Category Archives: 10-Week Book Review Series

Inspirational book reviews related to God, family/home, and friendships

God’s Promises

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God's promises
…every perfect gift is from above.

When I visit with my grandchildren throughout the week, invariably I hear the middle grandson saying “Nana, I pinky swear” after he asks for me to give him his last piggy back ride. We intertwine our small fingers and say “pinky swear” that this is the last piggy ride. Does this always work? Absolutely not–but it brings on the giggles–and then we talk about this gesture as a promise and what it means to promise another person something. Lesson learned perhaps for a brief moment but hopefully he will remember this as he gets older.

What is a promise? According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a promise is:

  • A statement telling someone that you will definitely do something or that something will definitely happen in the future;
  • An indication of future success or improvement (someone who shows promise);
  • Something will happen in the future.

We make promises to others throughout our lives whether it is to our children, spouses, teachers, bosses, and even to God. We agree to do “something for someone or that something will happen in the future” and give our word. When we make a promise, we need to also follow through on what we have promised. That, I believe, is the hardest part. Many of us have broken our promises to someone and in the end the broken promise has caused hurt feelings.

So what does God’s Word have to say about promises, and what does God’s promises mean for us?

Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (NIV) God promises to be with us now and in the future as we walk with Him.

Ephesians 3:14-16: “For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,,,,: *(NIV) God promises to strengthen us through the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Matthew 7:7: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (NIV) God promises to answer our prayers if we ask, seek, and knock.

Psalm 91:2: “I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” (NIV) God promises to protect us–He is our shield and our fortress.

Matthew 11:28: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (NIV) God promises to give us rest from our weariness and our burdens.

Philippians 4:19: “And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” (NIV) God promises to take care of all our needs.

The Word of God is filled with many promises which declare God’s love for us. Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (NIV) He promises to never change and to never withhold “that good and perfect gift from above.”

May the Lord help each of us to call upon and rely upon God’s promises as we continue to walk on our journey with Him.

Blessings,

Yvonne

2021 Book Review: “FOCUS”

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"Focus" Book Review
“…..but be transformed by the renewing of your mind….” Romans 12:22

To say I have been blessed by reading Cleere Cherry Reaves’ book, “FOCUS”, would be an understatement. This 52-week devotional book, which specifically focuses on one-word weekly, has not only blessed my heart, but hopefully–I am a work in progress–it has changed and transformed my way of thinking about “words” used in the scriptures in a number of ways.

Each week the author would specify the word that you were to concentrate on for an entire seven days. At the beginning of each segment, she wrote a short introductory explanation of that word, along with scripture references for you to look up and focus on for that week.

After four weeks, she included thought-provoking questions to ask yourself about what insights you learned and could apply to your life when you focused on each of those four words.

Since each devotional is “not” dated, I decided to call this a “perpetual word devotional” which you could begin to re-read at the beginning of the new year. So beginning the first week in January 2022, I will begin “anew” to read about the words and scriptures to continue to transform my life in the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing, and perfect will.”

Allow one word a week to begin to transform your life forever. I know I have and will continue to find something that perhaps I missed the first time when I begin re-reading “FOCUS” once again in January, 2022.

May the Lord continue to transform our hearts and minds as we “focus” on His words and apply them to our everyday lives.

Blessings,

Yvonne

Nana’s Corner: Adapting and Resilience

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Adapting
Train up a child in the way he should go and he will never depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6)

Today is Mother’s Day 2021. Over 20 years ago, I lost my mother who suffered and died from lung cancer. Although there were 12 children in the family who needed a lot of attention, my mom tried to take the time to talk and laugh with all of us and I always knew I could talk with her about anything. She always listened. She was resilient and adapted to any situation within the family. She taught me valuable lessons that I have carried throughout my adulthood. Mom was crafty and could turn any piece of material into something special, and she could also fix anything that was broken.

Children can also teach us valuable lessons. Most of the time they can adapt to a new environment and have the ability to recover from or adjust easily to change. This past year children have had to adapt to a new way of learning–virtual classrooms, in person classes for either 1-2 days per week or another schedule that the school district set up, and wearing masks in the classroom as well as grocery stores and other public places. Some businesses have taken advantage of this situation and have thrived financially on this situation by creating “fun” logos on children’s masks and/or for adults to wear.

This past school year, my daughter opted to home school her oldest son who would have been in kindergarten this past year. At the beginning it was a struggle to get him to learn vowels and recognize words. Now, one year later, he is now reading and loves math. He is looking forward to going to first grade and wants to make new friends and experience the school setting. Although he will be placed in a new environment–bigger school and more students–I know after he learns what is expected in this new environment that he will adapt and hopefully adjust to all the new changes. The middle grandchild will be attending a church preschool for the first time and he is excited to attend there as well.

If I look at my own life, I can truly say that adapting and resilience to new situations has been a challenge; yet as a Christian I have learned that God is in control of my life and He works all things out for our good.

As a mother, I can look back at the lessons I learned in raising our daughter who is now a wonderful mother to her three young children. She is expecting baby #4 in only a few more days and the grand children are so excited about welcoming a new baby into their home–boy or girl. I know that she and her husband will continue to impart their values onto their children. Proverbs 22:6 says that we are to “train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” (NIV). Parenting is not an easy-peasy job but with God “all things are possible” and He will help us continue to adapt and be resilient to understanding His will.

May the Lord bless each and every mother today on her special day.

Blessings,

Yvonne

Mind, Body, and Spirit: Being Transformed

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God's Grace
God’s Grace.

Several months ago as I was searching the scriptures on what it meant to “be transformed and renewed” in God’s Spirit, I re-read Romans 12:2 which refers to our being a “living sacrifice” in which we live our lives as “sacrifices to God.” When we do this, we are no longer masters of our bodies and minds, but God is. In other words, it is God who is in control of our lives.

Let us take a look at some of the scriptures that guide us in living our lives every day with our mind, body, and spirit.

MIND (NIV):

Romans 12:2: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Isaiah 26:3: “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.”

Ephesians 4:22-24: “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

BODY (NIV):

I Corinthians 6:19-20: “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”

Romans 12:1: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship.”

I Corinthians 12:27: “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”

SPIRIT (NIV):

Ephesians 3:16: “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.”

Romans 15:13: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Galatians 5:25: “Since we live by the Spirit (fruit of the Spirit), let us keep in step with the Spirit.”

Living our lives with our mind, body, and Spirit is an act of worship. If we try to grow and change spiritually without the Holy Spirit, we are actually conforming to the pattern of the world. We are told to be “transformed by the renewing of our minds–change our way of thinking”–and we can do this by our actions (in our everyday lives). We please God when our minds are renewed.

It is the same with our body and Spirit. We have put off “our old self” to serve God in all areas of our lives. By being transformed, the scriptures tell us that “we will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2)

This is an act of faith as we believe that God will show us his good and perfect will as we continue to conform to His directions in our mind, body, and Spirit.

Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things. Whatever your have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me–put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” (NIV)

Be transformed–be renewed–be diligent–be kind and loving–be filled with the Holy Spirit. In doing so God’s hands, His words, and His grace will live in and through you. This gives us the power to “be transformed” and live for Him every day. My prayer is that my grandchildren will learn to do this throughout their lives as well.

Remember, “mistakes are made; promises are broken; but God’s love and forgiveness are sure.” (Anonymous)

Blessings,

Yvonne

The Power of Words

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The tongue is smart yet powerful!
“The tongue is the only tool that gets sharper with use.” –Washington Irving

Every day words that are spoken (and unspoken) make an indescribable impact on our lives. Scriptures teach us that our “tongues” can be used for good or for evil. They can convey words of hope, encouragement, and support or words of destruction towards one another.

I am reminded of the words that Jesus taught us and spoke regarding healing the brokenhearted (Psalm 147:3); setting the captive free (Luke 4:18-19); making the lame to walk again (Mathew 11:5-6); and causing the blind to see (Luke 18:40-42). He spoke of healing those who were less fortunate, forgiving one another, and loving your neighbor as yourself. As our example for Christian living, He used kind, gentle words with all of the people whom He met.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 says, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.” (NIV)

The Book of Proverbs is called the Book of Wisdom because it describes how we are to live our lives but also how we are to conduct ourselves in every situation. It gives us instructions on fearing and trusting the Lord, and we are to seek his wisdom in decisions we make every day.

Ecclesiastes 3:7 says that “there is a time to be silent and a time to speak.” When I was growing up in a dysfunctional family, there were many times when my tongue got the best of me, especially if I was accused of doing something that I know I did not do. There were a lot of dynamics going on in a household with 12 brothers and sisters and sometimes unkind words were spoken to one another. It wasn’t until I became a Christian and began reading the Word of God that I finally realized that what I said could either hurt someone’s feelings or I could try to be an encourager. It wasn’t easy (and I certainly was not perfect), but the Lord really helped me “hold my tongue” in a number of situations that arose within my family.

Proverbs 15:1 tells us that “a gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” We have it within ourselves to rely upon the Holy Spirit to become wise in the use of words. There were many times my family noticed a change in my attitude towards them, especially my alcoholic father. Little did I know that my actions toward him would actually convict a “once born again Christian” who later gave his life back to God. One by one, my brothers and sisters gave their lives to God as well. I tried to be a “light in the darkness” because I definitely felt God was using my relationship with Him to help my family turn to Him.

You never know what a day will bring–the moments we have with one another that will not come again. James 3:5-6 talks about “taming the tongue”–“Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.” (NIV)

Scriptures that give us guidelines on the importance of using gentle words are from Proverbs. Verse 15:4 says, “The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit”; Verse 16:24 says, “Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones”; Verse 18:4 says, “The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters, but the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook”; and Verse 18:20 says, “From the fruit of his mouth a man’s stomach is filled, with the harvest from his lips he is satisfied.” (NIV)

In conclusion, I want to end this post with Matthew 12:34-37: “For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” (NIV)

May the Lord bless and keep you in His loving care.

Blessings,

Yvonne