Virginia Ann Work's Blog

You are at the pool while your child is taking swimming lessons. You just happen to have a book in your bag. At home, you have a few minutes and brew yourself some chai tea and sit on the back patio while the birds sing and the flowers bloom. Again, you find that book you’ve been reading. That evening, you are waiting for your husband while he plays a baseball game. Ah! That book comes out again. But what book? A good book. Here are my all-time five favorite Christian mystery and detective series.

Whether you have an hour or only a few minutes, it’s time to get a new book, open its smooth pages and plunge into a great story. Or, you may prefer to read books on your tablet, computer, iPad, or phone. Either way, a book will whisk you away to any time, place, climate, or event you want! And you will say, “YES! Summer reading is the best!”

Mysteries are my favorite. Why? When they are written properly, they take me to adventures I could never experience in real life while teasing my mind with puzzles, conundrums, and questions that my curiosity must discover.

Part Two

How can we find joy in the midst of a dreary, troublesome, difficult world? On those days when nothing seems to go right, when the car breaks down, and the rain won’t stop, and the kids are driving you crazy.

God’s joy is different that the world’s joy. God’s joy is a deep-seated sense of peace and confidence that comes from believing that God is in control, that He loves me, and that He is working for my good even if I can’t feel it. Rom. 8:28

Yet the busier we get, the more we have, the faster we go, the less we find peace and joy. Paul wrote to the Romans, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

I have a close friend who recently went through an extremely difficult divorce. She found herself sitting alone by a river with her world shattered beyond repair. Tears are coursed her cheeks, and she could see no help, no resolution, no hope.

And yet she had joy at the end of the day as the deep peace of God flooded her soul and the assurance that He is in control gave her hope and comfort.

Part One

“He that has light within his own clear breast may sit in the center, and enjoy bright day: But he that hides a dark soul and foul thoughts benighted walks under the mid-day sun; Himself his own dungeon.” John Milton

The man shifted, hearing in his half-sleep the clink of chains. Pain shot up from his hips as he moved. His back hurt, too, and he knew if he walked, his feet would scream at him. It seemed everything hurt these days.

The man next to him moved, too, and grunted. The chain clanked against the cold cement floor. Fully awake now, the Apostle Paul raised himself to a sitting position, careful not to disturb the two guards who were shackled to him at the ankles.

He rubbed his face and drank from the flask at his elbow. Peering around, he wished for his writing implements, but they sat on the table across the room from the bed which he shared with his Roman guards.

No, he couldn’t write. It was too dark, anyway, and lighting a candle would certainly awaken these two boys.

We love snow and spent the first fifteen years of our married life in the snow country of British Columbia, Canada. Dan likes it so much that he doesn’t mind shoveling it!

And then, several years later, we spent a year and a half in Portland, Oregon where it only rained. We went on excursions to Mt. Hood to play in the snow, but that just wasn’t the same as having it available right out your door.

When we moved to Ekalaka, Montana, we arrived between two storm systems. They already had two or three feet of snow on the ground and were pretty tired of it by this time. The day after we arrived, it clouded over and began to snow. We called it a blizzard, but the residents were unimpressed and said it was only a “light wind.”

I’ll never forget the sight of two young people who arrived at our door amidst a swirling, blowing snow storm and asked Brian and Sherry if they would like to go down to the restaurant for an ice cream cone!

Our kids were in heaven. They built a snowman, sledded, shoveled, and made snow angels.

Fear demoralizes, immobilizes and defeats a person. Many people live in fear these days. Yet there is a way to face the future with courage, peace and hope.

When Lucy Pevensie journeyed with her brother, cousin, and Prince Caspian aboard the ship the Dawn Treader, she became frightened when the ship got stuck at the Dark Island where their worst fears were realized.

As the darkness increased, and the men pulled at the oars frantically to leave the island, someone cried out, “We will never get out!”

“Lucy leant her head on the edge of the fighting top and whispered, ‘Aslan, Aslan, if ever you loved us at all, send us help now.’ The darkness did not grow any less, but she began to feel a little — a very, very little– better….”

Then a bright light shines from above on the ship. At its center is an albatross. They follow the direction that the bird leads them.

“Drinian steered after it not doubting that it offered good guidance. But no one except Lucy knew that as it circled the mast it had whispered to her, ‘Courage, dear heart!’, and the voice, she felt sure, was Aslan’s.”

Voyage of the Dawn Treader, CS Lewis

          Courage, dear heart.

Who is the Beast of Revelation and Daniel?

      Is he on the world scene right now?

            Will we as Christians see him and recognize him?

A man God calls the Beast will appear on the world scene soon.

When we look to the pages of sacred Scripture, the Bible, we find the answers to our questions about what the future holds and Who holds the future. Read Daniel. Read Revelation. Better yet, study it.

This is what we are told:

A man will arise out of the masses who are living on the earth in the last days to become the world’s last great dictator.

Already the stage is being set for his appearance.

I believe he is alive and is being groomed to take center stage soon.

This man is a dynamic world leader. He will emerge on the scene and dominate center stage on CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox, too, probably.

In a matter of weeks, he will gather armies and conquer nations to become the dictator of the world, controlling the media, the military, and the daily lives of millions of people on the face of the globe.

Have you ever read the book of Revelation in the Bible? How long has it been since you read it?

This revealing “trivia” quiz is designed to quirk your curiosity, puzzle your brain, and try your knowledge. It might reveal something about how much you know or think you know about the book.

If you score 100%, let me know (PM or email) and I will send you a copy of my Bible Study book, The End of the Beginning, for only $10+shipping!!

The answers are given from the perspective in the book, The End of the Beginning, that reflect a literal, consecutive, and futuristic interpretation of Revelation.

Read the questions carefully!

Find the answers at the end of the quiz. NO PEEKING!

a) They represent the four directions on earth and are sent to proclaim woe to the earth

b) They are four angels sent from God to proclaim judgment on the earth

c) They are the first four in the seal judgments that bring cold war, open war, famine and death to the earth

The old man rested on a large granite rock and surveyed the scene.

It had been a stiff climb, and he was winded.

Behind him a small cave opened its mouth in the rocky hillside. It was a place to pray and meditate, and he came here as often as he could.

The Apostle John was over ninety and every muscle in his body ached. He wiped his brow and drew a deep breath.

The Mediterranean Sea glittered blue and white on the horizon, and closer, it resembled an emerald, sparkling in the morning sun with a life of its own. Ships plowed the water out on the sea, Roman galleys that carried supplies all over the world, powered by slaves who would survive only a few months in the fetid holds.

Closer to his vantage point, the encampment sprawled below him. They did not need a fence to contain the prisoners for there was no place to flee – only to the sea or inland.

The Romans posted guards along the beach and kept fires burning through the night. They didn’t care if the prisoners escaped inland because Patmos was uninhabited – there was no food, villages, or shelter.

The old man rested on a large granite rock and surveyed the scene.

It had been a stiff climb, and he was winded.

Behind him a small cave opened its mouth in the rocky hillside. It was a place to pray and meditate, and he came here as often as he could.

The Apostle John was over ninety and every muscle in his body ached. He wiped his brow and drew a deep breath.

The Mediterranean Sea glittered blue and white on the horizon, and closer, it resembled an emerald, sparkling in the morning sun with a life of its own. Ships plowed the water out on the sea, Roman galleys that carried supplies all over the world, powered by slaves who would survive only a few months in the fetid holds.

Closer to his vantage point, the encampment sprawled below him. They did not need a fence to contain the prisoners for there was no place to flee – only to the sea or inland.

The Romans posted guards along the beach and kept fires burning through the night. They didn’t care if the prisoners escaped inland because Patmos was uninhabited – there was no food, villages, or shelter.

“What in the world is going on? How can I survive it? And what can I do about it?”

Here are five things to look for as we approach the rapture of the church and the great tribulation, and how to stay sane in an insane world.

“Aslan is on the move — he may have landed already.”

Mr. Beaver spoke in hushed tones around the tiny table while Mrs. Beaver provided supper for the Pevensie children.

When the children heard the name Aslan, they suddenly felt lighter, happier. As if there was hope.

In CS Lewis’ book, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, we learn of the lion Aslan who was not tame, but he was good. He had been away from Narnia for many years while the White Witch kept the land in winter and never Christmas. But he is back. And things are happening. The old prophecies are starting to be fulfilled. The witch’s power is starting to crumble.

God is on the move in our world today.

Incredibly, the fear of getting the COVID-19 virus, as it is called, has swept the entire globe and has caused the closure of all businesses and travel around the world.