Peering Through Life's Window

  Image by Inspired Images on Pixabay                 So, Who Was St. Patrick? St. Patrick, patron saint and apostle of Ireland, born in the late 4th Century, started his life in Britain as part of a wealthy Romanized family. He grew more passionate about his faith after Irish raiders snatched him from his father’s villa at age sixteen and kept him in captivity as a herdsman. Known for dreams that spoke to him, after six bleak years he dreamed a ship waited to take him home to Britain, and it did. However, he nearly starved and endured another brief confinement before he found his family.   Later while still in Britain, he had another dream. In this one he received a letter headed, “The Voice of the Irish.” Reading it convinced him a group in Ireland beseeched him to join them once more. Because he lacked what he believed was the proper education, he waited to respond. Once he did, doubts plagued him as he embarked. Howeve...

More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website Contemporary Romance: A Heart to Redeem by Judith McNees -- Chris Morgan is the black sheep of the family. He’s leaned into the title, finding as many ways as he can to distance himself from his perfect parents and siblings. When he receives shocking news that rocks his perception of his sinful lifestyle, he needs help. Fast. Brandi Blakely knows exactly what kind of person Chris is. When he comes to her begging for help, she agrees to marry him with one caveat. The marriage will have an expiration date. As the two work together to get custody of the little girl he has just learned about, lines blur, and hearts become involved. Brandi refuses to let Chris in and shatter her fragile heart. When tragedy strikes, can Chris hold onto the tenuous changes he’s made, and can Brandi let go of the ugly scars from her past to see herself as a new creation in Christ? (Contemporary Romance, Independe...

  A Warm Welcome to Fay Lamb Fay shares a devotional. She's also having a contest. Enter here   by guessing at the clues given to you as to the location of each book in The Visitor series. One Day Heaven Was Open Those five words from “One Day” rang in my head as I contemplated this post. The hymn is a beautiful story of Christ’s redemptive love, but those lyrics came to mind for a different reason. There had been a day in my life when Heaven had opened, and I saw clearly my Savior who bled and died for me. Since that day, there have been other times when the Lord has shown Himself real to me. One particular time I will never forget occurred one very early foggy morning. While driving to work, I passed an entrance ramp onto Interstate 95. An overwhelming prompting from the Holy Spirit urged me powerfully with one word. “Pray.” Then a still, small voice said, “Pray for Ethan.” Ethan is my grown son. I knew he would have been on his way to work in the fog driving on the interst...

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY Photo courtesy of Dalle 2 I immediately added clean water and the preservative that came with my flower to the rose my husband gave me one Valentine’s Day. But the next day, February 15th, the stem drooped. That afternoon the sun shone through the opened blinds on the sliding glass door the brightest I’d seen since early December. But the rose sat there, it’s pretty head tilted down toward the table.   Wednesday morning I walked in the kitchen to find the rose straight again. Not quite believing it, I  leaned down and studied the flower. I checked it later that afternoon. And another time early in the evening. It wasn’t my imagination. At five days later the rose stood straight on its stem, its petals just beginning to age a tiny bit on the edge, otherwise intact. I’d never seen a flower do that, but I’m no horticulturist, so I thought maybe some varieties of roses perked up once the recipient put in the preservative. Even so, that wouldn’t explain w...

More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website Amish Romance: Every Good Gift by Kelly S. Irvin -- Maisy never expected that a Plain girl like her could have her heart stolen by an Englisch boy. But when her rumspringa ends and Maisy realizes she’s pregnant, the reality of their choices—and their differences—sets in. Maisy knows she will never leave her faith to marry her baby's father. But she also knows the road to acceptance as an unwed mother in an Amish community will be long and hard. To protect her family from the scandal, she goes to live with her cousin in Haven, Kansas, where she will have some solitude to figure out what kind of future she might have. In Haven Maisy begins to find her way—thanks in no small part to Joshua Lapp, a Plain man who’s made it clear he isn’t bothered by her situation or ashamed to be seen with her, despite the bishop’s warnings. But Joshua has struggled with his faith ever since the death of ...

  Photo Courtesy of Google One friend, the narrator, and another I'm calling Joey related this true story to me. Last night when Joey went inside the post office, he saw a homeless woman we had seen there several times before. She has a cell phone, and while Joey was mailing items on other occasions, he overheard her on calls with friends, trying to get her life together.  Yesterday, though, he said she looked like she had lost weight, and he said she had a very sad countenance. He was leaving the post office, and waved to say hello. She did not ask for money, or anything else, but because Joey sensed something was wrong, he asked, "are you hungry?" “Yes,” she said.  We don't normally carry cash around, and although we had a little yesterday, no one can eat dollar bills. So, we went next door, bought her some breadsticks from a local restaurant, and left them with her before our next errand - the grocery store. Because we were getting over an extended illness and corr...

Enter to win a brand new e-Reader and Cooking up a Mystery on BookSweeps today — plus 50+ exciting Inspirational Fiction & Nonfiction books from a great collection of authors. Enter here About Cooking up a Mystery Laney Eskridge worked to put her husband through dental school. Then he left with another woman. She's on edge from the emotional scars and her parents' deaths. Then she hears unexplained noises in her new tea house, and her anxiety is tripled. Add a budding romance with Eric—a guy with a fear of commitment—and it's all too much to handle. She cuts ties with Eric and plunges into making her business pay off. When Eric discovers that Laney's in danger, he vows to protect her. But can he make a lasting promise? Will she trust him? . . .and when they overhear a threat that could cause national turmoil, will anyone believe them? There's more brewing than herbal tea in Cooking up a Mystery. What People Are Saying Pure Fun and Some Recipes Too. A 5-star rev...