Tuesday

The Presence - Book Review


This was the first book I ever read by Davis Bunn and I was so impressed by it that I have read most of his books to date.







The Presence



Description


A Small-Town Lawyer. Big-City Corruption. Can One Person Truly Make a Difference? T. J. Case, a North Carolina lawyer and politician, takes a stand of integrity that costs him his election. As he considers his future, a morning of quiet reflection is transformed into a remarkable summons that propels him into the middle of Washington politics. And accompanying this commission is an extraordinary sense of divine direction to help reshape twisted lives and challenge corrupt systems. The cause that T. J. Case represents meets with resistance at the highest levels. In a dramatic clash against a shadowy network of organized evil, The Presence emerges as the prevailing power. But obedience demands sacrifice….










My Thoughts


The summary above does not give even a hint of the true impact this book can have on the reader.

I remember feeling changed when I had finished it and the sense of the presence of God was heavy on me.
I had not read a novel like this before and have not read one since.

Set in Washington and seemingly a political type story line would not have attracted me towards this book as I would not normally be interested in politics except in TV dramas like The West Wing.  However this was a story about the heart of a person and how he was led by God.  I loved seeing how even in places where we tend to presume very little Christian influence gets through, there is always God's way.

As I said at the start it was the first book by Davis Bunn that I read and it was many years ago but I will never forget it and the true test of how good a book is, will always be - will I read many more by this author?

 The answer here was yes, yes, yes!

 In the years since I have read most of his books and introduced my family to them as well.




 Here is a link to a list of other novels by Davis Bunn on Amazon
Books by Davis Bunn


If thinking of reading this book in the future why not pin this pic to go back to later.






It definitely deserves a place on my bookshelf,  what about yours?



Here are some more Book Reviews at Sandra's Ark








The Blue Bottle Club - Book Review


This is my first Book Review on the Blog and that just might give you a clue about how much I like this book.








The Blue Bottle Club

If interested in this book just click on the picture of the book or the title to find out more.



Description


In the wake of the depression of 1929, four friends gather in a cold, dusty attic on Christmas Day to make a solemn pact.
Our dreams for the future, they whisper, as they place tiny pieces of paper holding their life wishes into the blue, cabin-shaped bottle.
Letitia dreams of marriage and children>
Mary hopes to be a painter.
Eleanor aspires to help those in need as a social worker.
Adora longs to be a Broadway actress.


Four girls, four dreams, and four futures sealed in a cobalt blue bottle.


Sixty-five years later, local news reporter Brendan Delaney stumbles upon the bottle, discovering the most meaningful story of her career and possibly the meaning missing from her own life.



If thinking of reading this book in the future why not pin this pic to go back to later.








My Thoughts

I loved this book the first and second times I read it and it is one of the first books I recommend to other female friends.  My daughter also loved it.  


I have bought and read most of the books written by Penelope Stokes now and even bought her book  The Complete Guide to Writing and Selling the Christian Novel, which my daughter has since commandeered. 

Penelope Stokes has a gift of writing to involve the reader in the feelings and actions of the story and does not need to bring in sensationalism to do this.  


A group of girls who have dreams for the future and then a group of women who have matured and have lived a life .........  

No Spoilers Allowed!!

It is an uplifting & encouraging book.

One of those books that you don't forget the emotion or message it brings.



Such a popular book there have been several prints and different covers for this novel.







Below is a link to a list of some of her other books.

Books by Penelope Stokes


Including 








If thinking of reading this book in the future why not pin this pic to go back to later.







Here are some more Book Reviews at Sandra's Ark











Wednesday

Tervuren Fountain - A Dose of Encouragement


We used to live in a country called Belgium, between France and Germany.


The house we chose there was in a nice village which was close to a former Royal Palace.





On the way to the house we could see that workmen were doing something at the large roundabout which sat in front of the palace.

Later someone told us that the roundabout was being changed from just having flowers on it to have a large sculpture on it, but people didn't know exactly what it was going to be like.






I like flowers on roundabouts and also while we had been driving around Belgium we had seen other large horrible looking sculptures on roundabouts so I was rather worried about what we were going to end up with here. You see we were going to be driving round this roundabout almost every time we would go out and come home again.


As the work went on there was a large screen around it so we could not see what was there, then one day as we drove past we could see the top of something and it looked strange and Green.
We heard rumours that there was going to be an animal in the sculpture so then the question was what animal would there be?


Then we heard there was going to be more than one animal?

Eventually we heard that the unveiling of the sculpture was going to be on a certain day in the early evening. We thought it a bit strange because we knew at that time of the year it would already be getting dark at that time. However lots of people gathered together that evening to see what had become of the roundabout.

You can imagine our surprise and delight when suddenly lights came on behind the screens and then as the screens were removed water flowed up into the air, not just one spray of water but several sprays of water.

The roundabout was now a fountain; but not just an ordinary fountain it was an animal fountain.







Can you guess what animals there were? 



                           What the animals were doing? 



                                                     And where the water was coming from?






Well isn't that a lovely thing to see when you are driving out from home each day?


Can you imagine how beautiful it was when we would come home in the evenings with the fountain flowing and the lights on?


In the Bible it tells us that Jesus is like a fountain.

Jesus says He has living water for everyone who is thirsty.

Jesus can satisfy all the needs we have. 

He has everything we need to live the life God wants us to live.


The Bible also tells us that just like the fountain has water bubbling up through it and out of it we can have God's joy bubbling up and out of us. God's joy is real, true, everlasting joy which will be in our lives when we ask Jesus to be our Saviour. This will be real true joy because it will be from God, through Jesus and nothing is more real or true or lasts forever without Jesus.

The water also reminds us of the way Jesus will wash our hearts clean when we ask Him to be our Saviour.






I will always be thankful that God placed us in a beautiful village with this beautiful fountain to look at and put a smile on my face.



                  Isn't God good to us?


Here are some other  Doses of Encouragement






Loving our Children in 14 inches of Snow!!! - A Dose of Encouragement


On 14th March 1993 our family awoke to 

14 inches of snow at our front door. 

 



Needless to say this was not in Northern Ireland, nor in Belgium but in the lovely village of Hockessin in the state of 

Delaware, USA.



The kids were young then and Fred and I were full of energy then too so as Fred dug down into the hard packed snow on the driveway and cut it away in blocks the kids and I used them to make an igloo on the front lawn.


Of course we could not form it completely to curve it in so it was an open-top igloo.








Then our neighbours (another couple from Northern Ireland) came out and we all went round to the back of our houses to enjoy sledding down the slope of our gardens which was a good distance because none of the houses had boundary fences or hedges or walls.  In fact our home garden just merged into the woods behind our neighbourhood or estate (as we call it in the UK).



We just got on the sleds and slid until we came to a natural stop, or an unnatural one where we ended up across the side cul-de-sac and up to the front door of another house (but that was mainly Fred).







That is one of the greatest memories we have of winter in Delaware.


Well last Saturday here in Banbridge, NI we had some snow and even though it made us think back to all those years ago, we could not even make a snowball let along an igloo in our front garden here.



Making lasting family memories is good for children.






Memories are great, especially when they make us smile or laugh, and they are something special that we have to share together. 


However we need to have spent time together to form these memories and these days I often look at the kids in church and everywhere else and wonder what memories they are building up with their families for the future while they are so engrossed in all these electronic games and gadgets. 









I am thankful to God for all the places we have been and all the experiences we have had as a family over the years but I'm also grateful for the fact that we became Christians before we got married and had our children so that God was a part of our marriage and family life together because that makes such a difference.


Are there any children in your neighbourhood or church who do not have the privilege of growing up in a Christian family?






Can we not find some ways of making a difference for Jesus in the lives of these children?



You may be interested in some other 
 Doses of Encouragement












The Devil and Our Minds - A Dose of Encouragement





There is a passage in the Bible about someone very strange.

Someone whose mind the Devil had invaded








Let's Look at Mark ch 5 v 1-17

This passage tells us about the encounter the man called legion had with Jesus.



Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes. And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshipped Him. And he cried out with a loud voice and said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.”For He said to him, “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!” Then He asked him, “What is your name?”And he answered, saying, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” 10 Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country.11 Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains. 12 So all the demons begged Him, saying, “Send us to the swine, that we may enter them.” 13 And at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea.14 So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that had happened. 15 Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. 16 And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine. 17 Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region.


Below are some questions I asked the kids in our church one Sunday morning.


I'd like to ask you the same questions:

  • What was his name?
  • Where did he live?
  • What did he do?
  • Who loved him?
  • Who didn't love him?


When we think on these questions we get a picture of the circumstances of this man's life. Not a life we would like to have.  

He was tormented within and many people today are also tormented within, not perhaps in the same way as this man but still tormented within feeling unloved, lonely, no self-worth.







The answer to the last question is very important.

Satan doesn't love any of us. 


Satan wants us to
  • Feel unloved
  • Be lonely
  • Hurt others
  • Hurt ourselves
  • Hate God
  • Blame God for everything that happens
  • Or at the very least just not think about God



Satan DIDN'T solve any of Legion's problems because 
he DIDN'T care about Legion.



Jesus DID care about Legion and deliberately went to help him.



It is the Lord who is in control over all and only His titles matter.








Above we can see just a few of the titles or names that the Lord Jesus has.  

In this passage of Scripture we are not told the names of the many demons that were trying to kill this man because their names do not matter.

 It is the Lord who is in control over all and only His titles matter.



Satan wanted to destroy Legion's mind

And he wants to destroy our minds too.


Satan wants to destroy our minds.


Jesus loved Legion.

And He loves us too.

Legion became like a new person, a new creation, when he met Jesus, and so can we when we turn our backs on Satan and don't listen to him and instead turn to Jesus and let him be the Lord of our lives.



If you enjoyed reading this post you may enjoy some of my other 

Devotional or Bible Study Type Posts

or


or 

read more from Mark ch 5







I'm thankful that Jesus loves me and is my Lord.


Do you know that Jesus loves you too?










3 Kings & A Camel - A Dose of Encouragement

Tonight we had a puppet show at church.


We laughed so hard I nearly cried.


I wish I had taken a video clip because it will be so hard to explain the episode with the camel to someone who was not there.





The three wise men, dressed as kings, were riding along on one camel following the star.


The music had a certain beat to it that meant the puppeteers were jolting the camel & kings along forward for three beats and then flinging their heads backwards on the fourth beat.


A few times of this went okay and then one of the kings flung his head back so hard he lost his crown.


Next time one of the kings almost disappeared as the one in front head-butted him but then to "crown" it all off the next time the camel head-butted the first king which resulted in him head-butting the second king and of course he head-butted the third king making all of them look like they were falling off the camel.


We laughed so hard I nearly cried.


However the main problem lay in the fact that the camel had such a cute looking face that you had to forgive him & love him even if he may have almost killed the 3 kings.




Christmas Card I sent the Church Kids



Afterwards we came to the decision that the grown ups probably laughed louder than the kids.  We went through to have some refreshments and some of us were doing the camel dance (minus the head-butting of course) and saying how we loved the camel.

So what was the result of our Christmas Puppet Show? 

  • Children & adults both had a great time.
  • Laughter brought lots of smiles. 
  • Easy time of chatting with guests in the relaxed atmosphere.
  • Everyone saw & heard the nativity story in a way they won't forget.
  • The teenage puppeteers worked together to tell others the Message of God's Love.








God is so good to us all of the time but often we don't see this and miss out on the great enjoyment we can have in our Christian walk, we forget to smile and enjoy being with others.


Of course just as the verse above says we need to have wisdom and choose good friends and companions.








Perhaps we need to see & hear God's word in a way that we don't want to forget it but rather spread it around so that everyone can hear & see God's Love because God wants us to do that for Him, 

Yes - US - the ones who know it all first-hand.









Here are some other  Doses of Encouragement

Here are some other  Christmas Posts


Which Point of View? - A Dose of Encouragement


One night in Kettles hotel near Dublin, breakfast, free wifi.  

Get to the room and tv is not easy to work, wardrobe hanging space is only high enough to hang trousers so nowhere to even hang a coat.



One of the bedside lights missing has obviously been broken off the wall.

Wifi very poor, keeps losing connection, and basically not even strong enough to show emails with pictures and takes ages to download emails on my ipad plus most apps keep saying there is no network connection.

We had got a Groupon deal so not our first choice but it had sounded better or at least read better than it was.

My husband trying to work (when he should be relaxing but as usual something had cropped up) & calls are ok but some stuff cannot be done as he can't get things downloaded.


What's the solution?

Go home the next day early and forget about actually going into Dublin City.

      

 Is this the best solution?    Yes


He needs to access the data and it can't be done tonight here so he needs to go home to a good (better connection) to do so.

We can come see round Dublin another time because we are not so far away from it and anyway after over 20 years since last being there another few weeks or months won't matter.






I don't need to get too annoyed because it will only affect me and him and that's not fair on him when he has work deadlines and stress enough from that.

I also don't need to make him stay and go around the city for hours when he will still have his mind on work so it will not be so pleasurable for either of us and will actually only be more stressful for him with a deadline approaching.



How do I spend my evening while he is struggling with the laptop?

Well it is the evening when Sandy (not named after me) is about to hit the East coast of America so I'm watching all the news on CNN (one of the few channels available in the room).  We lived in the state of Delaware for 3 years quite some time ago but because of that I know places that are being mentioned, I have been to some of the places where the reporters are actually standing & later tonight Delaware is going to be hit by the effects of this storm.



It all boils down to how we allow ourselves to view things.


So when I consider how many people are already without electricity because of Sandy and how many are going to be left homeless; I can put my couple of days into perspective and not allow myself to get distraught over our situation and certainly not put more pressure on a good, loving, hardworking husband with whom I have spent 35 years of married life and intend to share many more.





God has given us instructions which are always for our benefit and one of them is about loving others.








It all boils down to how we allow ourselves to view things.


If it is only from our point of view and not taking others into consideration then we are on the wrong track as we will never be happy and others will know how much we don't care about them.








Here are some other  Doses of Encouragement