Ephesians, Holman Christian Standard Bible

 Chapter 2:4-9 "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace!...You are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift---not from works, so that no one can boast. "

The Apostle Paul emphasizes through his epistles that salvation is through grace. It is a gift of God through Christ Jesus. Our works cannot ever save us, even if we obey the letter of the law, it isn't enough to save us, only trusting in what Jesus did, trusting that He is the way to salvation. Jesus is the ONLY way to eternal life.

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Draw 50 Animals, Lee J. Ames

Draw 50 Animals, by Lee J. Ames

This is a fun book to look through, gives step by step pictures for drawing animals starting with basic shapes. It's a basic book for learning by copying or mimicking, which honestly is where all people start out learning, as babies, mimicking those around us. It can help build confidence to move on to the next step of learning.

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It Starts with Food by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig

It Starts with Food, Dallas & Melissa Hartwig

From the creators of The Whole 30, this book is really informative with basic common sense information on food, digestion, nutrition, and meal ideas. I think I am going to keep it and work on going "whole foods". My struggle is just finding the time to meal prep or even sit down and come up with a menu plan. I just need to do it, for my health and the health of my family. We could all benefit from following this plan.

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Galatians, Holman Christian Standard Bible

 The book of Galatians is a smaller epistle written by Paul. What stuck out to me in this book is the explanation that following the law and traditions of Judaism will not save us, only Christ, the fulfillment of the law, can save us. 

There were many factions with differing beliefs, and one of them was that what Jesus did was good, but still was not enough to save us from eternal damnation, that following the letter of the law AND believing in Jesus was the only way to salvation. Gentiles were getting circumcised because they thought they had to be circumcised as part of salvation. People were losing sight that Jesus made the way for salvation, and although good works and living uprightly was great, our works do not, nor can they ever save us. 

Works are a fruit; they show whether we have Life, or not. They are not the Life itself.

Chapter 5 verse 13-18 ( I suggest you read the whole book for proper context): For you were called to be free, brothers,; only don't use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love. For the entire law is fulfilled in one statement: Love your neighbor as yourself. But if you bite and devour one another, watch out, or you will be consumed by one another. 

I say then, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don't do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. "

The chapter goes on to give a generalized list of behaviors that will not inherit the Kingdom of God, and then a list of the fruit of the Spirit. Worth reading.

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2 Chronicles, Holman Christian Standard Bible

 2 Chronicles is a continuation of 1 Chronicles, a history of Israel and Judah and the reign of kings. Again, there is the theme throughout this book: those kings who turned away from God and turned toward evil and idolatry, were brought down. Those who turned to God and followed him and did away with idolatry, God blessed them and blessed the land and the people, and protected them. These books show how God's covenant with Israel worked, and still works. If Israel will be his people, and follow him and his commandments, and not turn to wickedness and idolatry, he will bless them.

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The Prisoner of Zenda, Anthony Hope

The Prisoner of Zenda, by Anthony Hope

A few years ago, I read a book by Edgar Rice Burroughs, called The Mad King. It was about a switcheroo between the king and another man, in order to save the kingdom. About a year later, as I was on an elliptical at the gym, there was a black and white movie playing on one of the tvs, and I could have sworn it was The Mad King. I discovered that it was actually The Prisoner of Zenda. I had to look into this and I discovered that Burroughs' book came after Zenda, and was a blatant rip-off of it. 

Last year, I went to a flea  market, and found this beauty on a table, for only $3. It was printed in 1898 and is in good enough condition for me. I put it into Mount TBR and got it read in April. 

I really enjoyed this one. The writing style is old fashioned. as is most writing from the late 19th century, but it was a fun read. It's about a gentleman who lives in England but has distant blood relation to royalty in a far off little country called Ruritania. He ends up visiting the country and the king's men discover he is a dead ringer for the king. The king invites him to visit at his hunting lodge and the king ends up drunk, drugged by his brother, so he will miss his coronation. The king's men decided to switch the king and his distant cousin, just until the king can wake up again. Sounds easy peasy, but while they are away at the coronation, the king gets kidnapped, and so they have to devise a plan to save him.

Very fun, and if you get a chance, watch the movie, too. Then read The Mad King, by Edgar Rice Burroughs and see the similarity.

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2 Corinthians, Holman Christian Standard Bible

 2 Corinthians, a letter written to the church at Corinth by the Apostle Paul.  This passage stuck out to me about repentance, chapter 7: "9 Now I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because your grief led to repentance. For you were grieved as God willed, so that you didn't experience any loss from us. For godly grief produces a repentance not to be regretted and leading to salvation, but worldly grief produces death."

There is a difference  between repentance and regret. We can be sorry we did something, or sorry that something happened, without actually turning away from it, without acknowledging it was wrong. Take for example if a kid gets caught stealing a toy or piece of candy. He can be sorry he got caught....he knows it's wrong but is only sorry that someone caught him in the act, and he will probably do it again, only sneakier. Or he can be the kid that realizes that it's wrong and he had no right to take what was not his, and apologize and never do it again. Only one is true repentance. 

Our acts and decisions we make, many times we regret them, or regret the outcome. But do we repent? Do we turn away from the sin, the poor choices, and follow God? Do we think twice before acting or reacting? Do we run our decisions and desires past what we know to be God's will for us? It's always best to choose repentance and growth over regret and making the same poor choices.

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