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Chapter 13: God's Unconditional Love For Us: The Book of Hosea

Imagine having the strength not only to forgive your betrayer, but also to embrace them with love and kindness after their duplicity has been exposed. That's what our Heavenly Father does for us day after day, minute after minute, second after second--no matter how many times our faithless hearts wander from Him.

Chapter 12: Jesus and John: Friends for Eternity

John was present with Jesus, as part of this core group [The Inner Circle], at three crucial events: the raising of Jairus's daughter, the Transfiguration, and the agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. John was there to witness the highest highs and the lowest lows.

Chapter 11: Job and His Friends (Companions in Grief)

How do we respond when our friends challenge us on spiritual matters? Do we insist that our own views of God and why He acts must be the right ones, or do we have a heart open enough to listen for the ways God may speak to us through our friends? Job also put faith at the core of these relationships by interceding for his friends.

Chapter 10: The Friendships of Paul (Companions for the Journey)

Most of all, Paul teaches us that the true friendships--like the deepest love--is one that finds its beginning, end, and purpose in Jesus, no matter how far from home we wander or what journeys God calls us to undertake.

Chapter 9: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Friendship in the Fire)

God is with us, even in Babylon. He can use us here to bring grace to the world around us. He can change the hearts of pagan kings. He can walk with us into the furnace. He can and does bless us with a community of believers. And one day He will take us home to our heavenly Promised Land.

Chapter 8: David and Jonathan (Brothers in Arms)

In giving us the example of David and Jonathan, the Bible calls us to honor the love of friendship. The Bible beckons us to recognize the wonder, the miracle that is true, covenanted friendship-love.

Chapter 7: David and Abigail (The Rebel and the Peacemaker)

We know that the Lord can take what the enemy intends for evil and turn it to good (Genesis 50:20). He certainly did that for Abigail. Her righeous and compassionate action impacted the course of David's life--which is to say, she changed the course of Israel's history, and ours.

Chapter 5: Ruth and Boaz (Second Chances)

Boaz as a redeemer modeled what Christ would do for those outsiders. He stepped in to pay the price for each of us, when we were poor and in need. . . Christ meets us with kindness and compassion, not chiding or turning us away for coming to Him. Like Boaz, Christ wraps His acceptance around us and gives us life anew--one full of second chances.

Chapter 5: Esther and Xerxes (Marriage to a Monarch)

Bottom line: our relationship--or spouse--doesn't have to be perfect in order for God to work through it. Esther and Xerxes' relationship is probably one we can't relate to at all! But what a beautiful picture it paints of what God can do when we are humble and surrender to His will, even in the midst of unusual circumstances.

Chapter 4: Joseph and Mary (A Bond of Trust)

Loving God, please remind us of the beautiful lessons we see in the marriage of Mary and Joseph. For those of us who are married, or hope to be, help us in the midst of all our challenges to find our way to an "us." Show us how to die to self and operate as a team committed to caring for and esteeming each other. . .

Chapter 3: Adam and Eve (The Original Love Story)

Adam and Eve fell short of their potential, but their impact did not end with the Fall. We should view it not only as the story of original sin, but also as the birthplace of original love. One thing's for sure: The story of Adam and Eve is not done teaching us yet.

Chapter 2: Samson and Delilah

The chains of Samson's sin were never stronger than the mercy and love of God, and even in Samson's darkness--even when he thought his own bad decisions and relationships may have alienated God from him forever--even then, God was there.

Chapter 1: Song of Solomon

This bride and groom remind us just how powerful and precious love and the hope for a lifetime bond can be. We should cherish the gift of romance and marriage, nurture and feed it. As our relationships mature, we shouldn't put them on autopilot.

The Way of Belovedness

Belovedness, as God's creation, means that we are uniquely known and cared for, precious and valued even if we feel small or hidden. Just like the wildflowers yet to be discovered, named, and cataloged, we who live in the way of belovedness can trust that we are seen, known, loved and have purpose right where we are--because our Creator, God, knows each one of us by name as his beloved.

The Way of the Unhurried

The Master Gardener who melts the snow, lengthens the days, and causes the sun to warm the earth is the same God who orchestrates your days and your seasons.

The Way of Resilience

Love is like wildflowers; it's often found in the most unlikely of places. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

The way of resilience if one of perseverance, but it's also a call to deepen our roots in the soil of God's Word. We can endure hard seasons and flourish all the more on the other side of trials when we are anchored to that which sustains us.

Wildflowers don't care where they grow. ~ Dolly Parton

What freedom is ours when we consider this way of the wildflower; smiling at the sun, unburdened by what isn't our to fret about or carry.

Happy Publication Day🥳

The Way of Dependency

Oh, to be like a wildflower--dependent and surrendered, not demanding a specific storyline, a certain season, or a more ideal circumstance, but to bloom where we've been planted.

To the ones who imagine that
unburdened
is possible only when you're surrounded
by wildflowers and mountain air;
Jesus is better, and you are more loved
than the flowers of any field. ~ Ruth Chou Simons

The Plymouth Express (Poirot) 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Problem at Pollensa Bay 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Sanctuary (Miss Marple) 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

A Christmas Tragedy (Miss Marple) 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Coming of Mr. Quin (Harley Quin) 🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Clergyman's Daughter/The Red House (Tommy & Tuppence) 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Three Blind Mice - 🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Chocolate Box (Poirot) - 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Armor of God ~ Ephesians 6:10-24

We have a tendency not to believe that any power of Satan is being unleashed against the Christian in this world, and so Paul is emphatically saying here that . . . we need supernatural protection to withstand that evil. Each Christian is a target of Satan and his angels, and this struggle goes on throughout one's lifetime.

Final Greetings ~ Romans 16

Paul's prayer--that people would be established in that gospel forever--has borne witness by the history of the church. Despite all heresies, persecutions, and distortions, the gospel that was revealedhere continues to be manifested by the wisdom, power, and establishment of God, who alone receives the glory.

Children and Servants ~ Ephesians 6:1-9

God calls us to honor the authorities that are over us as an expression of submission to Him because the fundamental problem with humanity is a refusal to give submission to whom submission is due--namely, the God Himself.

He[Jesus]is the perfect Master who treats all those under His authority with love, tenderness, gentleness, justice, and righteousness.

A Minister of God ~ Romans 15:14-33

The pulpit is where the Word of God is to be proclaimed, and the burden of everyone who stands in it is to make sure that the whole counsel of God is to be given to the people of God.

Marriage and Submission ~ Ephesians 5:21-33

When Adam was created, with dominion over the earth, Eve ruled over the earth with him as his helpmate, not as his servant. In a sense, God made Adam king over the creation and gave Eve to him as his queen, not as his slave-girl. There is all the difference in the world between a queen and a slave-girl.

Children of Light ~ Ephesians 5:1-20

As people of light, we have participated in a spiritual resurrection. Therefore, our lives cannot be lived as men and women who look for the darkness to do those things that we would be ashamed to do in public. Rather, we are to reflect Jesus' injunction: "Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."

The Pursuit of Peace ~ Romans 14:19 - 15:13

The Holy Spirit works in our hearts to shed loave abroad and to produce the fruit of joy, peace, hope, forbearance, patience, kindness, goodness, and humility. That is what the God of all hope does when he fills us with his love in the power of the Holy Spirit.