February Reflections

Posted on February 27, 2025 by Barbara Harper

February is an odd month that seems both long and short. With fewer days, it flies by even more quickly than the other months. But it also contains the worst of winter weather, making us eager for the month to get over.

Two bright spots in February are Valentine’s Day and my daughter-in-law’s birthday. We also enjoyed a mission’s emphasis at church over three Sundays rather than cramming it into a single week with extra services.

Jim spent much of the last several weeks painting the interior of the house–family room, small living room, kitchen/dining area, two hallways, the master bedroom, many of the ceilings, and an extra coat in the master bathroom (which is the first room he painted a few years ago). Along the way, he repaired cracks, thoroughly dusted everything on the walls, washed windows, and cleaned or replaced window blinds. I washed the curtains and helped with some of the dusting, but he usually had most of that done before I knew about it. The house looks so nice, and it feels good to know all the nooks and crannies have had a thorough cleaning.

It worked out nicely that he could get a room done during the first part of a week and then have a few days to rest or attend to other things before starting the next one.

Though I think he still wants to paint a couple of ceilings, the main part of the house is done. He’s taking a break before doing smaller areas like the laundry room, pantry, and closets. The pantry and closets will require taking everything off shelves, so it will be a good time to sort through things before putting them away again. That will be a big job, but I should be up for it in a couple of weeks.

Creating

February is a busy card month. I make Valentines for the immediate family plus a card for my daughter-in-law’s birthday.

This was Jim’s. I would normally choose more masculine colors for his, but this came from a pack of Valentine-themed paper and expressed what I wanted to say.

This was for Jeremy, my oldest son, who likes foxes.

The fox is a sticker, and I added the heart with a foam square so it stands out from the card.

This was Jason’s. I looked through Valentine images on the Cricut machine, and this caught my eye. He’s not into gnomes, but he does have a long brown beard. 🙂

This was Mittu’s.

I used a lacy corner punch on the bottom of the heart.

This was the outside of Timothy’s.

And the inside:

I had seen this idea on a reel on Instagram and had to watch it several times to see what to do.

This was Jesse’s.

And this was for Mittu’s birthday, with the image done on the Cricut.

Watching

We really enjoy the new version of All Creatures Great and Small, which just finished its latest season. Its seasons are two short!

We watched the end of the second season of The Rings of Power, based on Tolkien’s stories which take place before the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Two of my favorite things from it are the Old Tom Bombadil song with Tolkien’s lyrics and this quote from Celebrimbor, the elven smith. In the penultimate episode, in a moment where almost all hope is lost, Celebrimbor and Galadriel lament that Sauron deceived and used them. Galadriel says she wished she had been stronger. Celebrimbor says: “It is not strength that overcomes darkness, but light. Armies may rise, hearts may fail, yet still, light endures, and is mightier than strength. For in its presence, all darkness must flee.” That almost made me cry. I don’t know if the quote is taken from Tolkien’s writings or if the screenwriter came up with it, but it’s so true.

The actor that played Celebrimbor, Charles Edwards, did an excellent job (others did as well, but he stood out to me). When he is deceived by Sauron and not in his right mind, and then comes back to himself and realizes what Sauron has been up to–such a range of emotions!

Another good one was The Last Rifleman, about an Irish WWII vet who escapes his nursing home to attend a D-Day celebration in France. It’s based on a true story of Bernard Jordan, but apparently only in a broad sense. It was still moving, though. On the negative side, there were a few instances of taking Jesus’ name in vain.

We also enjoyed Mr. Malcolm’s List, which seemed Jane Austen-ish. When a wealthy suitor doesn’t call on a young woman any more, she is indignant to learn that she hasn’t met the qualifications on his list for a potential bride. She ropes her friend into a scheme of revenge, but the plan doesn’t work out as hoped. The only objectionable thing here is that some of the dresses are low-cut.

Reading

Since last time I have finished:

Ezekiel: The God of Glory by Tim Chester, a six-week Bible study. Though I did gain some benefit from the book, I didn’t really like the format. It was meant to be just a “whistle-stop tour” of Ezekiel. But I’m not sure Ezekiel is best studied that way.
The Librarian of Saint-Malo by Mario Escobar, fiction. A librarian’s assistant in Saint-Milo, France, tries to hide and protect books while suffering the effects of a Nazi takeover during WWII. I didn’t really connect with the main character, and the ending fell flat to me.
Between the Sound and the Sea by Amanda Cox, fiction, audiobook. A young woman is hired to restore an old lighthouse. She finds lighthouse keeper’s logs which don’t match up with the official ones, inspiring her to find out where they came from. Very good, with multiple layers.
The Tiny Crown by Susan Barnett Braun, fiction. A teenager discontent with her mundane life gets to go on an unexpected trip to England, the land of her dreams. While there, she tumbles through a wall into another realm and finds out royal life isn’t quite what she thought. Though this is a YA book, I enjoyed it a lot.

I also finished an audiobook recommended by a blog friend, but it had numerous problems. I haven’t decided whether to review it.

I’m currently reading:

Hebrews for You by Michael Kruger with the ladies’ Bible study group.
Daniel for You by David Helm.
What’s a Disorganized Person to Do? by Stacey Platt. I’m still slogging away at this, but I’ve made progress.
The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume 3: Narnia, Cambridge, and Joy, 1950 – 1963, compiled by Walter Hooper. My Kindle app says I am only 26% through this book though I read from it often. The hardback is over 1800 pages.
The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien, which I was inspired to read by The Rings of Power series since I wasn’t familiar with much of the lore The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings was based on.
Good Hope Road by Lisa Wingate
On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, Volume 1 of the Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson. This is a children’s or teen’s series, but I’ve heard it’s good. It’s been made into an animated series, so I want to check into the both the books and animation to see if I’d recommend them for my grandson.

Blogging

Besides the weekly Friday Fave Fives, Saturday Laudable Linkage, and book reviews, I’ve posted these since last time:

Writing

My next chapter is due for presentation to our critique group mid-March. I’m combining what was originally two chapters. I got a good running start at it but it still needs work.

Looking ahead

One good thing about the end of February is that we’re one step closer to spring! We have my husband’s birthday to look forward to the first week of March and “Pi/Pie Day” on the 14th. And a lot of cleaning and sorting when Jim starts painting closets and the pantry. 🙂

How was your February?

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

When We’re Shaken

Posted on February 23, 2025 by Barbara Harper

I was sitting at my desk one day when suddenly the floor felt like it was vibrating. The windows rattled. Confused, I looked around the house to see if anything was shaking or swaying. Within just a few minutes, the rattling and vibrating stopped, and everything went back to normal.

I did a quick check online, and, sure enough, what I suspected was true: our area was right on the edge of a distant earthquake. My Facebook feed was filled with posts asking, “Did you all feel that?” *

Even though this was a very small sampling of an earthquake, it was enough to be disconcerting. Questions flooded my mind:

What’s happening?

Is this for real?

What do I do?

How long is this going to last?

How bad will it be?

Is it going to happen again?

Our area is more prone to tornadoes, so we have an action plan when tornado warnings sound. We know to get into an inner room of the house that doesn’t have windows. But, not ever having experienced an earthquake before, I had no idea what the protocol was.

We have some of the same questions when our world is shaken. An unexpected diagnosis, a car wreck, a lost job, a house fire, a broken relationship–any of these and other scenarios can send us reeling. At first, we might be paralyzed with disbelief or confusion. Then when reality sets in, so does the pain. How are we ever going to put our world back together?

King David wrote many psalms during various kinds of trouble. In Psalm 62, David is being attacked and lied about. In verse 2, he prays, “He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.”

A few verses later, he says, “He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God.“

I love that David goes from not being greatly shaken to more firmly and confidently declaring, “I shall not be shaken.”

At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, ““Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great” (Luke 6:46-49).

Hearing and obeying God’s Word builds our lives on the bedrock of truth. We’d all probably admit to being shaken to some degree in the face of devastating news. But when we remind ourselves of the truth of God’s Word about who our God is, how much He loves us, how powerful and kind and wise He is, we can leave everything in His hands. Whatever He allows, He goes through with us. He promises to be with us and meet our needs.

Samuel Rutherford said, “Believe God’s word and power more than you believe your own feelings and experiences. Your Rock is Christ, and it is not the Rock which ebbs and flows, but your sea.”

Many Bible verses refer to God’s final judgment of the earth as a violent shaking. The writer of Hebrews says:

This phrase, ‘Yet once more,’ indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe (Hebrews 12:27-28).

C. H. Spurgeon said of this passage in the June 22 reading of Morning and Evening:

We have many things in our possession at the present moment which can be shaken, and it ill becomes a Christian man to set much store by them, for there is nothing stable beneath these rolling skies; change is written upon all things. Yet, we have certain ‘things which cannot be shaken,’ and I invite you this evening to think of them, that if the things which can be shaken should all be taken away, you may derive real comfort from the things that cannot be shaken, which will remain.

This seems like a paltry illustration, but it reminds me a bit of the machine that shakes live Christmas trees before someone wraps them up and ties them to the top of your car. The shaking gets rid of the dried needles, pine cones, dust, and bugs, so you’re only taking home your lovely tree.

Sometimes God shakes up our lives to let the wasteful, harmful, or needless stuff loose. When we’re shaken, we begin to clarify what’s true and what’s important.

Psalm 46:1-3 says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.” Seeing mountains fall into the sea sounds pretty scary to me. But with God as our refuge and strength, we stand on firm ground even then. The psalmist concludes this psalm with, “‘Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!’ The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.“

I love how the song “Still, My Soul, Be Still” by the Gettys and Stuart Townend incorporates these truths. They urge listeners, “Hold onto His ways, With shield of faith” and “Do not forsake The Truth you learned in the beginning.” The chorus repeats the prayer:

God, You are my God,
And I will trust in You and not be shaken.
Lord of peace, renew
A steadfast spirit within me
To rest in You alone.

It can be troubling when our world is shaken. But when God is our rock, we’ll be secure.

*This earthquake occurred a few years ago, not recently.

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Laudable Linkage

Posted on February 22, 2025 by Barbara Harper

I’m still behind on my blog reading due to last week’s busyness. But I did find a few thought-provoking reads I wanted to share:

Break Shame’s Chains Through Christ, HT to Challies. “Self-shaming is a defense mechanism rooted in the belief that we’re unlovable to God and others. We voice the harsh words we fear others are thinking—as if beating them to the punch might soften the blow or inspire us to change. Ironically, self-shaming doesn’t protect us; it only perpetuates harmful lies and keeps us in bondage.”

The Spiritual Discipline of Remembrance, HT to Challies. “Over and over, God commands his people to remember how hard, dark, sad, and ugly things were. And then, to celebrate the incredible contrast of his love, goodness, and might that rescued them from adversity of all kinds. The remembrance we’re called to isn’t a ‘focus on the positive’ outlook that skims past the hard and onto the happy ending. In order to truly understand the depths from which we have been saved, we have to admit how deep those depths were.”

Love Is Patient, HT to the Story Warren. “It’s tempting to approach marriage with a renovation mindset—seeing our spouse as a project to be improved upon. We’ve all heard women say things like, ‘It took me years to train him.’ While usually meant to be humorous, such comments reveal a fundamental misunderstanding of God’s work in marriage. Our spouses don’t need to be trained—they need to be encouraged and supported in their sanctification, just as we do. Love is patient.”

Pray for Protection for your Missionaries Today, HT to Challies. A good list of ways in which missionaries need protecting.

Don’t Let Your Fears Hold Back Your Children. “As Christian parents, we want to discern not only what is safe for our children, but also what will strengthen them spiritually. Kids need to have enough freedom to learn reliance on God, and maybe that is where the line gets fuzzy for us at times: what is healthy freedom, and what is reckless?”

The Conundrum of Celebrity Christians, HT to Challies. “We must first proceed with some degree of caution when a celebrity professes faith in Christ. While this principle is true no matter who claims to have recently been converted, it is especially true when dealing with someone who is a high-profile new believer.”

Straining gluten-free and non-alcoholic gnats whilst swallowing camels, HT to Challies. “It is the rankest of hypocrisy to be splitting hairs over whether gluten-free bread and non-alcoholic wine are quite bready and winey enough for us to use in communion, in the face of genuine needs amongst our people, and claim it overturns ‘settled church positions’ when much bigger, gospel-denying positions that overturn not just the formal teaching of the Church of England held throughout its history, but that of all churches since the Apostolic-era, can be adopted.”

The Blender, the Toaster, and the Body of Christ. A nice fable with a good application.

No, I Don’t Want AI to Write for Me, HT to Redeeming Productivity. “But AI writing feels very different from using a calculator to help us multiply things. When a piece of software takes what you have written and completely changes it, you may end up with something that is technically perfect. But you lose yourself—and more importantly your voice—in the process.”

Prayer is the greatest power God has given us.
Use it with great assurance, for it brings us into alignment with His will and purposes.
–Mary Slessor

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on February 21, 2025 by Barbara Harper

It’s been another very cold week. But we’re one week closer to spring! I’m cultivating gratefulness with Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story by sharing five favorite things from the week.

1. Valentine’s Day is probably my favorite holiday, maybe tied with Christmas. We had our usual “meat hearts,” chocolate cupcakes, flowers, cards with the family.

2. Sleep. What I call “good sleep” can sometimes be elusive. One night I fell asleep on the couch from about 8:30 to 11:30. I thought I’d have a hard time getting back to sleep, but I got another six hours in after I went to bed. It’s amazing how seep chases the mental cobwebs away.

3. Hobby Lobby is one of my favorite places to just wander around. This week, I didn’t find what I was looking for and didn’t buy anything, but I still enjoyed the excursion.

4. Good news. My oldest son had a scan we were concerned about a couple of weeks ago. He got the results this week. He had some damage, but there’s a new medicine that has good results reversing the damage.

5. A couple of especially productive days, one of which came after the good night of sleep. Imagine that! 🙂

How was your week?

Review: The Tiny Crown

Posted on February 18, 2025 by Barbara Harper

In The Tiny Crown by Susan Barnett Braun, Lucinda is a sixteen-year-old high school student who is discontent with her mundane life. One teacher seems out to get her. She wants the cute guy to ask her to the homecoming dance, but she’s afraid the nerdy guy will ask first.

Lucinda loves England and dreams of traveling to “the land of hope and glory” one day. She’s obsessed with royals. What could be more fun than being a princess or having a handsome prince fall in love with you?

She knows her family could never afford to go to England. But, to her surprise, one morning her mother announces that she got bargain tickets for them to do just that!

Lucinda enjoys sight-seeing with her family. When visiting Buckingham palace, she spies a corgi and runs after it–only to find herself passing through the wall into another realm.

While Lucinda finally gets a taste of the life of her dreams, she may discover that royalty isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Susan is a long-time blog friend at Girls in White Dresses. She first wrote this book on Kindle’s Vella, which allowed authors to post their books a chapter at a time. Vella is defunct now, but this book is available as an ebook or paperback.

I had read of Susan’s visit to England a while back on her blog, and it was fun to see some of those details show up in this book.

Susan tells more about the book here. The main audience for the book is teens and young adults, but I enjoy a good twist on the Cinderella story. Susan says most of her early readers have been adult women. Susan writes, “The book isn’t overtly Christian, but it has a definite Christian worldview” and “You will probably enjoy ‘The Tiny Crown’ if you 1)can remember some of the angst you experienced as a teen, or 2)would enjoy a little trip to some of London’s most famous spots, or 3)like reading about medieval times and living in a castle, or 4)would enjoy a foray into fantasy, while realizing at the same time that some wishes are best left unrealized.”

I very much enjoyed Lucinda’s journey.

He Knows My Name

Posted on February 16, 2025 by Barbara Harper

I was named for two aunts. My mother’s sister was Barbara Ann, and my father’s youngest sister was Lora Lee. So I became Barbara Lee. I supposed I could have ended up with Lora Ann, or a name from another aunt, Faye Elisabeth, whose name was the same as my grandmother’s.

From time to time as I grew up, interest arose in name meanings. My friends were always tickled to discover that my first name, Barbara, means “stranger.” I’d hear good-natured comments the speakers thought were witty, like, “Yeah, you’re the strangest friend I have.”

When I was taking a class in some New Testament epistles in college, the teacher said something like, “I don’t know if we have any Barbaras in here . . . ” (at which point everyone who knew me looked at me), “but the name Barbara comes from the word barbarian.” He said “barbarian” arose from how Greeks described foreigners, whose language sounded like “bar bar” to them.

I loved my aunts and didn’t mind my name. I don’t think my parents had name meanings in mind when they named me. But after I became a Christian I was encouraged to discover the concept of being a stranger in the Bible.

In Ephesians 2, Paul writes that we were “strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace . . .” Through the cross, He reconciled us to Himself, so when we believe on Jesus Christ, we “are no longer strangers and aliens.” The Getty’s hymn, “Jesus, Joy of the Highest Heaven,” puts it this way:

Jesus, laid in a lowly manger,
Facing a world of dangers,
Come to turn me a stranger
Into a child of God.

Isaac Watts’ hymn, “My Shepherd Will Supply My Need,” captures this beautifully in the last stanza.

The sure provisions of my God
Attend me all my days;
O may Thy house be mine abode,
And all my work be praise!
There would I find a settled rest,
While others go and come;
No more a stranger, nor a guest,
But like a child at home.

When we were at home in a world that doesn’t know God, we were strangers to Him. But once we became His children, then we also became strangers to the world. Hebrews 11 says the people listed there “all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth” (verse 13). This world is not the ultimate home of believers. We seek to do good and enjoy God’s gifts and shine as lights for Him here, but ultimately, we “desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one” (verse 16). C. S. Lewis put it this way in The Problem of Pain: “Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home.”

As strangers here, 1 Peter 2:11 urges us “to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.” This urging follows the verses that say believers are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” Because we have become God’s people through faith, we live and act differently from what we used to.

Deuteronomy 10:18-19 really elevated my name in my eyes: “He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner [stranger], giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner [stranger], therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.”

In Bible times, name meanings were special. People were given names according to character traits they either had, or that parents hoped they would have.

God often changed a person’s name in the Bible after a significant encounter with God. Thus Abram (“exalted father”) became Abraham (“father of many nations”). Jacob (“planter or deceiver”) became Israel (“prince with God”). Simon (“hearing”) became Peter (“rock”).

Revelation 2:17 contains an interesting situation: “To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.”

This is the only place where such a white stone is mentioned in the Bible. Some sources say ancient jurors cast white stones for a “not guilty” verdict or a black stone for “guilty.”

Some say the stone hearkens back to the breastplate the high priest wore which contains twelve jewels with the twelve tribes of Israel inscribed upon them. The high priest brought the names of the tribes before God as he ministered. So Jesus bears our names before the Father.

GotQuestions.org poses this as the best theory:

The best theory regarding the meaning of the white stone probably has to do with the ancient Roman custom of awarding white stones to the victors of athletic games. The winner of a contest was awarded a white stone with his name inscribed on it. This served as his “ticket” to a special awards banquet. According to this view, Jesus promises the overcomers entrance to the eternal victory celebration in heaven. The “new name” most likely refers to the Holy Spirit’s work of conforming believers to the holiness of Christ.

Jesus said of a good shepherd “The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out’ (John 10:3). Then He said, “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me” (verse 14).

Imagine–the God of the universe, who made and knows millions (billions? trillions?) of people, knows our name. Those who know Him will receive a new name in heaven known only between Him and them.

I don’t know what my new name will be. But I am immeasurably thankful to be known and loved by God.

He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out (John 10:3).

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on February 14, 2025 by Barbara Harper

Happy Valentine’s Day! This will just be a fly-by post today as there is still much to do before our family Valentine’s dinner tonight. I’m cultivating gratefulness with Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story.

1. Pretty pens. Sometimes the pretty ones don’t write very well, but this one is both lovely to look at and functional.

2. Hiding cords and cables. I love our electronics, but I hate to see cords and cables and wires hanging off the furniture or tangled on the floor. With all the moving furniture around while painting, Jim has been finding ways to make the cords less noticeable.

3. A picture rehung. A picture above our bed has been off-center ever since we moved the bed over to make room for a chair. I have balance issues, so I wasn’t able to stand on the bed to rehang it, and the bed doesn’t move easily. Jim painted the master bedroom this week, and we finally got the picture in the right place while the bed was away from the wall.

4. No ice or snow. Our temperatures have varied this week with a lot of rain, but thankfully the rain didn’t come on days when the temperatures were low.

5. Good fellowship. I always enjoy being at church, but the last few weeks have had some especially good conversations with different people.

I hope you have a wonderful day and know how much you are loved.

Review: Between the Sound and Sea

Posted on February 11, 2025 by Barbara Harper

Between the Sound and Sea is “Inspirational Contemporary Fiction with History and Mystery at a North Carolina Lighthouse.” The Sound in the title is Pamlico Sound in the Outer Banks of NC, but the title has several layers of meaning.

Josephina Harris–Joey–owns a fledgling event-planning business in Copper Creek, TN, where she grew up. She had helped her father and brother in their restoration business until her father retired and sold the business. But the new owner cheated people, who, for some reason, blamed Joey’s father. Her parents decided to make a new start in Florida. Joey’s customers have cancelled events one by one

When Joey’s friend sends her an ad about help wanted to restore a lighthouse and cottage on a North Carolina island, Joey decides to apply. If she gets the job, it will give her an income to tide her over and give her time to think about what she should do next.

Joey travels to NC and meets the owner of the lighthouse, 81-year-old Walt O’Hare, and his grandson, Finn. Walt had grown up in the area but left after WWII. His best friend, Cay, short for Cathy, had been the lighthouse keeper’s daughter. During the war, her father’s body had mysteriously washed up on shore, but Cay was never found and presumed dead. Walt wants to restore the lighthouse in their memory. Finn is not so sure this idea of his grandfather’s is a good one and is even less sure Joey is the person for the job. But he acquiesces.

It soon becomes clear that Walt has other reasons for wanting to restore, reasons which he is not sharing.

The people in town tell of strange things happening on the island over the years. Some say ghosts inhabit the island. Others say Cay’s father was working for the Nazis.

As Joey begins restoration, she finds patched-up places in the lighthouse’s inner walls. When one area begins chipping, she discovers what appears to be a lighthouse keeper’s log inside–but the events described don’t match the official logs.

Local lore describes a “Saint Mae” who rescued people lost at sea. Could these logs belong to Mae? But who is she and why is she not listed among the lighthouse keepers?

When accidents and unexplained things start happening around the lighthouse and cottage, Joey wonders what’s at the bottom of it all.

Besides the lighthouse mystery, Joey, Walt, and Finn all deal with regrets from their past and indecision about how to handle the future. There’s a secondary story line involving a teenage boy with a troubled past.

I enjoyed how the story unfolded, sharing what really happened with Cay, who Mae was, how everything connected, and how each character found peace. The restoration of the lighthouse seemed a subtle metaphor for the needed restoration available to each character.

I also loved that the author had Christian characters doing Christian things without being heavy-handed about it. Some Christian fiction is so subtle, there’s almost nothing Christian about it. It’s refreshing to find truly Christian fiction.

A couple of favorite quotes:

God meets us right where we’re at. And maybe things in our lives get broken down and beat up along the way. The good news is restoration work is kind of His specialty.

I’m grateful to have played a role, but I wasn’t the planner orchestrating this event.
This one was in the hands of One far more skilled than I, gently guiding even when we were all half certain we’d lost our way.

A couple of well-worded descriptions caught my ear, too: “the comfort of an oversized sweater worn on a crisp fall morning” and “Her voice was wispy like fog over water.”

I listened to the audiobook read by Rebecca Quinn Robertson, who did an okay job. She spoke too softly sometimes.

As I sat down to write this review, I looked up the book on Amazon and reread the first few pages in their free sample. I had forgotten how it began, with an older woman telling a young boy about Saint Mae. I was delighted to realize who those characters were later in the story.

Overall, this was a great read that I am happy to recommend.

Do You Know How Much God Loves You?

Posted on February 9, 2025 by Barbara Harper

As I grew up, some people emphasized God’s love to the extreme of discounting His wrath or justice. For that reason, some churches tended not to talk about the love of God so much except in that He loved us enough to send His Son to die for our sins. We sang about God’s love in our hymns. We read about it in our Bible studies. But God seemed to be presented as a stern judge rather than a loving Father.

The more I read the Bible, though, the more God’s love seems to be foundational to our Christian lives.

Paul prayed for the Ephesians that “according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:16-19).

And then he writes, “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (verses 20-21). We apply those verses to all kinds of things, but think what it means in the context of knowing God’s love. The love of Christ “surpasses knowledge”–is more than we can fathom. Yet God inspired Paul to pray that we might know His love.

How does knowing God loves us affect our lives?

God loved us even before we came to Him.

We tend to think God will love us once we get cleaned up. But Romans 5:8 says, “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Similarly, Ephesians 2:4-6 tells us, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

God loved us enough to send His Son to bear our sins.

““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Isaiah 38:17 puts it this way: “In love you have delivered my life from the pit of destruction, for you have cast all my sins behind your back.”

God’s love draws us to Him.

When I first began to hear the gospel, I knew I was in trouble, because I knew I was a sinner. But I would have been afraid to come to God if I didn’t know that He loved me. His law convicted me, but it was His love that drew me to Him. Hosea writes that God “drew them with gentle cords, With bands of love” (11:4, NKJV). James Grindly Small expanded on this thought in the hymn, “I’ve Found a Friend”:

I’ve found a Friend, O such a Friend!
He loved me ere I knew Him;
He drew me with the cords of love,
And thus He bound me to Him;
And round my heart still closely twine
Those ties which naught can sever,
For I am His, and He is mine,
Forever and forever.

God’s love keeps us secure.

In college, a friend and I were listening to the hymn, “O Love That Wilt not Let Me Go.” She commented that the song title seemed odd. But it’s not if you’ve ever felt unsure of someone’s love. Even the best human love will fail us at times. But God says, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, ‘For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:35-39).

God’s love sustains us.

Knowing how deeply God loves us will sustain us when, like Job, we’re going through trials that don’t make sense. We may not feel God’s love in those movements. But when we know His character through His Word and we know His love, we can rest in the fact that He has a purpose in what He allows and He will keep us.

God’s love disciplines us.

A mother who never disciplines her child or tells him “no” might feel she is the most loving parent in the world. But she’s not: she’s impairing her child. He will never learn self-discipline or self-control if he’s never been taught to deny himself and yield to another. He probably won’t get along well with others and may have trouble holding a job.

We mentioned the disconnect some have between God’s love and His wrath. Yet everyone who loves another hates what would harm his loved one. God knows sin is harmful to us, so he disciplines us like a loving parent. “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives” (Hebrews 12:5-6).

God’s love comforts us.

David wrote in Psalm 31:7: “I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love, because you have seen my affliction; you have known the distress of my soul.” The writer of Lamentations adds: “My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Hymnwriter Frank E. Graeff captured these truths in “Does Jesus Care?”

Does Jesus care when my heart is pained
Too deeply for mirth or song;
As the burdens press, and the cares distress,
And the way grows weary and long?

O yes, He cares- I know He cares!
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares.

God’s love sparks our love to Him.

1 John 4:19 says, “We love because he first loved us.” I don’t think that’s just the order of events, although it’s true that He loved us first. But His love creates a response of love in us. Romans 5:5 says, “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

God’s love helps us love others.

When God sheds His love abroad in our hearts, it spills over to others. Consequently, 1 John 4:20-21 says, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.“

I’ve shared this many times before, but I’ve always been inspired by a missionary who struggled with loving those in her charge. Every time she saw her failures and thought, “I need to be more loving,” she grew more discouraged by more failure. But when she began to meditate on God’s love for her, she began to act in love towards others, so much that people commented on the change in her.

God’s love enables us to live for Him.

2 Corinthians 5:14-15 says, “For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.” When you love someone, you want to please them. 1 John 5:2-3 says we not only keep His commandments because we love Him, but we don’t find them burdensome.

How can we mediate on God’s love for us?

Verses like these can remind us just how much God loves us:

“How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings” (Psalm 36:7).

“But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Psalm 86:15).

“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing” (Zephaniah 3:17).

“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God” (1 John 3:1a).

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me” (Isaiah 49:15-16).

“‘For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,’ says the Lord, who has compassion on you” (Isaiah 54:10).

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23).

Songs based on Scripture help us fill our minds with the truth of God’s love:

Oh, the deep, deep love of Jesus—
Vast, unmeasured, boundless, free—
Rolling as a mighty ocean
In its fullness over me!
Underneath me, all around me
Is the current of His love—
Leading onward, leading homeward
To His glorious rest above.
—S. Trevor Francis

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made;
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.
–Frederick M. Lehman, 1917

Here is love, vast as the ocean,
Loving-kindness as the flood;
When the Prince of Life, my ransom,
Shed for me his precious blood.
Who his love will not remember?
Who can cease to sing his praise?
He shall never be forgotten,
Through Heav’n’s everlasting days

On the mount of crucifixion,
Fountains opened deep and wide,
Through the flood-gates of God’s mercy,
Flowed the vast and gracious tide;
Grace and love, like mighty rivers
Poured incessant from above,
And God’s peace and perfect justice
Kissed a guilty world in love.
–William Rees

Loved with everlasting love,
Led by grace that love to know;
Spirit, breathing from above,
Thou hast taught me it is so.
Oh, this full and perfect peace!
Oh, this transport all divine!
In a love which cannot cease,
I am His, and He is mine.
–George Wade Robinson

Though it’s wonderful to feel love, love is not just a feeling. Whatever the circumstances in our lives, we can rest in the fact that God loves us.

These truths are just a sampling. The more I studied this topic, the more I found, and my heart was warmed even further.

In what ways has God’s love helped you? What verses or hymns help you rest in God’s love?

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Laudable Linkage

Posted on February 8, 2025 by Barbara Harper

I haven’t had a lot of extra time at the computer, so I have just a short list of recommended reading:

How Honest Can I Be with God in Prayer? “Do you ever wonder how honest you can be with God in prayer? On the surface, this question probably seems silly. After all, God knows everything. How could we hide anything from the God who knows our hearts and can read our minds? Yet sometimes, we hold back in prayer. As if our thoughts, emotions, or words don’t really exist if we don’t speak them. Or perhaps that we won’t be held accountable for them if we don’t admit our thoughts.”

2 Reading Strategies to Get Wisdom From the Word. “The Bible won’t tell you who to date, which car to buy, where to go to college, or whether to accept the job offer on the West Coast. It does, however, offer principles to live by, guard rails to keep readers on the path of wisdom.”

Finding Joy in Bible Reading, HT to Knowable Word. “It will help if we consider what we are doing when we read the Bible. It is not like a textbook we have to wade through in order to pass an exam. It is not something we have to do out of expectation or duty. It is something we get to do; a privilege, a blessing. Countless people through history would have loved to have the access to God’s word that we enjoy today.”

Improving Our Listening to Sermons. “Sermons are not lectures; they are intended to persuade you of something. They should lead to action, not only to increased knowledge. We should always ask what to do in response to what we have heard.”

Thank You Gracious Church Members, HT to Challies. “A pastor’s heart is not his congregants’ responsibility. But there is an invitation to be a congregant who steps into church life with a heart of submission and care for your leaders.”

The Church’s Opportunity when “Gentle Parenting” Crashes, HT to Challies. Although “gentle parenting” seems attractive and has some good points, it doesn’t deal accurately with sin. “Diagnosing sin in our kids’ hearts doesn’t strip them of dignity. On the contrary, it dignifies and deepens them. We treat children as moral agents, respect them enough to discipline them in love, and then forgive and restore them.”

The Vibe Shift: What Does It Mean for the Gospel? HT to Challies. Though the “vibe shift” in America since the election and especially since the inauguration has been a welcome change more in line with Christian values, we’re reminded that the “vibe” is not the gospel and people still need the Lord.