Time to turn the calendar to a New Year! What better way to start each day or week than by reading a Faithbook message? Take a look at them in the book, "My Faithbook Messages - Devotions to Like and Share." Order a copy from Amazon or directly from me at:

sandra-fischer---author.square. 

Here is the first entry for the New Year:

    “From New Year to Eternity”

 

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart.

~ Ecclesiastes 3:11a

Standing at an airport gate, one witnesses the many emotions of “hellos” and “goodbyes.” We glow at joyful smiles of greeting and happy embraces for arrivals; we sadden at the long kisses and tearful hugs of those departing. Life is hello. . .life is goodbye. It’s the constant tension of casting on and letting go. King Solomon put it this way in chapter three of Ecclesiastes: “everything has its season. . .a time to plant and a time to pluck up. . .a time to embrace and a time to refrain.” (v. 3:1, 2b, 5b)

As we turn the page to a new year, we have a choice—to greet it with hope and joy, letting go the past, or to keep standing at the gate, hanging on to regrets. As Time begins to write in our New Year’s blank book, let us look to embrace one word: opportunity. Let us seek it on days when clouds veil its appearance and let us greet it on days when it arrives skipping in the sunshine. Let us meet it as God’s way of allowing us to discover all the possibilities it holds. Solomon recognizes God’s offering to do his part when he says, “He has made everything beautiful in its time.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11a) Talk about possibilities!

Somehow, as Time records our earthly journey, we sense there is a place of timelessness, a place of only “hellos,” a place the wise King says God has put in our hearts, a place called eternity, our home in heaven forever as adopted children of God through Christ. Until then, we can appreciate all the prospects any passing moment offers as God-given.

How do you view the future? With anticipation, hope, or fear? How can placing your trust in God help you view it from His perspective?

 Happy 2022!

 So here it is - the reason I've not been posting much - my latest book just in time for Christmas! Take a look at "EVERY DAY is CHRISTMAS" - stories to warm heart and soul.

I have been writing Christmas stories over the years and when I considered compiling them into a book, I knew I needed to have them illustrated so they might come alive. I am blessed to have Becky Guinn as the illustrator for this book. Not only is she a Christ follower too, she has an extraordinary talent for "seeing" the characters in the story and rendering how they look and feel. 

Becky's artistic talents were challenged when she went into the hospital for surgery in 2002. As a result of an allergic reaction to medication, all four of her limbs were amputated. Through determination, faith, and the support of family and friends, she began painting again with mechanical hands. You can read more of her story in the book. 

Becky Guinn

The book is available on Amazon or directly from me by going to this site where you will find my other books:

https://sandra-fischer---author.square.site

 

“Learning to ask Who not Why”

. . .Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. . .therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes ~ Job 42:3b, 6 NIV

No life in this world is without trials and troubles. Sometimes they come in small unrelenting jabs and other times like a tsunami wave. As believers we are told to expect them, yet like Job we question God’s purpose in allowing them. We ask why, hoping if we could understand we could make sense of them and accept them. After studying the book of Job, I learned that God never answered Job’s questioning, even after God forgave him his presumptiveness, restored his losses, and honored him for his faithfulness.

Job had his audience with God and appealed to Him to give an answer for his miseries—loss of family, wealth, and health. Instead, God asked Job over seventy questions to which he had no answer. He realized God was God, sovereign over all things and that He owes no one an explanation.

Rather than asking “why” when we don’t understand what’s happening, we should consider “WHO” is behind it all, whether by His permissive or sovereign will.  “Why” ends in the letter “y” which could stand for “you,” indicating it’s all about “you.” If we consider “WHO” instead, “o” represents the “One” and “Only”—God Almighty. Is anyone qualified to question God about anything? When we see God as He is and ourselves as we are, like Job, we should repent of our “presumptive” sin and trust His sovereignty and trustworthiness.

Heavenly Father, thank you for working everything together to those who love You—for our good and Your Glory.

Sandra is a FaithWriters Platinum member, author of “My Faithbook Messages” which can be found HERE.

“His Easter—Our Easter” – Sandra Fischer And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power ~ 1 Corinthians 6:14 ESV Easter—Resurrection day! We celebrate this glorious day when our Lord Jesus Christ arose from the grave. And because He lives, everyone who believes and accepts His shed blood as an atoning sacrifice for their sin will have an “Easter” day too. Death preceded the resurrection of Jesus and it will precede ours as well, unless Christ returns before we die. Before that first Easter, Christ followers mourned the death of Jesus with deep sadness and inconsolable grief. And then! The women go to the tomb and find it empty. An angel tells them the good news—“He is not here. He is risen!” Luke 24:6 NIV When we die in Christ, our spirits leave our bodies, and are present with the LORD. This is a precursor to our coming “Easter” day when our resurrection bodies will be like His. The Bible gives glimpses of what Jesus’ post-resurrection body was like: He had physical wounds; His disciples touched Him; He went through walls, appeared, and disappeared; He ate and drank with people. Paul tells us we can expect to have “Easter” bodies when he wrote this: "For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.” Romans 6:5 ESV And again he wrote: “. . .our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await. . .Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body.” Philippians 3:20-21 ESV As we celebrate Easter and His resurrection day, we look forward to celebrating our own glorious resurrection day! Father God, thank You for Your plan to make us like Your Son, Jesus! Sandra is a FaithWriters Platinum member, author of her new book, “My Faithbook Messages” which can be found HERE.

 

 

The Gold within the Green

March isn’t just for the Irish; anyone can appreciate the earth’s “wearin’ o’ the green.” Putting on the mantle is an obvious part of spring—leaves and grasses turning into various shades of emerald, jade, lime, and olive. Most of us give only a cursory consideration to the plant life that graces the earth. We might appreciate the carpeted beauty of grass, the shade a tree provides, or the blossoms they produce, and then we leave it at that. Even diehard gardeners may not stop to reflect upon the deepest treasure replete in the plants they cultivate. Yet if we remember a basic biology lesson regarding the wonderful life-giving purpose of plants and trees, we see them in a renewed light.

They take a little sunshine, a few carbon dioxide molecules out of the air, some hydrogen atoms out of water, and then shuffle them around inside green chloroplasts in the plant cells, and voila! We get their products of glucose and oxygen, two necessary components to our existence.

In God’s marvelous ecological economy, green plants, and trees were created as our necessary counterpart—they breathe in the carbon dioxide we make and exhale the oxygen we need. Martin Luther said, “In the true nature of things . . . every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver.”

If I see some people hugging trees or watering even weeds, I know they appreciate how precious our green earth is.

The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted

– Psalm 104:16

This is an excerpt from my book "Seasons in the Garden," available on Amazon or for a signed copy, directly from me.

Worth the Wait

 

Spring is coming! The proof is seen in buds peeking out from seemingly barren limbs, brown landscapes yielding their somber hues to green, and blossoms suddenly bursting alive with all the colors of the Master Painter’s palette. The evidence of renewal is showing clearly and making the case—spring is coming around again.

 

I find it hard to imagine that only a short time ago, the same world looked rather dull and lifeless. Yet in the dark reaches of soil and branch, seeds were preparing for their seasonal debut. In a world filled with desire for instant gratification, we are usually more interested in the finished product than in the preparation. This brings back pleasant memories of my grandmother.

 

Grandma had an orchard that produced about every kind of fruit one could imagine. At harvest time, she would call us each Sunday morning and say, “Come out and get a pie, I have some cooling in the window.”

 

It was so easy just to go and pick up a warm, juicy pie for our dessert. Eventually, as I learned about the process of making those pies, I gained a whole new perspective about them.

 

First, Grandma gathered the fruit from the orchard, peeled and pitted it, if needed, and washed it. Then, in the wee hours of Sunday morning, she would get up, stoke the kitchen stove with wood, mix and roll out the dough, pat it into the pie pans, fill them with a mixture of fruit, sugar, and flour, dot the sweetness with butter, place the top dough over it all, brush each with milk or more butter, and then put the creations in the oven to bake.

 

The precious time she spent in making the pies was the most wonderful ingredient in the gift. Each apple, peach, or raspberry pie (my favorite) was filled with love. When I considered the whole process, the pies became even more delicious in my heart.

 

And it is the same with spring—the preparation is part of the gift. Time is the necessary element in every process of growth; learning to appreciate that makes us savor the end result all the more. Spring is worth the wait.

 

. . .for behold, the winter is past;
    the rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth,
    the time of singing^[a] has come ~

Song of Solomon 2:11-12

Excerpt from “Seasons in the Garden” – a look at the parallels in our seasons of life and those of nature - www.amzn.com/0996838007

 

 

Two Book Special - Signed copies of both for $29 - includes shipping. Simply email me your request. 

 

 

“Love Letters”

You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. And you show that you are a letter from

Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

~ 2 Corinthians 3:2-3

Love letters have changed. Once written by hand on fine stationery, now they come in all kinds of digital forms. But one kind of love letter will never go out of style. It’s the one Paul spoke about in his epistle to the Corinthians. “You yourselves are our letter. . .from Christ. . .written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God.”

All people are “letters” of some kind, conveying “messages” to others, expressed in words and deeds. As Christians we are letters too. What do others “read” from our speech and behavior? Do they see us as “love letters” of Christ or something not befitting the love He gave for all people? When we lay claim to Christ, we are making ourselves “known and read by all,” as His representatives. “We are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.” (2 Corinthians 5:20)

As God’s “living letters,” He is using us to appeal to those who do not know Him, so they will want to know Him too. He’s also appealing to other believers to see Christ’s love living in us, an encouragement in their journey of faith. If we show the love of Christ through the overflow of the Spirit inked in our hearts, we will be “living love letters” to everyone we meet.

Has someone ever been a “love letter” of Christ to you? How can you show what the Spirit has inked on your heart to someone today?

This is an excerpt from my new book - "My Faithbook Messages--Devotions to Like and Share." Here's the link to it; take a look:

http://www.amzn.com/0996838023

Announcement: Tada! "My Faithbook Messages - Devotions to Like and Share" is released!

 

In 2020 while sheltering from the virus, I found time to complete this collection of devotions inspired by that timeless source of social media - the Bible, which I call the Faithbook. 

The book provides a unique way for readers to interact with me and receive or send copies of individual selections to others.

Here's one of the first 5 star reviews on Amazon:

 This is a book that will touch your heart and soul. -When I received this book, I was going to read it as a daily reading, but as I began to read it, I could not put it down and read it cover to cover. Now, I will read a page each day as one of my daily readings...this year and in years to come. Its message is timeless! I am giving copies to friends because I feel it is especially good for all of us during this Pandemic providing faith and hope. The author is a beautiful writer...simple elegance.

Want a copy? Buy it on Amazon or for a signed copy, email me - safischer37@gmail.com

 

De-Cluttering My Closet - Sandra Fischer “Behold, I am doing a new thing. . .” (Isaiah 43:19a) ESV Many of us greet the new year by making changes. We start dieting, exercising, organizing, or instituting various self-improvement plans. I was inspired by an article about de-cluttering, so I decided to do some closet cleaning. The article suggested discarding or finding a new home for anything that didn’t give me joy. As I sorted through my closet, I found myself putting back what I call “Justin Case” items. Justin Case is not a designer label, but my second-guessing evaluation of things. My thought—someday, I might be able to squeeze into those smaller size pants or wear those high heels again. So, they remain in my closet—my Justin Case stuff. That day I also read a devotion about how we hang onto the past. Sometimes our memory treasury is as cluttered as our closets. I read Isaiah’s admonishment: “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing. . .” (Isaiah 43:18-19a) ESV The devotion related how our desire to preserve the remnants of what we consider to be “good old days,” while overlooking the opportunities afoot. Jeremiah urged us to see God’s goodness each day: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23) ESV I was convicted of my need to de-clutter my “past” closet and DO as Paul did, “. . .forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead.” (Philippians 3:13b) ESV I don’t need to keep Justin Case things. I need to cling to Jesus Christ, who gives me joy today and in all the new days ahead. Sandra is a FaithWriters Platinum member, author of her new book, “My Faithbook Messages.” Contact