Peering Through Life's Window

  IN GRATITUDE I'M HONORING THOSE WHO DIED DEFENDING OUR FREEDOM  A visit to the Traveling Wall listing those who sacrificed their lives in Vietnam made me cherish the freedom they and all our brave soldiers died for and inspired the following poem.  American Summer Sunday-Go-To Meeting in soft, cotton dresses, and open-collared shirts. Picnic on the grounds, after church. Wooden tables filled with ripe, red tomatoes, golden corn, garden green beans, and sprigs of mint for tea. Evening walks down a dusty, country road. Neighbors calling, "Come sit a spell;  take off a load." Thoughtful moments all alone, chewing on a grassy blade sitting 'neath the tall oak's shade. Flags flying, watermelon cooling, folks sitting on Dresden Plate and Log Cabin quilts. God Bless America! ________________ Did you enjoy relaxing in your house this morning? Using a computer, posting what was on your mind? Did you enjoy going to church this past Sunday? Did you enjoy picking out what y...

  A Warm Welcome to Carol McClain Carol Shares a devotional and talks about her new book, Borrowed Lives. The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: …, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God. Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees (Isaiah 35:1-3, KJV). We haven’t had an easy year. At times, the weight of loneliness, illness and grief felt like the plagues God sent on Egypt. For me, being over a thousand miles from my family, I fretted when Covid wracked five them and critically affected my sister. I feared when my son-in-law went to work on a Covid ward. My mother’s isolation in assisted living wrenched all our hearts. My own isolation often sent me into a meltdown over issues I’d never had problems with. On top of a pandemic, we had political turmoil—riots, protests, brutality. Society strengt...

     While nothing on earth equals God’s power, many people live for power. Powerful governments affect our lives for good or bad, and we notice that, but what about power in our daily lives?      Long ago before the pandemic my husband and I ate at one of our favorite restaurants fairly often, and a cute, young lady with a friendly smile waited on us. I’ll call her Mandy. One day a couple came in and sat in the booth behind us. Mandy walked up to the table with her big grin. “Hi, how are you today?” she asked.      The man, who had salt and pepper colored hair and a pudgy face, spoke in a harsh tone, “I want the steak.”      “Sure, which one would you like?” Mandy asked.      “I don’t want you to put it in the microwave. That will make it tough. Do you understand?”      Mandy’s lips turned down. “Yes sir.”      “I want it medium rare. I don’t want blood oozing out of it. I want it c...

More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website Amish Romance: The Jam and Jelly Nook by Amy Clipston -- In the final installment of Amy Clipston's bestselling Amish Marketplace series, a young widow struggling to raise her son dreams of one more chance at love. Over time Emory and Leanna become closer friends, discovering how much they have in common. As single parents, they struggle with the limits of what they can provide for their children and feel somewhat responsible for what happened to their respective spouses. The two eventually realize they have feelings for each other-but when they try to date, their children resist. Will God pave a way for them to build a family together, or will hurdles block the path to a second chance at happiness? (Amish Romance from HarperCollins Christian Publishing (Thomas Nelson and Zondervan)) Contemporary Romance: Stealing the First Mate by Tabitha Bouldin -- Sometimes, happily ever...