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FOS 11 Faithfulness (and the end of Goodness)

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Matthew 7:16-20 (ESV) You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. Review from the last lesson: Psalm 31:19 (ESV) Oh, how abundant is your goodness , which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind! Isaiah 63:7 (ESV) I will recount the steadfast love of the LORD, the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD has granted us, and the great goodness to the house of Israel that he has granted them according to his compassion, according to the abundance of his steadfast love. Psalm 25:7 ESV - 7 Remember not the sins of my youth or my tran...
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FOS 10b - Fruit of the Spirit Mini study Goodness and Faithfulness

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Exodus 34:6 ESV - The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness." In the Fruit of the Spirit study we last looked at goodness, and after we finish that we will move into faithfulness. Goodness and faithfulness are both character qualities of God. Studying how He has exemplified these through the years in the Bible and in our own lives can help us better understand what they look like so we can encourage growth in those areas through the Holy Spirit. In the verse above, the Israelites had just recently built a golden calf while Moses was on the mountain receiving the Ten Commandments and the Book of the Law. When God's response was that He would destroy the entire nation of Israel except Moses and carryout His promises through Moses, Moses interceded and God relented. Moses then asked to see God's glory (33:18) and God said no one can see His face and live...
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Review of The Politics of Love by Drew Taylor

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  Drew Taylor has reworked and rewritten much of the second half of The Politics of Love and I love it even more! The ebook is available for a special preorder price and you’ll get it on release day—March 4! Read my review below.  🇺🇸 I loved the first version of TPOL and somehow Drew made the revised edition even better. There’s more depth to the characters, more background information, and though some things are changed and added, it retains the same great characters with their endearing quirks and unique chemistry.  In The Politics of Love, Drew Taylor has pulled together a number of tropes and meshed them into a compelling and touching story. It has romcom vibes, with the added tension of real world hurt and brokenness, in a setting that is decidedly not real world for most of us. I have definitely never been the campaign manager for a billionaire presidential candidate. But she has done it in a way that feels organic.  Hayden and Darcy’s romance was a very ...
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Not Quite Mr. Darcy Dedication and Happy Birthday to my Mom

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This is my daughter wearing my wedding gown 4 years ago. My mom made the gown. Isn't it a beautiful gown! You can't see it fully here, but it is a floor length sheeth dress with a train that detaches. I designed the dress and went with my mom to pick out each piece of lace and satin used, and my mom painstakingly made the dress, veil, and customized my shoes with matching lace. She even sewed seed pearls into the lace. It is a treasure to me and we only had to make minor alterations to update it from it's original   1992 design--i.e. remove the shoulder poof and bows from the veil and train attachment point. Last Friday was my mom's birthdy and Not Quite Mr. Darcy  was dedicated to my mom. She helped grow my love of reading and of God at a young age. The main character of  Not Quite Mr. Darcy  moves to England to be a nurse/caregiver for a woman in the early stages of dementia. My mom suffered through Alzheimer's for about 14 1/2 years, so the book was a way to ...
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Book Review: Through Thorny Ways by Jennifer Q. Hunt

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  This Christian Fiction/Romance set in 1921 has many heart wrenching tender moments and much redemption. It’s a beautiful story not just of the romance that unfolds between Arilee and Adam, but also of their relationships with family and others in their community. I had the opportunity to listen to the audiobook version and each time I began listening, I didn’t want to turn it off. The way Jennifer folded history, faith, family secrets and even church hurt in with the romance was so natural and they all intertwined into a lovely story.  It left me feeling encouraged and strengthened in my faith while pushing me to dig deeper into God’s word and look to Him for my hope. The romance was touching and realistic as Arilee and Adam work through their own failings and relationships with God.  Other key characters who added much to the plot were Arilee’s brother Davis, and her niece and nephew.  The female narrator did a good job of adding enough variation to each o...
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FOS 10 Goodness (and the end of Kindness)

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Kindness Review from the last lesson: Romans 2:2-4 ESV - 2 We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. 3 Do you suppose, O man--you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself--that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? This comes in the middle of a section on judging others, but it reveals an important truth about God’s kindness. What do we learn about the purpose of God’s kindness? -God is kind to us in spite of our sin and patient with us in our sin. -His kindness is meant to lead us to repentance.  Ephesians 2:4-7 ESV - 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in...
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