Just A Second

Saturday, April 11

Scripture and a Snapshot - He Has Risen!

And he [the angel] said to them, "Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you."

~Mark 16:6-7~

He has risen!

Rejoice on this Resurrection Day!

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I also link up at Sunday Scripture Blessings, hosted by Peabea's Photos 'n Scribbles; and at Selah, hosted by A Spirit of Simplicity.

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Friday, April 10

By His Wounds (Good Friday 2020)

He grew up before him like a tender shoot,

and like a root out of dry ground.

He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,

a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.

Like one from whom people hide their faces

he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

Surely he took up our pain

and bore our suffering,

yet we considered him punished by God,

stricken by him, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions,

he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was on him,

and by his wounds we are healed.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

each of us has turned to our own way;

and the LORD has laid on him

the iniquity of us all.

~Isaiah 53:2-6~

This post will be linked at Scripture and a Snapshot.

Wednesday, April 8

Wordless Wednesday - Social Distance Saturday

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Just A Second helps supply books and coffee - thank you!

How we spent our Saturday - working on the yard (the rest of the family worked outside but I worked inside), a first attempt at sourdough bread (not a roaring success, but I'll use a different recipe next time), smoking meatloaf (that was a success!), and sparklers while we watched the space station fly over. How are you spending your extra time at home?

This post is linked at Wordless Wednesday, hosted by Life on Chickadee Lane, and at Pictoral Tuesday, hosted by Peabea Scribbles.

Pictorial Tuesday

Monday, April 6

Recent Reads - The Chisholm Trail Bride

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Just A Second helps supply books and coffee - thank you!

The Chisholm Trail Bride by Kathleen Y'Barbo - Eliza Gentry is the headstrong youngest child of a rancher, and she's frustrated by her family's opposition to the young man who has been courting her. Her father has been enemies with Ben's family since Eliza was a young girl. She soon realizes that her interest in Ben is more about her own bid for freedom than any fondness for the man himself, and that knowledge is certain the evening one of the bodyguards her father has hired must step in to protect her when Ben threatens.

Wyatt Creed is the Pinkerton detective hired by Mr. Gentry to watch over and protect Eliza - and he'd do anything for her, except act on his feelings for her or tell her who he really is. She knows him as John Brady and doesn't recognize him as the childhood friend she thinks is dead. Wyatt and his men are looking for evidence of the criminal activity they believe Ben is involved in, but Wyatt is also determined to keep Eliza safe and keep his own promise to Mr. Gentry - a promise that he won't reveal his true identity.

As the dangers increase, and as Eliza finds herself trapped and manipulated by Ben, she turns to Wyatt for help for herself and for her family. How will Wyatt keep her from harm and bring Ben to justice, all while keeping his word? Or will Eliza figure it out on her own, as the two of them become closer?

I enjoyed this book and its characters right from the start. Eliza has a thirst for adventure and learning, but doesn't always make the best choices, so she is a realistic heroine. Wyatt's huge success as a detective at such a young age isn't quite as realistic, but he makes a great leading man. The blurb from the publisher is a little misleading, in my opinion, because it makes it sound like Mr Gentry sends a grown Eliza on the cattle drive along with Wyatt, In fact, the story begins on the Chisholm Trail when Eliza is just a young girl, and it does circle around to wrap up on the Trail as well.

From the publisher:

Stubborn Hearts Clash on a Cattle Drive

Eliza Gentry's pursuit of marriage to the son of her family's sworn enemy has cost her greatly. Furious at his daughter's choices, her father sends her off with the cattle drive heading toward Fort Worth and the Barnhart ranch, but under the watchful eye of Wyatt Creed, a Pinkertown man he has hired to see to her safety. With danger at every turn - not the least of which to his heart - can Wyatt Creed keep his focus with Eliza Gentry around? Is the Chisholm Trail a place for falling in love or a place to die at the hands of cattle thieves?

Join the adventure as the Daughters of the Mayflower series continues with The Chisholm Trail Bride by Kathleen Y'Barbo.

Other books in this series: The Mayflower Bride, The Pirate Bride, The Captured Bride, The Patriot Bride, The Cumberland Bride, The Liberty Bride, The Alamo Bride, The Golden Bride, The Express Bride, The Rebel Bride, The Blizzard Bride

Book Twelve in the Daughters of the Mayflower series.

By the same author: The Pirate Bride, The Alamo Bride

I received a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley for the purpose of this review.

Saturday, April 4

Scripture and a Snapshot - Rejoice Always (Palm Sunday)

Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and good for everyone else.

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

~I Thessalonians 5:12-24~

Amen.

Happy Palm Sunday!

Thank you for joining Scripture & A Snapshot. Leave a link to your own post sharing a Scripture and a Snapshot. Take time to visit some of the other links and bless each other with comments.

I also link up at Sunday Scripture Blessings, hosted by Peabea's Photos 'n Scribbles; and at Selah, hosted by A Spirit of Simplicity.

Friday, April 3

When God Says Go

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Just A Second helps supply books and coffee - thank you!

When God Says Go: A Devotional Thought Journal by Elizabeth Laing Thompson - Just like Thompson's previous devotional journal, this one is a gorgeous hard-cover thought journal with plenty of lined space to write in response to prompts about life purpose, fears about going all out for Jesus, and seeing God's hand in your life. The journal opens with a brief devotional thought about the powerful meaning behind the word "go". Thompson reminds the reader that God is always calling and perhaps it's time to go somewhere new. Every other page has a passage of Scripture, without any other commentary, allowing God's word to speak for itself. The alternating pages have short devotional thoughts and journaling prompts. I especially liked suggestions such as choosing a theme Psalm for the present time in life.

Whether for yourself or as a gift for someone who needs encouragement to step out in faith, this a beautiful journal.

From the publisher:

Go.
One small word . . . so much power.
When God says, "Go," faith says yes, but fear says no.

But Lord, I'm too weak . . . too sinful . . . too afraid . . .

But the truth? . . .

When God says, "Go," it's not about you--it's about Him.
When God says, "Go," you face a choice: Sit back and stay safe, or swallow hard and step up?
When God says, "Go," your time has come.

Maybe it's time to go somewhere new, someplace you've never been. Maybe it's time to go deeper--in Bible study or relationships. Time to go higher--in prayer or dreams. Time to go and give in new ways, to use God-gifted talents and opportunities. Or time to go and grow, right where you are.

Author Elizabeth Laing Thomspon invites you to journal your personal thoughts and feelings alongside scriptural truths and encouragement as you respond to God's call . . . equipping you to face your very own doubts, regrets, and worries--with faith, courage perspective, and a healthy dose of humor.

When God says, "Go," it's time to decide: Will you sit back and stammer, "But Lord . . . ," or will you stand tall and say, "Here I am. Send me"? God is calling you--are you ready to go?

By the same author: When God Says Wait: A Devotional Thought Journal

Visit Barbour Publishing for more info on where to buy.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review.

Wednesday, April 1

Recent Reads - The House at the End of the Moor

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Just A Second helps supply books and coffee - thank you!

The House at the End of the Moor by Michelle Griep - Oliver Ward has been suffering for months in the terrible conditions at Dartmoor Prison, and when he finally gets a chance to escape, he takes it. He's determined to clear his name and somehow prove that he was wrongfully convicted. But he was already in weakened condition, injured, and then grazed by a constable's bullet during his flight.

Maggie Lee is determined to live as quietly and anonymously as possible in an out-of-the-way home on the moors. She and her maid discover an unconscious and injured man near the house and manage to get him inside to tend his wounds. When a surly constable shows up at her door, she evades his questions and says nothing about the injured man. She isn't sure why her instinct is to protect a man who is almost certainly an escaped convict, but she follows it nonetheless.

As Oliver is recovering, he and Maggie discover that they are connected - Maggie is in possession of the jewels that Oliver was accused of stealing, although she has no idea the gems are real. She had abandoned her opera career and fled after threats to herself and her father, and it turns out that Oliver was one of the guests in attendance at her final performance after which she escaped her cruel manager. Realizing that returning the jewels is the only way to prove Oliver's innocence the two of them decide to return to London together and figure out a way to achieve that and see the evil nobleman who accused Oliver brought to justice.

They are relentlessly pursued by the cruel and vindictive constable who not only wants to capture Oliver, but collect on the reward offered to return Maggie to her manager. Constable Barrow and the manager join forces to capture the two escapees, and their cruelty seems to know no bounds.

Once in London, Oliver and Maggie must come up with a plan to return the jewels and entrap the true criminals, while staying one step ahead of their pursuers. They will need to learn to trust each other, forgive, and understand justice and mercy.

There are three narratives woven together to tell the story. When Oliver is the viewpoint character, the narrative is in the third person, but when Maggie is the viewpoint character, she tells her own story. Not only is it in first person, it's in present tense, which I think is very unusual for a historical setting novel. I think it adds to the immediacy of the conflicts and dilemmas she finds herself in. Interspersed are some sections where Barrow is the viewpoint character. These are also in third person.

From the very first page, I was drawn into the story and couldn't stop turning pages! The backgrounds of Oliver and Maggie are intriguing and teased out a little at a time, and the suspense in their race for justice adds a sense of urgency to their relationship. Constable Barrow and the manager are evil and dangerous villains, but it turns out even Barrow has a past that has shaped him.

From the Publisher:

What Can a London Opera Star and an Escaped Dartmoor Prisoner Have in Common?

Opera star Maggie Lee escapes her opulent lifestyle when threatened by a powerful politician who aims to ruin her life. She runs off to the wilds of the moors to live in anonymity. All that changes the day she discovers a half-dead man near her house. Escaped convict Oliver Ward is on the run to prove his innocence, until he gets hurt and is taken in by Maggie. He discovers some jewels in her possession--the very same jewels that got him convicted. Together they hatch a plan to return the jewels, clearing Oliver's name and hopefully maintaining Maggie's anonymity.

By the same author: The Noble Guardian, Ladies of Intrigue, The Captured Bride, The Innkeeper's Daughter, The Captive Heart

Visit Barbour Publishing for more info on where to buy.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review.

Pages

Saturday, April 11

Friday, April 10

Wednesday, April 8

Monday, April 6

Saturday, April 4

Friday, April 3

Wednesday, April 1