how no-one thinks an elderly spinster could be interesting or knowledgeable when it comes to - well almost anything except perhaps her garden.

This book is full of endearing characters and infuriating characters which are probably the norm in an English Village the difference here being that one of those infuriating characters gets murdered.

Plenty of suspects and a complicated timeline of events makes this a difficult case to solve until Miss Marple can see around and through various aspects of this mystery.

A great storyline to introduce this sleuth and one that is definitely suited to her personality and insight.   So read and enjoy (as I did) and watch out for the clock, the garden and all the people that see everything in a village.

 Here is a link to a list of her novels on Amazon
Books by Agatha Christie

Pondering the Psalms - Psalm 113

Each Sunday I am going to choose a Psalm and write down some brief thoughts on it.


Today I'm looking at Psalm 113 

This is a Psalm of Praise from start to finish.



This Psalm falls into three parts:


V. 1
Praise the Lord!


V. 2-4
Blessed be the Name of the Lord!


V. 5-9
Who is like the Lord our God?

Praise the Lord!
Just go on and Praise Him is the feeling blasting out in this verse.
If you serve the Lord then Praise His Name.


Blessed be the Name of the Lord!
Now and forever.
During every part of the day.
Because He is the greatest.

No-one cares like Him.

Who is like the Lord our God?
No-one because no-one does what He does.
No-one cares like He does.

Even though we have just been told by the Psalmist that the 

Lord is seated on high,

we are also told of the needs He meets for His people 

and 

the love He bestows on them.

He does not ignore our hurts and our feelings.

Praise the Lord!

A New Christmas Decoration - A Dose of Encouragement

I really shouldn't have!

We have so many already!

I'm supposed to be decluttering, not bringing more things into the house!

But I just couldn't resist buying that new decoration for the Christmas tree.

I was out buying special Christmas Cards and looking for ideas for gifts in the Faith Mission Book Shop when I noticed it and the temptation grabbed me.

Fred just smiled when I showed it to him and didn't say the obvious

"not another decoration"  

 he can be so nice to me sometimes ( ok I admit it's not just sometimes but most of the time ).


It's not the only one I've bought this year, but ssssshhh that's a secret until closer to Christmas.

I have to admit I really like tree decorations that bring back memories like our 3 sleighs and the fan that get hung up each year.


But there is something special about bible themed tree decorations and the one I got was definitely bible themed with Mary and Joseph holding the baby Jesus.

Yes I admit is is rather similar to the the one I wrote about in The True Christmas blog post last year.  

But I think perhaps I was drawn to this new one because we have been doing a lot of holding and cuddling of our baby grandson since he was born at the start of last month.

It is amazing how one small child can change the structure of a marriage relationship - it is not just a couple any more it is now a family with another person there forever making a 3 Sided relationship.  This is a life-altering event in any marriage and as was mentioned in a recent post Congratulations;  it can be the best day of the lives of the couple.


Jesus obviously changed the structure of his family not only in the obvious special way as a new life born into that relationship but also because of exactly Who He was - the Son of God.  His birth was not only the best day of the lives of Mary and Joseph but also the best day in the life of the world thus far - God had come down to earth.

Look at the wording on the decoration

Jesus came to be the hope of all the world,

                                                          of everyone,

                                                                           of you ,

                                                                                      of me.

This was definitely a life-altering event for the whole world.

Our new decoration reminds us of the new Hope we have in Jesus when we acknowledge He is Lord and accept His gift of salvation.

Born as a baby but born to be the Saviour of all.

Jesus is all this

and

our true hope, 

regardless of us 

or anything else that is going on in the world.

I am thankful that I have a Saviour and that I have the Hope of all.

If you would like to know more about how you can personally experience this life-altering event please take a few minutes to watch the video 3 2 1 on the sidebar.

Pondering the Psalms - Psalm 100

Each Sunday I am going to choose a Psalm and write down some brief thoughts on it.


Today I'm looking at Psalm 100 


This is a Psalm for the Thank Offering.

This Psalm falls into three parts:

V. 1-2
What?


V. 3
Who?


V. 4
When & How?


V. 5
Why?

What are we required to do for this thank offering?
Be joyful in our Praise unto the Lord and not just us but all the earth.
Serve the Lord not as a duty but gladly.
Enter His presence with a song on our lips.


Who is this thank offering for?
It is for the Lord and He is God.
He is our creator, we belong to Him and he is our Shepherd who cares for us.

How to give a thank offering to God

When is this thank offering to be given?
It is to be presented to the Lord when we are within the gates of His Holy presence.
Then also when we are even further into His presence. with all Praise and Blessing unto Him.


How is this thank offering to be given?
It is to be presented with all Praise and Blessing unto the Lord our God.


Why should we bring this thank offering?
Because the Lord is good, He loves us continually forever and ever and He is a faithful God.

Where is this thank offering to come from?

From our hearts because of the joy and gladness there.

From the knowledge in our minds of how Good the Lord is to us.

From the honour of being invited into His Holy presence.

From the understanding that there is no-one like our Lord.

The 3 Sided Kiss - A Dose of Encouragement

All those years ago when we only had one child.

Yes way back then we started a "Black Family" phrase

"The 3 Sided Kiss"

Very simply it was the result of our first child Jonathan trying to kiss both Fred & I at the same time, and it worked!

The three of us would laugh and squeeze in together for that family kiss.


Two years later Jonathan could no longer call for a 3 sided kiss because our family had grown to 4 with his brother Daniel.

But then he simply just called for a "4 sided kiss" and Daniel grew up being squeezed in as we tried (somewhat successfully) to make this new family kiss happen.


It took another 3 years for it to turn into a "5 sided kiss" when our daughter Linda was born.

Now a 5 sided kiss was not easy to try for and really not a success but for many years the 5 of us would just throw our heads together and end up kissing whoever was nearest.

Somehow just the idea of all of us trying to be united in this simple kiss would put a smile on our faces and make us giggle and haven't we been told on numerous occasions that it is good and healthy to laugh together.

It is the little things like this that make each family unique, the silly things that we laugh at, the unusual things we share, the days, weeks, months and years that have bonded us together to make up this special relationship.

No two families will have the same relationship.


Have you ever thought about our relationship with Jesus?

We all have a unique relationship with Jesus

We all have a unique relationship with Him and that is wonderful to know.

We have all had a different length of time shared with Him,

          different words spoken to Him,

                    different tears shed with Him,

                              different joys shared with Him,

                                        different gifts received from Him,

                                                  different requests made of Him,

                                                            different answers accepted from Him.


We may share the same Saviour, yes He is the Saviour sent into the world for everyone, He is the Saviour who loves each one of us, but we do not share the exact same relationship because we have all be created uniquely, we have all had different experiences in life and we all have different thoughts and feelings deep within us.

 It is great to know that He is the only one who knows all those secrets (good and bad) that He loves us and cares about all that matters to us.

 It is great to know that He wants to have this unique relationship with us now and forever.

Now that Daniel and Suzie are married and we have a baby grandson we should be calling for a 7 sided kiss but I think we all know that is just impossible.

When Matthew is a bit older I'm sure we will tell him about the "family kiss" and I think Grandma, Grandpa and Matthew could start the tradition all over again with the new "Black Family 3 sided kiss".

The Mysterious Mr Quin - Book Review

Disclaimer:
There is an affiliate link on this blogpost.

I am trying to read through the novels of Agatha Christie in the order in which they were written and write a review on each one.

  

The Mysterious Mr Quin. 

1930  

A Book of short stories.


Description

THE MYSTERIOUS MR. QUIN A conjurer of skill with an instinct for detection, Mr. Harley Quin has an almost magical flair for appearing at the scene of the most remarkable crimes. But is it just a trick of light that haunts his shadow with a ghostly apparition? Is it fate that invites him to a New Year's Eve murder? And what forces are at work when his car breaks down outside Royston Hall, an isolated estate with a deadly history? With fantastic intrigue, uncanny procedure, and Agatha Christie's most charismatic creation, these dazzling stories remain personal favorites for the queen of crime.

My Thoughts

This is the 12th book by Agatha Christie and the First involving Mr Sattertwaite and Mr Quin.

Now the first thing I must comment on is that this one is of a very different tone and feel than the previous books.

It is the third book of short stories but is distinctly different from "Poirot Investigates"  and  "Partners in Crime"

Whereas "Poirot Investigates" was a gathering of typically Poirot type solutions, and "Partners in Crime" held the more comedic atmosphere due to Tommy & Tuppence adventures, this book is somewhat dark and sad in it's crimes.  Of course this leads well for the "Mysterious" title.

Two completely different men are introduced here with Mr Quin being highly mysterious and Mr Sattertwaite being very endearing to the readers.  I also think the readers would like to identify with the latter and think that one day they may have the opportunity to have some mystery and adventure in their lives.

I enjoyed the book again reading one story after the other and regretfully (afterwards) finishing the book in one evening when I really should have been asleep.  Lost sleep and the book being finished so soon both contributed to this regret.

Not a usual type of story for Miss Christie but then it does confirm the fact that she did not just turn out books of the same nature each time.  She had more talent than that.

 Here is a link to a list of her novels on Amazon
Books by Agatha Christie














Disclaimer:
If buying through Amazon via the link above I get a little commission but that does not mean any extra expense to you.

Pondering the Psalms - Psalm 15

Each Sunday I am going to choose a Psalm and write down some brief thoughts on it.


Today I'm looking at Psalm 15


This is one of the shorter Psalms in the Bible.

This Psalm falls into only 2 parts:


V. 1
The Question.


V. 2 - 5
The Answer.

The Question.
A very simple direct question from David to the Lord.
There is no doubt about the content.
It only takes one verse.

Who will live with God?

Who will live with God?

The Answer.
Though it is longer than the question, the answer is also simple and direct.
There is also no doubt about the content of it.
It comes from David because God has already laid this in David's heart.
David already knows the mind of God.

It is important to notice that David was able to ask a direct question 
and 
expect a reply.

We can be in that same position 
and 
I hope that we can all be like David and go ahead and ask God directly and simply
about the things that are important to us.

I also hope that we will be like David and have the answer within our being
because
we are walking and talking with God regularly
and 
reading His Word
so that we will know God's intention for this world 
and
His will for us.

Congratulations! - A Dose of Encouragement

Our family "The Black Family" has changed dramatically in the last 3 years.

This change had nothing to do with Fred and I moving house or country or the children moving.

This change all took place here in Northern Ireland.

Our son Daniel told us he had met a girl.

Nothing unusual there as he has met and dated a few girls but usually we did not meet them within 4 months; if we met them at all.

He was telling us that Suzie was going to join us for lunch at the restaurant in Belfast where all of us were going to meet him.

Poor Suzie to have to meet us all together like that.

So that was the start of what we knew was likely to be a good relationship.

Then about a year later we were not surprised when Daniel came to tell Fred & I that he was going to get engaged on Suzie's birthday in April but we had to help him in the surprise.

We were delighted to help.

Suzie's parents were happy too.

Her dad had already named one of his lambs after Daniel.

So of course after an engagement we expected a wedding to be thought about and a date decided and plans started to be put together and well that could take a year or more depending on what type of wedding etc.

No!

One month later they tell us they want to get married at the end of October that same year - 5 months away.

Things are moving fast!    

                  In the Run Up to the Wedding.

As October approaches everything is getting organised - even my problem of  What will I wear???

Because they wanted to do a lot of the preparation themselves it became a very busy time for the excited couple.

And then the day had arrived and what a happy day it was.

This was so very true it was the best day of their lives  -  so far.


We had a newly married couple settling into a new home, starting a new life together and working hard at their jobs.


Over a year later Fred & I got a special visit and a present for each of us.


Now what special occasion is this one?


                        Not Christmas.

                                          Not our wedding anniversary,

                                                                                Not either of our birthdays.


But a very special occasion for all "The Black Family" again.

The announcement that we were going to become grandparents.

Then we had all those long months to wait to welcome our first grandchild 

Matthew 

into the world 

on 

Monday 2nd November 2015.

Now there is another beautiful addition to "The Black Family"

He is such a Blessing to have in our family.

Matthew is now 16 days old and one of the "Black Family Boys"

So from engagement to wedding and then a new baby means that the Black family went from 5 to 7 in less than 3 years and nothing but smiles on our faces.


What joy to have welcomed two new members of the family and happy days to be shared together.

We are thankful to God for these blessings.

We often only know how great things are as we experience them and that is another joy God has given us in our lives.

God gives the biggest blessings

In October 2013 Daniel and Suzie thought their wedding Day was the "Best Day of their Big Black Lives".

Now in November 2015 they know that the miracle of the birth of their son was the

"Best Day of their Big Black Lives"

This is a great example of how God is never finished with our lives 

and 

even when we think we've had the biggest blessing 

He can give us more!