Tag Archives: sacrifice

A New Book in a New Month



I have been swamped the past weeks writing, editing, and preparing for the launch of my newest book, Ancient Matriarchs Book Four, Moving into Light: Zehira, Wife of Enoch. Now, it is available on Amazon for Pre-Sale. It would be an understatement to say I am excited!
I’m doing more to share this book than I have the others. Thursday, throughout the day, I’ll be checking in promoting it on a Live Facebook Event, Moving into Light Book Launch Party. I have games and questions, stories to tell, and excerpts to read. I think it’ll take most of the day, so check in when you have time. Everyone who responds with a comment, likes, shares, or participates in a game, will be put into “the hat” for one of the prizes I’m offering. (Watch the event page for the list.)
Go ahead and start sharing now, I’m collecting names of those who do and putting them into my “hat” to be considered for prizes.
I hope you choose to join me sometime during the day.

In other news, I am participating in a Book Funnel Giveaway: October Historical Fiction. Along with other authors, we are sharing a variety of fiction with historical fiction as the connector. Some are romance, others mystery, there are 18 authors and 19 books. See if you can find mine. You can find the Giveaway here.
Happy Reading.

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Stop the Insanity

Over the past few years, we in the United States have been horrified as ancient historical landmarks were defaced and destroyed by ISIL and the Taliban. We cried out in rage and horror to see these ancient monuments defiled and destroyed. How will we now visit these ancient places?

Does anyone else see the similarities to what is happening in the United States today? Our history is not as ancient, but it is our history. Some complain that they are destroying the remnants of slavery. How do we know those ancient monuments destroyed in the old world were monuments to slavery? Slavery was integral to the lives of many nations in ancient days.

Will the haters destroy this monument to the Massachusetts 54th Brigade, made up of black soldiers in their frenzy?

The monuments in our country are monuments to our history, to people who gave their lives for what they believed. I believed our constitution gave us the right to believe, regardless of the popularity of the belief. Those beliefs are historical, no longer a part of current practice. How can they be offensive to those of us living today?

How far will this go? Will we demand that monuments to religion will be destroyed? If you honor Christ and the cross, will you quietly stand by as images of these are hacked to pieces and torn from their bases? Will you be so intimidated you will not complain? Whether you honor Christ, Buddha, or any other god of any other religion, will you stand by while others’ gods are defaced?

One final thought, the monuments and statues remind us of a past we do not want to replicate. Their very existence reminds us of a time we never want to live through. I suggest these monuments, though they may stand for a terrible time in our history, they also remind us not to repeat that time.

How can you stand by and watch the defamation of our history? It is time for this insanity to end. Find a way to make peace with our history and understand it is history, our history. Desecrating and destroying the monuments will not change the history.

Take a stand against the destruction. Write letters, call your federal and state leaders, demanding protection for all the monuments and statues reminding us of our history. Stand up for the right. Don’t let the world point at us, as they point at the destroyers of the monuments in the middle east, wondering how we could allow this to happen.

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Memorial Day—The first day of summer, a day to play with our families, a day to hike in the mountains or a National Park, a day for our first barbeque of the year. All fun activities, great ways to spend with our families.

But do you remember why we celebrate Memorial Day?

No, it is not a day to remember our Veterans, not a day to honor their service.

Memorial IS a day to remember those who gave their lives for our country, from the days of the American Revolution. These men and women cared enough for our country that they were willing to step forward and serve us, placing their lives in danger.

I have family who fought in many of the wars our country participated in. Some lost their lives during the battles, some died because of their wounds, and others came home and lived out their lives, often suffering from the effects of battle. We had to be careful when we woke up my father-in-law, for his PTSD would make itself known. He, along with many others who came home, have now passed on.

I honor those men and women who lost their lives, whether in the battle, as a result of injuries, or those who returned home and struggled to live a normal life as they remembered the horrors of war.

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Independence Day, How Will You Celebrate?

20150914_185748Independence Day is next Monday. Will you go to a party, swim, or shoot off fireworks? Will you watch a parade or join in community picnics and celebrations? All of these are great ways to celebrate.

We celebrate Independence Day on July 4th, in remembrance of the great men and women who declared independence from England in 1776, and then fought to secure that independence. They argued about their beliefs and finally compromised, creating the Constitution. These documents allow us the freedoms, 240 years later, to live in the way we would choose.

Unfortunately, politicians, foreign influencers, and citizens argue that safety is only found in giving up the freedoms our ancestors fought so hard to acquire. Each time there is a disaster or a terrorist attack, more freedoms erode. Those of us who argue for basic freedoms are chastised and criticized.

One of these basic freedoms is the freedom of religion, not just the right to worship as we please, but to freely exercise our religion in our daily life. One leader who stands for religious freedom spoke this week in a Freedom Festival Patriotic Service. He said, “There are concerted efforts to shame and intimidate believers who have traditional moral values and to suppress religious viewpoints and practices regarding marriage, family, gender and sexuality. Worst of all, government sometimes joins in these efforts.” (Elder D. Todd Christofferson, Apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)

We are all entitled to freedom of speech, both believers and non-believers. We have the right to stand for the things we believe in, without being taunted by those who don’t believe as we do. Each of the other rights guaranteed in the Constitution are important to fight for.

As you celebrate Independence Day next week, decide what you can do to support our freedoms. What can you do as an individual? What can you do as a small group? We may be few, but we can do something to support and defend our freedoms. What will you do?

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Immortality is Ours

This is the weekend Christians celebrate the most important event of the world, when the Son of God allowed men to cruelly take his life on the cross. Three days later, wonder of wonders, He took up His life again, so each of us will one day be resurrected. What a sacred and holy day.

We know it was not March 27th, this is the day religionists set. It does not matter, even, that Easter is the name of a Pagan god whose symbols of fertility were bunnies and chicks. All that matters is that the Son of God, even Jesus Christ, paid the price for our sins, pains, and sorrows in the Garden of Gethsemane, accepted the sacrifice of His life on the cross at Calvary, and rose again from the garden tomb.

He lives! And because He lives, we to will live. We do not need to seek strange and wonderful ways to extend our lives, as so many have, hoping for immortality. Immortality is a gift, given freely to each of us by a loving Father and Son.

I do not celebrate the cross that took His life, I celebrate the empty tomb, that represents His living. Because of the empty tomb, we, too, will live once more, eternally. This is the best gift we could receive.

Eve knew this. She and Adam taught their children to look forward to Jehovah’s coming, when he would take upon himself a mortal body, then lay it down again as sacrifice for us. The ultimate blessing, however, was his resurrection. Adam and all the prophets taught their followers to look forward to His coming and His resurrection.

As you celebrate this holy event, what will you do to remember the resurrection that will allow all men, women, and children immortality?

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In Honor of Our Brave Veterans

20150914_185748This Veteran’s Day, 2015, I offer my gratitude to all who gave their lives in service to our great nation over the years. Some died, like my great-great uncle who died on the steps of Lexington. My uncles and father-in-law returned from World War II, alive, seemingly well. However, along with thousands of others, they were left with lingering fears and PTSD. You did not want to touch my father-in-law to wake him, you may have been welcomed by a fist in the face. Others, like my husband and brother, put their lives on the line every day, not behind a gun but providing support, always facing the possibility of attack.

Millions died in the wars. Those who lived lost a part of themselves, more than just their youth. Young families gave up hopes of a home for up to twenty years, living on near slave wages to serve. Improvements in medical care saves lives; but many return from the latest wars with body parts missing, requiring medical care and support for the rest of their lives. Young soldiers return broken in both body and spirit.

Almost everyday someone posts pictures of these brave veterans with missing arms and legs. Worse is the damage to their souls. I cannot imagine the things they have seen and done that would cause so many to cower in fear, or even worse, take their own lives. Suicide has become the way “out” for too many of our valiant young people who volunteered, or who joined one of the local Reserve units, and found themselves in the war zone.

War is not pretty. It is an “adventure” that should be offered to the politicians and generals who call for it. Our young men and women need to know war is ugly, evil, and damaging. Even those, like my brother and husband, who never fired a shot, had their lives damaged by their service. Long hours, constant danger, and stress took a toll on them, aging them early.

I honor all who gave all their lives, for a time or forever, in service to our country. In a very real way, they have protected our borders and kept us safe. It is sad that the government has not yet honored these men in an honest way.

Eve knew that war was wicked and evil. The Destroyer spurned men to hatred, fighting, and war. It is the women, mothers and wives, who watch their sons, and now daughters, leave to protect their borders or fight in enemy lands.

Eve would have argued against wars. Women through the ages argued against the violence causing death and maiming of their beloved sons, husbands, and fathers. I am glad my sons are now old enough to avoid military service. Their dad spent enough of his life for all of them. I fear for my grandsons. I will beg them to wait to be drafted, rather than placing their lives in the hands of immoral politicians.

Do you agree? Share your thoughts and stories.

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Why Would Anyone Sacrifice?

A favorite hymn in our church includes the line, “Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of Heaven.”[1] It seems a strange thing to think that sacrifice brings blessings.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines sacrifice as:

: the act of giving up something that you want to keep especially in order to get or do something else or to help someone

: an act of killing a person or animal in a religious ceremony as offering to please a god

: a person or animal that is killed in a sacrifice[2]

How will any of these kinds of sacrifice bring blessings of Heaven? Few religions demand a living sacrifice to be offered to please a god in today’s world. More frequently members of society will be found giving up something. Why would anyone give up something precious?

From the beginning of our world, sacrifice has been a part of life, even when it has not included the death of a person or animal. Eve, and then Adam, ate of the fruit of knowledge of good and evil, and were rejected from the Garden of Eden. They gave up a paradise for thorns, thistles, and problems. Because they did, they also gained the blessing of children and family,

Women today continue to sacrifice independence, sleep, relaxation, and often health to give birth to and raise children. Life is never the same after a child becomes part of the family, even before birth. Sacrifice of life and health for children brings blessings unknown by those who have none.

Men sacrifice time to participate in more enjoyable activities when they leave home and family for employment. Fathers often miss the sweet times in a child’s life as they grow. Taking on responsibility of wife and family often removes the opportunity to play or relax as they did when single.

If you look, you can find stories of people of all ages who have determined to help a person or an organization. They give time to help, work to raise money, and write letters and make phone calls to change laws. People sacrifice their time, their money, their good name, their influence, and their things to help a person or a cause.

No animals are sacrificed or burned to please God, but hearts, minds, and attitudes are freely given.

What do you sacrifice? Why would you do that?

[1] LDS Hymns, 27

[2] Mirriam-Webster Dictionary; on-line edition

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Why Would Anyone Sacrifice?

A favorite hymn in our church includes the line, “Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of Heaven.”[1] It seems a strange thing to think that sacrifice brings blessings.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines sacrifice as:

: the act of giving up something that you want to keep especially in order to get or do something else or to help someone

: an act of killing a person or animal in a religious ceremony as offering to please a god

: a person or animal that is killed in a sacrifice[2]

How will any of these kinds of sacrifice bring blessings of Heaven? Few religions demand a living sacrifice to be offered to please a god in today’s world. More frequently members of society will be found giving up something. Why would anyone give up something precious?

From the beginning of our world, sacrifice has been a part of life, even when it has not included the death of a person or animal. Eve, and then Adam, ate of the fruit of knowledge of good and evil, and were rejected from the Garden of Eden. They gave up a paradise for thorns, thistles, and problems. Because they did, they also gained the blessing of children and family,

Women today continue to sacrifice independence, sleep, relaxation, and often health to give birth to and raise children. Life is never the same after a child becomes part of the family, even before birth. Sacrifice of life and health for children brings blessings unknown by those who have none.

Men sacrifice time to participate in more enjoyable activities when they leave home and family for employment. Fathers often miss the sweet times in a child’s life as they grow. Taking on responsibility of wife and family often removes the opportunity to play or relax as they did when single.

If you look, you can find stories of people of all ages who have determined to help a person or an organization. They give time to help, work to raise money, and write letters and make phone calls to change laws. People sacrifice their time, their money, their good name, their influence, and their things to help a person or a cause.

No animals are sacrificed or burned to please God, but hearts, minds, and attitudes are freely given.

What do you sacrifice? Why would you do that?

[1] LDS Hymns, 27

[2] Mirriam-Webster Dictionary; on-line edition

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