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Thankful Thursday ~ Great Books

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.
(Colossians 3:15 ESV)

There are many good books out on the market, but there are only a few great books. Of course the Bible still ranks for me #1 when it comes to books. But then again, the Bible is not only a great book; it is our guide to live a Godly life. Even though I have had many Bibles in my life, the latest edition is a Woman’s Study Bible that was given to me for review. You can read more about it in this post. It is a little different than the other Bibles I have. It has a ton of references, especially the history part I enjoy the most.

Harvest of RubiesThat brings me to another great book that I just finished reading. Although it is a novel, it has a great deal of history in it. The book is called “Harvest of Rubies” and I honestly finished reading it in 2 days. The author, Tessa Afshar, is bringing the Old Testament to life. Her main character, Sarah, has so much in common with me and my walk with God. I read the book via my Kindle App on my laptop and I have highlighted so many parts of the book. Yes, it is a novel, but Tessa added a lot of Psalms.

I think that the last time I read a great novel like this, was Randy Alcorn’s book “Safely Home“. Have you read that book?

I love to read and I wish I had more time for it. It is funny that when our son was little, it seamed I had more time to read. But then again, I was only working part-time when Daniel was under 5 🙂 .

Have you read any great books lately? Please do share with me in the comment section. I am always hungry for great books that have a great story line and writing. By the way, currently I am reading “Harvest of Gold“, which is the second part of “Harvest of Rubies”. Sarah is still the main character, but she will be going with Nehemiah to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall…

What are you thankful for this week? Please do share with us by leaving a link to your Thankful Thursday post below.

Thank you for stopping by today. Remember: Great books are out there, you just have to find them. Thanks for my friend Lori, I found these two great books.

Love & peace,
Iris

Thankful Thursday Participants

1. 4 Things Love Always Does–And Why It Matters
2. Your View of Parenting: Godly or Worldly?
3. Mia / The Shulamite and The Foxes
4. Uttley’s Take
5. Heather @ Becoming Titus 2 Women		 6. Feed A Family of 5 for $119
7. The Alarm
8. Sarah L — Heading Back to School Post Disaster Pt 3
9. An Impromptu Round Of Frisbee
10. Thankful Thursday		 11. The Glamorous French Housewife
12. Lorig / My Fragmented Journey
13. bp

Learn more about Thankful Thursday here.

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Thankful Thursday ~ Power of His Word

So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
(Isaiah 55:11 ESV)

In the month of January we meet up at my friend Laurie’s blog, “Women Taking a Stand“. Please visit her blog to link up for Thankful Thursday.

I know that I have had many Thankful Thursday posts about His Word; it is just a powerful source of comfort for me personally. When I am down or getting stressed out, I like to ‘dig’ into the Psalms. Most of them are penned by King David and he knew where to find comfort. David Psalms are just as relevant today as they were in his time.

This year I will try (once again) to read through the Bible. But this year I have accountability partners. My friend, Kathy Howard, started a FB group to read through the Bible together. It is wonderful; especially when Kathy is posting some insights on passages that are not easy to digest.

By the way, there is still time to join Kathy’s online Bible study of Ephesians. Maybe you have time to check it out this week 🙂 …

Thank you for stopping by today. Remember: time spent in His Word is time well spent.

Love and peace,
Iris

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Thankful Thursdays ~ Prayer

“Give ear to my words, O Lord;
consider my groaning.
Give attention to the sound of my cry,
my King and my God,
for to you do I pray.
O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;
in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.”
~ Psalm 5:1-3 (ESV)

The other day as I was working through my 40-Day Journey with Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the quote stuck in my head:

“Prayer offered in early morning is decisive for the day”

You see, most of my prayers I write in my journal at night before going to bed. I offer a couple quick prayers in the morning; but they are rushed and not written out. The last couple of days I have headed David’s advice from the Psalms, and Bonhoeffer’s thoughts on prayer.

It seems like that my days are a little less hectic when I sit down with my prayer journal in the morning; I think it has to do with the mind-set once we had a prayer time in the morning. I hope that I can keep this up going forward.

My pastor gave us a visual aid the other day about prayer, quoting Martin Luther (my mind sometimes tends to start wandering while praying, don’t know why):

“Think of a dog who sits in front of a slap of meat; he stares at the meat without blinking. Put the same energy into you prayer life, as much as a dog stares at the meat in front of him.”

Honestly, this has helped me to stay focus when I don’t write into my journal 🙂 …

Prayer is powerful and I am thankful that we can approach the throne of God without hesitation. He hears our prayers and will answer them in His time.

What are you thankful for this week? Please do share with us by leaving your link to your Thankful Thursday blog below.

Thank you for stopping by today. Remember: a prayer offered in the morning will set your mind right with God.

Thankful Thursday Participants

1. Lynn -Spiritually Unequal Marriage
2. Joan @ Reflections
3. In life and in death
4. bp
5. Karen
6. LaughingLady
7. It Feels Like Chaos
8. Laurie @ Women Taking a Stand
9. debi @ Who Says 8 is Enough?
10. UpLIFTing Words
11. At Peace
12. Mel Cole @ Hearts Content, USA		 13. I Would Take Her Thorn
14. Grace
15. Pastor John
16. Stefanie
17. Carol
18. Dawn’s Daily Life
19. Life is a Battle
20. Jessica
21. Brooke @ Smart Strong = Sexy
22. Stacy
23. Marsha @ Heart Song
24. Bernice @ My Journey		 25. Judy
26. First Cavity @Long Wait for Isabella
27. Theresa @ Frugal Experiments
28. Sherry
29. Joshlin@Saving Moms Sanity
30. God is On His Throne–Hallelujah! Wendy Gunn@Faith’sFirmFoundation
31. Phil D. Malmstrom
32. Lisa Maria
33. Jenny Anne@Royal Little Lambs
34. Full Lace Wigs

Learn more about Thankful Thursday here.

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Thankful Thursday ~ Electricity

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!”
~ 1 Chronicles 16:34 (ESV)

It may be a strange theme to be thankful for; let me explain. A couple week’s ago I read Terri Blackstock’s novel “Last Light“. It was one of those books that I could not put down; I finished it in one weekend. I had it on my Nook since Christmas, but never had a chance to read it.

At any rate, this novel was about electricity; more the lack of it. An EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse) knocked out all power world-wide. The story was about a family in Birmingham, Alabama and how they dealt with living without electricity…

Believe me, I so felt for the family. I was thinking about how I would fare with having no electricity; not well, that is for sure. I wouldn’t know how to cook, or hunt for food. I don’t even own a gun! I think that I would be dead in the first two weeks without power. Sad, but true.

These days, every time I turn on the light, get in the hot shower, or even turn on the stove, I am thankful for the convenience I have. I know that I take a lot for granted, and the novel reminded me once again, that we cannot take these conveniences for granted; they might be gone tomorrow.

So, what are you thankful for this week? Please do share with us by leaving a link to your Thankful Thursday post below.

Thank you for stopping by today. Remember: don’t take today’s conveniences for granted; they may not be there tomorrow.

Thankful Thursday Participants

1. LaughingLady
2. Rita
3. debi @ Who Says 8 is Enough?
4. Joshlin@Saving Moms Sanity
5. Casey
6. It Feels Like Chaos
7. More Than Words
8. grace
9. Zoe in England
10. amazing grace
11. Stefanie @ UpLIFTing Words
12. Life is a Battle
13. Thoughts Of A Working Mom
14. Karen		 15. Melanie @ M&M
16. Amy Snow
17. Lynn ~ Spiritually Unequal Marriage
18. Noreen @Life Blessings
19. Marsha @ Heart Song
20. bp
21. Dawn @ Guiding Light
22. Answered Prayer
23. Jenny Anne@Royal Little Lambs
24. Growth in God
25. Faith Hope & Cherrytea
26. 1,000 Gifts – My Gratitude Journal – Day 18
27. Laurie @ Women Taking a Stand
28. Heather@Becoming A Titus 2 Woman		 29. Lisa Maria
30. Krista @ From The Pages of Love
31. Wendy Gunn @ Faith’s Firm Foundation
32. annies home
33. Ann @ Honoring The King
34. What’s in a name @Doorkeeper
35. Rons Road 2 Recovery
36. Julie
37. Joyful Penny
38. Thankful list
39. I Don’t Even Know Anymore
40. A Grateful Heart

Learn more about Thankful Thursday here.

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