Robin E. Mason's Blog: Robin's Book Shelf, page 179

BLOGWORDS – Tuesday 28 March 2017 – TUESDAY REVIEWS-DAY – RELEASE EVENT – FALLING FOR THE BEAST BY VICTORINE LIESKE

BLOGWORDS – Tuesday 28 March 2017 – TUESDAY REVIEWS-DAY – RELEASE EVENT – FALLING FOR THE BEAST BY VICTORINE LIESKE
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TUESDAY REVIEWS-DAY – RELEASE EVENT – FALLING FOR THE BEAST BY VICTORINE LIESKE

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Aribelle is backed into the position of cleaning house for the horrible Mr. Thaddeus Walker. Not only is he rude, he’s dangerously secretive, going out at night and coming home with injuries which seem to heal mysteriously fast. She should be keeping her distance, not trying to break down his barriers. But the more she uncovers, the more attracted she becomes until the cost of exposing his secrets fades behind the risk of losing her heart.

Thaddeus knows he should have sent the girl away instead of allowing her into his home. Now she’s asking questions he can’t answer. And the more time they spend together, the more he wishes he could pull her close and kiss her. But he can’t afford to do that. Beautiful Aribelle could never love a beast.

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Aribelle hadn’t seen Mr. Walker get anything to eat while she’d been there, so she timidly entered the living room. He looked like he was asleep in his recliner, the television over the fireplace droning on, but when she started to back out he stirred. She cleared her throat. “Do you want me to make you a sandwich before I leave, Mr. Walker?”

“No,” he said without turning. “You may go.” He dismissed her with a wave. It was then that she noticed a white bandage wrapped around his hand, a bright red spot forming on the back.

“You’re bleeding.” She ran and knelt to examine him. “Did you fall and cut your hand?” She picked up his bandaged fingers, only to have confusion flow through her. These were not the fingers of an old man.

She peered up into his hooded face and gasped. Thaddeus Walker was young. Maybe not even thirty. Long, dark hair hung in his face, and it looked like he hadn’t shaved in a few weeks. Just below his right eye, a large jagged scar extended down his cheek, disappearing into his growing stubble. The rest of the skin on his face was littered with smaller white scars as if he had fallen face-first into a bowl of razor blades. The sight of it made her flinch.

His bright, green eyes burned with fury. He yanked his hand away from her. “Get out!”

She fell backward and scrambled to her feet. “I’m sorry…I—”

“Go!” he yelled, picking up the remote control and throwing it at the wall. It shattered, leaving a dent.

She didn’t have to be told again. She grabbed her purse and ran to the front door. Rushing out into the evening, she didn’t bother to look back. Her heart pounded as she started her Rabbit and drove down the hill toward the highway. It didn’t matter how much she needed the money. She wasn’t ever going back there. Thaddeus Walker was a beast.

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rem:   Hullo, Victorine, welcome. If you could live anywhere in any time period, where would you go?

VICTORINE:   Ah, I wouldn’t leave this time period. I love my laptop too much!! But I might go visit some other time periods. Maybe for a day. It would be fun to see the early 1900’s.

rem:   Me too! Nice to visit but there’s no place (or time) like home. Where did you find this story idea?

VICTORINE:   This story idea came in the form of a ‘what if’ question. Spoiler Alert. This kind of spoils a little of the plot, but I don’t mind if you don’t mind. Go ahead and read if you’re curious. I thought to myself, What if I wrote a Beauty and the Beast retelling, and the beast character was ugly with scars because he healed people, and each time he did, he got a new scar?” That was the beginning of the story. Then my imagination took off and it grew from there.

rem:   Those “what ifs” are a writer’s best friend, aren’t they! Who was the easiest character to write and why? The most difficult?

VICTORINE:   Thaddeus was the easiest to write. He just came with all kinds of angst and past baggage. He was really fun to write as well. Love the brooding handsome kind of guy.

rem:   So much we can do (write) with all that baggage. What do you munch on while you’re writing / researching / editing?

VICTORINE:   Great question. I am a big muncher. I love anything chocolate, but I have to limit that. I also eat popcorn. And Skittles. And Starburst. Yeah, I should be 300 pounds.

rem:   Ohhhh, yessss, chocolate!!!! What do you do to recover once you’ve typed “THE END?”

VICTORINE:   I actually start reading the whole thing right away, while the end is still fresh in my mind, because sometimes little details or things I put in the beginning don’t quite match up to where the ending sits, so I have to go fix those and make everything smooth. But after that edit, I usually go out for steak with hubby!

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Victorine enjoys commercial success through her writing, thanks in part to her ability to analyze and adapt to the constantly changing trends in today’s publishing environment. She self-published her first book, Not What She Seems, in April of 2010. In March of 2011, Not What She Seems began its 6 week run on The New York Times best selling eBook list. By May 2011 she had sold over 100,000 copies. Victorine’s first romantic comedy novel, Accidentally Married, hit the USA Today Best selling books list in January 2015. Victorine is a graphic designer as well, and can be hired for book cover design.

http://www.victorinelieske.com/

http://bluevalleyauthorservices.com/

https://www.amazon.com/Victorine-E.-Lieske/e/B003J4VTKO/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1470423726&sr=8-1

https://www.facebook.com/victorinelieske/

 

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Cleaning somebody’s house is not what Aribelle wanted to do. But there weren’t any other jobs.

Thaddeus Walker had his reasons for specifying an older woman to come and clean for him. But Aribelle was desperate.

He meant to send her away but he was intrigued by her. She wasn’t appalled at him.

Still, she mustn’t find out his secret.

Aribelle tried to mind her own business. But her tender and compassionate heart drove her to care for her new employer beyond the expectations of the job.

 

Ms. Lieske has taken a classic and given it a modern look. While the dark elements are there, is has an almost whimsical feel to it, and in the end, a profound moral. She begins the story innocently enough, and gradually builds the supernatural element into it.

But nothing is as it seems. Nothing is ever as it seems.

 

 

I received a free copy of this book, but was under no obligation to read the book or to post a review. I offer my review of my own volition, The opinions expressed in my review are my own honest thoughts and reaction to this book.

 

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#Blogwords, Tuesday Reviews-Day, #TRD, Release Event, Falling for the Beast, Victorine Lieske, The Gathering, Not What She Seems, The Truth Comes Out

BLOGWORDS – 27 March 2017 – NEW WEEK NEW FACE – GUEST POST – GENE WHITEHEAD

BLOGWORDS – 27 March 2017 – NEW WEEK NEW FACE – GUEST POST – GENE WHITEHEAD

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NEW WEEK NEW FACE – GUEST POST – GENE WHITEHEAD

 

 The Promise of a Lifetime

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Throughout history, there are a few traditions that are common to just about every civilization. Though the ceremonies and customs may be extremely different, countless cultures around the world embrace some kind of wedding tradition.

 

It dates back beyond the Greek and Roman Empires, was before the ancient Eastern Asian civilizations. The deepest roots of weddings and marriage are actually found in the Garden of Eden.

 

The First Wedding

Very early in Scripture, in Genesis 2:18-25, we not only find the first marriage, but also God’s intended design for marriage and the very principles that instruct us on how to honor God through marriage.

 

I don’t know how much time transpired between Adam’s creation and Genesis 2:18, but some scholars suggest that God allowed that time for Adam to be alone so that he would recognize that he needed companionship.

 

That companionship is the illustration of a God honoring marriage. As Genesis 2 points out, a marriage that honors the Lord is one where the man and woman are joined together, outside of the governing rule of either set of parents. That doesn’t mean that a man can’t seek Godly counsel from his parents if they are Godly parents, but ultimately the responsibility to lead a marriage falls on the husband. Verse 24 of Genesis 2 illustrates that saying, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall cling to his wife, and they shall be as one flesh.”

 

Backing up to verse 23 though shows us the very first wedding vows as Adam proclaims that his companion is “bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh.” It doesn’t get more intimate than that.

 

The Modern Wedding

There is no doubt that mankind has come up with some absolutely weird wedding day customs throughout the centuries. Here’s a few:

 

In England, it was good luck if a bride kissed a chimney sweep on her wedding day because he had special powers that swept away evil spirits.
Egyptian women pinch the newly married bride to bring good luck to themselves.
Korean grooms ask a happily married friend to make 2 wooden ducks for his wedding day because ducks will mate for life.
In Scotland, it’s unlucky to wear green or to eat green vegetables at a wedding because green is the color of fairies and the color of revenge.

 

That’s just a sample. There is no shortage of customs and traditions that would make you laugh, wonder, or scratch your head in amazement!

 

How about the modern wedding in the Western world? We also have some things that seem to be adding to the long list of wedding traditions.

 

We’ve coined phrases like bridezilla to represent a particularly difficult to satisfy bride. We not only send wedding invitations out, but now we send out pre-invitations that we call “save the date.” The focus seems to be on drawing the largest crowds to our wedding celebrations.

 

In modern weddings, we spend months and sometimes even years and unprecedented dollars on planning the big day. The danger in that is that we are putting far too much focus on the sprint of the wedding day, losing sight of the marathon of a lifelong marriage.

 

The Promise of a Lifetime

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My wife and I were married young. Probably too young. She was 17 and I was 19. Statistically speaking, we should have called it quits long before now.

 

We celebrated our 25th Anniversary not even 90 days ago as I write this. While there’s a good level of satisfaction at having beat the odds, we also acknowledge that it wasn’t easy. [rem: Congratulations to you both!]

 

In my experience, my counsel to those who are going to be married are to make the promise of a lifetime. I don’t paint an unrealistic picture of a “happily ever after” wedding and marriage. Things go wrong. Sometimes they even go wrong on wedding days. But when the focus is on the promise of a lifetime, the little things don’t carry as much weight.

 

Sometimes, even frequently, things go wrong long after the big celebration. There will come a time when almost every married couple won’t like each other. There were times when my wife and I couldn’t stand being in the same room together. We almost walked away from it all.

 

Those are the seasons that quite honestly make or break a marriage. This is when the promise of a lifetime, when the rubber on the tires of “for better or worse” meet the road.

 

And without the design of the God honoring marriage, this is the breaking point for many couples.

The Big Picture

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The celebration of the wedding day is a day to honor marriage. It’s an important part of the much larger illustration of our relationship with God that marriage provides.

 

The big picture is that marriage is the earthly image of the relationship between Christ and the church. That’s why we see Christ referred to as the Bridegroom and His church as the Bride.

 

On the wedding day, a man and his wife become one flesh, just as we become one with our Lord and Savior (1 Corinthians 6:17). Just as a wife is to be led by her husband, Christ leads His church. And as a husband is called to sacrificially love his wife, Christ gave His all for the church in His love.

 

Marriage is hard work. It’s sacrificial in nature, and it’s absolutely rewarding while sometimes excruciatingly painful. The wedding day is an important part of the total package, but it’s the marriage that is the promise of a lifetime.

 

 

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Gene Whitehead ditched his first career in order to serve people and share hope. His passion is to help people embrace Christ and apply Scripture to their life, something Gene calls Simple Theology for a Messy Life. You can read about that and download his free eBook, The Armor of God at genewhitehead.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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#Blogwords, New Week New Fact, #NWNF, Guest Post, Gene Whitehead, The Promise of a Lifetime

BLOGWORDS – Sunday 26 March 2017 – FRONT PORCH FELLOWSHIP – ALL CREATION WORSHIPS

BLOGWORDS – Sunday 26 March 2017 – FRONT PORCH FELLOWSHIP – ALL CREATION WORSHIPS
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FRONT PORCH FELLOWSHIP – ALL CREATION WORSHIPS

 

 

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.

 

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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.

 

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So simple and yet so profound.

 

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

 

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Of course I knew the answer, even then.

 

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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 worshiping Him—as I write.

 

And that brings me even greater joy.

 

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

BLOGWORDS – Saturday 4 March 2017 – WHAT’S COOKIN’ IN YOUR KITCHEN – RANDOM RECIPES – IRISH SODA BREAD and IRISH STEW

BLOGWORDS – Saturday 4 March 2017 – WHAT’S COOKIN’ IN YOUR KITCHEN – RANDOM RECIPES – IRISH SODA BREAD and IRISH STEW
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WHAT’S COOKIN’ IN YOUR KITCHEN – RANDOM RECIPES – IRISH SODA BREAD and IRISH STEW

 

It’s March still, and I’m all about the Irish. I’ve searched for me recipes this week, and found a few I’d like to try. As with most of me cooking, I’ve adapted to my taste and preference to create my own version. Hope you enjoy—and be sure to let me know when ye give ‘em a go!!

 

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ROBIN’S IRISH SODA BREAD

Preheat oven to 400°

 

INGREDIENTS

1          cup      buttermilk

1          cup      bread flour

1          cup      rolled oats

*          some recipes omit the oats, using all flour instead.

1          tbsp     granulated sugar

½         teas      baking soda

½         teas      salt

* some recipes call for raisins but I don’t like raisins in my bread!

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DIRECTIONS

Using a whisk, mix together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Add oats and stir in.

Using a wooden spoon, make a well in center of dry ingredients and gradually stir in the buttermilk.

Turn dough onto well-floured surface.

Knead 4 or 5 times, or until dough is just tacky but not sticky.

Shape into a mound and place in greased iron skillet.

Cut an X into the top of the dough.

Drizzle melted butter into the X.

Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown.

 

Serve warm with Irish butter.

 

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ROBIN’S IRISH STEW

 

INGREDIENTS

2          tbsp                 olive oil

1          lbs                    lamb or mutton, cubed

1                                  chopped onion

2          cloves              fresh garlic

1          sprig                fresh parsley, chopped fine

3          cups                 stout beer

6 – 8                             new red potatoes, cubed

6 – 8                            medium carrots, peeled and sliced

Salt and pepper, to taste

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DIRECTIONS

 

Brown the meat in olive oil over low heat; add onion and season with salt, pepper, garlic, and parsley.

Coat bottom and sides of crock pot with olive oil and add meat and seasonings.

Pour in the beer.

Add carrots and potatoes.

Cover crock pot and set for high for thirty minutes, and turn heat down.

Let stew for 2 – 4 hours (or longer if desired.) My personal preference is to let it crock in the crock pot for 6 hours or longer.

 

Turn heat off and remove from crock pot to serving platter.

 

Serve with Robin’s Irish Soda Bread.

 

 

If you’ve a recipe you’d like to share leave a comment below or email me at robinemason212@gmail.com

 

NOTE: All recipes must be used with permission.

 

#Blogwords, What’s Cookin’ in Your Kitchen, #RandomRecipes, #AuthorsEat #AuthorsCook, Robin’s Soda Bread and Robin’s Irish Stew

 

BLOGWORDS – Friday 24 March 2017 – FIRST LINE FRIDAY – ACCIDENTALLY MARRIED and RELUCTANTLY MARRIED by VICTORINE LIESKE

BLOGWORDS – Friday 24 March 2017 – FIRST LINE FRIDAY – ACCIDENTALLY MARRIED and RELUCTANTLY MARRIED by VICTORINE LIESKE
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FIRST LINE FRIDAY – ACCIDENTALLY MARRIED and RELUCTANTLY MARRIED by VICTORINE LIESKE

 

 

Reading is My SuperPower
Bookworm Mama
Singing Librarian
Faithfully Bookish
Radiant Light
Encouraging Words from the Tea Queen

Fiction Aficionado
Bibliophile Reviews
Kathleen Denly
Lauraine’s Notes
With a Joyful Noise

 

 

 If you’d like to join us on your blog for First Line Fridays, shoot Carrie @ Reading is My Superpower an email and let her know!

 

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THE BLURBS:    

Accidentally Married:

Madison Nichols, aspiring actress, is floundering. Her rent is due and she needs a job. Desperately. After getting a tip about an open position, she rushes to Jameson Technologies and meets CEO Jared Jameson. Unfortunately, due to a misunderstanding, she is put in the awkward position of pretending to be his girlfriend. Not the job she was applying for. And when she finds out Jared lied to her to get what he wanted, she decides to get back at him. In front of his family.

Jared is stunned when Madison announces they are getting married. She pushed her revenge too far. How can he tell them it’s all a lie? And when his sick aunt asks them to be married before she dies, Madison comes up with a hair-brained plan to hire an actor and stage a fake wedding.

What they both don’t know is Jared’s father has found out about the fake wedding. And he’s got his own hair-brained plan.

 

Reluctantly Married:

Megan Holloway can’t stand her local morning show co-host, Adam Warner, even though he’s a total hunk. He goads her on-air until she says things she regrets. But since ratings increase each time they have an on-air fight, the producer encourages his behavior.

When a relationship specialist comes onto the show purporting that Adam has hidden feelings for her, she reluctantly agrees to go out with him—on camera. What starts out as one date turns into a viral dating show with Megan and Adam alternating between locking lips and knocking heads.

As Megan fights her growing attraction to Adam, their popularity increases and ABC takes notice, offering them their own program. Not a morning show like Megan is hoping, but a dating show in which she and Adam must marry at the end. With the promise of a hundred thousand dollars and the possibility of scoring what she really wants, her own national program, she signs on.

What she doesn’t know is that Adam has fallen in love with her, and his objective is to get her to do the same.

THE FIRST LINES :   

Accidentally Married: Madison pulled her car into the parking spot, relieved she found an empty space so close to the building.

 

Reluctantly Married: Megan dug her fingernails into her palms and stared at her co-host, Adam, while the camera zoomed in on her. She couldn’t believe what he’d said.

 

MY THOUGHTS:

Delightful and whimsical, Ms. Lieske has written a series of most improbable stories—and yet makes them not only come alive but seem actually plausible.

 

 

GENRE:

Romantic Comedy

 

STARS:

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#Blogwords, First Line Friday, #FLF, Accidentally Married, Reluctantly Married, Victorine Lieske

BLOGWORDS – Thursday 23 March 2017 – CHAT THURSDAY – AUTHOR INTERVIEW – KAREN SWEENEY-RYALL

BLOGWORDS – Thursday 23 March 2017 – CHAT THURSDAY – AUTHOR INTERVIEW – KAREN SWEENEY-RYALL
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CHAT THURSDAY – AUTHOR INTERVIEW – KAREN SWEENEY-RYALL

 

“If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, “From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.” John 7: 37-38 NASB ”

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“Regardless of your circumstances, your age, your health, your finances and your past, you DO have a future and something to contribute.”

 

rem:  Hullo Karen, and welcome to my nest. Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?

KAREN:   I have lived all my life in western Pennsylvania, near the town famous for Mr. Rogers and Arnold Palmer.

rem:  So a friendly neighborhood, eh? 

Wednesday Wisdom – WORK

Source: Wednesday Wisdom – WORK

BLOGWORDS – Wednesday 22 March 2017 – WREADING WEDNESDAY – POST-EVENT LETHARGY… (no post today)

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BLOGWORDS – Wednesday 22 March 2017 – WREADING WEDNESDAY – POST-EVENT LETHARGY… (no post today)

 

 

My nephew got married Saturday and I have done crashed from the event – and the travel to get there!! (200 miles in the car!!)

 

P.S.  I wore heels for the first time in years, AND I danced (a little.)!!!

 

 

 

 

 

#Blogwords, Wreading Wednesday, Post-Event Lethargy, #onceuponamason

 

BLOGWORDS – Tuesday 21 March 2017 – TUESDAY REVIEWS-DAY – BOOK REVIEW – THAT’S WHEN I KNEW

BLOGWORDS – Tuesday 21 March 2017 – TUESDAY REVIEWS-DAY – BOOK REVIEW – THAT’S WHEN I KNEW
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TUESDAY REVIEWS-DAY – BOOK REVIEW – THAT’S WHEN I KNEW

 

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Chelsea Scott’s past and her future collide—right as she slid into second base. And Nick Pearson. Her best friend had shattered her world twelve years ago when he said three little words.

 

And Chelsea ran.

 

And now, Nick is her knight in shining armor—or driver in a shiny rig, hauling her wares to the trade show in Chicago.

Will the hours on the road together have her running from his easy charm and fetching good looks again—or falling in to the pool of love that got skipped years before?

 

This reviewer knows the struggle to let herself be loved, and the guilt of wrong decisions, and I felt deeply as Chelsea sought to retreat to her safe space—anywhere Nick Pearson was not. But as the reader and the romantic, I chastised her for it. I laughed at the comedy of errors, the seeming “what else could go wrong’s” that conspired to continually put them in the same place at the same time. I cried a little as each of them faced past hurts and allowed them to drive a wedge in a relationship that is not yet solid. And I melted into Nick’s arms every time Chelsea let herself bask in his embrace.

 

 

Ms. Tomlinson tells an easy tale, drawing her reader into her story world from the first page. Her descriptions are colorful and vivid, the emotions of her characters genuine and real. She has put a full story into a compact novella, leaving the reader at once satisfied and longing for more. Ms. Tomlinson is skilled in her telling, and her ability shines on every page.

 

 

I received a free copy of this book, but was under no obligation to read the book or to post a review. I offer my review of my own volition, The opinions expressed in my review are my own honest thoughts and reaction to this book.

 

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Laurie Tomlinson is an award-winning contemporary romance author living in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her stories are fueled by faith, steaming mugs of tea, and her belief that life should be celebrated with cupcakes and extra sprinkles. When she’s not writing, she enjoys baking with her two little sous chefs and testing new recipes on her husband—especially if she doesn’t have to do the dishes.

www.facebook.com/AuthorLaurieTomlinson

www.laurietomlinson.com

https://www.amazon.com/Laurie-Tomlinson/e/B01M0ZG10C/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

https://twitter.com/laurietomlinson

https://www.pinterest.com/laurietomlinson/

 

 

 

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#Blogwords, Tuesday Reviews-Day, #TRD, Book Review, That’s When I Knew, Laurie Tomlinson, Love at First Laugh

BLOGWORDS – 20 March 2017 – NEW WEEK NEW FACE – GUEST POST – DAVID STEARMAN

BLOGWORDS – 20 March 2017 – NEW WEEK NEW FACE – GUEST POST – DAVID STEARMAN

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NEW WEEK NEW FACE – GUEST POST – DAVID STEARMAN

 

 

A child once prayed, “Lord, please make all the bad people good, and all the good people nice.” Profundity. Out of the mouths of babes… Because so many of us…Christians, that is, i.e. the self appointed “good people” as it were, find ourselves lacking in the common grace of kindness.

 

I believe this has to do with the way we see on another. Because we do fairly well with these things when it comes to strangers and acquaintances. We do our best not to insult, act rudely, or speak offensively to those with whom we have little contact. But there’s truth in old country proverb that goes, “familiarity breeds contempt”, and once we get to know these folks a little better, we begin to notice our golden idol’s feet of clay. We look beyond their gleaming virtues to their faults. And the more and more familiar we become with these, our new friends, the more glaring their faults can appear, and the more critical of them we can become.

 

Enter a critical spirit. A judgmental attitude. Disrespect. And unkindness, on our part.

 

I believe this has to do with our focus – what we see when we’re seeing them. And nowhere is this principal more evident than in marital relationships. If a woman is not careful of her focus, that Knight in Shining Armor can morph before her eyes into an irresponsible brat. Conversely, the Queen of any Man’s Dreams can appear to him as the Wicked Witch of the West. Because the fact remains that none of us are perfect. Especially us, when we’re resentful and rude toward the ones we love.

 

Remember when you first met your true love? They were smart, witty, funny, and wonderful. How you admired their admirable qualities. How your heart lit up with love when they walked into the room.

 

Well guess what? That person, with those attributes, is still there. The positive qualities we first saw in our spouses still exist. Can you still see them? I believe you can, but sometimes not without putting forth the effort to change your habitual focus.

 

One man sees a sunset and grumbles, “Tough day. Glad that’s over.”

Another lifts his voice to pray, “How beautiful is the handiwork of God.”

Same scene, different perspective, different attitude. What do you see when you see the love of your life?

 

I was speaking in a church one evening when the Holy Spirit spoke to me about a couple in the room. I didn’t know them, or even which couple they might be among the many in attendance that night. All I knew was that the Lord was telling me there was a man and woman in the service who were contemplating giving up on their marriage, and that He was instructing me to give them some advice. So I just spoke it out: “A married couple here is considering divorce,” I said. “In fact, you’re planning on filing the papers this next week. And this is what I believe the Lord would say to you: ‘Don’t do it. Instead, go home, and during the next few weeks, treat each other the way you would if you truly loved each other. And treat each other the way you used to treat one another when you first met.’”

 

Sometime later the pastor of that church told me how accurate that word from the Lord had been. That a couple in that exact situation had indeed been in the service, and that taking that advice had actually saved their marriage.

 

God is good, and He knew what they needed. It was about what they saw when they looked at one another. It was about focusing on the good, rather than the bad. And consequently, about how they treated each other: it was about focus, respect, and kindness.

 

My wife and I have been married longer that some reading this have been alive. And all this time we’ve been blessed with a wonderful, loving marriage. In fact, because of this, we’re often asked if we’re newlyweds. Others, who know better, often ask how they can have a marriage like ours. And my answer is always the same: Focus on the best in one another. And be kind. Especially, be kind.

 

 

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David Stearman is a songwriter and recording artist turned novelist, who specializes in romantic and adventure stories. His love for nature and travel is reflected in his writings, which often feature scenes set in exotic locales.

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.facebook.com/david.stearman

https://twitter.com/DavidStearman

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6454021.David_Stearman

http://www.davidstearmanministries.org/

http://www.amazon.com/David-Stearman/e/B008EKIOZG

http://tropikbird.wordpress.com/

https://www.pinterest.com/davidstearman/

http://instagram.com/David_Stearman/

 

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#Blogwords, New Week New Fact, #NWNF, Guest Post, David Stearman, The Grace of Kindness, Hummingbird, Falling for Chloe

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