BLOGWORDS – Sunday 29 August 2018 – FRONT PORCH FELLOWSHIP – ALL CREATION WORSHIPS

FRONT PORCH FELLOWSHIP – ALL CREATION WORSHIPS

* still in recovery mode – two weeks of insomnia whammied me!!!

 

Several years ago I was walking around a small lake. It’s a favorite spot, and I take the walk whenever I visit there.

This particular time I had been listening to a certain praise and worship CD, and one of the songs was playing in my head.

 

 

As those words sang in my mind, my eyes looked up at the trees—and I wondered (as all good authors do) “How does a tree worship God.”

 

I had thought it an idle thought. Until He answered me.

 

 

So simple and yet so profound.

 

And as all good writers also do, my mind took it another step.

 

 

Of course I knew the answer, even then.

 

 

And with an algebraic turn, or perhaps putting the pieces in a puzzle, that meant that I worship Father by writing.

 

So today (Saturday) as I was sitting outside, basking in a miracle moment today, and praising Father for this long awaited thing, I glanced at the trees.

 

And I was reminded of what He told me those years ago—to worship Him, I be what He created me to be.

*note the use of “be” vs “do.”

 

So, and pardon the license with grammar, but I be writing. I be working—and I be worshiping Him—as I be writing.

 

And that brings me even greater joy.

 

 

What about you? What has Father created you to be? What do you do to worship Him?

 

#Blogwords, Front Porch Fellowship, #FPF, Sunday Devotion, All Creation Worships

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BLOGWORDS – Tuesday 24 July 2018 – TUESDAY REVIEWS-DAY – BOOK REVIEW – ASHTON PARK by MURRAY PURA

TUESDAY REVIEWS-DAY – BOOK REVIEW – ASHTON PARK by MURRAY PURA

                                                                             

THE BLURB:

For fans of the hugely popular Downton Abbey series, comes this equally enthralling story of the Danforth family of Ashton Park.

Among the green hills and trees of Lancashire, only a few miles from the sea, lies the beautiful and ancient estate of Ashton Park.

The year is 1916.  The First World War has engulfed Europe and Sir William’s and Lady Elizabeth’s three sons are all in uniform—and their four daughters are involved in various pursuits of the heart and soul.

As the head of a strong Church of England family for generations, Sir William insists the Danforth estate hold morning devotions that include both family and staff. However, he is also an MP and away at Westminster in London whenever Parliament is sitting. During his long absences, Lady Elizabeth discreetly spends time in the company of the head cook of the manor, Mrs. Longstaff, who is her best friend and confidante. This friendship includes visits to a small Baptist church in Liverpool that exposes Lady Elizabeth to a less formal approach to Christian worship and preaching than she is used to and which she comes to enjoy.

Readers will follow Ashton Park’s charming upstairs/downstairs characters through the perils of war and the affairs of the heart with relish—and with an eye to the sequel coming in Fall 2013.

Book One in The Danforths of Lancashire series

 

THE AUTHOR:

Murray Andrew Pura was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and has traveled extensively throughout Canada, the United States, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Ordained as a Baptist minister in 1986, Pura has served five churches in Canada and headlined numerous speaking engagements in Canada and the United States. He has five books published, was a contributor to the Life With God Bible, has been a finalist for The Paraclete Fiction Award, The Dartmouth Book Award, and The John Spencer Hill Literary Award, and has been shortlisted for the prestigious 2010 Kobzar Literary Award of Canada.

 

 

 

 

 

 

MY REVIEW:

Such a magnificent, sweeping tapestry! Seven siblings, each with their own intrigue. The Great War and its immediate aftermath. The Irish uprising, and tangents to riots in Jerusalem. A broad scope with a masterful telling of details that brings the reader right into the midst of the story.

Each of the cast of characters is as individual as a snowflake, with their own peculiarities and tastes and traits; this reviewer enjoyed meeting each one of them.

As in the magnificent tapestries that hang on castle walls, so, too, has Mr. Pura woven his colourful and variegated and seeming disparate threads into a compelling and passionate story. I look forward to spending more time with these characters in the next book.

 

 

ROBIN’S FEATHERS:

 

 

ALL | THE | FEATHERS!

 

I purchased this book on Amazon. I offer my review of my own free will, and the opinions expressed in my review are my own honest thoughts and reaction to this book.

 

 

#Blogwords, Tuesday Reviews-Day, #TRD, Book Review, Ashton Park, Murray Pura, The Danforths of Lancashire, Beneath the Dover Sky, London Dawn

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BLOGWORDS – Tuesday 17 July 2018 – TUESDAY REVIEWS-DAY – BOOK REVIEW – ROOMS by JAMES L. RUBART

TUESDAY REVIEWS-DAY – BOOK REVIEW – ROOMS by JAMES L. RUBART

                                                                             

THE BLURB:

It was just a letter. Cryptic, yes absolutely. But Seattle software tycoon Micah Taylor can’t get it out of his mind—the claim that a home was built for him by a great uncle he never knew, on the Oregon coast. In Cannon Beach. The one place he loves. The one place he never wants to see again.

Micah heads to Cannon Beach to sell the house and keep his past buried, but the nine thousand square-foot home instantly feels like it’s part of him.

Then he meets Sarah Sabin at the local ice cream shop … maybe Cannon Beach can be the perfect weekend getaway.

But strange things start happening in the house. Things Micah can’t explain. Things he can barely believe. All the locals will say is the house is “spiritual.” Unsettling since Micah’s faith slipped away like the tide years ago.

And then he discovers the shocking truth: the home isn’t just spiritual, it’s a physical manifestation of his soul.

 

THE AUTHOR:

James L. Rubart is 28 years old, but lives trapped inside an older man’s body. He thinks he’s still young enough to water ski like a madman and dirt bike with his two grown sons, and loves to send readers on journeys they’ll remember months after they finish one of his stories.

He’s the best-selling, Christy Book of the Year, Carol, INSPY, and RT Book Reviews award winning author of nine novels as well as a professional speaker. During the day he runs his marketing company which helps businesses, authors, and publishers make more coin of the realm. He lives with his amazing wife on a small lake in eastern Washington. More at http://www.jameslrubart.com More at http://jameslrubart.com/ and on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JamesLRubart

 

 

 

 

 

 

MY REVIEW:

Fantasy Island: Holy Ghost Edition.

 

A captivating spiritual journey of self-discovery and the search for truth. A vivid depiction of Holy Ghost encounters and visions. And a poignant story of what ifs.

 

Within each visitation, Micah Taylor is drawn more fully in Truth. And awareness of his choices becomes clear. And when the gauntlet is thrown, “Choose you this day whom you will serve,” Micah is convinced he can have both.

 

It was easy to read this story from an outsider perspective, urging Micah to choose the good thing. The right thing. But the deep and profound Truth of this story is we all are faced with The Choice: the narrow way or the wide path. And the shiny lure and ease of the wide path woos us so sweetly. It was easy to chastise Micah for teetering on the fence. Until we realize that we all teeter on the fence.

 

Rooms is a story that gives the reader pause to think, to consider. How many times has Holy Spirit sent visions and visitations that we didn’t recognize or stop to acknowledge? What if Micah Taylor was watching us when we received the cryptic letter? Would he chastise us for teetering on the fence? Or would he cheer us on as we make the choice for Truth?

 

 

ROBIN’S FEATHERS:

ALL | THE | FEATHERS!

 

 

I purchased this book on Amazon. I offer my review of my own free will, and the opinions expressed in my review are my own honest thoughts and reaction to this book.

 

 

 

#Blogwords, Tuesday Reviews-Day, #TRD, Book Review, Rooms, James L. Rubart

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