Week 4 Readings – 90 Day New Testament Challenge (April 29 – May 5)
We’re now on Week 4 of our 90-day adventure of reading through the New Testament in chronological order. How was Week 3 for you? What did you learn? If you’re new and just going us, you can go HERE to catch up.
Day 24 – John 9:1-41; John 10:1-21
Day 25 – Luke 10; John 10:22-42
Day 28 – Luke 16; Luke 17:1-10
Week 3 Readings – 90 Day New Testament Challenge (April 22 – 28)
We’re now on Week 3 of our 90-day adventure of reading through the New Testament in chronological order. How was Week 2 for you? What did you learn? If you’re new and just going us, you can go HERE to catch up.
Day 15 – Matthew 8:14-34; Mark 4-5
Day 16 – Matthew 9-10
Day 17 – Matthew 14; Mark 6; Luke 9:1-17
Day 18 – John 6
Day 19 – Matthew 15; Mark 7
Day 20 – Matthew 16; Mark 8; Luke 9:18-27
Day 21 – Matthew 17; Mark 9; Luke 9:28-62
Week 2 Readings – 90 Day New Testament Challenge (April 15 – 21)
Tomorrow begins Week 2 of our 90-day adventure of reading through the New Testament in chronological order. If you’re new and just joining us, you can go HERE to catch up. The readings for Week 2 are:
Day 8 –John 5
Day 9 –Matthew 12:1-21; Mark 3; Luke 6
Day 10 –Matthew 5-7
Day 11 –Matthew 8:1-13; Luke 7
Day 12 –Matthew 11
Day 13 –Matthew 12:22-50; Luke 11
Day 14 –Matthew 13; Luke 8
About last week. . .
How was Week 1 for you? What did you learn?
It was a great week of readings for me. Though I’d read the passages before, I still got something fresh out of them. It struck me again how Jesus and John both perfectly understood their roles and purposes. They didn’t step out of what they were each called to do. That’s a great reminder for me to “stay in my lane.” I don’t have to worry about what others are doing OR what God is doing for others. My focus should remain on following God’s will for my life. John could have really screwed things up if he’d tried to be Jesus or if he had become jealous of the work Jesus was called to do and the recognition that Jesus received. Likewise, Jesus understood the importance of what John was doing and didn’t try to take it over, even when John would have willingly let him.
I also realized Jesus didn’t alter his work when John was imprisoned. He didn’t rush down to the jail and stage a protest to get John out. He didn’t even hold a prayer session for him. Jesus basically kept doing what He was doing and moved forward in His ministry. You really do have to be sure in your calling to make right decisions. Something tells me I would have been out there figuring out how to get John out of jail or complaining about how wrongly he’d been treated.
One last thing. I’m having an issue with using the BibleStudyTools.com website for my readings because I found a discrepancy in one of the verses, John 3:27. I’ve sent them a message about it so we’ll see.
BibleStudyTools,com (New Living Translation):
27 John replied, “God in heaven appoints each person’s work.
BibleGateway.com (New Living Translation) and my print NLT:
27 John replied, “No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven.
This might be the only discrepancy but I’ve lost a bit of confidence in the site. I’ll stick with their reading plan schedule but I don’t know if I can stick with reading the passages on their site. I’ll keep you posted on the site’s response to my message.
So what did you learn from the Week 1 readings?
Week 1 Readings – 90 Day New Testament Challenge (April 8 – 14)
Today is the day we start our 90-day adventure of reading through the New Testament in chronological order. If you want to track your reading online, please visit HERE for instructions.
Day 1 –Luke 1; John 1:1-14
Day 2 –Matthew 1; Luke 2:1-38
Day 3 –Matthew 2; Luke 2:39-52
Day 4 –Matthew 3; Mark 1; Luke 3
Day 5 –Matthew 4; Luke 4-5; John 1:15-51
Day 6 –John 2-4
Day 7 –Mark 2
Deatri King-Bey is one of my favorite people. She’s high on my list because of the hard work she puts forth every year to pull of the Romance Slam Jam conference. She has a new book out and I thought you should hear about it in her words. And now, here’s Dee!
In my new romantic suspense, For Keeps, Gina Guy’s daughter has witnessed a murder and the murderer is after the little girl. Child Protective Services is manipulated into the picture, and Jarvis Martin, a manager within the agency, steps in to protect the Guys’ rights. From the moment Gina meets Jarvis, she feels she can depend on him, but life has proven to her that the only person she can count on is Gina. Will they be able to stop the murderer? Can Jarvis earn her trust and love?
Heavy topic for a romance, huh? I’m known for taking non-conventional characters and topics and spinning them into a romance. I like to create dialogue. The moment I released the For Keeps blurb, people started asking me where the idea came from. I’ve often said that I have voices in my head that tell me their stories, then I relay those stories to you though my books. Basically, I put my psychosis to work.
Events usually wake those voices in my head and cause them to start speaking to me. The voices from For Keeps came about as the result of two incidents. A few years back, I noticed more reports of children being murdered down here (Arizona) by abusive parents on the news. This was a very noticeable increase. There was actually an event that correlated to the increase in deaths and abuse. I can’t remember the number, but there were like 2,500 reported cases of abuse that were never investigated during that time period. Big time scandal. Lots of people fired over that.
In incident two, I know someone who was reported to CPS by the hospital she delivered her baby in because there were narcotics in the baby’s system. Actually, hospitals must report when babies are born with drugs in their system. That sounds like a good thing, right?
Well, the hospital neglected to inform CPS that the mother had been a patient in the hospital and administered the narcotic by the nurses. The mother didn’t even realize what they were giving her was a narcotic until after CPS contacted her and told them they’d be taking her child from her for him testing positive for narcotics. This mother went into a panic. She did everything her CPS case manager asked for, but CPS didn’t do their part. Then the case manager’s boss came into the picture and took steps to take this child away from the mother. It got really ugly.
To make a long story short, the original case manager came back into the picture and stopped the insanity. Had it not been for that case manager, this woman’s child would have been taken from her even though the hospital had supplied the paper work requested by CPS. Sounds crazy, huh? Yeah, I couldn’t believe what was happening as it unfolded.
These incidents breathed life into Gina and Jarvis. There are good parents caught up in the system every day. There are bad parents that children need to be protected from. There are bad case managers and there are good case managers.
I don’t know, this seemed like the perfect backdrop for a romantic suspense. Next thing you know, Gina and Jarvis telling me their story. I hope you enjoy For Keeps.
Select Continue Reading for a peek into For Keeps.
I had a great interview with Stella Riley of the Examiner.com the other day. You can read it HERE. Be sure to leave a comment letting her know you stopped by.
The hubby and I went out last week to listen to jazz musician Ezra Brown when he passed through Tuscaloosa. If you haven’t heard him, you must pick up his CD. I downloaded a copy from itunes before the evening and then got a signed copy of the CD at the event. He’s really good. Well worth the money.
After the jazz set was over, there was some line dancing followed by some karaoke. All in all, a great evening. Here’s a picture of me with Ezra.
Add Nanette at Alive on the Shelves to the list of reviewers who have enjoyed Delilah’s Daughters.
When I got a copy of Delilah’s Daughters, I followed my mom’s example and curled up on my side of the bed, turned the night table lamp on and read, and read. This book is that kind of read. I found it absorbing. . .
Check out her full review HERE. Be sure to leave a comment HERE.
I did an interview with Michelle Monkou that appeared on USA Today’s Happy Ever After (HEA) blog last Monday. She did a great job with it. If you have some time, please give it a read and leave a comment HERE.
“Overall, this was a fabulous read and I recommend it to anyone who likes a family oriented story with faith-based values.” –Books Are Fabulous blog
Read an excerpt HERE!