2016 ~ The word ~ JOY

Each year many look for their word for the year or their verse for the year. This year I have really thought about it. I have been tested many times, and I keep finding the word JOY in my verses. So for 2016 ~ JOY.

Here are the verses that I have stood out to me the most this year:
James 1: 2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

Philippians 4: Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stay true to the Lord. I love you and long to see you, dear friends, for you are my joy and the crown I receive for my work.
4 Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! 5 Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.
6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

Here's to a year of learning no matter what happens, we must find the JOY in the Journey! Allow God to grow us into people with more endurance and more joy than ever before!

Jesus Speaks by Steven Scott

Jesus Speaks : 365 Days of Guidance and Encouragement, Straight from the Words of Christ

I first got curious about this book when I saw who all had endorsed it. Next I saw Jesus Speaks and a daily devotion, so I thought why not. It is a hard back book with a slip cover. The slip cover is beautiful, but once the cover is gone, you are left with a tan book. I really wish the picture would had been on the front of the hard cover, but then again I could see this being a "classic" book since it is broken down by the day. It begins with a verse in red, meaning he is using words that Jesus spoke - Yes this is the name of the book, but I didn't get it until I got the book. I LOVE how you read in the beginning where this author spent 2 years studying all the red words in the Bible. He had previously written a book called The Greatest Words Ever Spoken, where he discusses the words spoken by our Jesus. Each day of this study references back to his "Greatest" book. Each daily devotion is a verse that Jesus spoke, then it is like Jesus talking to us, followed by another verse in red which is Jesus mentioning the topic in the first verse. This would be great to have. I think the verses actually being in red just stand out and mean a little more, b/c you know deep down that our Lord spoke them to our hearts. I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review.

Keeper of the Stars by Robin Lee Hatcher

This is a simple romantic story brought about by a tragedy. It is a good read. It does jump between the different characters in the story and also from Penny’s brother Brad. It allows you to get to know the person that is missing in the story and the closeness between them. This story shows you how God can lead circumstances to His good. It is a story of healing after a loss. There is a set of discussion questions at the end, so this would be good for a book club. I would recommend this book. Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255

When Love Returns, The Zimmerman Restoration Trilogy, Book 3

Author: Kim Vogal Sawyer
I had only read one other book in this series, and I was eager to see how this story line ended. You can pick this final book up and read it without knowing anything previously. It might actually make you want to pick the others up and read. This is an inspiring book of Restoration, Frogiveness, and Trust. This story is about a woman that gave away a daughter to adoption, adopted a daughter, and how she learns to move on. This final story brings in the lives of the 2 daughters, and how they learn to move on after finding out about it all.
After reading this, the following comes to my mind: He restores the broken. His plans are not our plans. Forgive others as Christ has forgiven us. I would recommend this book to anyone that loves reading, loves being inspired, and loves Amish fiction. There isn’t Amish talk in this book so anyone that loves reading would love this book. I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review.