Book Review: Wishing on Willows

Wishing on Willows, written by author/blogger Katie Ganshert, is a delightful read that tells the story of Robin Price, a widow who owns a cafe close to her heart and Ian McKay, a man who is still reeling from his divorce and is living under the shadow of his business maverick of a dad.

Ian is a developer with a secret passion for cooking, who comes into town with a primary purpose-- to turn Willow Tree Cafe and the adjacent businesses in the small town of Peaks into modern condos with all the fixings. At first, Robin (who owns the cafe) is not too keen about this idea and is fixing to give Ian a piece of her mind but Ian is up to the challenge with a will as equally as strong as Robin's.

As the story progresses, both main characters learn life lessons, only to discover a deeper faith in God, joy in the journey and  hope for their broken hearts. 

A beautiful story, Wishing on Willows shows the reader that sometimes, God uses people to mend broken hearts and in this case, it can be imagined that He's placed Robin and Ian in each other's lives to, despite their conflicting views, heal each other from the hurt and pain of the past and perhaps make a positive impact on the entire town of Peaks. 

Ganshert is a skilled storyteller who knows how to weave faith into fiction flawlessly.

Wishing on Willows is a recommended read for every woman who's ever had a broken heart.

YOU matter!

Dearest of hearts,

I hope that this video by The Hip Hop Preacher Eric Thomas reminds you of your TRUE value and worth in God's eyes which simply is YOU MATTER! God loves you no matter what! He's there for you wherever you go (Psalm 139:8) and He's not giving up on you, EVER!

So when life gets tough, don't GIVE up, LOOK up! :) Because God is there and He cares!

Love,

Alexis

Thankful Thursday: Precious Time

It’s Thursday and I’m thankful for the gift of time because it is precious. 

I learned earlier this week that a classmate of mine from my college years died. David was barely 30. He lived a full life, working as a press secretary in Washington, D.C. and brand architect who helped many people in influential circles improve their look and life. In his short time here on Earth, God blessed David with many “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunities and he took it, not only did he take it, he SOARED! When people talk about taking an organization to “the next level” that was David. He was a true businessman. But at such a young age, during his travels in Ghana, Africa he died. The exact details and cause of David’s death I have not heard but the loss of his life has impacted not only his family but his friends, colleagues and former classmates (such as me). 

After hearing this sad news, I realized I do not want to live a life full of regrets or spend time wondering “What if”? I am resolved from this moment forward to enjoy all God blesses me with in this life, praise Jesus Christ through the trials and all circumstances and to be honest about how I feel because life is short and you never know when it’s your time to die. 

Maybe you’re reading today’s post and are mourning the loss of a loved one. Or maybe you’re facing real GIANTS in your life—obstacles that are so intimidating that you are overwhelmed and at a loss for words. Or maybe you’re at a point where you’re not only questioning God’s sovereignty and His promise to provide for your every need but you’re wondering if there even is a Lord Jesus Christ because surely a loving God would not allow you to go through such pain and suffering, right? I know what you’re thinking because I’ve been there, in fact I believe most of us are at that place at least once in our lifetime. So I want to encourage you today with words from a devotional which focuses on the Bible story of a man named Job who suffered unspeakable loss and calamity of what he owned and who he loved all at once. His friends discouraged him, his wife told him to “curse God and die” (Job 2:9), his skin broke out in terrible sores (Job 2:7)... but at the end of his pain, God came through with His promise and restored Job’s life with “twice as much as he had before” (Job 42:10). 

According to the Feb. 19 lesson writer for the Adult Bible Study Guide, "Job did not understand, and neither do we when we face such catastrophic losses. Although God spoke to Job, He did not provide the answer to Job’s questions, nor did He explain the cause of what happened. He simply reminded Job that there were things beyond his knowledge and that he would have to trust God, which Job did. Our experience is often similar; we may not receive an answer to our questions. But the story of Job does give us important insight into the nature of evil, and it shows us that God is not unaware of the struggles that we face." 

So dearest of hearts, today I challenge you to press on, have the faith in God and even when you do not understand and cannot trace the hand of God in your situation, persevere like Job. Trust God will work a miracle in your life when you need it most. And as for those “giants” in your life? Here’s a word with a picture to remember: 

My personal choice from this moment forward is to focus on GOD and trust HIM to make my “giants” TUMBLE! 

And I encourage you to Have FAITH in GOD because HE will NEVER fail! 

God bless you! 

Love, 

Alexis

God LOVES YOU! Unconditionally & Forever!

Happy Valentine's Day

Book worth reading: Pursued

Thankful Thursday: The Blessing of Friends Who Pray

It’s Thursday and I am thankful for the blessing of friends who pray. 

Life is beautiful but it can also be so hard, especially when you don’t know what’s around the bend. But if you have faith in God and continue praying to Him, you will be at peace in the midst of any storm. The Bible says in Isaiah 26:3, God will keep in "perfect peace" all who trust in Him, all whose thoughts are fixed on Him. GOD is willing and able to be your Provider, Protector and Navigator throughout your journey on Earth. God will even send people into your life who will pray for you, sometimes without you asking.

Such was the case when one of my friends who is a chaplain, we’ll call her GD, called me yesterday to pray. The conversation started with an update on how my first, 7-day fast from Facebook went and I told her that I completed the fast (and to my surprise, stuck to it for the entire 7 days) but I had not yet heard anything “spectacular” from God. Prior to my fast, I had shared with GD how I was expecting answers, like doubtless direction from God at the end of this fast—After all I was giving up my time on FACEBOOK! That’s serious stuff as Lord knows thousands if not millions of people in the entire world are addicted to that social networking site! 

I did tell GD how, after the initial 24 hours of my fast from Facebook, it was surprisingly easy to live without Facebook (yes, it IS possible) and I believe that while I did not hear something spectacular from God, my mental health improved (Lord knows the comparison game Facebook that can suck you in, full force, is something crazy) and I felt more at peace. During this time, I realized that I need to fast from Facebook more often which is a commitment I’m planning to make. I also shared with GD that while I did not hear “something spectacular” from God, I did receive reaffirmation through people and events that occurred during that week to reassure me that I am on the right path and that God does want me to do what He’s given me talents for (writing and photography) but I may need to make tents in the meantime. 

Allow me to explain what I mean by needing to “make tents”…When my job in Journalism did not work out, I spoke with one of my Christian mentors (we’ll call her JK) and expressed my disappointment in a shattered dream, frustration in not knowing when or where I'd work again, anxiety (because I have bills to pay) and doubt in what exactly God’s plan for my life would be (wondering whether or not my professional writing/publishing/photography dreams would become true) and to all of this, JK told me, “I am sorry about this shattered dream…Do not apologize for needing a job to pay your bills…the greatest Christian Writer made ends meet regularly through “tent-making” (Paul the Apostle). With every shattered dream—there is a better dream coming.” 

So I shared that advice from JK and GD agreed. She told me that even though I did not hear “something spectacular” from God after the conclusion of my fast from Facebook, God did reveal His will to me through the conversations and incidents that happened throughout the week to reaffirm this simple truth—I am exactly where God wants me to be right now in this life. And that made me happy because that is exactly where I want to be—in the center of God’s will for me. 

And then GD offered to pray for me. The exact words from the prayer, I do not remember but after the prayer, I recall feeling so much better and thankful for the blessing of friends like GD who pray for me—with or without me asking—because sometimes you cannot pray for yourself which is why the Bible tells us to pray for each other, in church we call this “intercessory prayer”. 

If you are at a point in your life when you do not have any family or friends to pray for you, there is HOPE because the Bible says that Jesus Christ is constantly interceding for us before the Father (God) which means He is praying for you! What a blessing I believe it is to have the SAVIOR of the WORLD (Jesus Christ) praying on behalf of His creation (you and me, humanity). What better person to have on your side than the One who has lived on this Earth and been through every human experience so that He has ultimate empathy and compassion for each of our unique situations? 

The New Living Translation of the Holy Bible says in 1 Peter 5:7 for us to, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” Yes, you read that right, there is a GOD who CARES about YOU! And He wants you to be saved and have the hope of eternal life, that’s why He sent you’re His Son Jesus Christ, who is now your Intercessor, to this Earth to live, die and be resurrected into eternal life so that we can have the hope that there is something better beyond this world...So that we could know that our story does NOT end with death because if we followed Jesus Christ when we were alive, we do have hope of eternal life. But that’s another post for another day! 

All I want to say at this point is to re-emphasize how grateful I am for the friends (and family) whom God has placed in my life to pray for me. I encourage you to invest in Bible-believing, Christ-following, praying friends because the benefits are eternal and while life can be hard, it will make your walk easier.