‘Do all things without grumbling or disputing,
that you may be blameless and innocent,
children of God without blemish
in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation,
among whom you shine as lights in the world,’
~ Philippians 2:14
In 1607, a cross was planted on a sandy beach in Virginia. Reverend Robert Hunt prayed these words as the symbol of God’s redemption of mankind rose toward heaven.
“We do hereby dedicate this land, and ourselves to reach the People within these shores with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to raise up Godly generations after us and with these generations take the Kingdom of God to all the earth.”
This first portion challenges me as a writer to write truth, which only comes from Him, the author of truth. It also throws down a gauntlet at my desire to be successful in my endeavors. Is this writing journey to have my name known, or did He call me to play with words to bring honor to Him?
“May this covenant,” Hunt continues, “of dedication remain to all generations, as long as this earth remains, and may this land, along with England, be Evangelist to the world. May all who see this cross remember what we have done here, and may those who come here to inhabit join us in this covenant and in this most novel work that the Holy Scriptures may be fulfilled.”
Hunt’s prayer echoes through the history of our land . . . America. Often, God’s people have failed to build the love-infused kingdom He has asked of us. Loving our neighbor as we love ourselves is a sticking point. In our hustle to make something of ourselves, to assert our independence, and to claim land beyond the next hill, we’ve failed as His people to care for, serve, and love those around us.
Today, a ‘me first’ focus permeates this land. How far we have come from my Quaker forefathers who befriended their Delaware Native American neighbors. These thoughts are tumbling about as I pray for the people in the midst of wars and rumors of them. Our world is troubled.
Music permeated my life as a new Christian. As a musician, I’d sing the hymns of old in choirs or as a soloist, but the songs written during the Jesus Movement in California, when I became His follower, bring me back to the Word. The simple words of Scripture bathe me with the peace of God.
As the darkness falls, Scripture songs invade my days and I sing with joy:
‘Give thanks with a grateful heart,
Give thanks to the Holy One
Give thanks, because He’s given
Jesus Christ, His Son.’
~ Henry Smith, 1978
Have bags will travel should be Jeanette-Marie Mirich’s life’s theme. She moved twenty-two times before settling in her first home. An Oregonian by birth and who graduated with a B.S. degree in education from Portland State University, Jeanette has swum in the Ligurian Sea, collected shells and sea glass along the Indian Ocean, Pacific, Atlantic, Caribbean Oceans, Straits of Malacca, Gulf of Mexico and the Andaman Sea. Her peripatetic lifestyle is courtesy of the U.S. Air Force and her husband’s medical training.
Passionate about needs in the third world after living in Thailand during her husband’s deployment, she has accompanied her husband on dozens of medical mission trips. Mother of three, Grammy to thirteen exceptional grandchildren, she travels from her Kentucky home to an Oregon cabin, scribbling poems and short stories as well as writing novels.
I shouldn’t have made the promise when Harry was dying but…
You know how it is. You want to please when the person you’ve always loved is hooked up to plastic tubing looking peaky.
Delilah Morgan, a woman of honor, is unable to ignore her promise to her husband, Harry, which leads to trouble, with a capital T. The beautiful, unassuming Delilah plans to mourn in private after Harry passed, but he had other ideas—specifically, leaving his wife in good hands and protected from the elite of their small Kentucky town. However, he neglects to include his wife in his plans.
Harry has selected local judge, Lyle Henderson, the heart-throb of most of the women in town, to court his widow. The judge acquiesces to Harry’s wishes until Henderson’s life spins into a maelstrom after the discovery of bodies in his long absent wife’s car. The police and FBI begin to suspect him of murdering his wife and her apparent lover.
Determined to clear the judge of murder, Delilah resolves to hunt down the true story. Their adventure nearly costs them their lives and leads them on what Delilah suspects is a wild-goose chase toward love. In reality, their wanderings reveal what sacrificial love can encompass.
